Crews work to dismantle former police station on Morton Street
(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2013)
Crews tore down parts of the building Monday.
Demolition crews are making quick work of the building on Morton Street in Mattapan that once housed the neighborhood’s police station.
Located at 872 Morton St., the structure is being razed to make way for the demolition and reconstruction of the Morton Street Bridge, which carries vehicle traffic over the tracks of the Fairmount Commuter Rail Line.
The demolition is being overseen by the city of Boston and is being conducted by the JR Vinagro Corporation, a Rhode Island based contractor. The project is managed and will eventually be turned back over to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which will lead the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge.
The DOT will use the police station's site to construct the new bridge, which will be slid into place once completed.
Overall the demolition of the two structures, along with the construction of the new bridge, is estimated to cost close to $9.7-million, according to the DOT.
Part of the Commonwealth's Accelerated Bridge Program, the DOT is currently waiting for bids on the bridge portion of the project, which was advertised June 22, 2013 with a 120-day bidding period.
Once a contractor for the job has been chosen, the DOT will hold a meeting with the community to discuss the closure of the structure to traffic while it is being demolished and replaced.
The DOT expects to close the bridge for up to 10-days with the current work timeline calling for its closure from August 8, 2014 to August 18, 2014.
Boston.com got the chance to venture inside the structure before it was demolished. To view the photos, click here.
(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2013)
Crews tore down parts of the building Monday.
(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2013)
Crews tore down parts of the building Monday.
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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.
Photo: Area youths take part in Tedy Bruschi Kids Football Clinic
(Image courtesy SBLI)
Row 1: Hector Galarza (Roxbury), Tavaj Cope (Mattapan), Jamarri Cope (Mattapan), Alejandro Castillo (Dorchester) Row 2: Aaron Cooley (Roxbury) Khalifa Jobbie (Boston) Alex Carrington (Dorchester) Myles Jones (Mattapan) Nikko Kelly (Dorchester) Row 3: Jerod Mayo, Chad Smith (Captain), Christopher Pinkerton (SBLI President & CEO), Tedy Bruschi, Paul Lynch (SBLI), Ray Ventrone, Julian Edelman, and Stephen Gostkowski.
Area youths got the chance to share Gillette Stadium’s football field with some of the best in the National Football League, after taking part in the SBLI Tedy Bruschi Kids Football Clinic.
Over 60 youths including those from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan participated in the minicamp that included training sessions with former superstar Tedy Bruschi and current Patriots’ stars including Zoltan Mesko, Jerod Mayo, Julian Edelman, and Stephen Gostkowski.
The students, who were selected based on an essay they wrote, also received a personalized locker, an official Bruschi Patriots jersey, and a "proper" announcement as they ran onto the field.
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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.
It's always sunny on the MBTA
Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com
Were these Orange Line passengers tweeting positive thoughts about the MBTA? It could happen.
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.
Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center names new chief development officer
Angela Johnson, the former associate vice president of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, will join The Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center as its new chief development officer.
She will be tasked with designing and executing a cohesive fund development strategy for the organization, with a concentration on large corporate, individual, and foundation gifts, said a release from the Dorchester-based youth and sports nonprofit.
"We are extremely pleased to have Angela on board at STEC,” Toni Wiley, executive director of Sportsmen’s, said in a statement. “Our next phase of growth requires the full time participation of a well-seasoned development professional. Angela brings the expertise we are seeking, plus a heartfelt commitment to the youth and families we serve.”
Johnson also has experience in fund development from her work at Mount Holyoke College, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School.
"I am thrilled to work with an organization that I know plays such a vital role in the lives of children and families in the community,” Johnson, said in a statement. “I accepted the position because I am excited to play a part in developing a fundraising plan that will provide the financial support needed to accomplish the future goals and vision STEC is working to achieve.”
A graduate of Wellesley College, Johnson has lived in the city of Boston for over 20-years and will start her tenure at Sportsmen’s July 1.
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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.
City launches “City Hall to Go” truck full time
(Photo courtesy City of Boston)
Getting to City Hall might be easier from some Boston residents this summer as the city launches its City Hall on wheels full time.
Starting July 2, the “City Hall to Go” truck will regularly visit neighborhoods on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to provide certain services to residents, and be stationed by request on Fridays and Saturdays at special events, block parties, and street festivals.
The truck will allow residents to pay or dispute parking tickets, request birth, death or marriage certificates, get a dog license, request a residential parking permit, or pay property and excise taxes without travelling to Government Center.
Residents will also be able to sign up for Renew Boston’s home energy audits and weatherization, request raffle applications, and submit claims to the City Clerk.
The city first held a soft launch of the trunk in December.
“The ‘City Hall to Go’ truck makes personal, timely service from the City of Boston possible for a whole new set of constituents,” Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement. “We are constantly trying to push what appear to be the limits of municipal services. The success of the truck’s earliest visits shows that benefits of City Hall can exist far beyond its walls.”
The repurposed Boston Police Department SWAT vehicle will be open until 7 p.m. on weeknights and 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
The truck will also use social media to determine part of its schedule. On the fourth Tuesday of every month residents can tweet @CityHallToGo to tell the city where they want the truck to go that day. The truck will open at the most requested location at 12:30 p.m.
The city provided the following schedule for its mobile City Hall. It is subject to change and residents can follow @CityHalltoGo on Twitter or call 617-635-4500 for updates.
FULL ENTRYMBTA to increase security for July 4
The MBTA will increase security and police patrols around the system on July 4. As in years past, the T will boost subway service and will not charge fares after a certain point at nighttime, officials announced this week.
“We encourage people coming into the city to celebrate to use the MBTA and ask passengers to expect large amounts of people, and as we do every day we ask people to be aware of their surroundings, and if they see something unusual, report it immediately,” said Joseph F. O'Connor, superintendent-in-chief of the Transit Police Department.
He said, that while security is normally heightened on the holiday and for other large public events around Boston, this year there will be even more patrols than on July 4 in years past, including a “significant amount” of both uniformed and plain-clothes officers throughout the public transit system due to the bombing attacks in the city at the Marathon in April.
“We want people to feel safe,” O’Connor said. “We want to reassure the public for people who may be concerned because of the events that happened at the Marathon and in the week after.”
There will be no special restrictions on what items passengers can carry while riding the T, but O’Connor reminded riders that some items will be prohibited within a secure perimeter that will be established around the Esplanade.
He said random bag inspections, which are performed daily at strategically-chosen parts of the T, will be performed on the holiday. O’Connor also encouraged riders to download the agency’s free smartphone application which allows users to report suspicious activity by sending text and photos directly to Transit Police.
He said that Transit Police will, as they do regularly, work closely with federal, state and city law enforcement throughout the holiday.
The T also plans to institute schedule-related changes similar to what the agency has done on Independence Day in years past.
On Thursday, July 4, fares will not be collected after 9:30 p.m., subway service will run at “rush hour levels” after 2 p.m. and the last outbound commuter rail trains scheduled to leave Boston will delay their departure to allow passengers more time to board after the fireworks display at the Esplanade.
“Customers are urged to take public transportation to and from Fourth of July events and advised to check T-Alerts and mbta.com for the most up-to-date service information during the holiday,” the agency said on its website.
Officials also reminded riders that bicycles are not allowed on any subway lines on July 4. Bikes are also not allowed on inbound commuter rail trains from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or on outbound trains after 4 p.m.
Buses will operate on a Sunday schedule. Before 2 p.m., the T’s four subway lines – the Red, Blue, Orange and Green – will operate on a Sunday schedule.
The commuter rail will operate on a Saturday schedule, until the day’s final outbound commuter rail trains, all but one of which will delay their departures from Boston until 11:45 p.m. – about 45 minutes after the city’s fireworks display usually ends. The #1173 to Newburyport is scheduled to depart at 11:15 p.m.
Quincy and Hull boats will run on a weekday schedule. Charlestown boats will operate on a Saturday schedule. Hingham boats will not run.
Passengers who use The RIDE service are asked to check directly with their contractors for specific schedule changes.
For more information, visit the T’s website, www.mbta.com.
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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Shangri La Gardens clean up set for Saturday
Members of the Student Conservation Association will be helping out in Mattapan’s Shangri La Gardens Saturday and are looking for volunteers.
From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. the SCA and community members will be weeding, clearing pathways in the garden, and adding new plants to garden plots.
Located in the rear of Almont Park, the garden is accessible from Favre Street.
For more information contact Donere Johnson at djohnson@thesca.org or meet at the Shangri La Gardens gate at 9 a.m. Saturday.
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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.
Mattapan student Ricardel Bailey receives scholarship from United States Tennis Association
Ricardel Bailey, a senior at the Boston Community Leadership Academy and a Mattapan resident, was recently named the recipient of an $8,000 scholarship from USTA Serves, the philanthropic arm of the United States Tennis Association.
The scholarship, which will be awarded over four years, will help support Bailey’s tuition costs at Virginia State University, said a release from USTA Serves.
Awarded yearly to students from across the United States, the scholarship recognizes those who excel in community service, academics, and tennis.
Bailey, a member of the Latin Academy co-op tennis team, has been involved with the sport for close to 10 years through the Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center and the Tenacity program.
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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.
Mattapan man arrested with 21 bags of cocaine in his mouth, Braintree police say
Man arrested with 21 bags of cocaine in his mouth
A Mattapan man was arrested Friday afternoon after Braintree police allegedly found him with crack cocaine in his mouth.
According to police, a Braintree officer was working a patrol shift when he saw a black BMW traveling down Union Street with both passenger side tires over the fog line.
The detective looked up the registration and learned that it was registered to a man whose name was involved in a recent drug investigation.
The officer stopped the car and spoke to the driver. Although the driver wasn’t the man the car was registered to, the driver was also the target of a drug investigation, police said.
According to police, the car smelled of burnt marijuana. The officer also suspected that the man was hiding narcotics in his mouth.
Police reported they found several white rocks in plastic concealed under the suspect’s tongue. When police tried to apprehend him, the suspect struggled.
The suspect ultimately spit out 21 baggies of crack cocaine, police said.
Jeremy Lawrence, 39, of Mattapan, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, resisting arrest, assault and battery, obstructing justice, operating a motor vehicle after license revocation, and failure to keep within marked lanes.
Bail was set at $20,000, police said.
Teen found with weed in South Shore Plaza
A Braintree teen was arrested on Monday after allegedly selling marijuana at the South Shore Plaza.
According to police, officers were working at the South Shore Plaza when they encountered the suspect, who had a strong odor of marijuana coming off of him.
Officers confronted the suspect and discovered a bag of marijuana in the suspect’s pocket and a mason jar of marijuana in his backpack.
The packback also contained additional baggies of marijuana, several empty plastic baggies, and a scale.
Matthew F. Connell, 17, of Braintree was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Roxbury International Film Festival to celebrate its 15th anniversary
Fifteen years after it was founded as the Dudley Film Festival, the Roxbury International Film Festival is going strong, providing artists of color from across the world a stage for their films.
“I don’t think any of us would have thought it would have gone on this long,” said Lisa Simmons, the director of the film festival. “It’s really a labor of love.”
Since the festival was started, hundreds of filmmakers have been given a screen and a captive audience to debut their works, tackling everything from the story of a theater group in Alabama to living with a chronic disease.
FULL ENTRY
Mattapan REAL ESTATE
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