Somerville Open Studios

An amazing take in for the whole family.  Over 400 artists and over 100 locations throughout the city.  Following this link for all the details.  

A great way to support local businesses, artists, and individuals.  

Walk/Ride Challenge

Annual Spring Clean-Up

If we have learned anything from the tragic events of this past week, it is how important a strong and supportive community is when times are at their bleakest and most terrifying. Being able to rally and share with your neighbors can be an important part of the grieving process and healing process. It is with that sentiment that I invite you to join East Somerville Main Streets, School Committee Representative, Steve Roix and I as we clean up East Somerville as part of the Citywide Annual Spring Clean-Up.  Ward One has a history of always having the most participants for clean up, let's keep the tradition going.

The weather is looking good for tomorrow and I hope to see you there.  Where you ask?

We are meeting at the Cross Street Community Center located at 165 Broadway.  Clean-up time is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to noon.  Immediately following the clean up everyone is invited to a BBQ & SomerGreen Festival at the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse located on Shore Drive.  
 

But wait there’s more! Participants will receive a complimentary t-shirt, light snack, and a Mayor's Fitness Challenge Coupon Book. This is also an opportunity for Fitness Challenge participants to earn one point toward their individual and team total.  The SomerGreen Festival, sponsored by Groundwork Somerville and Comcast, will feature a community BBQ, opportunities to learn about agricultural and green initiatives, a scavenger hunt and other family-friendly events along the Mystic River.

Yet more still!  A second clean-up location will be at Zero New Washington Street and will be concentrating their efforts at the dog park located there.  Brian Davis, Chairperson of SomDog (Somerville Dog Owners Group) will be heading up the team down there.

 

Special Election

CAST YOUR BALLOT: On Tuesday, April 30, registered voters can cast their ballots in a Special State Primary for Senator in Congress (to fill the vacancy left by John Kerry's resignation from the Senate). Polls will be open from 7am to 8pm. Not sure where you vote? Enter your address at this link to find out.  For more information on elections in the City of Somerville just click here. 

The Committee to Elect Maureen Bastardi will be providing rides at the polls for the senior citizens of Ward 1.  

YUM! A taste of Immigrant City - tonight at 7PM at the Armory on Highland Ave.

This is late notice - I've been a bad blogger, but I promise to get better.   Tonight from 7-10 at the Armory on Highland Ave. the Welcome Project will honor our own East Somerville Community School PTA with the first annual Intercultural City Award.  In addition to the well-deserved honor to be bestowed on the PTA, the YUM event will feature live entertainment and tastings from immigrant owned restaurants, including at least four from right here in the East Somerville:

Among the restaurants that will be featured at the event are East Somerville’s Fasika, Maya Sol, Los Paisanos, and Gauchao.  The variety of cuisines that these four restaurants will be serving reflects East Somerville’s cultural diversity. While Fasika will be offering Ethiopian Yé Tikil Gomen, Gauchao will serve Brazilian Churrasco and Maya Sol and Los Paisanos will offer an array of traditional Mexican dishes.

One Minute Of Silence..................

Mayor Curtatone wanted to share the following information regarding the statewide moment of silence today to honor the victims and families of the Boston Marathon attack.  This moment of silence will unite all citizens and communities in a demonstration of respect, honor, reflection, strength and solidarity.  Thank you.

One Fund Boston, Mayor Menino, and Governor Patrick Call for Moment of Silence at 2:50 Monday Afternoon

One Minute of Silence Followed by Ringing of Bells Across the Region

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Governor Deval L. Patrick, and One Fund Boston are calling upon Boston and all communities across the Commonwealth to join together in a Moment of Silence Monday afternoon, exactly one week following the Boston Marathon bombings.

The minute of silence will take place at 2:50 p.m. to honor the victims of the attacks and their families. It will be followed by the ringing of bells throughout Boston and the Commonwealth.

Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick are humbled by the support shown by the public and the business community, and they continue to encourage everyone to visit onefundboston.org to make a donation to help the victims of this tragedy.

ResiStat Meeting Schedule

Meetings to be held from April 30 to June 18, 2013

Seven neighborhood meetings, one in each ward, will be held in the coming weeks starting Tuesday, April 30, with the Ward 7 West Somerville and Teele Square Meeting. Mayor Curtatone, ward and at-large aldermen, members of the Somerville Police Department, and City staff will discuss issues important to residents and take their questions. Topics will range from crime and safety reports, rodent control, and neighborhood improvements such as road, park, and library projects to a look at citywide initiatives including Green Line station area planning, the city budgeting process, and a word from the Mayor on how the City is using data and a systems approach to improve services and tackle new issues. Refreshments will be served at a meet-and-greet before each meeting, where residents can talk with City officials and their neighbors.

Residents are invited to help shape the meeting agendas by taking the Meeting Survey to propose topics for discussion. The survey is online here:http://somervilleresistat.blogspot.com/p/meetings.html, or take the survey by phone by calling Community Engagement Specialist Meghann Ackerman at 617-625-6600 ext. 2120. 

SPRING 2013 ResiStat Meeting Schedule

Ward 7: April 30, West Somerville, Teele Square

• 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 30, West Somerville Community School cafeteria, 177 Powderhouse Blvd. 
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Ward 2: May 1, Union Square South, Somerville Ave. & Beacon St. areas, and the Lincoln Park and Perry park areas

• 7-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 1, Argenziano School cafeteria, 290 Washington St.
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Ward 6: May 2, Greater Davis Square, SW Ball Square

• 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, May 2, Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31 College Ave.
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

Ward 1: May 28, East Somerville, Assembly Square, Inner Belt 

• 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 28, Cross St. Center, 165 Broadway
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Ward 4:  May 30, Winter Hill, Ten Hills, Mystic River, Mystic View

• 7-8:30 p.m., Thursday, May 30, Healy School cafeteria, 5 Meacham St.
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Ward 3: June 11, Union Square North, Prospect Hill, Spring Hill, Central Hill

• 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 11, Somerville High School cafeteria, 81 Highland Ave.
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Ward 5: June 18, Magoun Square, NE Ball Square, Cedar & Lowell St. areas, NW Porter Square

• 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 18, John F. Kennedy Elementary School cafeteria, 5 Cherry St.
• Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

For more information, visit http://somervilleresistat.blogspot.com and click the "Meetings" tab. Or contact Meghann Ackerman at mackerman@somervillema.gov or 617-625-6600 ext. 2120.

Cross Street Bridge Closing & Construction Meeting

  

CONSTRUCTION ALERT 

SOMERVILLE - CROSS STREET OVER THE MBTA/PAN AM RAILROAD 

WEEKEND DEMOLITION WORK  

SATRUDAY, APRIL 20TH & SUNDAY APRIL 21ST  

Beginning at approximately 12:00 AM on Saturday, April 20th and continuing through 6:00 PM 

on Sunday April 21st, work crews will prepare for and continue demolition activities associated 

with the removal of the existing floors beams on the Cross Street bridge over the MBTA/Pan Am 

Railroad in Somerville.  

Between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM on Saturday, the contractor will mobilize equipment and install 

the appropriate protective shielding for the railway tracks.   

Between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Saturday, the contractor will undertake demolition activities 

to remove the concrete encasement on portions of the floor beams.   

There is no work anticipated to occur between 6:00 PM Saturday and 6:00 AM Sunday. 

Between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Sunday, the contractor will continue demolition activities to 

remove the concrete encasement on portions of the floor beams.   

All of the work scheduled for this weekend is expected to be completed by 6:00 PM on Sunday. 

MassDOT and the contractor have coordinated this effort with the MBTA and the City of 

Somerville in order to minimize the extent and duration of certain night time work operations 

that have the potential to create significant inconvenience and impacts to the neighboring public.  

MassDOT will hold a public meeting to provide additional information related to future 

construction operations associated with the project.  The meeting will be held on Monday, 

April 22nd at 6:30 PM at the Capuano Early Childhood Learning Center located at 150 

Glen Street. 

Contact information: MassDOT Resident Engineer: Tom Callery: (617) 776-2300 

   MassDOT Feedback System: DOTFeedbackHighway@dot.state.ma.us  

   Contractor:  AETNA Bridge: (401) 728-0400 

. 

When Does Healing Begin?

Parents looking for advice on how to comfort their children and talk to them about the Marathon bombings will find some useful tips and a list of further resources by clicking this link.

- - - - -

Tomorrow, Thursday, April 18th the City will be holding a candle light vigil and healing ceremony starting at 7:45 p.m. at the Somerville High School concourse located at 81 Highland Avenue.  I plan on attending with both my girls.  Personally, I feel coming together with my family, with my neighbors and with my community will help me with the healing process.  

ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING DAY

The City of Somerville will host an electronic waste recycling event on Saturday, April 13^th at the Department of Public Works, 1 Franey Road, from 9:00am to noon. This event is open to Somerville residents and businesses.

The following items will be accepted:

Desktop PCs, Laptops, Cell Phones, Routers, Network Switches, Photocopiers, Power Supplies, Wires/Cables, Misc. Electronic Parts, Computer Monitors, Projectors, Scanners, Servers, Coffee Makers, Microwaves, Toasters, Vacuum Cleaners, Radios, Electronic Instruments, Laser Printers, Televisions, VCRs, DVD Players, Cable/Satellite Boxes, Speaker Systems, Lamps, Plasma Screen TVs, LCD Monitors, Inkjet Printers.

For more information please, call 311. 

I feel so strongly about recycling and I'm grateful the City of Somerville offers this.   

A Tour of Assembly Row

On March 28th, the folks at Federal Realty gave a hardhat tour of the Assembly Row development to a group of bloggers, many whom first met them at last year's TEDxSomerville event.



I was pleased to be able to join them. Hit play above to see some of my pictures from that tour.

As an East Somerville resident, I've been intimately involved in the development efforts for a number of reasons. First, they were kind enough to help sponsor TEDxSomerville. (That's me on the right in the picture below, sporting my hard hat. By the way, we hope TEDx will return to Somerville toward the end of 2013). Second, because the development is on my running route. And third because the upgraded natural gas lines that supply the development run right through the middle of my street! 



Let's get this out of the way: While I was among many who shared a sigh of relief when Ikea pulled out, it's clear that the folks at Federal Realty haven't given up hope of at least one "big box" project. While both Walmart and Ikea seem to be off the table, there's still plenty of room for options. While Stop & Shop isn't too far away, and a new Whole Foods is coming to nearby Charlestown, there's still plenty of room for a grocer to fit that bill. While we just might be surprised by who comes in, I can guarantee whoever they bring will fit in with community that Federal Realty is working hard to build. My hope is that it will fit in with the rest of East Somerville as well -- and I've been given no reason to believe otherwise. (In my book, a Wegmans would fit nicely, thank you, while a soccer stadium would take a lot more convincing.)

Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You
I'm already a huge fan of BurgerDive, which graciously sponsored our tour, providing its unique brand of burger (literally) and tasty shakes. Don't tell my wife, but every once in a while I'll end my run through Assembly Row a little early and completely undo it with one of their shakes. Behind the BurgerDive, the "Coming Soon" sign is up, sporting a logo we're all familiar with: Starbucks!



As you look behind the BurgerDive -- the small building closest to the river in the model photo above (though the final design for that building was a little different) -- past the Starbucks and the traffic circle, you can easily see two new buildings going up. Behind those -- closer to the tracks -- two more are getting ready to rise as well.

The building closest to the traffic circle, #1 in the photo below, will host both retail and residential spaces, including a Papagayo and a Legal C Bar. Plans for bringing outlet stores to this building include a Brooks Brothers and Chico’s, and according to a recent report, possibly a Saks Off Fifth, American Eagle and Puma.



Building #2, behind that, will host office space. Between buildings #1 and #2 is "The Point," an outdoor plaza that will integrate the park space (to the left) with Assembly Row's "Main Street" to the right. Tributes to the development's history, three massive steel frames taken from the old steel plant on the site (see below) will serve as The Point's gateway to the Mystic Park, which should be complete this year.



Building #3 is also well under way. It will host Assembly Row's 12-screen stadium-style AMC Theater and what a spokesperson billed to us as a "unique to New England" family entertainment center -- expect some news on that soon.

Building #4, which was just getting started when we got our tour, will be the home of an AvalonBay development that will sport more modern, urban-oriented apartments aimed at drawing the active-living post-college crowd.

Behind all of this, work continues on the new MBTA Orange Line Assembly Row T Station, expected to open in 2014.



All-in-all we had a great time learning about the project and all of the team's plans. I look forward to staying involved as development efforts continue. Be sure to let Alderman Bastardi know of any concerns or hopes you have for the project, but I'm looking forward to seeing one of Somerville's last undeveloped/underdeveloped areas truly become part of our city and of Greater Boston!

- Todd V.