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December 7, 2017

Hyde Park BulletinVolume 16, Issue 49

Enchanted Trolley brings Christmaswishes at Readville Tree Lighting

Mayor Walsh’s Enchanted Trolley Tour pulled in to Wolcott Square last Friday night, where Santa andMrs. Claus did some entertaining, along with Mayor Walsh and others.

COURTESY PHOTO

Matt MacDonaldMatt MacDonaldMatt MacDonaldMatt MacDonaldMatt MacDonaldStaff Reporter

Mayor Marty Walsh’sEnchanted Trol ley Tourand Tree Lighting rolledinto Wolcot t Square onFriday evening, Dec. 1 ina four-vehicle motorcadecarrying the Mayor, Po-l ice Commiss ioner Bi l lEvans, a number of othercity officials, and Santaand Mrs. Claus.

The chilly night broughtou t a f u l l c rowd to t hes idewalk in f ront of thes h o p s f a c i n g JeremiahHurley Memorial Park.

Adding to the Holidaymood was the spread of hotc h o c o l a t e , c o f f e e c a k e( f r o m H y d e P a r k ’s M yGrandma’s ) , and donuts( f r o m D u n k i n ’ D o n u t s )made available for every-one on folding tables thathad been set up before the

event got underway.A s t h e t i m e d r e w

closer to 6:30 p.m., thecrowd seemed to draw al i t t l e c l o s e r t o t h ecurbside and toward theunlit tree at one point ofthe Park.

These included manysmall children, including5 -y e a r -o l d D e s m o n dF a r n k o f f w h o , w h i l e

TTTTTree Lightingree Lightingree Lightingree Lightingree LightingContinued on page 9

Two neighborhoods:One River


The Hyde Park/MattapanNeponset River NeighborhoodForum was held on Thursdayevening, Nov. 30 at 912 RiverSt.

The meeting featured ahandful of pertinent speakersfrom different entities and or-

Vivian Morris marks a map of the Neponset River. Residents of HydePark and Mattapan met last Thursday to hear about and discuss waysto try to reduce pollution in the Neponset River. PHOTO BY MATT MACDONALD

ganizations who presentedtheir areas of expertise regard-ing the River to a group of over50 people from both the HydePark and Mattapan neighbor-hoods.

Introductory speakerVivian Morris, Chair of theMattapan Food and FitnessCoalition and Coordinator of

the Edgewater Drive Neigh-borhood Association, got at thereason for the meeting in herremarks.

“A big part of why we hadthis meeting tonight is so thatwe who live here can feelgreater ownership of the riverthat runs through our neighbor-hood,” she said.

Morris went on to speak of

iniquity in terms of theNeponset River Greenway go-ing online in 2001, while “ittook 15 years to get construc-tion started on the only sectionof (it) that was going to abut acommunity of color.”

This led to a response from

One RivOne RivOne RivOne RivOne RiverererererContinued on page 13

City Council says yes toplastic bag ordinance

JefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

The Boston City Councilvoted last week on an ordi-nance to ban thin plastic bagsin the city and require storesto provide thick plastic bagsfor 5 cents apiece.

Ordinance sponsor andDistrict 6 City Councilor MattO’Malley said the unanimousvote was a great victory for cli-mate change advocates in thecity and a good way to reducelitter in Boston. He feels thebusinesses are more than ready

Plastic BagsPlastic BagsPlastic BagsPlastic BagsPlastic BagsContinued on page 12

Grew Park talks needles,goats, and dogs


The Grew Park Neighborsmet on Monday evening,Dec. 4 at 6:15 p.m. in thecommunity room of the AreaE-18 Police Station for itsmonthly meeting.

The one appointment onthe agenda was Cathy Horn,making her latest neighbor-hood meeting stop on behalfof Keep Hyde Park Beautiful.She founded this group backin May as her response to thelitter problem in the neigh-borhood.

The goal of KHPB asspelled out by its new busi-ness cards is to empower thepeople and institutions of

Hyde Park to make it “acleaner, greener place to live,work, study, and play.”

Horn’s brief presentationled to exchanges with theGrew Park audience thattouched on a couple of dif-ferent topics related toKHPB’s mission. Both werebrought up by Pat Alvarez.

She first brought up thegrowing concern of used hy-podermic needles, notingDell Rock as a place wheremany are found and alsomentioning that one of hersummer workers had been ac-cidentally stuck with one(without negative conse-quence) while cleaning.

GreGreGreGreGrew Pw Pw Pw Pw ParararararkkkkkContinued on page 11

Residents will have some changes coming to thier grocery routine nextyear.

COURTESY PHOTO

Page 2Page 2Page 2 The Bulletin December 7, 20December 7, 20December 7, 20December 7, 20December 7, 201111177777

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Pierce Street concerned with 88 Pierce St.

The Pierce Street Neighborhood Watch met on Tuesday and discussed a proposal for a two-family develop-ment on Pierce/Davidson Streets.

PHOTO BY JEFF SULLIVAN

JefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

About a dozen residents andofficials met on Tuesday nightat the Hyde Park FoursquareChurch on Arlington Street forthe Pierce Street NeighborhoodWatch.

The main issue of conten-tion was the property at 88Pierce St. and 71 Davidson St.The owner of the two parcels,listed by the BPDA as 71Davidson LLC., has filed planswith the city to put in a two-family home at that location.Residents said the two-familywould too big for the site, as itwould require several vari-ances.

“They have numerous vari-ances for the 88 section and theother side of Davidson,” saidone resident, who said theywere a neighbor and did notwant to give their name for fearof reciprocity. “I doubt verymuch all those variances willpass because one, it says theydon’t have enough space for thetype of house they want to buildand two, they can’t support thattype of house structure there.”

Another resident, who saidthey wished to remain anony-mous for the same reason,pointed out as well that theowner is also using part of the

land as a parking lot for a land-scaping company, for which thecompany pays the owner rent.

“I don’t understand howthey can store equipment inthere because there’s no com-mercial zoning and there is nocurb cut or anything, so any-time they want to go in and outthey have to drive over a curb,”the resident said. “We spoke toa representative of (District 5City Councilor Tim)McCarthy’s office about a yearago... nothing has everchanged.”

The resident went on to say

that the lot used to be vacant –with brush and scrub the onlyoccupants – and the owner hassince paved over the area whilenot putting in a curb cut, whichwould require going throughthe city’s Public ImprovementCommission to do so.

Resident James Michelquestioned the legality of usingthe lot for income.

“It’s a residential neighbor-hood, you shouldn’t be able torent for commercial use,” hesaid.

Another resident replied.“You can do whatever you

want until you get caught.”McCarthy’s representative

at the meeting said residentsshould not count on variancesto stop a house being built.

“Unless they have 6,000square feet they are going toneed a variance anyway,” hesaid. “I know houses are gettingapproved, single-families aregetting approved between 2,900square feet and 3,200 squarefeet... Most people who are try-ing to build on lots are trigger-ing a whole bunch of variancesbecause of the zoning code, butpeople are getting relief, which

is why it’s very important to getinput from the neighborhood.”

Mayor’s Office of Neighbor-hood Services Hyde Park Rep-resentative Bryan Flynn said theproject went before the ZBA inNovember, but the owner askedfor a deferral.

“I talked to the architect, hesaid he was going to take a lookat it again and revise the plansand come back to the commu-nity at a later date,” he said.

In other news, Michel alsoupdated the Watch on the HydePark Youth Basketball program.

“We had a bumpy start to theseason, but we hopefully willopen next Saturday,” he said.“We have 150 kids signed up,but we have room for more.”

Michel said they have a gooddeal of spots for younger kidsfor the skills and drills programat the Ohrenberger School inWest Roxbury.

“Our mission is to serve theyouth of Hyde Park and theneighboring communities,which we have been doing for35 years,” he said. “We’re look-ing to have an alumni basketballgame as part of the Hyde Park150 anniversary celebration,” hesaid. “Hopefully some of these40-year-old guys and gals and20-year-olds will get out thereand have some fun.”

Page 3 Page 3 Page 3The BulletinDecember 7, 20December 7, 20December 7, 20December 7, 20December 7, 201111177777

Property development projects highlight FHNA meeting

Joe Smith led a Fairmount Hill Neighborhood Association meeting that was highlighted by several propertydevelopment projects being planned for the Fairmount neighborhood.

PHOTO BY MATT MACDONALD

FHNAFHNAFHNAFHNAFHNAContinued on page 11


The Fairmount Hill Neigh-borhood Association gatheredat the Boston Police Academyon Wednesday evening, Nov.29 for its monthly meeting.

On its agenda were severalzoning cases, an update on thepurchase and installation of anew Fairmount Hill sign, Holi-day activities, the police report,and new business.

The first zoning case mod-erator Joe Smith brought up hadto do with the abandoned houselocated at 56 Williams Ave.,which he and five abutters triedto block from going through.

The development requiredvariances to the recently estab-lished Fairmount Hill zoningcode, the most major of whichallowed for two single-familyhomes to be built one behindthe other on the lot.

All except one having to dowith placement of the two-cargarage were approved by theZoning Board.

The building, which is stillstanding, is now cleared to bedemolished and replaced withtwo new single-family houses.

The other extended discus-sion on property developmentwas a follow up to a two-hourFairmount Hill Zoning Com-mittee meeting held the week

before.It concerned a proposal in

which the house located at 892Metropolitan Ave. would bemoved toward Beacon Street inorder to construct a new housebetween it and 900 Metropoli-tan, which would be located at896.

When attendees were giventhe opportunity to share theirthoughts on this, Jim Lafond-Lewis stepped to the front ofthe room and handed out a listof salient points to send to theBoston Planning and Develop-ment Agency (BPDA) regard-ing the new property regardingpotential zoning problems.

He also brought up the factthat the existing house might,in fact, be a good case for con-sideration by the Boston Land-mark Commission.

“That is the oldest house onMetropolitan Avenue,” Lafond-Lewis said. “It was built in1890. They combined two lotswhen they built it and they po-sitioned the house on the cen-ter of those two lots to face thetriangle. The house was de-signed to be where it is and itdid create an effect that is last-ing now and that would be lostif they move the house.”

Regarding this case, bothLafond-Lewis and Smith rec-ommended sending commentsregarding this development

along to Marie Mercurio at theB P D A([email protected]).Lafond-Lewis also suggestedsending comments to Marc Jo-seph at Inspectional Services([email protected]).

“It’s important that theyhear from us,” Smith said. “Ifthey don’t hear from you –whether you’re for it or againstit – they’re not going to makeit a priority.”

Smith went on to add thatbased on a conversation withMercurio, he didn’t think theDec. 1 deadline on public com-mentary was an issue.

No variances are requiredfor this development.

The last zoning case had todo with 101 Milton Ave. and,due to the lack of familiarity bythe FHNA, required some ex-planation from StephenMaguire, Community Liaisonfrom City Councilor TimMcCarthy’s Office, who wasalso in attendance.

According to him, the planis to build a new house on the7-8,000 square foot lot between101 Milton Ave. and 95 MiltonAve. There has already been anabutters meeting, at which onewas opposed. The development

would require side variances (itdoesn’t qualify by 2 feet).

In other business, ScottKriscenski, Coordinator for theFairmount Hill Sign Project,gave an update on its progress.

As Kriscenski explained it,he’s targeting April 14, 2018 asa dedication date in order toroughly coincide with HydePark’s 150th Anniversary,which will be celebrated onApril 22.

The sign, the basic dimen-sions of which he gave as 6-feet-by-2.5-feet, may be raised,


My Kindof Town/Joe Galeota

Seasonal traditions bring a smileAs a young boy, I was fas-

cinated by Jordan Marsh’sfif th f loor annex: that’swhere the Christmas toyswere, a long time before toystores came to populate thearea.

And on that floor only wasa huge electric train display,featuring Lionel trains run-ning every which way.

As a teenager, I was mes-merized by Downtown Cross-ing in mid-December. JordanMarsh’s windows, FileneBasement’s hustle-and-bustle, the all-encompassingproducts of Woolworth’s, thesports equipment inRaymond’s, and the milieu ofGilchrist’s.

As a young father, I de-lighted in my children’s eyesas they viewed the EnchantedVillage of Jordan’s/Macy’sand tasted the ice cream sun-daes of Bailey’s served inpewter.

As a father of teenagers, Iwas not stirred by the mod-ern malls’ blaring of seasonalmusic. Repulsion set in uponviewing various imperson-ations of Santa outside gro-cery stores, virtually destroy-ing the magic in the eyes ofvery young shoppers in stroll-ers.

But now in the autumn, ifnot the winter, of my life,there’s one store that seemsto capture the “old-fash-ioned-ness” of Christmas,

right out of a L.L. Bean cata-logue or a Hallmark made-for-television show. It sellsplants, food products, variousnon-edible items, and evenreal Christmas wreaths andtrees by the hundreds (no ar-tificial ones at this store).

The few aisles are notnumbered, nor do they havecutesy road names, such asPark Street, Centre Street,and Belgrade Avenue. Nordoes this store feature num-bered aisles.

Just as an aside, howmany grocery shopperswould calmly tolerate beingtold, after a question aboutthe location of say, gluten-free maple syrup, that “It’s isin the Hastings Street aisle.”Hmmm. Why do stores thinkwe need this familiarization

with local streets? Andwhat’s with onesupermarket’s idea of postingthe numbered aisles with auseless zero, perpendicular tothe products? Thus aisle 8appears as 08 written at a 90-degree angle next to genericcategories.

Back to the quintessentialChristmas store: it straddlesthe Jamaica Plain-Brooklineborder on Allandale Road.There’s a dirt parking lot.Don’t bother looking for anywhite lines indicating park-ing spaces. There might evenbe a fire in an outside barrelto warm your hands, with anaroma of burnt pine waftingacross the parking lot. Thereare no flyers mentioningsales or prices. There’s notmuch heat inside: most clerkswear flannel shirts and stock-ing hats. Only heaven knowsif there’s a public restroomavailable.

For some great seasonalwarmth, head to theAllandale Farm andRoadstand, shortened by lo-cals to merely AllandaleFarm. There’s always pro-duce but no meat; yes, theprices are - well, you be thejudge - and there might evenbe a truck there selling freshfish on Wednesdays.

Indeed, a great place forstarting or maintaining the(secular) Christmas spirit.LeLeLeLeLettttttttttererererersssss

Continued on page 15

Letters to the EditorSPRAGUE STREETEXTORTION

To the Editor:As reported in the Nov. 30,

2017 edition of the Hyde ParkBulletin, a recent meeting wasconducted by BRA/BPDA forthe Impact Advisory Group(IAG) regarding the proposedmassive 521-unit apartmentcomplex along the side of theSprague Street Bridge in theReadville neighborhood. Ifthe reader is unfamiliar withan IAG, it is a group of neigh-borhood residents nominatedby local elected officials to sitwith the BRA and the projectproponents to ascertain theappropriateness and futureramifications of the proposalif implemented. This writerattended the aforementionedmeeting and, quite frankly,left with a good bout of nau-sea.

For virtually the entiremeeting, the city Councilorand the BRA manager werecoaching the IAG members onhow to ask the proponents forthings the members might liketo have. They were urged toprepare a “wish list.” BRA,oddly in my view, repeatedlygave an example of askingthat the developer providesome of the new solar-pow-ered trash cans throughout theReadville neighborhood. BRAprefers to call this procedure

“mitigation.” But indeed it ismore accurately described asextortion. On this night theImpact Advisory Group ap-peared to be serving as an ex-tortion committee. One of theIAG members rightfully pro-claimed that in his view thegroup should be assessingwhether the proposal is ac-ceptable before drafting up alist of requests.

It should be noted that aneighborhood group, Citizensfor the Preservation ofReadville (CPR), conducted athorough petition drivethroughout the entire neigh-borhood and gathered close to400 signatures from residentsopposed to changing the cur-rent light industrial zoning soas to accommodate this apart-ment complex. At the end ofthe petition drive, we couldsee that 89 percent of the resi-dents were opposed, 9 percentwere unaware of the proposalor needed more informationbefore forming a decision, and2 percent were not opposed.These opponents were vehe-ment in their decision and didnot make it contingent onwhat “goodies” we could ex-tort from the proponents.

Craig MartinReadville


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To advertise, call (617) 361-8400 Consulate awards Waitethe Légion d’Honneur

Boston’s French Consul Valéry Freland pins the honor on Boston Veteran Edwin "Bud" Waite's chest duringthe ceremony at the Stratford Street Church.

PHOTO BY TRENESE FRANKLIN

TTTTTrenese Frenese Frenese Frenese Frenese FranklinranklinranklinranklinranklinStaff Reporter

Friends, family and city of-ficials gathered on Dec. 2 towitness World War II Veteranand West Roxbury residentEdwin “Bud” Waite be awardedthe French Legion of Honor.

There wasn’t an empty seatat the ceremony, which drew in

a crowd of about 100 people.Rev. Enid Watson, Co-Pastor ofStratford Street Church, helpedto host the event.

“We are very proud and de-lighted to welcome you all heretoday,” Watson said.

The ceremony then com-menced by the singing of theFrench and American NationalAnthems. Everyone stood totheir feet and honored both theFrench and American Flags,which were held up by Veteransof West Roxbury’s VFW Post2902.

“We have a number of dis-tinguished guests, besides Bud,”Watson said jokingly. “And Iwould like to invite our electedofficials to come forward, CityCouncilor Matt O’Malley,Giselle Sterling, Commissionerof Veteran Affairs and (At-Large) City CouncilwomanAnnissa Essaibi-George.”

O’Malley then took to thepodium to commend Waite onhis accomplishments.

“I have had the great plea-sure of getting to know Bud andhis family over the last severalyears,” he said. “I knew Bud wasa veteran, but I did not know theextent of his legendary service."

O’Malley explained that forBud, it wasn’t about receivingrecognition.

“It wasn’t about receivingaccolades and it wasn’t aboutevents like this. It was about sup-porting others,” he said.

O’Malley also gave a briefhistory of Waite’s life and ex-pressed how much of an amaz-ing person he believes Waite is.

“To the people of France, weare incredibly honored that youare recognizing one of our Na-tive sons. In a time when wehave such discord in this worldand uncertainty in this country,one thing is certain: the men and

women who served in WorldWar II truly were the greatestgeneration,” O’Malley con-cluded.

Councilor Annissa EssaibiGeorge and O’Malley then pre-sented Waite with a Councilorproclamation and congratulatedhim for being awarded theFrench Medal of Honor. Com-missioner of Veteran affairs andLord Mayor of West Roxburyand Post 2902 CommanderRichie Gormley both spoke andcongratulated Waite for a jobwell done.

The ceremony concludedwith Boston’s French ConsulGeneral Valéry Freland present-ing Edwin Waite with theFrench Legion of Honor.

“You are a true hero and youwill be our hero forever,”Freland said.

As Waite walked to the po-dium, everyone in the audiencecheered for him. He then tookthe microphone and expressedhow elated and thankful he wasfor the honor.

“I’m pretty overwhelmed; Idon’t know what to say. I can’tstop thanking people, there areso many on the list,” he said.

He then thanked his familyand friends for supporting himand putting together the cer-emony.

“I’m so honored!” Waite ex-claimed.

Waite served in the CompanyL, 260th Infantry Regiment fromJuly 1944 to August 1945. Sta-tioned 16 months overseas as anautomatic rifleman, PrivateEdwin Waite participated in as-saults on enemy positions inFrance, Germany and Austria.After arriving in Metz, France,the 260th Infantry Regimentjoined General Patton’s 3rdArmy in an attempt to breach theSiegfried Line.


Around the NeighborhoodsCITYWIDE

MAIN STREETSEXPLORER

Jump on a free shuttle andvisit Main Streets in HydePark, Roslindale Village, andWest Roxbury. The MainStreets Explorer is a pilot pro-gram. We’re offering a shuttleon Dec. 7, 14, and 21 betweenthree Main Street Districts:Hyde Park, Roslindale Village,and West Roxbury.

We want riders to experi-ence the live music, restau-rants, stores, and events ineach neighborhood. Our freeshuttle is open to anyone whowants to ride. It’s an easy wayto shop, eat, and play locally.Learn more about when andwhere to pick up the shuttle atthe bottom of this page.

This pilot program is run bythe Mayor’s Office of New Ur-ban Mechanics. Through thisexperiment, they are testingways Main Street Districtscould be even more welcom-ing spaces for all.

It goes from 4 p.m.-9:30p.m. and repeats every Thurs-

day until Dec. 21, 2017. Thisservice extends to Hyde Park,Roslindale Village, and WestRoxbury Boston, MA 02136,02131, 02132. If you have anyquestions please [email protected] call 617-635-0044

ALLSTON/BRIGHTON

BOOKDISCUSSION GROUP

A book discussion meets atthe Brighton Branch Libraryon the last Wednesday of eachmonth at 11:15 a.m. The fea-tured selection for Dec. 27 willbe A Streetcar Named Desireby Tennessee Williams Copiesof the book are available at thelibrary Everyone is invited andnew members are welcome.Brighton Branch Library/40Academy Hill Road/(617)782-6032.

ESL CLASSAn ESL conversation group

meets at 12:30 p.m. everyMonday. Come practice yourlanguage skills in an informaland friendly setting with other

new English speakers.

BEGINNING INTERNETCLASS/MYSTIFIED BYTHE NET? DON’T KNOWHOW TO SURF?

Help is available on a oneon one basis to get you started.Call for an appointment andask for Alan Brighton BranchLibrary/40 Academy HillRoad/ (617) 782-6032.

HISTORY OF BOSTON’SLIBRARIES AND HOWTHE BRIGHTONBRANCH CAME TO BE

An intriguing history of theBoston’s libraries and how theBrighton Branch came to bewith Anthony Sammarco/Noted author and historian,Anthony Sammarco gives anintriguing history of Boston’slibraries and how the BrightonBranch came to be. His highlyentertaining account of the be-ginnings and ultimate fate ofthe original Holton Library—now the Brighton Branch—provides an interesting backstory to the city of Boston andits growth.

The Friends of the BrightonBranch Library and theBrighton Allston HistoricalSociety invite you to thisunique literary event. Monday,Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m. at BrightonBranch Library/40 AcademyHill Road/ (617) 782-6032

HYDE PARK

PLAY AND LEARNBLOCK PARTY

Come play, build, and learntogether at a block party – li-brary style. Playing withblocks provides opportunitiesto learn about math and sci-ence, pre-reading skills, socialskills, and motor skills. Vari-ous building blocks will beavailable including woodblocks, magnetic blocks,KAPLA blocks, soft blocks,and baby blocks. No registra-tion is required. Located at theHyde Park Branch of the Bos-ton Public Library, 35 HarvardAve., Hyde Park.

SEVENTH ANNUAL HOLI-DAY PUB CRAWL

Please join us for this yearAnnual Holiday Pub CrawlSinging warm up for the Holi-day Pub Crawl on December15th, 6:30 – 7 p.m. located atthe Riverside Theatre Works(RTW) with a champagne toastat the kick off the crawl!

This is a FREE EVENTsponsored by Hyde Park MainStreets.

Riverside Theatre Works(6:30 – 7 p.m.) 45 FairmountAve., The Switch Co-op (7 –7:30 p.m.) 45 Fairmount Ave.,Rincon Caribeno Restaurant(7:30 – 8:10 p.m.) 18Fairmount Ave., MasterMcGrath’s (8:10 – 8:50 p.m.)1154 River St., ZAZ Restau-rant (8:50 – 9:20 p.m.) 1238River St., Bacaro (9:20 – 10p.m.) 5 Fairmount Ave.,Fairmount Grille (10 p.m.) 81Fairmount Ave.

We Hope you enjoy your-selves and the holidays inHyde Park!

10TH ANNUAL TOYS FORTOTS EXTRAVAGANZA

This year marks our 10thyear of this special event. Wehave had a part in making surethousands of children wake upfeeling The Magic of Christ-mas. This night is so special toCappy and we hope that youcan be a part in creating amemorable Christmas for somany deserving children. Joinus for a night full of music,friends, spirits and lots oflaughs. All the best,Kathi andRay” Cappy’s Tavern, 11Wolcott Court, Hyde Park.December 16th @ 7:00pm-1:00am

ANNUAL HYDE PARKCHILDREN CHRISTMASPARTY

Ho, Ho, HO! Santa Clausis calling Hyde Park Childrenbetween the ages of 1 and 10years old to join him for ourAnnual Hyde Park Children’sChristmas Party, sponsored byPAL and Boston Police Dis-trict 18. Join us! Dec. 9, 2017from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. atBCLA/New Mission HightSchool Gymnasium,655 Met-ropolitan Ave., Hyde Park.

CHESS AND CHECKERSWITH CHARLIE

Children are welcome tocome and learn to play chessor checkers with CharlieCleary on Saturday afternoonsat 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. Spon-sored by the Friends of theHyde Park Branch Library. Noregistration required. Locatedat the Hyde Park Branch of theBoston Public Library.

WEST ROXBURYROSLINDALE

ANNUALHOLIDAY PARTY

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 10a.m. – 2 p.m. Located at theBoston Lodge of Elks #10 1Morrell St., West Roxbury.THIS EVENT IS FREE!There will be great music,dancing, our famous hlidaysweater contest, and theSubaru Unveiling Ceremonyto celebrate our newest Mealson Wheels vehicle. Reserva-tions are required and acceptedon a first come, first serve ba-sis. Call reservation line 617-477-6724 and leave yourname, the full names of every-one in your party, and a phonenumber.

CELEBRATION OF THEFEAST OF OUR LADY OFGUADALUPE

On Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7p.m. please join us for a cel-ebration of the Feast of OurLady of Guadalupe. We willhave a prayer service whichwill feature a talk on Our Ladyby Sister Bárbara Gutiérrez,SND who was born and raisedin Mexico City. Sister came tothe United States 21 years agoand entered the congregationof the Sisters of Notre Damede Namur 11 years ago. Thiswill be an inspiring AdventEvening of Prayer. Come andjoin in our evening of prayerdevoted to her. Bring a

SINGLE flower to honor ourLady if you wish. There willbe an opportunity to bring it upto the altar during the service.This celebration will takeplace at St. John ChrysostomChurch, 4750 Washington St.,West Roxbury.

ADVENT PENANCESERVICE

On Sunday, Dec. 18 at 7p.m. there will be an AdventPenance Service for all Catho-lics in the West Roxbury andRoslindale area at St. JohnChrysostom Church, 4750Washington St., West Roxbury.All are welcome to receive thesacrament of Reconciliationbefore Christmas. Thisevening will include readings,songs and the sacrament itself.

HOLIDAYBOOK STROLL

The Friends of the WestRoxbury Library is hosting aHoliday Book Stroll on Thurs-day, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. Au-thors Tonya Mezrich, CaseySherman and Dave Wedge,Carter Alan, Hank PhilippiRyan, Hallie Ephron, Jay Hajj,Jane Healey, Upton Bell andRon Borges and others will bein attendance with their latestbooks, which you can purchaseand have signed while enjoy-ing refreshments and mingling.

They sign. You sip. Holidayshopping: done. Held at theWest Roxbury Library.

ROSLINDALE VILLAGEMAIN STREET HOSTS2ND ANNUAL HOLIDAYMARKET ON BIRCHSTREET

This December brings thereturn of Roslindale VillageMain Street’s Holiday Marketon Birch Street, a festive eventto bring residents, visitors, andlocal businesses together tocelebrate and shop for the sea-son. The Holiday Market willtake place on Thursday, Dec.7 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. onBirch Street between Corinthand South streets. Birch Streetwill be closed to traffic for thisspecial event.

Visitors can enjoy treatsfrom the Whoo(pie) Wagonfood truck, free hot chocolate,holiday classics sung by car-oling group Songful Artists,and play-based activities forall ages, in collaboration withlocal group Roslindale Wantsto Play. JP Honk Band will per-form throughout the Villageand at the Commuter Rail Sta-tion, and the folk-rock bandRock ‘n Roll Dreamers willplay inside Emerald SocietyBuilding during the event.

The Holiday Market willalso feature over 20 visitingvendors, offering everythingfrom French soaps, to art andprints, pottery, locally-madehoneys and sauces, jewelryand accessories, children’sbooks and clothes, and more.Vendors will be located insidethe Emerald Society Buildingat 10 Birch St., as well as twovacant storefronts at 22 BirchSt. and 756 South St.

CalendarCalendarCalendarCalendarCalendarContinued on page 14


working his way through ad o n u t , l o o k e d u p a n dshared what he planned tosay to Santa Claus.

“I want a present,” hesaid.

Two other women withchildren of their own stoodnearby. Neither was fromReadville, but one woman,Eleni, worked at OlympicPizza on the corner withher husband, the owner.

This was her first timee x p e r i e n c i n g t h e Tr e eLighting from the outside.Every other year she hadbeen inside working but,with her two children, shenow had t ime out of theshop in the afternoons.

“So I decided to comehere for the first time withmy babies,” she said.

Police sirens went offon Neponset Valley Park-way from the direction ofTruman and soon, the Bos-ton Police Department mo-torcycle escort – and theEnchanted Trol ley – a r-r i ved f rom i t s p r ev iousstop in Mattapan Square.

The trolley, essentiallythree buses and a specialcarriage with a big chairfo r San ta C laus to t akevisitors, pulled in aroundthe t r i ang le and pa rked

along the sidewalk, as cityofficials disembarked andbegan greeting the familiarand unfamiliar within thecrowd.

B u r l I v e s ’ “ S i l v e r &Gold” piped in as Toy Sol-d i e r s b e g a n s e t t i n g u pSanta’s bright, decoratedcarriage for guests and, af-t e r w a r d s , s a n g “ S a n t aClaus is Coming to Town”to the crowd.

Emcee Fast Freddie an-n o u n c e d t h a t t h e To u r ,s p o n s o r e d b y B a n k o fAmerica , would vis i t 16ci ty neighborhoods overthe weekend before intro-ducing Mayor Walsh – andthen Santa Claus – to pullthe swi tch and l igh t thetree.

F a s t F r e d d i e , h a v i n gstepped down from Santa’sc a r r i a g e , s h a r e d h i sthoughts on the event.

“They’ve been doing itfor an awfully long timeand I think that it’s won-derful that Mayor Walshtook the baton from MayorMenino and has made it aneven b igger ce leb ra t ionover the last few years,” hesaid.

Freddie has been actingas emcee for four years –as long as Walsh has been

Mayor – and plans to con-tinue for another four, nowtha t Walsh has been re -elected.

A woman standing byh e r s e l f t a k e s p h o t o s o fseveral different childrenvisiting with Santa Clauso n h e r p h o n e a n d s h es o m e w h a t s h e e p i s h l ymakes a minor confession.

“I wish I’m a little oneso I can sit over there onSanta’s lap,” she said.

W h e n a d v i s e d t h a tSanta might very well bej u s t f i n e w i t h t h a tanyways , she burs ts outlaughing.

“I don’t think so,” thewoman said.

She continues watchingthe goings on in the En-c h a n t e d Tr o l l e y w i t h asmile on her face, but withMrs. Claus hovering overSan t a ’s shou lde r, neve rmakes her move.

Between the table of di-minishing coffee cake andOlympic Pizza, Ann MarieCurran keeps an eye onher 6-year-o ld grandsonM i c h a e l , a s d o e s h i sg r a n d f a t h e r, C h u c k yVarney.

M i c h a e l h a s n o t y e tpaid a visit to Santa’s En-chanted Tro l ley and the

line – which had stretchedall the way to the end ofthe last bus – is beginningto shorten.

Accord ing to Varney,they’ve been coming tothis Tree Lighting “everyyear since he’s been born.It’s all about the kids.”

B u t C u r r a n l o o k s alitt le anxious as Michaelruns past.

“He was so anxious tocome down this time andall of a sudden he’s ner-vous about meeting SantaClaus,” she said.

The ca l l goes out forpassengers to board the

Trolley and Rudolph and at a l l To y S o l d i e r c o m ew a l k i n g o v e r t o w h e r eC u r r a n a n d Va r n e y a r estanding.

M i c h a e l s l o w s d o w nlong enough to have hisphoto taken with them andh i s G r e a t G r a n d m a a n dGrandpa, with Santa Clausmaking it into the frame.Close enough for this year.

The Trolley is fasteneddown, Santa boards a bus,the motorcycles rumble toa start, and the EnchantedTrolley Tour is on to WestRoxbury for its last stop ofthe night.

Tree Lighting continued from page 1


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Scot C. Of Brighton for-merly of Hyde Park, suddenlyNov. 23, 2017. Beloved lifepartner of Christiana Viscusi.Son of the late Sonny Shepherdand the late Sandra Wilson.

COMMUNITY SENIORSThe Community Seniors meet the second Tuesday of the

month at St. John’s parish hall, 4740 Washington St., WestRoxbury, at 12:30 p.m. New members welcome to join. Formore information, call Phyllis at 617-364-2280

GO-GO SENIORSGo-Go Seniors Meetings are on the First Tuesday’s of ev-

ery month. We are looking for new membership and our an-nual membership dues are $8.00. All are welcome. Meetingslocated at the Municipal Building on Hyde Park Avenue atnoon in Hyde Park.

Jan. 3: Annual Christmas Party At Victory Grille in Dedham.Cost to be determined.

Jan. 7-10: Atlantic City, N.J., staying at the Tropicana Ho-tel. Any further information please contact Joanne 617-323-0071

THE VILLAGERSThe Villagers of Roslindale meet on the first Tuesday of

the month in St. John Chrysostom Church Hall, 4740 Wash-ington St., West Roxbury. The social hour is from noon to 12:45p.m. with refreshments. Our Dues are paid annually and are$10.00 per member. All inquiries, please call our PresidentDiane Grallo @ 617-323-8654 or Jean Parrelli @ 617-325-4695

MIL-PAROur next Mil-Par Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 18 and will

be a 50/50 meeting. If you haven’t bought your tickets for theChristmas Party scheduled for Dec. 10, please call PeggyLydon or Josie Pero. We will not have another meeting beforethe party and you don’t want to miss this event.

Please call Sal Ferlito at 617-361-2845 if you are unable tocome to the meeting so that he can order the appropriate num-ber of lunches.

PLEASE NOTE: All of our meetings will be held at theBlue Hills Collaborative, previously known as St. Anne’sSchool. We will continue having meetings there until the reno-vations are done at Saint Pius X Church and hall.

Bingo is played after all meetings if you are interested.

Senior Club News

The Bulletin Newspapers andThe Boston People’s Voicepublishes obituaries from in-formation supplied by funeralhomes. Relatives and friendsalso may supplement infor-mation by e-mailing [email protected] Monday at 1 p.m. Photosalso will be accepted.

Obituary Policy

Devoted brother of Richard D.Shepherd and his wife Christineof Norwood, Michael Shepherdof Chestnut Hill, and HeleneLegendre of West Roxbury.Also survived by his lovingnieces and nephews, MichaelC. Daley, Stacey Shepherd,Jillian Shepherd, HaileyLegendre and Ava Legendre.Scot attended Mt. Ida College.He loved playing poker andcards, loved movies, music andspending time with family. Vis-iting hours were at the P.E.Murray-F.J. Higgins George F.Doherty & Sons Funeral Home,2000 Centre St., WESTROXBURY. A funeral servicewas held at the funeral home.Interment was in St. Joseph’sCemetery, West Roxbury.

To advertise, call (617) 361-8400

CorrectionCorrectionCorrectionCorrectionCorrectionIn the Nov. 30 edition of the Hyde Park Bulletin

POHWER article beginning on Page 1, Alex Nadel’s lastname was incorrectly spelled Navel.

Also, in the Nov. 30 HP150 article beginning on Page 4,Bob Vance’s email address is listed incorrectly. It should [email protected]


Anne Clark built on this,complaining about the lack ofresponse when she called 311for assistance removingneedles in the West/AustinStreet area, forcing her totake matters into her ownhands (she was worried abouther grandchild and other chil-dren picking them up) to col-lect them herself.

In response to this, Sgt.Dan MacDonald recom-mended calling the SharpsHotline to have foundneedles removed. The hotlinenumber is 617-534-3967.

Mayor’s Office Hyde ParkCommunity Liaison BryanFlynn also emailed the ParksDepartment as the meetingwas underway regarding thereports of Alvarez and Clark.

As for KHPB, Horn saidthat participants have instruc-tions not to touch needleswhen they find them. How-ever, she took down theSharps Hotline number, asdid several others at the meet-ing.

Alvarez also made thesuggestion that KHPB mightalso consider adopting an ur-ban wild, citing the fact thatHyde Park has more of themthan any other neighborhoodin the city, including four inthe Grew Park area: SherrinWoods, Deforest, West/Aus-tin, and Monterey Hilltop.

As a byproduct of hercomments, an attendee men-tioned goats-as-brush-remov-ers, opening the door forAlvarez to address the issuein different detail than shehad in November’s meeting.

“I think the City needs acadre of goats to go allthrough the city,” she said.“They’re tick resistant, theylove poison ivy and otherinvasives, and their poopdoesn’t have to cure like cowmanure; it’s instant fertilizer.So they’re, like, the bestmulti-purpose tool.”

When asked about the pos-sibility of using goats, Hornvery tentatively agreed to putthem on the idea list.

In other KHPB news, onThursday, Dec. 7, a PlanningCommittee meeting is sched-uled, during which memberswill be speaking with thePresident of Keep Massachu-setts Beautiful regarding af-filiation options, as well asother ideas. This meeting hadoriginally been scheduled forNovember.

Those interested in KHPBcan visitwww.keephpbeautiful.org ore m a i [email protected].

Lynda Wallack alsobrought up as a topic for in-vestigation the status of theThompson Center Dog Park,which is caught in betweenthose plans and its originalproposed use as a senior rec-reation area.

“Right now, everybody islog jammed and, meanwhile,we’ve got nothing,” Wallacksaid. “We have no dog park.We have no senior park. It justsits there and it’s an eyesore.”

Returning generally to thetopic of needles, she contin-ued.

“Kids drink there. Junkiesgo there. It’s just a wasteland.So we’d like to see somemovement on it,” Wallacksaid.

She referred to the DogPark Boston website(www.dogparkboston.org) forthose interested.

In old business, the GrewPark Neighbors are research-ing the 2018 application pro-cess for the Slow Streets pro-gram in which speed humpswould be installed on differ-

Grew Park continued from page 1

Cathy Horn spoke about her anti-litter/neighborhood beautification group Keep Hyde Park Beautiful. Herbrief presentation led to a discussion about discarded needles, the possibility of cleaning urban wilds, andthe use of goats as weed whackers/fertilizing machines. PHOTO BY MATT MACDONALD

ent streets in the neighbor-hood.

In an additional item ofnote, Alvarez reviewed theNeponset River Forum fromNov. 30 and the problems ofriver pollution. This led to anannouncement from Sgt.MacDonald regarding the dis-posal of unused medication.

“You’re not supposed toflush unused medicationdown the toilet because it pol-lutes the water,” he said.

He went on to inform thegroup that BPD stations pro-vide medication drop-offs.

Finally, the police reportfor the past month was veryquiet. However, one larceny –the theft of a package from afront porch – was of some in-terest.

The suspect was video-taped and although still atlarge, has a warrant for his ar-rest.

Following up on this, Sgt.MacDonald had a recommen-dation for delivery shoppersduring the run-up to Christ-mas.

“Be careful if you’ve or-dered something expensive,”he said. “Have it delivered tosomebody who’s home, or toa location where you go andpick it up, because it’s easypickings just driving aroundand seeing stuff on people’sdoorsteps and just walking upand, you know, walking away.If these people hadn’t had acamera, he would have gottenaway with it.”

The Grew Park Neighborsmeet on the first Monday ofthe month. Because of NewYear’s Day, this may bemoved to Jan. 8. Checkwww.itsyourneighborhood.comfor details.

To advertise, call the Bulletinat (617) 361-8400

depending on the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s(DCR) determination of whether or not it will be a sight ob-struction.

Kriscenski also announced that he will be asking the DCRto waive the annual maintenance fee, giving the FHNA theresponsibility for upkeep and replacement.

In an effort to be cost effective, the sign will be a 3-inchthick solidcore slab with two cedar posts with an estimatedcost of $3,000.

The new sign will be installed at the tip of Beacon Streetand Truman Highway – at the intersection of Fairmount Av-enue – in a small round bed of cobblestones, where the currentand somewhat worse for wear sandwich board sign is located.The sign, as planned, will face toward Fairmount Bridge.

In additional FHNA business, Officer Paul Broderick citedan Oct. 25 vandalism incident in which a residential fence onFairmount Avenue was spray painted: “Home of a rapist.”

This led Sgt. Dan MacDonald to address the issue, inform-ing the group that it is, in fact, a crime to illegally discriminateor harass an offender.

“I just want to let people know that if they’re going out and(being a) vigilante or spray painting – stuff like that – that it isa penalty,” MacDonald said. “That guy’s been arrested, triedin court, did his time, and he’s on the list.”

When certain attendees complained about the public drunk-enness of the person in question, they were advised to call911, with a qualifier from Sgt. MacDonald.

“Like you would anybody else,” he said. “Like you’d callon anybody else. You can’t just pick on him because of hisdesignation.”

At the end of the hour-plus long meeting, the topic came upagain, when the neighbor across from the vandalized propertymade an emotional statement on behalf of the two other adultresidents living at that address.

“We can’t forgive, necessarily, a crime,” they said. “But itreally hurt that they were violated in that way, and it felt like aviolation to me, as well, looking across the street at that.”

In another announcement of note, an attendee announcedthat there is a meeting scheduled for Jan. 9, 2018 at 7 p.m.regarding the continued existence of Most Precious BloodChurch. It will be held at the Blue Hills Collaborative at 20Como Rd.

In other announcements:The Area E-18 Holiday Party will be on Saturday, Dec. 9

from Noon – 3 p.m. at New Mission High School (655 Metro-politan Ave.)

The FHNA Christmas Sing-A-Long will take place on Sun-day Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m. at the Blake Estates (1344 Hyde ParkAve.).

On Friday, Dec. 15, the Seventh Annual Pub Crawl will runfrom 6:30 p.m. at the Riverside Theatre Works (45 FairmountAve.) until 10 p.m. at the Fairmount Grille.

The FHNA Holiday Social is also tentatively scheduled tobe held in the lobby of the Everett Square Theatre. The datehas yet to be determined.

The next FHNA meeting is scheduled for Jan. 24, 2018 at 7pm.

FHNA continued from page 3

Letter ToThe Editor

Please write to:THE BULLETIN

661 Washington St,Suite 202

Norwood, MA 02062 Tel: (617) 361-8400Fax: (617) 361-1933

e-mail us [email protected]

Tell ‘emwhat you

think with aPlease include your name,

address & telephone number.Unsigned letters will not be

published.


to step up to the challenge.“As we have seen with ev-

ery city or town that has op-posed this, once they’ve goneinto implementation you’veseen the private sector reallystep up,” he said. “You’ve seenindividuals step up and offerreusable plastic bags... Ifpassed today and signed intolaw, this will have a one-yearsort of ramping up period.”

He said the ordinancewon’t go into effect until a yearfrom now, and added thiswould give them plenty of timeto work with ABCD, the Bos-ton Housing Authority, foodbanks, the Boston Centers forYouth and Families and farm-ers markets to make sure thatresidents are aware of the or-dinance.

“We can work and we cando this well because we’veseen it done well in other cit-ies and towns. We haveworked closely with our neigh-bors, we know what the recipeis and how we can do this andthe benefits cannot be chal-lenged,” he said. “Let’s writethe Boston ‘greenprint.’”

At-Large City CouncilorAyanna Pressley acknowl-edged that the main point ofopposition in the city has beenthat this would impact low-in-come families, who may see a

5 cent increase per grocery bagas a burden.

“Should this ordinancepass, I’d encourage the City ofBoston to explore ways to easethe burden of what will reallyrequire a cultural shift by pro-viding free, reusable tote bagsat accessible and convenientvenues throughout the city forour low-income residents andseniors,” she said. “This ordi-nance is a critical step towardsa greener, cleaner and moresustainable Boston.”

Matt Seaholm, the execu-tive director of the AmericanProgressive Bag Alliance, saidthe passage of the ordinancewas disappointing and believesthe mayor should veto the leg-islation outright so that thecouncil will have to go backand rework it.

“It was seemingly abackroom deal that transpiredover the Thanksgiving holidayweekend,” he said. “Beforethat point we were under theimpression that there was op-position in the Mayor’s Officeand City Council, but as itturned out there were somevocal members who were moreinterested in getting a feel-good ordinance through andgain political capital thanmake good policy.”

Seaholm said it wasn’t fair

to the consumer. The ordi-nance would require busi-nesses to use reusable, thickplastic bags instead of thesingle-use bags currently incirculation.

“What it ultimately does ispunish those who can least af-ford it,” he said. “That 5-centfee might not mean a lot to citycouncil members, but I can tellyou a low income family inBoston who has to pay 50 centsevery time they do theirweekly grocery shopping itadds up, and it’s noticeable tothose who can least afford it.”

Bradford Verter, Director atthe Mass Green Network, saidthat residents are already pay-ing for their single-use plasticbags, though they may notknow it.

“Plastic bags are not freeand we all pay for them. Theycost grocery stores 4 centseach on average and that’sfolded into the overhead andthe price of goods, it’s justbeen a hidden cost and one ofthe things this does is makehidden costs visible,” he said.“When that happens, residentsbring their own reusable plas-tic bags very quickly.”

Seaholm countered that thecost of the single-use bags isnowhere near as high as thethicker counterparts.

“I guarantee they are not asexpensive as 5 cents, many ofthose bags are as cheap as halfa cent. You’re talking abouttaking a penny and increasingit by seven times the thick-ness,” he said. “Typically,those bags for many retailersare going to be more than the5 cents and that will heap ad-ditional cost onto the retailer.”

Verter said that the city iscurrently paying much highercosts for the single-use plasticbags in terms of the problemsthey create when they hit therecycling stream, which recy-cling facilities are not preparedto deal with.

“The big problem is thatbags gum up the works in re-cycling machinery at these bigsorting machines that are runat recycling facilities and theyjust get totally jammed up withplastic bags. They have to hirepeople in eight-hour shifts tocut away the bags with boxcutters or utility knives andthey lose all this time,” he said.“If plastic bags get mixed in,then that contaminates an en-tire shipment and they have tohire someone to sort it or justdump it all. It’s a lot of wastedmoney and lost opportunityand those funds could go tosocial programs or to any otherthing. It costs taxpayers andanything that costs taxpayersmoney hurts low-income resi-dents the most.”

Seaholm pointed out thatplastic bags do not make up alarge percentage of the city’swaste, but Verter said thatwaste is determined in ton-nage.

“It’s certainly not as muchtonnage as refrigerators, I cantell you that,” Verter said.

City Council President andAt-Large City CouncilorMichelle Wu said the ordi-nance, if anything else, is amixed bag.

“So it’s been an incrediblehonor to be part of this processand many others that the coun-cil has been working on to re-ally plan and take actions forour next generations here inthe city,” she said. “This is ahard problem the city has beenfacing, representative of thelarger problem of climatechange and climate injusticesthat our country and the worldis facing. To be totally clear,our current economic system,our current way of life and oursociety is headed towards acrisis point in terms of the glo-bal impact of a warming planetand changing weather patternsthat we are going to see di-rectly affecting Boston’s bot-tom line and our residents’quality of life. This plastic bagordinance is an example of asmall step that is completelywithin the city’s control totake.”

Plastic Bags continued from page 1


Dave Vieira, who felt uncom-fortable addressing theNeponset in racial terms.

“The River is the River andthe people are the people, andI would prefer that we go for-ward on that basis,” he said.

This, in turn, brought abouta response from a blackwoman sitting nearby.

“It’s the people that controlwhat we need done, though, sowe need to call it as it is,” shesaid.

“I’ve lived in Hyde Park for50 years and that river has beenpolluted since long before Ilived here and it was never de-scribed in terms of racial in-equity,” Vieira came back.

M o d e r a t o r / P O H W E Rmember RaushanahMuhammad reluctantlystopped the building discus-

One River continued from page 1

A packed roomful of Hyde Park and Mattapan residents listen in as one of them – standing in the back of theroom and wearing a blue jacket – asks a question about Neponset River pollution.


Volunteers at September’s Hyde Park Neponset River Clean-Up. Thurs-day night’s meeting concentrated more on the extremely harmful chemi-cal and sewage pollution plaguing the River.


sion in order to keep with theprogram schedule and despiteher suggestion that they goback to it later, it was neverrevisited.

Instead, the direction of themeeting did essentially shift inVieira’s direction, as succes-sive speakers spoke of differ-ent aspects of the NeponsetRiver’s pollution and how toalleviate it.

Ian Cooke, Executive Di-rector of the Neponset RiverWatershed Association madean informative presentationfirst covering some definitions(a watershed: the area of landthat drains into a particularriver) and laying out some lo-gistic information (the Riverruns from Foxboro, is 30 mileslong, covers a 120 square milearea, and has 330,000 peopleliving in its watershed area).

He then moved on to pol-lution problems, spendingmost of his time on streetstormwater runoff and show-ing, as one of his first slides, acommon curbside storm drain/catch basin before mildlyshocking probably more thana few in the room by inform-ing everyone that whatevergoes down the drain goes di-rectly into the river via stormdrain system network and

“outfall” pipe.“I think it’s fair to say that

the vast majority of people donot realize that they could bestanding a mile away from theriver and, if they’re washingtheir car, or if they’re saying,‘Hey, I’ve got this motor oil.I’d like to just drop it in thatcatch basin…’ that it ends upin the river,” he said.

In terms of what the com-munity can do to help, Cookerecommended that people becareful as to what goes intostorm drains, that they reportnoticeable problems with theRiver to the Boston Water andSewer Commission, that theyvolunteer as water testers or onRiver clean-ups and that theyadvocate on the River’s behalfto their elected officials.

Following Cooke, North-

eastern University’s CaroleMcCauley, working under anEnvironmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) grant dealingwith the Boston Harbor eco-system network, gave somebrief details on the EPA’s in-volvement with the Neponset.

Having accepted an invita-tion from the Commonwealth,the EPA is currently conduct-ing its own investigation andtesting of the site – includingmuddy sections the riverbedheavily polluted with PCBs(polychlorinated biphenyl).

According to McCauley,based on its findings, the EPAmay make a recommendationthat the River become a“superfund” site which will“open the door for some sortsof clean ups.”

If the River does get addedto this national priorities list,it will be about a year fromnow. McCauley also made sureto mention that the clean-upprocess can take from 10-20years.

She also added the impor-tance of project advocacy toelected officials, since statesare responsible for at least 10percent of clean-up expenses.Nonetheless, McCauley waspositive.

“Even though it seems like

there’s a long road ahead, it’sreally exciting progress that’sbeing looked into right now,”she said.

The Boston Water andSewer Commission sent tworepresentatives to the meeting,Director of Planning andSustainability Charlie Jewelland Project Manager AmySchofield.

Schofield delivered a de-tailed presentation that inmany ways complementedCooke’s. She concentrated onthe BWSC’s ongoing efforts tofind and fix illicit connectionsbetween sewer drains andstorm drains that, when left un-addressed, pollute the river.

She also spoke of the on-going inspections of the 69 to-tal sub-catchments (a catch ba-sin drainage network) that dis-charge stormwater into theNeponset. Since 2004, inspec-tions for 57 of them are com-plete, with the remaining 12scheduled to be finished by2019. These subsystems, how-ever, are open to re-evaluation.

The question and answersession touched on areas ofeach presentation, with eachspeaker at one point or anotheraddressing an issue presentedby the audience on index cardsread by Muhammad. Manywere directed at the BWSC,with contamination the focalpoint.

In her commentary on thisproblem, Schofield spoke of thedifficulty in finding exactlywhere it comes from, despitethe ability to narrow potentialorigin points down.

Jewell, silent duringSchofield’s presentation, hadmore to say about these prob-lems.

“The investigation processrequires certain weather condi-tions,” Jewell said. “Sandbag-ging (a method of determiningillicit runoff in a stormwaterdrain) requires 96 hours of fore-casted dry weather. That’ssometimes very hard to get inBoston.”

He also revisited an ideathat Cooke presented to reduce

contamination: “green infra-structure” – specifically, raingardens that would allow stormwater to be absorbed into theground, letting natural pro-cesses treat it before it makes itto the river.

During the Q & A, MarcNascarella, Director of the En-vironmental Toxicology Pro-gram for the Department of Pub-lic Health, encouraged Riverabutting residents to add signagewarning against fishing, whichhe acknowledged as a possibleissue for an immigrant popula-

tion.Following up on

Nascarella’s comments, Cookeencouraged attendees to markup a huge map of the Neponsetthat had been taped to the wallwith suggested signage points.

The conversation continuedwell after the meeting hadended, with Hyde Park andMattapan residents lingering insmall groups around each otherand different presenters, whileothers marked coordinates on themap, planning further as to theRiver that ran a stone’s throw away.


HELP WANTEDIndra USA, Inc. seeks Banking Systems Analyst in Boston,

MA. Qualified candidate must have Bachelor’s degree (or equiva-lent degree established through formal credential evaluation basedon combined education and experience) in Computer Science orrelated field; 1 yr experience as banking analyst using SantanderTechnology platform, including remote team coordination andend customer solutions; and demonstrated proficiency with CO-BOL, CICS, JCL, DB2, SQL, and CRM. Please send resumeand cover letter, including salary requirements, to HR Director,Indra USA, Inc., 800 Brickell Ave, Suite 1270, Miami, FL 33131.

CLASSIFIEDS“The Holiday Market cre-

ates a festive atmospherewhere local retailers, artists,restaurants, and neighbors cancome together on a chilly nightand warm up with music andhot cocoa — all while shop-ping locally in the heart ofRoslindale Village,” saidRVMS Executive Director AliaHamada Forrest.

The surrounding shops andaward-winning restaurants willfeature special sales and menusduring the market. Birch StreetHouse & Garden and JoanneRossman offer unique gifts,and the Boston Cheese Cellarwill be serving mulled wineand their famous Swissraclette.

As a special attraction thisyear, owners of the newly-an-nounced brewery, DistractionBrewing, will be at the site oftheir future business at 2Belgrade Ave. for a meet andgreet.

ONE-ON-ONECOMPUTER ASSISTANCE

One-On-One Computer As-sistance are on Wednesdaysfrom 3-4 p.m. Please call 617-325-3147 to reserve a 30-minute informal session with alibrarian. Bring your device oruse a library laptop (librarycard required). Beginners arewelcome. This is a free service.

FREE DROP-INHOMEWORK HELP

Boston Public Library loca-tions offer free after-schoolhomework help andmentorship provided bytrained, high-achieving highschool students. HomeworkHelp is available Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, andThursday afternoons between3:30 and 5:30 p.m., Sept. 18through May 24. Open to stu-dents in grades K-8. No regis-tration is required. Program isnot available on Boston Pub-lic School holidays, early-re-lease days, or long weekends.

Homework Help mentortrainings provided by HarvardUniversity’s Public SchoolPartnerships Team, the devel-opers of SmartTalk, a programthat uses research-based tools,strategies, and resources tosupport students during home-work time. Located at the WestRoxbury Branch of the BostonPublic Library.

SANTA SCAMPER5K ROAD RACE

Race Day Registration andPre/Post Race Festivities Reg-istration and pre/post race fes-tivities at the Irish Social Club,119 Park St. in West Roxbury,just a block from the race start/finish. Our Race Day Logisticspage will keep you up to date!Race Course Start/finish atParkway Community YMCA.Rolling course thru the WestRoxbury neighborhood of Bos-ton. Chip timing

On Dec. 10, 2017 the 5Kwill start at 11 a.m. The KidsRun at 10:15 a.m.

The Parkway Running Club(PRC) of West Roxbury hashosted an annual Santa Scam-per 5k road race since 1994.This race raises money for theBoston Globe Santa Fund, acharity to support children ofneed in Massachusetts.

Calendarcontinued from page 8

Legal Notices

Legal Notices

Letter ToThe Editor

Please write to:THE BULLETIN

661 Washington St,Suite 202

Norwood, MA 02062 Tel: (617) 361-8400Fax: (617) 361-1933

e-mail us [email protected]

Tell ‘emwhat you

think with aPlease include your name,

address & telephone number.Unsigned letters will not be

published.

Commonwealth of MassachusettsThe Trial Court Probate and Family Court

INFORMAL PROBATEPUBLICATION NOTICE DOCKET No.SU16P2643

Estate of: Helen P. Canavan Suffolk DivisionAlso Known As:Date of Death: December 2, 2015

To all persons interested in the above-captioned estate, by Petition ofPetitioner Phyllis A.C. Swett of Abington, MAPhyllis A.C. Swett of Abington, MA

has been informally appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate to servewithout surety on the bond.

The estate is being administered under informal procedure by the PersonalRepresentative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without supervisionby the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, butinterested parties are entitled to notice regarding the administration from the PersonalRepresentative and can petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, includingdistribution of assets and expenses of administration. Interested parties are entitled topetition the Court to institute formal proceedings and to obtain orders terminating orrestricting the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under informal procedure.A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Petitioner.

Hyde Park Bulletin, 12/07/2017

Commonwealth of MassachusettsThe Trial Court – Probate and Family Court Department

SUFFOLK Division Docket No. SU17C0302CA

NOTICE OF PETITION FOR Suffolk Probate and Family CourtCHANGE OF NAME 24 New Chardon St.

Boston, MA 02114617-788-8300

In the Matter of: Travelle Michael BenjaminOf: Hyde Park, MA.

To all person interested in petition described:A petition has been presented by Tashanna C. Williams requesting that:

Travelle Michael Benjamin be allowed to change his/her/their name as follows:Travelle Michael Williams

IF YOU DESIRE TO OBJECT THERETO, YOU OR YOUR ATTORNEY MUSTFILE A WRITTEN APPEARANCE IN SAID COURT AT: Boston

ON OR BEFORE TEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING (10:00 AM) ON:01/18/2018WITNESS, Hon. Joan P. Armstrong, First Justice of this CourtDate: November 15, 2017

Felix D. Arroyo, Register of ProbateHyde Park Bulletin, 12/07/2017




Boston, MA 02114617-788-8300

In the Matter of: Christopher FigueroaOf: Boston, MA.

To all person interested in petition described:A petition has been presented by Christopher Figueroa requesting that:

Christopher Figueroa be allowed to change his/her/their name as follows:Christopher Villar Flores


ON OR BEFORE TEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING (10:00 AM) ON:12/21/2017WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this CourtDate: October 25, 2017

Felix D. Arroyo, Register of ProbateBoston Bulletin, 12/07/2017




Boston, MA 02114617-788-8300

In the Matter of: Elizabeth Anna AleksandroffOf:

To all person interested in petition described:A petition has been presented by Elizabeth Anna Aleksandroff requesting that:

Elizabeth Anna Aleksandroff be allowed to change his/her/their name as follows:Skye Eres Davis


ON OR BEFORE TEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING (10:00 AM) ON:12/28/2017WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this CourtDate: November 24, 2017





Boston, MA 02114617-788-8300

In the Matter of: Kathleen Mary LaytonOf: Boston, MA

To all person interested in petition described:A petition has been presented by Kathleen M. Layton requesting that:

Kathleen Mary Layton be allowed to change his/her/their name as follows:Maridelia Onora Rowan


ON OR BEFORE TEN O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING (10:00 AM) ON:12/21/2017WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this CourtDate: November 20, 2017



SUFFOLK Division Docket No.SU17D2524DRDIVORCE SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION AND MAILING

Jocelyn Santiago Montero vs. Francisco Albert Hilario SanchezSuffolk Probate and Family Court, 24 New Chardon St., Boston, MA 02114

To the Defendant:The Plaintiff has filed a Complaint for Divorce requesting that the Court grant a

divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.The Complaint is on file at the Court.An Automatic Restraining Order has been entered in this matter preventing you

from taking any action which would negatively impact the current financial status ofeither party. SEE Supplemental Probate Court Rule 411.

You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon: Jocelyn Santiago Montero,8 Buckingham St., Hyde Park, MA 02136 your answer, if any, on or before 01/25/2018. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of thisaction. You are also required to file a copy of your answer, if any, in the office of theRegister of this Court.

Witness, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.November 22, 2017

Felix D. Arroyo, Register of Probate CourtHyde Park Bulletin, 12/07/2017

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATIONSTATE OF NORTH CAROLINA – DURHAM COUNTY

IN THE DISTRICT COURT17CVD1032

BETHEA VS. NOTICE-BETHEA

Lorraine Notice-Bethea:Take notice that a pleading seeking a Final Divorce, Equitable Distribution, &

Interim Distribution with attorney’s fees has been filed in the above-entitled action.The nature of the relief being sought is as follows:

That the bonds of matrimony which heretofore existed between the parties bedissolved and that the Plaintiff be granted an absolute divorce from the Defendant.That the Court determine the marital and divisible property of the parties and make anequitable distribution of said property and grant an unequal distribution in favor ofthe Plaintiff pursuant to N.C.G.S. §50-20 et. seq.; That the Court make an interimdistribution that the marital home is Plaintiff’s sole property and that the Defendantbe instructed to take steps necessary to have her name removed from the deed; Thatthe Court order Defendant to pay Plaintiff’s reasonable attorney fees; That the costs ofthis action be taxed to Defendant; That the Court grants such other relief to the Plaintiffas the Court may deem just and proper. You are required to make defense to suchpleading not later than January 14, 2018 and upon failure to do so the party seekingservice against you will apply to the court for the relief sought.

This the 30th day of November, 2017.Nicholas DowgulFelton Banks, PLLC7406 Chapel Hill Rd., Suite HRaleigh, NC 27607

West Roxbury/Roslindale Bulletin,11/30/2017, 12/07/2017, 12/14/2017


Letters continued from page 4

GRATEFUL TOREP. LIZ MALIA

To the Editor:We are grateful to and Rep-

resentative Liz Malia for support-ing the We the People Act(H.1926 and S.379). Not only isRep Malia a co-sponsor but she

also took action this month bysending a joint letter to commit-tee chairs hearing the bill urginga positive report. This bill wouldhave Massachusetts, the cradle ofAmerican Democracy; join theother five states (Vermont, Cali-fornia, Illinois, New Jersey and

Rhode Island) that have alreadyvoted to propose a constitutionalamendment to overturn the Su-preme Court’s disastrous Citi-zens United decision. Until Wethe People, through our electedstate representatives and senators,exercise our constitutional author-

ity to amend the Constitution inthis way, our political landscapewill continue to be dominated bymulti-national corporations, bil-lionaires and other powerful spe-cial interests, and government of,by and for the people will continueto be a mirage. Amending theConstitution is a heavy lift, but ithas been done 27 times before.Without constitutional amend-

ments, former slaves, women, andpeople old enough to serve in themilitary would not have a voicein public affairs. Now it’s our turnto live up to the first three wordsof the Constitution, “We thePeople,” and make our govern-ment responsive to the needs ofall the people, not just the wealthyfew.

Laura GangRoslindale

yde park bulletin · hood, you shouldn’t be able to rent for commercial use,” he said. another...

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