The following letter comes from Fulton Street resident, Janet Gilardi, who gave up complaining about Archway Street and cleaned it up with her daughter, Toni.
I have continuously complained about this back yard of my Property. Actually, the name of this area is Archway Street. The City does not take charge in ANY Way !!!!! I have called Comr. Glascock’s office and his people finally took away a large Recycle Container that was FULL of people’s Garbage ~~OVERFLOWING !!!
People Use-To only smoke out there~~~BAD ENOUGH~~~FIRE HAZARD !!!! NOW THEY EAT OUT BACK ALSO !!!!!! There “WAS” EVEN a BBQ PIT OUT THERE !!!!!!!!!
Broken whiskey bottles and cigarette butts, old used charcoal~~~~~You name it !! There were enough Leaves out there to start a Huge Fire !!
My daughter, Toni Marie and I have gotten SO upset about this, that, we decided to go out there, Saturday, with our Rubber Gloves and holding our noses and did this JOB OURSELVES !!!!!!! With the Property Taxes as high as they are, it shouldn’t have had to come to this!!
I really should have called THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ! They would have done something “IN A HURRY” !! Also, I should have taken photos of the yard before we cleaned. Sunday evening my daughter has decided she will pull out these 6 bags of “STUFF” to the front of the buildings~~where this trash will be picked up on Monday morning !! I HOPE !!
Thank you for listening !!!! I am Mrs. Janet Gilardi, 133 Fulton Street
Dear Janet, you have some excellent points about the condition of this alley, but the City’s efforts to maintain this area are no doubt hampered by the fact the intersection of Archway and Richmond is chained off and somebody always has their car parked right inside this area, making it impossible for street sweepers and others to enter. Why somebody has this public alley “backyard” as their own private parking lot is really not clear, and gives the impression that it is a private space. Does the signage indicate this? Maybe the person always parking their car in this alley should take care of the problem.
Thank you for cleaning it up. I walk by there everyday and it certainly had become an eyesore – not the cute little city alley that it should be. Thank you! We should all be as pro-active and keep our area clean as you and your daughter did. Thanks for being a good neighbor! We need more like you two!
Thank you, Janet and Toni. Always vigilant to the trash problems in the neighborhood. As stated above, we need more like you two!
Patricia T.
Thank you Janet and Toni! It looks great! I was so happy to see that it was cleaned! I live at the other end of the alley and feel your pain. Every week, I throw away empty bottles and cans, cigarette butts, trash and garbage littered around my door and nearby street. It’s disgusting! And it seems to be getting worse. We also contacted the City about the recycle bin. I even tried moving it myself, but couldn’t move it very far. And I didn’t know where I should leave it without upsetting neighbors.
Part of the issue is that Archway St. is not a Public Alley, (like Public Alley 101 is across Richmond St.) It is a private way; the sign subtly indicates this. The street sweepers won’t (even though we have asked) clean it. I was told that the Archway Private Way is the responsibility of the building owners of Fulton and Commercial street. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know it is a private way.
Thanks again! Even if the city won’t keep it clean, I hope all of our neighbors will help. I would gladly join in a cleaning effort; even though it is not right in my backyard, it affects us all.
Thank You my neighbors~~ for the support, it really feels good to know that ya’ll appreciate it !
JANET & TONI, Since you women did such a great
job cleaning, which in fact, is not your job, I think the
City of Boston should definitely give you a break on
your taxes. Why not? The City is taking in more
money than they ever have. Over 90 liquor licenses
which they get 6.25% from every restaurant & bar and
for most of us, NOT ALL OF US, the City just raised
the real estate taxes.
Isn’t it nice to know how GREEDY this city really is?
Thank you so much for your efforts on Archway Place! I had noticed the overflowing trash container an wondered how it got there and how it would get removed. It really does look so much nicer!!
I have noticed that the street sign says that it is a Private Way. I believe, although not sure, that the City might not have responsibility for caring for and maintaining Private Ways??
But maybe the City has information on who is responsible. It would be nice if they actually took care of it on a regular basis