Alewife

Alleged jetsetting criminal mastermind to get a taste of Boston justice

adamg — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:41:49 +0000

Tagged up Red Line car, signed with Bezat's tag.

A man wanted on two continents for massive graffiti attacks against subway systems was nabbed in Newark as he was about to board a plane for Paris and has been shipped up to Boston, where he now faces up to three years in prison for allegedly tagging up Red Line trains and Alewife station on Sept. 13, the MBTA reports.

Maxime Christian Bezat, 25, was arrested at Newark Airport on Dec. 3. Although he faces numerous tagging charges in New York, MBTA Transit Police journeyed south to bring him to Boston, which in recent years has become something of the nation's graffiti enforcer.

Bezat, who allegedly goes by "Rask," was arraigned in Cambridge District Court yesterday on vandalism charges; he was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail.

A photo released by the MBTA of a spray-painted Red Line train shows two other large tags in apparently different styles than Rask's. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said "the investigation is ongoing."

Innocent, etc.

Dead Red Line train makes for very unhappy commuters

adamg — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:54:04 +0000

Somewhere between Park and Harvard is an Alewife-bound train that simply couldn't take it anymore, to the consternation of riders on both it and other trains stuck because of it, not to mention the people who finally straggle to Alewife only to find that the parking garage is, of course, releasing them into the wild only very reluctantly.

The man who got arrested for refusing to submit to an MBTA bag search

adamg — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:27:15 +0000

The Herald interviews an Arlington man who fought the $100 fine sought by prosecutors, and won.

The MBTA Transit Police report on the Oct. 26 arrest at Alewife paints a slightly different picture than the simple civil-liberties patina painted by the Herald:

I informed Goodwin that it was his right to refuse to submit to the program, but that he would not be allowed to gain access to the MBTA from this station. Goodwin then became very belligerent, yelling, "I'm not a Muslim, you don't have to check my bag. I don't have to accept this Nazi-ism!!"

No Red Line north of Harvard on weekends

BostonUrbEx — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:32:03 +0000

Recently, if you look out the windows on the Red Line between Harvard and Porter, you'll almost always find workers pressing against the wall to let a train by. In case the water-stained tunnel walls don't give it away: they're working on the corroded tracks as we speak. However, that may not be enough time to keep the tunnels in shape, and as The Globe explains:

The MBTA will close the Red Line north of Harvard Square on weekends from November through March to complete $80 million in repairs designed to keep trains from derailing, transit administrators said yesterday.

Starting Nov. 5, weekend service will stop to allow T crews to plug tunnel cracks and seal water leaks that have eroded the concrete track base and corroded power lines. Then crews will replace damaged track, supports, and electrical components.

Boston area not immune to planking

adamg — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:09:05 +0000

Whole series of planking photos, including my favorite - planking the giant steel T outside Alewife. Sometimes, though, it can be hard to tell if somebody is planking or dead drunk.

MBTA: Drunken teen plunges 20 feet off Alewife escalator, lives

adamg — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:41:50 +0000

Only suffered a broken elbow, Channel 5 reports.

A vending machine that probably makes more sense for the T

adamg — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:33:18 +0000

Mediacrity posts a photo of the new, soon-to-be-stocked Redbox machine at Alewife.

Oy, mein Kindle-eh!

adamg — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:53:26 +0000

Mediacrity spotted this flier at Alewife today.

Workday ends on the Red Line much like it began

adamg — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:40:31 +0000

Dead train and signal problems mean the last refugees on the line before the T switched to buses got to enjoy 50 minutes staring at tunnel walls while their trains moved to the next stop. But there's an added bonus for commuters headed to Alewife: An angry turkey is now patrolling the garage.

Park Street photo that will remind you of Tokyo. Well, if Tokyo had trains that didn't run.

Tom Bruno did find one silver lining in it all: Despite an hour delay on the Red Line, he didn't miss his Rockport train at North Station - because it was late, too.

It's too bad there's not a fortune-cookie factory at Alewife

adamg — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:41:34 +0000

Harried Red Line commuters who managed to get to their cars at Alewife found themselves trapped in the garage tonight.

At 7:35, Stu K tweeted:

It's a serious health concern. I've been here for over an hour breathing in exhaust. I've moved 10' on 5th floor.

At 7 p.m., Dan Dunn tweeted:

Been 15 minutes on roof of Alewife and my car hasn't moved a single foot. Someone send pizza please.

Half an hour later, he tweeted again:

45 minutes on roof of Alewife so far. Called police. Police say MBTA says rte 2 traffic. Google says no traffic on rte 2. I'm screwed.

Followed 15 minutes later by:

Passing 60 minutes immobile on the roof of Alewife. Soon I will grow thirsty and be forced to melt snow on car hood.

Testing the T's newest app: NextTurkey

adamg — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:43:49 +0000

MBTA General Manager Richard Davey snapped this photo of a turkey at Alewife today.

Suggested revenue enhancement for the T: Set up one car on each train as a mobile zoo. They've already got a turkey and a snake.

Massholes on the T know they're more important than some mother with a stroller and a blind guy

adamg — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:31:38 +0000

Incident at Alewife.

MBTA: Bicycle thieves arrested at Alewife bike cage - one inside with a bolt cutter

adamg — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:18:46 +0000

The MBTA reports Transit Police arrested two alleged bike thieves in two separate incidents last week - one involving a guy who took his time looking for the best bike to separate from its lock.

Morning commute could be a mess

adamg — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:20:32 +0000

MORNING UPDATE: The Muddy River dropped below flood stage overnight (graph), so it looks like Riverside service is back. But looks like the Red Line between Ashmont and Fields Corner has been knocked out by flooding. Also, the main road through Franklin Park is shut, mhowardkarp reports.

In general, of course, but more specifically at:

Rte. 128 southbound to Winter Street in Waltham: MassDOT reports flooding on Winter Street has forced the closure of the exit ramp, which could mean a nightmare for folks trying to get to business parks off that exit.

Rte. 2 eastbound to Alewife station: Ditto.

Green Line, Reservoir to Kenmore: Buses instead of trains due to Muddy River flooding near Kenmore.

Red Line train derails at Alewife; Mass. Ave. corridor gridlocked

adamg — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:23:29 +0000

A Red Line train derailed about 200 yards from Alewife station shortly after 4 p.m. today.

Channel 4 tweets no reported injuries, adds 65 people were on the train. Rick Nohl reports the train jumped the tracks about 200 yards from Alewife and that fire and MBTA crews on the scene were evacuating passengers to the station. He adds two cars of a six-car train came off the tracks.

As the T substituted shuttle buses between Harvard and Alewife, traffic along and around Mass. Ave. quickly came to a complete standstill. Commuters reported 2 1/2-mile backups around the Alewife rotary, said people were getting from Harvard to Alewife faster by walking than taking the bus. Traffic began backing up on the other side of the river on Storrow Drive as traffic jams radiated out of Harvard Square.