星期日, 1月 22, 2017

華埠社區土地信託會呼籲把RI地段還給華埠

Community Control of Public Land

by Chinatown Community Land Trust



 

Parcel 12 by the Double Tree Hotel and Parcel R1 on Tyler Street

    The character of Chinatown has shifted since 2000, when the fast-tracked approval of the Millennium/Ritz Carlton launched a rapid succession of luxury towers in and around the neighborhood. Since then, Chinatown's housing stock has doubled, primarily due to the addition of two thousand luxury high-rise units. Luxury development spurred a sharp increase in real estate values, bringing rising rents, land speculation, and a wave of evictions from the privately owned brick row houses.

Keeping Chinatown Chinatown
    Today, Chinatown balances at the tipping point, with the growing number of luxury units threatening to dominate the character of this historic neighborhood, home to so many generations of working class immigrants.  In order to stabilize and preserve Chinatown's working class and small business core, the Chinatown Master Plan Committee proposed several important strategies and goals.

The first goal is to preserve the neighborhood's existing affordable housing. Second is to seek opportunities to turn privately owned buildings into nonprofit community-owned housing for permanent affordability.  But preservation alone cannot keep pace with the influx of luxury housing, so the third goal is to add 1,000 new units of affordable low and moderate income housing from 2015 to 2025. Greater resident control of development is also critical if future development is to support community goals and priorities.

While we celebrate improvements like the Chinatown and Mary Soo Hoo Parks and welcome new neighbors, we need to use every tool at our disposal to keep the feel and character of Chinatown from slipping away—until we no longer feel at home in our historic community.
Public Land for the Public Good
    Chinatown's remaining public parcels are the key to the community's future.  We can reach our community stabilization goals by maximizing affordable housing and providing for important needs like a library and recreational open space. Because public land should belong to the people, public and community needs should be the top priority.
    Public land in the neighborhood includes the state-owned Parcels 25, 26 and 27 that lie between Chinatown, the Leather District and the South End.  There are also City-owned Parcels R1, 12, A, and the China Trade Center building.  Parcel 7A at the corner of Stuart and Tremont has already been designated for a micro-hotel, and a narrow city-owned parcel on Shawmut Avenue across from Castle Square will become green space for the housing development in progress at the Holy Trinity Church site. We must continue to demand that public land should be used for the public good.  

Community Ownership of Land
    One of the best ways to ensure strong community control is through nonprofit community ownership of land.
This was the purpose of founding the Chinatown Community Land Trust—to have a mechanism through which community residents can exert greater control over development and the forces of gentrification.  By owning land and leasing it to the homeowner or developer, the Community Land Trust is able to embed the collectively decided uses for the land into the deed and ground lease agreement. The Community Land Trust is not the developer and does not earn the developer fee; instead it becomes the steward of the land to ensure that it is always used for its intended purpose.

    Why would we want a public parcel to be transferred to community ownership?  Let's take Parcel R1 (former site of the YMCA "Bubble") as an example. This parcel was zoned for residential housing back in the 1960s, but the option to develop the site was later conferred upon Tufts University through a complicated land swap.  With no plans to develop, Tufts Shared Services has leased the parcel for use as a parking lot for many years.  That lease will expire in 2017.  

Time to Reclaim Parcels 12 and R1
It is time for the Chinatown community to reclaim Parcel R1 for community purposes. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), now renamed the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), is reluctant to turn Parcel R1 over to the community because of its commitment to Tufts Medical Center as an important economic force in the city.
However, at a Town Meeting held at the Quincy School on September 14, the BRA committed to releasing a Request for Proposals to develop Parcel 12 behind the Double Tree Hotel. A public meeting to discuss Parcel 12 will be held on Thursday, January 19th, 6:30 pm at the Quincy School cafeteria.

Both of these public parcels, as well as two other major lots across the Mass Pike, are currently used by Tufts Shared Services for parking. While Tufts Medical Center has legitimate parking needs, these needs can be consolidated into a multi-story parking garage to free up public land for community development.  
For example, Parcel R1 could become a site for affordable housing with a ground-floor library, while Parcel 12 could incorporate both affordable housing and hospital parking uses. If  these public parcels owned by the community, the significant parking revenues now profiting Tufts Shared Services could be used to create a housing subsidy fund that could keep low income Chinatown tenants in their homes.
This is just one example of the role that community ownership of land can play.  It will be important to gather public input and to consider different scenarios for both Parcels 12 and R1.  But the principle of collective community ownership is one that can put greater control into community residents' hands.
If you are interested in the goal of collective community ownership and would like to participate in community meetings to discuss our vision for the public parcels, please contact the Chinatown Community Land Trust at 617-259-1503 or by email at ChinatownCLT@gmail.com, or come to our Annual Meeting on January 24.

Boston Planning & Development Agency
PARCEL 12 WORKSHOP
Thursday, January 19th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Quincy School Cafeteria

Chinatown Community Land Trust
ANNUAL MEETING
Tuesday, January 24th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Quincy School Cafeteria

社區控制公共地
   華埠社區土地信託會

當千禧/麗思卡爾頓發展的申請得到火速的批准後，它在附近和周圍建起了一連串的豪華大廈住宅。自此，唐人街的面貌也從2000年開始變化起來。從那時起，唐人街的住房數字增加了一倍，主要是由於增加了兩千個豪華單位建築。 豪華發展促使房地產價值大幅增長，帶來租金上漲，土地投機和私人排屋住戶被房東逼遷的境況。

保存唐人街
今天，唐人街處於一個臨界點，越來越多的豪華單位直接威脅到這個富歷史特徵，和代表著世代工人階級移民的鄰區。為了穩定和保持唐人街的工人階級和小商業核心，華埠整體計劃委員會提出了幾個重要的策略和目標。 

第一個目標是保護鄰區內現有的可負擔住房。第二是尋求機會將私人擁有的建築物變成非牟利社區擁有的住房，以求實現房屋的永久可負擔性。但是單靠保護是無法跟上奢侈住房的流入，所以第三個目標是從2015年到2025年增加1000個新的可負擔中低收入住房單位。如果未來的發展是支持社區，更大的居民控制發展也是至關重要的目標和優先事項。

當我們慶祝唐人街和司徒麗英公園等獲得改善，並歡迎新的鄰居時，我們更需要盡一切力量去保護唐人街的面貌和格調，使之不受到損害，讓我們在這歷史社區一直都感到有家的感覺。 

公地公用
唐人街所剩餘的公共地段是社區未來的關鍵。我們可以通過追求最高額的可負擔住房和滿足重要需求（如圖書館和休閒娛樂場所）來達到我們的社區穩定目標。因為公共土地應該屬於人民，公共和社區的需要應該是最優先的。 

附近的公共土地包括位於唐人街，皮革區和南端之間，由麻省擁有地權的25,26和27地段。還有由波士頓市擁有地權的R1，12，A地段和中國貿易大樓。在Stuart街和天滿街的角落的7A地段已經被指定為建一間微型酒店，堡壘村對面的所物大街上的一個狹窄地段將成為聖三一教堂的住宅發展部份的綠色空間。我們必須繼續要求公共土地用於公共利益。 

社區對土地的擁有權
確保一個強而有力的社區控制的最好方法之一是通過非牟利社區對土地的擁有權。 
這是建立唐人街社區土地信託的目的， 社區居民可以通過這種機制從而更好地控制發展和高檔化的力量。通過擁有土地並將其租給房主或開發商，社區土地信託能夠將集體決定的土地用途嵌入契約和地租賃協議。社區土地信託不是開發商，不收取開發商費，而是成為土地的管家，以確保土地用於其預期目的。 

為什麼我們要將公共地段轉讓給社區擁有權？讓我們以 R1地段（YMCA'Bubble'的前身）為例。這個地段在20世紀60年代被劃為住宅，但是開發這個地塊的選擇，後來經過複雜的土地交換而授予了塔芙大學。由於沒有計劃發展，塔芙共享服務將地段租賃用作停車場。該租賃將於2017年到期。

R1地段和12地段是時候歸還社區
R1地段是時候歸還給唐人街作社區用途了。波士頓重建發展局（BRA）現在更名為波士頓規劃和發展局（BPDA），因為它承諾將塔芙醫療中心作為城市的重要經濟力量，不願將R1地段轉到社區。
相反地，波士頓規劃和發展署在9月14日在昆士學校舉行的社區會議上，BPDA承諾會發佈一份徵求建議書，計劃開發在雙樹酒店後面的12地段。 一個公共會議將在2017年1月19日，下午六時三十分在昆士學校飯堂舉行。
這兩塊公地以及麻省公路的另外兩塊主要用地，目前都被塔芙共享服務（Tufts Shared Services）用作停車用途。雖然塔芙醫療中心有合理的停車需求，但這些需求可以合併成一個多層停車庫，可以納入12地段的住宅/綜合開發項目，釋放R1地段作社區發展。
例如，R1地段可以成為可負擔房屋，及在地下一層設一個圖書館。如果土地是由社區擁有，在 R1地段和 12地段，現在利用塔芙共享服務的大量停車收入可用於創建一個住房補貼基金，可以保持低收入唐人街租戶在自己的家園。 
這只是社區對土地擁有權可以發揮作用的一個例子。收集公眾意見和考慮12地段和R1地段的不同情況是很重要的。但集體社區擁有權的原則是公地可以更好地掌控於社區居民的手裡。 
    如果你對集體社區擁有權的目標感興趣，並希望參加社區會議討論我們對公共地段的願景，請聯繫華埠社區土地信託：617-259-1503，或通過電子郵件聯絡：ChinatownCLT@gmail.com.

華埠社區土地信託會年度社區會議
時間：2017年1月24日，晚上6:30 至 8:30
地點：昆士學校飯堂

討論12地段發展公共工作坊
時間：2017年1月19日，晚上6:30 至 8:30
地點：昆士學校飯堂


Posted by at 沒有留言:

波士頓慈濟歲末祝福 將修鐘塔 辦鼓樂班

波士頓慈濟歲末祝福會。(周菊子攝)
(Boston Orange 周菊子牛頓市報導) 佛教慈濟基金會美國波士頓聯絡處日前在麻州波士頓牛頓市夏日街會所以一場溫馨點心燈發願聚會，向逾百名慈濟人和社區僑領送上證嚴法師的歲末祝福，藉影片回顧慈濟五十週年盛況，也籲請善心人士支持會所修繕鐘塔，參加慈濟鼓樂班。
司儀師姐。
駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處處長賴銘琪，波士頓華僑文教中心主任歐宏偉，以及紐英崙中華公所主席陳家驊，紐英崙客家鄉親會會長周一男，建築師王本仁，新英格蘭台灣商會前會長許炳煌等人，當天有許多嘉賓出席。
這場歲末祝福會以鼓樂拉開序幕，接著由司儀師姐的講詞，打在牆上的幻燈片，帶出席者領略慈濟的"開經偈"，大藏經，展示慈濟慶祝五十週年時，有美國總統奧巴馬派代表致賀，前總統馬英九致詞的盛況，以及慈濟的行腳遍佈世界，也介紹了波士頓慈濟過去一年來從事熱食廚房，讀書會，探訪老人等多項志業。
勸人戒五毒的短劇。(周菊子攝)
在這場歲末祝福活動中，波士頓慈濟還演出歌舞短劇，闡釋藥師佛鼓勵人們戒貪嗔嗤慢疑等五毒心念，訪問介紹81歲的賴克康，來波士頓在哈佛訪學的蔡昇宗，藉以讓更多人認識慈濟人不但服務社區，也彼此照顧。
在波士頓慈濟聯絡人吳建發率慈誠，師姐一列排開，與會眾一起點心燈，發福慧紅包，請出席者為新年度發願後，波士頓慈濟還在地下室準備了茶點，春聯，邀出席者歡聚，給善心人機會把存滿零錢的"竹筒"送回娘家。
長金滿(左)，陳裕逢(右)介紹蔡昇宗的慈濟人感受。(周菊子攝)
當天的歲末祝福大會，由鼓樂隊擊鼓揭開序幕。波士頓慈濟社推組負責人陳裕逢表示，該會的牛頓市會址晚上經常空置，為物盡其用，他們決定舉辦多項社區活動。目前先開辦鼓樂班，請陳志新執教，配合大鼓數量，有六個學習名額。將來再辦太極班，烹飪班，電腦班，舞蹈班等等活動。
2014年起接任波士頓慈濟聯絡人一職的吳建發表示，該會會址是座有189年歷史的老舊教堂，鐘塔年久失修，正在呼籲善心大德人士護持、捐助，希望今年夏天前可完成修繕工程。
駐波士頓經文處處長賴銘琪(左五)，波士頓華僑文教中心主任歐宏偉
(左三)都應邀出席波士頓慈濟的歲末祝福。(周菊子攝)

波士頓慈濟聯絡人吳建發(右)，社推組負責人陳裕逢(左)。(周菊子攝)


慈濟人為會眾準備心燈。(周菊子攝)

會後，波士頓慈濟在地下室介紹慈濟茶。


波士頓慈濟會所放有歡迎"竹筒回娘家"的大竹筒和甕。(周菊子攝)


波士頓慈濟人列隊準備與會眾一同舉心燈祝福。

舉心燈歲末祝福。


波士頓慈濟的第一顆種籽蔡靜薇(左)仍在慈濟中服務。(周菊子攝)



Posted by at 沒有留言:

星期六, 1月 21, 2017

Baker-Polito Administration Proposes Historic Education Funding; $40 Million Increase in Local Aid

Baker-Polito Administration Proposes Historic Education Funding; $40 Million Increase in Local Aid
Local aid to increase by 100% of projected revenue growth; over $4.7 billion total for public schools

BOSTON – Today at the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s (MMA) Annual Meeting, Governor Charlie Baker announced the Baker-Polito Administration’s Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget proposal will include an increase of over $91 million in Chapter 70 education funding, totaling over $4.7 billion in total aid to public schools, including an increase of at least $20 per pupil to all 322 operating districts. The budget will also include a $40 million increase (to a total of $1.062 billion) in unrestricted local aid to the Commonwealth’s cities and towns, representing 100% of the rate of increase of projected tax revenue growth.

We are committed to investing in our cities and towns to support their efforts to drive our Commonwealth’s economic growth and prepare our children for a successful future,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are proud of the strong municipal partnerships our administration has fostered and look forward to more collaboration ahead as we strive for stronger schools and communities.”

Yesterday at the MMA’s Opening Session, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito announced the administration’s plans for an $8.8 million local funding and grant package for municipalities, including $4 million for Community Compact grants and $2.8 million for the District Local Technical Assistance Program in the FY18 operating budget and $2 million in the FY18 Capital Budget, released in the spring, for the Community Compact IT Grant Program.  Lt. Governor Karyn Polito has served as a champion for the administration’s municipal partnerships, entering into 252 Community Compacts that represent over 600 community-crafted, mutual best practices aimed at improving local fiscal policies, sustainable energy practices and advancing economic development and affordable housing.

“As former local officials, Governor Baker and I appreciate the importance of our municipal relationships and the certainty state government can deliver in local aid increases and historic education funding levels,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “Through the Community Compact Program, we have been fortunate to work closely with leaders from our cities, towns, and regional planning agencies to build strong local partnerships.”

“The administration has kept to its commitment of supporting our communities,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore. “From local aid to the Community Compact to updating laws and regulations, we have made certain that local governments have the tools they need to succeed.”

In his budget proposals to date, Governor Baker has honored a commitment to increase unrestricted local aid by 75% of projected revenue growth in his first budget, and 100% of growth in subsequent years. A 3.9% consensus projected revenue growth for FY’18 was announced by Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore and the chairs of the Senate and House Ways and Means Committees earlier this year.

Last summer, Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito joined local officials to celebrate the passage and signing of municipal modernization reform legislation, enhancing partnerships between state and municipal governments by eliminating or updating obsolete laws, promoting local independence, streamlining state oversight and providing municipalities with greater flexibility.
Posted by at 沒有留言:

波士頓市長稱17.5萬人為正義遊行

Dear Friend,
Today in Boston we had 175,000 participate in the Boston Women's March. It was incredible to stand on the stage and look out to see hundreds and thousands of people standing up for justice and equality for all.

I said it today and I will say it every day, Boston has been and will always be a welcoming city for all. As your Mayor, I pledge to always fight for you and the progressive values we share.

Today was incredible, but what we do tomorrow and the days to follow is just as important. We must amplify the voices of the most vulnerable, we must organize for equality, we must be kind and inclusive of everyone and we must never ever allow fear and hate dictate our government or our politics.

I stood with you today and I will stand with you tomorrow.

In Solidarity,

Marty

Posted by at 沒有留言:

星期五, 1月 20, 2017

CITYSCORE RECOGNIZED AS 2017 HARVARD ASH CENTER BRIGHT IDEA IN GOVERNMENT

CITYSCORE RECOGNIZED AS 2017 HARVARD ASH CENTER BRIGHT IDEA IN GOVERNMENT


BOSTON - Friday, January 20, 2017 - The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, has recognized CityScore as part of the 2017 Bright Ideas in Government initiative. CityScore is part of a cohort that includes programs from all levels of government - school districts, county, city, state, federal agencies, and tribal nations, as well as public-private partnerships - that represent the next horizon in government work to improve services, solve problems and work on behalf of citizens.

"It's an honor for CityScore to be recognized as a 2017 Harvard Ash Center Bright Idea," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Boston's Chief Information Officer. "Since its creation last year, CityScore has become an invaluable tool to monitor performance and create lasting improvements in Boston. We will continue to develop and expand CityScore as part of our larger commitment improve quality of life, government efficiency and public transparency."

CityScore is a first-of-its kind tool created by the City of Boston to provide Mayor Martin J. Walsh, City staff and residents a way to understand the overall health of the City by scoring the City's performance on individual metrics and delivering a single, indicative number to see how operations are going on a day-to-day basis. By displaying near real-time data on City operations and quality-of-life metrics, CityScore helps the City be more responsive and effective.

Since its launch last January, CityScore has helped improve the efficiency of core City services, including increased resources for emergency medical services. Last August, Mayor Walsh and the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) launched an open source toolkit for CityScore to allow other cities and organizations to implement their own version of CityScore.

"These programs demonstrate that there are no prerequisites for doing the good work of governing," said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in American Government Program at the Ash Center. "Small towns and massive cities, huge federal agencies and local school districts, large budgets or no budgets at all - what makes government work best is the drive to do better, and this group proves that drive can be found anywhere."

This is the fifth cohort recognized through the Bright Ideas program, an initiative of the broader Innovations in American Government Awards program. For consideration as a Bright Idea, programs must currently be in operation or in the process of launching, have sufficient operational resources and must be administered by one or more governmental entities; nonprofit, private sector, and union initiatives are eligible if operating in partnership with a governmental organization. Bright Ideas are showcased on the Ash Center's Government Innovators Network, an online platform for practitioners and policymakers to share innovative public policy solutions.

Visit the Government Innovators Network at http://innovations.harvard.edu for the full list of Bright Ideas programs and for more information regarding the Innovations in American Government Awards.

About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective government problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world's citizens. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu.
Posted by at 沒有留言:

2017年海外華裔青年英語服務營自2月1日起開始開放線上報名




由中華民國僑務委員會與教育部及客家委員會共同合辦的「2017年海外華裔青年英語服務營」活動，預計招募海外華裔青年前往臺灣偏遠地區學校實地從事英語教學，需已就讀11年級以上且於2017年11月30日前年滿17足歲但未滿25足歲之華裔青年，並以英語為母語，能以簡單中文溝通，身心健康，學行良好，能適應團體生活，且具高度從事志願服務意願者為優先錄取對象。

現就讀麻州大學安城分校(Umass-Amherst)一年級的江彥龍，去年分配至新北市瑞芳國中服務，他表示雖然每年都會與家人回臺灣遊玩，但此次服務讓他接觸到身為遊客很少涉足的地區，幫助學習資源有限的弱勢家庭子弟學習英文，並藉由當老師的機會，增強了他的領導與做事能力，對他來說都是非常難得的經驗。

家長周美卿也表示，海外華裔青年英語服務營讓這群海外的青少年有機會認識自己父母的美麗故鄉，並利用他們的專長回饋或和臺灣當地小朋友交流，很高興他的兒子能夠參加這個有意義的活動。

「海外華裔青年英語服務營」活動已舉辦第12年，2016年活動計有447位華裔青年參與，讓臺灣偏遠地區受益學童逾3,164人。今年預定於7月1日到7月29日舉行，全球招收420名 (包含海外客籍志工70名)， 報名時間自2017年2月1日至2月28日止，採網路報名，申請人須先於營隊專屬網站（http://www.aidsummer.net）完成線上報名後，印出「網路登錄確認單」，連同相關報名表件於3月1日前寄（送）達波士頓華僑文教服務中心90 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands MA 02461，如有洽詢事項，可電話聯繫陳美樺小姐，TEL:617-965-8801。(圖片江彥龍提供)


Posted by at 沒有留言:

章雨亭音樂會1/21@Jordan Hall

            
Posted by at 沒有留言:
訂閱： 文章 (Atom)