人生一定要有的八個朋友:
推手(Builder)、
支柱(Champion)、
同好(Collaborator)、
夥伴(Companion)、
中介(Connector)、
開心果(Energizer)、
開路者(Mind Opener)、
導師(Navigator)。
chutze@bostonorange.com
*******************
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With $50M+ the Grove Hall is having its first full-service community center
MAYOR WU ANNOUNCES NEW COMMUNITY
CENTER TO BE BUILT IN DORCHESTER
The
newly announced location will bring the first full-service community center
to Grove Hall
Today, Mayor Michelle Wu announced the location selected for a
new Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) community center in
Dorchester. Currently a city-owned vacant lot, the future full-service community center will be the first for Grove Hall. This location was selected
after a robust community engagement process and was chosen based on the input
of local residents.
“Our communities are stronger when everyone has the opportunity
to come together to learn, play, collaborate, and build connections across
generations,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “In environmental justice
communities like Grove Hall it is especially important that our residents have
safe, comfortable, resilient, and inspiring public spaces. I’m grateful to all
our city
departments and the community members that have advocated to make
today’s announcement a reality.”
All of BCYF’s current community centers in Dorchester are
located in school buildings which limits BCYF’s access to areas of the facility
during school hours and affects programming hours. During the community
process, participants expressed a strong desire for flexible BCYF spaces that
can be utilized by residents of all ages at various times. Responses submitted
by community members regarding desired programming included services BCYF
currently offers at its centers such as continuing education offerings and
farmers markets. Responses showed greatest interest in playscapes and spaces
for social gathering.
“The BCYF Grove Hall Community Center will be a hive of activity
for the community and an oasis for youth in the neighborhood,” said José
Massó, Chief of Human Services. “I’m really excited that the city will be
investing in several standalone community centers in Dorchester and that the
community has chosen Grove Hall as the first site of many.”
“We know the importance of education, programming, resources,
and dedicated community spaces in enhancing the quality of life in our
neighborhoods,” said Councilor Brian Worrell. “I am excited to stand here
today in Grove Hall with Mayor Wu and the community members whose vision for
this community center have come to fruition. It will have a tremendous impact
on the lives of countless young people in our neighborhood, similar to the way
my community center in Dorchester transformed my life as a child."
Since October 2021, BCYF and the City’s Public Facilities
Department have hosted four community meetings and released a survey to get
input from Dorchester residents on where they would like to see a new community
center built and the types of programs it should offer. The majority of those
who attended the meetings were Dorchester residents and were supportive of a
Grove Hall location. Grove Hall also received the most votes in a programming
and location survey that was available throughout the siting process which
included an online map that residents could use to select their desired
location for the new community center.
This process examined over 40 privately and publicly owned
locations in Dorchester. The properties were graded based on multiple factors,
including whether other similar agencies were in the area, the size of the lot,
and site acquisition costs. This community engagement process established the
desired uses and activities for the new center, reviewed the size the center would
need to be to host these activities, and then identified locations based on
those criteria. Meeting slides and recordings can be found here.
“This announcement will provide a powerful pathway for young
people and their families to access a variety of opportunities to overcome the
racial disparities that previously limited the resources available in Grove Hall,”
said Michael Kozu, Co-Director of Project RIGHT, Inc. “The mayor and her
team developed a neighborhood process that facilitated participation from a
wide cross section of Dorchester that will lead to this full-sized community
center facility with intergenerational activities. This project is across
the street from the renovated Jeremiah Burke High School, Grove Hall Senior
Center and Grove Hall Library Branch complex and with the recently renovated
Stop and Shop store nearby, significantly expands the vibrancy and potential of
what Grove Hall has to offer.”
“This is an historic day for BCYF; the announcement of a ground
up, brand-new full-service community center to be built–our first ever,”
said Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of Boston Centers for Youth &
Families. “BCYF centers are thought of as the hub of their neighborhoods
serving people of all ages but the investment in them has not always been
there. This is a highlight of a new commitment to investing in BCYF and our
facilities.”
Construction of the center will follow an additional community
engagement process on the design of the new center. Budgeting, design, and
construction of the center is expected to take three years. The estimated cost
for the new center is $50 to $60 million.
BCYF currently operates a senior center across the street from
this future center location within the Jeremiah Burke High School. To address
the need for youth services in the neighborhood, it is anticipated that other
locations in Dorchester will be explored in the future for additional community
centers.
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