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Legislature agrees to let city rent out two old buildings on Common, in Fens for restaurants
By adamg on Thu, 07/29/2010 - 7:47pm
After some renovations, natch. City Council President Mike Ross reports the legislature took some time today from figuring out whether to allow a casino at Suffolk Downs to approve a home-rule petition to let the city parks department rent out the "Pink Palace" men's room on the Common and the "Duck House" shelter in the Back Bay Fens to restaurant operators.
"“We have seen restaurants transform neighborhoods from the South End to Dorchester, and I believe bringing a quality restaurant or business to the Boston Common and Fens will play a major role in revitalizing those parks," Ross said.
The measure still needs the approval of Gov. Patrick.
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Comments
SHAKE SHACK PLEASE!!!
PLEASE!! SHAKE SHACK!!!
It's a PUBLIC park
"“We have seen restaurants transform neighborhoods from the South End to Dorchester, and I believe bringing a quality restaurant or business to the Boston Common and Fens will play a major role in revitalizing those parks," Ross said.
That's the city's job - not private business. It's one thing to get donations for support - it's another thing to sell off pieces of the oldest public park in the US piecemeal because you have abrogated your responsibility to properly manage the city's budget.
they're not selling it...
... they're renting it. which means they retain ownership, and i assume they will be getting money to allow somebody to use the space. it should be a net gain for the coffers.
So I take it you disapprove
So I take it you disapprove of Tavern on the Green? What's your take on lemonade and fried dough stands?
Bit of a different case
Tavern on the Green is another example of Robert Moses doing whatever the hell he wanted, in this case, paving over part of Central Park to let a crony build a restaurant serving the rich. Imagine the outrage if the city let somebody do that to the Common today.
In Boston's case, we're talking about re-use of relatively small (especially in the case of the Common) and completely dilapidated structures. A better New York analogy might be Bryant Park, where something sort of similar was done to what Boston is proposing (except Bryant Park was in far, far worse shape than the Common).
Fort Tryon Park
Or the New Leaf Restaurant and Cafe in New York's Fort Tryon Park. Of course, New Leaf is owned by the New York Restoration Project, whose proceeds benefit the park.
Tacky.
Lemonade isn't too objectionable, as long as the stand doesn't feature any carnival-themed decor. Fried dough though? About the grossest, tackiest, zero-nutrients-and-tons-of-fat-and-white-flour crap you can find. And it makes otherwise lovely places smell like truck stops.
We were recently in London, and I was amazed at the healthy, cheap, non-tacky, fresh portable food available in all the train stations and parks and such. I would love to see more places around here to get, say, roasted veggies on a baguette on the run instead of hot dogs and fried dough. And all the places sold containers of nuts and fruit and things too for snacks. They seemed sort of like Au Bon Pains but with more variety and character (some chains, some not).
Aww C'mon!
Fried Dough is New England soul food!
Generally not IN the common
Tavern on the Green's Green (the sheep meadow) is huge and Central Park itself is substantially larger than the common and no I'm not a fan of the tacky food stands there already. There's lots of sidewalk space around the park for lemonade and dough stands. The common is an extremely small and historic space. There should be "park appropriate uses" - with amenities located as needed near those uses - perfect example - the frog pond - skating and wading for the kids with a snack shop or even a small restaurant might be appropriate in that location. However, the Pink Palace is smack in the middle of the park and there are alternative non-commercial uses. For example the zoo could set up an adjunct display and use the facility for food, care of the animals or as I considered (and rejected because you can't afford to pay much rent) you could set up a small amusement for kids - like a garden scale train line that the kids could run around with their parents, again maybe with a small operation for hot dogs and drinks to enjoy while operating the amusement. I'm sure others have good ideas - but they probably can't compete commercially with a restaurant.
If this were being done for some good non-financial reason - I'm all ears. However, this is being done purely for economic reasons - and that's a bad idea and a terrible precedent. The parks should be maintained by public funds for public purposes - not sold (or rented or otherwise monopolized) by any private entity). As I've posted before - this city is dripping in money. It's just not wisely managed so we get boneheaded initiatives like this.
I'm not sure it's a purely
I'm not sure it's a purely financial rationale. Food brings people, and we want our parks to be peopled. Now, you can argue the Common is already pretty well set in that regard, and I won't disagree, but we have a derelict building that the city cannot afford to maintain or rehab. Why not rent it to an appropriate use vendor who will pay for the rehab and care? You seem amenable to this idea, as you've suggested some alternatives. Your alternatives are interesting, but not of any greater inherent value or utility than a restaurant. They are simply preferable to you (and maybe to me, too, though I'd rather see a train in Franklin Park). But a restaurant is an equally valid idea. So while I can see the statement, "I'd rather see something else," I can't see the logic behind therefore condemning the actual proposal.
Thats' where we differ
"I'm not sure it's a purely financial rationale."
"we have a derelict building that the city cannot afford to maintain or rehab "
As part of the firemen's negotiations their auditor went in and found hundreds of millions in various city trusts and reserve accounts. The city can afford to rehab and maintain the Boston Common (and if not the Common, then what can we afford?).
The difference is that as a public amenity we should determine the most appropriate use - not the most economically lucrative use but there has been no discussion around most appropriate - only most lucrative. While there may be some places where restaurants are appropriate (for example as noted on the Frog Pond or perhaps on the corner near the Boylston T stop - like the Shake Shack in Bryant Park which is only a hundred feet or so into the park) I think a very persuasive argument can easily be made that this is not the most appropriate use for that building or that location if money were not the driving issue.
Keep in mind that as part of the rehab of the Brewer fountain they are planning to rehab the whole plaza including the installation of seats and benches for people to sit, eat and enjoy and there are dozens of restaurants nearby that can service that need.
This is a matter of want not need. Want should serve the private sector - need should be the realm of the public.
Just to clarify -- when I say
Just to clarify -- when I say the city can't afford to rehab the facility, I mean that there is no political will to do so. The city can afford lots of things, but it has to weigh which things to afford against which it may not have to afford. I doubt there is a large constituency for city funds going toward this project when a private vendor is willing to foot the bill. Again, we can disagree on what makes for a suitable private use, but in my opinion, the main consideration should be whether the private vendor uses the space in a way that is accessible to the park-going public, with the second question being whether it draws additional users to the park. I believe that a restaurant achieves both of these outcomes. I'm not wedded to the idea, but it seems like a reasonable one, and effectively achieves the larger goal of cleaning up a somewhat run down section of the park.
Now, back to trains, lets get together on building a train in Franklin Park along the lines of this one in Sand Diego's Balboa Park:
Restaurant - maybe - just not there - and trains!!
I don't dispute your argument that a restaurant might be suitable - but if you look at three leading locations (Frog Pond, Tremont and Boylston corner and the Pink Palace) the Pink Palace is probably the least suitable. We need to have a discussion - a) what is the strategic direction of the Common b) what are appropriate facilities that support that direction and c) where in the park do you locate those facilities. Ross has it backwards saying a) here's a location b) let's put it to its highest economic use (a restaurant) and c) that will lead to a revitalization strategy that will work itself out. (and per the posts below - even if renovated the concept of eating food prepared in an old public men's room is a bit skeevy!)
On the trains - let's do it - not sure if you have the traffic at Franklin Park - and my concern about the Common was that even there it may be a bit too Disney (Walt loved trains - even had steam trains the size of the one in the picture on his private property). However, somewhere along the Greenway could be fun. I could see an activity block dedicated to garden trains going around a shallow pond with RC boats and maybe even a track for RC cars. Maybe if they don't build that big glass thingy...
I thought about the Greenway,
I thought about the Greenway, but it should have a real train (ie an LRV line). Franklin Park does not have much traffic, but it could, if a train and a few other attractions (like a carousel) were installed near the zoo. Part of Franklin Park's problem is that it doesn't have a significant draw beyond golfing, hiking, and other physical activities. Build it and they will come!
mmmmmm good
restaurant in an old men's room--sounds delicious...
Dare I say it?
The idea is wicked pissa.
Cafe would be welcome addition to park
I have seen numerous small cafes with outdoor seating in European parks and plazas and I think that would be a wonderful feature to have here in Boston. Where there is a lot of positive, legal activity, there tends to be less illegal activity.