Zoorassic Park a new Franklin Park exhibit will open on May 26. The exhibit is an animatronic dinosaur display that will transport visitors back to prehistoric times

The advisory committee considered propositions at the 11 North Square Mariners House meeting on May 1st.

Many North End residents, Bostonians, and visitor alike pass by the triangular segment of land sandwiched in-between Blackstone Street and the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway, known as Parcel 9. The vacated triangle, owned by Massachusetts department of Transportation (MassDOT) is highly coveted real estate. Developers contesting for the petite 43,139 square foot parcel -just under an acre- each have a single vision for the downtown hub.

An exceptionally open presentation process was conducted for the four development groups, one of which MassDOT will decide to allocate the space. The course included in depth collaboration with an advisory committee made up of representatives from groups such as Haymarket, neighborhood councils, and area businesses.

Very specific parameters were put into place for the building, including the necessity of community outreach, a 55 foot height restriction, and most importantly the preservation of Haymarket. “Haymarket is important to us, at the same time we do not want the parcel just sitting there vacant,” says MassDOT developer Drew Leff. The four proposals: Boston Museum, Blackstone Market, Haymarket Square Hotel, and Market Square, were discussed at two recent public advisory meetings.

The first proposition offers the opportunity of, “finding America’s History in the Heart of Boston,” through a historical museum featuring, people, growth, sports, politics and innovations of Boston, which would act as a compliment the nearby freedom trail. The big dig did a remarkable job of transforming the region, “but there was a larger vision of public amenities that has failed to come to be,” said Frank Keefe, CEO of the Boston Museum project at the April 25th meeting. Keefe believes the history center is a necessary civic addition to Boston, and would be a pleasing visual and educational addition to the market district.

Blackstone Market, a joint venture by DeNormandie Companies and Cresset Group, is also vying for the local. Philip DeNormandie hopes their vision will complete the regional niche as, “the only area in Boston that is a market district.” DeNormandie says the Blackstone developments would compliment the area by relating each of its three unique elements- Haymarket, the Boston Public Market, and their design. The development would include apartments occupying a third of the building, restaurants, and a visual open rooftop greenhouse with year-long produce.

The third group, who spoke on the May 1st meeting, proposes a hotel along with markets, restaurants, community spaces, and a public garden. “I look at this as a not just a freedom trail but a food trail,” says Robert Brown, head architect for the Haymarket Square Hotel, which is intended to be diverse community gathering space.

The hotel will be a necessary addition to the region, says Justin Krebs of Normandy real Estate Partners, one group collaborating on the project. Krebs emphasizes that there is a necessity for moderately priced accommodations in the area. It will also, “create an environment with a 24/7 staffed area overlooking the greenway,” said Krebs, which would supply a higher measure of safety in the region.

“Compliment, compliment, compliment,” says Bud Upton of Upton + Partners, “We don’t need to create a market – the market is already there.” The forth project, Market Square, intends to work closely with Boston Public Market, parcel 7, to create a unique operation as a part of a greater hub of interconnectivity between the regions of Boston and the district. The Upton project includes residential space and specialty food distributors to create a theme of authenticity, diversity, and character. The group also promises a, “detailed budget of $2.4 million for public improvement,” says Upton.

“There will definitely be some cooperation component between us and whoever the designee is on parcel 9,” says Yanni Tsipis, of the Boston Public Market Association. Creating a greater market district was a specification for any bid to achieve designation of the space. Following a three-year process to allocate the parcel, both the committee and MassDOT members agree each proposal worked well to supersede expectations on cooperate with Haymarket and the community.

The selected design will hopefully be announced sometime in the summer, says MassDOT Municipal Affairs Liaison, John Romano. MassDOT must consider the advisory committee’s pro and con list for each bid. Members of the public are also welcome to voice their opinions on the proposals by contacting MassDOT at: MassDot.RE@dot.state.ma

Last week’s often contentious North End Waterfront Residents’ Association meeting devolved from something supposed to be mirroring a fair and organized forum into something unfair, disorganized and so blatantly personalized by some of the parties present there, that NEWRA officials would do well to take a much closer look at itself and where it is headed.

Far more important would be for NEWRA officials to reassert its image as a neighborhood forum where everyone before it is treated fairly and with a semblance of constitutional order.

Recent NEWRA meetings have been pre-empted by complaints from NEWRA officials that reporters and photographers are not allowed to cover the meeting as though it was an open meeting.

Such assertions made from meeting to meeting by NEWRA officials are odious. In fact, the NEWRA meetings held openly in the clear light of day or in the evening are all open public meetings where residents are free to come and free to speak after being recognized.

Residents rising to point fingers and castigate those they don’t care for can’t do that and then demand not to be photographed or quoted in local publications.

Residents, also, should not be allowed to disrupt these public meetings with highly personal attacks on others in attendance or before NEWRA as part of an approval process relating to licensing or whatever it is.

NEWRA decisions must be made on merit or the lack of it – not because of whether or not an applicant is popular or not.

At the last meeting, members of a North End family ranted and raged at a well- known local businessman, insulting him and castigating him in the public forum. Their comments were baseless. It turns out they were complaining about the wrong party!

So family members went over to the aggrieved party and apologized but the damage was already done in the public forum where many looked on dumbfounded.

A second well known North End businessman who has applied for an application was roundly denounced in a highly personalized and unfair public forum and in the end, NEWRA voted against the substantial business owner in favor of others – and it really didn’t matter who it was as long as it wasn’t the successful businessman who is generous to this neighborhood and a friend of this neighborhood-even though he is a businessman here.

NEWRA needs to stop slipping and sliding into irrelevancy by serving as the voice of angry, discontented residents who don’t care much about merit and tend to make everything personal.

The North End is not falling apart.

It remains the city’s safest place to live and one of the best.

It is NEWRA that appears to be falling apart.

Francesco Mammoli

Of Norwood, formerly of the North End

Francesco A. Mammoli of Norwood, formerly of the North End of Boston, died on May 3. He was 56 years old.

The cherished son of the late Michele and Caterina (Zmak) Mammoli, he leaves his brothers John and Lawrence Mammoli, and his sister Luisa (Mammoli) Bossolo. He was the brother of the late Carla Mammoli-Froilan.

Funeral arrangements were by the Boston Harborside Home. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, MA. Please visit www.bostonharborsidehome.com to leave condolences.

North End/Waterfront residents have been calling for the creation of a Neighborhood Watch Program at several Boston Police/North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council Public Safety meetings.

On many other occasions the called for a Neighborhood Watch Program has been expressed over and over again.

In the past several attempts to form what was then called a “Crime Watch” were attempted by never really got off the ground.

It now appears that still another attempt will be made to form this type of group in the neighborhood.

Under the direction of Carolyn MacNeil, Director of Neighborhood Watch Program for the Boston Police Department, Dave Marx of NEWNC and resident Brian Brandt, the community could have a Neighborhood Watch Program in the near future.

A community meeting to discuss the possibility of a Watch Group will be held in conjunction with the next NEWNC/Boston Police Public Safety monthly meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 7 at 6:30pm in the Nazzaro Community Center, 30 North Bennet Street.

Anyone planning to attend the Neighborhood Watch Kickoff meeting should arrive by 7pm.

Meeting agenda as follows:

Carolyn MacNeil, Director: Carolyn will distribute Neighborhood Watch materials; discuss orientation and training; and clearly state the authority level of volunteers, to include policy and procedure.

Brian Brandt, Program Co-Coordinator: Brian will discuss ideas for the Neighborhood Watch program learned through researching other programs. He will also seek volunteers for the “Feet on the Street” initiative, which is a team of mover-lifter volunteers who help incoming residents around key move-in dates, in an attempt to orient them to quality of life issues.

Q&A: Attendees will have a chance to question or comment on the potions of the above speakers. Brian Brandt will provide a composite of any comments, questions or concerns about the program that reach him before the kickoff.

David Marx, Program Co-Coordinator: David will announce that Neighborhood Watch updates will occur at each public safety meeting and get as close to consensus as possible for a regular monthly in-working meeting. The Neighborhood Watch Program will hold monthly in-working meetings. These meetings will be strictly amongst volunteers registered with Carolyn MacNeil’s office.

Comments in advance of the Kickoff should be sent to my email bb02113@msn.com.. Please keep comments brief and relevant. Volunteers who wish to be a part of the Neighborhood Watch but are unable to attend the kickoff may email me their full name, phone number and email. All volunteers must be registered in advance of attending any in-working meetings.

State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Senator Anthony Petruccelli and Boston City Councilor Sal LaMattina have clearly indicated they support a Neighborhood Watch and have offered their services to help make the neighborhood endeavor a reality.

Last week’s North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) monthly meeting began with discussions on Hanover Street congestion. Both vehicle and pedestrian traffic problems were presented by NEWRA members and other residents in attendance.

Many residents liked the idea of designation areas for truck deliveries and valet parking. They also thought having delivery trucks dropping off their cargo before 12 noon was a great idea as well.

North End Chamber of Commerce President Frank DePasquale has sent letters to Chamber members requesting that deliveries should be completed by 12 noon.

Residents expressed their opposition to new restaurants and liquor license.

Marie Monteromano said “When is enough..enough?”

Anne Pistorio complained “There are about four hundred liquor license in the North End and adjacent area.”

Mary Magee told residents that the licensing committee chairperson has publicly stated she doesn’t agree on limited licenses.

Many other residents didn’t have a problem with new restaurants with beer and wine licenses and supported the three requests for them on the NEWRA agenda.

Nick Varano’s request for zoning relief to change the legal occupancy at 371-373 Hanover Street (formerly Casa di Stile) from retail store to a restaurant (Cafe Strega) with take-out and new or purchase beer, wine and cordial license was opposed by the association by a vote of 13 to 20.

The proposed restaurant will have 10 seats and a capacity of 19, serving pizza, hot and cold appetizers and cafe food and beverages. The proposed hours of operation are 7am to 11pm 7 days a week.

NEWRA by a vote of 12-21 also opposed a request by Frank DePasquale for a new malt and wine license with liqueurs to be used at Il Panino Express, 266 Hanover Street, no change of hours of operation.

On the other hand, NEWRA by a 18-15 vote supported a request by Jennifer Pittore for a zoning relief to change the legal occupancy of the first floor at 350-352 Hanover Street (formerly Hanover News) to a restaurant with take-out and a beer, wine and liqueurs license.

The restaurant “Locale” will have 18 seats and will serve gourmet pizzas and hot and cold appetizers. Proposed hours of operation Sunday-Thursday 11pm closure, Friday and Saturday 12 midnight closure.

One resident claimed there is no consistency in these restaurants and liquor license requests. NEWRA apparently doesn’t have a standard policy.

Stephen Passacantilli told residents that the City Council is looking into amending the City’s loud noise ordinance.

He and Nicole Leo of the Mayor’s Office were singled out by NEWRA for their outstanding work they did on behalf of the recent community celebration of the Prado, The Paul Revere Statue and the 150th Birthday of its sculpture Cyrus Dallin.

Boston Shines was also thanked for the great job they did cleaning up the neighborhood.

The next NEWRA monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, June 7 at 7pm in the Nazzaro Community Center.

While only six residents filed nomination papers for six available seats on the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council, NEWNC annual election will take place even though all six candidates will be victorious securing a two-year term on the Council.

NEWNC decided to hold the election because of the possibility of write-in candidate votes.

The community elected body acts as an advisory board to the City of Boston.

The group usually meets on the second Monday of the month at 7pm in the Nazzaro Community Center, 30 North Bennet Street.

The 2012 election candidates are: Allan Danley, Toni Gilardi, Ryan Kenny, John Pregman, Marie Simboli and Anne Devlin Tagliaferro.

The election will be held on Saturday, May 19 from 9am-2pm in the Nazzaro Community Center. Ballots will be counted immediately following the election.

Incumbent Council members with one-year terms remaining are: Philip Frattaroli, Bill Lane, David Marx, Jorge Mendoza, Stephen Passacantilli and Jonathan Sproul.

Shown above is a photograph with Photoshopped sidewalk extensions placed on the Hanover Street footprint courtesy of the Boston Herald. Sidewalk extensions could be a tremendous plus to the ambiance of Hanover Street.

The newest idea city planners and civil engineers have suggested for Hanover Street are seasonal sidewalks – that is – sidewalks that extend to the extent that parked cars are removed from the equation on Hanover Street during the spring summer and early fall.

Extended sidewalks allow for dining on sidewalks, one of the added plusses that would literally and physically transform the public face of Hanover Street from congested artery to resident and tourist mecca where pedestrians achieve final victory over automobiles, traffic and bad air.

Also, truck deliveries could be better monitored and given specific delivery times.

Why do some of us believe the extended sidewalks would be a great success?

Because some of us see a Hanover Street without automobiles parked on both sides of it as a better place.

North End Representative Aaron Michlewitz told me the discussion about Hanover Street needs to continue.

He isn’t sure extended sidewalks would solve anything.

Also, some North End businesspeople derided the idea of having truck parking for deliveries contained to an area of Hanover Street far away from where the deliveries actually must be made.

Obviously, this is problematic.

The extended sidewalks idea has some traction because the trend moving forward here is for larger and larger crowds of tourists and patrons for restaurants and shoppers for small stores.

As those crowds grow, so, too, does automobile traffic.

At some point, as I have written repeatedly before, the traffic will simply stop flowing at some point.

Everything will simply freeze into a suspended animation gridlock where nothing moves.

Hanover Street is close to this point right now.

With the summer months of peak traffic and tourism now revving up, the extended sidewalk idea ought to be tried out for a day or two just to see what happens.

How could it hurt?

What could it ruin?

The only thing Hanover Street residents and businesspeople have to fear is fear itself.

To do nothing in the face of the growing crowds coming here is folly.

To dismiss possible solutions is more folly.

Nothing remains the same forever. Hanover Street is a changed place. It needs a redesign to manage the future. Without it, the future looks uncertain and problems are going to expand.

The automobile should be made history on Hanover Street.

It will be a better place without cars.

MassDOT will be accepting public comment on the four proposals received for the development of Parcel 9 in the North End.

The 30-day public comment period runs through June 3.

Parcel 9 is located between the John Fitzgerald Surface Road and Blackstone Market near the Haymarket Pushcart vendors area.

Four proposals have been received in response to an RFP released by MassDOT earlier this year.

Proponents have made presentations on several occasions at public meetings held in the North End at the Nazzaro Community Center and the Mariners House (April 25 & May 1).

Members of the public can submit their comments on each of the proposals by email at MassDot.RE@dot.state.ma or by U.S. Mail at MassDOT, RE Parcel 9, OREAD, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 4170, Boston, MA 02116.

All four proposals and the presentations made at the public meetings can be viewed at the MassDOT Real EstateWebsitewww.massdot.state.ma.us/informationCenter/RealEstateAssetDevelopment.aspx. For more information contact MassDOT Municipal Liaison John Romano at 617-973-7028.

Last week’s North End Public Safety meeting with Boston Police wasn’t as hostile as the month before.

It was probably a 2.2 on the richter scale but it did pose some challenges regarding noise, noise and more noise.

There was also talk of creating a Neighborhood Watch, which has been attempted several times in the past. The idea didn’t last long and on some occasions it never got off the ground.

Carolyne Mac Neil the Director of Neighborhood Watch Unit explained how to establish and how a Neighborhood Watch Unit works. She offered to help set-up meetings with small groups to discuss the possibility of having units set-up throughout the neighborhood. She handed out business cards and encouraged residents to contact her.

Janet Gilardi expressed her frustration about the “community not being what it used to be” and that “late night, early morning noise from people exiting bars, lounges and restaurants, was getting unbearable.” In addition she said, “We also have to deal with loud apartment and roof-top parties.”

Gilardi noted that “these people are doing damage to vehicles, destroying planters, using the neighborhood as a toilet and vomiting everywhere.”

Apparently the situation not only deals with non-residents but local students and young professionals living in the area.

Donna Freni, President of the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) said, “I am pleased that so many residents attended NEWNC’s Public Safety meeting at the Nazzaro Center last night and hope that North End residents will continue to attend these meetings and remain engaged. The issue of excessive noise and vandalism in the neighborhood is a very serious public safety as well as a quality of life issue. It is clear that residents are seeking aggressive enforcement of “disturbing the peace” violations. Several ongoing coordinated initiatives are in place to address the very troublesome issues impacting the quality of life in the North End. Cooperation between residents, police, city and college officials will certainly go a long way to achieving the much needed positive results.”

Richard Grealish a liaison for Suffolk University told residents that the “school has been hiring paid Boston Police details to help deal with loud parties.” Grealish personally rides with the police every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings to respond to loud parties and if they involve Suffolk students action is taken by the University in several ways including suspensions and possibly being removed from the school.

Area A-1 Boston Police Commanding Officer Captain Thomas Lee advised residents that each weekend additional patrols are assigned to the neighborhood to deal with any and all issues that may occur and traffic control.

While many residents registered some complaints and suggestions, they basically told police they were doing a good job.

The Captain reminded residents that the North End is the safest community in the City of Boston.

Boston City Councilor Sal LaMattina favored the formation of a Neighborhood Watch and advised residents of the many things his office has done to help resolve the loud noise problem.

“We need to work with police, the business community, landlords, Suffolk University and Neighborhood Watch to make some of these problems disappear,” LaMattina said.

Steven Passacantilli said, “The loud noise problems and the negative respect for the neighborhood needs to be addressed as soon as possible.” He noted that Councilor LaMattina is spearheading a bill to either amend or change the City of Boston noise ordinance.

Each year the North End is bombarded with tourists, Faneuil Hall customers, TD Garden customers, feast visitors and traffic from local businesses especially on weekends and holidays.

One resident who wished not to be identified told the Review, “Our parks and playgrounds have become the stomping grounds for drug users and sellers.” The resident referred to Cutillo Park as “Needle Park”.

Captain Lee said, “I’ve met with the Mayor and he is aware of this situation and does care about resolving these problems.”

Representative Aaron Michlewitz and Senator Anthony Petruccelli could not attend the public safety meeting but told the Review that they fully support cracking down on the area’s noise and disruption created by late night incidents.

In a published report by Boston Police over the past 30 days crime in all categories was down across the board.

The next Public Safety meeting will be held on Thursday, June 7 at 7pm in the Nazzaro Community Center.