Mar
31
This is Harvard
Posted by nathanael. Filed Under politics | Leave a Comment
If you’re interested in such things check out This is Harvard, a new & fairly active blog covering the Harvard pullback in North Allston.
From a new post on modeling Allston after Beverly –
No one expects Harvard to empty its endowment to rebuild Allston. What people do expect is when you own that much property that you have a clear plan for it – both short and long term. One would also expect some course correction due to changing circumstances. There HAS to be a middle ground between doing NOTHING (the current short term plan) and building a $1 billion building (the old short term plan).
We agree entirely.
Mar
5
Non-leasability & the tendency to blame
Posted by nathanael. Filed Under politics | Leave a Comment
From The Crimson-
“We understand the concerns our neighbors and the city have expressed, which is why we’ve been so aggressive in our efforts to lease available property,” said University spokeswoman Lauren Marshall, who also said that 85 percent of Harvard’s 892,317 square feet of leasable property in Allston had tenants.
But that number excludes the 790,000 square feet of property that Harvard designates as “non-leasable,” a controversial definition Harvard gives spaces it says are either unfit for tenants or reserved for construction plans. For example, the Brighton Mills Shopping Center—which includes a large vacant former Kmart—has been set aside for the planned relocation of the Charlesview apartments.
I imagine some of these kids from the Allston-Brighton Neighborhood Assembly would be willing to consult with Harvard on alternative uses of their mothballed properties.
Relatedly, read HM on the oddly inflammatory comments by Richard Peiser.
“The neighborhood has a tendency to blame the University wherever they can, and I think the only thing they have any grounds to be upset on right now is slowing construction on the science building,” Peiser said. He added that the neighborhood may need to wait years, if not decades, to see Allston revitalized.
With all due respect, it’s very easy to see Harvard as a bad-faith actor when a building like KMart is deemed non-leasable to artificially inflate the percent of leased space to 85%. So while it’s may be in Dr. Peiser’s interest to portray the community as a bunch of unsophisticated yahoos assigning unwarranted blame, a more productive use of his position would be to try to understand the full context of Allston’s frustration as the development horizon gets pushed back.
Mar
4
Keep it classy, Blanchard’s
Posted by nathanael. Filed Under photos | Leave a Comment
It appears as though Blanchard’s Liquors in Allston requested a youtube video showing an employee tormenting a dog be removed from Youtube.
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Blanchard’s Inc.
Here’s a recap of the missing video from ohmidog-
The video shows a man stride past the register of a liquor store, kick a crate containing a small dog, then jump on the crate, partially crushing it, before walking away. A person in a baseball cap then goes to check on the puppy, before a younger man walks into the frame, grabs a leash from the counter, and takes the dog away.
Or, if you’re having too good of a day and would like to take that happiness down a notch, the boston channel still has their version online.
I understand wanting to protect a store’s reputation, particularly in these days of Yelp shakedowns. What we shouldn’t accept though is the misuse of a DMCA takedown notice to Youtube to block bad publicity. We’re living in a time when transparency is valued. If people in your store (be they employees, owners or customers) are going to torment a dog, people are going to be rightfully angry about it. And if you’re going to use questionable whitewash tactics on top of that you’re just buying yourself a whole new group of enemies.
PS. Read 10,000 angry comments here.