In the coming weeks we will be permanently shutting down the Village14 site.
The good news is that we now have two new sources of local Newton news – Fig City News and the Newton Beacon. We urge you to support both of these new institutions with your eyeballs and your wallets.
We will indeed be sad to flick V14’s Off switch. Its been a great run over these past twelve years but since Greg Reibman left a while ago, it has been slowly running out of gas and sputtering to a stop.
In the next week or two, before we pull the plug, feel free to suggest any closing posts you’d like to see. In the meantime we’ll be organizing a Village14 Irish wake at some local establishment in the coming weeks and hope to see you all there.
Thank you Jerry and all for all your work over the years to keep information flowing and a dialog going in Newton. You will be virtually missed.
Jerry! You have done a great service for Newton. You’ll never have to buy a beer in this town again!
Thank you for all the great entertainment. Much appreciated
I was about to come back on line with a post about how impressed I’ve been at what Fig City has accomplished for the full year it has been publishing on line. I’ve been a steady reader of Newton print media since the early 1950a. When the TAB print edition finally went under, I really thought that was the end of meaningful citywide news coverage in Newton. The solid performance of Fig City against tremendous odds has caused me to file away any obituary I might have had for citywide news coverage here. Their reporting has been crisp, well organized, diversified and almost always objective. I’m sending this fledging but dynamic news source a check to help cover their operational costs. I hope everyone else who enjoys reading Fig City will do likewise.
I must also note the full potential I sense for what the Beacon has in store. I see these two papers as being complementary and not necessarily competitive. I’ve had my differences with Greg Reibman, but he has been an articulate and passionate defender of the democratic underpinnings of vibrant local news reporting for as long as I’ve known him. This means a lot to me in these days when so many of our democratic institutions are under attack.
Finally, a tip of the hat to Jerry. He’s done a fantastic job of keeping Village 14 going and trying to keep it even keeled. There was a shift to a more positive tone with him in command as he seemed to know how to steer the conversation away from personalities to principled differences people had with one another. I actually saw people change or modify their positions when someone would post solid infomation to the contrary. That’s my definition of progress.
@Terry Malloy – That’s great news indeed … and now that you mention it, I am a bit thirsty
Speaking of Greg Reibman, another great local news source is the really well written and always interesting Chamber of Commerce email newsletter. You don’t need to be a chamber member to sign up for it
Jerry, I hope we’ll still hear from you – maybe on Fig City. The city needs your voice.
Oh don’t worry. I never shut up for long 😉
Jerry, I have been a regular reader of Village 14 posts for past years, especially since I came on board as a Newton school committee member starting 2018. While every public forum has its own limitations due to its participants’ unique profile, Village 14 is by no means an echo chamber as people may think. Thus I really value what I have learned from all the posts and followup (often candid yet mostly rational) discussions I read through. A big shout out to you, Greg Reibman and many many contributors to this site. While I’m hopeful, I do think it would take some time for Fig City News and Newton Beacon to fully fill the Village 14’s big shoes! All the best!
I was a relative latecomer to V14 a few years ago, but really appreciate the efforts that went into maintaining it. Sorry to see it go, I think it filled a spot for back-and-forth conversation that the online newspapers do not at the moment, but in any case, thanks Jerry for the work, and enjoy whatever comes next!
This has been a great site, and thank you to all who ran it. I have really appreciated your hard work. Thank you.
This has been a great site, and thank you Jerry, you did an excellent job.
I hope conversations continue on the Civic Action and the Newton Community Facebook groups because I enjoy reading you guys.
Thanks for your hard work and the heads-up, Jerry.
When you say the site will shut down, will the old content still be available?
Or does it need to be archived externally, possibly like so (https://web.archive.org/web/20230000000000*/https://village14.com/) or like so (https://archive.fo/village14.com)?
@E – I’m very interested in all that. Please email me at [email protected]
Thanks for all the kind words everyone.
Thanks to Jerry and the V14 team for doing all of the work to make this a great site for so many years. Count me among those who think the contents of this site should be archived (though I am not an expert in such matters).
I will also closely follow and support the Newton Beacon and Fig City News, and am grateful for their work. We should also remember that we are lucky to have not one but two dedicated sources of quality local news. There are too many other places, even in Massachusetts, where that isn’t the case and in fact is heading in the opposite direction. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here.
Thanks again.
Jerry (and Greg R. and Sean R.), thank you for your service. V14 has been an incredible contribution to the community. I hope sentiment might change. I am grateful for Fig City and the Beacon, but they are not a substitute for public discourse.
GOODBYE
VERY SAD
NO WHERE ELSE
TO DISAGREE TO AGREE
TO DISAGREE!!!
JUST HAVE TO YELL AT PEOPLE
UP WEST NEWTON SQUARE
THE GATE WAY TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JOIN ME
SOME MORNING!!!!!!
HAH!
SEE YOU IN HELL JOE …. OR AT LEAST “THE GATEWAY TO” 😉
I’m mad. I’m furious. It’s a nightmare. I blame the developers. I blame the NIMBYs. It’s the south side’s fault. It’s all the mayor’s fault. There Right Size goes again. Somerville, why not Everett or Chelsea? The most ridiculous statement I’ve ever read. Did I mention it’s a nightmare? That street will become a parking lot! It’s already one. That’s way too tall. Why can’t we go back to the way Newton was in 1973? Sean is always stirring things up. Our schools didn’t used to be like that. It’s going to ruin everything. There you go again with that ridiculous argument. Oh, Jane how many times have you said you’d never post here again? Hahahahahha. Where’s Fignewtonville when we need him/her? Geesh, what a nightmare. She says she’s an environmentalist but opposes every housing project. It’s too big. It’s not big enough! I’m done. They’re trying to turn us into (gasp!) Brookline! If I wanted to live in Somerville I would have moved there. I miss Mayor Mann. He’s in the developers’ pocket. I shoveled and the plow pushed it right back. I hate you. Hahahahha. Jerry, you should run for mayor. Save the trees. That’s not true! Nightmare! Someone should close this thread down. It’s the mayor’s fault. The Green Line is a joke. I don’t bike therefore we should not have bike lanes. Build it in Waban. Newton was better in 1998. I’m voting yes. If the override passes I’ll have to move. This will be my last comment. If the override fails that school building will topple over crushing thousands of children. Someone should close this thread. Too many banks and nail salons. I hope Scott Lennon runs again. Eliminating ward councilors will mean the end of democracy. No one will ever be able to park in Newtonville again. It’s a nightmare. You’re a jerk. I’m done. @Jerry: Why haven’t you removed that comment. I’m done. Village 14 is a cesspool. West Newton has been ruined. They can’t. It’s the mayor’s fault. I will never vote for her because she opposed a marijuana dispensary. I can’t stand Village 14. I’m voting no. Why is Sean even allowed to post here? Newton was better in 1923. They won’t be happy until we’re like Brookline. It’s too tall. I’m in favor of that, just not in my village. What Marty said. The developers are only in business to make money unlike my employer who is only in business to … I never read Village 14. Traffic. Parking. Housing. Development. blah. blah. balh. blah. blah. blah. blah. balh. blah. blah. blah. blah. balh. blah. blah. blah. blah. balh. blah. blah. blah. blah. balh. blah. blah. blah.
Okay. I got that out of my system. Farewell Village 14.
OMG 12 years of history in one comment. You only missed April Fools. I can’t stop laughing.
It’s not that the April Fools posts weren’t true. They just weren’t true yet.
Over the years, I have saved up reading V-14 for the days I am at Guiseppe’s Sub Shop. Sometimes I read the column aloud, to see who is listening, and to see who agrees or wants to argue. I will miss this. You are have done great work in advancing dialogue among the citizens of Newton.
Thanks, Jerry, for all you have done on this forum, and to all who have contributed over the years.
In the old days of Village 14, if someone posted “Flowers are pretty,” Sean Roche would write in to call flowers racist and Greg Reibman would write in to call flowers stupid. City Councilor Andreae Downs would then write in to say she double-checked with City Councilor Deb Crossley and that “Flour is definitely NOT poisonous” as the poster implied. Finally, there would also be several thousand-word posts from Fignewtonville about the Mayor’s plan to cover Newton in tiny rosebuds, each housing a tiny fairy, with the power to grant every Newton resident’s greatest wish, including more pot stores for Mike Striar.
In the past year, however, I thought Village 14 had improved in that it was less personal and more balanced, with more posters of different opinions. I’m sorry to see it go.
Thanks for all your hard work, Jerry.
Keep it classy, Debra.
Mic drop. Insert Leonardo DiCaprio clapping gif.
Debra – You are truly one of the treasures of V14. Will miss your insights and your humor.
I’m sure someone can create a new forum to appeal to the bubble dwellers among us.
Debra, do you show up at funerals to let everyone know how much you hated the deceased?
I’ve already been reading FCN and look forward to the Beacon getting up and running. But will still miss Village 14. Thanks to Jerry, Greg and Sean for organizing and running and coordinating, and also to all those who commented and added to the dialog about what was happening in Newton. Sure it could get a little out of hand – it’s a comment section! But I frequently learned a lot and had more than a few laughs too. Long live V14!
Dan, agreed 100%. V14 never pretended to be a news source, but it was a terrific, opinionated source of information and indigestion as the Tab was being stripped for parts. FCN is great (donate!), and perhaps the Beacon will get going eventually, but the food-fight culture of V14 will be missed.
Thanks to Jerry and the V14 team!
Oh no! I will so miss V14. I won’t miss the click-bait titles nor the snarky remarks but I will miss discovering some points of view that I could never have imagined. It’s so interesting to see what people think. I am so grateful to those who shared their expertise, their wisdom and their compassion. Like many, I will miss the forum aspect of V14: where you can post or mostly read posts if you choose.
Thank you to all those who started a thread and who posted.
A big Thank You to Jerry who did a great job filling Greg’s shoes.
Thanks Jerry and Greg for all you have done to expand conversation in and about Newton. Sean, not so much.
Thanks Jerry. I’m sad to see V14 go. I’ve enjoyed sharing thoughts here and learning about things going on in Newton. I will really miss being able to contribute anonymously. I hesitate to contribute to discussion in other forums because I value my privacy and wouldn’t want to impact my kids when discussing the schools.
It’s been a nice place to connect with others, particularly those of different demographics who bring insight from their own experiences and give me a different perspective. When my kids were young we used yo go to a local coffee shop and connect with Newtonites from all sorts of walks of life. It was a really enjoyable way to learn about the city. That went away but this was a nice substitute especially when COVID made in person interactions limited.
Wishing all regulars here all the best!
I use a fake Facebook account for that but I had to ask the moderator to let me in and explain why.
It’s easier with V14 for sure.
Thank you Jerry for everything, you did a wonderful job.
It was nice to have somewhere to have these discussions that wasn’t on a terrible platform (Facebook, NextDoor, etc.). Appreciate all of the effort that went into it, sad that it has to go but it makes sense with everything else. See you all around town!
So sorry to hear this. I used to come to Village 14 for hyper local news, especially during local election years to try to find something/anything about the city council candidates maybe a handful of residents know about.
Fig City News and the NextDoor App have helped fill the void though (and, to a lessor extent, The Newton Beacon, though it seems tunnel vision focused on the Override Election in March). For example, there have been a lot of recent discussions on (and widespread opposition to) the 528 Boylston Street luxury tower project on https://nextdoor.com/, citing both traffic and especially flooding concerns.
What Greg said.
Thx Jerry.
Democracy prevails.
Village 14 closing down is horrible news… unless you’re Mayor Fuller or one of the 24 sitting City Councilors, in which case you just got reelected. But if you are simply a tenant in Newton’s 14th village, you just got evicted.
To the degree I may have played a role in this site’s untimely demise, I deeply regret it. Jerry has told me this closing has nothing to do with a series of emails he and I exchanged just prior to his closing decision. I had encouraged Jerry to unlock the comments section of the story about the horrific murders that recently took place in Newton. My thought was that people needed a place to express their grief. Jerry resisted, but relented.
Then came a handful of comments highly critical of specific public officials. I did not agree with those comments, I felt they were unfair, but they were quickly challenged and balanced by other commenters. In my opinion, in that instance, Village 14 worked the way it was supposed to, as a public sounding-board at a time of public need.
The next thing I knew, all the comments on the thread were deleted. Frankly, that struck me as a bad decision. I believe that people were upset and desperate for a place to discuss the tragic deaths of three beloved community members. Of course a conversation of that type is going to get heated, before it can eventually turn to healing.
I feel like my advocacy for public comments may have unintentionally been the “straw” that broke Jerry’s patience, and led him to close V14. Jerry says “no,” but I think so. To whatever degree I may have effected this outcome, again, I deeply and truly regret it.
I’ve very much enjoyed Village 14 over the years. I am sincerely grateful to Jerry, Greg and Sean for the countless hours they contributed to providing this community forum. Their commitment of time and energy cannot possibly be overstated. It’s been a true public service.
I have always viewed Village 14 as a public trust. Political careers have been launched and lost here. This site has helped shape public policy. Elected officials and wannabes have always cared about their reputations on Village 14, because it’s the only truly local news and information site that hosts public comments in real time. Until Fig City News can ramp things up, Newton’s elected officials will now effectively be unaccountable between elections.
I am hopeful another person or group of people may still step up to keep the site alive. Until then, It’s been a true pleasure discussing Newton issues with Village 14’s collection of commenters. I appreciate each and every one of you, regardless of whether or not we agreed on the issue of the day. I respect you all for “speaking” your minds on V14. Thank you. I hope we can all find a way to remain involved in the issues facing Newton.
Long live Village 14!
Absolutely not Mike. The decision to shut down was made a few months ago but we decided to put it off until after the override vote. After that I just procrastinated a bit.
Like you I appreciate all of the cacophonous voices on Village 14 but I particularly enjoyed yours, always passionate and thoughtful. I loved that you were a knowledgeable citizen who cares deeply about our city.
Don’t worry though, we’ll all just keep on muddling along in this very pleasant town we call home.
Are there any options left to keeping V14 alive? I agree with Mike that this is a valuable resource. I know it’s 11th hour, but is it funding, management, other? A great example of its usefulness is the post about the Northland site tour. We would have never known. I’m a quiet but daily user and am lamenting this loss.
@David Kalis – The simplest explanation is that its a people problem. In theory we have about a dozen contributors. In the past six months or more nearly all the posts have been from me, and occasionally Bob Jampol.
Likewise all the behind the scenes answering emails, responding to complaints etc has been just me.
For many years Greg Reibman filled that main role but back then, most of the time, there were also a fair amount of additional posts from various other people including me.
When we ran out of money to pay for the monthly hosting this year I couldn’t in good conscience run another go-fund me campaign, because I wasn’t up for committing to do this for another year and none of the other folks were able to commit to much more involvement.
So the short answer is yes. If a few creditable people came forward and said we’d love to take over that main role and keep the site rolling we would certainly be willing to entertain the notion depending on the details. In fact behind the scenes a few people have contacted us with that idea but then backed away.
I’m personally willing to stay involved at some level so long as there is sustained ongoing contributions from other folks too.
So if anyone wants to talk about this you can contact me at [email protected] or come down to Paddy’s on Thursday night.
David, Jerry and company told me that they are “all ears” to hear proposals to keep V14 alive. Financial resources, to my mind, are not a big deal. Rather, the challange is finding a group of people willing to devote some time to keep it going. I am willing to help, but it takes a village (no pun intended). I emailed a few people to no avail. Anyone interested in trying to resurrect things, please email me at [email protected].
@Mike: You can’t possibly appreciate what goes into this site unless you’ve been sued in state and federal court for things you didn’t even write, or woken in the middle of the night by someone in tears demanding a comment be removed immediately (by the person who wrote the comment, by the way, but was now regretting it).
Both things happened to me. And the first, cost me a lot of money.
Another one of our regular bloggers received an actual death threat.
It was an honor to be involved with Village 14. I learned some much for so many and I’m grateful to those who kept it alive after I stepped back. But takes a lot of time and is not without risks. It’s time.
… or have someone publicly and anonymously accuse you of being a pedophile. Yup that one happened too.
… or have someone in the lobby of a theater, that you’ve never met before, begin screaming at the top of their lungs that you are “a murder and have blood on your hands” just as you’re starting the show. Yep that one happened too.
aah the Village14 memories, I’ll miss them all 😉
My first experience was in 2006 on the Tab Blog which eventually morphed into Village 14. A friend called to tell me that people were calling me a liar on a blog. My response: “What’s a blog?”.
At one point, Terry Malloy and I began to go at it online so we decided to meet in person in front of the Waban Library. Within two minutes, we were howling, laughing. Great guy. The same thing happened at a V14 get together with Kim who used to be a colorful regular.
I did have several men stalk my posts which was creepy. One time five anonymous posters wrote that I was a horrible person, one right after the other- I decided “they” were a sock puppet, but still creepy.
Very early on three Janes with very different politics and interests were posting regularly, so we decided to divvy up versions of the name for the sake of clarity – Jane, Jane h, and I was jane. It worked well for us, but several posters told me my “name” was pretentious, which I loved. Public school teachers are a pretentious bunch!
We’re away so I won’t be there on Thursday, though I do love an Irish wake.
Thanks to the team for the time and effort you put into V14. Jerry – you are a gem and I look forward to seeing what’s next for you.
Jane
Thanks for this community news and opinion resourc over the last decade plus!
Hello all:
First, an apology. I had intended to go to the Village 14 celebration/wake last Thursday, but life got in the way a bit. Having a mess of kids in the house does that, but if I’m being honest, the prospect of going was also a bit overwhelming. In real life, I’m far more of an introvert than my posts here might imply. My spouse tends to be the social one, while I’m the one trying to figure out if I’m talking too much with hands, saying something controversial/stupid or laughing too loud (all things are usually true unfortunately).
I also haven’t been feeling social lately. My mom passed away a few weeks back, and it feels like a lot to talk to people, even when we won’t be talking about her death (no need to respond with messages of sympathy, I’m fine, my Mom was an amazing mom and her memory is a blessing. Really.).
My mom would have enjoyed my participation in this online forum. First and foremost, she knew that I absolutely despise Fig Newtons (“what, you couldn’t have named yourself after an ACTUAL cookie? Was ‘IloveMallomarsNewton’ taken?”). But she was a sucker for a good pun or nickname, so she’d have understood. Second, I think she would have liked the little dysfunctional community that posted here, and appreciated the fact that most of my posts were, in her words, “overly verbose”. (And she would have certainly called Jerry a true mensch. High praise indeed.)
I like to tell my kids that you have to take your community where you find it. And I’ve found a bit of my community here for a very long time, first on the Tab blog, then Village 14. I started posting mostly about Newtonville (from my recollection I first posted because I really wanted new benches so I had a place to sit with my toddler in Newtonville, who ended up being 14 when they were finally installed. Progress moves very slowly in Newton.) But I’ve come to really enjoy the conversations here, even the contentious ones. I’ve learned a lot about this community through those discussions. And some of the ongoing back and forth with posters over a decade are some of the longest conversations I’ve ever had. I’ll miss that.
To me, this was the only place in Newton to have these types of conversations. I don’t have the patience for Nextdoor (seriously, how many posts can there be about coyote sightings in one online site?), and Facebook Groups are largely at the whim of the moderator of the Group (and those moderators seem to ban anyone who doesn’t agree with the moderator…). And being anonymous allowed me and others the space to be honest, especially about the school system and topics involving our kids. I realize this place wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I realize that the overall discourse in our wider Newton community has gotten harsher, meaner and louder. But this was a place where anyone could post and where the moderators were decent people. I’m going to miss all of that too.
So a thank you is in order, to Jerry and Greg and Gail and Sean and whoever else helped bring this place to life. I’ve truly enjoyed the privilege of posting here and I want to thank you for putting up with my posts these many years. I’ve lived in Newton for the last 17 years or so. Long enough to feel like I know the place and to call it home. And a big reason I do consider this my home is the connections and the feeling of being connected to Newton through Village 14.
Absent a similar site coming along, this is probably my last post as Fignewtonville. My avatar had a good run. If you are looking for me, try the benches in front of Ranc’s Ice Cream in Newtonville. I’ll be the one talking too much with my hands even when holding an ice cream cone.
It’s been a true pleasure.
Cheers.
Figgy
Beautifully stated as always, Fig. Thank you for being such an important part of this community.
Just saw this and need to say that I’m sad that I’ll never know your true identity Fig. But I’m also grateful that you provided the most consistent voice of reason on both V14 and the Tab blog. Thank you for that. Cheers.
Man, I’m gonna miss this site. From arguing with people about the parking ban (get rid of it!!) to getting riled up about local elections to reading about new businesses, reading threads about development, reading memories from Bob Burke, and enjoying Jerry’s good-naturedness, this site has been one that I visited multiple times a day. Happy that Fig City News exists, but nothing will replace the banter here that I enjoy so much. You’ll never know who I am, but I’ll miss you all in different ways.
Yes I’ll miss it too Mary.
… and to all the V14 regulars who I’ve never met, if you’re ever up for a walk in the park, a cup of coffee, a cold beer, or an ice cream (Fig), email me at [email protected]. I’d love to put a face on all the folks I’ve been talking to for all these years.
Wow this sad news. Thanks for puyying this together and keeping it going to Greg, Jerry and Sean. It’s been real.