Forest Hills

Eeka figured she'll use the MBTA trip planner to find the best way to get from Forest Hills station to Beech Street in Roslindale. She discovered a slight problem - the planner thought she wants to get to Beech Street from Forest Hills in Queens. And apparently that line isn't finished yet (what would they call it? The Orange G? The 34 F?).

In the meantime, as I'm sure eeka found out (or already knew), the best way to get from the real Forest Hills to Beech Street is to hop on any of the roughly 3,000 bus routes that go down Washington Street toward Dedham (and even Walpole) and then get off here (just look for the Pleasant Cafe on the right, then yell "Bus driver, stop this bus!").

Ed. skeptical note: I just tried recreating eeka's proposed itinerary, i.e., "forest hills" to start and "washington st. and beech st., roslindale" as my destination. MBTA.com replied "there are no routes within 1 mile" of Forest Hills and suggested I first get myself to Providence (148.99 miles away) or Union Station in Worcester (151.95 miles away). Guess it's a good thing I can walk to Washington and Beech from my house.

St. Andrew in Forest Hills sold to the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Jamaica Plain Gazette reports.

Jef Taylor takes a walk through Forest Hills Cemetery.

A kid too young to have his name released is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail for allegedly opening fire on crowded Hyde Park Avenue yesterday afternoon, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office announced.

Two older teens, also charged in connection with the case, were ordered held in lieu of $250,000 and $100,000 bail, respectively. The 15-year-old and one of the older teens are charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm.

Boston Police and prosecutors charge the younger teen and Karl Baxter, 18, of Dorchester, were driving a gold Intrepid when they opened fire on a pickup on Hyde Park Avenue, near the Forest Hills T stop, around 3 p.m., yesterday.

The drivers of the two vehicles turned onto Woodlawn Street, a dead end - where the wounded man crashed into a light pole attempting to escape. He is listed in serious but stable condition at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Officials say he is a 21-year-old man from Dorchester.

Officials charge that the teens got out and fled on foot, eventually winding up in Forest Hills Cemetery, where police arrested them. The Herald identifies Baxter as a high-impact player in the Lucerne Street Doggz and a suspect in a number of shootings. His bail on a prior assault-and-battery case in Dorchester was revoked at his arraignment on the attempted-murder charges today.

Andrew Givens, 19, of Mattapan, is charged as an accessory after the fact.

Memo to the Globe: Now that both Boston Police and the DA's office have issued press releases (on which the above is based), maybe now you can write more than a brief about this? And I see you did, although without any of the gang-related info the Herald had.

The online staff seems to have left for the day (save for the Extra Bases guy). As I type, it's 8:35 p.m. and there's nothing on boston.com about a 3 p.m. shooting across from the Forest Hills T stop that lots of people saw, heard or watched the aftermath of (many because Washington Street/Hyde Park Avenue traffic was all messed up).

Channel 4 had something up pretty quickly after the shooting (Channel 4 is generally excellent at such stuff); Channel 5 wasn't all that far behind and a Herald editor was blogging about it not far after them. I had something up in an hour or so, but only because I happened to be getting out of Forest Hills station (returning from a meeting) just as the ambulance was driving away with the victim.

A shooting across from the Forest Hills T station around 3 p.m. today left one man injured and people pouring out of the station and nearby shops wondering what had happened. Channel 4 reports the man was shot several times and is in serious condition. Channel 5 reports the man's brother, also in the pick-up, was uninjured.

Above: A detective walks by the pickup truck whose driver was apparently shot and the light pole on Hyde Park Avenue he took down after he put the truck in reverse in an attempt to escape the shooters (who apparently abandoned their car and ran off).

Below: Passersby try to help a grief-stricken woman:

The crowds watch, warily (traffic, as you might expect, was a mess around the station):

Update: 15-year-old held on $750,000 bail for yesterday's Forest Hills shooting.

Mike Ball vists Forest Hills Cemetery after the burials of the two firefighters killed by the Tai Ho fire and describes the arrangements of flowers - and his surprise at learning that one of the firefighters' bodies was cremated.

WBZ-TV reports two robbers armed with a semi-automatic weapon got away with $150,000 from Forest Hills Check Cashing on Washington Street after locking employees in a back room around 9 a.m.

Joseph Porcelli has the details on a time to get to know your neighbors, Monday, April 9 at the Dogwood Cafe.

The West Roxbury Courthouse Neighborhood Blog is written by the West Roxbury Courthouse Neighborhood Association (which, for those of you still not used to Boston, is actually in Jamaica Plain). Currently features a survey about redevelopment across from the Forest Hills T stop (including a question on what should be allowed if the owner of the private parking lot sells it to a developer).

Mass. Marrier is our host (and, yes, it's true - e.e. cummings really is buried under a tombstone reading EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS):

... Instead of fame by distant contact, consider the fall and winter in one of Boston's most splendid parks. A few photos taken today show a bit of what you can see in staturary, wildlife, art, and iconography. ...

On Hyde Park Avenue in Forest Hills.

Best review of a gas station EVAR! This review by Brittany was spotted on Yelp and is about Hatoff's in JP:

Holy s**t. This is the most awesomely f**ked up gas station ever.

They only take cash, and you have to push it under a bulletproof-glass window counter. There are about a million pumps, and I haven't seen cheaper gas in greater Boston anywhere. There are weird slogans painted on the carport area like "GAS IS GAS." They also might be a check-cashing place and/or a place where you can play Keno and/or other lottery games, but I can't decide how updated those signs are. Hatoff's has a constant influx of people listening to loud Caribbean music, and everyone seems like they're totally cool with being at the gas station. I f-ing was! I have never been happier supporting the oil industry in my horrid car than I was at Hatoff's. Hat's off to YOU, Stan Hatoff!

Wellsmere Monumental Works on Washington Street is having an appropriate sale this week. So's Davis Monuments next door.

Meanwhile, Rhea, who lives in the neighborhood, checks into cremation costs at Forest Hills and finds they're pretty thrifty.

Yeah, today was a beautiful day, but was there any excuse for this? Kat somehow manages to capture the shot across from the Forest Hills T stop:

... Is it that hard to pull up your pants?

Mass Marrier describes the general suckitude that is the new CharlieTicket system (slower than tokens!); in particular, the interlude between tokens and CharlieTickets at Forest Hills this morning, when only a large box sat where two turnstiles used to be:

... The linesman sized T dude behind what could have been God's cuspidor -- a nearly four-foot tall stainless-steel box with a book-sized opening at top -- must have served some purpose. I suppose it was like the nun watching the playground. There was certainly no way he could have verified the dates of the passes flashed or the coins released, several or a dozen at a time from two sides.

Ironically, this was the quickest subway entry ever, faster than a token drop/spin and much faster than the Charlie system coming not very soon but very piecemeal to your stations. ...

It's a beautiful place. A peaceful place. A community place. ...

Forest Hills' newest pizza place, on Walk Hill Street off Hyde Park Avenue.

Earlier:
Piece of Pizza.

Part of a mural on Hyde Park Avenue, across from the Forest Hills T stop.

You can almost feel the rain about to come.

Perspicax reports that after he got on the train yesterday afternoon, it took 70 minutes to get from Forest Hills to Back Bay.

I wonder how long it would have taken to just walk?

Susannah takes a picture of a pigeon on the T:

He walked on at Forest Hills and walked off at Green Street. Like it's a perfectly normal trip he takes every day.

Earlier: Pigeons on the glass, alas.

Nervda visits his grandparents' graves at Forest Hills:

... My mother's mother raised my brother and sister and I, while my parents were working 12 hour days. I can hardly believe that she's been gone for 7 years now. While we were at her grave, this dragonfly kept landing right next to where we were setting up. The dragonfly kept touching down on a flower that had lost all of its petals, like its wings were a peculiar bloom. ...