Land swap would expand park
Hidden oasis to gain access, improvements
With demolition of the Good Time Emporium set to start as early as Friday, the undeveloped part of Assembly Square looks ever more derelict. But follow Foley Street's cracked pavement past the cab company and construction fencing, and there's a small oasis of green.
A home-rule petition signed last month as part of the Assembly Square development promises to expand and rejuvenate a little-known park on the Mystic River.
The expansion will follow a planned land swap between the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and the developer,
DCR Commissioner Rick Sullivan said the trade is still being negotiated but that the state approval last August "sets the ball rolling to make this development in the city a reality."
The conservation department will give a boat storage lot to the developers in exchange for land along the river, Sullivan said, creating "an enhanced park."
With lack of green space a persistent complaint in Somerville, it may be surprising that Draw 7 Park - named for a railroad drawbridge that used to be at the end of Foley Street - is so little known.
"This is one of the largest pieces of open space in Somerville," said Ellin Reisner, president of the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership, but "most people in Somerville wouldn't even know where it is."
But the people who know the park really know the park.
The shouts of touch-football players drifted over to where two men sat in portable chairs overlooking the river on a beautiful Sunday afternoon recently.
"This is my park; I'm here almost every day," said Tom Tavares of Somerville, 77, holding the leash of his shaggy puppy, Devil.
"It's a sanctuary in the city," said Vic Mangiacotti of Arlington, 68, a retired crane operator. "We come down, we poke around, fish, and all that. Never seen no one else down here - no rapists or anything."
Reisner said that on the northwest side at twilight, "there's tons of bunnies and groundhogs."
Cambridge's Larry Cyr, 52, and his son Nicholas, 10, come weekly for striped bass and bluefish.
"I used to come here every night," Larry Cyr said. "Just remains the same."
"We caught like 20 fish one day," said Nicky, casting his line so far that it almost hit the dam. "I want some supper."
"He does pretty good," his father said proudly, using a small fish his son caught for bait. "Baseball and fishing."
"Two main things," Nicky said.
To be sure, the area is low on amenities. Though there's a field, the soccer goal has no net. The commuter rail and Orange Line trains regularly thunder over the bridges that cross the site. A bench on the northwest side has helpful graffiti instructing people not to urinate on it.
According to Federal Realty official Bob Walsh, improvements will include an enhanced entryway to Draw 7 and a bike/pedestrian underpass for Route 28 to connect the Assembly Square strip with park land farther out. Conservation department officials said Federal Realty would improve the drainage system.
"We are committed to creating new green open space that the public can have access to and enjoy," Walsh said in a statement.
Local people are involved, too. Greg Nadeau of the Somerville Children's Network is looking for conservation department approval to add grilling facilities, which he considers "a community-building tool." He had a meeting set to discuss improvements with state representatives Denise Provost of Somerville and Tim Toomey of Cambridge, he said.
Reisner said a community group wants to extend a bike path to the Charlestown Navy Yard.
"It has a lot of potential," Reisner said. "I think it's going to be wonderful."
One group of dedicated riverfront users begged to differ - the approximately 175-member Winter Hill Yacht Club, which is losing the boat storage lot it rents from the conservation department.
Commodore Jim Tatoski supported the new development but said, "They should at least consider a neighbor, a tenant that's been here for 38 years."
Where their tidy front lawn and oil-can grills now stand was "a junkyard," he said. "Through sweat equity, we've cleaned that area up."
The leased lot replaced property the club owned years ago that the state took by eminent domain, said the club's lawyer, Jamy Buchanan Madeja.
For that reason, it would be grounds for a lawsuit if the state does not find an alternative location, Madeja said. But club officials said they hope they could work it out with the conservation department and the city. They see areas in Assembly Square that would fit the bill.
"Everybody will benefit from green space," she said.
Sullivan confirmed the issue was unresolved.
Until the plans take hold, the park remains hard to find. Which might not be so bad. Said Tavares, "We don't really want it found." 