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Dear Friend,
As Thanksgiving approaches, we have many things to be grateful for at Fenway CDC. We have vibrant programs for seniors, families, and residents of all ages; renovations in progress at most of our buildings; and recently launched two initiatives to expand affordable housing and address planning challenges in the Fenway.
See below for reports from 2012 events including the Annual Meeting and the Fenway Ball, and updates on all of our program areas.
Please support the Fenway CDC and all its programs by donating time or money. Click here to donate online or for information on how you can contribute. To join as a member of Fenway CDC, click here. To volunteer, contact Sarah at [email protected] or (617) 267-4637 x19. |
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| SAVE THE DATE! UPCOMING FENWAY CDC EVENTS
Urban Village Committee
Tuesday, November 27, 6-8PM at Fenway CDC – 70 Burbank St.
Get involved in monitoring development in the Fenway and advocating for the kind of neighborhood you want. To RSVP, contact Lilly at [email protected] or 617-267-4637 x16.
Financial Literacy ClassThursday, November 29 from 6:30-7:30PM at FCDC – 70 Burbank St.
American Consumer Credit Counseling on, “Creating action steps for your financial future.” Space is limited so kindly RSVP to Kris Anderson at 617-267-4637 x29 or [email protected]
Special thanks to TDBank for their generous support of this program
Neighborhood Visioning Session
Tuesday, December 4th, 6-8:15PM at Peterborough Senior Center.
We have begun a series of “Neighborhood Visioning Sessions,” in which residents think about topics and goals that can be added to the Urban Village Plan; how we can make the plan have more impact; and how we can bring institutions and other stakeholders into the conversation in a meaningful way. To RSVP, contact Lilly Jacobson at 617-267-4637 x16 or [email protected]. We have also created a neighborhood survey, which you can complete by clicking here.
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A YEAR OF COMMUNITY BUILDING
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| L to R: FCDC member Christine Kleckley, US Senator Elizabeth Warren, and State Rep. Byron Rushing |
For our Annual Meetingon May 11, we were honored to welcome consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren as keynote speaker. After chairing the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and spearheading creation of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Warren was recently elected to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate. Community service awards were awarded to community leaders Tracey Hunt and Matti Kniva Spencer, Senior Center intern Adria McMillan, Boston Cab, and Sheila Dillon, Director of the City’s Department of Neighborhood Development.
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| FCDC Community Planner Lilly Jacobson waltzes with Wally at the Fenway Ball |
Over 230 corporate funders, working partners and members showed their enthusiastic support for the programs of Fenway CDC at the Fenway Ballon June 28th at the historic Fenway Park. Guests enjoyed an evening of merriment, dining, and dancing to the spectacular music performance of the Sweet Tooth and the Sugar Babies, who created the new Boston anthem “So Good (The Boston Song).” We also held the first ever live auction with many generous prizes donated by The Red Sox.
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| FCDC tenant Nancy Familia and neighbors enjoy the arts & crafts at our Block Party |
In September, we held a Block Partywith our management company, HallKeen. Residents in Fenway CDC buildings and CDC volunteers gathered to enjoy food, dancing, and arts and crafts.
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| MASCO VP David Eppstein (L) and FCDC Board President Steve Wolf |
On November 14, we held our Fall Fund Raiser Honoring David Eppstein, Vice President of Operations at MASCO. David was toasted — and occasionally roasted — by family, friends, and colleagues, all of whom lauded his ability to build bridges between institutions and the community. David in turn praised the Fenway CDC for our work in “building community, developing programs, and advocating so effectively for people.”
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HOUSING
 Want to buy a house or condo
but think you can’t afford it?
Think again!
There are many options to learn about resources for buying affordable homes and condos:
- Check the bulletin board outside the FCDC office. We post flyers for for affordable homeownership opportunities.
- Check the CHAPA website. They list affordable homes all over the state.
- The Boston Redevelopment Authority maintains a list of available affordable units in Boston.
- Check out MBHP’s Homes for Good site.
- The City of Boston’s Home Center is a great source of information about homes, homebuyer education and low interest loans.
- MAHA provides affordable mortgage options for eligible buyers
For more information about FCDC’s Housing Program, please contact Lisa Soli at [email protected] or (617) 267-4637 x23.
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PETERBOROUGH SENIOR CENTER
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| PSC volunteer Richard Dunshee and Wingate Site Manager Delilah Callahan prepare the burgers for the Peterborough Senior Center’s summer BBQ |
It has been a busy summer and fall at the Senior Center. Over the past six months, seniors have enjoyed a Japanese Tea Ceremony, conversational English classes, trips to the MFA, and the annual outing to Salem.
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| PSC Breakfast Club chef Matti Kniva Spencer with PSC Watercolor Teacher Zebiao (Bill) Fu |
Two popular programs are a Hitchcock film series offered by Stephen Brophy and the Breakfast Club organized by Matti Kniva Spencer. On Monday November 12, Maria Rodriguez joined Matti to offer a special breakfast honoring the Fenway’s veterans.
Our Halloween party this October brought out the playful, creative side of
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| PSC regular Jana Peretz tells a spooky story for Halloween |
our seniors. The Center was full of music, shrieks, laughter, dancing, drumming, sound effects, flashing lights and tales of the “unknown” that would make your heart shiver and shake. Seniors showed their wild and creative nature to the delight of everyone present.
A million, heartfelt thanks are sent to our friends and funders, The Baseball Tavern, MASCO, Wingate Property Management, the City of Boston, Boston Cab/EJT Management, Samuels & Associates, and the many, many local merchants, volunteers and friends of Center that have contributed time, effort, energy and resources to making the PSC the “home away from home” for our seniors.
The Peterborough Senior Center is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 9:30AM to 2PM, and on Mondays for special events.
For more information, please contact the Interim Director Carol Paige Rodrigue at 617-536-7154 or [email protected].
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| WALK TO WORK AND RESIDENT SERVICES
Walk to Work/Resident Services has been recommended for $25,000 of funding under the CDBG for 2013. We are especially thankful for this support in a time of tight state budgets. Special thanks also to The Mayor’s Office of Jobs and Community Service for their support.
The Walk to Work program continues to ensure moderate and low-income residents and families can:
- secure local, well-paying jobs that increase their standards of living;
- develop increased self-sufficiency and reduce their need for government assistance;
- establish and maintain strong relationships within the community;
- raise families in the city without fear of displacement;
- begin to move out of poverty.
In recent years, Walk to Work participants have asked for additional assistance with housing. In response, we established Fenway Resident Services, which helps residents negotiate with property managers and landlords and connect with mental health services to address challenges that may contribute to displacement and eviction.
 ABCD SNAP (South End Neighborhood Program)
We are partnering with ABCD South End Neighborhood Service Center to connect families and other qualifying residents with the following services:
- application assistance for Food Stamps, Mass Health & other benefits;
- winter coats and holiday baskets and toys;
- food pantry access;
- computer classes; and
- EITC and tax preparation
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| Family Coalition & Walk to Work Member Yolanda Tirado (L) meets with Yusuf Ali, Case Manager for ABCD’s South End Neighborhood Service Center |
Appointments are available at FCDC on Thu, Nov 29, from 3PM – 6:30PM
For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Kris at 617-267-4637 x29 or [email protected].
One Family Scholars Program
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| Jeremy Loubeau, 5, all ready for trick or treating at local Fenway businesses |
One of the major achievements this quarter has been FCDC’s partnership with the One Family Scholars program. Two Walk to Work/Resident Services applicants are currently enrolled in this program, which is a comprehensive college scholarship that provides three years of support for those pursuing an Associate’s Degree and five years of support for a Bachelor’s Degree. As a community partner, we are responsible for supporting and encouraging these One Family Scholars with case management, workforce development, mentorship, and access to subsidized housing, child care and other resources.
One of our Scholars is expected to graduate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences with a Bachelors of Science in Dental Hygiene. The second Scholar is finishing her degree at UMass Boston, where she is currently taking nine credits and will graduate with a Bachelors of Arts. She would like to continue her education at the Master’s Program at New England School of Acupuncture.
Fenway Family Coalition
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| Kaleb Hughes, 11, dressed in his Halloween best to go trick or treating at local Fenway businesses |
Halloween Trick or Treat
On October 31st, the Fenway Family Coalition once again organized a Halloween Trick or Treat. Coalition members Tracey Hunt and Nilda Hughes canvassed the East & West Fenway and enrolled over 60 businesses to hand out candy to costumed kids and their parents. This year’s Trick or Treat was a great success, with many businesses reporting that they ran out of candy after two hours.
Tracey will be retiring from Halloween planning activities to pursue her career in human services, so we are looking for volunteers to help coordinate this wonderful event next year!
Children’s Hospital Boston Community Partnerships Fund (CPF)
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| FFC Weight Watchers participant Jennie Negash weighs in while instructor Tanya Crews looks on |
With generous support from the Children’s Hospital CPF and Weight Watchers Boston Urban Community Territory, the FCDC is hosting a 17-week weight-loss program. We recruited and enrolled 15 Fenway Family Coalition members with a minimum Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 who are suffering from weight related health problems and with at least one child living at home. The objective is to educate and empower residents to develop healthier lifestyles while achieving a lower BMI and reducing weight-related medical conditions.
For more information on Walk to Work, Resident Services, or the Fenway Family Coalition, contact Kris Anderson at 617-237-4637 x29 or [email protected]
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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT (ORGANIZING & PLANNING)
We Saved Fenway Park…Now Can We Save the Fenway?
The Fenway CDC recently launched a Grassroots Community Planning Initiative to expand and re-
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| East Fens residents participate in Planning Visioning Session on November 7 |
envision our Urban Village Plan. The Urban Village Plan is a long-range, resident-initiated vision for the Fenway neighborhood. The document emerged in 2000 as a proactive community response to the Red Sox proposal to expand Fenway Park (the community was able to prevent the expansion). The plan has guided much of the FCDC’s work since then and is regularly referenced by developers and city officials.
There are many issues affecting the Fenway today that remain unaddressed in the current Urban Village Plan, such as institutional expansion, disability access, and a recent (and persistent) loss of affordable housing. The Grassroots Community Planning Initiative is a community-led process to address these issues and build community power to make the plan more effective and actionable.
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| FCDC Community Planner Lilly Jacobson points out something of interest to East Fens resident Catherine Horsley |
This fall, we have begun a series of “Neighborhood Visioning Sessions,” in which residents think about topics and goals that can be added to the Urban Village Plan; how we can make the plan have more impact with developers; and how we can bring institutions and other stakeholders into the conversation in a meaningful way.
Our next session will be Tuesday December 4th from 6-8:15pm at the Peterborough Senior Center in the West Fens. We will have additional sessions in the new year.
We have also created a neighborhood survey, available both in a paper version and online. Please feel free to take the survey here.
Once we compile responses from the visioning sessions and surveys, we will hold larger neighborhood meetings to discuss action steps. We are excited to create a vision for the neighborhood and build community power to realize that vision!
If you would like to obtain a paper survey, or would like to RSVP to a visioning session, please contact Lilly Jacobson at [email protected] or 617-267-4637 x16.
Equitable Inclusionary Housing Initiative
With generous support from the Hyams Foundation, we have continued to work on the Equitable Inclusionary Housing Initiative. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to work with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), Mayor Menino, and other stakeholders to improve the city’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) so that the Fenway and all neighborhoods of Boston can maintain better affordability.
This initiative has two components: a “Fenway-Specific” component, in which we find ways to preserve existing units and to build new affordable units in our neighborhood, and a “City-Wide” component, in which we advocate for broader policy changes to make Inclusionary Housing more equitable throughout Boston.
To move this effort forward, we have held five community meetings this summer and fall. At these meetings and through other activities, community members and staff have:
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| FCDC member Jarrett Lau (L) and Founding FCDC Director Mat Thall at an inclusionary housing meeting |
- discussed research on changing demographics in the neighborhood, Inclusionary Housing policies in other cities, and fair housing (ensuring equitable access to people of color & other protected groups);
- set priorities and action steps;
- participated in an advocacy role play;
- expanded partnerships with community groups including Chinese Progressive Association and the Boston Tenants Coalition; and
- collaborated the Massachusetts Association of CDCs to hold initial discussions with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
FCDC’s community planning, organizing, and civic engagement work is generously supported by grants from the City of Boston DND-CHDO, the Hyams Foundation, Citizens Bank Foundation, and MASCO.
For more information about FCDC’s Civic Engagement initiatives, contact Sarah at 617-267-4637 x19 or [email protected]
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UPCOMING NEIGHBORHOOD OPPORTUNITIES
Apply for Fuel Assistance with Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), commonly referred to as fuel assistance, is a government program to help low-income families and individuals pay their heating bills during the winter.
Most low-income households are eligible for fuel assistance, and the qualifications are listed below:
- You may be a citizen or noncitizen;
- You may be a homeowner or a renter;
- You may pay for your own heat, or it can be included in your rent;
- You may use any type of heating fuel (gas, oil, electricity, propane);
- Gross household income must be within the income limits.
NEC PREP Presents “A Gift to the City of Boston”
Free concert! Tue, Nov 27 8PM, NEC’s Jordan Hall, 290 Huntington Ave.
You are invited to attend a new free concert dedicated to Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the community, in gratitude for their support of NEC’s Campus Redevelopment Plan. David Loebel, NEC Associate Director of Orchestras, will conduct the acclaimed NEC PREP Youth Philharmonic Orchestra as it plays the music of Bernstein, Elgar and Tchaikovsky.
SMFA Annual Museum School Art Sale
Thousands of works by SMFA students, alumni, faculty and affiliated artists will be on display and sold to benefit student scholarships. This is the perfect opportunity to find a unique piece of art and to support the SMFA’s largest fundraising effort. The Museum School Art Sale will be held on:
- Thu, Nov 29 to Sat, Dec 1 from 10AM to 8PM;
- Sun, Dec 2 from 10AM to 5PM.
PLANNING EVENTS
MassDOT Presents, “Your Vision, Our Future: A Transportation Conversation”
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will hold a series of statewide discussions this fall to engage the public in a conversation about the transportation system they want and what we need to do to achieve that vision. A meeting near the Fenway will be held:
Thu, Nov 29 from 6-8 PM at the Massachusetts Transportation Building in Conference Rooms 1,2,3 at 10 Park Plaza, Boston.
If you are unable to attend but wish to submit comments, you may do so by sending an email to: [email protected]
Public Planning Meetings
Remember to regularly check out the Boston Redevelopment Authority calendar for a current schedule of public planning meetings. |
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