THE PRINT EDITION
THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018
VOLUME XIX- ISSUE 62
Bells Market Upgrade: and New Mixed-Use Buildings Approved By Richard Campbell Perhaps the surest sign of the coming rehabilitation of the neighborhood surrounding Old Colony is the plan for a new five story residential building with retail space on the site of Bell’s Market. The project designers Stefanov Architects have teamed up with developer Rashide, LLC, to put together a c omprehensive proposa l to the Boston Development Planning Association (BDPA). The proposal submitted in late 2017 is for new five-story 32 new residential rental apartments that are primarily market rate, with 5 affordable units and will include 23 below level parking spaces. It will have about 7,000 sq. feet of retail space- which will include a new Bell’s Market, on the 9 th street side and a café on the 8 th street side. Other amenities like indoor bike
Moms Club RetroLuau Patio Party
parking, elevators to all f loors, and street scape landscaping are mentioned in the proposal. The small project expects to create 40 construction jobs, besides the employment of the developers and architects. People may be familiar with Stafanov Architects for their multiple projects in South Boston. In keeping the familiar Bell’s Market, the architects wisely planned a setting in which the apartments don’t go too high above street level. It would be nice to see permanent awnings, some less than industrial shape to the exterior, and the use of some natural stone or brick to give the feeling of solidity and texture to the exterior. Similarly, there isn’t too much indication of the landscaping treatments to give the surrounding area more of a neighborhood feeling. We are awaiting full plans. This was Continued on Page 3
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THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018
SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM
The Ward 6, 7 Debate: America in Action. And a Request South Boston Online has a request, but first, some recent news. Last week, on Tuesday evening, July 10, the Ward 6 and Ward 7 Committees hosted a debate at the Curley Community Center. The two Democratic Candidates for State Representative in District 4 (Suffolk) – David Biele and Matt Rusteika – were the debaters. They are campaigning to replace Sen. Nick Collins, who was elected District 1 State Senator earlier this year. The debate, in the format of questions and answers, gave both Matt and David the chance to express their opinions and take political positions on key local issues. At the end of the debate, the two Ward Committees voted on whom to endorse. Led by Committee Chairs Bob O’Shea (Ward 6) and Mary Collins (Ward 7), along with Michael Donovan (Ward Election
David Biele, Mary Collins (Ward 7 Chair), Matt Rusteika, Bob O’Shea (Ward 6 Chair), Michael Donovan (Ward Election Commissioner), and City Councilorat-Large Annissa Essabi-George, after the Wrad 5 and 7 debate.
Commissioner), the Committee members chose David Biele to receive their endorsement. And for your information, Michael Donovan is running again this year for re-election as Clerk of Court (Civil) As mentioned, the debate itself was in a Question-andAnswer format, which began after each Candidate was allowed to briefly present his background.
Second Anniversary Mass Robert P. Donovan
The Candidates were allowed two minutes to answer each of the questions; three questions were framed by the Ward Committees and three came from the floor. The Candidates alternated between giving their answers first or second in the order of asking. Both made their points quickly and well. The debate proceeded quickly, efficiently, and informatively. So here’s the editorial request from South Boston Online, in just two words: Please Vote! The Primary Election is coming up in just under seven short weeks from now – on Tuesday, September 4. It is in this election
that voters select the Candidates to run in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6. Specifically, voters will choose whether Matt Rusteika or David Biele will run as the Democratic Candidate for our State Representative in District 4 (Suffolk) in the General Election on November 4. South Boston Online would like to ask you two questions: First, are you satisfied with our present political scene? Second, what can be done to improve the current political scene? But only you, the voter, can do this – no one else can cast your vote for you. Change won’t happen overnight. Voters have to be patient. But elections take place every couple of years, so after eight or ten years, you the voter can make a substantial difference by voting for those you consider to be the best Candidates. As Mark Rooney – a Candidate himself for Governor’s Council – said about David and Matt, “This went well. South Boston is still able to field two young, capable neighborhood people as Candidates.” So, once again, please vote! Thank you in advance, and we’ll see you at the polls on Primary Day, September 4.
South Boston Priest Celebrates Nationally Televised Catholic Mass On Sunday, July 22, the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Father Robert Casey will celebrate Mass at the CatholicTV Network’s Chapel of the Holy Cross. Father Casey is the pastor of Gate of Heaven and St. Brigid Parishes in South Boston. Sunday’s Mass with Father Casey will be broadcast on Channel 56 at 8am ET and on CatholicTV at 7pm and 11:30pm. CatholicTV is available on cable, CatholicTVLIVE.com Roku, Apple TV, iOS, and Android. The Mass will also be available on demand.
January 25, 1939 - July 19, 2016
Saturday July 21, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. St. Augustine’s Chapel
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Bells Market a natural outgrowth after the high-end condominium project at St. Augustine’s, a property that many said couldn’t be restored for community use, ended up being restored beautif u lly. In addition to this project, the BPDA approved 200-204 Old Colony Avenue, mixed use housing and educational project submitted by All Saints Development, on the space currently occupied by Notre Dame Academy, which includes replacement of the existing school. The proposal includes up to 49 residential apartment units on f loors 2-6, replacement of the existing on-site school uses approximately 9,380 gross square feet on the 1st f loor, and approximately 39 below-
level garage parking spaces. The designs will be done by E M BA RC A rc h itec t u re + Design Studio of South Boston, a nd V ER DA NT La ndscape Architecture, of Brookline. The innovative L-shaped building is expected to meet high LEED standards, and include various textured surfaces on its exterior, bridging the design’s hybrid use as both a school and residences. In keeping with the Mayor’s promise to continue to build more housing in Boston, the BPDA approved 870 residential units at their July 13th meeting. In quoting the BPDA site: “Since the start of 2018, 2,908 new housing units have been approved, with 585 affordable units for low or middle-income residents.” Stay tuned for more details on South Boston housing developments.
Bells Market
Save the Harbor’s Free “Life’s A Beach” Events and “Share The Harbor” Tours Rendering of Proposed Building
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is hosting a boatload of free harbor island excursions this summer and 7 free “Life’s a Beach” festivals featuring trapeze artists, acrobats, jugglers, and performing pirates on the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket. Save the Harbor’s free “Life’s a Beach” festivals began last weekend in Quincy, and will be held weekly in Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Lynn, Dorchester and Hull. You can find out more about the festivals and other free Better Beaches Program events at
http://blog.savetheharbor.org/2018/06/free-events-and-programs.html. Their free “Share the Harbor” cruises are open to the public and depart each Monday at 10am on Bay State Cruise Company’s flagship Provincetown II from the dock at the World Trade Center in Boston’s Seaport.
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Goodbye Quaint Boston: The Rush of Skyscrapers By Richard Campbell Boston is not Chicago or New York, quite thankfully, and up until the past decade the city managed to have enough restraint not to build skyscrapers everywhere with gleeful abandon, but times have changed. The city has recently seen a building boom of skyscrapers from Downtown Crossing through Back Bay and beyond that has expanded Boston’s physical footprint in a major way. In many respects this is a good thing, but like urban renewals of the past, it may be time to reflect upon when too much of a good thing can undermine the city fabric. There are some forces that are questioning the skyscraper frenzy sweeping through Boston, and whether the city centers are increasingly only for the wealthy. Exhibit A: The Conservation Law Foundation filed a suit with the state over the rezoning of 42 acres of Long Wharf that would make the Chiofaro seaport skyscraper possible and alter public tidewater rights planned for the site of the Chiofaro owned garage, at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and East India Row, near the New England Aquarium. The CLF aside there is also a suit of the tenants of Harbor Towers, the neighboring smaller apartment building in the seaport, that itself was once controversial. As rumors circulate, many think the New England Aquarium may play nice, if given funds in compensation for the disruption to create a new Blueway- a floating park extending out from the aquarium into the harbor, parking rights, and by some reports millions to balance the till of the Aquarium. Nimby accusations fly, but the issue is more complex than some sides recognize. At issue is the contention that early on the Chiofaro building violated state law by infringing on the tidewater public access, and the hasty rezoning process to avoid that problem. This project, having been rejected for many years (since 2007) by the Menino administration, received the green light from the city this spring, after being modified from two towers to one, and requiring 50% open space. The proposed building is still 600 feet tall, (the same size of Millennium Towers on the Filene’s site) and represents a dramatic transformation of the low scale waterfront. In the eyes of seaport stakeholders the new design proposal still doesn’t honor the harbor, but no one can
deny that Chiofaro hasn’t compromised. The public primacy of the area around the New England Aquarium is set up as an accessible educational environment, where families of modest means can take their kids to enjoy the Boston Harbor- keeping that concept should be foremost in the minds of the developers. While I’m actually not universally opposed to tall buildings, the Secret Bureau of Uglification- SBOU- the group of developers who meet to decide which ugly building we will have to live with for the next hundred years, has often substituted high tech ugliness for humanity. In all seriousness, the Boston harbor now opened up by the Rose Kennedy Greenway is a gem just as it stands, and continually closing off the harbor with more skyscrapers defeats the purpose of the waterfront design- a design promulgated by the taxpayers through the Big Dig. The citizen tax payers are also the ones who have paid over the years to have Boston harbor cleaned up and renewed, so they should be able to weigh in on the next glitzy waterfront improvement. Regardless of how the whole thing shakes out, the Harbor Walk is one of the best things the city has ever done, and it should be preserved for public access. The open views of the city on the waterfront make this district attractive to residents and tourists alike- because many buildings towards the water observe an aesthetically pleasing graduated human scale. The best example of honoring the Seaport is the elegant walkway and architecture of the Bostonian Hotel and the Moakley Courthouse, that mirror each other and reflect upon the harbor a view that includes an archway opening, and a wise height restricted set of buildings that create a humane backdrop. Contrast these carefully scaled designs to plans for more giant looming towers sprouting up elsewhere. One is Boston, the friendly walkable city- the other is just more over-priced, crass commercialism. This is not a new battle for Boston. The most successful landmark of the SBOU in Boston is the 614-foot building called Federal Reserve Tower, or as some would have it, “the washboard building”. This building, designed by Hugh Stubbins in 1977, stills sets a unique standard of horrific ugliness that will never go away, with its stealthy ever-last aluminum sheathed sides, and energy efficiency that has won awards, it could
probably survive a nuclear blast. It proves that something which is efficient, and a technical marvel can be dehumanizing. Several attempts to create a nice garden in the space at its feet to distract from its yawning ugliness have connected it a little better to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. But no matter how you look at it, the old-world grace of South Station is disrupted by the Federal Reserve Tower. Some tall buildings rise gracefully into the sky, others merely loom. Though they have a homogeneity to them that is often bland, glass towers, shaped right give an impression of lightness that other large buildings do not. When one looks at John Hancock Tower, (now called 200 Clarendon) after over thirty years it still defines a modern sleekness and iconic shape that while imposing at 790 feet, has grown to define Copley Square. Unlike the cracker box Prudential, Hancock tower succeeds aesthetically because its placement and reflective qualities- despite the long expensive road to making it a stable building. The Hancock also served to create more of a recognizable skyline and influenced the building of more glass towers. The SBOU denied any involvement with the building, citing its pretty blue windows as not jarring enough to offend the pedestrian on the street! Speaking of glass towers… Similarly, the new luxury residences of the 685-foot Millennium Tower seems to fit into Downtown Crossing with an apparent ease for its gigantic size and may have served to relink Downtown Crossing to the Business District. Putting an Old Navy Store on the street level- as if downtown crossing didn’t have enough tacky retailers- was a bit gauche. It might take six years for the MBTA to remodel the subway stations in Downtown
Crossing, after decades of filth and degradation, now that the Millennium moved into the neighborhood, it will be done! Very few recognize how millions of dollars and years of city planning of lower Washington went into preserving and revitalizing the area, so developers could move the beautiful people into the district. The trickle-down benefit for the “little people” of moving milliondollar condo owners into Downtown Crossing has also been a miniature renaissance in restaurants. Crowds of people who are blissfully unaware of the dark history of Downtown Crossing are pouring in, and retail shops are coming back. Speaking of shopping… The developers who added yet another building to the Prudential (we hope and pray) are finished with “upgrading” this luxury shopping complex. The new 700 plus foot One Dalton down the street (which will be the tallest building in Boston) will have exclusive residences near the Four Seasons creating a glittering showcase of excess and wealth in the center of town. There is the proposed “Gateway to the South End” planned by Boston properties, that sets up a building complex comprised of a series of boxes oddly stacked to look like they might slide off onto the street. It is supposed to be an upgrade to Back Bay Station. I suspect the SBOU is involved. Luckily building towers on Newbury street has been prevented by zoning. When looking at how the development in the Fenway area is gentrifying the ballpark neighborhood with more highend shopping, one begins to wonder. With all these skyscrapers surrounded by rich people playgrounds, how many parts of the city public space can be reserved exclusively for the ultra-wealthy?
SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018
Open a checking account and get $100!* One more great reason to call South Boston home. Come in for a Free** & Easy Checking account and you’ll get: • $100 Cash Bonus • Free usage of other banks’ ATMs throughout the U.S.*** • No minimum balance or monthly fees • Free online bill pay and mobile banking Free & Easy Checking is only available at our East Broadway branch. So it really is another great reason to live in South Boston. Stop by or open an account online today.
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*Offer good for one Free & Easy Checking account per customer. Offer expires December 31, 2018. Must be a new checking account relationship, defined as not having a checking account at Dedham Savings within the last six months Must be opened with funds not currently on deposit at Dedham Savings. Open the account for as little as $1. One $100 bonus per customer: $100 cash bonus will be deposited 90 days after the customer’s first direct deposit is received. The value of the bonus is interest and subject to IRS and other tax reporting. No minimum balance required to receive bonus. **Free of monthly service and maintenance charges. Overdraft fees per item may apply. See Fee Schedule for details. Ask us for more information. All other bank fees may apply. ***If you are concerned about ATM surcharges by other banks, enroll in electronic statements and receive recurring direct deposits each statement cycle to have ATM surcharges rebated at the end of each statement cycle. Offer good at Dedham Savings’ South Boston branch only.
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Democracy Micro Brew: Downtown Crossing
By Richard Campbell On the 4 th of July the Democracy Brewing Company opened in the place of the old Windsor Button Store on 35 Temple Place in Downtown Crossing. Opened by James Razsa and Jason Taggart (former head brewer at John Harvard’s), and managed by Courtney Bolinger, it is a true microbrewery and not one of those places that buys beer from elsewhere. There standard drafts are so alright yours truly had taste testing, and well, retesting to ensure quality control. All kidding aside, start with
the Suffragette Pale Ale and work your way through to an admirable libation liberation with their 1919 Strike Stout. We had the honey hot wings which were delicious. The Beer Cheese Nachos were weird, with shredded chicken, and apples- like a health food version of this plate. The burgers are respectable- and they had a veggie burger for your vegan friends. I’m not sure what drove the chef into the pizza bagel idea, but Hawaiian walnut poblano pesto, back bacon, pineapple and gruyere- someone has an over active imagination! Get this: there are only three entrees, but they have five desserts.
The Portuguese Fish Stew looks like a real fall item, and I was ready to jump for the Chorizo Stuffed Chicken, until I saw creamed swiss chard in the mix. Excuse me… Creamed swiss chard! The Gnocchi Primavera was the one to try on the second time around and comes out looking pretty on the plate. There is a hint of ethnicity to this skeleton menu, but the whole picture needs to be filled in. Speaking of pictures, don’t forget to check out the great art work on the walls. The fun of patronizing a new place is you get to be a part of the dialogue in its creation- and be a trail blazer. Democracy needs a few not so esoteric meals to make things right with their name and to show off cooking with beer a little more. They have a good beginning, but it needs more comfort food with a snap. First: I would forgo bagels and bring out fresh baked French Bread. This is the kind of place
Free Movies at M Street Beach As part of Hub Church’s Serve Southie Week, they will be hosting FREE Movies on Beach this upcoming Thursday and Friday nights at Sunset on M St. Family Beach at Curley Community Center. Bring a lawn chair or towel for free movie, popcorn and drink.
July 19th - Sherlock Gnomes (for family & kids). Free prize for first 100 kids. July 20th - Jurassic Park (throwback for big kids of all ages) For more info about Serve Southie Week or how you can partner with them in serving this week at Paraclete, Perry School, and Gavin Foundation, visitwww.hubchurchsouthie.com
that might serve Roast beef au jus made with stout served with a beet salad, or perhaps a Welsh Rarebit utilizing beer flavored cheddar and sided with roasted hot red peppers. The service here is very welcoming, and lots of fun. They have the right low-key attitude to be in Downtown Crossing, taking it all in stride. It is so nice to be a in a bar where people aren’t yelling at each other to be heard over the TV’s. They’ve wisely kept the short menu reasonable, and the atmosphere is very pleasant. Although the paint is hardly dry, I’m willing to bet South Bostonians will really like it for its lack of pretension and carefully crafted brews. Close enough to the movie and theatre houses in the middle of Temple Place at number 35, Democracy Brewing serves both lunch and dinner (thank you) and has a great easy-going vibe.
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Tackling Our High Cost of Living at the Root Letter to the Editor
It’s not news that the expense of living in South Boston has become unmanageable. Average rent is about $3,000 per month. A home in Southie sells for around $790,000—a monthly payment of more than $3,600. That’s a difficult prospect even for a childless couple with no student debt, no medical bills, and no family care obligations. I’ve experienced being priced out of the neighborhood myself, like dozens of other people I know. I graduated from Brown with my Master’s in 2011, and already there was no place for me in Southie. Rather than live in my mother’s house indefinitely, I moved into a place I could afford in Somerville. I’m lucky to now be back home, raising a family with my wife. But I know the hurt and frustration of being dragged away from family and community by
financial pressures beyond my control. If we’re serious about making room for working people in Boston, we should be considering how to tackle this problem at the root. Our cost of living is too high, and families make too little. Transparency. We can’t begin to address our cost of living crisis without more transparency in the housing market. Look through the Register of Deeds website; you’ll find that many home sales involve an LLC, and often the owners of an LLC cannot be identified. Has a home been bought for use as an Airbnb hotel? Is it the next target for redevelopment? It’s hard to know. This opacity hurts our communities. As your State Rep, I’ll work to pull back the curtain on LLCs operating in the housing market. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Taxation. The rapid increase in housing cost has had a destabilizing effect on our community in many ways. One of the most egregious is that senior homeowners are taxed as though they bought a $1 million house, when in many cases they bought it decades ago for $90,000 in today’s dollars. There is a tax exemption for elderly homeowners, but it’s only worth $27 per month. Seniors may also defer their property tax payments until they sell their house or pass away.
But family homes are the spine of our community in South Boston, and a $100,000 tax bill built up over 20 years of retirement would force many families to sell. For my part, I would be heartbroken if I were the one to sell the family house we’ve been living in for nearly a century. If elected, I’ll push for realigning our tax code to give seniors and their families a break. Child care. Many young families in Southie are like my own: both parents work, but at least one child is too young for school. Ask anyone in this situation, and they’ll tell you that finding safe, affordable day care is difficult. When it can be found, it often comes at a cost equal to or exceeding the rent. This is a serious problem. Lack of access to day care keeps qualified women out of the workforce, exacerbating the gender pay gap. It also forces families from the community. Massachusetts currently provides limited child care subsidies for very low-income families. I want to see a study to assess the cost of expanding the
number of people who are eligible for this existing program. I also strongly support the City’s ongoing effort to expand universal pre-K. It’s our prerogative to decide whether people who don’t have access to a briefcase full of cash—in other words, most people—can remain in the City of Boston. I believe these measures are a good first step toward making our community more livable for working people. And as your State Rep, I’ll make sure they’re on the minds of every elected official and policymaker in the Commonwealth. Matt Rusteika is a husband, father, 4th generation South Bostonian, and experienced policymaker running to represent South Boston and Dorchester at the State House. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Brown University and a Bachelor’s in Writing and Literature from Emerson College. He and his wife Katrina live on M Street with their son Simon and their dog Watson.
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A Seaport Happening: Outdoor Voices Opens
An inflatable Boston bull terrier greets dog walkers, for a walkthe-dog exercise at One Seaport’s opening of Outdoor Voices. by Rick Winterson Once upon a time in America, pioneers ventured westward to become successful, taking Horace Greeley’s well-known advice that said, “Go West, young man!” Nowadays, the buzz, the vibe, the whatever, is drawing people back to the Northeast and to Boston, especially into South Boston and our Seaport District. Outdoor Voices is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2014, it has 190 employees and eight
shops in total. Last Friday, July 13, it opened its first branch in the northeast The newest Outdoor Voices branch is located in the One Seaport neighborhood, which is the WS Development (31 Northern Avenue). And it’s worth a visit. Just to look. As its name implies, Outdoor Voices is devoted to, well, out-of-doors wear. The categories you’ll find in their One Seaport unit include “The Trail” (hiking, climbing, trailmixing), “The Track” (running, jogging, speed walking), and “The Tennis Court” – all three “T” sports, both for men and for women. South Boston Online can only recommend that you pay Outdoor Voices a visit. You will experience a low-key but highly interesting stop. Outdoor Voices champions activity for the joy of it. They call this concept “Doing Things”, whether it’s rowing on the Charles, running in the Fenway, or cycling along one of Boston’s increasingly numerous bicycle lanes. Outdoor Voices is aiming to create a community of people in and around Boston, who exercise for the fun of it in any season or weather. There are some touches you
The ladies’ section in the newly opened Outdoor Voices at One Seaport features simply elegant outdoor styles. should pick up on when you visit Outdoor Voices. They opened their doors last weekend in the shadow of a huge, inflatable Boston bull terrier. Inside the store, Outdoor Voices has set a statue of Karl, their 2018 MVP, on the show floor. Especially take a look at the layout and store design, spearheaded by interior architect Will Fox. Around the circular central display area, which Will himself designed, he positioned separate areas for various outdoor activities – hiking, tennis, running, etc. He used a design theme that echoes local scenes, like collegiate rowing, athletic locker rooms, and New England’s beaches. There are even brand new cedar shingles, a la Cape Cod, on the dressing room partitions (a nice touch!). Outdoor Voices recognizes that Bostonians, especially the folks in South Boston, are among the greatest,
most devoted, and the most enthusiastic sports people in the whole world. South Boston Online’s key question for Outdoor Voices during this interview was, “Why did you choose the Seaport for your first branch in the Northeast?” We’ll quote the answer sent to us by Tyler Haney, Outdoor Voices’ Founder and CEO: “It is a really exciting time to be in the Seaport. This is our first shop in the Northeast, and we’ve been wanting to come to Boston for a while. The recreational electricity that this part of the city has is evident. Everywhere you look people are being active, and you’re surrounded by beautiful parks and piers within minutes of the shop. This was a perfect fit.” Nicely said! Stop in at Outdoor Voices when you have a few minutes to spare.
ff Join us AND LUNCH R! A TOU
MEMORY SUPPORT ASSISTED LIVING 1380 Columbia Road, Boston, MA 617.268.5450 I CompassOnTheBay.com LEADING SENIOR LIVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
The doors to Outdoor Voices in South Boston’s Seaport (31 Northern Avenue) opened at 10 a.m. (EDT) last Friday, July 13 – “lucky 13”.
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Letter in Support of David Biele Through my years of association with David Biele, I witnessed a gentleman who displayed an honest dedication and concern for our most important resource – our youth. David has worked diligently to improve and enhance their opportunities and advance a positive direction. His determination and work ethic, along with his talents and skill, will make our changing community a better place for all of us. While David serves as our State Representative, he will continue to pursue these and other worthwhile interests with even more strength, enthusiasm, and insight. I proudly look forward to casting my vote for David Biele for State Representative, and I ask you to also please consider him.
Gerry Vierbickas South Boston
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Moms Night Out features an expansive outdoor patio complete with a fireplace, lounge furniture and cornhole. Dedicated to its philanthropic work in Southie, the Mom’s Club partnered with Aloft to make this a truly memorable night by encouraging guests to bring school supplies to contribute to the annual South Boston Boys & Girls club back to school drive. Hotel Manager and South Boston Mom, Christy Loy, spoke to the hotels shared commitment to the South Boston neighborhood and its families, including its
Retro Luau attendees smile for a group photo at the WXYZ bar popular summer splash pass program and family friendly patio nights. Together with Mom’s
Club President, Kristin Frechette, C h r ist y presented H a r r y Duval l, Execut ive Director of the Edgerley Family South Boston Club with the school
supplies collected at the event. To learn more about The Mom’s Club of South Boston please visit their website at: w w w. s o u t h i e m o m s c l u b . c o m
Adam Green, South Boston Parent, Nia Green, Moms Club Member, Rick Baker, South Boston Parents and Members, Katie Baker, Moms Club Member, Becca Lanstein, Moms Club Member, Jay Lanstein, South Boston Parent
Rachel Pearson, Moms Night Out Co-Chair, Mike Walsh, South Boston Parent, Kristian Pearson, South Boston Parent, Erica Walsh, Moms Club Member
Kristin Frechette, Moms Club President, Harry Duvall, Executive Director of the Edgerley Family South Boston Club, Christy Loy, South Boston Parent & Hotel Manager of Aloft and Elements Hotels Seaport
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South Boston Yacht Club To Celebrate 150th Anniversary
By Tara Kerrigan Hayes The South Boston Yacht Club will proudly celebrate its 150-year anniversary, next month. R ich in history, the SBYC was founded in 1868, less than three years after the end of the civil war and consisted of 59 members. 150 years later and with a roster of over 500 members, the club itself has undergone ma ny cha nges, renovations and relocations but one thing remains; a shared enthusiasm for yachting and community. It is in that spirit they will commemorate their milestone by hosting the 210 National Sailing Championship beginning on August 12th, which will run for 4 days. They expect to welcome 25 – 30 boats to the event, including 7 boats from members of the South Boston Yacht Club itself.
The signif icance of this particular race is that the 210, a fast watercraft designed over 70 years ago, is predominantly popular in Massachusetts, with big f leets in Falmouth, Cohasset, Hingham and of course, South Boston. Aside from Boston, this year’s participants will hail from Michiga n, Ma r yla nd, New Jersey, a nd Virginia. The South Boston Yacht Club is known for its Sailing Training Program for ages 8-18 which has be running for close to 100 years, as well as their Bowling Sundays for kids and young adults with special needs, (not only for Southie residents, but for the surrounding area). Also, as a tight knit nautical family, the SBYC holds an annual ceremony each year on Memorial Day honoring deceased members from years past. Families of the deceased are invited to honor their loved one with a ritual of releasing f lowers into the ocean in their name, followed by a celebration to honor the fallen veterans who served our country. As an institution promoting a sense of neig hborhood camaraderie synonymous with South Boston for 150 years now, there is much to be proud of. So in further celebration of the clubs long standing history as a f ixture in the
community, the South Boston Yacht Club Committee, led by Commodore “Irish” Myrvang, ha s pla nned a n elaborate Celebrator y A nniversar y C ookout for m id-Au g u st. Between members and their
families, they will be expecting at least 200 guests for a full day of entertainment, feasting, festivities and a few other surprises to make the celebration yet another memorable one.
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Zip Code (02127) Versus Zip Code (02210) at The Spoke Gallery’s Summer Exhibit
Spoke Gallery’s 02127/02210 curator Kathy Bitetti gives her last Gallery Talk.
by Rick Winterson It is a neat idea, but leave it to Kathy Bitetti, who is the Curator of the current Summer Exhibit at the Spoke Gallery, to always come up with neat ideas. Kathy calls this exhibit “02127 02210”. For it, she has selected eight artists from the two Zip Codes in South Boston – 02127 and 02210 (yes, she chose four artists from each Zip Code). She has juxtaposed their works on the four walls of
Medicine Wheel’s Spoke Gallery. Be sure to see this exhibit. For your information, the Spoke Gallery is located within Medicine Wheel Production’s loft space on the second f loor at 110 K Street. The “02127 02210” Summer Exhibit will hang until Friday, August 17. Spoke Gallery is open to the public three days a week – Wednesday (noon till 5 p.m.), Thursday (noon till 5 p.m.), and Friday (noon till 4 p.m.), as well as by appointment. Admission is, of course, blessedly free, so bring your entire family and all your friends. Your enemies can stay home by themselves. At “02127 02210”, you’ll see large works with sculptural touches, site specific creations made just for this exhibit in Spoke Gallery, and carefully grouped art by the individual artists. Note the large works by the father-and-son team of the two Barreres, which are hung on
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opposing walls at either end of the gallery. They are powerful, eye-catching, even striking, to say the least. Alicia Savage’s work was featured in South Boston Online’s “Still Life” article (June 07, page 12). Note the colors that emanate from all of the exhibit’s highly varied works, ranging from watercolors to e l e c t r on i c c r e a t i on s . The artists from each Zip Code are as follows: 02127 – D. Gould, James Manning, Tom Steiner, a nd Brigid Watson; 02210 – Domingo B a r rere s , Dom i n g o -M a r t i n Barreres, Jennifer Moses, and Alicia Savage. But this is not a contest. And it’s not a matter of “better or worse”. Compare the submissions from each of the two Zip Codes. Which is good art, in your opinion? Would you hang any of them in your living room? Do you like the “quieter” works, or the more “outspoken” exhibit hangings. And it’s perfectly all right to use your own judgment to decide for yourself what works of art you like or don’t like. Art is democratic – it’s all up to you. You mig ht a sk about focusing just on South Boston for this exhibit. Well, the answer is easy (although somewhat long). The peninsula that forms South Boston is now home to artistic institutions such as the Institute
of Contemporary Art (the ICA), Artists for Humanity, and New England Arts & Crafts. The Fort Point art group is large and deservedly well known. The Distillery and King Terminal are homes to endlessly creative artists’ colonies, and that’s not to mention the inspired work that is a major activity at the Innovation and Design Center. South Boston is among the biggest art centers in New England – far bigger than Provincetown. This listing can capture only a few of our peninsula’s artistic high points. For yet another reason, be sure to visit the “02127 02210” Summer Exhibit in the Spoke Gallery. This will be the last exhibit Kathy Bitetti curates for the Spoke Gallery. She will soon be following up on several other artistic opportunities. If you aren’t acquainted with Kathy, she is an artistic polymath. An artist in her own right, she also writes, curates, teaches, lectures, and is a dedicated political activist in support of artistic issues of diverse kinds. But like the South Boston art scene, we can only scratch the surface in describing her many, many talents and accomplishments. Drop by the Spoke Gallery’s “02127 02210” Su mmer Exhibit. Bring your family and friends. See you there.
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Tom Steiner exhibits four locally inspired impressionistic watercolors.
SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018 Summer Food Service Program Fourth Presbyterian Church is participating in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided, at a first come, first serve basis, at the sites and times as follows: [list all sites along with the starting and ending times of meal service for each site: July 9 – August 17, breakfast from 8:45am to 9:15am and lunch from 12:00 to 12:50pm at Fourth Presbyterian Church (340 Dorchester Street, South Boston)
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Free Movies Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s Movie Nights, part of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s ParkARTS program, will give residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy popular films under the night skies in 12 City of Boston parks during August and September.
Tuesdays, July 10 – August 21 – dinner from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at the Tierney Learning Center (125 Mercer Street)
All shows begin at dusk (approximately 7:45 p.m.) and are sponsored by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department and Northeastern University in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Tourism, Sports, and Entertainment and HOT 96.9. Free popcorn will be provided by AMC Loews Theatres.
Thursdays, July 12 through August 23 – dinner from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at the Mary Ellen McCormack Task Force Center (345 Old Colony Avenue)
Dates, locations, and movies are as follows:
Mondays, July 9 – August 20 – dinner from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Fourth Presbyterian Church
Fridays, July 13 through August 24 – dinner from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at Fourth Presbyterian Church In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
Wednesday, August 8 Ronan Park, Dorchester “The LEGO Ninjago Movie” Monday, August 13 Medal of Honor Park, South Boston “Peter Rabbit” Friday, September 7 Frog Pond, Boston Common “Black Panther” Friday, September 21 Frog Pond, Boston Common “Karate Kid” For more information please call (617) 635-4505 or visit the Boston Parks and Recreation Department online on Facebook or at www.boston.gov/ departments/parks-and-recreation.
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THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018
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St. Brigid and Gate of Heaven Parishes News
On Sunday, July 15, 2018 all were welcomed and many came to the St. Brigid Church Coffee and Refreshment Get Together in Cushing Hall, following the 10:30 Mass at St. Brigid Church, where we had a chance to say Thank you and Congratulations to our
Coordinator of Faith Formation and Confirmation, Robby Degre. On July 25, 2018, Robby will be moving out to Cincinnati, Ohio where he and 15 other young men will be beginning formation for the Priesthood with the Dominican Provence of St. Joseph. Our prayers and best wishes go with Robby. God Bless him as he joins the Dominican Friars and beginnings the journey to becoming one of God’s priests. A note from Robby Degre…In the Gospel of John’s Crucifixion narrative, we read that Jesus concludes His ministry, and His life, with the words “it is finished.” While other can, and have, spend hours discussing the implications and significance of those three little words, I wanted to take a moment to look at the practical reality of those words,
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both for Jesus on the Cross and for me today. At first, it seems to me as if those words are really simplifying what is occurring, as the crucifixion is an ignoble and painful death. This is even more confusing, when we think about how it is this very same death that ultimately opens the doors of Heaven to all of us. Yet, the more I reflect on it, the more eloquent those words are in their simplicity, as they are Jesus’ assent to, and affirmation of, God’s will in all things, so that by enduring the hardship of the Cross, a greater glory could be revealed. As I mentioned earlier, these words have a special meaning to me today, as my own ministry here at St. Brigid and Gate of
Heaven comes to a close. In a few short weeks, On July 25th, I will be moving out of Cincinnati, Ohio where I (and fifteen other young men) will be beginning formation for the Priesthood with the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. While leaving the Parishes here will be difficult, I trust in God’s Providence and know that even this hardship of leaving is ultimately so that I can give greater glory to God as a Dominican Friar and a priest. As such, I want to thank all of you for all of the lessons you have taught me during this last year. Please pray for me, and for my brothers, and know that I am praying for all of you as well. Peace in Christ, Robert Degre.
SOUTHBOSTONONLINE.COM THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2018
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BPDA Income Restricted Homeownership Opportunity 39 A Street, South Boston, MA 02127 www.39AStreetLottery.com # of Units 1 1 1
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Households may request an application from Tuesday, July 17, 2018 – Thursday, July 26, 2018 through the following methods: To complete the application online, please visit: www.39AStreetLottery.com To have a hard copy of the application sent to your mailing address, please call: 781-992-5317 Applications will also be available in person on the following dates and times: Date Time Tuesday, July 17, 2018 10:00AM - 2:00PM Wednesday, July 18, 2018 10:00AM – 2:00PM Thursday, July 19, 2018 3:00PM - 7:00PM Friday, July 20, 2018 10:00AM – 2:00PM Saturday, July 21, 2018 10:00AM - 2:00PM Location: Boston Public Library - South Boston Branch 646 East Broadway, South Boston, MA 02127 Completed applications must be returned by the deadline: Online applications must be completed by August 2, 2018 Remit paper copies by mail only: Postmarked no later than August 2, 2018 Maloney Properties, Inc. Attention: 39 A Street Lottery 27 Mica Lane, Wellesley MA 02481 Selection by lottery. Asset, Use & Resale Restrictions apply. Preference for Boston Residents. Preference for Households With at Least One Person Per Bedroom. Preference for First-Time Homebuyers. Free language assistance and reasonable accommodations available. For assistance and more information, please call Maloney Properties, Inc. at 781-992-5317 | US Relay 711 | Email:39AStreet@maloneyproperties.com Equal Housing Opportunity
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