A Boston University student was shot to death in Allston in the early morning hours, according to news reports and the BU website. Police responded to the call at 139 Allston Street, near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue, at 2:39 AM.
April 18, 2012
Fire hits Glenville Ave.
An Allston laundromat went up in flames around 3:30 this morning.
The business was in a commercial block along Glenville Avenue. (above photo via Boston Fire Department)
April 12, 2012
Arraigned, expelled, evicted
The students from the Ashford Street fraternity are getting hit from all sides. The Alpha Epsilon Pi bro’s are scheduled to appear in Brighton District Court on May 7 for the hazing. Their landlord wants to evict them. And BU says it will expel them. The national fraternity has suspended the chapter. Of course, innocent until proven guilty, they will get their day before local judges and university officials. Yeah, right. Say goodbye to Allston, boys.
April 9, 2012
Duct tape & condiments
Our local police rescued a bunch of BU fraternity pledges, and now have some fun stories to tell, after discovering five students wearing only their underwear and hot sauce, fish sauce, sardine cans and other accessories.
Makes you wish Dr. Silber were still around, just to hear him rant about the decline of Western Civilization and future BU donors. (h/t Adam at Universal Hub)
April 5, 2012
Acronyms battle, jobs at stake
Wow. Action for Boston Community Development has whacked the funding of longtime – we’re talking at least three decades here – Allston Brighton APAC director Paul Creighton. APAC is the acronym for the Area Planning Action Council, located on Harvard Avenue. Paul has run for Allston Brighton district city council three times. The whole thing has ended up in court. The APAC, meaning Mr. Creighton, has always managed to survive below the radar, enduring changes in US presidents, Boston mayors and sundry local elected officials. So who did he piss off?
March 29, 2012
We love our landlord
The owner of Stone Hearth Pizza, which opened on Western Avenue last November, really likes his landlord, Harvard University. Meanwhile, some Allston residents aren’t happy with the university’s refusal to provide any plans at all for the Charlesview Apartments site it owns. The buildings will be cleared once residents can move into the relocated, and expanded, complex under construction by the Western Ave. Star Market/Shaws. What residents would like to see is an arts and cultural center, originally proposed in 2007, but Harvard is being cagey about that, too.
March 29, 2012
Punk ball
The scene at Ringer Park last Sunday. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the image to get a sense what was happening. Is this related to Calvin Ball?
March 20, 2012
Keep it green
The Boston Tree Party was out at Ringer Park recently, promoting the initiatives of their local ally, the Ringer Park Partnership Group.
March 11, 2012
Another Allston weekend on Twitter
@michaelvanburen: Am I the only person who washes their hands (even rinses) their hands in the men’s bathroom at the model cafe in Allston?
Yes.
@zbilsob: I love basement shows. #allston
@hampshire matt: love walking past asian restaurants in Allston seeing 50 Asians in them and 1 hipster eating by himself. #atleasthewasthereb4itwascool
March 8, 2012
Who are you wearing?
The annual “Rock the Village” fashion and music mash-up will be held tonight at the Brighton Music Hall on Brighton Avenue. Doors open at 8 PM, models hit the catwalk at 11PM, and your $12 ticket benefits the Allston Village Main Streets program. Expect a mix of what you can see along Harvard Avenue and hear in basements across South Allston.
March 1, 2012
Stadium seating
New Balance has big plans for its property along Guest Street, adjacent to the Massachusetts Turnpike. A track and field facility and a hockey arena are part of the project, along with other fitness-related activities and a hotel. On the other side of the Pike, the Skating Club of Boston intends to relocate to a new, three-rink complex on Lincoln Street, one of them a two thousand seat performance venue. Boston University is adding a playing field on Gardner Street, Allston that will have room for one thousand spectators.
So how is everyone going to get there? The New Balance/Skating Club area is poorly served by public transit, essentially buses that get stuck in the stop and go traffic along Western Avenue. There will soon be 242 new apartments next to the Shaw’s. BU’s playing field in a bit farther away, but will still add to traffic. Harvard Stadium is right around the corner, and you have to throw BC’s football field into the mix.
We need a commuter rail station. The MBTA does not want to talk about this. At all. Understandably, given they are are having major budget problems. But the neighborhood needs to bring this up, again and again. Demand they start studying it. Where will a station be built, how it will connect to buses, will it have parking. These proposals represent major economic growth that should be debated, encouraged, and supported. But not unless there is a comprehensive approach.
Since the Turnpike was built, public transit in Allston Brighton has deteriorated. We lost the three rail stations (Allston, Brighton and Faneuil) to accommodate suburban commuters on the highway, then lost our last direct connection to downtown, the A-line trolley. The state is going to get a lot of revenue from this development. Some of it needs be used to build a better transit system, here.
February 28, 2012
Bang bang
Boston police arrested a man around 8:30 Sunday morning on Harvard Avenue for assault by means of a dangerous weapon after receiving reports from two witnesses that he had a handgun, and had aimed it at taxis. The weapon turned out to be a large BB handgun. I didn’t know that they existed.
February 28, 2012
Those mystery zoning hearings
The most interesting one is for 154-162A Brighton Avenue in Allston. The building owner is Blanchard’s, but I from what I gather this is to allow the Brighton Music Hall, formerly Harper’s Ferry, to expand their capacity from 340 people to 476. This will also require permission from the Boston Licensing Board and the Boston Licensing Division.
For the rest of what’s going on in Room 801 this week, click here
February 24, 2012
Mice, mold & rats
A visitor to 48 Brighton Ave.
Since the management company refuses to give contact information for the owners to tenants, I thought I would help them out. The Assessing Department lists four owners: Wayne Siegel, Kevin Ryan, Joseph Ciliberti and New Brighton Realty Trust. Based on what I could find in public records, Joseph Ciliberti lives at 12 Marshfield Road, Newton. He is also an owner of Brighton Realty. There is a post office box in Brookline listed on the deed, but that’s not what we’re looking for. That’s all I got, let me know if you have any leads.
February 21, 2012
100 Years on Ice
The Skating Club of Boston celebrated one hundred years of ice time by some of the sport’s greatest talents, as well as many thousands of Bostonians who just enjoy the winter exercise. The gala was covered in the Boston Globe (paywall) and there is more information on the club’s website. The money raised will support the construction of a new facility at 176 Lincoln Street, Allston to replace the current rink on Soldier’s Field Road. This initiative is part of a land swap between Harvard and the club.
February 15, 2012
Adios to Big City, Hola to Patron’s
Big City, the Allston pool hall at the corner of Brighton and Harvard Avenues, is going to become Patron’s Mexican Kitchen & Watering Hole, according to Boston Magazine. No mention in the article if the cue balls will disappear, or if it is just a menu change.