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Pissed off councilor says he's tired of Massport screwing around with city-owned land on the waterfront
By adamg on Wed, 02/03/2016 - 2:19pm
The Boston City Council today approved a request from at-large Councilor Michael Flaherty for a hearing to try to get Massport, the BRA and the city Economic Development and Industrial Corp. on the same page when it comes to re-use of the city-owned land on Boston Harbor.
Flaherty made his request after news broked that Massport has put land out to bid in the Boston Marine Industrial Park in South Boston and that one bid calls for relocating businesses from Widett Circle, including meatpacking plants, even though the industrial park is supposed to be limited to businesses having some relation to the seas.
He continued he's annoyed the authority seems willing to try to get bids for leases that would run less than 65 years, which he said is the minimum most developers would accept for new projects.
Calling that "disingenuous," Flaherty said Massport has botched a number of opportunities to redevelop the land for marine-related uses over the years. He said he's tired of Massport "making decisions on their own agenda and pretty much telling everybody else to just pound sand."
Massport, he continued, needs to realize that the city owns the land, and only leases it to the authority - and ultimately has to approve any new uses for it. "There is a city of Boston, there is a city council of Boston, there is a mayor of Boston, there is a BRA," he said.
Although most of Flaherty's ire was directed towards Massport in South Boston, he added his comments could also apply to some undeveloped land at the BRA-owned Charlestown Navy Yard.
Massport representatives did not attend the council meeting, the agenda for which did not list Flaherty's hearing proposal - he offered it for consideration after the council had finished its agenda items.
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Comments
Flaherty
Is probably the most valuable Councilor we have.
Tito's head just
exploded.
Life Long Politician
..which means its time for him to retire.
What's the problem?
I see Flaherty's point. It would be pretty bad if Massport got some meaningful use out of the space, rather than bogging it down in decades of political bickering and BRA cronie back scratching.
But the Navy Yard is a model
But the Navy Yard is a model of grift, I mean success, and why we need to keep our Urban Renewal powers to steal from the city and give to our friends. -BRA
But the Marine Industrial Park is a model of grift, I mean success, and why we need to keep our leasing scheme to steal from the city and give to our friends. -Economic Development and Industrial Corp
But the Airport/ConleyTerminal are a model of grift, I mean success, and why we need to keep our power to steal from the city and give to our friends. -MassPort
erp...
ahem...am I not up on my new verb tenses?
Pedantically yours.
Broked Adam's
balls...
Land use massport
I would love the city to build a cheap steel building on the waterfront and run a lobster brood hatchery like the have in Camden Maine where they bring in late term egg bearing female lobsters , she releases the eggs they hatch they are put in swirling cylinder tanks so they wont eat each other after four molts they are about 3/4 of an inch long and are released thru a hose to the bottom of the harbor by divers their survival rate is very hi and it replenishes stocks ! I would love to volunteer on this and explore aquaculture possibility's as well sincerely :Gerald Fichtner, South Boston
urban planner
Real urban planning would involve citizens and taxpayers. Not just the developers and MassPort or BRA appointees.
How about a little Community Input?
http://www.noindycarboston
http://www.noindycarboston.org
Possible needs and wants :
Possible needs and wants :
1. Relocate South Station Postal to free up existing for train people -wise business.
2. Relocate Widett area to free up existing for train infrastructure.
3.Boston Flower Exchange vendors to close by year’s end ( https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/04/boston-flower-exchange-v... ) These people need a new area as the yare selling existing for the greater good, housing .
4. Leave some room down here for a new City Hall , restore neighborhood where existing tailing piles of concrete masquerade as a building. Could probably be achieved at little or no costs if you shuffle the deck right.
Flaherty should run for
Flaherty should run for Governor some day!
It is really a shame that
It is really a shame that this city and Mayor Walsh couldn't get the American Seafood Exchange Project to happen. This would have been excellent for the city of Boston.
Check this out:
www.AmericanSeafoodExchange.com