Boston Parks Open Space Plan Open for Comments Until 12/9

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department has published their draft open space plan for 2008-2012.  Current work in 2007 is in some kind of purgatory between the previous 2002-2006 plan and the proposed next one.

I must say that I heard nothing about the fact that they had actually published a draft plan until I read yesterday's short article in the Boston Globe's City Weekly section.  Failure to get the word out would explain why Mary Hines, spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas Menino, said that the city has received few public comments to date.

The department wants feedback on their plan, which you can submit until December 9th (this Sunday) using the online form.

One member of the Friends of Rogers Park has already noted some interesting details:

"Rogers Park is the sixteenth most often used park in the city of Boston, second most used in Allston-Brighton and received the lowest funding from capital projects spending from 2001-2006, considerably lower than any other park in Allston-Brighton."

The Parks Department's open space is the place to address such disparities so that significant capital expenditures can be targeted where they are most needed.

Friends of Rogers Park Awarded Crime-Fighting Honor

At the National Night Out celebration at the Franklin Park Zoo last Tuesday night, the Boston Police handed out a series of citizen crime-related awards. Brighton's park advocacy group, the Friends of Rogers Park, was awarded one of the Top Ten Neighborhood Crime Watch groups of 2007.

The group was cited for working "with Boston Police District 14 and other City agencies to alleviate public drinking, vandalism, drug activity and traffic problems which were plaguing the area." Additional accomplishments include opening a dialogue between dog owners and other park users, and initiating the new master planning process for the park.

The Friends of Rogers Park is a nascent group -- formed only last year -- so this award will hopefully offer encouragement and impetus for a more expanded presence in the years to come. It is not officially a crime watch group (apparently there are only two currently-active crime watches in A-B, one of which is at Ringer Park), but the recognition highlights the overlapping activities of park advocacy groups and crime watches in urban settings.

Photo below with Commissioner Ed Davis, Mayor Menino, yours truly with 4-year-old, and Sgt. Bill Fogerty of D-14. The wildebeests (fenced area behind) were nowhere to be found with the large police presence and estimated 9,000 attendees at the zoo.



NOTE (8/15/07): A-B TAB posted a story on it.

Friends of Rogers Park Meeting 5/10 at 6:00 pm: "Meet the New Captain"

Friends of Rogers Park
Community Meeting

Thursday, May 10th, 6:00 pm <-- NOTE Unusual Time!!! EF International School, Room 005 200 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135

Agenda:
1. Meet the new captain of Boston Police District D-14

A chance to discuss with Captain Mark Hayes any concerns about policing
for Rogers Park. We will discuss a few possible drug transactions that
occurred in the last several months. Also, the Boston Municipal Police
were recently disbanded; we will discuss the impacts on Rogers Park now
that the Boston Police have exclusive jurisdiction over it.

2. Permitted Park Users: May-August 2007

We've recently received a complete list of the permitted users for the
park. Information will be provided on those users, what uses are
permitted, and what are those users' responsibilities.

To join the Friends of Rogers Park Yahoo!Group, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/friends_of_rogers_park/

For more information, contact:
Mike Pahre, pahre@comcast.net, 617-216-1447


PDF meeting flyer (see attachment at bottom of page)