Egleston-based Youth of Color Lead Multiracial, Multigenerational Disruption of BRA Rezoning Meeting

Egleston-based Youth of Color Lead Multiracial, Multigenerational Disruption of BRA Rezoning Meeting

Crowd of 75 residents demands 70% total affordability within upcoming Washington Corridor housing stock and a 3-month moratorium on vote on JP/Rox plan

May 11th, 2016 - Youth from Egleston Square, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury led an energetic disruption of the Boston Redevelopment Authority's "Plan JP/Rox" rezoning meeting, demanding greater affordability within total new housing construction and additional time for the community process. 

75 residents - a mix of renters joined in solidarity by homeowners - presented two main demands to the BRA. First, they called for 70% of new construction in the planning area (known as the "Washington Corridor", stretching from Jackson Square to Forest Hills) be affordable for low- and moderate-income families who make up the majority of the area's current population. Second, they called for a 3-month moratorium on a July BRA board vote on the plan, so that the City could use July to October to better analyze and determine solutions for affordability in proposed new developments. The pause, activists say, would also allow the BRA greater time to work on prioritizing the perspectives of those most at risk of displacement in the planning zone.

Rita Paul, a Washington Corridor renter and member of the anti-displacement organization City Life/Vida Urbana has struggled against eviction for over a year. Paul said, "My home and my roots are here. There hasn't been a strong level of participation from the Latino community in this process. But we have to speak up before we are kicked out."

Paco Sanchez, a 17-year-old Egleston Square renter, said, "We're really trying to just get our voice out there. We're trying to let the BRA know that we're people too. People making $70,000 a year are who they are thinking about, but you shouldn't have to make $70,000 a year to be even considered."

While the group criticized the lack of real analysis and community input from the BRA in their Plan JP/Rox meetings, BRA staff members attempted to present parts of a draft plan at stations around the cafeteria at English High School. Protesters laid out a series of missing pieces to the BRA plan that they said must be addressed, including a detailed financial analysis, an analysis of multiple solutions for affordable housing that the group has previously given the BRA, a strong commitment of government funds for affordable housing in the area, and a racial impact analysis.

The group also approached Dana Whiteside from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, who committed to responding within a week to the request for an additional three months in the planning process.

The group used color-coded houses and posters to compare the neighborhood's current demographics with the BRA's plan. Seventy percent of households in the neighborhood make less than $75,000, so a policy of 70% affordability in the total of new housing stock protects the current diversity of the neighborhood. Community members have further divided the 70% to mirror how much income existing residents make:

  * 40% below $25,000
  * 10% from $25,000-$35,000
  * 10% from $35,000-$50,000
  * 5% from $50,000-$60,000
  * 5% from $60,000-$70,000

"About 50% of people in the neighborhood make less than $35,000," said Sanchez, "and having 70% affordable housing lets people who are getting displaced here (or were displaced from other neighborhoods) have a place to live."

The percentage for each of these income levels is within 2% of U.S. Census data obtained from the American Community Survey 2010-2014, using the census block groups that most closely match the study area.

In contrast, the BRA's proposal calls for thousands of new market-rate units with only 30% affordable housing and a small amount for lower-income families, accelerating gentrification and threatening the diversity of the neighborhood.

Protesters formed a large circle at the meeting, and organizers led a call-and-response statement to announce the demands. The protest ended with vibrant chants including "If we don't get it, shut it down!" and "I believe that we will win."

Wednesday's protest took place as a related campaign for "Just Cause" protections from eviction faces Boston's City Council this spring.

For more information on the Egleston-youth-lead campaign for housing justice, check out the campaign's Facebook page here.

BARR FOUNDATION AWARDS IMAGINE BOSTON $210,000 TO ENHANCE WATERFRONT

波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin J. Walsh）今（13）日宣佈，Barr基金會捐款21萬元給“想像波士頓2030“，資助波士頓市府構想水前區在經濟發展，氣候改變，善用天然資源，增進文化地位上能做什麼樣的改善。

BARR FOUNDATION AWARDS IMAGINE BOSTON $210,000 TO ENHANCE WATERFRONT

BOSTON - Friday, May 13, 2016 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that Imagine Boston 2030, the city wide planning effort, will enhance its focus on the potential of Boston's waterfront through the support of a $210,000 grant from the Barr Foundation. The importance of Boston's waterfront - from its value as one of the city's greatest natural resources to its cultural significance, potential for economic development, and vulnerability to climate change - has emerged as an early theme identified by residents through Imagine Boston 2030's outreach efforts. "Our waterfront is one of Boston's most cherished and valuable resources, and I thank the Barr Foundation for taking an active role in its future," said Mayor Walsh. "We want everyone, in all of our neighborhoods, to have the opportunity to experience and enjoy our waterfront and I look forward to enhancing these public places, while also protecting our city." In conjunction with HR&A Advisors and Utile, who are the lead consultants for Imagine Boston 2030, the City will look to define how the resources of the waterfront can contribute to the four proposed goals of Imagine Boston: provide quality of life in accessible neighborhoods; drive inclusive economic growth; promote a healthy environment and adapt to climate change; and invest in infrastructure, open space and culture. The baseline assessment and comprehensive waterfront vision will lay the groundwork for unlocking the enormous potential of the entire waterfront.    While the exact areas of focus have not been finalized, the breadth of the assessment and visioning will extend across the city's waterfront from East Boston, to downtown, to the Fort Point Channel, to Dorchester, to the Charles River Basin.   "Boston's waterfront is a treasure," said Jim Canales, President of the Barr Foundation, "To preserve, protect, and enhance it for generations to come, we must embrace a long-term view and consider the needs of all of Boston's residents. We are grateful that Barr's engagement will allow the expansion of the Imagine Boston 2030 process, in order to develop an ambitious, responsible, actionable vision for Boston's waterfront." Key interventions are required along much of Boston's waterfront to protect vital economic assets and communities vulnerable to the risks of climate change. The planning effort will evaluate how underutilized tracts of land on the waterfront can be transformed into attractive public spaces and serve as a catalyst for job growth and mixed-use development in a way that is sensitive to environmental vulnerabilities. The city and its partners will work with community members to chart a vision for enhancing common connections along the waterfront through a new network of parks and open spaces. Planners will begin the comprehensive vision by investigating the factors that control and shape waterfront development, assessing challenges and opportunities in the process. Particular attention will be paid to environmental conditions and vulnerabilities, market and demographic trends, development activity, existing regulations, and strategies for implementing change. Using the baseline assessment, the city will collaborate with residents, city departments, and other key stakeholders to develop a broad and compelling vision for the waterfront. The grant from Barr was awarded to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), which is coordinating an extensive team of city departments and external partners working on Imagine Boston 2030. "At its core Imagine Boston is about engagement and elevating the voices of residents in a conversation about what we want Boston to be in the future," said Brian Golden, Director of the BRA. "We have heard from thousands of community members since the process began last year, and we are eager to expand this work through strategic partnerships with organizations such as the Barr Foundation."

猴年公共藝術雕像矗立華埠

比亞迪電動大巴有意進波士頓

比亞迪（BYD）汽車公司美東商務主任林意華（前右二）抵波士頓，展示電動大巴。前左起，李徐慕蓮，謝如鍵，阮鴻燦，後又起，Jim Viola，李衛新，Jim Gascolgne等人應邀參觀。（周菊子攝）

哈佛文化沙龍橋接兩岸學者交流

左起，王開元，羅智強，葉浩，楊鵬，尹麗喬。（周菊子攝）

INTERNATIONAL FINE PRINT DEALERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES SUPPORT TO SIX MUSEUM PRINT DEPARTMENTS THROUGH 2016 CURATORIAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

INTERNATIONAL FINE PRINT DEALERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES SUPPORT TO SIX MUSEUM PRINT DEPARTMENTS THROUGH 2016 CURATORIAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM  Grant Recipients are the Chrysler Museum of Art, The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Harvard Art Museums, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the RISD Museum, and the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of  Missouri - St. Louis #IFPDA #Collectprints  Alison Van Denend, Library Company of Philadelphia, Summer 2014 New York, May 11, 2016 - The International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) is pleased to announce the award of grants to six esteemed art institutions under the IFPDA Foundation's program to support curatorial internships in museum print collections.  Founded in 1987, the IFPDA is the international authority on fine art prints and their connoisseurship and collection. As the leading non-profit organization of international art dealers, galleries, and publishers, the IFPDA is dedicated to increasing the appreciation for works on paper among collectors and the general public.   Now in its third year, the program will offer funding to awarded institutions to host a summer curatorial intern in each of their print departments, reflecting the IFPDA's belief in the importance of early career exposure to prints, as well as its commitment to fostering connoisseurship among young curators, scholars and dealers. "With the awarding of summer curatorial internship grants, we affirm the Foundation's commitment to cultivating the appreciation of fine prints through institutional and professional contributions of the highest standard," says Michele Senecal, Executive Director of the IFPDA. "The summer internship program recognizes the museums' significant contribution to fostering professional and public appreciation of fine prints, as well as the role of young scholars in strengthening the future of the field. We are proud to support these institutions and the next generation of print specialists in their indispensable work in the field of prints." This year's grant recipients are: the Chrysler Museum of Art, The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Harvard Art Museums, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the RISD Museum, and the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri - St. Louis.   Of the six, four institutions will utilize the IFPDA grant to develop new internship programs and two will expand upon existing opportunities. Each museum will offer object-based exposure to their print collection under the guidance of highly trained specialists, allowing trainees to gain in-depth experience in a variety of areas related to the archiving, handling, storage, and study of fine prints.

駐波士頓經文處在波士頓種梅花

            （Boston Orange 周菊子波士頓報導）駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處響應僑胞建議，先後在牛頓市，波士頓市種植梅花樹，期盼今後，每年梅花盛開時，麻州人們都會想起，在海洋那岸的台灣，“梅花是我們的國花”。

            駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處處長賴銘琪，雲雯臻夫婦，副處長陳銘俊，波士頓僑務委員蔣宗壬，波士頓國民黨常委張韻蘭，阮氏公所主席阮鴻燦，以及劉華權等人，今（12）日中午在華人經濟發展協會的好事福街10號小公園內的董其昌“谷中清天”山水壁畫下，動鏟種下六株平均五尺五寸高的梅花樹。

            華經會董事余麗媖，雷國輝，昭倫公所副主席謝如鍵，阮氏公所的阮梅掌珠，僑胞謝中之，劉華權等人，今日中午也都到現場，見證種樹。

            經文處長賴銘琪和紐英崙中華公所主席陳家驊等人，5月7日一早，在牛頓市僑教中心前，也種了六株梅花樹。

            賴銘琪處長和郭大文主任笑說，這寓意著“六六大順”。

            賴銘琪透露，前任紐英崙中華公所主席阮鴻燦的夫人在一次僑社餐敘中談起，有甚麼媒介可以把本地僑社和台灣連起來，最後大家都認為種樹，讓波士頓人都看得見梅花是個好主意。

            波士頓華僑文教中心接著承擔起打聽哪裡有梅花樹苗賣，怎麼運，怎麼種，怎麼維護等細節。最後，斥資1080元，在麻州本地買來12株梅花樹，自己挖坑，鋪土，施肥，澆水，工程不小。

            僑教中心主任郭大文透露，為了種梅花樹，牛頓市議員約翰萊斯也來幫忙，他和僑教中心員工張小慧，許淑芬等人更是累慘了，為了挖坑，手都幾乎磨破了。

            根據維基百科，梅是薔薇顆落葉喬木，原產於中國，通常冬春季開花，與蘭竹菊並列為四君子，與松竹並稱為“歲寒三友”，梅花品種多達300多種，開花日期視地區而定，從12月至4月都有。

        經文處有意在大波士頓種植更多梅花樹，並安裝牌匾，解釋梅花與中華民國，台灣的淵源。賴銘琪處長刻正籲請僑胞建議更多種植地點。

廣東省書記胡春華拜會麻州州長查理貝克