Board approves plan to replace old Roslindale funeral home with apartments

You know, claim to be smarter, have all the answers, dismiss the opinions of others who don't agree with them, don't follow the rules, fall back into whataboutism. Stuff like that.

Neither of the TWO business groups in Roslindale tend to take formal positions on things of this nature. The Roslindale Business Group (RBG), on whose steering committee/board I serve did not comment. However, I can state that parking as a matter of business sustainability has been on the minds of almost all merchants in the square for over a decade.

It was first discussed and a common thread for the Roslindale Board of Trade, founded in 1926. That body ended its primary functions in 2014, and a number of local merchants rebuilt the effort in the form of the RBG. This is a business-to-business group serving all of 02131 welcoming storefronts, services, at-home business, and the self-employed. RVMS (Main Streets) has a defined mission district of the core "village" of storefronts and usually does not extend beyond that under its founding documents. Both RVMS and RBG have worked cooperatively on a number of past projects to assist area business, and participate in charitable efforts.

Merchants in Roslindale Sq. are primarily small niche market business, and that was created by design, however these businesses will tell you that not all of their customer base is local. Many of the restaurants and other shops bring in people from Newton, Dedham, Brookline, and from even further away. Other business draw people from a wide radius as well. Their customer base, by majority, is not walking or taking a bus there. They need a place for their people to arrive, park, and stay for several hours. Laments about employees and customers circling the block is a very common thread.

Most of the parking in Roslindale Sq is privately owned and limited to the stores or store blocks that own them. Actual public parking is limited to the Taft Hill Terrace lot (City) and for a fee some people park in the MBTA lot. Boston's Transportation department deems roads within a 1/4 mile radius (1320 feet) of the business district to be often used for business access parking along with use by abutting residents. Traffic mitigation efforts and changes to bus stops in the business district did loose many parking spaces, and by a majority this impacted mostly minority and immigrant owned business. Temporary spots reserved for food pick up also impacted this but most of those are gone now, or will be soon.

I listened-in to the ZBA meeting as did Adam since I was aware that a number of area businesses had reservations. And no... I won't say which ones because a number of them have been "leaned on" by special interests suggesting that if they didn't go with the flow their business would be impacted. So a lot of them are now operating their business in fear at a time when sustainability is at a critical juncture. So much for open democratic participation.

I assure you this has been brought to the attention of multiple city departments. It's Ok to have an agenda and opinion but when that is forced upon small struggling business, that is not acceptable.

As to the ZBA meeting itself, the one thing that stuck out in my mind was the comment by a participant in support of the project because, "... it will bring more professionals to the neighborhood." I guess us old townies are not welcome here anymore, and clearly since I am not a professional maybe I'd not be allowed to live there by some people's standards.

I cannot think of a more gentrifying comment than that, and maybe some will also see the racist overtones as I did. Maybe even some "white entitlement."

Is that truly the "quirky" Roslindale that so many want?

As to the ZBA doing their job by upholding the zoning, the ZBA does not rule on proximity to transit. Their function is footprint, design, safety, and how it fits in the surrounding area. Also worth noting that your Zoning is not changed by bitching and moaning in social media or demanding that we need a new board. Any new members are charged with the same expectations, uphold the zoning that is on the books.

It might be worth noting that the current Roslindale Zoning was created by a consortium of RVMS, local business, and local residents in cooperation with city government and a private company hired to assist. The objective was to preserve what people wanted and to create the small business district we have, and set the tone for how our community will look and feel. It was a true democratic process buy the local people. A grass-roots process.

It's sad that so many of the ZBA staff cannot even visit social media these days with out some winger (left and right) hijacking the topic just to air their displeasure, when in fact the people were just doing their job.

I've always seen Roslindale to be better than that, but there is an air of change in the wind.

As to Dr. Radwin (PhD) she is a self-employed consultant to major business and government, a long-time resident, and has taken an interest in this issues faced by locals.

Dr. Radwin commented as an individual and made that clear in her comments. She has taken time to speak individually to local business that she trades with , and was not speaking on behalf of any group, organization, or specific commercial interest. Anyone can do that. There was no claim to be representing anyone.

Had the commenters all listened-in, they would have understood that, but it seems much easier to derive this (read: make a guess) from a few limited words on a page and make assumptions based on little to no fact. Seems we just got over that for the last few years? Maybe it's catching like COVID?

Ask any merchant in the square you trade with if parking is an issue for them.

Both Radwin and Wright are probably equally qualified to pontificate on this matter. That I tend towards Wright’s opinion on this is irrelevant.