6 Comments

1. 

   Michael on December 4, 2019 at 2:36 pm

   Great article by Ms. Felsberg, we’re very lucky to have the Newton Report.

   On a side note, I was intrigued by the “digital convenience store,” which I had to look up. Apparently goPuff delivers sugar-sweetened beverages, high-fat and salty snacks, and other obesogenic, 7-11-type products straight to your door! Oh as well as Smirnoffs and six-packs of Bud Light.

2. 

   Jeremy on December 4, 2019 at 4:23 pm

   Nice article. Hopefully Creative Development Co. will be successful in their endeavor and others will follow their example for filling in the rest of the vacancies on Needham St.

   Greg, you have some good lines in the article but your phrase “small, independent businesswoman” comes across a little funny… what’s a “small” businesswoman?

3. 

   Jim Epstein on December 4, 2019 at 7:55 pm

   Jeremy,

   I think Greg would concur that the phraseology you question means a woman who owns, runs or manages a small business (as distinguished from a small woman who own, runs or manages a business).

   I’m wondering, would you raise a similar question as “coming across a little funny” if the reference was to a “small, independent businessman”? How would you adjust that phraseology which seems pretty customary to me?

4. 

   Jeremy on December 4, 2019 at 9:07 pm

   Jim, thanks for your question.

   To me, “small businessman” is just as funny-sounding as “small businesswoman”. Neither would be a natural choice of words for me. I’m not trying to make some point about male vs. female (either as a point about my own views or about Greg’s views) so I regret that my comment was easily interpreted that way.

   Apparently I’m in the minority* for thinking such phrases sound funny (and I again emphasize, the phrases just sound funny to me, and not anything worse than that), as Google has revealed the phrases’ use in plenty of published articles as well as their inclusion in some online dictionaries.

   (*This minority contains at least one other person besides myself, given that “Small Businessman” was used for comedic effect as the name of a fictional magazine in an episode of NBC’s “The Office”, again according to Google.)

5. 

   Sean Roche on December 5, 2019 at 7:01 am

   Really wished the owner had closed the existing driveway to Needham St. and opened a driveway off Columbia Ave.

   Could have closed a curb cut and provide more of a street-facing retail presence.

   Missed opportunity.

6. 

   Michael on December 5, 2019 at 9:52 am

   @Sean, Great suggestion.

   In lieu of curb-cut closing I’d at least propose curb-cut modernization.

   As a regular walker (usually in wingtips) on Needham Street, my soles (and ankles and knees) would like to give a shout out to the curb-cut at Nexus plaza, the home of Stop & Shop and TJ Maxx. The entire stretch of sidewalk in front of that parcel is extremely smooth, uniform, and level.

   And my soul would like to give a shout out to the overall traffic design of the Nexus entrances, which seems to have minimized the threat to pedestrian life while also reducing driver stress. Clear visibility, appropriate turning radii, good markings, and entrance width have all maximized deference to pedestrians. Looking forward to the installation of a similar stretch of sidewalk in front of Northland!

   And while we’re at it, an additional shout out to the merchants of Needham Street for having quickly removed the snow along all sidewalks Tuesday afternoon.

   I wish I could say the same for Highland Ave. in Needham, where virtually none of the merchants cleared their sidewalks, and the Speedway gas station actually plowed a snow mountain thereon (they do the same thing on Centre St. in West Roxbury).

   As per usual, Charlie Baker’s unaccountable MassDOT left the sidewalks of the Highland Ave./128 interchange completely unplowed, and thereès nobody to call about it.

   And Muzi Ford obviously had no time to take a walk around the block with the snow blower, since they’re too busy trying to get the area lucratively rezoned before they sell out to a developer.