CSHCA Membership Meeting 12-6-21
# In attendance: 45
Police Report (Officer Keamy) 3 incidents
o 11-19, 10:27 PM, Domestic fight, Columbia Road, firearm recovered, arrested: 35 y.o. male with 6 felonies, from Rhode Island.
o 11-29, 10 PM, 1148 Dorchester Ave, man in trench coat, breaking and entering vehicles, arrested: 32 y.o. male from Lowell
o 12-5, 6:40 PM. Savin Wine and Spirits, a stabbing of a clerk by a shoplifter, clerk taken to the hospital, non-life-threatening injuries.
C-11 Toy Drive
o Over $300 already collected from individuals, shopping has begun.
o Motion made to donate $250 to the toy drive. Donating $250 was supported by membership.
o Last year, more than 75 families were assisted. Special Thanks to the CSHCA.
o Send in names of needy families and details of any children ages 6 months to 12 years
old (sex and age) to 617-343-4524 (Officer Mike Keamy).
Brother’s Keepers – a motion was made and seconded to donate $100. The donation was supported by membership.
Planning Committee
Dbar request for support to make its expanded patio space permanent.
o A short presentation was made highlighting the history of the expansion, the physical attributes, positive customer feedback, and justification for the need for it to remain permanent.
o Membership supported the proposal.
841 Columbia Road
o Developers reduced the size and pulled it away from the fence. o They are still working with abutters.
800 Morrissey Boulevard – 240 unit complex
o IAG meeting Tuesday, 12/7, 6 PM, on zoom. Register here:
https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIscOitqzwoEnRlEhjXAV5mndSoDn4avSo
o Port Norfolk and Clam Point have requested a T stop be put in the Puritan Plaza area with a pedestrian cross walk to cross the boulevard to access the new development at the former Old Colony Philips House site. Do not support this development without this necessary infrastructure changes.
Special Guests: Yahaira Lopez and Domingos DaRosa from South-End-Roxbury Community Partnership, RE: The Crisis at Mass and Cass
They are advocates for the community making sure politicians and relevant departments are doing their job to address the health crisis at Mass and Cass.
o There are 100+ tents in the area.
o 5 million needles per year are exchanged.
o There has been a very poor response to the issue from both city and state. They want to hold politicians accountable and have them prioritize Mass and Cass.
o They make weekly phone blitzes to City Hall.
o They have had numerous Zoom meetings with councilors. The Engagement Center needs to be open 24/7.
They met with Mayor Wu.
o She spoke about decentralizing services to other communities in Boston.
o She is going back on a city promise to convert the Round House to a shelter. The city is bearing the brunt of a state-wide problem.
o Close to 60% of the homeless and drug addicts here are not from Boston.
o No one seems willing to work with Boston on this issue.
o Heather Harris suggested in the chat two firms where they might get pro bono legal
counsel for a class action suit. They should ask for declaratory judgement or injunctive relief (not compensatory damages).
Troutman Pepper Hamilton, www.troutman.com
Nutter McClennan. www.nutter.com/services
A city ordinance addressing housing and quality of life is needed.
o They warned that compact living spaces being built could potentially be filled with drug addicts and the homeless. Ryan Murphy pushed back on this concern calling it a misrepresentation of the market group they are built for.
o Housing needs to be planned effectively and comprehensively. o There are no regulations for sober homes.
Mt. Ida has 6-7 sober homes in a small geographic area.
Dorchester and Roxbury have more sober homes per square mile than any other section of the city.
Question on Funding
o Money is allocated for this issue. Boston has spent $90 million and is slated to receive $7 million more from the state.
o $120 million has been allocated for rebuilding the Long Island bridge.
This project is currently tied up in court in a dispute with Quincy.
There is the question of the condition of the buildings on the island – have they deteriorated over the 7 years they have been closed?
Would this money be better spent building treatment centers elsewhere, far outside the city where real recovery is possible away from the source of the problems?
A petition RE: Round House and Decentralizing was submitted to CSHCA. Consider signing it. The governor is looking to turn the Shattuck Hospital parking lot into small homes. There has been no community outreach.
CSHCA will continue to be in contact with this group.
Committee Reports
Engagement Committee will meet next in January, 2022.
Safety Committee
o Officer Maffeo and the Northstar Program (Dianne Lescinskas) For people with autism or other behavioral issues. Police are specially trained to work with such people. Families can register their family members.
For more information, check the Safety Committee minutes on the CSHCA website.
o Street Safety (Jennifer Deabler)
A crosswalk has been painted at Columbia Road and Buttonwood Street. Morrissey Boulevard Speed issues
A request for signage and enforcement has been submitted. Malibu Beach
- Playground structures were damaged and have been repaired.
- Progress on a gate leading into the Dorchester Yacht Club has been delayed. (Dan Hunt)
o The previous Parks Commissioner has resigned.
o There is no commitment from DCR
o He will continue to try to connect the Parks Department with DCR. - Trash barrels – A request is being submitted to have trash barrels remain year round.
- For the next couple of weeks, cars will be traveling along the board walk from Morrissey to access the Dorchester Yacht Club.
Community Benefits Committee (Don Walsh)
o Progress is being made.
o City and state have agreed to do comprehensive planning for the estimated 10,000 units to be built in this area.
Thanks to Councilor Frank Baker, Representative Dan Hunt, and Senator Nick Collins.
They are now hiring consultants to be in place by the end of the year.
o Push for next concrete steps, i.e. brainstorming solutions.
Beautification Committee (Elizabeth Doyle)
o The wreaths have been put up along Dorchester Avenue and Savin Hill Avenue. Thanks to everyone who helped out.
o Solicitation of donations from local merchants is ongoing.
o In the spring they will consider activities for 2022.
Holiday Caroling (Heidi), December 15, 5-7 PM, gather at Savin Hill Tennis Courts
o Heidi gave a brief overview of the Savin Hill Events Collab. The next meeting is January 4 for anyone interested in helping organize events; contact savinhillevents@gmail.com
o Details of the Caroling event were shared –
The Daily is donating the cocoa packets and candy canes.
There will be a Santa, a guitar player, carol booklets, and jingle bells. The route depends on the number of people who show up.
o A request was made for money to cover material costs not to exceed $100. $75 has already been spent. Covering the costs was supported by membership.
Special Guest: Richard Fullam, Harbor Point Apartments
He seeks CSHCA support for their letter of request to meet with stakeholders to keep parts of the point undeveloped. Membership supported signing on to the letter.
Area R2 – south of Harbor Point
o It is not a part of the Dorchester Bay City development. It belongs to UMASS Boston. o UMB is seeking to develop that site and is in the selection process for developers to come up with ideas.
Other Business
By-law amendments
o Currently working on the Preamble and articles 1-3.
o Other articles require significant change and discussion.
o Mike will send out any changes made for the general membership to review in advance and then vote on at the following meeting.
Membership Dues – renew or join to be a voting member. Get involved! Elections for leadership positions this Spring
o Mike is stepping down as president to focus on IT aspects.
o People should consider running for president and other offices.
Next Meeting: January, 2022. Notices will be sent out.