Harvard Square Density ok in Boston / Allston without Environmental Review.

On April 25, 2013, I reported on the Environmental Notification Form filed by Harvard University for “Barry’s Corner”, maybe half a mile south of Harvard Square on the extension of one of the main roads through Harvard Square. My analysis is posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/harvard-university-announces-harvard.html.

The exact location is the northwest corner of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue. It is probably less than .3 miles from the Charles River going north on North Harvard Street toward Harvard Square, Cambridge, and going east on Western Avenue toward Central Square, Cambridge. But it is in the Allston neighborhood of Boston.

This property is across North Harvard Street from the affordable housing project that Harvard has forced to be sold to it. The subsidized housing is being “relocated” on top of the neighborhood shopping center for the affordable housing. Harvard bought the shopping center, and allowed the shopping center to die by not replacing vacating tenants. After that, the owner of the affordable housing “agreed” to Harvard’s offer to move.

I have just learned from the state published Environmental Monitor that the Harvard Square density project has been approved by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to proceed without further environmental review. The approval includes a good summary of the project. The approval is posted at http://www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/mepacerts/2013/sc/enf/15036enf.pdf.

Update to report on Urban Ring / Grand Junction lying by the City of Cambridge

I intended to include this report as part of another report concerning the highway proposal for the Grand Junction. That report is taking a lot of work, so I am breaking out this update.

*********

Also concerning the Grand Junction area, on May 10, 2013, I posted my letter to the head of the Cambridge Development Department requesting that the department stop lying on the options in the Urban Ring rapid transit proposals. They say the only alternative on the table would run that rapid transit line down the Grand Junction and cross in the core habitat of the Charles River White Geese. Reality is that the state legislature is subsidizing the responsible alternative, the Kenmore Crossing.

That letter was posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/will-cambridge-ma-usa-stop-lying-about.html.

I have passed the letter on to the Cambridge City Council. It is on the Cambridge City Council agenda for the May 20, 2013 meeting, posted at http://www2.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/130520%20la%20tremouille%20com_1.PDF.

In case the Cambridge City Council bears resemblance to a responsible entity, I provide a link in the letter to a report on this blog which shows the official plans. The post included the state’s official plans for the Kenmore Crossing and for the Cambridge preferred crossing and goes into detailed presentation of the legislature’s subsidies of the Yawkey Station in place which seems to kill the Cambridge preferred crossing. A responsible City Council would be curious as to why the Development Department has very clearly been keeping the much superior Kenmore Crossing secret in its communications for more than two decades.

This very indication of lying would normally be a cause for concern.

Visits to the Destroyed Nesting Area, Charles River, Cambridge, MA, USA

Monday evening, May 13, 2013, just before dark, I visited the Charles River White Geese.

I was concerned with what I saw in that the gaggle had overwhelmingly moved from their beloved sleeping spot, under the big tree, to more vegetated areas under trees and in the planted bushes.

I went back yesterday, May 15, 2013, during rush hour, and saw very much the same situation. There were a few geese in the danger zone. Most were driven away by the contempt for decency of the irresponsible workers.

Here are a few photos from before this week.

[04-28, CVS 21 05 04-28 DNA]



This is a shot of the river edge from April 28, 2013. The native vegetation is heavy ground vegetation. That was destroyed, quite clearly by the falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” which destroys ground vegetation for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which, in turn, coordinates its destruction with Cambridge. You can see some Canadas and at least one Charles River White Goose in this area. The geese would be in this area to keep safe from the irresponsible private vehicle use in the area on the far side of the trees.

[03-26 CVS 2204 03-24-13 DNA]



It does not look like much. This area was heavily vegetated before destruction as part of the BU Bridge work. Native vegetation is at the very top, bordering on the parking destruction. This entire area was like the native vegetation, which is extremely nice in season. Some geese were in the native vegetation. A lot were in the introduced vegetation, which is a bit bigger now. Many were in the bare area to the right of the introduced stuff.

The treed area at the top right is the opposite view of the area in the preceding photograph. The shadow on the right is from the BU Bridge.

[04-28, CVS 23 03 04-28 DNA]



This is a closer view of the native vegetation. The border line between native and introduced is the wall of black plastic which was the boundary of the BU Bridge construction zone. This black wall is the sort of stuff that Cambridge and the DCR would try to lie is “native” until it is clear that people are not that stupid. Then they resort to bragging of incompetence. They are very proud of their incompetence.

Under the big tree at the top is where the Charles River White Geese have spent their days and nights since Cambridge and the DCR started deliberately starving them. Now that is not safe for them. The irresponsible parking by railroad workers with the clear consent of the DCR continues where the vehicles are seen.

[04-28, CVS, 24 02 04-28 DNA]



This is a closer view of the undestroyed native vegetation. The foot of the big tree is at the very top.

[03-26, CVS 0125 03-18-13]



This is the entrance to the Destroyed Nesting Area. The actual opening is to the top left, illegally created by Boston University for the DCR / Cambridge in October 1999. The grey areas are introduced crushed rock, not even the people we are so unfortunate as to deal with would dare call this native. The nearer portion seems to be the predecessor for the east - west highway that Governor Patrick is seeking bond authorization for, $24 million including destruction of hundreds of trees between here an the Longfellow Bridge, two bridges to the east. This grey area is part of a reverse fork coming from the illegal opening. The other fork would apparently lead to the Cambridge City Council’s planned, and equally outrageous, north - south highway.

Yesterday, there were quite a few geese in the introduced vegetation to the left.

The grey area at the very top of the photo is the on ramp to Memorial Drive.

It is currently extremely busy during rush hour because the Memorial Drive overpass is closed for repairs and the on ramp is now Memorial Drive.

[04-28, CVS 10 16 04-03 Mem Dr, Rotary]



This shot is of where responsible workers park on the river side of the Memorial Drive overpass between the structure and the highway. These are workers preparing the overpass repair before the overpass was shut down. The shot is taken from just outside the illegal opening. The car to the right is on the on ramp.

[04-28, CVS 11 15 04-03 Mem Dr East]



This is where the railroad workers who are parking in the Destroyed Nesting Area should be parking. It, also, is before the closure. One big difference now, especially during rush hour, is a State Police officer in the intersection and a lot of cars which were on Memorial Drive.

[04-28, CVS 25 01 04-28 Mem Dr, East]



This is a shot of the same area after closure. Behind the camera is an illegally (Boston University, October 1999, again) installed staircase which directly leads to where the railroad workers are parking and working.

The car is in approximately the same location where a contingent of Charles River White Geese crossed yesterday afternoon in the evening rush hour.

There were a lot of babies, many pretty big now. I assisted them. They are responsible pedestrians. They stayed near the sidewalk, not visible on the left, until there was a break in the traffic. Their problem as pedestrians is that they are geese. They diddle. There were several lagging adults whom I shushed to get them moving. The break was because the office had changed traffic direction in the intersection. Some cars came while I was shushing over the last few. Drivers and pedestrians were very supportive of the gaggle group. The pedestrians were very supporting of my efforts.

The Charles River White Geese are forced to cross this off ramp because they have no other food.

Cambridge and the DCR are deliberately starving them by the bizarre walk blocking access to the Magazine Beach playing fields from the Charles River. The playing fields have been their primary source of food for most of the 32 years they have lived on the Charles River.

The corrupt behavior by the Cambridge Machine in their recent fake “vote” was necessary because decent condemn the outrages on the Charles River.

So the Cambridge Machine, with its contempt for ethics, the environment and common decency, simply stole that vote and continually does a lot of lying by omission.

The Cambridge, MA, USA City Manager, the Cambridge City Council, and The Body of a mass killer.

1. Quotation.
2. Meeting of the Cambridge City Council, May 13, 2013.
3. Analysis.
Endnote.


1. Quotation.

“We are not barbarians. We bury our dead.”

Comments of the Chief of Police of Worcester, MA, USA, referring to the body of the deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect lying in a funeral home in Worcester, MA, USA. The funeral director had done his duty and processed the deceased when no one else would do so.

The Chief of Police was referring to the Refusal of the Chief Executive of the deceased’s community of residence to allow the body to be buried in Cambridge, MA.


2. Meeting of the Cambridge City Council, May 13, 2013.

The Cambridge City Council met in a special meeting to discuss the actions of the City of Cambridge, MA, USA, with regard to the Marathon Bombings.

There was a small audience, probably less than ten members of the public, but the meeting was televised by cable to the City of Cambridge, as are Cambridge City Council meetings normally.

Preceding the council activities public comments were received. All three speakers condemned the Refusal of the Cambridge City Manager to allow burial of the deceased in Cambridge.

During the meeting, one man came in, too late to talk, who is an active participant in the Cambridge Machine. He has publicly supported the Refusal.

The City Manager brought with him perhaps twenty members of his team to represent those who labored mightily and with great valor during those trying times.

Clearly, the City of Cambridge performed well under pressure and is a valid source of pride to its residents, both in assisting in actions in the neighboring communities of Boston and Watertown and with regard to actions in the City of Cambridge, which saw the killing of an MIT police officer, a chase of a suspect, a search of his residence, and other related actions, including the close down of at least one other street because of a false alarm. A valid source of pride with one exception.

The City Manager did not estimate the cost of the actions to the City. Those costs were clearly massive.

The City Manager explained his Refusal to allow the burial of a Cambridge resident, the elder of two suspect brothers, killed in a shoot out in which he was run over by his brother. The Cambridge City Manager called his Refusal a property matter. To bury a body in the Cambridge owned cemetery, the family must purchase a plot from the owner of the cemetery, the City of Cambridge.

The Cambridge City Manager said the city could not afford to devote the resources which would be necessary to defend the Body.

As part of his explanation, the Cambridge City Manager pointed out that the rural county in Virginia where the Body came to rest is having to spend their money to defend the Body of the deceased.

The vast difference in wealth between Cambridge, MA, and the rural Virginia county which had nothing else to do with the deceased except for his burial was not mentioned.


3. Analysis.

The Cambridge City Manager should be fired because a responsible city government would fire a City Manager for the Monteiro case in light of the very clear findings of judge, jury, and appeals court, of gross malfeasance in office, to wit, destroying the life of Malvina Monteiro because she filed a civil rights complaint in the women’s rights field. I will not repeat the quotes yet again.

Refusing to bury your dead was probably not a firing offense.

The Cambridge City Manager should not be in office in the first place.

Throughout these reports, I have tried to communicate that the real problem on the Charles River lies in the rotten situation in the City of Cambridge.

This is just another part of the rotten situation.


Endnote.

The statement of the Chief of Police of the City of Worcester has been quoted widely. One reasonable citation is: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/05/08/worcester-police-chief-appeals-for-help-to-bombing-suspect-burial-dilemma/

Cambridge, MA, USA, Machine: Look at our historical building; don’t look at our massive environmental destruction.

1. Con Game conducted Saturday.
2. My detailed report on lies of love for the Charles River.
3. Reality.


1. Con Game conducted Saturday.

Last Saturday, May 11, 2013, the Cambridge Machine demonstrated the other side of its shell game on the Charles River.

You will recall my reports a few weeks ago, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/magazine-beach-bad-faith-flaunted-by.html and at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-charles-river-corrupt-practices-and.html of the corrupt tactics used to obtain “support” for massive destruction on the Charles River. The Cambridge Machine conducted a meeting in January in which they attempted to obtain support for expansion of the irresponsible destruction at the Magazine Beach playing fields. There were a lot of objections and there was a very good probability that they would lose an honest vote.

So they stole the vote. They postponed action to the February meeting, held the February meeting on April 23, 2013, delayed action until the last ten minutes of the meeting, and kept the contents of the incredibly complicated “vote” secret until then. They then took a "vote" of an audience from which they had driven concerned folks and stacked with robots and stacked with people who did not know what was going on and who could care less.

Last Saturday, they lied that they are decent, responsible human beings.

2. My detailed report on lies of love for the Charles River.

To quote my report of April 26, with one typo correction, on the corruption of April 23:

***********

The Machine has started to proclaim its love for the Charles River / Magazine Beach. It insists that people who do the same follow its orders and do nothing else. Although they claim they want to be made aware of problems.

Following orders translates as supporting renovation of one building. Following orders translates as pretending the real problems do not exist:

● walling off the Charles from the playing fields with bizarre introduced bushes,

● destruction of healthy grass which survived for the better part of a century without poisons;

● replacement of the healthy grass with sickly stuff that requires poisons;

● destruction of playing field acreage to drain off poisons to keep alive the sickly grass;

● deliberate starvation of the 32 year resident Charles River White Geese, confining them in a tiny area which has been further destroyed with introduction of bushes which look like they will grow into another wall; use of the rest of the area for parking, and plans for two highways through it.

● plans for an east-west highway which will destroy hundreds of trees, habitat, wetlands and the Charles. This was sold as “underpasses.” The “underpasses” are opposed by MassDOT. Governor Patrick seeks $26 million in bond authorization; and

● destruction of boat docking.

The Machine’s “neighborhood association” has now tried to ram through expansion of this outrage to the hill to the west of the playing fields and the wetlands behind the swimming pool, along with destruction of the little guy’s parking lot needed by a picnic area on the hill.

The Machine could not get a favorable vote to expand destruction in their January meeting. Pretty much all of that meeting was devoted to project discussion. It included much negative response from people in the audience.

So the Machine deferred the matter to their February meeting which in corrupt practices, was conducted on April 23, two months late, driving away the folks who showed up in January. A “vote” was conducted on a complicated motion which was kept secret until ten minutes before the end of the meeting. This complicated motion had fine print which blesses the destruction subject to meaningless “protections.”

Corrupt practices were needed to get “support” for expansion of outrages at Magazine Beach which were put in place in secret in the first place, This is sold as beneficial and inevitable?

*********

3. Reality.

Last Saturday was the rest of the lie.

The Cambridge Machine were showing off their lovely historical building and keeping secret the irresponsible destruction they are fighting for as part of the package.

To put this in perspective, during the last week, the police chief of the City of Worcester, MA, has publicly referred to the City of Cambridge, MA, as “barbarians.”

Then there is judge, jury and appeals court in the Monteiro case, where the City of Cambridge was found guilty of destroying a woman’s life in retaliation for her filing a civil rights complaint defending the rights of women employees. The words of judge, jury, and appeals court were: “reprehensible,” “ample evidence . . . of outrageous misbehavior,” and, very loudly from the jury, penal damages exceeding three time actual damages.

The destruction on the Charles River is part of an outrageous pattern.

The heartless animal abuse on the Charles River is part of a pattern.

The corruption through which the City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Machine act is part of a pattern.

Reality in Cambridge, MA, is not the shell games through which destructive people lie about themselves.

Reality in Cambridge, MA, is not the non stop “holier than thou” lies the Cambridge Machine spouts about themselves while hiding reality.

Reality is objective viewing by responsible human beings of a corrupt situation.

Will Cambridge, MA, USA stop lying about the Urban Ring Transit Plan?

1. Cambridge City Manager.
2. General.
3. Why the lies?
4. Letter to the head of the Cambridge Development Department.

1. Cambridge City Manager.

In the comments volume to the South Station ENF, pages 123 and 124 are the comments of the Cambridge City Manager, dated April 9, 2013.

The last three paragraphs read:

************

As the project moves forward, Cambridge would appreciate being involved in discussions regarding further design and selection of the layover facility alternatives, with a particular interest in Beacon Park Yard.

The South Station Expansion Project is a responsible first step to start bringing the transit system in the Boston region up to a world-class standard. As difficult as it is in these challenging fiscal times, it is critical that we keep in sight other expansion projects, such as the Urban Ring circumferential transit project, without which our economic competitive edge will continue to erode.

Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss this further or contact Jeff Rosenblum at jrosenblum@cambridgema.gov or (617)349-4615.

***********

Beacon Park Yard, of course, is not in Cambridge, but very clearly, Harvard’s empire building there is directly related to environmental destruction on the Charles River and on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. This destruction is supported by the City of Cambridge.

Jeff Rosenblum managed a meeting on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, of a newly formed Transit Advisory Committee. He asked members and audience for comments on transit defects.

The transit defect I commented on was Cambridge’s now 22 year record of falsely describing the Urban Ring circumferential transit project. I discussed the project in detail on May 7, 2013 at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-hospital-by-harvard-university-at.html.

Mr. Rosenblum carefully noted all comments on very large sheets stuck on the wall. My comment did not make the sheets.

I followed up with the letter at the end of this report.

2. General.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-hospital-by-harvard-university-at.html, I went into the real plans of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Urban Ring rapid transit, including key state maps of the proposal.

The Urban Ring rapid transit concept recognizes the reality that the Boston area subway system is a spokes oriented system. If you want to get anywhere on the system, either you use the line nearest you and go to a place on that line, or you take the line into Downtown Boston and transfer to one of the other spokes.

The Urban Ring rapid transit concept would build a new line which does not go through downtown Boston but which crosses the outgoing spokes and allows transfers among the Orange, Green and Red Lines. This would improve rapid transit service without further overloading the already overloaded central system.

I have worked on this concept since 1986. I was the first person to propose the alternative system which, increasingly, is looking like the only one of the two alternatives on the table which is likely to go forward. It is far superior to the alternate both from a transportation perspective and from an environmental perspective. This is the Kenmore Crossing alternative, named that way because it would cross the Charles River on a route going through Kenmore Square.

The Cambridge government being the Cambridge government (“barbarians” according to the Chief of Police of the City of Worcester, MA, USA) favors the other, clearly inferior, proposal. Cambridge, in its distressingly typical behavior, tells people that the superior alternative, the Kenmore Crossing, does not exist.

3. Why the lies?

Cambridge lives through corrupt practices.

One of the key corrupt practices is secret definitions.

Cambridge’s secret definition of “Urban Ring” is that the responsible, much more likely alternative does not exist.

The con games used tell people that they, to be politically correct, must support rapid transit.

And, to support rapid transit, they must support the “Urban Ring.”

But they lie about what the “Urban Ring” is.

They tell people that the inferior alternative is the ONLY alternative on the table.

I have given you the key plans from the MBTA, the local rapid transit manager.

The Kenmore Crossing is heavy rail, “Orange Line” technology. The Cambridge alternative is streetcars

The Kenmore Crossing is environmentally responsible in how it crosses the Charles River. The Cambridge alternative would devastate the animal habitat in which live the Charles River White Geese.

The Kenmore Crossing is strikingly better in its key interaction with the existing Green Line (streetcar) branches running out of Kenmore Square. Its proposed Urban Ring - Yawkey Station - Kenmore Station megastation brilliantly provides covered connections among the three Green Line branches, the central Green Line service, the Urban Ring, and Commuter Rail, while giving excellent service to Fenway Park.

The Cambridge Alternative would move Yawkey Station three blocks further from Fenway Park and would provide inferior connections to the Green Line Branches. The connection to the Commonwealth Avenue (Boston College) line, in particular, involves walking through a tunnel over the Massachusetts Turnpike, getting out on the sidewalk on the south side of Commonwealth Avenue, and walking across multiple traffic lanes to a station with minimal protection from the elements. The Cambridge Alternative would put a station close to the residential part of Cambridgeport with corresponding negative impacts. That Cambridgeport station, of course, is kept as secret as possible.

The state legislature is subsidizing expansion of Yawkey Station in place as part of a large private funded project going in across from Fenway Park. That investment makes it all the more likely that the ultimate choice between the two alternatives will be the Kenmore Crossing. Would the state throw this good money away for Cambridge’s inferior alternative?

But Cambridge lies in its public information on the Urban Ring. Cambridge says the Kenmore Crossing does not exist. Cambridge says that all that exists is the Cambridge preferred route.

And is it at all surprising that all those well meaning people from Cambridge support an irresponsible alternative?

They have flat out been told there is no other alternative.

And a lot of people from the Cambridge influenced Boston office of the Sierra Club certainly seem to have been given the same false information.

4. Letter to the head of the Cambridge Development Department.

I sent the following letter on May 9, 2013, copy to the Cambridge City Council and Cambridge Chronicle.

************

Assistant City Manager Brian Murphy
Community Development Department
City of Cambridge
344 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139

Dear Mr. Murphy:

This is a follow up on the initial meeting of the Transit Advisory Committee last night.

Comments were taken and recorded concerning problems in transit matters. One item mentioned was the Urban Ring rapid transit proposal. The Urban Ring has been a matter of misbehavior from the Development Department for years.

I have been working on the Urban Ring since 1986. The Kenmore Crossing alternative, which was adopted by the MBTA as one of the two alternative crossings in about 1991, was my idea back in 1986.

To the best of my knowledge, the City of Cambridge has consistently falsely stated the Charles River Crossing alternatives. As late as last August, the Community Development Department communicated to the Cambridge City Council once again that the only river crossing being considered is the one the City of Cambridge supports.

The Kenmore crossing, in sharp contrast to the Cambridge preferred crossing, is environmentally and transportation wise excellent. One key part of the Kenmore crossing has received a government subsidy in the legislature’s payment for upgrading of Yawkey Station in place. By contrast, the Cambridge preferred crossing would require the moving of Yawkey Station about three blocks.

The excellent megastation of which Yawkey Station would be a part in the Kenmore Crossing is one of the key factors which make there no real comparison between the Cambridge preferred crossing and the Kenmore Crossing.

I raised the consistent false information put out by Cambridge calling the Cambridge preferred crossing the only Urban Ring Charles River crossing as one defect in transit matters. The chair was consistently taking notes on comments. He did not seem to record this comment. Would you please add my comment to the record, and correct the behavior of Cambridge so that Cambridge communicates honestly concerning the Charles River Crossings under consideration in the Urban Ring rapid transit project.

Honesty is a good reason for the change. A stronger reason is that it looks like you are losing.

As part of a related discussion, I have posted reproductions of the official maps at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-hospital-by-harvard-university-at.html. Please note that there is no way I will refer to more than 20 years of dissemination of false information by supposed experts as other than lies.

************

The record of the City of Cambridge can be assessed by looking at third party reactions by third parties who understand key parts of the situation.

The Police Chief of the City of Worcester directed strikingly pointed comments at Cambridge without lowering himself to name the city. His descriptive word was “barbarians.”

Judge, jury and appeals courts damned Cambridge in their analysis of the destruction of the life of Department Head Malvina Monteiro in retaliation for her filing a civil rights complaint defending the rights of women employed by the City of Cambridge. The trial judge called Cambridge “reprehensible”. The appeals court refused to dignify Cambridge’s appeal with a formal opinion and spoke of “ample evidence of . . . outrageous misbehavior.” The jury more than tripled damages in a penal award.

The record of Cambridge on environmental and animal abuse issues is outrageously bad.

Secretary’s Certificate Issued on River Street and Western Avenue Bridge Project, Charles River, MA, USA

Secretary’s Certificate Issued on River Street and Western Avenue Bridge Project, Charles River, MA, USA

The Massachusetts environmental Secretary has issued the Secretary’s Certificate on the River Street and Western Avenue Bridge Project in response to that Environmental Notification Form. These bridges are the next two bridges to the west from the BU Bridge.

The Secretary has determined that no formal environmental review will be necessary. The certificate is posted at: http://www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/mepadocs/2013/050813em/sc/enf/15029enf.pdf.

The irresponsible handling of bicycles is blessed from an environmental point of view. The study is apparently not responsible for policy nuttiness. The language, however, based on the irresponsible Cambridge initiative with regard to abusing bicyclists, gives the impression that the environmental Secretary blesses meaningfully discouraging bicycle commuting in the name of “safety.”

The project Certificate accepts the Secretary of Transportation’s rejection of the “underpasses” concept. There is no mention of the massive destruction of trees and animal habitat associated with the highway the “underpasses” would be a part of. And no mention of Governor Patrick’s seeking bond authority for $24 million for tree destruction, etc. and $2 million for the “underpasses”.

The corrupt behavior of the Cambridge Machine gives the impression of blessing extension of the Magazine Beach portion of this outrage. The Cambridge Machine has no use for inconvenient ethics.

What was it the Chief of Police of Worcester, MA said yesterday in distinguishing Worcester from Cambridge? “We are not barbarians.”

New hospital by Harvard University? at Beacon Yards / the future Harvard Medical School

1. Introduction.
2. Comment.
3. Reply, initial version, with improvements.
4. Reply, on second thought.

1. Introduction.

Monday, May 5, 2013, I flagged Harvard University’s comments on the Environmental Notification Form concerning the proposed South Station expansion in Boston, MA, USA.

Harvard objected to the concept of using the Beacon [railroad] Yards for layover of trains from South Station. I interpreted this as flagging Harvard’s planned use of the Beacon Yards for a relocation of Harvard Medical School. The Beacon Yards are located across the Charles River from Magazine Beach.

I have received a very astute comment in reply. The writer interpreted my report as talking of a new hospital facility.

I replied quickly, in detail, but on thinking things over, the comment raises a concept which could be right and is more ambitious than I imagined.

2. Comment.

Usually a medical school is adjacent to a hospital. Is Harvard going to build a new hospital at this site? Very ambitious yet they have the money for it...

At minimum they will ensure a quick route to/from Longwood before relocating (or establishing a satellite location for) the med school.

3. Reply, initial version, with improvements.

Thank you for the astute question.

This has been part of the Urban Ring rapid transit discussions, among other things.

Harvard is proposing a Red Line Spur from Harvard Station as essentially an extension of the Alewife - Harvard portion of the Red Line heavy rail subway line. It would be very expensive and have a lot of "deep bore" construction.

It would connect to Harvard Medical School in the Beacon Yards and then would connect to a supposed bus tunnel that is proposed from the Yawkey station area, near Fenway Park and Kenmore Square, to Longwood & Louis Pasteur and then to Ruggles. As I recall, Harvard's proposed connection would be at about the current Fenway / Fenway Park stop on Park Drive, Boston. This is the first stop on the Riverside street car line out of Kenmore. The Longwood & Louis Pasteur station is proposed at a centralized station position for the Medical Area.

The ENF comments by Harvard on the South Station Expansion go into surprising detail concerning the future Harvard Medical School Area, currently Beacon Yard and the Allston / Cambridge exit from the Mass. Pike. Harvard made its purchase months after the MBTA determined that a Mass. Pike exit ramp could be constructed to Cambridge over the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge.

I am trying to do a good job for the Blog of analyzing Harvard's comments as part of the general comments as part of the Secretary's response to the ENF. It is major work.

The busway should be considered in coordination with the Urban Ring subway proposal. The responsible alternative would have Orange Line (heavy rail) technology running out of Ruggles Station under the same route and then to Kendall, Lechmere and the Orange Line north.

Ruggles Station is on the Orange Line heavy rail subway route. An excellent phase 1 would start at Ruggles and have the new route go as far as Kenmore, providing direct Orange Line connection through Ruggles to downtown, etc. This would service the Longwood / Harvard Medical Center, Fenway Park, and Kenmore Square. Operation of the new route would not really be that different from that which followed on the creation of the Braintree branch of the Red Line, except for the very central location.

Major games are being played in that the Urban Ring concept has always been rapid transit but the bureaucrats have turned the concept into a massive bus proposal as a supposed interim stage. Buses make excellent sense in the outer areas. They make no sense in the core.

Note, however, that there is an alternate route pushed by the city of Cambridge which would be streetcars. Cambridge lies that their streetcar route is the only alternative on the table.

Cambridge has have meaningful problems with that lie in that the legislature is spending a good amount of money upgrading Yawkey Station in place while Cambridge's streetcar route would move Yawkey Station to the Mountfort / St. Mary's Street area a block from BU's Marsh Chapel. A Yawkey / Kenmore / Urban Ring megastation is a jewel in the responsible alternative route.

Here is the Boston portion of the two MBTA alternatives from their environmental filing.



The two alternative proposals are the broken lines. The Harvard / Longwood Medical Area is at the bottom of the map. Fenway Park is the circular open area toward the top of the map and slightly right of center. Yawkey Station is on the left side of the broken line from Fenway Park and slightly up. Cambridge's desired relocation of Yawkey Station would be in the upper left of the map just below the words "St. Mary."

Here is the MBTA plan of the Cambridge City Manager's version of the Urban Ring proposal on the Cambridge Side of the Charles River. This plan links directly to the above map. Beacon Yards / the future Harvard Medical School is visible on the far left just above the bottom of the map.

Boston University extends from the Beacon Yards to almost the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge. The Massachusetts Avenue Bridge is the almost vertical line crossing the Charles River toward the bottom of the map and slightly right of center.



Here is the Cambridge side of the responsible alternative, the "Kenmore Crossing."



I have previously posted details on the Urban Ring including the Harvard Medical Area impact, at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/urban-ring-rail-maps-two-options-boston.html. This is just one of a number of presentations of these plans on this Blog.

Needless to say, my report on the Secretary's ENF certification could get very long.

The relocation of Harvard Medical School would be of great value to the hospitals in the Harvard Medical Area because they need growth space. The issue is how to keep the Medical School and the Hospitals viably interrelated.

My idea on rapid transit to the new Harvard Medical School would be a Green Line (streetcar) spur from Comm. Ave. / BU Bridge on air rights through Harvard Med, and then going underground after Cambridge Street under Harvard's new road (announced in the "Barry's Corner" development), around Harvard Stadium, under the Charles, and connecting to Harvard Station by the still existing tunnel to the former Red Line yards which are now the Park and Hotel complex.

4. Reply, on second thought.

It is very strange to propose a concept which many might call outrageous and be outdown by a well thought question out of the blue.

The Harvard purchase in Allston is massive in Boston terms. The area purchased is larger than Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.

The first phase of Harvard / Longwood Medical Area relocation was announced for the near future. That is the proposed relocation of the Harvard School of Public Health which is now on Huntington Avenue between Huntington Avenue and the Medical School. This has already been announced. The School of Public Health, however, is moving to the Western Avenue area, a couple of blocks west of the Beacon Yards / Mass. Pike exit.

Could Harvard and friends be thinking of moving one of the hospitals as well, or perhaps part of a hospital or some other accumulation? Very possibly.

Other obvious less extreme targets would be Harvard Dental School and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.

And a medical related facility in the Back Bay has put itself on record in favor of some of the games going on on the Charles River already.

Nice comment. Thanks.

Harvard University speaks out on Beacon Yards / the future Harvard Medical School.

I have been very busy over the past several days and have only been able to post one very delayed post.

Part of the problem has been trying to analyze the package of responses to the Environmental Notification Form on the proposed expansion of Boston’s South Station railway terminal.

The expansion is relevant to the Charles River because:

1. Passenger service has been rejected for the Grand Junction Railroad based on the availability of trackage as part of the expansion at South Station.

2. One possibility cited in the expansion proposal would be to use the Harvard University owned Beacon [railroad] Yards for layover of trains when between trips. Beacon Yards is visible from Magazine Beach.

Harvard’s very clear intent to use the Beacon Yards and Harvard's also owned exit from the Massachusetts Turnpike (I90) to Cambridge / Brighton for university expansion is related to and is a key part of the ongoing environmental destruction on the Charles River.

In the following aerial or satellite picture taken from a prior environmental document, the Beacon Yards / Mass. Pike exit are at the left, marked “Cambridge-Allston Tolls”. Immediately to the right is “Magazine Beach”.



My prior report on the meeting which presented the Environmental Notification Form may be viewed at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/south-station-expansion-meeting.html.

The state’s response to the Environmental Notification Form, called the Secretary’s certificate, may be read / downloaded at: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/25/Docs/efs/EnvironmentalNotificationForm.pdf.

Public comments may be read / downloaded at: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/25/Docs/ScannedLettersFromMEPA_ENF_042613.pdf. Harvard University’s comments may be read at pages 57 to 64.

The Harvard comments are very significant. At minimum, Harvard seems to indicate that use of the Beacon Yards for layover of trains could derail Harvard’s relocation of the Harvard Medical School to that location.

These comments are very major.

I am tied up trying to evaluate a very large amount of paper.

But, as I said, Harvard’s comments are very major.

Pending massive destruction at Cambridge, MA, USA Common

1. City Council Action.
2. George Despotis comment.
3. Response.


1. City Council Action.

City Manager’s agenda item number 1 from last Monday and the City Council action reads:

**********

Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to an order requesting the appropriation and authorization to borrow $2,180,000 to provide funds to supplement other financing sources for improvements to the Cambridge Common.

PASSED TO A SECOND READING

**********

This means that the Cambridge City Council supports destruction of between 22 trees (blocking the view) and 100 trees (in the way of some lovely project; passed motion from Kelley) on the Cambridge Common and Flagstaff Park.

Councilor Kelley’s motion proposed that the threatened trees be marked.

The game here is that the public is expected to tell the City Council it is irresponsible to destroy these key, healthy trees.

Kelley and his friends claim to be supportive of Alewife.

Kelley and the City Council have destroyed acres of Alewife and its animals and appear on track to possible destruction of the entire thing.

2. George Despotis comment.

I announced this vote in a post prior to the vote.

George responds:

**************

there is a MGLC (Massachusetts General Laws) cite given on the signs.

Therefore, unless corrected, it is my belief that each and every tree in the COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS (if not yet in a database) is protected by the hearing requirement; before you can cut down a "street tree," e.g. a tree in public space a hearing must be held.

IT WOULD BE GREAT to identify specific tree legislation in the MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS; it would obviate misunderstanding.

The law should be rewritten to require the specification of the REASON
FOR CUTTING THE TREE; to my knowledge it does not.

The three trees removed from Harvard Square are already missed and their absence will be a greater issue as hot weather arrives;

I realize that there is a large Italian population and perhaps they miss the treeless cities of that country.

RSVP. Thank you for your consideration.

P.S. Have you ever communicated with David LEFCOURT, the city arborist and has he ever responded?

I would propose that the City Council require an inventory of all city trees by GPS location;

I understand this has been done but I would also require that it appear on a website so that we can refer to specific trees ideally with pictures.

I know that you do not hold the Councilors or City leadership in high regard, but ideally ways could be found to communicate with them and motivate them to at least be forthcoming with information.


3. Response.

The Malvina Monteiro case says all that needs to be said about decisions by Cambridge, MA, public employees objecting to misbehavior by the City of Cambridge.

There was a reason why the City of Cambridge fought to the Appeals Court to defend Monteiro’s retaliatory firing in response to her filing a civil rights complaint.

Cambridge communicated by its handling of the Monteiro case that Cambridge has no ethics when it is convenient for it to have no ethics and that city employees who fail to tow the line could be in deep trouble.

Environmental destruction in Cambridge is supported by nine city councilors who are kept in power by a massive machine which is involved in an awful lot of lying.

The nine bad city councilors, out of nine, will only listen to responsible citizens if the responsible citizens yell at the Cambridge City Council and wash away the filth of the Cambridge Machine.

The most important thing needed in Cambridge is responsible people standing up to the Cambridge City Government, and shunning the Cambridge Machine as it deserves.

PS: The city’s interpretation of the statute is that street trees only are protected, and the Common and Flagstaff Park trees are not. I really have not reviewed the statute because the Monteiro case clearly demonstrates what can happen to responsible employees who are too visible behaving responsibly. Reviews like these destruction reviews are normal cons. They give the appearance of protection and allow irresponsible public officials to lie of “protection.”

PPS: I agree with the concern for the destroyed Harvard Square trees. I remember what passes for a planning department going in front of the same supposed protector of trees to destroy every tree on Palmer Street. Palmer Street is between the two halves of the Harvard Cooperative Society, whose main entrance is on Harvard Square. The “city planners” were disturbed that the trees were blocking the sunlight.

On the Common, the “city planners” are concerned that trees are blocking the view, and in any case, the “city planners” have a lovely project and would love to put in saplings.

The Tree City USA people only count saplings and ignore the healthy, excellent trees destroyed to put in the saplings. So Cambridge is rewarded as a “Tree City USA” for destroying excellent trees.

And the Cambridge Machine is involved in nonstop lying that Cambridge has a responsible city government.

PPPS: One of the Machine’s favorite tactics is to keep people “out of trouble” by chasing their tails.

Destroyed Nesting Area used as Parking Lot: Cambridge, MA, USA, Conservation Commission Helps

1. Introduction.
2. General before and after photos.
3. As usual, outrageous lies.
4. What a responsible government would be doing.
5. Some nice photos.
6. Contact numbers.


1. Introduction.

I write this report with severely conflicting feelings.

I am very happy with Jennifer Letourneau, the executive director of the Cambridge Conservation Commission.

My disgust with the Department of Conservation and Recreation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts remains unabated, as does my disgust for the “responsible” elected officials and flat out contempt for the fake groups whose lack of ethics and contempt for basic principles of decency are so important in allowing these outrages to continue.

The location is the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese on the north side of the Charles River in Cambridge, MA, USA, just east of the BU Bridge. The Charles River White Geese are beautiful gaggle of valuable, cherished beings who have lived in a mile long habitat centered on the BU Bridge for more than 32 years and who are now being heartlessly abused, including deliberate starvation and the use of their beloved nesting area for a parking lot.

For an excellent and extremely recent example of the contempt for ethics of the fake groups, please see my recent posts at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/magazine-beach-bad-faith-flaunted-by.html and http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-charles-river-corrupt-practices-and.html. This behavior is not at all unusual from the Cambridge Machine. The trouble is that extended discussions of the pattern of repeated outrages can be overwhelming. The Cambridge Machine lies about which side they are on. They stoop to belligerent actions of corruption to keep unforgivable behavior in place and expanding.

I have for some time now been reporting on the latest outrage at the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese, parking by railroad workers in the most sensitive part of the world of these 32 year resident beautiful animals.

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting of the Cambridge Conservation Commission in which I raised questions as to the actions of a contractor on the Grand Junction Railroad tracks next to the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese. When it developed that the contractor really had nothing to do with the situation, I stopped my comments and informed the committee that I would talk with their Executive Director, Jennifer Letourneau.

Jennifer delivered, subject to the special limits of her powers. At the request of the City of Cambridge, Cambridge has been exempted by the Massachusetts legislature from river protections which are normal in almost all other communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

2. General before and after photos.

Here is a photo of the core part of the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese on April 16, 2013:

[04-28, CVS 16 01 03-29 DNA]



Here is the same location yesterday, April 28:

[04-28, CVS 23 03 04-28 DNA]



In both photos, there is a very large tree. In the first photo, it is upper right. In the second photo, it is still in the upper part of the photo, just a little more toward the center. Since the City of Cambridge and the DCR started deliberately starving the Charles River White Geese, it has been the core of their existence. They live under it.

For five weeks starting with the beginning of December, this core part of their world was denied to them. Since March 16, this core part of their world has been denied to them.

To make things worse, as of March 24, a massive metal building was dumped under that tree.

In the first picture, you can see distressed resident geese wandering through what should be their cherished nesting area, confused, doing what they can to exist.

In the second picture, you can see that the parking has been pulled back beyond a line. That line would appear to be the severely limited limits of the authority of the Cambridge Conservation Commission. The river is to the right.

The Charles River White Geese have taken back the most cherished part of their home. They have occupied the area which previously was denied to them.

The outrageous metal building is gone.

This change is a limit to an ongoing outrage. The change has not ended the outrage. Vehicles are still stomping on what is animal habitat, a nesting area for 32 years. They have been driven back from the most irresponsible behavior but still being as irresponsible as they can get away with. They continue to pound in the ground which should be cherished and held with care.

In the first photo, you can see a blue object smack dab in the middle. This is two portapotties. In the December -January portion of the outrage, the one portapotty was next to the BU Bridge in the created parking lot. In the second photo, it is at the upper left, in the edge of an area of native vegetation which has not been destroyed YET.

3. As usual, outrageous lies.

Here is a photo of an individual who claimed to be some sort of honcho. The date was December 28, 2012.

[01-10, Walgr 19-02, 12-28, DNA]



He is holding a cell phone by which he claimed to be calling the State Police as part of evicting me from the Destroyed Nesting Area. He was highly disturbed at my entering this public wildlife area and photographing the outrage he and his associates were committing.

He is standing at the entrance to the Destroyed Nesting Area. You can see the irresponsibly parked cars behind him. To his immediate right (left as you are viewing) and only a few feet away is the location where responsible people would be parking.

The day after the Cambridge Conservation Commission meeting, I passed on to Jennifer Letourneau links to reports on this blog of the ongoing outrage. She passed them on to Frederick Corsi who allegedly manages the area for the DCR. Corsi claimed incompetence.

Corsi said he knew nothing about this continuing outrage, neither in December and January, nor in the current outrage. He claimed lack of knowledge of the metal building.

And this apparent representative of the MBTA was threatening me with arrest for photographing their outrage?

4. What a responsible government would be doing.

Remember, the DCR has in the fine print of its goals the destruction of all animal life on the Charles River Basin.

It, however, fits in very well with the Cambridge City Council, the City Manager, and the fake organizations.

At the state level, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has been a breath of fresh air from the stench of Cambridge and the DCR. MassDOT managed the repairs of the BU Bridge which looms over the Destroyed Nesting Area to the west and from which the photos from above have been taken.

As of about April 8, 2013, MassDOT has been repairing the Memorial Drive structure which is north of the Destroyed Nesting Area. MassDOT’s management of the repairs of the BU Bridge took years. Throughout those years, workers parked under Memorial Drive, and through most of the current outrage of using the Destroyed Nesting Area for parking, all land under Memorial Drive was unused and readily available for parking.

[04-28, CVS 03 23 03-29 DNA]



This is a photo of the parking lot created next to the BU Bridge. These are two vehicles associated with the project on March 29, 2013, before the repair work started. The highway comes off the sidewalk at the northwest corner of the Destroyed Nesting Area, an entry illegally made by Boston University for the DCR in October 1999. The brick structure at the top is the Memorial Drive bridge. The area under the bridge provided plenty of very convenient area for parking.

The "honcho" in the above photo was standing on a line between the black car and where they should be parking. He was not that far from either.

[04-28, CVS 05 21 03-29 Mem Dr, Circle]



On March 29, 2013, came my first knowledge something new was going on. These vehicles are parked under Memorial Drive in the middle of the traffic circle which runs under it. These were the first workers in the closing of the overpass. The closing of the overpass occurred a little more than a week later.

[04-28, CVS 10 16 04-03 Mem Dr, Rotary, and 11 15 04-03 Mem Dr East]

The first photo is of the much more ambitious work site as MassDOT prepared to close the overpass and the area next to the Destroyed Nesting Area where a responsible government would be parking people for the railroad project. The asphalt to the right in the latter picture is the on ramp which directly abuts the Destroyed Nesting Area.




[04-28, CVS 25 01 04-28 Mem Dr, East]

This is the same area as the previous photo but from the other end of the ramp. Look back two photos at all those cars parked in the traffic circle next to the area under Memorial Drive. The area under Memorial Drive is dangerous because of the work. All those are parked right next to it.



Even with all those cars parked in the middle of the rotary, the large area between the on ramp and Memorial Drive is empty of cars. The lazy workers are still destroying the Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese with totally unnecessary parking only a few feet away from this responsible location for parking.

And I have previously published a photo of the near portion of the Magazine Beach playing fields which is totally unused, except for sickly grass which requires poisons to stay alive, poisons which are being drained off by a massive drainage system which has replaced playing fields. Until this outrage started, responsible grass was there for the better part of a century. See my links at the top for a summary of this outrage’s handling by the fake group fronting for the Cambridge Machine.

5. Some nice photos.

[04-28, CVS 21 05 04-28 DNA]



April 28. The white figures are the Charles River White Geese enjoying their cherished Charles River. The photo is taken from the BU Bridge. To the top right is the Grand Junction Railway bridge. The land at the top is the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.

The cherished heart of the Destroyed Nesting Area is just above the vegetation.

[04-28, CVS 18 08 04-16 DNA]

March 16. The tiny yellow figures are goslings, perhaps a day or so old. They have been trooped by their parents through an area which has been the cherished nesting area of the Charles River White Geese and which was then and is now an irresponsible parking lot.



They are feeding in the soon to be new impenetrable thicket of introduced bushes planted by the DCR on the hillside under the on ramp.

Judging by the number of babies, it is my guess that this is more than one brood.

The Charles River White Geese have lived on the banks of the Charles River for 32 years. They are well organized in a family structure. They had food for most of that 32 years. They are being heartlessly starved by the same rotten bureaucracy which continues this parking outrage as much as they can get away with and which finds common decency unacceptable.

For an additional example of common decency being “unacceptable”, please go to the above links for the fraud of a fake neighborhood association protecting these rotten people.

6. Contact numbers.

The governor’s contact is http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.

Emails for all Massachusetts legislators are posted at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.

And remember, the governor is seeking bond authorization for a highway to make this outrage even worse. The fake description is "underpasses."

The Cambridge, MA, USA City Council is really beneath contempt. On general principals, however, their contact email is council@cambridgema.gov. Emails to this address are forwarded to each member individually.

Cambridge City Council to Consider Massive Destruction of Trees on the Cambridge Common and the adjacent Flagstaff Park.

City Manager’s Agenda Item Number 1A in front of the Cambridge City Council at its April 29, 2013, meeting reads as follows:

********

Ordered:

That $2,180,000 is appropriated for the purpose of financing renovations to the Cambridge Common including the reconstruction and partial realignment of pathways, replacement of benches and trash receptacles, planting of trees, replacement of lighting fixtures and poles, improvements to entryways and any other costs incidental or related thereto; and that to meet this appropriation the Treasurer with the approval of the City Manager is authorized to borrow $2,180,000 under Chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other enabling authority.

*******

The tradition of the Cambridge City Council under City Manager Robert Healey is that of lying through omission.

The City of Cambridge has submitted an environmental notification form which admits to plans to destroy 22 trees on the Cambridge Common because they block the view. Councilor Kelley had a motion approved by the Cambridge City Council which talks of something like a hundred trees being destroyed in the Cambridge Common / Flagstaff Park area. There is language in the ENF which fits the usual game. The ENF talks about a bike highway. The City Manager lies through mentioning the results of the destruction. It is duty of decent people to cross examine him, according to his standard explanation. This is the second time this matter has been considered by the Cambridge City Council ("second reading").

Dishonesty, lying through omission, is normal on environmental matters in the City of Cambridge.

This motion stinks of massive environmental destruction. 22 to a hundred excellent trees in a prime location for no valid reason.

The Charles River, Corrupt Practices, and the Cambridge, MA, USA Machine

I have submitted the following letter to the Cambridge (MA) Chronicle. It builds on the outrages of April 23, 2013, but also is a good, concise communication of the situation on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA, USA.

RE: Letter: More Corrupt Practices in the Fight to Destroy on the Charles

The fight for destruction on the Charles River has taken a new turn.

The Machine has started to proclaim its love for the Charles River / Magazine Beach. It insists that people who do the same follow its orders and do nothing else. Although they claim they want to be made aware of problems.

Following orders translates as supporting renovation of one building. Following orders translates as pretending the real problems do not exist:

● walling off the Charles from the playing fields with bizarre introduced bushes,

● destruction of healthy grass which survived for the better part of a century without poisons;

● replacement of the healthy grass with sickly stuff that requires poisons;

● destruction of playing field acreage to drain off poisons to keep alive the sickly grass;

● deliberate starvation of the 32 year resident Charles River White Geese, confining them in a tiny area which has been further destroyed with introduction of bushes which look like they will grow into another wall; use of the rest of the area for parking, and plans for two highways through it.

● plans for an east-west highway which will destroy hundreds of trees, habitat, wetlands and the Charles. This was sold as “underpasses.” The “underpasses” are opposed by MassDOT. Governor Patrick seeks $26 million in bond authorization; and

● destruction of boat docking.

The Machine’s “neighborhood association” has now tried to ram through expansion of this outrage to the hill to the west of the playing fields and the wetlands behind the swimming pool, along with destruction of the little guy’s parking lot needed by a picnic area on the hill.

The Machine could not get a favorable vote to expand destruction in their January meeting. Pretty much all of that meeting was devoted to project discussion. It included much negative response from people in the audience.

So the machine deferred the matter to their February meeting which in corrupt practices, was conducted on April 23, two months late, driving away the folks who showed up in January. A “vote” was conducted on a complicated motion which was kept secret until ten minutes before the end of the meeting. This complicated motion had fine print which blesses the destruction subject to meaningless “protections.”

Corrupt practices were needed to get “support” for expansion of outrages at Magazine Beach which were put in place in secret in the first place, This is sold as beneficial and inevitable?

Harvard University announces Harvard Square in Allston, Boston, MA, USA

Harvard University has released an Environmental Notification Form for its planned development on the northwest corner of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, MA. This intersection is near the Harvard Business School, it abuts the Harvard Stadium / athletic complex, and is less than a mile south of Harvard Square. It is less than half a mile from the Charles River.

The ENF is posted at http://www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/mepadocs/2013/041013em/nps/enf/15036enf.pdf. An environmental notification form is the first step in state environmental reviews.

Project construction density is announced at 4.0. While exact definitions probably differ between the Boston code and the Cambridge code, this density is Harvard Square density.

This is not the site of the affordable housing which is being destroyed. That is the northeast corner.

A key quote, paragraphing cleaned up. I do not see the figures they talk about.

****************

The Project involves the redevelopment of a site, to be ground leased to Barry’s Corner Property LLC (a Samuels & Associates Entity), that is north and west of the intersection of Western Avenue and North Harvard Street in the North Allston neighborhood of Boston (see Figures 1 and 2). The existing site includes most of the building known as 219 Western Avenue, a single story building containing approximately 47,500 square feet of space currently home to a number of Harvard uses including mail room services, the Harvard University Information Technology department, the Harvard ceramics studio, a Harvard University Police Department training facility, other institutional services, and storage space.

The overall Project site is 2.67 acres and consists of two areas:

(i) the 2.03 acre development site that contains the proposed buildings and will be created by subdivision and subsequently ground-leased by Harvard to Barry’s Corner Property LLC; and

(ii) the 0.64 acres area along the westerly and northerly borders of the development site, on which will be located two new privately-owned and maintained publicly-accessible streets. The newly created private streets are “Grove Street,” which will border the site to the north, and “Smith Field Drive,” which will border the site to the west (fn 1).

[fn1: These street names are illustrative only; it is anticipated that they may be re-named in the future.]

In addition, the “Smith Field Drive Extension” will continue to the north outside of the Project site but within Harvard’s campus in order to provide full service access to North Harvard Street.

****************

The site consist of 2.67 acres of which 2.03 acres will be developed and 0.64 acres will be converted to new privately owned but publicly accessible streets.

The project will be primarily residential, 325 units. There will be first floor retail, 40,000 gross square feet. The total will be 350,000 gross square feet of floor area. 47,500 existing gross square feet will be demolished. Heights will be one to nine stories.

Resuming exact quote:

***************

To accommodate the Project, the existing institutional uses at 219 Western Avenue will be relocated and the existing building at 219 Western Avenue, two smaller maintenance buildings (with addresses at 141 and 155 North Harvard Street), and the adjacent surface parking lot will all be demolished.

Ground Floor Uses

The ground floor podium includes approximately 40,000 square feet of commercial/retail space/retail back of house. The remaining portion of the ground floor, approximately 25,000 square feet, may contain residences, residential amenity spaces — such as resident lobbies, mail and fitness center — and mechanical, service and similar functions. A multiple bay loading dock in the north building will service both residential buildings and the retail spaces for deliveries, recycling and trash.

*************

Relocation of many existing uses is to “the 28 Travis Street project.” Travis Street runs off Western Avenue to the south slightly east of the North Harvard / Western Avenue intersection. “Dining Services, Real Estate and Energy & Utilities” will be "relocated to other areas of the Harvard campus”.

Please see http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/harvard-university-formally-changes-its.html for Harvard’s most recent announcement impacting 28 Travis Street, with link.

Boston Marathon Bombings and the Charles River White Geese

A week ago Monday, we had a very major outrage at and near the finish line of the Boston Marathon with the explosion of two bombs and the killing and maiming of many people in the audience. The week was climaxed on Friday with the shut down of the municipal transit system and a request that millions of Boston people and Boston area businesses close down and stay in residences. The shutdown resulted in the arrest of the second of two suspects, a pair of brothers, after the first suspect died in a gun fight.

George Despotes provides the following comments on the side benefits for animals of what was a nightmare week for humans.

************

The "lock-down" (red alert advisory?) probably was better for the geese than anything imaginable;

The number of humans out and about diminished significantly and my guess is that geese can find a lot to feed on in the natural environment.

[During the shutdown, it] was really pleasant and as I passed the Christ Church Parish, I noticed a rabbit "taking care of the grass cutting."

I presume the geese are involved in similar activity, though I know not precisely what they eat.

Thank you for your e-mail and hope that you share the concern for the Cambridge environment that resulted in the Boston tragedy; we are all products of our past experience and Cambridge, like Boston and New England can be quite unfriendly.

Town gown relationships here must be said to be less than optimal; I do not think there are many that would disagree with that.

Thank you very much for your thoughtful consideration.

************

It is decidedly frightening that one way to temporarily deter animal abusers was society’s response to abusive people many levels worse.

We have seen, at the destroyed nesting area an apparent killer of nesting geese who graduated to rape and murder where he had been killing and maiming Charles River White Geese. His killings peaked first with the killing of the leader of the gaggle in a day of multiple outrages, and then with the rape and murder in the same location. He is now in jail for many years.

The Cambridge City Council was specifically requested by a number of people to stop the outrageous attacks on the geese with the repeated comment that animal abusers graduate. The Cambridge City Council responded with a silence which could be considered support for the ongoing outrage. The Cambridge City Council then spent an hour discussing the rape and murder but did not want to know where the rape and murder occurred.

The route of the Boston Marathon passes a mile south of the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese. The finish line is 2 miles east of the Destroyed Nesting Area. Franklin Street, Watertown, MA, which was near the focus of the shutdown and was the place of the capture, is 4 miles to the west. The residence of the older brother was about 2 miles to the north of the Destroyed Nesting Area.

Many people walk the BU Bridge next to the Destroyed Nesting Area to view the Boston Marathon.

Magazine Beach: Bad faith flaunted by a fake Neighborhood Association.

The one thing which is fully predictable when dealing with the Cambridge Machine is that, no matter how irresponsible, they will deliver what they have been told they will deliver.

In their January meeting, the Cambridge Machine tried to ram through approval for more irresponsible destruction expanding the existing irresponsible destruction on Magazine Beach.

They spent almost all of the January meeting discussing the irresponsible proposal of the Department of Conservation and Recreation. They could not get the vote they wanted. So they deferred until the next monthly meeting in February.

The February meeting was conducted this evening, April 23, 2013. Which did a good job of chasing away trouble makers who could not wait three months until the next monthly meeting. But the robots showed up and a bunch of people totally uninterested in Magazine Beach.

The meeting was stacked with a whole bunch of items, all of which were given as much as or more time than the Magazine Beach issue which had essentially filled the previous meeting, and which the Cambridge Machine could not ram through in the previous meeting.

The Machine devoted the last TEN MINUTES of the meeting to Magazine Beach and, at the last possible minute, passed out a motion which was complicated garbage. Then, of course, they rammed the complicate garbage through in the last TEN MINUTES of the meeting. The TEN MINUTES was then followed by the end of the meeting and then an extensive discussion on the many other much less pivotal issues which kept on going.

The complicated motion rammed through voted to work for money to COMPLETE the design for the outrage proposed by the DCR.

Completing the design means you do not change what you already have.

This was followed by a bunch of lovely process words.

This is the Cambridge Machine. This is the rotten reality of politics in Cambridge, MA, USA.

This is further destruction on Magazine Beach.

And a bunch of hypocrites lying about process.

Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Evil in Cambridge, MA, USA - Has action been deferred long enough to get bonds for destruction authorized?

A. New Material.
1. Cambridge Machine at Work. 1/30/13 meeting.
2. Environmental responsibility, MassDOT, the “Underpasses,” and the Secret Highway Proposal with Massive Destruction.
B. Reprint from January 22, 2013
1. Cambridge Machine: There is no such a thing as bad guys. There are just differences of opinion.
2. Bad guy.
3. Response (also known as censored #1)
4. Summary.
C. PS.
1. Alewife has come closer to perhaps total destruction.
2. Destruction of 22 to a hundred trees has come closer on the Cambridge Common.
3. The Governor has been seeking bonds for massive destruction.
4. Commuter rail has ramped up their outrage in the Destroyed Nesting Area and the DCR has once again bragged that the DCR is incompetent.


A. New Material.

1. Cambridge Machine at Work. 1/30/13 meeting.

On January 30, 2013, the Cambridge Machine had a meeting to discuss the destruction which has been done to Magazine Beach over the last 13 years. Very much long overdue since the Cambridge Machine has spent this long insisting it did not exist.

The Cambridge Machine tried to ram through an expansion of the destruction which does not exist.

The Cambridge Machine tried to expand the destruction from the Magazine Beach playing fields to the hill to the west of the playing fields and to the wetlands behind the swimming pool.

People objected. People looked like they might not be a rubber stamp. The Cambridge Machine deferred the action until the February MONTHLY meeting, and have deferred the February MONTHLY meeting to April, tonight, April 23.

In the meantime, the governor has SECRETLY turned discussion of underpasses into a bond bill with $2 million for underpasses and $24 million for massive environmental destruction including the highway sneaked which in part was not approved.

That SECRET money certainly looks like the reason why the February meeting has been rescheduled for April. Part of the destruction in Patrick’s SECRET $24 million bond bill could have been voted down by a responsible meeting. So, in the typical bad faith of the Cambridge Machine, the February meeting became rescheduled for April, after vote on the bond bill?

2. Environmental responsibility, MassDOT, the “Underpasses,” and the Secret Highway Proposal with Massive Destruction.

MassDOT opposes the $2 million line item in the Governor’s Bond Proposal for supposed underpasses for the River Street, Western Avenue and the Anderson Bridge. These "underpasses" have been rejected outright by the Department of Transportation in their ENF for the River Street and Western Avenue Bridges Rehabilitation Project, EEA No. 15029. The ENF is posted at http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/26/docs/Western_River/river_western032213.pdf.

The $24 million dollar line in the Governor’s bond proposal has been kept secret. This would destroy hundreds of excellent trees between the Longfellow and BU Bridges, destroy wetlands, destroy the Charles River, destroy animal habitat, and further the ongoing abuse of the valuable and beautiful 32 year resident gaggle of the Charles River White Geese.

Governor Patrick has been provided with the DCR’s tree destruction plans as part of a formal objection. His response was nonsense. The exchange is posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/governor-of-massachusetts-responds-to.html. This includes a very specific objection letter and the governor’s nonsensical response.

Governor Patrick’s proposal is wasteful and destructive and an excellent example of government conducted in secret.

The last time the DCR sought money for destruction of these hundreds of trees was Obama moneys in President Obama’s early highway expenditures. The DCR flat out lied that all these excellent trees were diseased. Their filing with the Cambridge Conservation Commission proved the diseased claim to be just another lie.

The Cambridge Machine stalled and rescheduled the February meeting to April.


B. Reprint from January 22, 2013

1. Cambridge Machine: There is no such a thing as bad guys. There are just differences of opinion.

The Cambridge Machine is active again.

Now the Cambridge Machine claims to be defending Cambridge against a massive increase in development allowed in Central and Kendall Squares.

As part of this fight, members of the Cambridge Machine have been doing lovely analyses of morality.

The Cambridge Machine is reading from the script.

The Cambridge Machine is objecting to the use of the word “Bad Guys” with regard to the supposed opposition.

I really do not want to spend a lot of time writing yet another response, so here are a bad guy comment and the response I sent which was censored from their listserve.

I am only quoting the introductory paragraph.

If I quoted the rest, I would have to go on and on and on.

2. Bad guy.

It isn't a case of bad people vs good people. (Gosh, we are hearing enough of that now with the Newtown killings.) It is best to think of it as different viewpoints on how expansion should occur and on the research on urban growth. It seems that the goal of these postings is to offer the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of upzoning and city planning in a rational, fact-based manner.

3. Response (also known as censored #1)

The people who tell me "It is just a matter of difference of opinion" tend to have striking problems in that their "opinions" deviate very far from the norm.

Excellent examples of deviating from the norm include

(1) fighting for achieving inexcusable destruction of acres of virgin woodlands at Alewife along with massive killing of their resident animals, and fighting through stalling to make it much worse and

(2) fighting for

(a) the dumping of poisons on the banks of the Charles River to feed sickly grass introduced in place of environmentally responsible grass,

(b) the continuation and worsening of large scale deliberate animal starvation of three decade resident animals on the Charles River and related and accelerating animal abuse targeted at achieving a goal of killing off all resident animals on the Charles River Basin,

(c) the continuation of the bizarre wall blocking access between the Charles River and the Magazine Beach playing fields

(d) the continuation of the destruction of the boat docks at the Magazine Beach playing fields,

(e) the continuation of smaller playing fields to drain off poisons which should not be there, and

(f) fighting for destruction of the parking lot at the foot of Magazine Street without giving any explanation except that they do not have the money yet (while "neglecting" to mention that the destruction will occur immediately after they get the money).

When you combine such behavior with loud proclamations of "concern" which give the impression that the speakers are on the opposite side from the side they are really on, I have very great difficulty calling these outrages "differences of opinion."

And when you look at the fact that the principal tool being used is stalling to allow, through inaction, the opposite to happen from what they claim to stand for, that definitely looks to me like the bad guys.

4. Summary.

The tactics used strike me as an excellent example of Evil.

This is Cambridge, MA, USA.

C. PS.

The continuing purpose of the Cambridge Machine company union is to keep people “out of trouble.”

While the Cambridge Machine has had people chasing their tails on Kendall - Central, and stalling on the Magazine Beach vote:

1. Alewife has come closer to perhaps total destruction.

2. Destruction of 22 to a hundred trees has come closer on the Cambridge Common.

3. The Governor has been seeking bonds for massive destruction.

4. Commuter rail has ramped up their outrage in the Destroyed Nesting Area and the DCR has once again bragged that the DCR is incompetent.

Parking is still possible under Memorial Drive as is relocation of that very noisy and destructive metal building, in the right side of the overpass, directly abutting the Destroyed Nesting Area.

[Photo]

Businesses supporting Environmental Destroyer in the name of Earth Day

As bad as the environmental situation is in Cambridge, MA, USA, a very big part of the problem is fake groups flying under false colors, and the people or business which keep them going with their money.

One of the worst is the falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” which has been on the wrong side of pretty much all recent organized destruction on the Charles River that I am aware of.

I have just received a second email seeking the funds of well meaning people who think they are defending the environment by supporting this group. Their pitch on April 18, 2013 read:

*******************

On Earth Day, Monday, April 22nd, the Charles River Conservancy is partnering with four other parks organizations to raise funds and awareness for our urban parklands. Over 40 businesses will donate 5% of their sales from the day to support the work of the Charles River Conservancy, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Friends of the Public Garden, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, and The Esplanade Association.

That means that this Earth Day, you can donate to your favorite urban parklands organizations while eating ice cream, drinking coffee, enjoying a burrito, or going out for a date-night dinner!

Below is just a sample of some of the businesses supporting the Conservancy:
Participating Businesses:

Henrietta's Table
FiRE + iCE in Harvard Square
OTTO Pizza in Harvard Square
Veggie Planet
Veggie Galaxy
JP Licks at their Harvard Square, Berklee, Charles Street, and Jamaica Plain locations
Boloco in Harvard Square and at Northeastern

Please check out the Give5Boston website for a full list of participating businesses.

***********

As usual, it is impossible to tell if any of the people quoted know what they are really doing, whether they just do not care, or whether they are really bad fellow travelers. But they are seeking funds for this destructive group. They had better care because by doing so, they are telling people this group is worthy of respect if you are pro environment, and they are helping a very bad cause.

In addition, however, I severely question the supposedly protective groups which are aligned with this destructive entity. They are giving this fake “conservancy” credibility by joining with it in this cause. Are these groups any better or worse than the CRC? The reasonable interpretation, and the interpretation the CRC is implying is that all are in the same boat.

Not a nice situation.


ADDENDUM:

For only one report providing details concerning this destroyer, please see http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-visit-to-two-construction-zones.html. There are many such reports on this blog.

Photos of the Outrage, Charles River, Destroyed Nesting Area, Memorial Drive, MA, USA

I have been properly chastised on not including photos with my report on visit to the two construction zones, at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-visit-to-two-construction-zones.html.

One problem is use of an analog camera with related delays in processing, but here are a few photos from my files which may help.

[1511 03-18-13 DNA]



This is a photo of one of the company vehicles leaving the Destroyed Nesting Area on March 18.

The brick structure running through the middle of the photo is Memorial Drive.

Most of the structure visible in this shot IS NOT UNDER REPAIR. The white body on the left side of the photo is a wall at the eastern edge of the BU Bridge. As you look at the Memorial Drive structure, you can see just to the right of the end of this wall a tree with a moderately wide support behind it. When I visited, there was a protected tunnel / pedestrian way to the right of this support. The way is approximately two people wide. Every thing to the right of this narrow pedestrian way is available for use by the irresponsible state government for parking and management of track repairs, including the irresponsible building. The area available runs more than half the width of the photo.

[1907 - 2203]



Here are four more pictures of the outrage as it existed on March 24. It really has changed little. My report was that they had replaced the metal working area with a smaller one. On looking at these pictures, I am not at all positive that the metal structure does not continue to be there.

In each of these three pictures, you can see the 32 year resident Charles River White Geese overwhelmed by the continuing outrage in what is their Nesting Area.

The continued irresponsibility is consistent with the governor seeking a $2 million and a $24 million bond authorization from the legislature for (1) the bizarre “underpass” project which has been rejected by the department in question and his seeking (2) environmental destruction, heartless animal abuse, and destruction of hundreds of trees related to the “underpass” project and kept secret in all public discussions of the project.

I have posted my exchange with the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/governor-of-massachusetts-responds-to.html.

The governor’s form email contact is: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.

The email addresses for members of the state legislature are posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.


Do not try to check out the situation at the Destroyed Nesting Area for the time being. The lockdown in the hunt for the second of the marathon bombers will interfere with visits to the area.

I would anticipate that it will still be possible to feed the Charles River White Geese to correct for the fact that the state and city governments are deliberately starving them.

Thank you in advance for whatever you can do.