Posts from — April 2010

Adopted in 1969, Chapter 40B, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Law, allows local Zoning Boards of Appeal or a State Appeals Committee to approve residential developments, whether or not they comply with local zoning, if at least 20 to 25% of their units have long-term affordability restrictions.  In November 2010 Massachusetts voters will vote to either repeal (yes vote) or retain (no vote) that law.

U-CHAN (Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton) is holding an educational forum on the law at the New Art Center, 61 Washington Park in Newtonville, on May 6th from 7 to 9 pm.  It will address the following, through presentations and Q&A:

Spring cleaning? You may want to consider donating items to a fundraiser for landscaping the Newton Centre “T” Station.

Fresh off of a NewtonSERVES project when volunteers worked all day to clear, weed, plant, and spread mulch in the planting areas around the historic Newton Centre “T” Station, the Garden City Preservation Society (GCPS) will host an indoor flea market on Saturday, May 8, to raise funds for landscaping efforts at the station.

GCPS’s Louis D’Arienzo is asking residents to scour their basements and attics for donations. Furniture and other items can be dropped off at the station only from 3-7pm on Friday, May 7. Baked goods for sale can be dropped off from 8-9am on the day of the flea market.

The group is also seeking volunteers to help set up for and staff the event. For more details, please email Louis.

During NewtonSERVES on Sunday, April 25, volunteers worked morning and afternoon to make pocket parks in two village centers more habitable. We accomplished far more than we set out to do. I’m only sorry we didn’t get more pictures of our volunteers! (The city may be posting some on the NewtonSERVES site.

Mayor Warren inspects the MBTA bus pavilion.

In the Newtonville pocket park around the bus stop at Austin and Walnut streets, volunteers scrubbed grime from park benches, pruned shrubbery, painted over graffiti, picked up trash, and swept the area. [Read more →]

The interior of the proposed Deluxe Station Diner as drawn by Joseph D. LaGrasse & Associates Inc. of Andover. (Click to enlarge.)

[UPDATE: April 28, 2010--The Board of Aldermen approved the Deluxe Station Diner's special permit in a 20-0 vote last week. The diner's owners hope to have the restaurant open early this summer.]

Aldermen on the city’s Land Use Committee voted 8-0 Tuesday night in favor of approving the special permit that would enable the owners of Watertown’s Deluxe Town Diner to open in the vacant Newton Centre “T” Station at 70 Union Street.

Committee members questioned the landlord, who leases the building from the MBTA, representatives of the city’s planning department, and the diner owners about the availability of parking, removal of trash and recycling, noise, and the possibility of the diner offering customers take-out windows on Union Street and on the train platform.

Committee members also expressed interest in maintenance plans for the building’s exterior and improvements for the landscape around the station. The station itself was designed by H.H. Richardson (Wikipedia entry), the architect who designed Trinity Church (photos) in Boston’s Copley Square. The landscape of the Newton Centre “T” Station was originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Boston’s Emerald Necklace. [Read more →]

Confit duck leg with watercress, orange segments, almonds and raisins. Ceviche de pescado.  Center cut filet mignon topped with sautéed mushrooms and a demi glace — served with potato and vegetable.

Hungry yet? [Read more →]

During April, a group of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) students is studying pedestrian mobility in the city.

The group is focusing on improving pedestrian mobility in three village centers and in Chestnut Hill. For more details, download the complete research proposal (a PDF file).

[Read more →]