The North End Chamber of Commerce held their monthly meeting at St. Leonard’s Hall on Tuesday, March 4, 2014, with an agenda that covered a wide range of local issues and initiatives. Current Vice President of the Chamber, Toni Gilardi started off by making some announcements about position changes at the organization.
- Chris Young, the treasurer has now moved up to First Vice President
- Lina Buttiri is now acting Treasurer
- The Chamber welcomed a new secretary, Marjorie Magliocca
Next on the agenda was the updates on the residential trash hearing that took place Monday night at City Hall. In an effort to lobby for a new trash procedure, the proposal was petitioned and aimed to have trash being put outside at 6am, with a same day pick up at 9am. In all, 838 residents signed the petition for the trash procedure that is also supported by residents on Beacon Hill, the South End, Chinatown, and Bay Village neighborhoods. The proposal addresses issues with rodents and trash pickers that come from leaving the garbage out all night. Gilardi strongly urges residents to contact City Councilor Sal LaMattina’s office (salvatore.lamattina@cityofboston.gov), as well as the Mayor’s office (nicole.leo@cityofboston.gov) and let them know of your support for same day trash pickup.
The chamber announced a new advertising initiative 2014 Dine, Shop and Stay featuring a coupon booklet. Each business can purchase a high-resolution, double-sided coupon to go in the booklet, which would expire December 30th, 2014. The deadline for submission is March 7th and each coupon can be purchased for a fee of $350 dollars to cover the graphic design and printing fees. This initiative will aim to funnel people from Faneuil Hall to the historical North End in hopes of visiting Old North Church which would distribute the booklets and encourage visitors to use the coupons to eat and shop at the businesses in the booklet.
Additional Announcements:
- The Old North Church Gala was a success, raising between $12-15k which will fund a summer intern program for inner city Boston High School students.
- Restaurant Week will take place at the end of March, and will consist of a new Dine Out Boston style.
- A promotion to hang signs in businesses for the marathon runners and families to embrace and support all the runners of this years Boston Marathon.
- The Chamber will support the Fratarroli family along with the North End Health Center in the Taste of the North End event.
- On Tuesday April 1st, the North End Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a breakfast with Mayor Martin J. Walsh at the Battery Wharf Fairmont hotel at 8am. The breakfast is free to all members, please let the Chamber know if members are planning on bringing any additional guests, for an approximate head count.
When the floor opened for questions and comments, the proposed cycle tracks in the North End carried the conversation. The Chamber plans to learn more about the cycle tracks in their May meeting.
You can contact the North End Chamber at staff@northendchamber.com or through their website at NorthEndChamber.com.
