Theft at 25 Channel Center

The Herald and the Boston crime log have coverage of a burglary at 25
Channel Center over Memorial Day weekend. Two thieves took a Flamet
painting, jewelry, and a laptop from an 8th floor unit and $213,000
worth of jewelry from an 11th floor unit.

http://www.citizenobserver.com/cov6/app/alert.html?id=7457

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_05_29_Burglar_grabs_jewelry__art_in_Hub_condo_caper/

Viewing Deck at 470 Atlantic Ave.

Waterfront site must open to public

State fines owners of wharf building

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/ar/ticles/2009/05/13/waterfront_site_must_open_to_public?mode=PF
By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff  |  May 13, 2009

It was a secret jewel along the waterfront, providing a picturesque view of Boston Harbor and the city's skyline. But according to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the historic building at 470 Atlantic Ave. and its public viewing space wasn't supposed to be a secret at all.

The department has fined the owner of the plush Independence Wharf building, at the corner of Seaport Boulevard, more than $21,000 and also issued a series of compliance orders for holding out from the public its grand view of Boston and its harbor, on the site of one the country's largest acts of civil defiance, the Boston Tea Party.

"A renewed commitment on their part is necessary to open this site up to the general public, in a way that provides a public benefit for the city, its residents and our visitors," Glenn Haas, assistant commissioner of the agency, said in a statement.

In addition to the fines, the owner of the building - Independence Wharf LLC - must open up 2,856 square feet of space on the ground floor of the building as a public accommodation. The owner must post proper signage designating the 14th floor, with its observation deck and indoor viewing area, as public space.

The company must also post proper signage outside the building along the Harborwalk encouraging public patronage of the ground floor and viewing deck.

"The current property owners recognize they have a responsibility to provide, and in fact encourage, the general public to access this historic Boston site," Haas said in a statement.

A spokesman for the building's management company, Cushman & Wakefield, said yesterday that management would not comment on the settlement. Independence Wharf LLC is based in Connecticut.

The orders were based on a 2001 license the state granted Independence Wharf LLC allowing it to operate office space at the 14-story structure, which is built on the waterfront. Under state law covering filled tidelands, the state must preserve the public's rights to access natural resources such as the sea and the shore. The 2001 license included a public access agreement based on the law that required the observation deck and ground floor accommodating area.

The agency said it found the violations during a May 2008 inspection. In addition to the fines, the owner must provide, within 30 days, a publicly accessible interior space on the observation deck with signs directing the public to the area. The owner must also submit a plan within 90 days detailing how it will open up the 2,856 square feet to the public, and must complete the plan within six months.

And, the company must pay $35,000 in license fees that it has not paid since the license was granted in 2001. The site is where Samuel Adams and other patriots of the American Revolution boarded three British tea ships in 1773 in a protest of English rule.

Yesterday, a small sign on the Harborwalk alerted passersby that the observation deck is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, instructing anyone interested to "see security guard in lobby for information."

Winston Van Buitenen of Connecticut, and Greg Beck of New York, two businessmen touring the waterfront, said they did not believe the building is public from the look from the outside. "It doesn't present itself that way," said Buitenen.

Matt Pitarresi, 23, of South Boston, said he walks by the building daily to work and other Boston destinations and never knew about the observation deck. "If it's supposed to be public access, it should be," he said. "Anywhere you can get up high and view the city, people appreciate it."

Lynne Stubblefield, a 43-year-old South Boston woman who walks by the building on the way to her job in Charleston, said she has seen been to the observation deck before: when the building had just been renovated. But, "I don't think many people know about it," she said.

"It's a pretty area to look at, there's a lot of stuff to see," Stubblefield said. "People should know about it. It's waterfront property and a lot of people would like to see it."

Municipal Harbor Plan Mtg, 6/1/2009

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and its Office of Coastal Zone Management will conduct a public hearing on the City of Boston’s South Boston Municipal Harbor Plan Amendment.
 
SOUTH BOSTON MHP AMENDMENT
JUNE 1, 2009
6PM-8PM
City Hall – BRA Board Room – 9th Floor
 
Copies of the Plan are available on the BRA website:

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/pdf/PlanningPublications/Fort%20Point%20District%20MHP%20Amendment_May%202009.pdf

Made in Fort Point: Reception Tonight

Made in Fort Point: Bonnie Mineo
http://www.bonniemineo.com/

FPAC's Store at 12 Farnsworth St.
Reception: This Thursday, May 21
5:00-7:30PM
meet the artist and join us for complimentary snacks and beverages

Made In Fort Point features new work by Bonnie Mineo for the month of May. Her vibrant prints reflect a love of color and response to details in the landscape. Bonnie has been developing a low tech process with water-based inks and polystyrene plates which result in relief prints rich in color with layered shapes, textures and marks. The process allows for spontaneity, accidents and intentions to come together in creating unique prints without a press.

Bonnie teaches Mixed Media/Collage and Water-based Printmaking here in Fort Point with the Fort Point Studio School and at DeCordova Museum.

Made in Fort Point features the work of over 50 Fort Point artists, craftspeople, and designers. We sell paintings, jewelry, prints, artists books, greeting cards, furniture,
wearables, ceramics, lighting and more. We are located at 12 Farnsworth Street off of Congress Street, 2 short blocks east of the Children's Museum and next door to Flour.

Little Dig

Interesting project on the Greenway in front of South Station:



Friday May 15 12-2pm Demonstration: “What’s living in this soil?” + Screening + Final testing 6-9pm Opening of And Things of That Nature at the Mills Gallery (539 Tremont St)
Saturday May 16 12-6pm Soil giveaway

http://ginabadger.com/2009/05/08/the-little-dig-may-11-16-2009/

Mayor's Neighborhood Coffee Hour Friday

Mayor Menino’s
11th Annual
Neighborhood Coffee Hour

Friday, May 15th, 2009
9:30-10:30 AM
Medal of Honor Park (M Street Park)
South Boston

For more information, please call Casey Flynn-Hines,
Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services @ 635-2680

Art Walk!

If you didn't make it out yesterday, FPAC's Art Walk is on this weekend from 12-5 Saturday and Sunday. Get out and see the art!

Art Walk next weekend

It's that's time of year again. FPAC's 2009 Fort Point art walk is next weekend:

Fort Point Art Walk
Friday May 8th, 4-9 PM
Saturday May 9th, 12-5 PM
Sunday May 10th, 12-5 PM

It's free and open to the public and free parking is available.