August Residents’ Association Meeting: President’s Report, Sharps Ordinance, New Logo, Bylaws Update, Hubway Expansion

Every month, the North End Residents’ Association (NEWRA) meets at the Nazzaro Center. For their August meeting, they welcomed Boston Police Captain Fong (see that post here) along with representatives from The Beverly, and David Kubiak discussing the Government Center Garage Project. We will post them all on NorthEndWaterfront.com this week. In this post, read along and watch the President’s report and reports from the offices of local elected officials.

 President’s Report (00:00)

• NEWRA Summer party at the Pilot House has moved to November 9th. It is now a Fall party!
• Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD):
  • President Mary McGee announced, “It seems as though what is happening in this neighborhood, and perhaps other neighborhoods as well, is that ISD is starting to look at the zoning code in a different way. Which means that a lot of projects which used to require zoning relief are now being determined to be as of right.” While she said there is “No official policy,” McGee claimed, “It’s something that people are talking about, something that appears to be happening.”
• There is a new logo for NEWRA, and there is a new website in the works!
• Bylaws update: There are some changes being made to the bylaws that will be voted on during the September NEWRA meeting. Here are some of the changes talked about at the meeting:
  • The office of President stays as a two-year term limit, but other officers can have longer terms if they choose to run in an election again. There will still be annual elections.
  • Raising dues from $10 to $20.

Neighborhood Services (07:04)

• Rent Smart: A new website provided by the City of Boston allows potential renters to research their prospective apartments. Some information that can be found from Rent Smart by entering the address of the apartment of interest includes: housing violations, building violations, enforcement violations, complaints, sanitation requests, and more! You can learn more at Rentsmart.boston.gov.
• The city is expanding its bike sharing Hubway. On Wednesday, October 11th, from 6 PM to 8 PM, Hubway and Boston Bikes will be discussing the expansion at the Nazzaro Center.
• The City is searching for poll workers as it is a municipal election year. Requirements include being a registered voter in the state of Massachusetts and attending a two-hour training. To apply go to Boston.gov.

Sharps Ordinance sponsored by Annissa Essaibi George (09:27)

City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George has announced a new Sharps Ordinance. The ordinance will require pharmacies that provide any kind of needles to also have a receptacle for used needles. There will be a hearing on August 16th at City Hall about the new ordinance.

The next North End Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) meeting will be on September 14th, 2017 at 7PM at the Nazzaro center. See more at NEWRA.org

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