Meeting Minutes, May 4, 2026
Police Report
Officer Rosa delivered the report:
- We discussed an incident involving groups of teens and young adults at the Chilcott-Granada Park Community Garden; one group on mopeds chased another with an intent to rob; kids ran into a neighbor’s back yard; that neighbor called police. A mail carrier on the street saw a gun.
- There has been a string of robberies, including one on Iffley Road; often a moped is involved; most occured after 7 pm. Officer Rosa urges people to remain alert, e.g., not be distracted by phones.
- Package thefts continue to occur across the City; Officer Rosa encourages people to use drop off locations for package deliveries
- There was a decrease in shoplifting at Walgreen’s over the past month.
- There will be a 3K walk with the Boston Police on Wednesday, 5/20 at 10 am beginning in Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester
- Officer Patty Darosa invites neighbors to join her on a weekly walk along the Southwest Corridor every Wednesday evening; meet at Green St. Station at 6 pm
Habitat for Humanity & 174-176 Boylston St.
- Gary Acquah has been hired by Habitat as a consultant to serve as the manager for the Boylston St. Project. To recap, 174-176 Boylston was designated in 2022 by the City to develop this City-owned lot into 4 affordable homeowner units.
- According to Gary, Habitat continues to work with the City on getting its design approved; the project has not yet moved out of this design stage. Adaptiv is the architect, the same architect used for another Habitat project at 104 Walter St., Roslindale.
- Gary informed us that Habitat will need to raise additional funds to undertake this project. Usually Habitat relies on its own funds, a subsidy that the City is providing for each unit, and a construction loan to fund its projects. This is a new item, that Habitat will need to seek additional outside philanthropic contributions to cover a shortfall of $500,000-600,000. He said Habitat would also seek support from local companies and volunteer contractors.
- We discussed ways that Habitat can make people aware of the plans for this property and ideas for fundraising. However, Habitat did not have a clear timeline for when they will be able to move forward with this project.
Updates & Announcements.
- Melissa from Councilor Weber’s office announced that the Councilor would hold a budget hearing for Jamaica Plain residents on Thursday, 5/8 at the First Baptist Church.
Next Meeting: Monday, June 1, 6pm