worry (if you’re a conspiracy theorist) that elected officials will sneak in a new ordinance…
Scratching that itch, the Muni-Wonk returns to give you this week’s highlights (details here). Probably a meeting here you’ll want to attend instead of the rained-out barbeque:
- Zoning your pet peeve? You will be interested in a raft of proposals in this week’s docket that look like an attempt to address some land use and historic preservation concerns.
- Historic Preservation your hobbyhorse? There’s good news in the reports–not only is the East Parish Burying Ground possibly getting more refurbishment (the graves will gleam?), but the City Clerk has obtained a grant to preserve more of the Civil War archives–and not from precious Community Preservation funds!
- Plastic Bags your bane? The ban is advancing, but you will have to read the report to find out how.
- Eminent Domain have you down? The vote to take three houses (now two) to expand the lot (is it all for parking?) at Zervas comes up for a vote tonight. A letter from Newton Highlands and Waban folks opposing the sale is in the Friday packet. Oh, and see the sewer discussion at Lasell, below–
- Water and Climate your focus? The Friday Packet has details on the Hammond Brook culvert repair (expansion), and some sewer/drain discussions for Lasell College property.
- Like Numbers? Two or three financially-driven subcommittees meet on Wednesday…just as the weather is supposed to get nice again.
Re: Eminent Domain… It may be two properties for now, but the $2.7M that’s being voted on tonight is for three properties. The third property has some complications that may delay its acquisition, but I am guessing that the plans will allow for including that third property sometime in the not-distant future and amending the layout of the site slightly to allow more parking spaces.
Plastic bag ban… Obviously this ban is anti business. But worse, it’s anti consumer!!!
A lot of people use those plastic store bags to pick up their dog’s poop when their dogs out for walks. The poop bags that they sell in the pet stores are extremely expensive at around $20 for 100 bags and are also made of plastic. I wonder if this new ordinance will result in more dog mess being left in our public parks and on our sidewalks? This city has become a very difficult place to dispose of waste in general. I used to enjoy being able to load the sidewalk up with trash and things I no longer wanted throughout the year and have it taken away by garbage trucks. I am now limited to one barrel of trash per week unless I buy some of those expensive orange plastic overflow bags at the supermarket and they don’t hold much. I wish that the city would have one day per month that they would allow us to throw out whatever we liked in terms of furniture and small appliances etc.. instead of limiting us and making us call ahead to arrange it. I am sure that the trash pickers would like it and also our homes would be a lot cleaner and with less clutter as a result.
Laughable how the plastic bag supporters completely ignore the fact that plastic bags are choking areas of our oceans and unnecessary.
Dog Poop? We now need to create a plastic bag for every bowel movement a dog makes? That’s a reasonable, sustainable model? How about using a paper bag? How about using something else? What a joke that dog poop is your defense of plastic bags.
If you only care about the planet as long as you and our kids are on it, then fire away with your plastic bag support. If you care about things beyond that, how about rethinking your ridiculous ‘anti-business/consumer’ reasoning.
@Newton Gal,
The city still provides curb side pick up of bulky items. There’s a limit of 5 items and I think you have to contact them to schedule pick up, but the link is here: http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/dpw/recycling/curbside/overflow.asp
Lisa P- Thanks for the information on the trash pick up. I was aware that I could call ahead and put bigger items out but what I really miss was the days when I could clean out my basement and throw tons of stuff out on the curb. Most of the stuff would be taken by “recyclers” or trash pickers by the time the trash men came to get the load. It was a very nice way to purge my house of clutter and now I have been accumulating all sorts of stuff that doesn’t fit easily into those blue bins such as carpets and broken washer machines and old brooms and mops. I think it would be great if they allowed us one day per month to throw out whatever we liked without having to call ahead and schedule it.
Kim-You obviously do not have a dog. There is no way that you can pick up dog poop with a paper bag and if you fail to pick it up you can get a BIG fine from the the city for leaving it on the street. I do not believe that plastic bags are choking our oceans in this country. I bet you also believe that flushing used condoms in the toilet will result in them getting stuck in the air spouts of whales resulting in a massive amount of deaths amongst whales? I have a very good friend who is a bag salesman and this a ridiculous ordinance that is going to hurt his business quite a bit. If this ordinance passes here in Newton I will take my shopping dollars out to Natick or Waltham or Dedham where plastic bags roam free and are used and re-used over and over again and then recycled or buried in landfills.
We have MUCH bigger problems here in Newton than plastic bags. I wish the politicians and law makers would focus on those instead of this nonsense.
First the city is taking away all the parking in Newtonville to line the pockets of wealthy developers and now they are taking away our plastic bags? They already took away my ability to throw out my trash years ago. What is going to be taken away next? I am so sick and tired of this anti-business city! We are losing yet another institution in Newton. The Party Shop is going out of business after over 40 years in Newton. It is a good thing it is closing before the city decides to ban latex balloons!
I find it laughable that plastic bag banners like Kim refuse to acknowledge the following facts about plastic & paper bags
• Plastic bags use 40% less energy to produce and generate 80% less solid waste than paper bags
• Paper bags generate 70% more emissions, and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags
• Even paper bags made from 100% recycled fiber use more fossil fuels than plastic bags
• Plastic bags are extraordinarily energy-efficient to manufacture. Less than .05% of a barrel of oil goes into making all the plastic bags used in the US while 93% – 95% of every barrel of crude oil is burned for fuel and heating purposes
I agree with Newton Gal when she said we have MUCH bigger problems here in Newton than plastic bags. I wish the politicians and law makers would focus on those instead of this nonsense. It crystallizes everything we have to say about this issue at this moment in time.
This plastic bag proposal is a perfect example of what separates a true City from a small town. Newton is most often identical to a town like Duxbury or Manchester by the Sea. At most times in our gov’t the biggest thing going on is what price we set for water and whether the school kids learn Latin. So, like Duxbury and MbtS, we invent our own excitement in our legislative and administrative process. In this example, bag fees. But unlike Duxbury and MbtS, Newton needed to also invent an ocean that’s effected. Nice try, but what the heck, let’s go back to focusing on the newer, serious issues that effect not imaginary whales at our imaginary shore, but families and the families that come after them.
These are two most pressing big City issues that I see:
(1) To the extent possible without infringing on people’s investment, etc.; to “right-size” Newton. We can’t let the 40b steam roller take over now sleepy parts of our landscape, but on the other hand, it is what it is (a mandate) and we need to deal w it intelligently, not systematically be in opposition.
(2) Using our new financial resources generated by override exactly as intended; building great schools that we can look at and be delighted that we contributed to for the balance of our lives.
Once a month is probably too much to expect. But ever since the new trash collection system went into effect, I’ve thought it would be a good thing if the the city declared twice-a-year “spring cleaning” and “fall cleaning” curbside pickup of household discards, and have suggested it to aldermen. Phoning or e-mailing for a bulky item pickup is fine if you’ve got only a couple of things to get rid of, but it’s not effective for even a semi-serious clean-out. And private contractors can be pricey.
Newton Gal – Why do you think trash or parking are free? All Newton residents pay for them. It used to be trash costs were rolled into our overall property taxes – so you felt like you were paying nothing, but it costs over $6 million a year in 2010 (see ‘solid waste’ line in the City budget). Ditto for parking, it’s not free. It just feels free because the user isn’t charged or fully charged the full cost. We all pay for ‘free’ city parking through the general budget, funded primarily through residence property tax.
Amanda Heller- Even if they let us throw whatever we liked out twice per year it would be better than it is now. I don’t understand why towns such as Waltham and West Roxbury have unlimited trash pick up but we are limited here to one measly barrel per week? This is such a basic service that should be a given and not limited. I wouldn’t mind if we had a dump like Dover or Wayland but as far as I know we do not have one and even if we did I can’t carry washer machines in my car there. Newton used to be a great trash picking town. I knew many people who enjoyed driving around on trash night and finding lots of great items that they could refurbish and sell or use for themselves.
Lucia-I don’t feel that trash pick up service is free. I feel that I pay for it when I pay my real estate taxes and that I should be able to throw out whatever I need to in order to maintain a clean and uncluttered home. When I first bought my house I replaced the windows in my house and the contractor threw out all of the old windows on the curb and the trash men picked them up. I liked that service. I also liked it when I felt like cleaning my basement I could load up my sidewalk with tons of stuff and people could have a field day taking whatever they liked and whatever was leftover would be picked up on trash day. Now if I leave one empty carton next to my trash barrel that I did not schedule for it remains untouched by the trash men. This is annoys me. In terms of parking I guess what you mean is that we all need to pay the salaries and benefits of the meter maids in this city so they can harass us while we try and patronize the local businesses? Is that what you mean?
Newton Gal, while it is important to take note of solid waste disposal costs ($6 million a year in 2010 (see ‘solid waste’ line in the City budget)), that is still less than the $8 Million a year Newton spends to educate 583 out-of-district students who attend Newton Public Schools, but don’t live in Newton. At least with the trash pickup, everyone in Newton benefits. In the case of the 583 out-of-district students, Newton does not get any benefit.
Read more: Newton Muni-Wonk: Summer is when you… | Village 14 City of Newton, Massachusetts http://village14.com/newton-ma/2014/07/newton-muni-wonk-summer-is-when-you/#ixzz37ZlSraZD
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I normally don’t agree with Hoss on anything, but I give credit where its due and Hoss nailed it with his post.
“This plastic bag proposal is a perfect example of what separates a true City from a small town. Newton is most often identical to a town like Duxbury or Manchester by the Sea. At most times in our gov’t the biggest thing going on is what price we set for water and whether the school kids learn Latin. So, like Duxbury and MbtS, we invent our own excitement in our legislative and administrative process. In this example, bag fees. But unlike Duxbury and MbtS, Newton needed to also invent an ocean that’s effected. Nice try, but what the heck, let’s go back to focusing on the newer, serious issues that effect not imaginary whales at our imaginary shore, but families and the families that come after them.
These are two most pressing big City issues that I see:
(1) To the extent possible without infringing on people’s investment, etc.; to “right-size” Newton. We can’t let the 40b steam roller take over now sleepy parts of our landscape, but on the other hand, it is what it is (a mandate) and we need to deal w it intelligently, not systematically be in opposition.
(2) Using our new financial resources generated by override exactly as intended; building great schools that we can look at and be delighted that we contributed to for the balance of our lives.
Read more: Newton Muni-Wonk: Summer is when you… | Village 14 City of Newton, Massachusetts http://village14.com/newton-ma/2014/07/newton-muni-wonk-summer-is-when-you/#ixzz37ZmSCpE2
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Plastic bags are recyclable. Unfortunately the BoA didn’t include plastic bags in the last trash/recyclables collection contract. The aldermen screwed up, and now they’re going to screw consumers to make up for their mistake.
Joshua:
You are nothing if not consistent… Just repeating an argument regarding the metco program doesn’t make it accurate. But let’s not hijack every thread with the same discussion. You’ve made your point to everyone on the blog many times.
As for the garbage disposal, I disagree completely with NewtonGal. I love this new system. I recycle far more than I used to, my green bin is filled every week, and my blue bin is not. And I’ve cleaned out an entire basement. You just call the city and they pick it up. I’ve found the 5 item limit to be rarely enforced, it is mostly to prevent folks from abusing the process.
AND your contractor who just put out the windows to be collected via ordinary garbage delivery was violating the rules I think. I thought construction materials weren’t supposed to be the city’s responsibility. I think your contractor is either supposed to haul it away, or you pay for a dumpster.
As for the plastic bags, I’m not supporting the ban. I think education is the way to go here. I now use reusable bags for everything except raw meats/chicken/fish. And I get a discount when I do. But I think banning them is a step too far.
Fignewtonville: The contractor broke no rules at the time when he put the old windows at the curb as I called the city at that time to verify that it was ok as they were very heavy “factory” style glass and metal windows. This happened approximately 15 years ago and at that time we were allowed to throw almost anything out that we wanted to except for chemicals and paint etc. Times were much better then and this was a much more pleasant city to live in too and I also had a much tidier and clutter free house.
Fifteen years ago-
On the school side (just to skim the surface):
-At least 10 elementary schools needed extensive renovation and the city refused to address the issue.
-Every school had a different literacy and math program. Teachers taught whatever they wanted to teach.
-LGBT faculty were firmly in the closet, and if they dared venture out faced the possibility of being on the front page of the Globe
-LGBT students were bullied relentlessly in all of our schools.
On the city side:
-Certain neighborhoods received better city services than others based on economic status.
-As for trash, we had an inefficient, outdated trash pick-up system. The people who threw out a huge amount of collected junk were subsidized by the entire city. True story – when I moved, I put at least $2500 worth of trash out on the street. The city did not collect it for nothing. EVERY taxpayer in the city paid for it. Is that fair? Even I thought it was nuts for other people to pay for my trash to hauled away, but it was the way it was. Since the change in policy, I can now (happily) insist that the junk not accumulate in my home.
As a child who grew up in the 50’s and came of age in the 60’s, I’m not a fan of the “good old days”. I hear so much about how great it was back then, but I know it wasn’t for many people who didn’t feel welcome in the Garden City. Life and the times move on. You live in the past or embrace the future.
Jane-Are you saying that Waltham and West Roxbury have an outdated trash collection system? I am curious where you are getting your facts and statistics about the Newton public schools? Were you yourself educated in the Newton Public schools? I am glad to hear that you are a proponent of moving forward and embracing the future. I believe that is what Josh Norman was trying to say when he was bullied into silence by Fignewtonville. I believe that he was questioning why we keep propogating and funding antiquated programs in Newton when we can’t even afford to pick up our own taxpayer’s trash? That is what Newton Liberals love to do when someone stands up to them and disagrees with them…bully them into being submission and silence.
Returning to recent developments in the development-alooza arena, while their Austin St. project may be back at the post-it-note stage, Scott Oran and Dinosaur Partners are keeping busy with their massive 40B proposal for 70 Rowe St. in Auburndale – they’ve filed an application for Project Eligibility with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership re: their plan to construct a 150-unit rental development on a commercial site at the edge of a residential neighborhood just off Auburndale Square. Info on the city website: http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/planning/current/devrev/hip/rowe_street_70.asp
Oh, and hurry: “The Project Eligibility Letter Application is currently under review by the City. Residents can help inform the City’s response to Massachusetts Housing Partnership by submitting comments no later than Friday, August 1st at 5:00 p.m.“
Newton Gal – I’m sure there have been situations on various blogs in which a commenter has been “bullied into silence”. This isn’t one of them. Fig simply disagreed with this poster’s attempt to hijack yet another thread. That’s what we do here – we discuss stuff, sometimes people agree, sometimes they disagree. That’s not bullying.
Tricia-Point taken. Thank you for clarifying that. I guess that I rushed to judgment but it was a knee jerk reaction to what I have seen liberals in this city do for decades when someone disagrees with them. They will immediately “out” the conservative in the school or social network and ostracize them for having a varying view point. I actually know of a couple of families that had to flee the city of Newton because their children were being outcasted and excluded from birthday parties etc. because of the political views of their parents. Sad but true.
NG – Not facts and figures. However, I’ve been in the schools for 26 years and seen it for myself. It took a lot to educate faculty and students to the harm that bullying has caused to students, but we’re making progress.
I don’t see any of what I mentioned as liberal/conservative issues, nor did I know what your political affiliation happened to be when I commented. A few years back, we had a bunch of Janes, and we tried to differentiate ourselves with slightly different names because our politics most definitely differed, but it was to no avail. Most people had us completely mixed up. It’s the same with the Newtons (Newton Gal, Newton Mom, and a few others) – I can’t keep you all straight. I had no intention of insulting you, and do sincerely apologize if I did.
As Tricia mentioned, V14 isn’t a place where people are bullied into silence. At the same time, we all choose to read certain posters and pass by others. I may read daily for awhile, then don’t bother to check in for weeks so I have no idea what you’re talking about with the Fig/JN thing.
Jane- I apologize if I came on a bit strong in response to you. I really am just very frustrated with so many issues that are facing us as residents and taxpayers in Newton. As much has changed for the good over the last 15 years that you mentioned in your post I can list just as many bad things that we are facing now that were not an issue in 1999 such as banning plastic bags and public parking lots being taken away from the community and businesses and parsed out in a totally unfair and undemocratic fashion. It reminds me of the feudal times. Is this a serfdom or a city? Where is the democracy?
@Newton Gal– A lot of people are frustrated with Newton’s government. I’m one of them, and I’ve lived here for more than 50 years. So while you and I may have a few different opinions, we both share a perspective of Newton that only comes with time. Personally, I don’t think Newton’s problems today are the result of any liberal vs. conservative ideology. To me, the causes are much simpler than that. We have a School Committee that’s out of touch with reality, a Board of Aldermen with little accountability, and a Mayor with his own political agenda. This is more about dysfunctional institutions than it is about ideology or philosophy.
Mike Striar-I completely agree with you. This is why we need to be very careful who we elect into our government in the future. I would like to see people who have proven business experience in office instead of people who are career politicians. We have many leaders of industry living here in Newton and I am hoping that one of them runs in the future as they will be accountable and they also have the financial skills and business acumen to govern us in a fiscally responsible manner. They will put the lid back on the cookie jar I hope.
Getting back to development and conspiracy theories and what happens in summer, they seem to be doing a traffic study for the 70 Rowe St development now. When traffic is at it’s lowest point of the year. For a site that’s half a mile from an elementary school, while school is not in session. Oh, and looking at the paperwork, it’s also a Dinosaur/SEB collaboration, like Austin St.
http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/planning/current/devrev/hip/rowe_street_70.asp
Tricia, your comment moved me to write. I’ve also lived in Newton for over 50 years as Mike has, and I drive to my destinations the most direct way possible. Driving my wife to work I take Rowe Street onto Comm Ave.
So, using a week in June for example, I played dodge and bumper cars up and down Rowe Street with lawn service trucks, highway repair trucks, cars turning into the old Rix parking lot to go to work, PLUS, many MANY cars of parents coming and going to drop their kids off at Burr school. I grew up around the corner from Rowe. Traffic has been steadily increasing for years.
Now skip to this morning when I drove down Rowe street with school out of session, with many people away. There were tumbleweeds blowing next car.
This is the time frame they chose to do a traffic pattern study? My suggestion would be to do it the week of September 8th.
The choice to do this now and the underlying insult here to one’s intelligence is staggering.
People should keep in mind that Mayor Warren has the power to seriously impede and potentially stop ridiculous projects like Rowe Street, as well as the other giant apartment building proposed for Wells Ave. The fact that he hasn’t exercised that power [or spoken out in opposition to these projects] tells you where he stands. I believe the Mayor is putting his own political aspirations ahead of the best interest of Newton. He’d like to run for higher office as a creator, not opponent of “affordable housing.” Like Newton Gal wrote, “This is why we need to be very careful who we elect…”
This can’t be the complete traffic study; not only is it the middle of summer, the only traffic counting strips that have been seen so far are right in front of 70 Rowe St. Which is toward the dead end of a road with no outlet at that end. All traffic from the proposed development would go one way, so the traffic issues will be at the intersection of Rowe & Comm Ave (a sort of T intersection at the bottom of a downhill curve) and at Rowe & Webster (a 4-way stop with lots of vehicle & pedestrian traffic and no crossing guard) and Rowe & Auburndale (an already difficult off-set 5 way intersection with a crossing guard just a block from Burr School.)
Newton Gal, it doesn’t matter what I say on this thread, Tricia will call it hijacking anyway. Tricia has a habit of making nasty, spiteful & petty remarks towards me simply because I didn’t agree with her left-wing litmus tests. Unlike her, I have the courage to post with my real name.
Lucia expressed concern how Newton spent $6 Million in 2010 to removal garbage and recyclables. I pointed out that although that isn’t peanuts, it is still less than the $8 Million Newton spends to educate kids in the Newton Public Schools who don’t actually live in Newton. As a consistent advocate of sound fiscal stewardship and good municipal governance, I take both costs seriously.
I’m surprised that Tricia seems concerned about the 70 Rowe Street 40B housing project considering that she supported Setti Warren for Mayor, who believes that the Mayor of Newton needed to take the lead in selling neighborhoods on 40B housing developments. I supported Bill Heck, who was the only candidate opposed to 40B, aka the Developer Welfare Law.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/x1528795642/Newton-mayoral-candidates-talk-housing
I was wondering if anyone on here could comment on how approachable Mayor Warren is in person when he is greeted while out and about in public? I have never once seen him out in public since he took office. I used to see Mayor Cohen and Mayor Mann around town all the time. I remember being in high school and seeing Mayor Mann at the Newton Centre Harvest Fair and he stood there all day in a suit and in the hot sun talking to folks and listening to their concerns. When I approached him he asked me what my address was? I told him and he actually knew my families name just based on my street address! Another time when we had a big snow storm I was outside shoveling 8 feet of snow by myself and a sedan pulled up and the man driving it asked if he could help me shovel. I thanked him and said no but after he drove away I realized that it had been Mayor Cohen! I was wondering if anyone can share similar quaint stories like this about Mayor Warren? If so please share.
@Newtongal – yep, I remember similar about Ted Mann. Knew one/two of his kids as well (after school at Meadowbrook, I used to go watch the Brady Bunch, the Partridges, and Lost in Space with Eric Mann, in fact). He knew how to do the populist, “press-the-flesh” thing.
Ha! He was one of those responsible for taking a car and jamming it sideways into the front entrance of the Old Newton North too. Got that from a friend’s father who grew up with him. 🙂
Can anyone on this blog tell a nice story about a nice interaction that they had with Mayor Warren that will give us a warm and fuzzy feeling about this guy? Something that will make me think that he really cares about our community and the people who elected him? With over 80K people living in this city someone on here must have something charming to say about him?
Hey, we could be speaking of Monte Basbas – who was rather like dealing with the Mafia. Newton has improved over the years.
I have great Teddy Mann stories (like when he saw my husband and I filing our marriage license at City Hall and got everyone into the rotunda to sing Siman Tov Mazal Tov to us!!). I have great David Cohen stories (he walked by our house every day and never failed to stop and play with our dog; he wandered into our backyard as we were building our sukkah and asked if we had pulled a building permit!). Silly stories like that aside, it was clear that they CARED. I see Mayor Warren a lot. There are no “warm and fuzzies” to share. He is calculating and cold, IMHO. I serve on several committees and commissions – I no longer feel like my contributions are valued. Warren has his agenda and that is all.
There’s also a section on the City website with the heading “Mayor Warren in the Community” that shows the events he attends. You can also sign up to be on the mayor’s Facebook page, you’ll see the diverse groups he meets with and events he attends where he is greeting residents. In addition to the Mayor, I’ve found the majority of our electeds to be very accessible and very accommodating.
Tricia – During the NN project, the traffic studies caused great anxiety in the ‘hood and we were particularly concerned about when/where data was collected. As it turns out, they put the wires out at different times and over time and in many places. In the end, the data itself was pretty accurate. That being said, it’s something to stay on top of because the real issue is not the data but what they do with the it. The city had it all wrong in the beginning with NN, but with an informed community providing input, they managed to make appropriate changes. As one who often leaves NN at the end of the school day, the final plan actually works except for people who insist on dropping their kids off at the door. I’d also keep a very close eye on the parking plan and get involved with that aspect right away. It’s key to making any project work well.
Thanks NativeNewtonian for sharing those wonderful stories about Mayor Mann and Mayor Cohen. I have never run into Mayor Warren anywhere in public and that surprises me because I am out and about quite a bit. What do you think his agenda is? What does IMHO mean?
IMHO means “in my humble opinion”. Its one of the few text/blog whatchamacallits I know (other than LOL) and the only one i choose to use.
I really do suggest that you check out some sources to see where the mayor goes because I see him at every event I attend, along with a number of aldermen and a few SC members. I don’t expect to see any of them as I walk around the streets of Newton on a day to day basis.
It may be one of those situation where you say tomato and I say tomahto, but I don’t want to pay the Mayor to stand out on street corners, and it would annoy me if I saw it happen frequently. I can hear that you’d like him to, but others would prefer that he attend city events and interact with various groups in the community, but also want and expect him to be at City Hall doing his job.
I knew there was at least one other Newton blog name – NativeNewtonian.
@Jane
I think that’s the point. People saw Mayor Mann and Mayor Cohen as they walk around the streets of Newton quite often. I, too, ran into Mayor Cohen from time to time back when he was Mayor as he went around being a regular citizen like everyone else … taking his walks along Commonwealth Ave, shopping at the grocery store … etc.
It has been five hours since I asked if anyone on here has a nice story about Mayor Warren and so far I have heard quite a few good ones about Mayor Cohen and Mayor Mann yet nothing inspiring about Mayor Warren. This is a very sad state of affairs. I can tell you nice stories about multimillionaire athletes such as the former Red Sox player Jason Varitek who kindly gave out treats one Halloween at his Waban home and greeted everyone as well as a few nice stories that I heard about David Ortiz who used to live in Newton too. I even have a few stories about Ted Williams who also lived in Newton at one point. It is sad that no one can give me a nice one about our current Mayor. Very disappointing.
Newton Gal – Like Jane, I’ve seen Mayor Warren at many community events. I’ve also run into him at JP Licks when he was getting ice cream with his daughter. He’s a regular at Johnny’s in Newton Centre — people run into him there all the time.
As far as stories go, I’d prefer not to go into detail but I can tell you that Mayor Warren was very supportive when he learned of recent medical emergencies my family was dealing with. He reached out — I think he called and emailed. He didn’t need to do that but it meant a lot to me that he did.
Greer – I misspoke. I don’t WANT the Mayor to spend his time walking around the city saying “Hi, how’re you doing?” Just my take on it. He attends tons of city events, has kids in the school system and attends school events and that’s enough of that kind of thing. In 2014, I’d rather he spend his time working on our elementary schools crumbling from decades of neglect and other infrastructure issues throughout the city that need work. IMHO of course ;).
Nor do I want our state Reps or Senator or any other elected official to waste taxpayer money that way either. I voted for them to get things done. You want to see him in the grocery store or around town, but it just doesn’t do anything for me. Two perspectives on the same issue.
I want to see the Mayor standing up to developers. How about you, Jane?
We haven’t had an anti-McMansionization diatribe on this thread yet, so I thought I’d act the role of agent provocateur by highlighting some of the recent items on the docket:
* Alds. Hess-Mahan and Johnson requesting that the departments of Planning and Inspectional Services revisit how FAR is calculated and whether other dimensional requirements need to be tweaked so that renovations and new construction is in keeping with the neighborhood and the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
* Alds. Blazar, Yates and Danberg proposing to extend the time that the Newton Historical Commission has to determine ‘preferably preserved’ status, and to extend the demolition delay to 24 months for most buildings (30 months for those on the National Historic Register).
* Alds. BY&D proposing to reset the demolition delay clock whenever a property changes hands.
* Alds. Danberg and Sangiolo requesting an ordinance to protect trees designated as historic by the NHC and the Tree Warden.
* …and, of course, Ald. Sangiolo proposing a one-year moratorium on demolitions.
It seems to me that there are two possible approaches to regulating the nature and pace of redevelopment: one a measured approach, in which the Zoning & Planning Committee of the BoA formulates rules that all have to abide by; and another in which the unelected members of the NHC arbitrarily throw two-year caltrops under the hooves of the developers’ horses. And who is to say that an inexpensively constructed, post-war ranch built for returning GIs in Oak Hill is worthy of preservation, when the person making that decision is already complaining about the “snouter” opposite his own house?
@Jane, I see your point.
However, I guess I would have considered it more of the Mayor simply being a citizen of Newton like everyone else. I wouldn’t consider him shopping at the grocery store as being a waste of taxpayer money. The man has to eat!
I wouldn’t consider him on the clock when he’s going about doing his business. I wouldn’t consider him on the clock if he stepped into a Dunkin Donuts to pick up a cup of coffee. It’s what normal people do. I go about doing my job, and still have time to do regular day things like take a walk around my neighborhood, go grocery shopping, deposit a check, pick up the dry cleaning … that sort of thing.
That being said, I don’t live near him nor are my kids anywhere near the age of his kids, so I don’t particularly find fault in the fact that I have not yet run into him in my daily routines.
So … I don’t have a personal story, but I have a a couple friends who were very impressed with Mayor Warren back about a year or so ago when we had all those fallen power lines … they had each reported an incident near their house and he arrived with the crew to assess the damage. He was on top the situation in person. They appreciated that.
Wow. What a thread, just catching up after a blogcation. First, a few responses to these comments from Mike:
Are you sure about that? Everything I’ve heard is that these single use, very thin bags that are used by grocery stores and others, can’t be recycled, at least not productively. Would love to learn otherwise.
And that’s necessarily bad because? Disagree with an agenda if you’d like but having an agenda seems to me to be a good thing for any leader.
Greg, I believe what was meant by “political agenda” was really “personal agenda.” I would hope all politicians have some sort of agenda and that agenda is well-communicated to the constituents, and in line with what the constituents want. My feeling is that our current mayor has his own agenda, for himself, that may or may not jive with what his constituents want in the City. He means no harm to the City, because that would not reflect well on him, so that is a comfort! But his vision, I am afraid, is not what most want, and I don’t think he cares what most want!
I do have a “funny” Mayor Warren story: I volunteered at a City sponsored evening event where many school children and their parents were present. It ws anounced that the Mayor would be there. The event organizer – who shall remain nameless but is a member of the Mayor’s staff – kept stalling and stalling to give the Mayor time to arrive. Finally the event ended and parents starting taking kids home. The organizer begged some people to stay, just in case “hizzoner” showed up. I did not wait around. Sure enough, by later that night, the Mayor had posted pictures of himself on his Facebook page with the few people that had stayed late to greet him – with a comment about how much fun it was to have been at that event with so many kids and their families!!
I agree with Greg, this thread is great. I believe somewhere in it I got accused of bullying Joshua Norman into not responding. Which is funny for lots of reasons: 1) From his comments Joshua clearly has his own opinions and isn’t shy about sharing them, 2) I would make a very ineffective bully, 3) Joshua keeps posting, aka, see post #2.
I have a few Mayor Warren stories, but mostly I think he is a politician with eyes on a future higher office. He needs to do a good job here to get there, but also worry about how things will look if he runs for Congress or Governor. Occasionally that makes him inconsistent. He is a great improvement from the previous mayor in some ways, but lately he has been indecisive and afraid to ruffle feathers. I was disappointed in him over the latest Austin Street decisions.
I’d be shocked if he doesn’t take a shot at higher office in the next 5 years.
Greg — I can’t believe you’d read the thread through and only come back with a comment about recycling and political paths. The “cold and calculating” inferences are ok by you? And whether someone goes to dunkin donuts?? Yikes.
BTW– got a Needham st update?
@Hoss. Ha. I’m still mostly on blogcation! But now that I’m back in the country, peeking here and there.
I don’t have a problem with someone who is ambitious as long as those ambitions aren’t harmful. If Mayor Warren is trying to oversee a well-run city so it can reflect well on his future goals, that works for me. I can also tell you that I see the man everywhere and that he has a very broad agenda — i.e. kids summer reading, environmental sustainability, improved veteran services, economic development, rebuilding our infrastructure, promoting our village centers, bike lanes, tree maintenance, etc. — for our city. I don’t always agree. But can’t think of any instances where his “agenda” has been/would be harmful to our community, just different than I might have chosen
Now I’m going back to that book I’ve been reading! …and then the beach!
Mike Striar — If you do respond to Greg’s question, I’d really be interested in your opinion about this:
The little I know about these single-stream recycling programs is that (1) they are labor intensive and (2) everything flows on assembly line type belts (which tend to stop when the bags get caught). If the City reviewed various programs and the one that took plastic bags costs considerably more (to us a figure, say $250k more…) is that premium worth it?
As I say, I don;t know if there’s an extra cost or not, but we did pay extra for our “green” electricity and wonder if when our green values equate to more green cash (not a savings), whether we taxpayers should get a say in the decisions.
NativeNewtonian-Thanks for that great Mayor Warren story! Perhaps his staffers should invest in one of those life size cardboard cut outs of the Mayor that they can use in the future when he is unable to show up for an event. People could take photos standing next to it and no one would probably know the difference when they viewed the photos on his Facebook page because those standees can be very life like! They could buy a bunch of these and situate them all over the city and his staffers could snap tons of photos for his Facebook page!
Thank you to Joshua Norman for (1) blogging under your REAL name (what is your FAKE name?) and (1) giving us the FACTS AGAIN on the damage done by bags – both plastic and paper – to the environment.
Greg: For the most part we use reusable canvas bags for grocery shopping so we don’t use many plastic or paper bags. On recycling of plastic bags, some of them have recycle labels on them so I’ve always assumed (incorrectly?) that one could put those in the green bin rather than lug them back to the grocery store which I never seem to do. If they can’t be recycled in Newton, (1) I’d like to know that, and (2) I’d like to know why the city can’t add them to what WM will take.
@Greg– I’m not a plastic bag expert. But I’ve been told they are recyclable, and I believe some supermarket retailers provide on-site a recycle bins for them.
As far as Mayor Warren’s agenda, I thought my comment was pretty clear. He supports large 40B projects that most Newton residents oppose, because he wants to be known as a creator, not opponent of “affordable housing” when he pursues higher office.
All highly speculative on Mayor Warren’s position on the 40B proposals given that he’s powerless to stop them, but okay, I’ll take the bait… what tools are at the Mayor’s disposal if he did wish to block a 40B? With Wells Avenue, the planning department was able to come up with a trump card with the deed restriction. Otherwise, isn’t 40B known to be written in such a way that it takes control from the city, except for a few criteria the developer has to satisfy? (school overcrowding and traffic increases are not among them)
We are not the only community to refuse plastic bags at curbside, and one would think there’s a reason for it. Can you show a counter-example? It’s my understanding that plastic bags clog the equipment used in the single-stream recycling that makes it so economical for us. For plastic bag collection to work, it sounds like we’d need a third bin and a separate collection process.
@Hoss– I was really pointing to the aldermen’s hypocrisy more than anything else. Plastic bag recycling wasn’t even on their radar screen when they had a chance to include it in the Waste Management contract. Nor was it raised as an issue by anyone during the last election. I was not suggesting curbside plastic bag recycling would have been worth the additional cost to taxpayers. I don’t believe an additional cost would be justified. But I am firmly opposed to taking away the “paper or plastic” choice from consumers. It’s clear that no one in city government gives two hoots about consumers. Retailers in Newton routinely violate laws designed to protect consumers, and City Hall completely ignores these violations.
Peter – Plastic bags are NOT recyclable through our single stream system (ie don’t put them in the green bin). They jam up and damage the single stream recycling machines.
From the City of Newton website:
Plastic Bags
Bring #2 and #4 bags back to your local grocery store for recycling (they are NOT accepted in the curbside cart). This includes dry cleaning bags, bread/produce bags, case wrap, bubble wrap, zip lock bags, and more. See a complete list here.
TIP: Think about ways to reduce your use of plastic bags. Most major grocery stores sell reusable cloth bags and give small rebates when you use them.
http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/dpw/recycling/curbside/recyclopedia.asp#bags
@Adam– As a commercial real estate investor and developer, I’ve been directly involved with 40B projects. I’ve used one of those projects before, Rattlesnake Hill in Sharon, as an example of how difficult elected officials can make the 40B process when they choose to fight a developer. My partners and I began the 40B permitting process at Rattlesnake nearly 20 years ago. The Town fought the permit at every possible juncture, delaying the project for years and adding million$ in additional costs. We finally got the permit from the State about 10 years ago, and sold the land + the permit to a much larger national developer in 2006. The Town has continued to fight the development, and not a single unit has been built to date.
The trick to stopping these projects is to change the financial dynamic, making it more time consuming and expensive for developers. The problem in Newton is twofold. The Mayor supports these giant 40B projects, and the City makes the process too easy for developers.
Would it be illegal for an elected official to take large campaign donations from a 40B developer who was trying to build in that elected officials town?
Mike Striar writes “People should keep in mind that Mayor Warren has the power to seriously impede and potentially stop ridiculous projects”
The problem is that at a Jan 24, 2014 meeting in his office he told at least 20-30 Court Street neighborhood residents that he had very little power on 40B projects.
So…he either lied to us or he has incredibly inept people working for him. And I don’t know which is worse.
When the Avalons developments circumvented the zoning laws by setting aside a percentage of units as affordable housing, Mayor Cohen had no say in the matter and no one questioned or blamed him for that. For all my complaints about him, he followed the law with these developments and I respect him for that.
On another note, we are not Sharon in any way, shape or form. In addition to opponents to affordable housing, we have a well organized group in the city that advocates for it. One might have the impression from this blog that everyone in the city is on the same page about this issue and that’s simply not the case. The old tomato/tomahto situation.
Bob – this is a blog. The posts you read here do not necessarily contain accurate information.
Jane…The Mayor and the city can contest a 40B if they want to. This city rolls over and plays dead when a developers says the magic word 40B. Of course, it would be interesting to see what would happen if a 50 unit structure were planned for Waban at St Philip Neri Church. You know, close to mass transit and all that.
BTW, did you read what Matt Striar wrote about Rattlesnake Hill in Sharon? It appears that something can be done if a municipality so desires. Not that they would necessarily win but they can ‘influence’ the outcome. The ‘friendly 40B’ is only friendly to the developer. We here on Court Street know that from personal experience
Jane– When Mayor Cohen allowed Avalon to be built unimpeded, I blamed him for that, said so publicly, and ran against him for mayor. The problem was, like Mayor Warren, Mayor Cohen was a big proponent of 40B. Both men also lacked the fundamental understanding of the commercial real estate business, that would enable them to slow down or stop large 40B projects. Lastly, although there certainly are differences between Newton and Sharon, your assumptions about the lack of affordable housing proponents in that town are naive.
Hate to tell you, Bob, but I think the Philip Neri property would work well as a development for affordable housing. It’s close to transit and would provide economic diversity in a part of the city that really needs it. I’m not sure of the lot size, but I think it’s quite generous and could work so I’d be more than willing to advocate for a project in that area. As you may have noted, I’ve advocated for a larger Zervas School as well. That means I’d have significant development within 2 blocks of my house on both sides. It’s all okay with me if it serves a purpose and doesn’t bankrupt the city.
While I try hard not to get personal on the blog, my comment was directed at Mike’s experience in Sharon. If I’d wanted to live in a town that thought spending 20 years fighting affordable housing was worth it, then I’d have moved to a place like Sharon.
I happen to like that I live in a city. I like that we have economic diversity in Newton and don’t want to lose it. For 26 years I’ve taught in economically diverse sections of the city, and presently teach students who have lived in the most dire of circumstances. Every day most of my students say thank you to me when they leave the class, which is a new experience for me. I don’t know what to say to you – I worried more about the kids from well-to-do families selling drugs right in front of my previous home than I do about living near people who struggle to make ends meet.
Well said Jane. Thank you.
Bob – Step back from Court St up to the 10,000 foot level that a mayor should be looking. Seems to me pretty clear that the 10,000 ft game is like the toy that toddlers play where they hit the clown coming out of one hole and it shows up in another hole. Are your alderman describing something different?
Jane…St Philp Neri would work that way but do you really think that the powers that be would allow that in that part of town? Check out the distribution of official affordable housing in Newton by zip code and explain why it is this way:
Zip Code Affordable Sites
02458 13
02459 10
02460 8
02461 5
02462 3
02464 5
02465 10
02466 7
02467 1 (Chestnut Hill)
02468 2 (Waban)
Hoss-Not sure what exactly you mean but I don’t believe that Waban and Chestnut Hill get whacked too often. Check out the official Mass Department of Housing and Community Development stats which I posted. Remember Engine Company 6? Where was that located?
Bob — there isn’t one site in those figures of Affordable Housing sites that is similar to the Engine 6 proposal, correct? Not sure what Engine 6 has to do w the more recent proposals. But it is completely fair to show Affordable Housing sites align with the availability of profitable land. Conspiracy or basic economics?
I don’t want my elected leaders to use obstructionist tactics to circumvent state or federal laws, especially laws that are designed to assist people in need and that encourage diversity. It is entirely appropriate to require that at least 10 percent of Newton’s housing stock be affordable.
Shame on us as a community for not having found a more pro-active way to achieve this on our own.
40B is a flawed law designed to obtain an entirely appropriate, morally sound, objective.
So you either change the law, find a way to not be beholden to it by meeting its requirements, or follow it. But don’t ask elected officials to conspire to thwart it.
Just want to pop back in here briefly to remind folks that one can be concerned about – or even opposed to – a particular project that includes affordable housing without being an affordable housing opponent. I live on the border of 2 of the zipcodes above with higher numbers of affordable housing, and welcome it. Within a mile of my house, we have Auburndale Yards, Lexington St., Crescent St., and several others, all of which are townhouse style and of a scale and design that “fits” the neighborhood; I like living in this kind of neighborhood. I’m not concerned about the latest proposal because it includes affordable housing; I’m concerned about a 4-story, 150 unit apartment building that is completely out of scale with the residential neighborhood. I would actually move from very concerned to outright opposed if it DID NOT contain affordable units – that’s the only positive thing in the whole proposal, and that’s not enough.
Hoss “Conspiracy or basic economics?” How is 40B basic economics?
One can agree or disagree with the law but one cannot possibly call it ‘basic economics’.
40B is a well intentioned law that is now grossly manipulated by for-profit developers.
Tricia: The 70 Rowe St submission contains 120 units to be sold at market value and only 30 affordable units, i.e. 20% of the units which is the bare minimum allowed. Scott Oran wouldn’t even consider 25% affordable units with a split of 50% and 80% median income levels which would have added another 8 affordable units. In my mind that is telling. This 40B project (like Wells Ave and Court St) is all about maximizing profit for the developer while screwing over the neighborhood in terms of traffic, school overcrowding etc and the city in terms of the cost to service such developments (by my calculations the city will lose $1,000,000 a year by allowing this development). But it’s okay because the Mayor was over in Israel soliciting tech start-ups to move to Newton so we won’t need another tax override next year. Hold on a minute, we don’t have any business space left to house them because it’s all getting chewed up by 40B’s so I guess we’ll let them live in our 40B dorms in Newton and work in Needham…
Nonsense, Greg. The “law” is not black or white. If it were, there wouldn’t be 5-4 Supreme Court decisions. 40B law in particular is multiple shades of grey.
I expect, [and you should expect too], the Mayor to do what he feels best for Newton. If Mayor Warren feels these giant apartment buildings are in the best interest of this city, he should have the balls to say it. Personally, I’d get a kick out of hearing him try to make that case.
Nonsense Mike. Every time you’ve described the situation you encountered in Sharon, it involved municipal leaders throwing bureaucratic roadblocks in the way to thwart the law. That may be the way government operates way too often, but it’s not the way it should.
Like I said, change the law, find a better way to meet the 10% mandate or follow the law. Those should be the three choices….municipal leaders throwing a temper tantrum has no place on the list of justifiable solutions.
What Greg said.
I don’t understand why having a development that includes affordable housing suddenly becomes “a 40B”. If you’re opposed to a project, you might consider reasons other than it includes affordable housing because other community groups are advocating heavily for more affordable housing. If you talk about scale and height within the context of the surrounding community or an exterior facade that fits with the surrounding neighborhood, you’d have a better argument.
40B is state law and should addressed at the state level. I don’t see how, or agree with the idea that obstructionism at the local level is good government. I do agree that the developers are a problem, both those who use 40B to bypass local zoning laws and those who are tearing down our modestly priced housing stock at a very steady clip. Unfortunately, what they’re doing is legal and that’s frustrating.
@Greg– Would you like me to cite other cases of municipalities making it difficult for 40B developers? There are plenty of other examples. I try to stick with first hand accounts when I can.
What I’m suggesting is entirely legal, within the boundaries of the 40B process, and in the best interest of Newton. The Mayor should have sat down with these two apartment building developers, and made it clear their projects as contemplated were unacceptable to the neighbors and community. Any developer who wants to build a giant apartment building in Newton should come to the table with a plan to fully mitigate that project’s impact on our schools, or be prepared to spend a lot more money and time pursuing their permit. These kind of behind-the-scenes negotiations are common place in the world of commercial development. The problem here in Newton, is that our Mayor is choosing to roll over for these developers, because creating lots of “affordable housing” is in his own political interest.
@Mike: I’ve asked this before, and I’ll ask it again: How do you know that there aren’t negotiations going on?
The answer is you don’t.
Have a great weekend!
@Greg– I don’t know for a fact that there are no negotiations going on. Maybe the Mayor will surprise me and hold his own against these developers. From my experience, I would would suggest that the time for negotiation has passed. It’s best to deal with projects like Wells and Rowe before they get out of the starting gate.
I’ve answered your question, so how about answering one of mine… Do you believe Mayor Warren should publicly state either his support for, or opposition to a large scale apartment project like Wells Ave or Rowe Street? I seem to recall a promise about “transparency” from this Mayor.
Mike Striar — I honestly don’t think that kind of statement would be smart. It would show prejudice; the opposite of which is favoritism… In addition, the BoA for Newton is unique in terms of having administrative responsibilities in permitting. It feels like our BoA has more power than City Hall in this type of “negotiation”. No?
Mike Striar — I honestly don’t think that kind of statement would be smart. It would show prejudice; the opposite of which is favoritism… In addition, the BoA for Newton is unique in terms of having administrative responsibilities in permitting. It feels like our BoA has more power than City Hall in this type of “negotiation”. No?
I typed Mike’s name in by mistake … is anyone avail to fix delete it? sorry
Greg, from what I have read in this thread, I would say the politicians in Sharon have been following the law, their interpretation of the laws. Otherwise the courts would have interceded a long time ago, and something would have been built by now. So there are four options if you include the two views held by the involved parties along with changing the law or finding a different way to reach 10%. And if there are 4, there could be 5 options: who knows.
Hoss “It would show prejudice; the opposite of which is favoritism”
Mayor Warren is the Mayor of Newton. That is, the mayor of the citizens of Newton. Developers are not part of his constituency as far as I know. The mayor should favor the citizens.
Greg, as far as ongoing negotiations, I also do not know if that is happening. Maybe Mayor Warren is talking with his neighbor, Bob Engler, while shooting hoops on Bob’s backyard basketball court. I would not be surprised to learn that the mayor honed his b-ball skills on that court while growing up. Bob would host pickup games in the summer evenings for the neighborhood high school kids.
Hoss– I understand your point, but disagree. I believe the Mayor should speak his mind about any major development project in the city. People have a right to know where their mayor stands on projects like those proposed for Wells Ave and Rowe St. Mayor Warren didn’t hesitate to claim a record of “job creation” from Chestnut Hill Square, before that project was built. His silence speaks volumes now.
Mike – Maybe his silence does speak volumes. We don’t know.
Interesting Gail, I have financial interests in other municipalities and I get what I need to know about the temperature of the mayor in those districts from leading local newspapers. (If I don’t get what I need to know, I know who to ask to get it). Not to completely bash the one resource we have in print, but the weekly mtgs with City Hall and the regular followup at the courts seems to be lost as part of Newton print reporting. Some things that happened within your tenure are still open as far as I can see — what became of the library worker accused of inappropriate web use and what became of Chief Cummings and his matter about being fired on City Hall steps?
In my opinion, Newton newsprint ownership needs to broaden out it’s base similar to Patriot Ledger, The Enterprise , et al
@Hoss: I haven’t seen either the Patriot Ledger or the Enterprise in quite some time but my guess is that they aren’t what they used to be.
Gail, The bandwidth of the Patriot Ledger and Enterprise have been challenged in the last ten yrs (due to advertising cuts) but both are very good in terms of political type questioning. In any event, Newton as a similar regional news powerhouse needs the answers to the kinds of questions asked by Mike and Bob. The logical workaround (as a reporting workaround) is for them to ask the Mayor themselves. I bet they get what they want to know .. but as a one on one
I remember when The Hamlet was built in the late 1970’s in Newton Centre. Back then we called it a “Project”. It was built in what at the time had been woods off Langley Road. It is still there although they have since renamed it to be called Houghton Village but it looks pretty much the same. I remember someone explaining to me that the reason that The Hamlet was called a “Project” was because some of the families in the development paid almost nothing to live there while other families paid a whole lot to live there. I actually went to Bowen School and then Weeks and then South with a lot of The Hamlet kids and got to know a lot of them. Most of the families who were living there for almost nothing were single parent families or just poor dual parent families. I remember one industrious family that used to sell maple butter walnut ice cream cones(only that flavor) out of their unit during the summer time for $1 per cone. I used to go there once and a while to get my ice cream cone there. The Hamlet has been in Newton for approximately 37 years and there are still quite a few of the families that were original residents at the subsidized rents living there. I know of a few who are grown adults that still live with their now elderly parents there.
@Newton Gal: What exactly was The Hamlet?
Greg Reibman- The Hamlet was and is a housing project located on Hamlet Street in Newton Centre off of Langley Road. It was built on a parcel that used to be woods in approximately 1979. It is a fairly large development with freestanding three bedroom townhouse style buildings and it was very modern in its day. A large number of of the townhouses were occupied by low income people who paid a nominal rent and the rest were rented by people who paid market rent. There are still a few families living in The Hamlet that were there in 1979 because I see their names and addresses in The TAB police report from time to time for robberies and other crimes. These people are the children of the women who were original tenants back in 1979 and who were able to have Newton educations but are stilling living in subsidized housing. They have recently renamed The Hamlet to be called Houghton Village but it is still the same place just the name has changed. It is managed by The Newton Community Development Foundation.
I hear several people suggesting that the Mayor of Newton behave like the Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives. Obstructionism at its worst. If keeping people who can’t afford the current housing stock out of Newton is your goal, then just say it. If you really wanted the law to change, you’d be advocating for that at the State House, not demanding our local electeds act like a bunch of jerks because it happens to be “legal”.
I believe that there should be mandatory drug testing requirements for people who live in subsidized housing. We drug test people for jobs and to be in unions so I don’t see why we can’t require people who are getting free housing to get tested for drugs perhaps every decade or so? I also do not think that it would be unreasonable to put lease restrictions in that would stop adult children of original tenants to remain in the townhouses in perpetuity. They should have to leave the nest when they reach a certain age….perhaps at age 40? There is one person that I know who is still living in The Hamlet since they were a child who is notorious to the Newton Police. You might have seen him riding a girl’s style pink Huffy bicycle up and down Langley Road as he went to rob the CVS and Walgreens there time and time again. He was a regular in the TAB police report. Why he is still allowed to live in free Newton housing I do not know? Anyone have an answer for me?
I just found this description of The Hamlet on the Newton Community Development Foundation’s website ncdf.com. They list all of the properties that they own. It turns out The Hamlet was built in 1977 not 1979. Here is the excerpt taken from the NCDF website.
“Houghton Village (formerly The Hamlet) was the first privately held, mixed-income housing to be approved by the City of Newton. Built in 1977, the family-oriented townhouse community is situated on an 8 acre site adjacent to conservation land and recently underwent major interior and exterior renovations. Houghton Village offers 50 two, three and four bedroom apartments at low, moderate and market-rate rents. Houghton Village was built with financing from MassHousing and is partially subsidized through the Massachusetts MRVP housing program and the 13A interest reduction program.”
A few things:
I think the mayor and the city has far fewer options these days on 40B than 10 years ago. There is a fair amount of guidance out there. Perhaps you can slow down the process, but as Jane and other said, it is state law. Blaming Setti for this might be convenient, but I’m not sure what we really want him to do besides “stop those 40B projects”. Facts are what they are though, and the system is designed to allow those projects to go forward unless we’ve got 10% affordable housing. I’m not familiar with Mike’s project, but I think sometimes 40B projects can be held up for unrelated reasons that we can’t make sweeping generalizations about “stopping” 40B. Lots of these projects are progressing around the state folks. Don’t you think it there was a silver bullet the opponents would have found it?
And Newton Gal, I’m not a big fan of drug testing as a policy matter. The tests are expensive and the policy result not helpful. So if someone indulges in pot occasionally they shouldn’t have access to affordable housing? Besides the obvious question of medical use, if that were the standard used I think a fair amount of neighbors and friends might not pass. I tend to ask myself would I object if that was being asked of me. Unless I’m operating a ship or a plane (or driving strangely and get pulled over), I don’t think I should be drug tested, and I say that as someone who doesn’t do drugs or alcohol (except for a very occasional beer).
Put it another way, are you on medicare or get social security? Would you be ok if those govt programs start using drug tests to determine eligibility? How about refusing you health care if you indulge in a few glasses of wine? Would that concept anger/upset you? If so, maybe drug testing folks in subsidized housing isn’t the best of proposals.
Fig – Of course YOU shouldnt be tested to access housing. She was talking about those dirty losers that take advantage of her tax money. Many of them entitled foreigners, don’t you know… You didn’t figure that out?
Hoss- newtongal was not referring to “dirty losers” or “foreigners”.
Fig- you assume it is pot. And even so, last time I checked smoking pot is illegal.
Comparing the drug use and related illegal activites of welfare recipients to Medicare or private health insurance that I have paid into during the course of my employment and continue to pay for myself is a terrible analogy.
Hoss- Please don’t put words into my mouth. So do you agree that there should be some statute of limitations on able bodied individuals living in free Newton Housing? As I told you before there are people that I know who live in The Hamlet for 37 plus years for basically nothing. Do you agree that there should be some limits put into place? If not it is sort of like winning a Set for Life scratch ticket where you are grandfathered into a free ride just because your parents lived there. Are there any limits to Newton’s liberalism?
Fig- Are you serious that drug testing is expensive in comparison to getting a free three bedroom apartment in Newton Centre with washer and dryer in the unit for 37 plus years? The going rate on a townhouse like that today is $3000 per month. A drug test costs about $50 and you could do it once per decade to weed out the drug addicts and dealers in Newton’s subsidized housing. They could have a drug screening clinic at The Newton Centre Fire station just like they do the with the rabies clinics. Do it once per decade. That would weed out a lot of people out of The Hamlet and free up the housing units for more productive people to have a shot at our great free school system.
Newton Gal — I don’t believe there’s anything in the Newton budget that gives anyone a free-for-life deal, or any housing funds at all. Down at the bottom of this site it says: “Village14 is intended as a forum for discussing Newton issues. ” The only Newton question I see is “Are there any limits to Newton’s liberalism?” With respect to (…and respect of…) the poor, I hope not!
Hoss- I know for a fact that there are families living in The Hamlet for generations in subsidized housing paying nominal rents that are basically free when compared to the rents that the market rent tenants pay. A lot of people read this blog and you will notice that no politician or anyone else for that matter disputes this fact. I know the truth must hurt but that is what is so wonderful about this blog. It allows people to share knowledge and knowledge is power. Companies pay millions of dollars in market research and studies to obtain knowledge and I am giving it to you for FREE! How long have you lived in Newton Hoss?
Audrey:
It is actually an excellent analogy, judging by your reaction. Pretty uncomfortable to think of being drug tested when you join medicare at 65. Want a better metaphor? How about not granting medicare benefits to anyone over a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 35. No functionally obese people get Medicare. Or smokers. Or drinkers. Anyone who will cost the govt money to pay for their health insurance above the norm due to their own actions. We give them a medical test at 65 and if they don’t qualify they don’t get the benefit. Hey, not smoking/drinking/overeating is completely within your control, right? And the govt has an interest in keeping people healthy, right? And it cost the govt far more money to service those medicare folks with those ailments than they “paid” into the system… Get where I’m going Audrey. Better metaphor, right?
Also, what purpose are you aiming for with your violation of civil liberties? Fewer drug crimes? (there are much better ways to accomplish that, try education and/or police action) Better tenants in Newton affordable housing? Typically Newton affordable rental housing has large waiting lists. And most affordable housing developers are pretty empowered to remove problem tenants (such as convictions for a drug CRIME (not a drug test) and certainly for the various infractions listed by NewtonGal). Perhaps it is a family member or son/daughter who is in trouble with the law. Do we really want to be the community that evicts folks based on the actions of the kids?
And seriously, what the heck is the objection to long term affordable housing tenants? Don’t we WANT to build community? Most communities like it when long term residents stay in one place. Affordable housing isn’t TEMPORARY housing, it is…housing. What I mean by that just like you stay in your house for a few decades, why shouldn’t an affordable housing tenant? And the objection for the children taking over the lease doesn’t reflect reality. This isn’t rent control. Different concepts. Now could a family live in an affordable rental apartment for 20 years and then have the son or daughter move back in? Sure, why not. Again, that happens all the time all over Newton.
What this discussion feels like is some very limited examples of bad tenant behavior being used as a straw man, the “of course all affordable tenants are bad and should be drug tested and removed from their homes after 10 years or so, because I once knew a family taking advantage of the system. Or 5 families taking advantage. Or 10.)” Do you know how many affordable housing residents live in our fair city?
I’m all for working together to improve our affordable housing amounts and the existing stock. But these ideas aren’t the way to go.
Always fun chatting folks. G’nite.
Interesting discussion. I know of many people in other communities, (many instances that make this beyond anecdotal) who have lived in subsidized housing for generations. One example from North shore: One woman: husband left her five years into marriage, had 5 year old son with hearing problem. Lived in apartment practically rent-free. For forty years son lived there with Mother before moving out himself five years ago. Mother never really worked. Lives there still.
Should there be a time limit? Isn’t 50 years a long time? What’s the incentive (or lack thereof) for them to move on? Does ANYONE check these lists, do updates? Are there those in greater need being blocked by those who have been there for years?
Again, I find this is happening quite regularly.
Well said, fignewtonville.
Fig – Two posts of the best posts I’ve ever read on either the Tab blog or V14.
Mark- You could do a great political cartoon about the free housing in Newton. I imagine a stork delivering infants into the arms of unwed Mothers in the housing projects in Newton circa 1977 and then flash forward to 2014 and those infants are now 40 plus year old men running around Newton robbing coinage and laptops out of the Volvos and Subarus that the care free and happy go lucky Newton folks leave unlocked on a regular basis.
@Fig– There is no silver bullet when it comes to 40B. On that much we agree. But as someone who’s gone through the 40B process several times as a developer, I can tell you that there is plenty of other ammunition. The carrying costs associated with a large 40B are substantial, as are the permitting costs themselves. Those costs represent a developer’s vulnerability. So simply slowing down the process at any juncture prior to approval, can dramatically alter the financial dynamic of a project. When you have the ability to slow things down, as Mayor Warren most certainly does, you gain the opportunity to negotiate a better deal for the city. No disrespect intended, but this is the point that you, Jane, and others seem to be missing. Don’t you think the city deserves the best possible deal it can wring out of these large apartment developers?
Mike – I’m not missing the point. I just completely disagree with your approach and always have. I’ve heard your story about Sharon about 10 times, and each time thought to myself, “That would never happen in Newton, and that’s one of the reasons I moved here”, but never commented.
While developers are my least favorite people, my real interest is in getting the best possible project in place in all areas of the city. That means attending every meeting about a project and reviewing every document to make sure it’s well suited in size, scope, and aesthetics to the area. In my mind, it doesn’t include having the local government use valuable time and resources obstructing projects that include affordable housing.
Regarding the Austin street development and the developers chosen by setti warren, shouldn’t the mayor have selected a developer with more experience and a proven record of success than the “team” that was chosen?
Dinosaur created its entity in November 2009, the same time Scott Oran (partner of dinosaur) was assigned to the mayors transition team. Why wasn’t an established non profit with decades of experience like B’nai B’rith awarded the project?
I believe that developers that can potentially create an llc and/partnership to develop a property and then dissolve the llc soon after completion, pocket enormous profits, declare the llc has no assets and walk away from any and all future issues with that property.
Does anyone know what criteria was used in selecting Austin street partners, consisting of oak tree development LLC and dinosaur capital partners LLC? Why would the mayor award such a big project to a brand new developer (dinosaur)? What was the selection process? Were audited financial statements of both of the llcs required to show financial stability?
Can anyone provide any insight regarding this decision?
Anyone who has read this does.
Tell me Jane, how’s that working out for you? Has your approach of attending every meeting and reviewing every document, brought about the kind of change[s] that you’d like in Newton?
Mike – You bet I attended every meeting and read every document with the project that had a direct affect on my house and ‘hood. It made a significant difference in many ways. The traffic flow, parking, placement of the building away from main thoroughfares happened because the local residents attended many meetings and advocated for better solutions than the developer proposed. The one aspect we had no influence on was the outside facade which I don’t find attractive, and convincing the community that the cost of the project was $60m over what the developer claimed it to be.
In the end, we decided to move because our kids were grown and we wanted a house that was better suited to our present needs as empty nesters. We’re very happy living here and I presently enjoy working in the building in question. As it turns out, we moved to an area where there’ll be one, maybe two construction projects within 2 blocks of our home and you can bet I follow both closely.
How’s it working out for Newton? I’ve lived here for 32 years and like most of the changes to the city over the years. My biggest complain is the demolition of modestly priced homes.
Jane– Believe it or not, I am truly glad that you’re happy living in Newton, and I applaud you for being so involved in the process. We’ve both been here for a long time. As you know, I would prefer a more proactive approach to push back against large scale residential developers. Giant apartment buildings put enormous pressure on our schools, and threaten to dramatically change the nature of our village based community.
Thank you Greg for the link to the mayors “recommendation letter” of Austin Street Partners.
Perhaps Greg or Mike Striar can answer a few more questions.
First, is the city of newton really selling the Austin Street parking lot to the Austin Street Partners for only $1,050,000?
The “recommendation letter” (the one that explains why the city chose Austin Street Partners instead of developers with decades of experience) refers to six (6) evaluators that reviewed each team’s proposal. Who were these individuals and why were their names and qualifications not included in the memorandum?
One of the criteria they sited as favoring Austin Street Partners was their ability to obtain financing. In looking at their proposal I see two bank letters. One is a letter from Cambridge Bank offering up to the high seven figures. The estimate for the entire project from Austin Street Partners is $25 million. How is a $9,999,999 loan going to finance $25,000,000? The other was from Eastern Bank and was non committal and did not appear to be a commitment to provide financing.
The “evaluators” also sited Austin Street Partners’ willingness to respond to public concerns and their “creativity in terms of community engagement” as a reason for selecting them. Aren’t these the same people that gave concerned residents bingo dot stickers at a meeting recently and would not allow them to speak? Are these also the same people that are conducting traffic surveys during the city’s slowest time of year for traffic?
In terms of the qualifications of the teams with regard to mixed use projects, Dinosaur’s experience (during it’s four (4) years in business) appears to include 2 similar projects, one of which is not completed. (Dinosaur’s partners prior performance under the employment of Morgan Stanley, while impressive, is no guarantee of the performance of an unrelated startup company/LLC). Oaktree’s similar experience listed on the “developers reference form” includes only 4 projects over a 25 year period (1989 to 2014).
I believe New Atlantic Development has at least 25 similar projects.
The mayor has been in office just over four (4) years. Have there been more 40B development proposals during the last few years in Newton or is this typical?
Actually, Mike, I think we have more in common than you may think. My concern relates more to the many neighborhoods throughout the city that are being changed – street by street – as developers offer more than any family could afford for a home, then tear down a modestly priced house, and replace it with a $2m (often poorly built) mega mansion. This results in the same issues as the larger projects, but we have no data to indicate how this affects school enrollment. Nor so we have data on the number of empty nesters who move from the city when their kids leave the school system, only to have their houses bought by families with school age kids, if not by developers Don’t get me wrong – I love kids. But we should also think about how to encourage empty nesters to stay in the city.
Audrey – A project that includes affordable housing is not a “40B” project. The majority of the units in all of these projects are market priced. The use of the 40B law has been used for many years to circumvent local zoning regs. Several years ago, it became a statewide issue with people advocating a change to the law, but the effort failed.
SEB LLC, one of the Austin Street group, is the sole developer of the Court Street project. The units they are designating as affordable units are the smallest they can legally get away with.
These are a few of the way the affordable units are distributed:
The two (2) smallest 1BR units are designated as affordable units (775 sf & 815 sf)
The two (2) 1BR market units are 1030 sf and 1250 sf
The smallest of the 3BR units is designated as an affordable unit
Not a single 2BR market unit is smaller than this 3 BR affordable unit
8 of 10 smallest units are designated as affordable
As a result of this manipulation, less than 18% of total living space is included in the affordable units
They admitted this at the June 26th ZBA hearing on their petition. Wlll they do the same on Austin Street? Why wouldn’t they?
Bob-Is SEB LLC owned by a man who is the Mayor’s neighbor? Is this also the man who owns the Newton Community Development Foundation and owns and manages The Hamlet and Weeks House and a bunch of other properties in Newton? Do you know what law firm is representing the entities involved in Court Street and Austin Street? This whole picture is becoming a lot clearer to me now and it ain’t pretty.
Newton gal:
According to Google Maps, it is a 2 minute walk from the Mayor’s house to the Developer’s house.
The law firm for the Court Street development is Schlesinger and Buchbinder LLP; Schlesinger and Buchbinder LLP for Austin Street also
Robert Engler, President of Newton Community Development Foundation
Thank you Jane for clarifying what 40B means. And thank you Bob for that additional information about how developers profit by short changing affordable housing candidates and designating the smallest units for them. That’s disturbing and seems to be discriminatory to the affordable housing residents.
Is it common knowledge that Bob Engler is involved as the for profit developer and as the not for profit property manager?
Why is this same cast of characters (dinosaur and SEB -aka NCDF) being awarded all (Austin street, court street, Rowe street) of these projects? The more I delve into this the more disturbing it gets (yes, there’s more).
It seems there are many informed people on this village 14 website which brings me to ask, why aren’t people outraged and screaming bloody murder until the fleecing of Newton is stopped?
How can anyone that is a proponent of affordable housing intentionally designate the smallest units to affordable housing residents?
As followup and closure to a question I asked, I found the answer. Here is the link to the Austin Street evaluator team information.
It’s on the city’s website.
http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/planning/current/devrev/hip/austin_street_project_evaluations_team.asp
Audrey, while it does seem that this developer team is having success in Newton, I think you are getting a bit paranoid. They were highly rated by the team evaluating the Austin Street projects, and that was independent of the mayor. I know some of those folks and they were volunteers, and they have terrific reputations for fairness.
As for the affordable unit size, developers tend to do what is required of them, no more, no less. Affordable units generally have the same finishes as the non-affordable units, and there are rules in place under 40B to specify what constitutes an affordable unit. But again, your post makes following the law somehow discriminatory/disturbing. You may disagree with the law, but that is not the fault of the developer.
I will say I did really like some of the other developers on Austin Street. I liked B’nai B’rith’s design, that they came to Village Day, and that they were a non-profit developer. Peter Roth’s design was large but came with huge community benefits. Both developers have a great deal of experience, and I don’t know the one picked as well. But again, they were highly rated by the committee.
Is it possible that there is a close relationship between this developer or his partners and the mayor? I’ve got no idea. But you and other keep on implying a scheme or deception here without proof. And while it is a good means of venting, I think it is more productive to challenge the projects on their merits. Talking about the 2 minutes walk from the mayor’s house to the developer’s house isn’t proof. My house is 2 minutes from Newton North. 5 minutes from BC Law. And probably 10 minutes from the mayor’s house, if I actually knew where that was.
And for the record, I’ve got no role in this transaction, or any other transaction in Newton. Folks seem eager to jump to conclusions so let’s put that on the table. I just care about Newton(ville).
It is perfectly fine in my view to say these projects are terrible/bad for Newton. Perhaps they are. I’m not sold on Court Street for instance, and I think it was Bob who got me to go drive by the site and change my mind on it a bit. But stating vague conspiracy theories just makes you look a bit unhinged in my oh-so-humble opinion.
Fig- Funny you try to belittle me for asking valid questions and stating facts.
If the answers lead you to believe there are conspiracies, that’s not my doing.
Your efforts to ridicule other writer’s posts and name calling (ie implying I am “unhinged”) speaks volumes beyond your silly analogies and insults.
A fact is that New Atlantic offered to pay $5,000,000 for the Austin Street property and the chosen developer offered only $1,050,000.
The city has not agreed to a purchase price for Austin Street. I don’t believe it has even been resolved as to whether it will be a sale or a lease.
Fignewtonville, you are incorrect.
“As for the affordable unit size, developers tend to do what is required of them, no more, no less.”
Please compare the affordable unit allotment proposed for Wells Ave and that proposed for Court Street.
The recommendation letter dated 5/23/14 (page 3 “Independent financial analysis”) states that Newtonville Square Development Partners were eliminated from consideration based on their offer of proposed payments over time for the purchase of the property vs. an up front payment.
If the decision to sell vs. lease has not been decided then eliminating an otherwise viable candidate is unfortunate.
The RFP evaluation forms completed by the six experts had “purchase price” as a consideration in rating each developer.
Audrey, I didn’t insult you. But perhaps you are correct in your own analysis of yourself in your post….
And my point are that there are no conspiracies. As for ridiculing, I’m a big believer that isn’t necessary. Lots of times, folks tend to make themselves the objects of ridicule by their responses, but I see no need for name-calling. If my post made you upset, responding with some facts or getting others to agree with you might be a good start towards having a conversation about the issues.
As for the lease, while I suppose legally the payment over time could be considered a modified lease, I believe Newton Square Development Partners wasn’t paying all of its money upfront, and some of it was contingent. That would be less valuable than an upfront payment prior to construction. The city could very easily value not having to take construction risk for its payments.
As stated before, I did think the 5 million dollar payment from Roth’s group was worthy of a lot of consideration.
Bob, let me restate a bit. Sometimes to add a sweetener developers will include more affordable housing to get a project approved. But my point stands, it is rare for them to do more than is required of them. I’m sure that they included additional affordable housing because it was a necessary requirement to get the project approved. My point is that if we want more affordable housing we should push for more, but not blame the developer if they did what is required of them.
And my original point still stands: I may not agree with the mayor on Austin Street or the process, but I see no conspiracy, no evil kabal, no quid pro. Everyone can have different opinions on projects without resorting to smearing reputations, including our mayor. And I say that as someone who is not particularly happy with the guy.
I am looking forward to the meeting at Newton North on Monday July28th about Austin Street parking lot. Hope to see all you impassioned bloggers from this post there too!
NewtonGal, I’ll be there. I’m not exactly sure what the meeting is for or what we will accomplish, but hey, maybe there will be cookies or snacks or something. 😉