John Romano has accepted the position as the North End, Waterfront, and West End Liaison for Mayor Martin J. Walsh in the Office of Neighborhood Services. He replaces Maria Lanza, who left the post in January after serving for four years.
“I couldn’t be happier to serve the community that raised me and help my neighborhoods anyway that I can,” said Romano.
Originally from the North End, John has remained active in the community since he was young, volunteering with community organizations such as North End Against Drugs. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration graduating in 2016 and 2018, respectfully. John is passionate about community engagement and in his free time enjoys watching New England sports and skiing.
His first priority will be to engage residents and businesses on the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. John encourages those in the North End, Waterfront and West End to reach out with questions and concerns by phone at 617-635-4987 or by email at john.romano@boston.gov.
Congratulations John, I hope you do a great a job.
However, please don’t cling to the “originally from the north end” bit, since the “the community that raised you” appears to be Wilmington, which I am sure is wonderful. Many who are active in the North End making it a wonderful place did not grow up here, and clinging to the native vs non-native, in my opinion, helps drive divisions, rather than just embrace folks who are making contributions. Wishing you the best of success,.
Mary, the “original North End” is long gone and so is most of the original North Enders. There was some animosity on both sides for a while and yes the native vs non native can & did cause divisions. Today’s residents of the NE are hardworking , law abiding people who have made contributions to improve life in the neighborhood & who have made the NE their home and many of them have chosen to raise their children here.
Congratulations John! Since we moved to the North End I’ve been aware of your constant involvement in the community I’m sure that energy will be transferred to your new position. Best of luck!
Congratulations, John.
One of the very effective things Maria did during her time in this position was communicate (in both directions) via the @NorthEndONS twitter account. Does anyone know if John has a twitter account that he will use to communicate back and forth with residents?