SMALL GREENWAY EVENTS PLANNED THIS YEAR, WITH CELEBRATION SET FOR FALL 2008

By Priscilla Yeon
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, FEB. 13, 2007 …..The Greenway Conservancy announced this morning plans to hold the official inaugural celebration of the post-Big Dig surface parks in the fall of 2008 and to roll out a series of smaller celebrations on some of the parcels throughout this year, including a film festival and a jazz festival, and next year.

Officials said they plan hold pre-inaugural activities this summer on the different parcels along the 27-acre stretch that is slated to host parks, roads and buildings. Meantime, they will wait for newly planted greenery and landscaping to take root and grow while working out the plans for next fall’s celebration.

On July 22, the Greenway plans to launch its public programming by celebrating Common Ground, a day of activities for children and families on the Christopher Columbus Park near Quincy Market, according to Greenway Project Manager for Public Programs Alexandra Lee. Dance festivities and a trip to George’s Island will be part of the celebration, she said.

In September, the Conservancy hopes to host a naturalization ceremony for new citizens at the Federal Reserve Bank building. Usually, naturalization ceremonies in Boston take place in Faneuil Hall. The celebration would be followed by dances and a display of international food, said Lee.

This July and August, educational pilot programs are planned, including horticulture classes for high school students, teacher training conferences, a summer journalism program and “discovery guide of the greenway” activities with sixth graders.

After that, the goal is to hold several public events, said Lee, including the Boston Film Festival and Boston Jazz Festival this fall, and a celebration of First Night and of the Chinese New Year next winter.

“There are a lot of activities that we could create and engage with the local communities,” said Lee.

She said plans to hire an event planner for the inaugural celebration are in the works. The idea of the celebration is to invite people of all ages and cultures to the event to commemorate “what all of us have been through in the past 10 to 15 years,” said Lee.

Asked by a reporter why wait until fall 2008 when most of the greenway is scheduled to be ready by this fall, Conservancy Chairman Peter Meade said several of the parks will still be under construction this fall.

“You want the grass to grow and the trees to grow, you don’t want to be there too soon and destroy what you’re trying to create, so timing becomes a crucial part of this,” said Meade. “I think what you’ll see is an introduction in 2007 and a flowering in 2008.”

Conservancy Executive Director Nancy Brennan said there have been talks with different entities and communities to plan the future of the greenway and its different short-term and long-term uses.

For long-term uses, the greenway has been negotiating with the YMCA, Boston Museum Project and the New Center for Arts & Culture to build facilities on some of the corridor’s parcels.

The Conservancy is waiting for an update to the Patrick administration’s stem to stern report to find out whether it would be possible to build facilities on certain greenway parcels.

Meade said he hopes the report will examine the engineering structure of parcels and determine whether construction of buildings is possible.

“I think the question for everybody is the Turnpike study coming back and whether they will do what we asked them to do,” said Meade. He said due to liability reasons, it would be possible the administration decides not to get involved and leave the decision on whether there could be construction on the parcels up to the conservancy.

The greenway sits atop Big Dig land that was dug out to build underground highways beneath the city, a project managed by the turnpike authority. The timing of the release of the next round of information in connection with the stem to stern review of the Big Dig was not immediately available from the governor’s office.

Another lingering aspect regarding the fate of the greenway is to determine whether the state’s allocation of $31 million for not-for-profits to support the design and construction of ramp covers would be sufficient.

For now, the conservancy is giving the Boston Museum Project and the New Center for Arts & Culture until June 30 to submit their plans and financial pledges and commitments.

The YMCA was supposed to make a final decision as to whether or not it could proceed with a project on one of the parcels by December 2006. But the project went through a period of uncertainty when Gov. Mitt Romney used his executive power to cut the $31 million for ramp covers. The money was eventually restored by the Legislature. Meade said he is giving the YMCA until March to make its final decision.

Brennan said the Boston Redevelopment Authority, along with other public groups, plans to issue a master plan study that will include the three parcels that were originally designated for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society to build an in-glass winter garden. The study is slated to start at the end of the year, she said.

In October, the Conservancy recommended the Turnpike to “de-designate” the three parcels from MassHort due to “inadequacy of their financial strength to undertake the Greenway Project.”

Meade said the Conservancy continues to hold “respectful discussions” with MassHort on how it could collaborate on the development of the greenway.

In response to a reporter’s question on whether MassHort would still be the long-term developer of the three land parcels, Meade said: “I think that decision has already been made by the Turnpike Authority.” He later elaborated by adding the Turnpike decided MassHort “will not be the developer in those parcels.”

But he said he hopes MassHort could still be involved in a “public process and be an asset” to the conservancy and possibly serve as a vendor or contractor to the greenway.

Asked if the Turnpike had the authority to make such a decision, Meade said: “I believe that their lawyers believe that they do.”

Contact:

Nancy Brennan
Rose Fitzgerald Kenney Greenway Conservancy
617-292-0020
info@rosekennedygreenway.org