volume 20, issue 33 august 13, 2020 council reviews ......the instruction, we are hiring remote...

Blessed Sacrament Church during the 2019 Jamaica Plain Worlds’ Fair.PHOTO BY RICHARD HEATH

Task Force explains decisionto sell Blessed Sacrament

RicharRicharRicharRicharRichard Heathd Heathd Heathd Heathd HeathStaff Reporter

The longest running show in Ja-maica Plain is called “ What To DoWith Blessed Sacrament Church.” Itopened 16 years ago when the Arch-diocese closed the great church as firstreported by the old JP Bulletin on May27, 2004.

On July17, 2020 the owner, HydeSquare Task Force, announced it haddecided to sell the church.

When the Jamaica Plain Neighbor-hood Development Corporation(JPNDC) and its partner New AtlanticDevelopment bought the 3.4-acre cam-pus including three other buildings in

Dec 2005 for $6 million, hopes ran highthat it would be a wall againstgentrification creeping into the neigh-borhood.

After successfully battling theSunnyside Neighborhood Association,that threatened a lawsuit, JPNDC devel-oped three blocks of housing on the site;Creighton Commons, Gutierrez Houseand 28 units at Sister Virginia Mulhernsupportive housing in the former rec-tory all completed in 2009 and 2011.

Citing financial problems in 2013,the JPNDC planned to sell the churchto New Atlantic Development that pro-posed to convert it into 34 market rate

Blessed SacramentBlessed SacramentBlessed SacramentBlessed SacramentBlessed SacramentContinued on page 6

Dozens of residents and members of the Southwest Boston CDC came out virtually to here from candidates for the 14th SuffolkDistrict last Thursday.

COURTESY PHOTO

14th Suffolk candidates debate housing issues

CandidatCandidatCandidatCandidatCandidate Fe Fe Fe Fe ForumorumorumorumorumContinued on page 4

JefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

The Southwest Boston CommunityDevelopment Corporation (SWBCDC)hosted a forum last week between threeSuffolk County 14th District of theMassachusetts State House of Repre-sentatives Candidates Rob Consalvo,Gretchen Van Ness and Duckens Petit-Maitre.

The forum was heavily-attended viaa virtual meeting platform. Write-in can-didate Kevin Reed, who has participatedin at least one previous forum, was notin attendance.

Many of the questions were askedby the SWBCDC Summer Youth GreenTeam, a youth jobs initiative from theorganization designed to increase and

maintain greenspace in the city.Member Mina Green asked the can-

didates if they would advocate for morepreventative mental health programs,substance abuse treatment, homelessnessprevention and family services to de-crease avoidable police intervention andimprisonment in the community.

“The answer is absolutely yes, andI’m the candidate in this race who has aproven record to have already done that,”said Consalvo. “As a Boston City Coun-cilor, I did it as the chair of the Ways andMeans Committee to help shepherdthrough over a billion-dollar budget,working with my colleagues, who fo-cused on those very areas. At the BostonHome Center, leading the city’s housingand homeownership efforts, I led the fightfor more resources for first-time home

buyers, particularly first-time homebuyers of color, for foreclosure inter-vention/prevention so we could keepfamilies in their homes and for homerepair funding so we could help our se-niors who are in many cases, cash poorbut house rich, stay in their homes.”

Consalvo added that in his work atthe Boston Public Schools (BPS) hehelped advocate for a $100 million in-crease in the school budget so theycould target the 30 most under-perform-ing schools to help in prevention as well.

Petit-Maitre said he worked withWard 18 Democrats to see how theycould deal with those problems andwould definitely support more fundingfor prevention. He said because he is a per-

Councilreviewselection

preparations

ElectionElectionElectionElectionElectionContinued on page 2

With the Sept. 1 primary a few weeksaway, the Boston City Council Commit-tee on Government Operations held aworking session to discuss how Boston isdoing when it comes to preparing for theupcoming elections.

Interim Election CommissionerEneida Tavares said there will be threeways a voter can cast a ballot at the Sept.1 Primary: early vote in person, vote onthe day of the election or request a mail-in ballot.

“The Secretary of State has sent outthe initial mailing to all registered voters,which is a returnable post card which ispre-postage paid, and anyone can requesta mail-in ballot,” she said. “Early votingis scheduled to start on Saturday, Aug. 22,and we are now mandated to have a fullweekend of voting before the Septemberprimary, with nine sites going on bothSaturday and Sunday. We’ll have sites inthe community on Tuesday and Thursdayand City Hall will be available for votingMonday through Friday, Aug. 24 throughAug. 28.”

According to Tavares, they have re-ceived back 42,000 vote-by-mail requestsback. That doesn’t mean those personswill necessarily vote by mail, it just meansthey want to reserve the option. Tavaressaid residents may just want the optionand would be willing to risk an in-personvote depending on what COVID-19 in-fection numbers look like at the time ofeither election.

“We’re getting a lot of questions aboutthat and we anticipate that there’s prob-ably a lot of people who are going to sit


Volume 20, Issue 33 AUGUST 13, 2020

Page 2Page 2Page 2 The Bulletin AAAAAugust 1ugust 1ugust 1ugust 1ugust 13, 20203, 20203, 20203, 20203, 2020

Election continued from page 1 Columbkille planning in-person learningNeNeNeNeNew Head of School taking helmw Head of School taking helmw Head of School taking helmw Head of School taking helmw Head of School taking helm

Jennifer Kowieski


Jennifer Kowieski is takingthe helm this year at the St.Columbkille School inBrighton as the school plans toreopen for five-day in-personlearning.

“We are moving forwardwith our plan to reopen in per-son five days a week and weare unique in that our plan foroffering the option for remotelearning looks different thanany other school,” she said.“My administration team andI have spent the summer call-ing each of our families as wellas getting some surveys onlineand it’s clear that we havesome families who are veryhesitant to send their childrenback to school.”

She said sometimes a childhas a health condition, a par-ent or a grandparent at homehas a health condition or theparent may have repeated ex-posure because of their job.She said they are offering theoption for remote learning toaccommodate these concerns.

“Unlike most schools thatare setting up cameras in theclassroom and livestreamingthe instruction, we are hiringremote learning specialistswho will offer dedicated sup-port to our students learning athome,” she said. “So they willteach small groups over Zoomin the morning and then beavailable for additional sup-port during office hours in the

afternoon and provide asyn-chronous work (homework) inthe afternoon.”

Kowieski said the schoolwill be cleaned as much as pos-sible during school hours aswell.

“So we have a wonderfulcleaning crew already andwe’re hiring an additionalcleaning person to be with usduring the school day to ensurethat all of the areas deemedhigh-touch zones get cleanedfrequently throughout thecourse of the day when stu-dents are with us,” she said.

Kowieski said the schoolhas also been working in tan-dem on both a hybrid and re-mote plan, as the Massachu-setts Department of SecondaryEducation has mandated.

“We will be prepared to goto remote learning as an entireschool,” she said. “We’ve beenworking throughout the sum-mer to strengthen our remotelearning plan and I was not thehead of school this past year,but I was able to join the facil-ity via Zoom on different oc-casions in the spring and I’vebeen reading through all ourparent survey data about howremote learning went for fami-lies during the spring, and I’mpleased the faculty did a won-derful job of implementing re-mote learning strategies withvery little preparation.”

She said they’ve been us-ing the summer to analyzewhat worked and what didn’tand will be ready to go remote

if needed.“We’ll be taking advantage

of more small group instruc-tion, because that camethrough as an area of strengththis past spring and then we’resharing with our faculty differ-ent strategies for remote learn-ing as well,” she said.

She added that the schoolhas been receiving a lot of helpfrom its parent school, BostonCollege.

Kowieski herself comesfrom the Midwest and firststarted teaching in St. Peters-burg Florida as a member ofthe Alliance for Catholic Edu-cation at Notre Dame. She saidit’s similar to the Urban Catho-lic Teaching Corps. at BostonCollege.

“Both of these programsare service programs that takerecent college graduates andplace them as teachers inunderserved Catholicschools,” she said. “I taughtsecond grade in St. Petersburgfor two years. I will say it wasone of the most formative ex-periences of my life. Not onlywas I a Catholic school teacher

ColumbkilleColumbkilleColumbkilleColumbkilleColumbkilleContinued on page 4

on their ballot and just watch thenumbers before determiningwhich option they’re going toutilize,” she said.

She added that absentee bal-lots now number 6,000 sent out,which is the typical absenteevote, which was included in themail-in ballots, but added that’sstill high.

District 6 City CouncilorMatt O’Malley said that’s verygood news for voter turnout forthis year’s elections.

“That’s 10 percent of all reg-istered voters, and that seems likea very positive number since it’srelatively early and folks stillhave a few weeks to get thoseback,” he said.

Tavares said all ballots for theprimary have to be back to theElection Department by Sept. 1at 8 p.m. She said the deadlineto request a ballot is Aug. 26.

“There will be a drop boxhere on the third floor of CityHall, residents can drop their bal-lot there, they can return theirballot to any of the early votingsites as well or they can return itvia mail,” she said, adding thatthe ballot cannot be dropped offat one’s typical voting location.

At-Large City Councilor JuliaMejia asked how the departmenthas been courting younger pollworkers, as many usual pollworkers are retired elderly andare understandably fearful ofgoing out for the election season.

“We are working with twocolleges and we want to see howwell that works, and the secre-tary of state has added this to theirwebsite as well and we’ve donesome social media outreach torecruit new poll workers, and weare seeing a lot of new youngerapplicants. We have a thousandnew applicants in our pool,”

Tavares said. “I think we’re look-ing okay for now.”

At-Large City CouncilorMichael Flaherty asked Tavareshow the department wouldhandle postmark date dependen-cies or the lack of a postmark, asa recent New York election sawthe invalidation of possibly thou-sands of ballots. Tavares said itwill depend on the election, andurged mail-in voters to get theirballots in early.

“So those ballots have to bereceived by election day for theprimary regardless of whetherthey are postmarked on the first,and if they’re received after, thatballot would be invalid. For Nov.3, that ballot has to be post-marked by Nov. 3 and arrive tous by Nov. 6,” she said.

Here’s a breakdown of impor-tant dates for the upcoming elec-tions.

Saturday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m.:Voter registration deadline Sat-urday, Aug. 22, through Friday,Aug. 28: Early voting periodWednesday, Aug. 26: Deadlinefor requesting vote-by-mail bal-lot Monday, Aug. 31, at 12 p.m.:Deadline for in-person absenteevoting Tuesday, Sept. 1: State pri-maries Saturday, Oct 24, at 8p.m.: Voter registration deadlineSaturday, Oct. 17, through Fri-day, October 30: Early votingperiod Wednesday, Oct. 28:Deadline for requesting vote-by-mail ballot Monday, Nov. 2, at12 p.m.: Deadline for in-personabsentee voting Tuesday, Nov. 3:Presidential election

For more information and torequest a ballot or see your poll-ing location, as some havechanged to the lack of space re-quired for social distancing, goto boston.gov/departments/elec-tion

Page 3 Page 3 Page 3The BulletinAAAAAugust 1ugust 1ugust 1ugust 1ugust 13, 20203, 20203, 20203, 20203, 2020

The HPNA discussed a proposal for new housing at this former taxi site near the Hyde Park Commuter RailStation.

COURTESY PHOTO

HPNA reviews new developmentproposals and ZaZ request

MarMarMarMarMary Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen GambonStaff Reporter

Legals

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 a

Please include your name,address & telephone number.

Unsigned letters will not bepublished.

The Hyde Park Neighbor-hood Association (HPNA) heldits monthly meeting virtually todiscuss two proposed develop-ment projects. And, for the firsttime in months, one develop-ment not discussed at lengthwas the 11 Dana Ave. saga.

Beforehand, HPNA presi-dent Jim Kirker announced thatOlrie Roberts, the chef andowner of ZaZ Restaurant andCatering, requested the group’s

support for two things: to ex-pand the popular restaurant’shours until 1 a.m. and for a cor-dials license.

“We recently expanded therestaurant,” Roberts said, not-ing he took over the location ofthe pharmacy next door. “Wehad planned that beforeCOVID hit, and then of course,things got put on hold. But nowit’s a whole transformation.”

While indoor expansion isongoing, there is now an out-door patio that can be accessedvia the restaurant. There is also

a new brunch menu, featuringselections like jerk salmon hushpuppies and Cajun shrimp macand cheese.

The restaurant, located at1238 River St. in the heart ofCleary Square, already servesa variety of gourmet sand-wiches and entrees and isknown for its Caribbean fare.Currently, the restaurant is openuntil 10 p.m., according to thewebsite. Roberts said he hopedto expand the hours to drive up

HPNAHPNAHPNAHPNAHPNAContinued on page 5


Editorial

for two years but I lived in acommunity with other teachersin the program and that wasessential for me. It was a greatsource of support, as well as aplace for me to deepen my faithand make some friends andhave some fun.”

She said she had been re-cently teaching in Chicago,which she said she felt was verysimilar to Boston in the way thecity felt.

“Living in Florida for acouple of years, I did miss theMidwest and I looked at a

couple of possibilities but tomove to Chicago, it had the feelof home,” she said. “I was ableto find a teaching position at anunderserved school in Chicagoand, well that just felt likewhere I needed to be.”

She said she had a friendwho recently moved fromSouth Bend, Indiana, to Bostonand heard from Boston CollegePresident Father William LeahyS.J. that Columbkille was inneed of a new head of school.

“Boston College has astrong partnership with St.

Columbkille,” she said. “So Ispent the year learning about theSt. Columbkille School and theschool really aligned with whatI was looking for. It’s a beauti-ful Catholic school communitywith rich diversity and I love thatthe school mission statementincludes that this is a place ofjoy and a place where studentsare known and loved, and it’sjust what I was looking for. Itwas a very easy decision in someways to leave my home in Chi-cago and it’s just felt like homeever since I moved.”

Columbkille continued from page 2

Candidate Forum continued from page 1

There is no going backto normal

This writer has a surgeon friend who lives in SarasotaFlorida with three kids under the age of 16, one in each ofthe three school levels: elementary, middle and highschool. He told me he has decided not to send his chil-dren back to school. When I asked him why he said, “Ihave no doubt that should my kids contract COVID-19 theywould survive, there being only a small percent chancethey would have lingering medical issues in the future.However, my fears are that any one of them could comehome one day and give me a big hug and a kiss and end upkilling me.”

After that conversation I couldn’t help thinking of howfortunate I am not to have to face that decision regardingmy kids, they being all grown and making their own deci-sions. Some may argue my doctor friend lives in one ofthe largest hot spots in the country and has more to worryabout, while others will continue to suggest that this wholepandemic discussion is politically motivated and thatCOVID-19 is nothing more than an exaggerated flu. Andperhaps you are all correct, at least to a degree. But, theguess at this address is that most spouting those argumentsdon’t have medical degrees or have children about to boarda school bus because, with no skin in the game, it’s easyto make the discussion political or grab onto theories thatwill generate less impact on you personally.

After reading articles about school departments prepar-ing for kids returning to class, I’m equally happy I’m notan educator or school administrator. Everyone involvedin schools are no less than placing their lives on the lineto teach your kids. Like my doctor friend, can you blameany one of them for being concerned about their own safetyas well as the loved ones they return to every day afterschool? These people are heroic, yet unlike doctors andnurses and grocery store workers, very little press appearsto published about the risks they will be taking except forteacher unions pleading with the public to understand andappreciate this fact. It’s almost as if their lives are ex-pendable because parents have to get to work and theeconomy has to rebound if we are ever going to get backto our normal lives. I don’t envy them, it really seems sounfair.

And when school starts, in whatever form it takes, therewill be detractors of virtually every new concept trying tobe introduced. As quoted in one school article this week,“It’s not going to resemble anything close to what we feellike going to school is.” Yet despite continued warnings,parents will complain, it’s inevitable and, at times, willeven be justifiable. All of this will test Boston’s resolveto make the best of an awful situation. Here’s hoping com-mon sense, with more than a touch of common decencywill prevail.

To send the child or to not send the child, that is thequestion. There is no right or wrong answer because eachindividual circumstance is unique. Boston has the rightstuff to support whatever decision a parent makes. Let’scontinue to support everyone trying to finalize theirs.

son of color – as persons of colorare far more likely to have interac-tions with police and the JusticeSystem (prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MA.html) – he himself knowswhat it is like to interact with thesystem.

“As a minority person, I under-stand every time I see each andevery one of you, I see myself,” hesaid. “I see the pain you’re goingthrough, I see the problems you’regoing through and I am a victim ofit, just like you, your friends andyour family. One of the things wevoted on was to see if we couldhave a fund and give that moneyto the minority community in or-der to deal with mental health cri-sis issues.”

Van Ness said she would sup-port more funding for preventionand mental health services.

“This is exactly what we needto be doing,” she said. “Many ofmy supporters and neighbors arepolice officers and we often haveconversations about how impos-sible their job is right now and whatkind of support they need to be ableto do their jobs better, and I alsotalked with so many of my neigh-bors and our neighbors across the14th Suffolk about how we wantto live in a community together andsupport each other.”

Van Ness said investment in thecommunity is a solid method totake care of problems before theybecome problems that could onlybe solved by calling the police.

“So I absolutely believe wehave to invest in mental health ser-vices, substance abuse services, allof the kinds of care that individu-als and families need in crisis,” shesaid.

A question from the audiencepointed out that Hyde Park – themajority neighborhood of the 14th,which includes parts of Roslindaleand West Roxbury as well – is be-coming more diverse. The resi-dents asked what each candidatewould do to support and reach outto those residents.

Van Ness said she has recentlybeen working with the Fresh SlateWard 18 Democratic Committee,which has been working to reachacross cultural divides to includeall residents in the neighborhoodsof Ward 18. She said the Marchelection for new Ward representa-

tives saw the creation of the mostdiverse and representative wardcommittee yet for the neighbor-hood.

“I was very honored to be in-vited to be a part of that,” she said.“That’s the most recent piece ofworking with our diverse commit-tee that I have been a part of. Weneed to continue that, and in mycampaign we have a leadershipcommittee that includes everyonefrom the members of the Latinxcommunity, the Nigerian commu-nity, the Haitian community,people with disabilities, veterans,and small business owners. This isa cliché, but it’s also true: one ofour strengths is our diversity.”

Petit-Maitre said he worked onthe Fresh Slate Ward 18 initiative.He said the aims of his electioncampaign is to create a more rep-resentative ward committee to in-crease transparency and accessibil-ity.

“One of the things I will doonce I get elected on Sept. 1, I willmake sure we work town meetingsand listen to people’s concerns andmake sure we have an office to thecommunity,” he said. “One of thethings I want to do is specificallybring the government to the com-munity, and if we voted for anycandidate, they should be acces-sible, they should not be missingin action after the election is over.They should be more open, theyshould be willing to answer yourquestions, and listen to your con-cerns and that’s what I would do. Ipromise you that, you won’t haveto go looking for me, I’ll be thefirst person you see.”

Consalvo said accessibilitywill be one of his priorities aswell, and said he would host hisoffice hours on the weekend tofit with most residents’ sched-ules.

“I’m the only candidate in thisrace who said they’d open a dis-trict office right in ClearySquare,” he said. “I did that as acity councilor and it was an ex-tremely effective way to commu-nicate with voters and make surewe’re representing your commu-nity.”

In terms of environmental is-sues and green issues, all candi-dates said they would support ini-tiatives to increase the tree

canopy in the city (which pro-vides oxygen and health benefits,as well as cools the area they’rein to help reduce electricity con-sumption) as well as saying theyall supported the environmentalissues and transitioning to greenenergy.

All three candidates alsowere asked about whether theywould support or introduce a billto end qualified immunity forpolice as well as their opinionson the current police reform billsgoing through the Massachu-setts State House and State Sen-ate. Consalvo said he supportedmany of the reforms of the bills,but said he has strong concernsabout eliminating qualified im-munity as it has been proposed,as the senate bill was passed at4 a.m. with no public debate.

“One of the things I hearfrom folks when I’m on thephones, I’ve made close to 3,000calls, is that people want moretransparency, not less transpar-ency,” he said, adding that theissue of qualified immunity is socomplicated there should bemore studies and research donebefore a vote is taken.

Petit-Maitre said that as avice chair for the Ward 18 Com-mittee, he voted for a resolutionto decrease the police budget inBoston by 15 percent.

“I would strongly stand be-hind this, and I strongly supportlicensing and significant policetraining,” he said. “I would sup-port equal protection for every-one.”

Van Ness said she woulddefinitely want to tackle quali-fied immunity.

“I’m a civil rights attorney,I’ve practiced in state and fed-eral courts, and I can tell you thatthis is a courts-created doctrinethat is an exception to the rulethat has ended up swallowingthe rule entirely,” she said.“No good police officer hasanything to fear by revokingqualified immunity. That’s thebasic truth. If we are going tolive our principles that BlackLives Matter, this is where therubber meets the road.”

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HPNA continued from page 3

This spot at 24 Winthrop St. is also up for redevelopment.COURTESY PHOTO

business and meet the demandsof his customers, including late-shift workers and first respond-ers.

“My goal is to fix the hoursso we can be flexible economi-cally right now to help us off-set some budget issues,” hesaid.

ZaZ already has a beer andwine license, but would like tobe able to serve cordials withmeals. They would be fruityalcoholic drinks withoutheavier proofs of liquor, Rob-erts explained. No bar would beinstalled.

Member Sandra Singerasked if patrons would be re-quired to buy food to purchasedrinks.

“I would be offended if youdid not buy my food,” Robertsreplied with a smile. He is alsoaltering the hours during theday because it used to be closedbetween 2 and 4 p.m., also dueto customer demand.

Kirker said the board wouldtake the proposal under advise-ment. Roberts added that hemay not stay open until 1 a.m.,but wanted to ask for that onthe license as a layer of flex-ibility.

The main issue discussedwas for a proposed develop-ment at 22 Factory St. AttorneyGeorge Morancy gave a presen-

tation along with Chris Drew ofRCA Architects. It is located atthe Hyde Park commuter railstation at the Shaw’s on HydePark Ave.

Morancy explained that thegroup has met with the BostonPlanning and DevelopmentAgency (BPDA) and theMBTA several times, butwanted to have an introductorymeeting with the group beforemaking a formal communitypresentation.

The proposal is for a five-story, 45-unit residential build-ing consisting of 27 studios and18 one-bedroom apartments.There would be six affordableunits. The ground floor wouldconsist of community space,bicycle storage and a “move in-move out area.” There will beno parking because the build-ing is designed primarily forcommuters.

Kirker asked about the zon-ing, which he was told wasNeighborhood Shopping One(NS-1). It would require vari-ances because it is an Article 80small project.

“You want to bring 45people in without parking be-cause they can survive onShaw’s or Walgreen’s?” inter-jected Singer during the presen-tation. “That’s not going to hap-pen. They are going to bring

their cars and come in the com-munity.”

“There are arguments forputting parking in, and there arearguments for not putting park-ing in, and we certainly under-stand that,” Morancy replied.

“We are starting to becomenot a suburb in the city but ahigh-rise or mid-rise high-den-sity community,” Singer contin-ued. “It’s changing the wholenature of the community.”

Fairmount Hill Neighbor-hood Association (FHNA)chair Joseph Smith said hewould be happier to see a build-ing with landscaping than thecurrent situation, which he de-scribed as “a dump” filled with

trash.The second project brought

up was for a four-story, 12-unitbuilding with 12 parking spacesat 24 Winthrop St., next to theHyde Park branch of the library.It is located in an NS-2 zone,the same as the 11 Dana Ave.project. Although no one wasthere to present the project,Kirker said he was told thatparking was planned on the firstfloor, “and they are using 11Dana Ave. as a template.”

He added that he believedthe same developer for the ad-jacent Dempsey’s project wasworking on this one.

“They are still supposed tomatch the buildings that are

around there, but this may be afight because that is subjec-tive,” Kirker said. NeighborDesiree Fortini said she hasreached out to the BPDA buthas not yet received a response.

“It just feels like they aregoing to put up a building andlet us know that it’s there,” shesaid.

“The site plan that’s on thetable for Winthrop Street hasless than a foot of a setback fora side yard between their prop-erty and the other property, ifI’ve read it correctly,” saidFrank O’Brien, who offeredadvice on the issue. “That’s to-tally unacceptable. Period. Endof story.”


Legals

Blessed Sacrament continued from page 1condominiums.

In the face of enormouscommunity opposition, JPNDCreconsidered and in a great leapof faith, the Hyde Square TaskForce bought the church for$816,000 in 2013.

But their dream of a 200-seat performance center cen-tered on Latinx music, danceand the arts crashed against therock of finances and in 2019HSTF issued an RFP for a part-ner to develop the church.

After that failed the boarddecided to sell the church.

On Aug. 6 the HSTF openeda virtual community meetingattended by 75 callers to ex-plain why.

HSTF Executive DirectorCelina Miranda faced a largely

unforgiving audience. “It’s withgreat sadness that this decisionneeded to be made,” Mirandasaid. “This was not an abruptdecision, but a very long andemotional process. I wish Icould meet you all face-to-face.

“We have a $2 million an-nual operating budget, “shesaid. “We have costs on thebuilding we own [the ChevrusSchool behind the church]. Thechurch carrying costs of$100,000 a year are weighingus down.”

Miranda told The Bulletinthe next day that HSTF had justcompleted a $2.5 million reno-vation of the old school but itstill needed HVAC replace-ment.

“Most of our operating sup-

port come from many founda-tions,” she said. “In recent yearsLiberty Mutual, State Street andthe Lindee foundations havebeen supporting us.”

Miranda, who has been di-rector since 2016, said that theHSTF had found a new lenderfor the church mortgage.

“Hingham Savings Bankrefinanced with us,” she said.“They’ve been helpful. Veryunderstanding. They gave us atwo-year loan that we only paythe interest on. It’s short timeand we’re trying to get an ex-tension.”

Board member JonathanBlock said that the 2019 RPFprocess had three requirements:a performance art space for 200people; an outdoor communityspace; compensation to theHSTF and a name to be deter-mined in consultation with theTask Force.

Block said that there werethree deterrents: the disrepair ofthe church built in 1917 andempty since 2004, the layout

and size of the church building{which is in cruciform shape]and the rising costs of construc-tion.

“When no proposals werereceived we were left with threeoptions,“ Block said. “Sell thebuilding, raise significant fundsor demolish the building.”

While not basing the deci-sion on the pandemic, Mirandadid admit that there was ur-gency to the decision,

“The task of finding the nec-essary $25 million required tobuild out the church is highlyuncertain now,” she said. “Itcould be a while before we havea buyer. The length of time isquestionable.”

Miranda tried to find a part-ner in the Boston arts commu-nity.

“I talked with Berklee Col-lege of Music and others,” shesaid. “There was no interest. Ithought there would be interestin this beautiful building.” OnJune 15, 2018, Governor Bakersigned a bond bill filed by RepJeffrey Sanchez. In that bill $40million “shall be intended forredevelopment and infrastruc-ture improvements in the HydeSquare and Jackson Square ar-eas of Jamaica Plain.”

Monica Cohen said that thatbond money is “a lot more thanis needed for the church.”

“Some of this state of emer-gency is in our heads,” shesaid. ”Let’s do this. Let’s getthose funds.

Medina explained that it isnot that simple.

“The $40 million is notonly for the church,” she said.“In my many conversationsabout this that’s not how ev-eryone sees Hyde Square andJackson Square. It’s not oneand the same. There’s no clearpath for those dollars.”

Emotions ran high, somespeakers close to tears; call-ers demanded more process.

“Offer it to the indigenouscommunity,” said one. “Theywere here first.”

Vanessa Snow said shewas a former HSTF studentand staff person.

“Why wasn’t there a meet-ing before the vote?” sheasked. “I’m very disappointedwith that.”

Elaine Moody said that thevote did not “reflect the val-ues of the community on dis-placement.”

Kendra Hicks and AnnaBelliard both had a bigger pic-ture in mind.

“This community will be-come characterless in a coupleof years with the changing de-mographics,” Hicks said, andBelliard agreed.

Dorothy said she went toschool at Blessed Sacrament,was confirmed there and wasmarried there.

“This building is gor-geous,” she said. “My wholelife was there for 12 years. Iwant to keep it. I’m in my70’s now. I beg of you to keepthe church building. Keep itfor the whole city.”

Mark Lohr has worked inthe college-bound program atHSTF.

“How can the HSTF af-ford the costs of the buildingduring the sale process?” heasked.

“Something big couldhappen [with the church]then all of a sudden we’rebankrupt. We can’t let HydeSquare Task Force go bank-rupt.” Miranda agreed.

“That’s the reali ty wehave to face,” she said. “Onehundred thousand dollars ev-ery year.”

Talking with The Bulletin,Miranda said there would beanother meeting.

“We’ll take it all in whatwe heard,” she said. “We’llfigure out a way to respond.”

Miracle PrayerDear Heart of Jesus, in the pastI have asked You for manyfavours. This time, I ask youthis very special one (mentionfavour). Take it, dear Heart ofJesus, and place it within Yourown broken heart where YourFather sees it. Then, in Hismerciful eyes, it will becomeYour favour, not mine. Amen.Say for three days, promisepublication and favour will begranted.

—S.G.H.


Though a dragon technically isn't a part of a biodiverse ecosystem, organizers said they want to use the lightshow to highlight the need for biodiversity conservation.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TIANYU ARTS AND CULTURE

Franklin Park Zoo light show opening Aug. 21

FFFFFranklin Pranklin Pranklin Pranklin Pranklin ParararararkkkkkContinued on page 8


Next week, the FranklinPark Zoo’s 72 acres ofwalkable and open land willbe home to the BostonLights: A Lantern Experi-ence.

The show, presented byNational Grid, purports itselfto be the first of its kind inNew England, and will fea-ture more than 50 large-scaledisplays comprised of hun-dreds of colorful lanterns.The lanterns will be shapedlike animals – because it’s a

zoo – as well as ocean scenes,flowers, traditional Asianlanterns, as well as a 66-foot-long shark tunnel.

Spokesperson for the ZooColleen McCormick Blairsaid the Zoo partnered withTianyu Arts Culture to put to-gether the l ights and theshow. She said picking outwhich lanterns to use was abig decision.

“When planning for Bos-ton Lights, we had a wide va-riety of lanterns to choosefrom. For the lantern experi-ence at the Zoo, we choselanterns that are bright andcolorful, but also that are rep-

resentative of some of theanimals that call our Zoohome. Showcasing thebiodiversity of our planet isalso very important, so wewanted to ensure there wouldbe a wide variety of animalsrepresented as part of the ex-perience.”

The show is designed to,“shine a light” on the impor-tance of conservingbiodiversity in the world.Visitors will have the chanceduring the show to learnabout how the Zoo is helpingto preserve biodiversity and


$485,000 awarded to 145 arts organizationsMayor Martin J. Walsh and

the Mayor’s Office of Arts andCulture recently announced145 arts and cultural organiza-tions that offer programming inthe City of Boston have beenawarded organizational grantstotaling $485,000 through theBoston Cultural Council. Thesefunds support innovative arts,humanities, and interpretivesciences programming with thegoal of enhancing the quality oflife in the city.

This year, Mass CulturalCouncil contributed $236,400and the City contributed$300,000 for grants. The Bos-ton Cultural Council receivedapplications from organizationsacross the entire city, represent-ing a wide variety of artisticdisciplines. Here is a completelist of the 2020 grantees.

The City made severalchanges to the program lastyear to better support small- tomedium-sized organizations,the biggest grant given to non-profit organizations with bud-gets under $2 million. Grantamounts were also determinedby budget size, with organiza-

tions receiving between $2,000and $5,000.

Organizations were evalu-ated on a series of criteria, in-cluding diversity of the organi-zation, service to historicallyunderrepresented populations,benefit to the public, and reflec-tion of the goals and ideas ofthe Boston Creates culturalplan.

For the second year in a row,three grantees received an ad-ditional Modeling Equity Orga-nization Award of $5,000, eachfor doing exceptional equitywork both internally within theorganization and externallythrough programming. Thewinners of the 2020 ModelingEquity Organization Awardwere City Ballet of Boston, PaoArts Center and Company OneTheatre.

“Pao Arts Center will usethe Model Equity Organizationprize for its community-cen-tered residencies which cel-ebrate Asian/Pacific Islanderperspectives and viewpointsand strengthen and support thecreatives and artists to createthis work,” said Cynthia Woo,

Director of Pao Arts Center.Building off of Mayor

Walsh’s record-breaking in-vestment in Boston’s arts sec-tor, the City of Boston is alsoinvesting $250,000 for the art-ist residency program, as wellas an additional $200,000 FY20investment in sustaining keygrantmaking programs for indi-vidual artists. Over the next fiveyears, the City is also commit-ting $13.4 million to the Per-cent for Art program. This,combined with $80,000 fortemporary public art projectsthis fiscal year and several newCity staff positions, is the mostfunding the City has ever dedi-cated to Boston’s arts sector.

To better support arts orga-nizations facing financiallosses, canceled programming,and closures caused byCOVID-19, the City of Bostonalso established a $1 millionArts and Culture COVID-19Fund. Grants of up to $10,000were made available for smalland mid-sized arts and culturenonprofits to adapt their pro-grams, spaces, and operatingmodels. .

Franklin Park continued from page 7

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin(Never known to fail!)

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt.Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor ofHeaven, Blessed Mother of the Sonof God, Immaculate Virgin, assist mein this necessity. Oh Star of the Sea,help me and show me herein you aremy mother. Oh Holy Mary, Motherof God, Queen of Heaven and Earth,I humbly beseech thee from thebottom of my heart to succor me inmy necessity (make request). Thereare none that can withstand yourpower. Oh Mary, conceived withoutsin, pray for us who have recourse tothee (three times). Holy Mary, I placethis cause in your hands (threetimes). Say this prayer for threeconsecutive days and then you mustpublish and it will be granted to you.

—M.P.

how they can help.“From snow leopards to

Panamanian Golden Frogs tothe local blanding’s turtles,each species plays a role inhealthy ecosystems,” saidBlair. “Visitors to BostonLights will have the oppor-tunity to learn more aboutour commitment to conser-vation and ways that theycan participate in wildlifeand habitat preservation.”

Blair said the Zoo takesthe dangers of COVID-19seriously, for both its pa-trons and its animals.

“The animals at our Zoosremain in good health. We dohave health and safety pro-tocols in place for speciesthat are known or suspectedto be capable of infectionand virus replication,” shesaid. “For example, becauseprimates are so closely re-lated to humans and can getthe same common colds andflu, we have strong protocols

and practices that are alwaysin place. However, we arenow following even stricterprotocols. Precautions in-clude practicing social dis-tancing with keepers for go-rillas whenever possible, andour usual primate protocols– which already includeswearing gloves and masks ingorilla areas – increased dis-infecting of gorilla areas,and restricting the number ofstaff working with gorillas.”

Blair said for guests, thesame heal th and safe tyguidelines now in place fordaytime visits to the Zoo willbe in place for the show.

“These measures includeadvanced online and timedticketing for a designatedday and time, guest capacitylimits, one-way paths to con-trol guest flow, clearly des-ignated 6-foot d is tancemarkers, enhanced cleaningprotocols, and more handsanitizer stations throughout

the zoo,” she said. “In accor-dance with the Massachu-setts Department of PublicHealth, visitors (over age 2)to the zoo are required towear face coverings.”

The show will be opennightly until Nov. 1 from 6p.m. to 10:30 p.m. For theful l schedule as wel l ast icket prices, visi twww.zoonewengland.org.

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DeathsCOQ

Stephen Emmanuel, of WestRoxbury, formerly of Attleboroand Hyde Park, July 30, 2020.Loving son of Marie YoleneDelma and her husband GregoryPierre of Attleboro. Dear brotherof Stacy Coq and her fiancéBruno Barbosa of Stoughton.Beloved grandson of MarieYolene Delma of Dorchester.Also survived by several lovingaunts, uncles, nieces, nephews,cousins and friends. Funeralfrom the Kfoury Keefe FuneralHome, 8 Spring St. (at the cor-ner of Centre St.), WESTROXBURY. Stephen was a 2010graduate of Boston Latin Schooland 2014 graduate of Regis Col-lege. . Internment at the GardensCemetery, 670 Baker St., WESTROXBURY. Guestbook andother information atKfouryFuneral.com KfouryKeefe Funeral Home WestRoxbury 617-325-3600.

GALVINJohn P. “Sonny” of West

Roxbury, August 8, 2020. Be-loved husband of the late Bar-bara A. (Magee) Galvin. Lovingfather of Thomas J. Galvin ofWest Roxbury, Richard M.Galvin of West Roxbury, MaryA. Quigg and her husbandMichael F. of Braintree, John P.Galvin of Quincy, and the latePaul J. Galvin. Devoted Papa ofMeghan, Robyn, Shayne, Mat-thew, Morgan, Mitchell, andSean. Great-grandfather ofJameson and the late Richie Toti.Retired Chief Court Officer forBoston Juvenile Court. Late Vet-eran USMC and US Army. Vis-iting Hours at the William J.Gormley Funeral Home, 2055Centre St., WEST ROXBURY,Wednesday, August 12th from8:30am-10am, followed by a Pri-vate Service. For directions andg u e s t b o o k ,www.gormleyfuneral.com Will-iam J. Gormley Funeral Service617-323-8600.

GREANEYEileen, of West Roxbury, for-

merly of Headford, Ballyhale,County Galway Ireland, passed

away peacefully on August 1,2020. Born October 22, 1941,she was the loving daughter ofthe late Mark and Catherine“Kitty” Hughes Greaney. De-voted sister of Liam and his wifeAnn, Mickey Greaney and thelate Brendan, Padraic, Roger“Roddy,” and Tommy. She wasalso survived by many lovingnieces, nephews, relatives andfriends. She was also a longtimeemployee of Verizon phone com-pany. A private Mass of Chris-tian Burial was held in St.Theresa of Avila Church on Fri-day, August 7, 2020. Intermentfollowed in St. Joseph Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, donations inEileen’s memory may be madeto Beth Israel Deaconess Medi-cal Center-Needham, c/o Devel-opment Office, 148 ChestnutStreet, Needham, MA 02492. Toleave a condolence message forthe family, please visitgormleyfuneral.com William J.Gormley Funeral Service 617-323-8600.

WALSH Mary Elizabeth (Kelly), of

West Yarmouth, formerly ofWest Roxbury, July 30, 2020, at97 years of age. The belovedwife of the late Dr. Francis X.Walsh. Daughter of the late JohnJ. Kelly of Tullemore and MaryA. (Waldron) Kelly, ofRoscommon, Ireland, before im-migrating and settling inRoslindale. Cherished sister ofSr. Clare Kelly, SND and Chris-tina (Kelly) Carty, and the lateBernard Kelly, Maureen (Kelly)McCarrick, Peter Kelly, JamesKelly, John Kelly, and PaulKelly. Devoted mother of MaryFrancis Walsh of Florida, FrancisX. Walsh (Paula) of Bourne, Jo-seph J. Walsh of Dennis, MarianC. (and the late Paul V. Buckley)of Boston and Dennis, TeresaWalsh (John) of Hull, MadeleineWalsh McGuire (Kevin) of EastTaunton, and the late James,John, and Paul Walsh. Mary issurvived by grandchildren andmany loving nieces, nephewsand friends. Mary loved SacredHeart Parish, which she creditsalong with her parents for the

formation of her deep and cen-tral faith, and both of her aca-demic scholarships; to MissionHigh School, Roxbury, Class of1940, and to Emmanuel College,where Mary graduated in June of1944, on D-Day. Mary cherishedher parents and siblings and wasa proud and grateful Americanwith deep patriotism for ourcountry. Mary, a retired City ofBoston Kindergarten Teacher,earned her Master’s Degree inSpecial Education fromSimmons College, and served asthe Acting Superintendent ofKindergarten. Mary loved na-ture, the ocean, reading, music,swimming, singing, the WallStreet Journal, yet nothing morethan enjoying family and friends.Mary was active in the HolyName Sodality, a member of theEmmanuel College President’sClub, the Hyannis Yacht Club,St. Francis Xavier Parish (where,in retirement, she taught CCD),the Audubon Society, Mass Citi-zens for Life, and was a Child ofMary, in the Catholic Church.Mary and her beloved Francishappily retired on Cape Cod,enjoyed Lewis Bay and GraysBeach, and continued their ser-vice to others. Perhaps their mostimpactful and far reaching vol-unteer contribution was whenthey, with others, established thelocal Cape Cod Chapter ofNAMI (the National Alliance forthe Mentally Ill), accessing morecare and treatment for those suf-fering with diseases of the brain.Mary remained active until herpassing at the independent seniorcommunity at Maplewood, atMayflower Place, in WestYarmouth, where she enjoyedher many friends and perform-ing in the Choral Group,“Geritones.” Special thanks tothe Yarmouth EMS FirefighterTeam, and the VNA Hospice ofCape Cod, for their remarkable(although brief) care of Mary asshe entered eternal life. In lieuof flowers, please support theSaint Francis Xavier Parish, 19Cross Street, Hyannis, MA02601. The Service is private duethe Covid-19 virus.www.lawlerfuneralhome.com

Volunteers from Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the Red Sox Foundation, and Jet Blue stuffback-to-school care packages at BCYF headquarters in Boston. Pictured are Rico Mochizuki, left,from the Red Sox Foundation, and Monica Gay doing their part for the students.

COURTESY PHOTO

BCYF helping kids back to school


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volume 20, issue 33 august 13, 2020 council reviews ......the instruction, we are hiring remote...

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