Beacon Hill Residents of Ward 5 Visit Polling Spot to Ensure Clinton Vote

Between the hours 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the corner of Mount Vernon Street and Joy Street, the Hill House Community Center welcomed Beacon Hill residents of the Ward 5 to Precinct 5 to cast their Super Tuesday vote, the environment was quiet, friendly, and mainly democratic.

“Beacon Hill is pretty subdue and pretty quiet during the day,” 15-year Beacon Hill resident and veteran, Larry Remo, said.

Remo was excited to volunteer for the first time and participate in a process that concerns the future of the country he loves.

Republican Gary Shaw, warden for precinct 5, has volunteered at this polling location for four years and said he does so for the neighborhood and people who work and live in the area.

Shaw planned to vote during his lunch break and stated he wished Jeb Bush were still in the running.

“We were just talking about the fact that I think that both parties have gone extreme. Republicans have gone to much to the right and Democrats have gone to much to the left, and the middle crowd which I really think makes up the bulk of America are being disenfranchised by the current voters that are out there right now,” he said.

During today’s sunny afternoon, the vote count was moving up to around 258 votes counted so far for Ward 5 as more voters trickled in, many, unlike Shaw, leaving the old firehouse turned community center pro-Hillary Clinton.

76-year-old Cynthia Alcorn exited saying, “I vote because I believe in voting…if not me who will?”

A longtime Pickney Street resident, Alcorn stated in years passed she would have voted republican however, today, she shifted to democratic and did so with concerns about Bernie Sanders ability to make it through a presidency at an age close to her.

“I think republicans should be ashamed of themselves. I think people have been watching so much reality T.V. that they can’t distinguish what is real life,” she said regarding her reasons for not remaining republican in this election.

In 2008 Hillary Clinton won the Mass. Presidential Primary with 56 percent of the vote, defeating then U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who received 40 percent.

According to the Beacon Hill Times, the Ward 5 Committee has been politically active lately and on Saturday Feb. 20 elected 20 delegates (10 men and 10 women) for the State Democratic Convention June 4 in Lowell.

Clinton supporters leaving the polls were mainly Beacon Hill residents over the age of 60, with some young professionals popping in every hour.

Tarleton Watkins, an over 60- year-old Beacon Hill resident, was among those who favored Clinton based on her political experience and intelligent solutions to nationwide problems.

“I think she has the best chance of making the economic system work better for all Americans. I think the huge disparities that we see between the very rich and virtually everybody else, can’t go on for much longer…my feeling is that Hillary is much more skilled at bringing really practical political solutions to the problem, “ he said.

Fellow Beacon Hill resident and outspoken democrat, Teresa Scott, stated specific examples that furthered her support for Clinton.

“I really like the fact she is very smart and she rolls up her sleeves. For instance I heard that when the Flint Michigan crisis broke Bernie Sanders made a lot of speeches but she sent two of her aids to Flint and said what can we do to help,” she said.

Boston representative for Donald Trump, Richard Pien, agreed that Clinton was the favorable choice among Beacon Hill residents and a majority of Boston.

“I think she will be very popular in terms of how many votes she gets for the primary nominations because she was endorsed by the mayor Marty Walsh,” he said.

Volunteers said the polls would close at 8 p.m and votes counted immediately after.

Massachusetts was among the 12 states and one U.S territory holding primary elections today. As of 8:30 p.m CNBC posted that the Democratic Massachusetts primary was too close to call while Donald Trump was the projected winner of GOP primaries in Georgia, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Alabama where polls have also now closed.

Children’s Wharf Memorial Park Renovation Officially Underway

SOUTH BOSTON - Residents of South Boston’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood, along with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department and landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, joined forces last night for the first meeting about the memorial park rejuvenation on the Fort Point Channel between the Children’s Museum and Congress Street.

In December, Mayor Marty Walsh, Governor Charlie Baker, and family of 8- year-old Boston Marathon bombing victim, Martin Richard, announced the reconstruction of the Children’s Wharf Park at the Boston Children’s Museum in honor of Martin. The meeting last week was specifically for park designers to share their vision for the memorial park while taking into consideration community feedback. Residents expressed excitement about the youthful feel to transform neighborhood park.

 “In discussion with the [Richard] family… the aspect that they want to come through of their son is his own lust for life and how he embraced it in the short time that he had,” said Laura Solano, landscape architect for Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.

The park will have inclusive play, passive and active recreation, improve the “Sleeper Street experience” which, according to neighbors was less than inviting as a pedestrian sidewalk, improve pedestrian safety and circulation, and enhance the “Harborwalk experience,” said Lauren Bryant, Boston Parks and Recreation Department project manager.

“We want it to be comfortable and available for everybody…embracing his [Martin Richard’s] personal spirit of inclusion, maybe what he would’ve been like if he had the opportunity to become an adult,” Solano added.        

            There were concerns on both ends. Donohue explained that space is a factor in the park’s success, as the one-acre of land could potentially hold upwards of 500,000 visitors from the adjacent museum. While neighbors raised questions about transportation, parking, facility management, and the deficient size of surrounding sidewalks come construction time

“When you add light poles, signs and fire plugs it is barely wide enough for two pedestrians to walk, let alone two baby carriages,” explained 19-year resident and real estate broker, Charles Joseph, about the Sleeper Street sidewalk issue, which went addressed by the architects.  

              Bryant rolled out a timeline of events stating the project is set to break ground fall of 2016, with a hopeful completion in the fall of 2017.  Before any construction begins however, there will be another community meeting in March 2016, where residents will review the plans based on their comments. 

MVVA designer and project manager Chris Donohue discussed the designers’ approach to park theme and general landscape. The mission is to create a space with “an amplified sense of nature in an otherwise urban environment.”

Among the goals for a robust sense of naturalism, environment for exploration, and space for range of experiences, such as relaxation and play, Donohue explained that the team hopes to extend the idea of learning and playing in one integrated experience, in collaboration with the Boston Children’s Museum.  

“Common themes [we heard] were people wanting to make sure it’s a resourceful park in the sense that it packs a lot in a little amount of space,” Solano added.

Stay-at-home mom Lisa Greenfield raised comment to the designers that currently there is no place for young families to gather to get to know each other and not a swing set in sight in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.

“I hope that it [Children’s Wharf Park] is a …functioning playground space that kids can climb and run…because there isn’t that in this neighborhood. We shouldn’t have to take the T five stops to get to an actual functioning playground,” Greenfield stated. 

Joseph said he has also long awaited the renovation of this parcel. “When I saw the news that the park was going to be named after Martin Richard and that the Mayor and Governor’s offices were really behind making that a reality, I had renewed hope that this was actually going to come to fruition,” he said.

The sense of community was prevalent in the room and almost all attendees, like Greenfield, left hopeful their voice had been heard. 

“We are very excited and we hope to be actively engaged in the process,” Joseph added.

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Beacon Hill Dossier

Beacon Hill

Total Population: (as of 2010) 9,023

Demographics:

o   Median Age: 31

o   Race: 89.9% White, 5.4% Asian, 2.1% African American

o   Relationships: 60.5% in nonfamily households, 39.4% in family households

o   Households: 92.6% NO children UNDER 18 years

§  25.6% Family Households: 88.1% husband-wife family, 24.6% with children under 18 years

§  74.4% Nonfamily Households: 70.9% Householder living alone

o   Housing Occupancy: 6,013 housing units, 5,450 occupied, 33.7% owner-occupied, 66.3% renter-occupied

https://data.cityofboston.gov/dataset/Beacon-Hill-neighborhood-2010-Census/x3gv-zsfq

Average Household Salary: (as of 2013) $80,684

Median Rent Cost: (as of 2013) $1,689 per month

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Beacon-Hill-Boston-MA.html

Education: 89.5% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/neighborhoods/beacon-hill/at-a-glance

Schools: According to an article from boston.com in 2012 Boston Public Schools data compiled by the neighborhood group, of the 399 school-age children living on Beacon Hill in 2008-2009 school year, 74, or 19 percent, went to public schools while 325, or 81 percent, went to private schools.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/beacon_hill/2012/03/eliot_school_expansion_petitio.html

·      Following up: According to the article the neighborhood has made unsuccessful attempts to purchase a building to turn it into a neighborhood school in the past.

Designated as neighborhood: The Historic Beacon Hill District was designated in 1955 by an Act of the Massachusetts State Legislature (Chapter 616 of the Acts of 1955, as amended).

http://www.cityofboston.gov/landmarks/historic/beaconhill.asp

Location: About one square mile in size, bound by Beacon Street, Bowdoin Street, Cambridge Street and Storrow Drive.

General facts:

·      It is one of Boston's oldest communities

·      Got its name from a beacon that once stood atop its hill to warn locals about foreign invasion

·      Sits directly north of the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden

·      Its architecture and lay- out is reflective of old colonial Boston, consisting of brick row houses with beautiful doors, decorative iron work, brick sidewalks, narrow streets, and gas lamps.

·      Beacon Hill is also home to the Massachusetts State House and America's first African Meeting House.

·      Many notable Americans have lived here including Louisa May Alcott, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Daniel Webster, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and Senator John Kerry.

http://www.cityofboston.gov/neighborhoods/beaconhill.asp

http://www.bhcivic.org/living-here.html

People:

·      Neighborhood Liaison: Jacob Wessel http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/liaisons.asp

·      Preservation planner for the Historic Beacon Hill District: Lissa Schwab, lisbeth.schwab@boston.gov 617-635-3850 http://www.cityofboston.gov/landmarks/historic/beaconhill.asp

·      City Councilors: Josh Zakim (District 8), Josh.Zakim@boston.gov 617-635-4225

·      City Council President Bill Linehan (District 2), Bill.Linehan@boston.gov. 617-635-3203

 http://www.bhcivic.org/your-elected-officials.html

Local Organizations:

·      Beacon Hill Civic Association

o   www.bhcivic.org 617 227 1922

·      Boston Preservation Alliance

o   www.bostonpreservation.org 617 367 2458  

·      Conservation Committee of the Beacon Hill Garden Club

o   http://www.beaconhillgardenclub.org

·      Beacon Hill Womens Forum

o   https://beaconhillwomensforum.org

Businesses Based in Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill Staffing Group: Just made headlines on PRNewswire for closing 2015 about $348 million in annual revenue. Company named to Boston Globes Top places to work in State of Massachusetts (# 22)
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beacon-hill-staffing-group-2015-revenue-approaches-350m-300209049.html

Things to do:

·      Charles street, spanning five city blocks, is the main shopping district, full of cafes, restaurants, and salons

·      Visit the museum of Afro-American History at the African Meeting House

·      Visit the Boston Center for Jewish Heritage at the Vilna Shul

·      Walk along the Boston Common, the oldest public park in America, one entrance to the park is directly across from Charles St.

http://www.beaconhillonline.com/attractions.htm

https://www.historicbeaconhill.com/index.php/about-beacon-hill

https://www.historicbeaconhill.com/index.php/museums-historic

News Sites:

http://beaconhilltimes.com

Most recent stories covering Boston general news, new constructions in the area, Beacon Hill gala

·      Following up: Story about Beacon Hill shop owner known for her unique, non traditional perspective http://beaconhilltimes.com/2016/01/20/lana-barakat-and-her-december-thieves/

Upcoming Events

44th Annual Beacon Hill Gala, hosted by the Beacon Hill Civic Association, will be held on February 6th at the Four Seasons Hotel

·      Following up: With group members, what exactly is the gala for?

Major issues in the last few months:

Developer Pitched 75 condo construction on Beacon Hill (Dec 31^st), largest redevelopment project seen in Beacon Hill in years.

·      https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/12/31/developer-pitching-condos-beacon-hill/1MkloeR5AjD9KlCEXfMw6J/story.html

·      http://beaconhilltimes.com/2016/01/22/from-classrooms-to-residences/

Unable to find an article so far past late 2013, but would like to follow up the news of Charle Baker’s new budget announced in his State of the State address.

·      http://beaconhilltimes.com/2013/12/17/making-beacon-hill-inviting-to-young-families/

According to Police Briefs from area, the biggest issue is larceny and vehicle vandalism (all in the last two months) http://beaconhilltimes.com/category/police-briefs/

·      Following up: from news pieces so far most residents pro the new construction, however nothing has begun yet and I am curious once construct begins will it greatly affect the calm, quiet atmosphere of the area?

Other helpful links:

http://www.beaconhillonline.com/index.htm

Google Groups:

Beacon Hill Runners

A Sunday Morning Observation

The smell of steaming hot espresso, freshly baked gingerbread morning bun sits effortlessly among the calm feel of a late Sunday morning at Beacon Hill’s Tatte Bakery. Sitting at a old wooden communal table facing out the café window I sit among a variety of patrons. Some seem to be regulars, young looking mothers with their strollers weaving their way around the café, one hand on their latte, the other on the handle, a younger looking couple I suspect newlyweds in their mid-thirties, dressed in their cream colored sweaters leaning towards one another across the table to speak. 

My favorite patrons remind me of myself, three college aged kids who I can confirm only motivated themselves to venture out on a Sunday morning for an Instagram worthy brunch and a "café vibe" to get their work done, as recognized by their backpacks and concerned faces for an empty table. I look out the window and stare at the up the street I have always wanted to call home, the cobblestone streets, exposed brick brownstones, and decorative colored doors giving each home its own personality. The hills of each tree or nut named residential street seem to branch up from the street I now sit on, Charles Street, the central point for residents and patrons of Beacon Hill. I decide to give my seat to the eager students and take a stroll down Charles as I have done many times the past three years. 

As I walk along the frozen cobblestone, hoping not to slip, I walk past an older looking woman in a fur coat, nicely done hair, decked out in gold jewelry and her husband dressed just as well guiding her by arm, we exchange a smile. I continue and smile at the furry friend, a golden retriever, headed by why with his owner, a young woman about thirty, following behind. 

I walk passed the absurdly long line for the Boston's best breakfast at The Paramount; the inside decorated like an old diner, with Bin 26 a swanky wine enthusiast restaurant a few doors down. I continue to look at each modern day boutique encased in the classic red brick and it is around then I have solidified a thought: Beacon Hill is, in my opinion, the only place in Boston in which  old and new live in lucrative harmony.  

The juxtaposition of historic yet, modern, grandparent yet, young parent, and freezing temperatures yet, warm friendly faces of neighbors and visitors that interact along the sidewalks. For about five blocks I continue past the various family owned restaurants you can tell have been passed on through generations, the cafes with millennial snapping photos of their cappuccinos, salons with young professionals getting a Sunday pedicure, and modern boutiques full of upscale clothing and home decor. 

Yes. I contemplated (multiple times) walking in and asking how long each one has been there, just as I had when it came to asking the people I passed along the street how long their home has been in their family. According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, most homes are old construction rooted in family tradition and passed down. Yet each time I tried I couldn't bare to interrupt anyone's Sunday. I couldn't let myself spoil what looked like the most peaceful day for each person, so instead I simply watched, and tried to to take in what its like to be a resident of Beacon Hill.

I continue all the way down. Standing at the end of Charles Street I sensed that simple feeling of the Beacon Hill morning fading as the sound of more cars increased. Instead the urban city feeling outside of Beacon Hill returned and I reached the neighborhood counterpart to my beat, the newly gentrified mystery that is the West End of Boston.