Community

NEWRA’s August Meeting Roundup

There were plenty of neighborhood tidbits at this week’s North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) meeting, with an extended President’s report by Mark Paul and numerous committee reports.

College students will be moving back into the neighborhood in early September. Residents are advised to report problems early in the semester to the Problem Properties TaskForce. Mark Paul is on the taskforce and issues can be emailed to info@newra.org. For immediate action, loud noise complaints should be reported to 911 or the Boston Police Loud Party Hotline at 617-343-5500.

Breaking & Entering Advisory – Boston Police District A-1 have issued a bulletin regarding an increase in residential Breaking & Entering cases in the North End/Waterfront Area. This advisory was distributed at the meeting and is also available here.

BRA’s Greenway District Development Guidelines – The Boston Redevelopment Authority presented on July 19th the conclusions of its study to the North End/Waterfront community for development guidelines along the Greenway. The meeting for the BRA Board to review and approve the guidelines is scheduled for August 17th. The public may attend but not speak. NEWRA’s letter responding to the guidelines can be found at www.NEWRA.org. (Also, see this post: North End Residents Give Mixed Reaction to BRA’s Greenway Area Development Guidelines).

District 1 City Councilor’s Office – Representing Councilor Sal LaMattina, Stephen Passacantilli clarified the Councilor’s position on Parcel 11B, the Fulton Street lot. LaMattina does not support the 85 feet height limit as recommended in the BRA’s guidelines and prefers to keep the current zoning at 55 feet.

NEWRA’s Summer Party is scheduled for Wednesday, August 18th, 6:00 pm at the Pilot House, 2 Atlantic Avenue. Refreshments will be provided.

NEWRA is actively following the anticipated appointment of Daniel Pokaski’s replacement on the Licensing Board. The appointment will be made by the Governor in the next few months. Mark Paul noted that NEWRA, along with other Boston neighborhood associations, would like to see a neighborhood-friendly appointment, similar to Pokaski.

NEWRA Elections – Elections will be held at the October 14th annual meeting for NEWRA officers. Interested candidates should speak to Victor Brogna, chair of the Election Committee, or email info@newra.org. Victor said a good time to talk to him is at the NEWRA party on August 18th.  Nominations will also be taken from the floor at the election. Nominees must be a member and have attended at least 2 meetings in the last six months.

Membership – NEWRA announced its count of 368 members.

Clean Streets Committee – Co-Chair Naomi Paul invited interested parties to the next meeting on Tuesday, August 17th, 7:00 pm at the Nazzaro Center. In addition to regular updates, the Committee will consider year-round street cleaning. Stuart Rosenberg from Councilor Felix Arroyo’s office commended Naomi on her efforts recently profiled on the front page of the Boston Globe.

Zoning, Licensing & Construction Committee – Victor Brogna, co-chair, spoke to a 4-page report created by vacationing David Kubiak (see www.NEWRA.org). Victor presented a petition created by Fulton Street neighbors to keep the zoning on Parcel 11B, the Fulton St. parking lot, to the current 55 feet, rather than the 85 feet height expansion proposed the BRA’s Greenway District Development Guidelines.

Parks Committee – Anne Pistorio reported that a group met with the Boston Harbor Association (www.TBHA.org) for a tour of the Harborwalk pointing out the good and bad. A follow up communication is anticipated.

If you haven’t already seen them, there are separate posts on the stand-alone agenda items at the meeting: