Roslindale Square

Federal agents last week raided an unlicensed radio station broadcasting from a Roslindale Square office building.

Although Bel Top Boston, which bills itself as the "top Haitian news station in Boston" was off the air this afternoon, past history suggests owner David Cange will try to return to the air at 88.5 MHz. In 2010, he ignored a warning from the FCC to stop broadcasting from the same building, 4258 Washington St., which is better known for the Vouros Greek bakery and the El Chavo Mexican supplies store.

In a statement, US Attorney Carmen Ortiz said:

A little excitement in Roslindale Square at lunchtime when somebody called police to report a disposable aluminum food tray covered in tin foil sitting under a car near the Citizens Bank on South Street. The area was taped off, the bomb squad summoned and determined the object was "inert."

Between the substation and the office building where the gas station used to be.

Roslindale Village Main Street and Historic Boston showed off their latest plans for the old trolley substation the other night. More than 300 people attended and heard plans to turn the substation into a restaurant and to tear down the funeral home next door and build 40 housing units there and atop part of the funeral home's parking lot on Cummins Highway.

Possible renderings and site plans (subject to BRA review) | Basic project background

View from far side of Adams Park. Hey, when did they decide to take the fences out?

The Dorchester Reporter alerts us that Meetinghouse Bank plans to put its second ever branch in one of the spaces at 4238 Washington St. - where Domino's failed to ease the square's critical pizza shortage.

Two non-profits that have been trying to turn the hulking brick husk of an old trolley substation in Roslindale Square into something useable say they now want to buy the funeral home next door for housing.

In an e-mail update this morning, Steve Gag and Stephanie Cave of Roslindale Village Main Street say the FJ Higgins Funeral Home on Washington Street is now up for sale - and that the Higgins family has agreed to give the group and Historic Boston first dibs on the property as the family prepares to move the funeral home to a new location.

Gag and Cave say they don't want to let the property fall into the hands of a developer who would use it for something un-Roslindale-Square-like - such as a fast-food drive-thru:

The early bird gets the job? Will Dorcena isn't waiting until next year to put up campaign signs, in this case in front of St. Nectarios in Roslindale.

Cafe Rialto on Washington Street is shutting its doors, apparently as soon as it can sell off all its beer and wine.

Cafe Rialto goodbye special! Tues-Friday all beer bottles $3.50, all draft beer $4.00 (except bud light $2.50) and all glasses of wine $6.00!! Come on down and get your Cafe Rialto fix before we close our doors!

The location was long the home of an abandoned restaurant that gave way to the Square Corner Cafe, which shut down only to be replaced by the cafe, named for the movie theater that used to be where the health center is now. Ed. note: What are the odds the liquor license will be snapped up by some chain seeking to build some hoity-toity place on the South Boston waterfront?

H/t Hank Layfield.

The owner of a Domino's franchise on the Roslindale/West Roxbury plan has decided against plans to open up shop next to the Subway franchise on Washington Street, across from Adams Park, Roslindale Village Main Street reported this afternoon.

The announcement is a victory for Roslindale merchants - led by Roslindale Village Main Street - and residents opposed to the chainification of the square. Some 200 people attended a meeting at the community center last month to voice their opposition - and many were planning to attend a Boston Licensing Board hearing next month on a request for a food-serving license. In an e-mail today, Roslindale Village Main Street said:

A neighborhood retail area that relies on foot traffic is no place for a pizza place that claims most of its business consists of deliveries, Roslindale Square residents and businesspeople told Domino's, which wants to move from a mini-mall off the West Roxbury Parkway to a storefront in Roslindale Square.

Close to 200 people packed a basement meeting room at the Roslindale Community Center tonight to oppose the proposed new location in the office building next to the library, across from Adams Park. Local businesspeople, residents and the city haven't spent 20 years turning Roslindale Village into today's electic collection of mostly locally owned shops and restaurants just to let a delivery business move in, they said.

The Boston Licensing Board voted today to let Napper Tandy's on Washington Street in Roslindale Square install two coin-operated pool tables.

However, the board wanted to make sure the trouble stayed lower case: The pub, which opened just recently, had sought permission for five tables.

An incensed citizen posts a photo of a couple of obscene drawings at the Roslindale Square commuter-rail stop, one of which also has a text explanation, in case you couldn't figure out what the artist was trying to draw.

A little hard to hear, but you've got to love the idea of somebody reciting poetry on a milk crate in front of the Village Market. Also see readings at Redd's, the clock on Birch Street and Minerva's Owl. It was all part of Rozzie Reads Poetry on Aug. 2.

Firefighters rushed to Washington Street by JJ Brannelly's after lightning hit a transformer shortly before 5 p.m. Wires fell on a parked car and residences and businesses in the area lost power.

Willy got some video.

UPDATE: Jason Laramie reports the power came back around 5:50 p.m.

Not long after, Todd Gutner was going over the day's weather news on WBZ when lightning hit the station. Donna Halper reports:

Professional; he continued, while auxiliary power went on.

Joshua Miller recorded:

Jason, who blogs about rides on the T, reviews the 30 bus, which runs between Mattapan Square and Forest Hills via Roslindale Square:

In contrast to the 28 and 31, the 30 route itself is quite tranquil serving a mainly residential slice of western Mattapan and northern Roslindale, the parts of Boston no typical tourist would think could exist within Boston city limits. It also may be the only MBTA bus route that gets to cut through a cemetery which when coupled with the High Speed Line creates a double play of cemetery-cutting. ... The 30 keeps quiet and does its job and tries to not let delays get in its way.

Ed Grzyb, who took this photo (along with this one showing skid marks). Channel 5 reports the collision may have started when a tire on the police cruiser blew out.

Drawing via BRA. Compare to the present space.

Historic Boston and Roslindale Village Main Street are proposing to turn the long-dormant substation at Washington Street and Cummins Highway into a combination winter farmers' market and event space.

On Birch Street, the wine shop is next to the cheese shop.

Meg Fowler Tripp tweets that around 8 a.m. a man was screaming loudly at the Roslindale Village commuter-rail stop:

I AM VERY VERY ANGRY THAT WHITNEY HOUSTON IS DEAD.

The Washington Street bar and grill has ceased to be, Boston Restaurant Talk reports.

1948

At first glance, not much has changed on South Street in Roslindale Square over the past six decades, as seen in these photos from the train station parking lot.

As part of a general rehab of the Roslindale Square municipal parking lot, which includes new plantings and walkways, the city's putting in an arch in front of a nondescript little alley off South Street to let non-locals know they don't have to walk the half block to Taft Hill to get to the lot.

A Roslindale man who managed to elude police for more than three months after allegedly plowing into another car in Roslindale while under the influence was captured last week and ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail today, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Roslindale Square residents and business lost power for several hours last night; some reports this morning indicate the power still isn't back on at a steady rate.

Ed Grzyb reported around 8:45 a.m. that his power continues to flicker and that "my computers have been going haywire." The state reports the Roslindale Registry branch is closed "until further notice," although it's blaming Verizon problems.

Stephanie-Marie reports:

We lost power on Bexley at 9:30 last night and it was on and off all night, no electricity when I left for work this morning.

Cummins Highway at 1:30 a.m.

Ed Grzyb reports somebody managed to drive into the front of Cafe Rialto, 4197 Washington St. this morning. The front of the restaurant suffered minor damage, but the car was totaled, Grzyb reports, adding:

Looks like it drove across median by the Registry heading inbound towards Forest Hills, could see tire tracks.

A few years ago, a driver did similar damage to the Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center just up the street not long after it opened its new offices. The center put up several bollards to prevent a repeat crash.