South Huntington Avenue

Banker & Tradesman reports.

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council yesterday sued the city over the Zoning Board of Appeals' approval of a luxury housing project at the Home for Little Wanderers site on South Huntington Avenue, the Jamaica Plain Gazette reports.

Stuart Spina photographed the scene on South Huntington Avenue this afternoon, when an MBTA bus up and died right on the trolley tracks, blocking a Green Line trolley behind it, at least until it could be towed out of the way.

With one major residential project already in the works, the BRA has started work on a South Huntington Avenue Corridor Study. The first part, figuring out what the study will cover, should be out within a few weeks, the BRA says:

The objective is to define the collective vision and physical character of this corridor for the foreseeable future that will clarify the city’s expectations for future development. The Study’s general boundaries will extend along South Huntington Avenue from its intersection with Perkins Street to the south and Route 9/Huntington Avenue to the north. The Study will explore issues that include height, density, housing mix and affordability, open space, historic preservation, parking, and transportation.

The Herald reports the board approved the new luxury project on South Huntington Avenue after letting City Councilor Mike Ross (D-Not Jamaica Plain) speak, but not any of the residents there. Next step: A zoning board hearing on Nov. 13. The Herald notes a BRA member implored the developer to dig up somebody who lives in JP to publicly support the project at the zoning hearing, because that board might not be as accommodating as the BRA.

The Jamaica Plain Gazette explains how the builder behind the Blessed Sacrament project in Hyde Square is fighting the Home for Little Wanderers project on South Huntington Avenue.

The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports on a 200-unit apartment building planned for 105A South Huntington.

Since when are the MBTA Transit Police allowed to make traffic stops on Huntington Avenue? Spotted at ~10:10, between South Huntington and Mission Hill (nowhere near a bus stop or any other MBTA property, and no buses or trolleys in sight, either): male and female officers from one of the "wagon" Transit Police units, inspecting the license of a driver and speaking to her.

A little background on how complicated Chapter 90 authority can be.

A pioneer in the technology of Internet phone calls faces Boston drug charges after a routine traffic stop that ended with hazardous-materials crews going over his car.

Boston Police report stopping Scott Petrack, 46, of Brookline, shortly after 7 p.m. at 66 South Huntington Ave. - just around the corner from the Brookline line. Police say Petrack was driving with a suspended license and they asked him to step out of the car. During a search, officers found two possible crack pipes and, when they asked him if he had any drugs in the car:

... Suspect replied, "there is none on me, but there's some stuff in my bag." Officers then conducted an inventory search of the motor vehicle. After observing a number of items (plastic bags, pipes, rubber tubing, bottles of unknown liquids, ice colored rock substances) consistent with items found in a methamphetamine lab, officers decided to call the Boston Police and Boston Fire Hazmat Units. ...

They determined Petrack was not in possession of a mobile meth lab but instead "a collection of designer drugs," so he now faces charges of possession of Class A, B and C drugs with intent to distribute.

Petrack was an early developer of voice over IP telephony (see this patent abstract, which lists the same Brookline address as given to Boston police). He helped found two companies in the field (one of which was later bought by telecommunications giant Alcatel) and he was active in helping to develop standards for linking traditional and Internet-based phone networks. He also holds a doctorate in mathematics from Oxford.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, Petrack was arraigned today in Roxbury District Court, where he pleaded not guilty. Judge Edward Redd set bail at $2,100 cash.