North End

North End musical chairs could mean more space for Eliot School

adamg — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:10:41 +0000

NorthEndWaterfront.com reports on a possible building swap involving the North Bennet Street School moving into two now dormant city buildings and give its current buildings to the Eliot School so it could expand.

Citizen complaint of the day: Mitt Romney's giant shredder truck

adamg — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:49:30 +0000

Looks like Mitt Romney's campaign has found a new way to keep little kids out of the parking lot of his North End campaign headquarters. A disgusted citizen reports:

Mitt Romney's giant Shredder Truck illegally parked outside his office on Commercial Street. This giant shredder truck often parked in tow zone in front of Romney National HQ, yet never towed or ticketed. Maybe he's shredding the parking tickets too?

H/t to the one person who scans Citizens Connect even more obsessively than I do!

How Beacon Hill can cram as many people in as parts of Manhattan without skyscrapers

adamg — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:26:43 +0000

Mike the Mad Biologist riffs on Bostonography's population density maps and ponders how much of Beacon Hill, the Back Bay and the North End approach Manhattan levels of density without anything approaching Manhattan-style building heights:

Boston has two things going for it that most other cities don't have: narrow streets and sidewalks. Not a lot of space is wasted in residential areas. Sidewalks at most are about nine to ten feet wide, and skinnier in other places (e.g., Beacon Hill). The streets typically are very narrow–about ten Mad Biologist paces (my pace length is about average)–if you factor in parked cars, add about four paces. Not only does this making walking around easier, but the real estate is used to house people, not air or cars. That allows much higher densities (although it makes drivers crazy at times) without skyscrapers.

Ed question: Would that also apply in Somerville, still one of the most densely packed cities in America?

Cop at center of Michael Cox beating case fired over another case involving excessive use of force

adamg — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:46:59 +0000

The Globe reports (paid subscription required) on the firing of David C. Williams for putting a man in a prohibited choke hold during a North End traffic stop, then lying about it.

This is the second time Boston Police have fired Williams. The first time was after the beating of Michael Cox, an undercover cop whom other cops beat, allegedly because they thought he was a homicide suspect, in 1995. Williams won his job back on appeal; his lawyer says he plans to appeal the latest firing as well.

Citizen complaint of the day: Sticky stinky berries

adamg — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:13:13 +0000

Somebody pleads with the city to clean up the sticky stinky berries on Morton Street in the North End before the next snow.

Ed. note: Oh, who am I kidding? I just like saying "sticky stinky berries" over and over again. Yes, my middle name is Zippy.

Nick Varano gets on famously with North End Neighborhood Council in bid for license to serve beer, wine, cordials

adamg — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:36:32 +0000

NorthEndWaterfront.com reports the restaurant owner has the backing of the neighborhood group in his effort to get a partial alcohol license at his Famous Deli on Cross Street. Whether the Boston Licensing Board has any left to hand out, however, is another matter.

The site also reports a Salem Street barber shop won the council's approvals for its plans to amend its services to shave and a haircut, tattoos.

North End third graders agree: Pizzeria Regina has super great pizza

adamg — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:23:02 +0000

NorthEndWaterfront.com posts reviews of the North End pizza place by third graders at the Eliot School.

Man robbed at knifepoint on Hanover Street

adamg — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:54:22 +0000

12/28/11 - 11:41 pm

NorthEndWaterfront.com reports a man coming out of a Hanover cigar bar was forced into a doorway by two men, one of whom put a knife to his neck and demanded his money, around 11:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

BRA: Downtown, North End will get its supermarket

adamg — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:13:05 +0000

Karen Cord Taylor interviews the BRA official in charge of getting a supermarket for the Bulfinch Triangle.

Citizen complaint of the day: Attack of the phone books

adamg — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:30:47 +0000

A North End resident files a complaint:

Stacks of yellow book phone directories are lying everywhere, dozens and dozens of yellow books left on doorsteps and sidewalks, how is this not littering?

Poll: We got two different phone books yesterday - which to toss in the recycling?

International scooter of mystery

adamg — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:45:38 +0000

Sean Sullivan spotted this scooter just sitting there in a North End alley.

Copyright Sean Sullivan. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.

Man charged with getting a little too pissed off about a meal in the North End

adamg — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:03:03 +0000

Boston Police report one man had a wee comment about a restaurant tab early this morning:

Officers spoke to an irritated employee from the Cafe Pompeii restaurant who stated that the individual and his friends had dined at his restaurant. According to the employee, the suspect and his friends made a stink about the bill before finally paying and then exiting the restaurant. However, the employee goes on to say that when the suspect exited the restaurant, he spit on the restaurant's pane glass window and then proceeded to urinate on the plants.

Chris McNamara, 33, was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure after patrolling officers observed his streaming commentary shortly before 2 a.m., police say.

Innocent, etc.

When Atlantic Avenue had an el

adamg — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:40:35 +0000

Some photos from the good ol' days, back when there was a direct rail link between South and North stations.

Fans of absurd disasters, of course, recall that the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 took out part of the el on Commercial Street.

City hauls Segway-tour operator into court

adamg — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:19:45 +0000

UPDATE: Danley actually faces 21 violations of the city Segway restrictions - and a hearing that could mean 70 to 90 more, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Boston Municipal Court Judge Raymond Dougan continued his arraignment until Feb. 24 - the day after a hearing on a motion by Danley's attorney to dismiss all the charges.

Allen Danley, owner of the Boston Gliders Segway tour company, is scheduled for arraignment today on six charges of violating the city ordinance against Segway operations in city parks and on city sidewalks, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

A Boston Municipal Court clerk magistrate found six violations of the limitations on "electric personal assistive mobility devices," such as Segways, the DA's office says. Danley faces fines of up to $500 per offense.

The city council voted in June to restrict Segways to in-road routes designated by police and the city Transportation Department. Enforcement, in the form of tickets handed out to tour leaders, began in August and continued through the fall.

Innocent, etc.

Citizen complaint of the day: What died on the Greenway?

adamg — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:48:58 +0000

An alert citizen holds his or her nose with one hand and types with the other near the old turnpike-authority building in the North End:

2 days going now, walkway across greenway smells like something died in there .. Real bad stench

The city replies:

It has been confirmed that there is nothing decaying in the area. The odor is from the organic holly-tone fertilizer recently spread and will dissipate in the next few days.