Greetings everyone,
Tomorrow (Monday, May 28) is Memorial Day, when we remember the ultimate sacrifice of our country’s veterans. While that solemn purpose often gets lost in the “long holiday weekend,” we encourage everyone to take time to remember. Brookline has a full Memorial Day Program which convenes at the American Legion Post at 386 Washington Street with a bus departing at 8:30 for the programs at Walnut Hills Cemetery (on Grove Street), the Brookline Revolutionary Cemetery (on Walnut Street) and returning for a final ceremony at Town Hall (333 Washington St.) at 11:00 AM.
Town Meeting Update: Back to Town business, Brookline’s Spring Town Meeting began last week, in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, and continues this Wednesday, May 31 at 7:00 PM (and then nightly as long as needed on June 1, 6, 7, and 8). It usually lasts until 10:00 or 10:30 PM; everyone is welcome to attend in person at the Brookline High School Auditorium at 115 Greenough Street, or watch live at the Brookline Interactive Group. You can also see recordings of the first two nights (as well as last years’ meetings) here. For this TM, Brookline for Everyone identified six articles related to housing, zoning, and land use, plus the budget line that fully funds the voter approved Pierce School project, for a total of seven recommendations, which you can find here. So far our record is 3 for 3, with approvals on the first two nights of the Pierce debt exclusion, as well as Article 8 (Community Preservation Program Budget) and Article 14 (Amendment to the Inclusionary Zoning By-Law).
This Week’s Action Items:
- Ongoing Planning for the MBTA Communities Act — Harvard Street Corridor. There is a lot of activity this week around planning for the Harvard Street Corridor, including Community Workshops (via Zoom) on Tuesday, May 30 at 12:00 noon (covering School Street to Babcock Street; register here) and Wednesday, May 31 at 12:00 noon (covering Station Street to School Street; register here). You may also want to mark your calendar for an additional workshop on Friday, June 9 at 12:00 noon (covering Babcock Street to Verndale Street; register here). Whether or not you are able to attend, we urge you to complete this survey to provide important feedback to the Planning Department and their consultant. More information about these plans and other upcoming community meetings and deadlines in June and July is available on the Town’s dedicated project website for MBTA Communities Act Compliance. Of course, we will continue to actively cover the process in this newsletter.
- The Community Preservation Committee (CPC), which just last week had their preliminary budget approved by Town Meeting, is collecting community input via a short survey to inform how they prioritize funding among housing, historic preservation, and open space/recreation projects, and will also be holding an in-person “Community Charrette” next Monday, June 5, at 6:30-8:00 pm. The results of the survey and the charrette (a fancy word for a “participatory planning meeting”) will help direct millions of dollars in Town CPA funds, and we have the chance now to tell the committee that affordable housing and disability accessibility should be top priorities. Please complete the survey here and attend the Community Charette if you are able.
Finally, our Recommended Reading for the Week: Last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine had this gem: Lessons from a Renters’ Utopia (It Might Look Like Vienna). By contrasting Vienna’s hugely successful social housing programs with US policy and its history, the article sheds a lot of light on what’s wrong here. We have a long road to getting it right, but we surely won’t get there unless we start. There’s an audio version as well. If it’s behind a paywall for you, try this link instead.
Enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend,
Jonathan Klein,
for Brookline for Everyone