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Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay bolsters position as the Mikey of neighborhood groups
By adamg on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 2:20pm
Proving it really does hate everything, the association is now on record opposing the designation of the Back Bay as one of the "Great Places in America" because the designation would include areas, such as the Pru and Stuart Street, that the group thinks are only so-so at best, the Boston Courant reports.
The Courant (which does not have a Web site) says a majority of association board members feel the BRA is somehow trying to use the designation - which would be by the American Planning Association - in its effort to cram Liberty Mutual and other projects down NABB's throat.
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Comments
Mikey doesn't hate everything
I would like to point out that Mikey in the classic Life cereal commercial is only accused of hating everything, but proves to be game when it comes to trying something new, unlike those overly persnickety jerks who comprise the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. Try letting some street food into the neighborhood, fellas: not everyone who lives or works there can dine daily at Abe & Louie's.
On a side note, Snopes has discredited the urban legend that the child actor who portrayed Mikey died from ingesting a lethal combination of Coca-Cola and Pop Rocks: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp
Correction to the correction
He's not accused of hating everything. He's accused of "eating anything".
"Give it to Mikey. He'll eat anything!" (meaning he'll eat it if it's good, but also even if it's bad)
To the other kids' surprises, he actually likes it (so they decide to try it too)!
Huh. Well now that I think
Huh. Well now that I think about that, it doesn't make much sense. Why would the kids be so willing to try whatever Mikey was eating if Mikey is the kind of kid who enjoys eating stuff off the bottom of his shoes?
Damned marketing ploys!
Also, NABB, really? REALLY?
The line is "He won't eat it
The line is "He won't eat it - he hates everying!"
Your memory is failing. It happens.
Life cereal commercial
I'm going to quote as far as I can from memory:
"What this?"
"Some cereal. Supposed to be good for you."
"Did you try it?"
"I'm not gonna try it. You try it!"
"I'm not gonna try it."
"Let's get Mikey!"
"Yeah!"
"He won't eat it: he hates everything."
"He likes it! Hey Mikey!"
Sadly, there is little marketable use I have yet uncovered for being able to perfectly recall TV commercials from one's youth.
Okay, not quite perfect recall...
But damned close: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow5cHJx43i0
I could have sworn there was a sequel....
...that had a somewhat different premise.
And was there, perhaps, a parody of the original on something like SNL.
Lots of people do seem to recall the "likes everything" variant -- so there may have been some actual source for these memories....
(MY primary recollection is of the "hates everything" version, but I have vague recollections of the other as well).
More about Mikey...
...in this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_%28cereal%29 Best fact(oid)s: the actor who played Mikey now works in advertising, and the other two kids in the commercial are his real-life brothers.
Correction to YOUR correction Kaz
You in fact are incorrect. Mikey was accused of hating everything in the commercial, the quote has been bastardized for decades to "Give it to Mikey, He'll eat anything" When in fact the kids say
kid 2"whats this stuff"
kid 1"Some cereal sposed to be good for you"
Kid 2 "Did you try it?"
kid 1 "I'm not gonna try it, you try it" pushes bowl over to kid 2
Kid 2 "I'm not gonna try it, YOU try it" Pushes bowl back to kid one
Kid one says "Hey lets get Mikey" pushes bowl towards Mikey
Kid two "he wont eat it , he HATES EVERYTHING" (Mikey is the pickiest eater in the world)
Mikey tucks into the cereal with gusto and the two boys say
"He likes it! Hey Mikey
I suggest before you correct a correction you verify your facts and not just go with common mistakes in quotes that have been repeated so much that people forget the actual quote...just like ...
Wrong: "If you build it, they will come." (from Field of Dreams)
Right: "If you build it, he will come."
Wrong: "Play it again, Sam."(Casablanca)
Right: "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake, play As Time Goes By."
Wrong: "Luke, I am your father."(The Empire Strikes Back)
Right: "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father." "He told me enough. He told me you killed him."
"No. I am your father."
Wrong: "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" (from A Few Good Men)
Right: "You want answers?" "I want the truth." "You can't handle the truth!"
Rhett Butler never said Frankly Scarlet I don't give a dam either
The world is filed with misquotations but verify before you correct someone all it takes is a google search and controlling ones ego from thinking they know every thing for sure
Time machine
Uhm...he posted that comment in May of 2010. He was quickly corrected by numerous people who pointed out that Mikey in fact "hates everything," not that he will "eat anything."
Over two years later you post here correcting him again? (I do like the list of common movie misquotes though...)
That was always funny
Some of my slightly younger friends played CYO hoops against him supposedly after he "blew up". They were always the authoritative source that Mikey lives. Never did find out if he really liked Life cereal (I did -if you put enough sugar on it!)
Pop Rocks and Coca Cola
Funny, I always heard it as an exploding poodle story - usually the respondent's grandmother's friend's third cousin's wife's second uncle's poodle.
Cutting off one's appendage..
..to spite some other part of one's anatomy. Seems a bit silly to come out and say "we're not so great," but maybe if they could get a little asterisk next to their name with a footnote that says "But the BRA still blows monkeys," that would be ok with them.
And, I am pretty certain that the BRA does, in fact, blow monkeys.
On the other hand
The monkeys probably have better taste.
Simple solution
Well, there's a simple solution - move the border (which is always arbitrary, anyway) of the Back Bay to just the North side of Boylston Street (which is where NABB's unofficial jurisdiction ends, anyway) and consider the Prudential Plaza and everything between there and the Southwest Corridor to be "No-Man's Land" (or, No-Person's).
NABB can no longer complain or affect plans for the plaza and they get to keep their neighborhood intact and looking just as it did in 1890.
Win-win.
Not everything - just the BRA and the "un-planning" they do
Here's the letter from NABB - I think it clarifies what was opposed and why (the opposition is to the BRA getting a planning award. Personally I have asked them for some of the specifics of their plans for the city as a whole and the Back Bay - I was told they don't do comprehensive planning for the city and they don't have any district-wide plans for the Back Bay so it is kind of funny that they want an award for planning - I highlighted the one sentence that I think emphasizes the primary reason this letter was written.):
Wednesday 28 April 2010
Richard Lukas, Senior Outreach Associate
American Planning Association
1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW - Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
P 202.349.1010, F 202.872.0643
[email protected]
RE: Great Places in America 2010
Boston Redevelopment Authority Submission
Dear Mr. Lukas
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) is an organization formed
more than fifty years ago for the purpose of preserving and improving the Back
Bay neighborhood of Boston. We are writing to express our opposition to an
application filed by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for an award
under the APA’s “Great Places in America” initiative.
At the outset, let me emphasize that NABB would enthusiastically support
recognition of the Back Bay Historic District, listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1973, for this award. It is truly one of the great places in
America and is exemplary of what excellent planning over many years can
achieve. It is a neighborhood of clearly defined boundaries, largely residential
and of unique architectural, cultural, and historical significance.
The application submitted by the BRA, however, encompasses a far larger area.
The application, of which we became aware only in March, includes an area
beyond the limit of the Back Bay Historic District. It includes the Stuart Street
Planning Area, the Prudential Center, the Copley Mall, Christian Science Church
Master Planning Area, and other development sites. These areas are not
exemplary of good planning and, in fact, include many examples where
development interests alone – and not comprehensive planning – have driven
the City’s decision-making.
It appears that the BRA is relying on the historic section of the Back Bay, which
is clearly one of America’s great places, to win the APA’s endorsement of its
development agenda. The planning process at the Prudential, at the Christian
Science complex, and particularly in Stuart Street Corridor Area, has
consistently emphasized the creation of 400’ towers, with little regard for social,
historical, or environmental context. There has been only minimum opportunity
for public input and much of that input has been disregarded.
NABB has consistently supported appropriate district-wide planning informed by
an open and public process. NABB members have participated in BRA planning
groups with other neighborhoods and proposed well thought out plans for zoning
changes. These have been largely ignored and circumvented by the BRA.
Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, Inc Page 2 of 2
We support development that knits districts of the city together and is of a scale, use and
design that reinforces the pedestrian character of the district, and which includes an
appropriately zoned vital mixed use of office, retail, restaurant and affordable housing. The
BRA’s approval of projects which create gated communities in the sky or extensive single
occupancy use which does not contribute to enliven the street, are contrary to this vision.
We also support development that does not create negative environmental impacts:
increased traffic, wind, shadow on vital open spaces, reduced groundwater, restriction to
solar access, etc. Much of the development that has recently been approved by the BRA
threatens to create additional negative environmental impacts to the neighborhood it
proposes for the Great Places recognition.
NABB supports development that is fiscally responsible for all constituents. The BRA has
approved unsustainable projects – such as the now infamous Columbus Center project --
that have resulted in abandonment detrimental to the neighborhood. The BRA has even
declared parts of their proposed Back Bay neighborhood as “blighted” in order to provide a
multi-million dollar tax breaks to developers.
NABB believes that the Back Bay is a great place due to its long-established activism in
protecting the residential character of the neighborhood in spite of the lack of planning and
process practiced by the BRA.
For all of these reasons, we urge that the APA not approve the BRA’s application.
We also ask that the APA consider an alternative – designation of the Back Bay Historic
District – for this great honor. We would enthusiastically endorse such an award and hope
that, within the APA’s timeframes and guidelines, consideration of such an alternative would
be possible.
Sincerely,
Ann Gleason, AIA LEED AP
Chair, Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay
Cc: Steven Sadwick, AICP, President, Massachusetts Chapter of the APA
Jackie Yessian, LEED AP, Chair NABB Development Committee
NABB Office
Two Faces of Fail
Nimbyism and insider patronage-driven development with no larger vision or systematic design.
Anybody else read the Boston Globe Magazine article on Vancouver? Gee, why would employers and developers want to come to a city where infrastructure development is part of the comprehensive design and they can actually build what they are told the land is zoned for without an intensive process where every politician and every "community group" threatens obstruction if they don't get their special payoffs?
Hmmm...
Not a single mention of primate fellatio. Somebody was asleep on this one!
(It's true! The entire organization! They BLOW MONKEYS!! It's a prerequisite to work there ferchrissakes!!)
God!
In addition to publishing the above, the Courant also published a response from somebody at the BRA who said, among other things, that the NABB's own definition of the Back Bay includes those areas (See here; you'll either need to picture the area in your head or get out a map, but they have the Back Bay extending to Columbus Avenue). So maybe John Keith's right: Let them re-draw the lines to their notion of "historic" Back Bay and cede the rest to, oh, I dunno, the South End and the UN.
Also, should be noted that not every NABB board member agreed with the decision to send the objection. The paper quoted one member as saying he was wrong initially to call the decision stupid, because it was actually idiotic.
1983 to be exact
The borders are in the articles of incorporation for NABB from 1983 and if you live in almost any of those areas you tell people you live in the Back Bay (the only area that I know of "shared" by any neighborhood associations is the triangular block with the Salvation Army building on it which is jointly "claimed" by NABB and Bay Village which is currently 100% commercial anyway - but both associations want mixed use buildings on that block with residential, commercial and street level retail so we don't end up with DTX West-that's planning. The BRA had a planning process with the neighborhoods in place until Lib Mu said let's build a 35 story tower here - all planning ceased immediately and the BRA is finagling the zoning of 110 feet to get it permitted. One Lib Mu exec was sitting on the planning committee while they were simultaneously negotiating to build their tower).
As for the Pru - NABB has dozens if not hundreds of members from the Pru Towers, Colonnade and Trinity Place among other residences south of Boylston. The historic district was established by the National Register of Historic places and has long been considered a subsection of what is considered Back Bay (note that Back Bay station actually extends to Columbus Ave).
Kaz - as for the comment below - NABB has long requested that any article 80 development include provisions for affordable housing on site - I think 10% of units but not sure - even the Mandarin has affordable housing units in it that are literally SPECTACULAR - at least on the inside.
The truth is just so much more boring than the myths.
NABB may have legitimate beefs with the BRA
See Liberty Mutual. But objecting to the neighborhood being designated as GRRRREAT by some non-profit group seems the epitome of silliness, with a dash of paranoia.
Affordable?
Seems NABB, the BRA and the Mandarin use a rather different "affordability" scale than we less-fortunate folk... Rents "from $1,254 to $2,172 a month for one- and two-bedroom apartments" reserved for "individuals (who) make between $48,050 and $72,050 a year, and a family of four, between $68,650 and $102,950".
That shouldn't really give anyone bragging rights, and I'm not sure what the point is. Contributing to the social welfare of the middle class?
Actually...
NABB, the Mandarin and even the BRA have nothing to do with the rental rate - it's some kind of a formula based on median income that I think the state sets. NABB makes the request during the planning process, the BRA makes it mandatory, the Mandarin (in this case) builds it and the state law sets the rates and I think the city administers it. I think the goal is exactly that - giving the middle class access to homes downtown which in a city with mandatory residency for public employees is maybe not so bad. Most city employees would qualify for this housing and as "insiders" it's my understanding that they often win the lottery - nothing nefarious - they just know about the system and how it works - a lot of "outside" people have no idea these opportunities are out there.
This demonstrates a problem with all of this stuff - if you read the headlines you think - oh my god this is terrible, who would do such a thing? When you get into the details you realize there are some really good reasons for why things happen and are supported or opposed and none of it is perfect or ever will be.
well
As someone who can't stand nimbyism and the power of a neighborhood association to derail development plans (I just want a vibrant, dynamic city), I don't see anything wrong with having means-tested middle class housing in the city. You shouldn't have to be either poor or rich to live in the city.
Wait...
You shouldn't have to be either poor or rich to live in the city
I agree with you, but that's exactly what the problem is with this development as well. I don't make enough to live in that "middle-class" housing, but I also make far, far too much to live in Boston Housing Authority (unless I were to develop a qualifying disability). I want to see housing where the income levels start right where the subsidized housing levels drop off.
(And yes, moot for my family, because we bought just in time and are comfortable with how our finances are working out, but we still pay considerably more than 30% of our income for housing.)
HA!
HA!
I say again...HA!
Macaque--->GAK<
Could you do a word search on that document for "macaques" "rhesus monkeys" "spider monkey" and "blow job" "rim job" and "tea bagging"?
Are the NABB the lovely folks
Are the NABB the lovely folks who make sure the Back Bay has no secure and legal places to lock a bicycle?
Nope
that would be the city - they are the ultimate arbiter on what is acceptable in the historic district (NABB only acts in an advisory capacity and gets overruled from time to time although there is an excellent working relationship between the two). NABB has no authority south of Boylston.
I believe there is an approved design for the historic district and many located on Newbury Street - about a three foot tall pipe post with a circle built into it painted black I believe. The city is also in charge of installing and maintaining.