St. Mark's Area Main Street

Please join the Dorchester Artists' Collaborative and SMAMS on Monday, April 3, 5:30 - 7:30 PM, at the Codman Square Branch of the Boston Public Library, at a reception to celebrate the end of the first phase of the Peabody Square Public Art Project.

We have received proposals from all over New England for a permanent art installation in Peabody Square. Before selecting the finalists from this group of proposals, the Selection Committee invites the community to comment on them.

Proposals, along with comment sheets, will be on view at the April 3 reception, as well as during regular library hours, from March 31 - April 7, 2006.

Refreshments will be provided by the Ashmont Grill.

Representatives from the Urban Arts Institute, the project manager, members of the committee and hopefully some of the proposing artists will be on hand.

Based on a SMAMS-sponsored community planning project in 2004, The City of Boston and the MBTA have hired traffic engineers and landscape architects to design a safer street layout for Peabody Square.

Community meetings will be held to look at new street layouts; the first meeting will take place onThursday, March 16, 6:30 PM, at All Saints Church Hall, 209 Ashmont Street.

The re-working of our roadways, along with the rebuilding of Ashmont Station and the planned Trinity Financial building, constitute possibly the largest infrastructure change in the history of this neighborhood. Input from local residents and merchants is crucial to the success of this project, and all are encouraged to attend!

In the spring of 2004, SMAMS hosted several community planning workshops. More than 100 people spent many hours developing recommendations for a district that would be safer for drivers and pedestrians and more appealing to businesses and shoppers. (To see details of the project and the committee report, click here.)

Based on our work, the City and the MBTA have funded a design study to plan for infrastructure improvements. We expect to begin work during the winter.

SMAMS is also participating in The Avenue Project, a BRA-sponsored planning project to upgrade Dorchester Ave. from Lower Mills to the Expressway. We will coordinate our own design study with The Avenue Project to promote a thriving business district all along Dot Ave.

Michael Collins, the new Chancellor of UMass-Boston, will be the featured guest at SMAMS' Fall General meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, at the Epiphany School behind Shawmut Station.

Dr. Collins will discuss current UMass projects, plans for the future, and how the university is engaged in the Dorchester community.

We will also go over our work plan for the year and give updates on SMAMS' many projects.

Refreshments will be provided courtesy of The Ashmont Grill - reason enough in itself to attend!

Thanks to all who made the recent "Martinis on the Avenue" fundraiser a tremendous success! More than 200 people came out for the event, a joint fundraiser for SMAMS and Fields Corner Main Street.

The new "Dotini" was unveiled to rave reviews, and even a die-hard Guinness drinker, stout in hand, declared he was having a great time.

The funds raised will help SMAMS and FCMS continue our work of revitalizing the Dorchester Ave. business district from Ashmont Station to Freeport Street

Many thanks to our generous sponsors: The Blarney Stone; The Dorchester Reporter; Dorchester House Multi-Service Center; H. Levenbaum Insurance Agency, Inc.; H. Levenbaum Realty, Inc.; Viet-AID; Emmerson Animal Hospital; and Tedeschi Food Shops.

Family Dollar Stores is a national chain of low-price retail stores. The company has stores in several Boston neighborhoods, including Uphams Corner, Hyde Park, East Boston, South Boston and West Roxbury.

Family Dollar is proposing to open a store at 1676 Dorchester Avenue (red brick building, the site of the former auto body shop, near the corner of Centre Street). Due to the size of the proposed store they will need a zoning variance to do this.

People in other neighborhoods housing Family Dollar Stores have raised concerns about the stores - for example, solid window grates, trash, traffic congestion. In October, SMAMS' board of directors had an initial conversation with Family Dollar representatives to discuss those concerns. The Family Dollar people said they would work to be a good neighbor to the community.

SMAMS, and our next-door neighbor Fields Corner Main Street, are teaming up to present Martinis on the Avenue on Tuesday, November 15, 7:00 – 10:00 PM, at the Blarney Stone Pub, 1505 Dorchester Ave.

Tickets are $25 and include hors d’oeuvres and the lively music of the Joe Carson Band.

The evening will also mark the debut of the “Dotini,” a closely guarded recipe developed by FCMS volunteers.

Martinis on the Avenue, subtitled 7 on the Dot, will benefit SMAMS’ and FCMS' work of revitalizing our Dorchester ("Dot") Avenue business districts, located mainly between Ashmont and Fields Corner stations.

Mayor Menino will announce Boston's next Restaurant Initiative during a visit to Peabody Square Friday, September 9, at 4:00 PM. The announcement will accompany the dedication of seven recently renovated storefronts in the Square. One of those seven, the Ashmont Grill, participated in the City's first Restaurant Initiative, which aims to bring quality restaurants to all of Boston's neighborhoods.

SMAMS helped to finance the Grill renovations and provided funding and design assistance to the other six locations: ODWIN Learning Center, the Tara Pub, Johnny's Pizza, Ashmont Cleaners, Ashmont Realty, and the Law Office of Brenda Fluker.

These forward- thinking merchants, professionals and educators have begun the long-awaited beautification of Peabody Square. Please join us, and Mayor Menino, to applaud their commitment to our neighborhood.

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 15, 8:00 - 10:00 PM, when owner Chris Douglass will host a SMAMS fundraiser at the beautiful new Ashmont Grill!

The evening celebrates Chris' extraordinary commitment to bringing high-quality, affordable dining to our neighborhood. SMAMS is honored to have participated in this project with a Main Street strorefront improvement grant. The City of Boston also played a role, through its Restaurant Initiative and ReStore Boston programs.

The evening will feature great hors d'oeuvres, live music, a cash bar and a silent auction.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at www .smams.org/ashmont_grill.php or by sending a check, payable to SMAMS, to: SMAMS, 20 Roseland St., Dorchester, MA 02124. Please include your address and phone number so we can confirm your purchase. (We do not share residential addresses or phone numbers with anyone.) Tickets are limited and selling fast, so order yours soon!

Community activists in Dorchester's Ashmont/Peabody Square neighborhood learned recently that Trinity Financial, the firm that is slated to develop a parcel adjacent to the Ashmont T station, did not get the state tax credits they sought to make the project financially feasible.