Barrington Groupon - $30 for $15

Barrington is doing a Groupon.  10 coffees or espressos are half off.  For more details see:  $30 for $15 at Barrington Coffee

Fort Point Channel Open - Rowing Race

First annual Fort Point Channel Open.

Where: Barking Crab
Date: Saturday, June 23rd, 2012
Time: Coxswains meeting 9:30am, races 10-3

What: A day of sprint races in Boston Harbor, rowing the Hull Lifesaving Museum's gigs.  The race course is a long spring, winding through bridges and other obstacles in Fort Point Channel.

Re-registration is recommended.

Call for Ideas - Transforming a Public Place

In collaboration with GOOD.is, the Guggenheim is launching a call for ideas to make urban comfort, asking: How would you transform a public space in your city to make it more comfortable?

Submissions will be accepted until Tuesday, July 17 (11:59pm ET).

More details here:
http://www.good.is/post/project-transform-a-public-place/

Friday Movies at the Boston Harbor Hotel

Every Friday evening from June 15 through August 31, 4:30 to 10:00 p.m. It offers guests a chance to revisit Hollywood’s silver screen and modern classics. In honor of its 25th Anniversary, the Boston Harbor Hotel will feature movies from 1987 for the month of August. The cool evening breeze and view from the terrace of the Rowes Wharf Sea Grille set the stage to view these classic films by the sea.


June 15 The Way We Were
June 22 Johnny Dangerously
June 29 The Magnificent Seven
July 6 Yankee Doodle Dandy
July 13 An American in Paris
July 20 On the Waterfront
July 27 Jaws
August 3 Princess Bride
August 10 Moonstruck
August 17 Planes, Trains & Automobiles
August 24 Dirty Dancing
August 31 Roxanne

BCEC Hotels Meeting, Wed, 6/20

BCEC

(Boston Convention & Exhibition Center)

EXPANSION PLANNING

COMMUNITY MEETING

The BCEC IS HOSTING A COMMUNITY MEETING TO

PRESENT THEIR PLAN TO ADD NEW HOTELS

2 WITHIN ½ MILE OF

THE CHANNEL CENTER

Wednesday June 20^th

6:30 PM

10 Channel Center

2^nd Floor

Don’t Miss This Opportunity to have your voice heard.

Hotels development community meeting, 6/20

The MCCA would like to invite you to a community meeting to discuss possible hotel development around the BCEC.

  

What:                  Fort Point Community Meeting

Where:               10 Channel Center Street, 2nd floor

When:                 Wednesday, June 20, 2012 @ 6:30PM

 

Boston gives State Street $12m subsidy to build parking garage and office

Three days after the close of the public comment period, the city of is making it known that Boston is going to be giving $12m in "blighted district" tax breaks to State Street bank in order to make the 1 Channel Center St. Project happen (if you missed it, see this post for details on the project).  The Globe points out that "State Street reported net income of $1.92 billion in 2011 and paid its chief executive, Joseph Hooley, total compensation of $16 million, according to government filings".

In a statement, Mayor Menino wrote “State Street Bank & Trust Co is Boston’s seventh largest employer and keeping this economic giant in the city not only ensures that we are retaining jobs, but is a key to attracting new jobs and creating an economically successful and vibrant city."
 
Most Fort Pointers I've spoken with are against the project for a variety of reasons including:

• The project contains a close to 800-space parking garage which, for more than 10 years, had been slated to be underground.
• The buildings have dead ground floors without significant retail space for shops and restaurants.The small amount of retail faces away from existing buildings and won't help foot traffic to small businesses on neighboring streets.
• The developer and the BRA do not have a comprehension transportation plan to deal with the increase in traffic.  The light at A Street already backs up all the way to Barlow's on many nights.  In a study done by traffic engineers hired by a developer, traffic at many street lights in Fort Point is projected to degrade to an "F" grade over the coming years.  A St. at Congress, for example, will be in both in the morning and the evening.   This is based on studies using the most recent data, which is from 2008.
• There is no residential as part of this project.  The 100 Acres plan called for a 1/3rd residential density as its objective and the current build out is way below this.  In addition, the BRA has been blocking residential projects (for example this project on Congress St they squashed earlier this Spring).  With a continual loss of residents and few new residential projects being allowed by the BRA, Fort Point risks becoming an office-only neighborhood.
• The building will be a huge, unattractive end cap to Channel Center street, further making it unlikely to attract retail and restaurants which have been promised to residents for years.
• It has been said that $1.2 million was paid for “Community Benefits” but no one from the city or the BRA will discuss details of this money with the community and no plans have been made public for its use in Fort Point.
  

The Globe article on the tax breaks for State Street:

http://www.boston.com/businessupdates/2012/06/11/state-street-corp-get-tax-break-for-waterfront-building/GzwNCt5tvZlu9OLA45txQO/story.html

Boston Fire Museum Annual Cookout Friday

Boston Fire Museum Annual Cookout

Friday, June 8th, 5-9pm

Corner of Farnsworth and Congress Streets 

The Boston Fire Museum  and The Boston Sparks Association, located at 344 Congress St. at the corner of Farnsworth St., will be hosting their annual BBQ Cookout on Friday, June 8 from 5 PM to 8 PM.  The BBQ is our major fellowship event which brings many of our 200 members together from all over the New England area.

As in the past, Farnsworth St. will be closed at approximately 3 PM between Congress St. and the alley behind the fire museum.  Vehicles will be able to access Farnsworth St. from the alley off Sleeper St.  Vehicles can leave Farnsworth St. via the alley leading to Sleeper St. or the alley leading to Thomson Place.  Members of our organizations will be available to assist anyone who has difficulty in reaching their destination on Farnsworth St.

Notification of the BBQ and the closing of Farnsworth St. has been sent to our neighbors and building managers.

We extend the invitation to our friends in the Fort Point neighborhood to join us at our BBQ.  Anyone planning to attend is requested to call our answering machine at 617-338-9700 and leave a message indicating how many will attending.  We will also be available to give you a tour of the Boston Fire Museum and the quarters of the Boston Sparks Association.

Thanks,

Dan O'Neill
Chairman
Boston Fire Museum
344 Congress St.
Boston, MA  02210

email - info@bostonfiremuseum.com
617-338-9700 - Museum answering machine