By Seth Daniel
There are questions and concerns – and times when one might be absolutely stymied – that cannot be resolved in a Mayor’s Coffee Hour or a Mobile City Hall visit.
To that end, Mayor Martin Walsh and his Town Liaison Chris Breen have organized the first-ever Open House in Charlestown on Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Harvard Kent Gym where virtually every department from City Hall will be on hand to take questions and resolve situations.
It will be the biggest TCB – taking care of business – night to date brought to the Town.
“The Charlestown Open House will be a first of its kind meeting in which the Mayor will essentially be moving City Hall to Charlestown for two hours,” said Breen this week.
The meeting will have a development and transportation focus, in which residents can go up to City Officials face to face and ask questions about specific upcoming projects and proposals directly, as well as leave comments and walk away with information sheets detailing timelines and more.
In addition, other various departments will also be in attendance so that constituents can see all the services available now and in the future.
“Often times people feel that they don’t have a voice and they get inundated with third party information,” added Breen. “This meeting in particular will allow the people of Charlestown to see different agencies working together and give them a broader outlook at the future of Charlestown as a whole, from projects both in development and those that are ongoing.”
Mayor Walsh has set aside ample time to be there to help coordinate the event and clarify his position on issues.
There will be proposals and information on the following projects:
- North Washington Street Bridge
- Rutherford Avenue/Sullivan Square
- One Charlestown/Boston Housing Authority Redevelopment
- Hood Park Development
- Graphic Arts Building development, 32 Cambridge St.
- Chain Forge Hotel and Ropewalk Navy Yard
- Greenovate Charlestown Environmental Impact Report
- Wynn Boston Harbor casino
There will also be representatives on hand from the following agencies and initiatives:
- Boston Planning and Development Agency (formerly the BRA)
- Boston Transportation and Mass Department of Transportation
- Inspectional Services
- Department of Neighborhood Development
- Boston Housing Authority
- Parks Department
- Boston Public Schools
- Boston 311 hotline
- Immigrant and Women’s Advancement
- Office of Recovery Services
- Imagine Boston 2030 Master Plan
- Vision Zero traffic initiative
Refreshments will also be served.