St. Mark’s Area Civic Association
Minutes of the February 22, 2022 Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM by Vice President Laurie Martinelli. There were 36 souls present.
Officer Mike Keaney reported an arrest for a car break-in, saying that this person is well-known to police. Mike said that he had arrested the kid when he was 14 (the kid, not Mike) and since the arrest, car breaks-in have nearly disappeared. He indicated that the kid was a drug addict.
Newly-elected District 4 City Councilor Brian Worrell briefly introduced himself. He said that Dustin Gardner will be his new Chief of Staff. Two positions are open: Communications Coordinator and Director of Policy. Brian plans to have virtual office hours and to have neighborhood walks. He will speak in more detail at our March 29 meeting. Julie Ryan from Frank Baker’s office said that if people have trouble getting answers from 311, to call Frank’s office directly. Samantha Bennett from Michael Flaherty’s office said that he is happy to partner with Brian Worrell.
Mary Regan and Jenny Silverman from the Dorchester Food Co-op spoke about the co-op which is scheduled to open by the end of this year (barring problems with supply issues) at 195 Bowdoin St. Hiring will begin by the end of the summer. Membership is $100 a year to join and payments may be made in installments. If the $100 is a barrier, then a solution can be found, perhaps by helping out. The website is set up for further information: dorchesterfoodcoop.com.
18-20 Parkman Street. Eric Dawson (Architect) and Mark Little presented their proposal to “demolish the existing structure and construct 9 new residential dwelling units with 17 off-street parking spaces”. The building would consist of 6 three-bedroom and 3 two-bedroom condos, none of which would be affordable housing. Of the 17 parking spaces, two would be for ride-sharing. The basement would be for storage, and the building would be three stories at 33’ high with the first floor at grade level. After a Q&A and additional discussion after the presenters had left, some of the abutters spoke against the proposal citing density among other concerns. They said that they had 37 signatures against the project at that point. After the discussion was completed, the membership voted not to support the project with a vote of 1 yes (to support) and 14 no (not to support).
1677 Dorchester Ave. Owner Tina Pham presented her proposal to “Change the occupancy from a 3 family to a 3 family with office. Construct an 830 sf. addition per attached plans.” Her architect did not attend and Tina was unable to answer some of the questions from the attendees. A major concern was that the addition would be on the front of the house and go right out to the sidewalk, eliminating the front yard. A motion was made to holdoff a vote because of lack of information. Tina will be invited to a future meeting when she will have the architect or someone who could adequately answer questions.
The meeting ended at 8:30.
Respectfully submitted,
Douglas Shaheen
Executive Board, SMACA
