Friday, May 25, 2018

Opening June 2: Sandrine Colson and Diane Modica at AtlanticWorks

“Discovery & Discernment ...A Journey Back to Now”
June 2 - 23, 2018 By Sandrine Colson and Diane Modica

Modica and Colson each explore their rich ancestry and heritage and the connections that the past and the present create within us. The confluence of the visible and invisible forces, the communal nature that we all share with the past and with one another; the seen and unseen history that influences our personal experience. No one gets in or out of time without resilience, trauma or gifts.

Opening Reception & Artist Talks:
Saturday June 2 @ 6-9 pm
Third Thursday Reception:
Thursday June 21 @ 6-9 pm
Gallery Hours: Fridays & Saturdays @ 2-6 pm



For more info visit www.atlanticworks.org or call 617-567-7200
ATLANTIC WORKS GALLERY, 80 Border Street, East Boston, MA 02128

Thursday, May 17, 2018

May 29: Gove Street Citizens Association: Monthly Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, May 29, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Catherine Leonard-McLean Community Room  
(formerly Noddle Island Community Room) 
Logan Airport Rental Car Center

1. Welcome & Project Updates

2. Elected Officials Updates

a. Senator Joseph Boncore
b. Representative Adrian Madaro
c. City Councilor Lydia Edwards

3. Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC)
BWSC has been upgrading and/or replacing the water, sewer and drainage systems in the neighborhood. BWSC Director of Construction Irene McSweeney will discuss the next phase of construction for the coming months. 

4. Friends of the East Boston Greenway
Update on funded work in the Greenway – Kannan Thiru & Chris Marchi

5. Project Presentations
a. 25 Everett Street
A project to demolish existing structures, combine front and rear lots and erect a 4 story, 8-unit residential building.
Attorney Richard Lynds, 2nd presentation/VOTE

b. 28 – 30 Geneva Street
A proposal to demolish existing structures and to build 6 stories, 32 units, and 15 parking spaces.
Attorney Jeff Drago, 3rd Presentation/VOTE

6. Neighborhood Services 



Location: The Catherine Leonard-McLean (formerly Noddle Island) Community Room is located on the first floor of the Logan Airport Rental Car Center, situated at the end of Porter Street. Free event parking in front of the building and in the Porter Street parking lot adjacent to the building.

LOCATION - The Noddle Island Community Room located on the first floor of the Logan Airport Rental Car Center situated at the end of Porter Street. Free event parking in front of the building and in the Porter Street parking lot adjacent to the building.




Saturday, May 12, 2018

Ward 1 GOP Committee reports on the Worcester convention

Republicans from across Massachusetts gathered Saturday, April 28, as delegates to the 2018 Massachusetts Republican Convention at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester to nominate candidates for various state-wide offices.  Several members of the East Boston Republican Ward Committee attended.   

The delegates who arrived Friday mixed and mingled at the Friday night parties with various major office candidates or interest groups at hotels and clubs nearby.

The convention took place in the central arena of the DCU Center.  The convention itself started Saturday morning.  Every delegate was issued and required to use the electronic format credential document issued to him or her when they arrived in order to prevent fraudulent voting.  East Boston delegates sat with their fellow Republicans in the district from Revere, Winthrop and downtown Boston. 

East Boston is Boston’s Ward 1 and is in the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex Senatorial District.

The hallway surrounding the arena was filled by representatives and displays of many candidates’ campaigns and political organizations seeking a presence at the convention.  During “down times” between speeches and ballot votes, the candidates, guests and campaign assistants wandered through the aisles, meeting and shaking hands with as many delegates as they could.

After opening exercises, the speeches, including a memorial for former First Lady Barbara Bush, began.  The nomination for certain state-wide offices were not contested.  The convention endorsed Keiko Orrall for State Treasurer, Anthony Amore for Secretary of State and Helen Brady for State Auditor.  

The first contested race on the convention ballot was for Attorney General; Jay McMahon overcame Dan Shores to obtain the party’s endorsement.  The incumbent lieutenant governor Karyn Polito was approved by acclamation.

The next vote was for Governor.  Dr. Scott Lively challenged incumbent governor Charlie Baker and won about 27% of the vote.  

The last vote at the convention was to endorse one of the five candidates running for U. S. Senate:  State Representative Geoffrey Diehl, John Kingston, Mary Beth Lindstrom, Darius Mitchell and Heidi Wellman.  Geoff Diehl won the convention endorsement on this race’s second ballot by obtaining 56% of the vote.

With voting on a second ballot necessary for the U. S. Senate endorsement, the convention ran longer than expected.  The convention ended around 6:00 p.m.

Submitted by Christopher Morton


Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Mayor Walsh files amended ordinance establishing guidelines and regulations for short-term rentals in Boston

BOSTON - Wednesday, May 9, 2018 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that he has filed an amended citywide ordinance establishing guidelines and regulations to better track and regulate short-term rentals in the City of Boston.

The updated ordinance is the result of collaboration with the Boston City Council and conversations among residents, advocates, and public and private stakeholders that reflect the shared goal of providing economic opportunities for residents and temporary accommodation for visitors, while preserving Boston's housing stock.

The regulations put forth modify Mayor Walsh's original ordinance filed in January, and further aim to capture the growth of Boston's growing home-share industry, while including deterrents to prevent operators from monopolizing Boston's housing market with short-term rentals. 

In addition, the regulations provide a standardized framework for regulating these units that both meet the needs of the evolving industry, provide protections for occupants and minimize the impact on surrounding neighbors of these units.

"Thoughtful regulation of short-term rentals that balance our efforts to preserve housing affordability with the growing demand for short-term rentals is key to keeping our communities stable,"said Mayor Walsh. "Boston is a great place to live and visit, and we look forward to responsibly incorporating the growth of the home-share industry into our work to create affordable housing options for all."

The ordinance allows for greater flexibility for property owners looking to list their primary residence as a short-term rental, as well as for owners of multi-unit properties.

The ordinance takes a three-tiered approach to classifying short-term rental units:


  • Limited Share Unit: consists of a private bedroom or shared space in the owner-operator's primary residence, in which the operator is present during the rental. The fee associated with this classification is $25 per year.
  • Home Share Unit: consists of a whole unit available for a short-term rental at the primary residence of the owner-operator (unit in which operator resides for at least nine months out of a 12 month period). The fee associated with this classification is $200 per year.
  • Owner-Adjacent Unit: consists of an owner-occupied two- or three-family building, in which the owner lists a secondary unit as a short-term rental for up to 120 nights per year. In addition, the owner is able to list their primary residence for an unlimited number of nights-per-year. The fee associated with this classification is $200 per year.


"This ordinance offers reasonable regulations of short-term rentals to close corporate loopholes, protect our housing stock, and stabilize neighborhoods," said Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu. "I'm proud to support this legislation as the Mayor and City Council work together to stem Boston's housing crisis."

The regulations also provide protections for the occupants of the short-term rental unit by prohibiting any property with outstanding housing, sanitary, building, fire or zoning-code violations from being listed. In addition, the operator is required to provide notice to abutters of a short-term rental unit within 30 days of approved registration.

The regulations require the unit to register with the City of Boston each year to verify compliance with the provisions of the ordinance, and pay an annual license fee. Penalties will be incurred to any person who offers an ineligible unit as a short-term rental, fails to register, or fails to comply with a notice of violation.

To assist with the enforcement of regulations, booking platforms will be required to provide the City with monthly data and information relative to the short-term rental listings that detail the location and occupancy numbers.

In January, the City released a Request for Information (RFI) to identify software solutions that will enable operators to register and renew short-term rental units online, and facilitate the enforcement of the conditions of allowable short-term rental use. The City is currently reviewing responses to the RFI.

Today's announcement builds on Mayor Walsh's commitment to addressing the housing demands in Boston. To date, the Walsh Administration has committed more than $100 million in funding to the creation and preservation of affordable housing. Today's announcement builds on the City's preservation and anti-displacement goals, outlined in Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030, Mayor Walsh's housing plan, and the housing goals laid out in Imagine Boston 2030, Boston's first citywide plan in 50 years. As part of both plans, Boston has prioritized increasing the overall housing supply, with a focus on creating and preserving affordable housing.

Since the launch of the housing plan, 24,454 new units have been permitted. When complete, these developments will be enough to house 48,600 new residents, and begin to relieve pressure on rents in existing housing.  Of these, 4,649 new income-restricted units have been permitted, of which 2,234 are targeted to low income households. There are an additional 4,240 deed-restricted units in the City's development pipeline.

Data shows that the availability of short-term rental units has a direct correlation to housing costs. A 2016 study by UMass Boston found a 0.4% increase in rent prices due to increases in AirBNB listings, and a nationwide UCLA student also found a 0.42% increase.

In addition to rent increases, the commercialization of short-term rentals in residential dwellings and residential neighborhoods has the potential to reduce availability of long-term housing for owners and tenants alike, and is contrary to the Administration's goal of adding 53,000 units of housing across a variety of income levels by 2030.

In addition to creating new housing, the Walsh Administration is focused on protecting the tenancies of Boston's residents, launching the nation's first Office of Housing Stability in 2016.  In addition, Mayor Walsh has strengthened tenants' access to information by creating the city's first online guide to the eviction process.'

Source: Mayor's Press Office

Councilors Edwards, Wu Announce Support for Revised Short-Term Rental Regulation

Balanced proposal will enable homeowners to earn supplemental income while ending de-facto corporate hotels

City Councilors Lydia Edwards and Michelle Wu are backing a revised ordinance filed today by the Walsh administration to regulate the short-term rental industry. 

“I fully support the city’s efforts to regulate short-term rentals while providing an opportunity for homeowners to earn supplemental income,” said City Councilor Lydia Edwards, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing and Community Development. “This legislation will prevent speculative activity that has taken rental units off the market, displaced tenants and hindered the city’s efforts to provide stability for all of Boston’s residents.”

“This ordinance offers reasonable regulations of short-term rentals to close corporate loopholes, protect our housing stock, and stabilize neighborhoods,” said City Councilor Michelle Wu. “I’m proud to support this legislation as the Mayor and City Council work together to stem Boston’s housing crisis.”

The legislation creates a framework for homeowners to earn supplemental income by listing a bedroom in their unit year-round, the entire unit in which they reside, or a single adjacent unit in their owner-occupied, two-family or three-family home. Investor units, which have plagued neighborhoods like the North End, Chinatown and East Boston, would be prohibited under the legislation. 

The Boston City Council has been working in partnership with the Walsh administration and state officials to regulate the short-term rental industry. In March, Councilors Wu and Edwards offered revisions to an initial proposal by the Walsh administration, many of which are reflected in the new ordinance.

Source: Joel Wool, Director of Policy and Communications, Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards


Thursday, May 3, 2018

Mark your calendars! The Pirandello Wine Tasting, Sunday, June 3, 2018

If you like to taste great wine and paired food in the company of good friends, then the Pirandello Wine Tasting is for you.

The event, which began two years ago, had great reviews.  The wines were spectacular, the Sommelier - Tino Valdesolo - was extremely knowledgeable, the paired foods were excellent, and the location convenient.  

This year’s event will be even better!

The “Tasting” is scheduled for Sunday, June 3, from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. at Spinelli’s in East Boston, MA.  Spinelli’s is located at 282 Bennington Street, East Boston, MA 02128. 

Tickets are $45 for Pirandello Lyceum members and $50 for non-members.  Proceeds from the event help support the Pirandello Scholarship Fund.  

So, mark your calendars: Sunday, June 3, 2018 from 4:00 – 7:00 P.M.  

This is a very popular event. Tickets are limited and should be ordered early.  Please send your check to Dr. Domenic Amara, Pirandello Lyceum, P.O. Box 565, East Boston, MA 02128.

The Pirandello Lyceum is a non-profit cultural organization which aims to encourage a greater understanding and appreciation of Italian culture among all people.  Its various programs reflect the significant accomplishments of Italian and Italian American things to arts, music, philosophy, cuisine, science and literature. 

For more information about the Pirandello Lyceum, visit our Website: www.PirandelloLyceum.com.  Membership applications are available on the Website. 

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

JPNA Meeting: May 14

Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association 

May 14th 7pm 

Jeffries Point Yacht Club 

565 Sumner st 


Agenda- 

Police updates  A7-  Sgt. Martin , Off. Simons 

Liaison Jesus Garcia Mayors Office -  Community updates 

Senator Boncore , State Rep Madaro , City Councilor Edwards -Updates to the community . 

154 Maverick Market Place-  Update occupancy  VOTE

238 Webster st -  VOTE  .  Demolish existing structure and add 9 units with 8 parking spaces .   4th appearance  Atty Drago/Grossman 

154 Maverick Market Place-  Melissa Tyler