St. Mark's Area Main Street

If you notice the Ashmont Station/Peabody Square area looking especially clean these days, you can thank Mr. Curtis Holley. Curtis has been on the job every weekday since June cleaning Dorchester Ave. from Gallivan Boulevard to Ashmont Street. His thoroughness and professionalism have made a big impact on our neighborhood, especially at a time when the Square is dealing with two major construction projects.

A big thank you also goes out to Councillor Maureen Feeney, who was instrumental in persuading the City to assign a cleaner to the SMAMS district.

On Tuesday, June 20, at 2:00 PM, Trinity Financial will break ground on their long- awaited "Transit-Oriented Development" project at Ashmont Station, and they invite you to join them.

The project, which will include 74 affordable apartments, 42 market-rate condos, and 10,000 square feet of retail space, has been a community affair all along. Hundreds of people attended meetings, shared concerns, and offered suggestions to make this a project that enhances Peabody Square and the entire neighborhood. Speaker Tom Finneran, Senator Jack Hart, Reps Linda Dorcena Forry and Marty Walsh, Mayor Tom Menino, and Councillors Maureen Feeney and Charles Yancey provided key support. And Vince Droser, Jim Keefe and the entire Trinity team have been true partners in this process, listening carefully to neighborhood opinions and incorporating many of them into the final design.

In response to a SMAMS community planning project in 2004, the City is re-designing the street layout of Peabody Square. The new design will improve traffic flow, simplify pedestrian crossings, and create space for use as plazas, landscaping and art.

The Transportation and Public Works Departments, Judith Nitsch Engineering and Carol Johnson Landscape Architects met with more than 50 residents and merchants on May 30, and the neighborhood settled on a preliminary conceptual design for the new intersection ("Scheme 2" in photo). This layout will move the Talbot Ave/Dot Ave intersection slightly north from the Square and will close the Bushnell Street Extension, which runs between the Peabody Square Clock Park and Store 24. The design will also add green space and public gathering space.

Mayor Menino recently honored SMAMS Treasurer Lisa O'Neill (in photo, center) and the Ashmont Grill as SMAMS' volunteer and business of the year for 2005.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Office of Arts, Tourism & Special Events, the Dorchester Arts Collaborative (DAC), SMAMS and the Boston Art Commission have announced that Dorchester sculptor Joe Wheelwright has been selected to create the public art installation for Peabody Square. DAC will host a public Art Talk event with Wheelwright on June 12, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., at his studio at 11 Humphreys Street in Dorchester.

Joe Wheelwright is a renowned Boston sculptor who works in a variety of materials, including stone, bronze and wood. Recently, some of his works were featured in a year-long solo exhibition at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln.

Dorchester Day 2006 saw SMAMS once again representing our neighborhood in the Dot Day Parade. Despite the less-than-perfect weather, a good crowd was on hand to cheer on our marchers. The SMAMS contingent livened up the parade with a vintage 1955 Buick donated and driven by Mark Juaire. Thanks to Mark and to marchers Steve and Jason Wilkins, Steve and Anthony Datish, Bill and Henry Richard, Erroll and Janette Uys, Dan Larner and Tom Carroll. Thanks also to parade sponsor EST Associates engineering, and to The Ashmont Grill for donating gift cards for distribution.

Thanks to the many volunteers who made the April 28/29 "Boston Shines" cleanup weekend a success. On Friday SMAMS volunteers distributed brooms and dustpans to merchants along Dot Ave. This was a way to thank the many businesses who clean up their storefront area every day, and to encourage others to do the same. On Saturday, swarms of volunteers descended on Peabody Square and the St. Mark's Church area for a thorough sweeping, raking, weeding and mowing. Their efforts have made a noticeable difference in the look of the district.

Thanks also to the Ashmont Hill Association for their generous donation of mulch that we spread around the Peabody Square Clock Park.

After five years and two months of incredible community organizing, Ashmont Station is beginning its "extreme makeover." The bus bays are coming down as this is written, and the rest of the building will follow soon. Two years from now a completely new Ashmont Station will be fully operational.

The MBTA expects little disruption of Red Line service except for the Mattapan Trolley, which will be replaced by shuttle buses for one year beginning this summer while the line is rebuilt.

Many thanks to the residents, merchants, elected officials and MBTA officials and staff who worked so hard to make this project a stunning success.

SMAMS will team up with the City of Boston for the annual "Boston Shines" cleanup campaign on Friday- Saturday April 28 and 29.

Friday marks SMAMS' first participation in the corporate cleanup. Our "Operation Clean Sweep" volunteers will deliver brooms to many neighborhood businesses, along with information on the business benefits of keeping a clean storefront area.

On Saturday we will focus on actual cleanup, focusing on Peabody Square and the area around St. Mark's Church.

Volunteers are needed for both events! The Friday sessions are 9:00 - 11:00 AM and 1:00 - 3:00 PM, meeting place TBA. The Saturday session runs from 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM, but we will probably finish before noon. Cleaning supplies will be provided by the City. The pick-up location is currently St. Mark's Church, but we hope to add a second location for the Peabody Square cleaners.

To volunteer, or for more information, please call Dan Larner in the SMAMS office at 617-825-3846.

SMAMS presents “Around the World and Around the Way” on Wednesday May 3, 2006, 7:00 PM, at Florian Hall, 55 Hallet Street, Dorchester. A $30 ticket includes dinner and four of the area's funniest comics! Tickets can be purchased online at www.smams.org or by phone at 617-825- 3846. Tables of 10 and sponsorships are also available

Doors open at 7:00, dinner is served at 7:30, and the laughs begin at 8:00. Featured Comics:

Dorchester’s own Deb Farrar-Parkman, one of the founders of the ColorStruck Comedy Festival, has been lauded by The Boston Globe as "one of the most consistently inventive performers" to emerge on the Boston comedy scene. The Emmy-Award winning producer and writer performs coast to coast and is a regular host of the Sunday night Women in Comedy series at Jimmy Tingle's OFF BROADWAY Theater.