BY STEPHEN BROPHY

Three men sexually assaulted a woman as she walked on Agassiz Road early in the early morning hours of October 25, according to a report in The Boston Globe.
“The woman said she tried to ignore the men [after they stopped her on the sidewalk], but one of them knocked her down, dragged her into a bushy area, and sexually assaulted her,” said James Kenneally, a Police Department spokesman. “The woman said the men fled toward Park Drive after the assault.” The Department has asked that anyone with potential information call the Sexual Assault Unit at (617) 343-4400.

Ironically, with the increased police presence in the Victory Gardens, a police cruiser was likely nearby, but Agassiz Road is not very visible from the gardens.

While apparently an isolated incident, the assault has awakened the concerns of Fenway residents about the safety of that particular stretch of road. Erica Mattison, a board member of the Fenway Civic Association, gave this reporter via email a list of “some … measures for which we [Fenway Civic] have advocated and will continue to do so.” The list includes getting the Parks Department to cut back reeds close to the sidewalk and do more regular maintenance on trees and shrubs to eliminate hiding places; working with various departments of the City to “restore the Duck House and have it occupied;” getting the State’s Department of Conservation and Recreation to install better lighting; and getting the Police Department to increase after-dark patrols on Agassiz Road.

When told that other residents were thinking about asking for a police call box somewhere on the road, Mattison said the association would add that measure to its list. She asserted that “We will be contacting our elected and other officials to ask for their action on these items. We will be encouraging other organizations to do the same.”

Matti Kniva Spencer, a long-time West Fens resident who organized the Peterborough Street Crime Watch several years ago, advocated for concerned residents to “go to meetings. The police hold two community meetings every month…and people should really go to them.”

This month’s meetings will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Morville House, 100 Norway Street, at 6 p.m. (East Fens) and Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the District 4 Police Substation in the Landmark Center at 5 p.m. (West Fens) See “Community Meetings on our calendar page every month for dates and times of future meetings. Spencer’s crime-watch group meets less frequently, and he says that anyone who wants to know when the next one is scheduled should e-mail him at [email protected]

The Fenway Community Development Center is considering a variety of responses, including calling a meeting with City Councilor Mike Ross to advocate for a call box. It has encouraged people to 1) go to the community police meetings and 2) contact their elected officials with their concerns. It says it will also offer support to any other organization or individual who wants to organize a public meeting or workshop on safety issues.