Harvard Science Complex Dpir Comments

----- Original Message ----From: Joyce Radnor To: Autler, Gerald Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 5:05 PM Subject: input on Harvard's DPIR Hi Gerald, I have been feeding my neighbors' cats this week while they travel overseas. That may not seem important to the City of Boston, but it is to them (the cats particularly!) and it is to me. We're neighbors and I take that covenant very seriously. With that as backdrop, I will thank you for an opportunity to offer my thoughts one last time as we near the end of the Article 80 process reviewing Harvard's Science Complex here in Allston. I have provided my input to you, to the Allston Task Force and to Harvard over the past 18 months. You've already heard most everything I have had to say or ask...ad nauseam, I'm sure. (For that, I apologize, and thank you for your indulgence.) In any event, here's one more stab at it....just for old time's sake. Harvard's DPIR seems like a nonsensical document to me. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I was under the impression the DPIR would address all the issues the Science Complex will lay at our community's feet. In addition, I was under the impression that the DPIR would address all the issues you raised in your Scoping Determination on the PNF and the IMPA. This DPIR, no matter how impressive in weight and word count, does not adequately address either of those requirements. Therefore, I would encourage you and the BRA Board to send this back to Harvard for a "do-over" -- no fouls, no penalties. I think the City, if it truly cares about this neighborhood and getting this first phase of a 20+-year plan right, should follow its own rules and ask for a resubmission. Further, I would encourage you and the Mayor to take a much closer look at how this process has evolved and how future projects can be dealt with in a more friendly and efficient way. As you know, my concerns run very deeply and broadly -- from green space to traffic; from parking to housing; from construction hazards to security. I've made all these concerns clear in the past -- always respectfully, I hope -- and I will spare us both the repetition. I will leave community benefits' discussions to people more qualified than I. The educators and parents have thoughts on educational benefits. The health care specialists have thoughts on community health care. The environmentalists have thoughts on green space and river access. I defer to their combined knowledge and insights on these issues. I will say, however, that the neighborhood should be better after this project is completed than it was before. (When I say "before," I don't mean "now." I mean before Harvard purchased the land, shuttered vital businesses, and allowed weeds to grow, fences to rust, windows to break. That's the "before" I'm referring to.) I think a community fund should be established by Harvard to allow this neighborhood to seek its own destiny, but since you and others have suggested the Mayor will not allow that, I think simple quality-of-life improvements should be required by the City. Underground utilities throughout the neighborhood. Attractive gas-lamp-ish light fixtures. Improved sidewalks. More trees. In addition, I think Harvard should establish and fund a community center(s) to be used for a variety of neighborhood needs. With all that said, I'd like to share some quick thoughts on this journey, now that we have reached the end of the process for this first Harvard project. I do so with a big, giant sigh that we're moving on. And a big, giant pit in my stomach that the community -- and most notably the neighborhood most directly affected -- has not achieved the cooperation from the City, the Commonwealth or the developer that we had hoped. Make no mistake. As I've said many, many times before, I want this Science Complex built. I feel strongly about the work that will be done by the Harvard scientists, and I'll be proud to have been in the sphere of that work. My wide-eyed enthusiasm and optimism left me somewhere in early summer....when you were still a bachelor and I was still absolutely convinced that together this community could be a change-agent for institutional expansion in Boston, and more specifically in Allston. I really believed and echoed throughout my neighborhood that this Articles 80 process was here to protect us, and that Harvard, North Allston and the City would be better for the cooperation and our collective wisdom. Color me silly. The issues of community inclusion and institutional transparency remain as elusive as they were on a cold April evening in 2006 when I began attending Task Force meetings. This disappoints me, exhausts me, and saddens me. This is my neighborhood and I care about what happens here....not really for myself, but for the new families who have moved here wanting the good life that I've led in this neighborhood for 15 years. It seems unfair that our biggest "neighbor" is the least caring among us. It seems equally unfair that the City will not, or feels it cannot or should not, protect our quality of life from a 20+-year development.

It has become abundantly clear over the past several Task Force meetings that this project will be approved by you, by the BRA Board and, ultimately, by the Mayor...who has yet to address/engage the community on this development. So, with not-so-benign resignation, I will say "Uncle." It is clear to me now that to make a difference does not include attending Task Force meetings, or asking questions that seemingly have no answers, or writing letters that just become "public record." It's the sad, but hard, truth. As an antidote, I will continue to feed my neighbors' cats, watch out for their children, water their lawns while they're away, check in on them when they're sick. The difference I can make is to simply be a good neighbor. With best regards, Joyce Joyce Radnor Spice Communications 617-787-5192

September 10, 2007 Mr. Gerald Autler, Senior Project Manager/Planner Boston Redevelopment Authority One City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Re:

Community benefits proposal related to Harvard University’s Allston science complex and other North Allston Brighton development plans

Dear Mr. Autler: The Allston Brighton Partnership for Community Health (ABPCH) was formed in early 2007 by a group of Allston Brighton agencies, schools, hospitals and residents concerned to maintain the strong partnerships and collaborations that existed in the now-defunct Allston Brighton Healthy Boston Coalition. The Allston Brighton Partnership for Community Health fosters community health through communication and collaboration, outreach and education. Its mission is to empower the diverse community in Allston Brighton by providing networking for information and referral, opportunity for services, access to services, and resource sharing. Our members represent the breadth and depth of resources, residents, and issues in Allston Brighton -from education, to healthcare, to housing, to libraries, to seniors, families and youth – all under the broad rubric of community health. Together, we share a great deal of knowledge and experience about community needs. As such, we feel strongly positioned to comment on the impact of institutional development on the Allston Brighton community and today we offer our comments on the community benefits associated with Harvard University’s proposed science center. 1. Community-Wide, Independent Neighborhood Needs Assessment As ABPCH defined itself and contemplated its first steps, we recognized that an essential first step is to assess community needs so that we can seek to meet them. We have thus concluded by consensus that our first priority as a group is to implement a neighborhood-wide community needs assessment. The Allston Brighton community has not had a comprehensive assessment since one was conducted by the Allston Brighton Healthy Boston Coalition in 2002. Allston Brighton has continued to evolve and change since that time. Moreover, in order for any entity – residential or institutional -- to know what benefits befit us, it must first fully understand what benefits are needed. For this reason, we hold that the immediate implementation of a comprehensive needs assessment is an astute first step in this first community benefits process. We thus recommend that Harvard University make the funding of an independent neighborhood needs assessment a priority community benefit in association with the proposed science center. The Allston Brighton neighborhood is facing on-going large-scale development at an unprecedented level from Packard’s Corner to Oak Square, from Charles River at Western Ave to Charles River at Market St. and from Cleveland Circle to the Charles River. The impacts of institutional growth reverberate at all levels of the community today, and will continue to do so in perpetuity. As a single community, we hold that our neighborhood’s needs should thus be assessed comprehensively, both in terms of geography and in terms of issues, not limited to North Allston Brighton or to education, as Harvard has proposed.

In addition, we strongly believe that the assessment process should be community-controlled and led by an independent consultant who is not accountable to any institution that is likely to be granting community benefits in the future. We propose the formation of a collaborative neighborhood needs assessment task force or sub-committee whose members include several ABPCH members and one representative each from Harvard University, the City of Boston, and the Harvard Task Force. This committee would delineate the scope of the assessment, define the request for qualifications, and select and oversee the consultant through the delivery of the final product. In our discussions, the Partnership has begun to develop a strategy for funding the needs assessment independently. Members have offered their own resources to begin the process: Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center has committed $5,000; The Allston Brighton Substance Abuse Task Force has offered $1,000; the Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center has proposed to supervise and host the consultant; and other members have agreed that they will contribute what funds and resources they can. We invite Harvard University to be the lead funder in this collaborative process of commitment. Our group has proposed the following framework for a needs assessment: A. Who Are We? Neighborhood demographics: Who is in Allston Brighton, what services do residents use, and what are their connections? This section of the assessment would include, but not be limited to, the following data: Ethnicity, age, economic standing – the census categories Where residents access healthcare How they live: homeowners or renters; costs of housing; levels of homelessness Where their children go: use of childcare resources (0-18) Where their elders go: use of eldercare resources (0-18) Residents’ connections to services, groups, religious congregations and places of work. Levels of education Access to computers B. What’s Out There? Existing Services and benefits: A comprehensive list of existing organizations, their capacity, and how many people they serve from Allston Brighton. C. What Are Our Needs? Assessing the needs of residents, including families specifically, for: i. Education 0-4: daycare and preschool Elementary, middle and high schools After-school and enrichment programs Assistance with and access to post-secondary education (including vocational and certificate programs through graduate programs) Adult education: Adult Basic Education (ABE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Graduate Equivalency Degrees (GED), adult enrichment programs. ii. Healthcare iii. Housing iv. Employment and continuing vocational training v. Access to Services

* Health * Recreation * Jobs * Education * Housing D. Bridging the Gaps. Next Steps and recommendations We have also generated a list of open ended questions that we feel are essential to ask in the assessment to assure that specific issues are explored. These include, but are not limited to: Are there isolated populations? Look at the elderly, linguistically isolated, homeless and those living in poverty. What are the big public health issues? Look at substance abuse and risky behavior, access to culturally competent affordable primary healthcare. What are parents’ greatest needs? What is in the community that you use? What is lacking? How do you find out about those things? Impact of college/university students. Impact of high school students passing through. How to access groups of students - at both high school and university levels, to connect them to the community. How many people who live here send their children to school here? How has institutional growth changed the community? How will it continue to change? Who are those not connected to services/programs? Are the needs different in different parts of the community, geographically, ethnically, racially and economically? The impact of Commonwealth Care, and outreach needed to establish connection to healthcare. We propose that Harvard University contribute to this effort as a primary funder to get the project started and to reach success. We recommend that the needs assessment be funded separately from a community fund, which we endorse as a subsequent community benefit, and funded presently to begin the process. 2. Community Fund We recommend the creation of a community fund that would support projects that meet the needs defined by the assessment. We envision the fund supporting projects community-wide, however a significant portion should be committed to projects that benefit the part of the neighborhood most impacted by Harvard’s expansion, i.e., North Allston/North Brighton (those areas north of the Massachusetts Turnpike). We urge that the fund be administered by a group that is both representative of the community and accountable to the community, such as we have proposed for the implementation of the needs assessment. The creation of a community fund does not preclude Harvard creating or supporting other specific projects or programs. We would certainly encourage the creation of initiatives like the after-school program presented at the August 13 task force meeting.

We further recommend that the amount of community benefits paid into a community fund, both with respect to the Harvard Science Center and subsequent projects, be determined on a percentage basis, with the cash benefits to the community equal to 1% of the total project construction cost, or pegged to the total square footage of each project at the amount of $5 a square foot. This determination will set precedence for future projects which will allow the Allston Brighton community to plan for its future. 3. The Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center We further recommend a community benefit in support of a founding member of the Allston Brighton Partnership for Community Health, the Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center (JMSCHC). The JMSCHC has been providing quality primary healthcare to the Allston Brighton community for 33 years. It is the only community health center in Allston Brighton and the only comprehensive primary care medical provider in North Allston/North Brighton. JMSCHC is vital to the community and serves an essential function in Allston Brighton, assuring the availability of affordable and comprehensive health services to any and all residents and neighbors. The JMSCHC does not have a stable, permanent home, and it currently provides services in leased space owned by Harvard University. We recommend that the JMSCHC be granted a permanent independently-controlled home and that the relocation and construction of this new facility be funded by Harvard University as part of its community benefits agreements. We thank you for this opportunity to comment on the benefits needed by and due to our community. Signed, Members of the Allston Brighton Partnership for Community Health: Nicole Banham, Principal, Boston Community Leadership Academy Bill Burgey, Marketing Manger, Franciscan Hospital for Children Elizabeth A. Breadon, 33 Champney Street, Brighton Jeffrey Bryan, 58 Riverdale St., Allston Christina Clamp, 7 Niles Street, Brighton Sarah Correia-Eck, Treasurer, the Church of St Luke & St Margaret, Allston Cheryl Cumings, 1662 Commonwealth Avenue, Brighton Tamara Daly, RN BSN, 12 Priscilla Rd. Brighton Lloyd David, EdD., Creative Workplace Learning, 311 Washington Street, Brighton Carolyn Diviacchi, 24 Holton St., Allston Randi Freundlich, Director of Community Programs, Family Nurturing Center Sharon Goldstein, Early Childhood Center Director, New England Home for Little Wanderers Julie Handley, 44 Murdock Street, Brighton Barbara A. Jaehn, P.O. Box 468, Allston Reverend Sam Johnson, Community United Methodist Church Ronni Komarow, 21 Hobson St., Brighton Bernadette Moran Lally, 11 Alcott Street, Allston Blanca Lain, 12 Hopedale Street, Allston C. Girvani Leerer, 29 Hopedale Street, Allston, Psychologist, Private Practice, Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry

Simon (Chee) Low, 12 Hopedale Street, Allston Mary A. McCarthy, 33 Champney Street, Brighton Ellen M. McCrave, 58 Cresthill Rd., Brighton Colleen McGuire, 35 Windom Street, Brighton, and Allston Brighton Family Network (a program of Family Nurturing Center) City Councilor At Large Stephen J. Murphy Kathleen P. Phenix, Executive Director, Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center Chrasandra Reeves, MHA, Certif. MCH, Alliance Coordinator, Boston Alliance for Community Health Madelyn Rhenisch, 20A Winship Street, Brighton Patrice Ryan, School Nurse, Boston Community Leadership Academy Karen Smith, 40 Athol Street, Allston Bob Van Meter, Executive Director, Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation