We’ve been offline here at Little Impact for several months—it’s been all hands on deck for a local project that we’re running called the Storefront Library. Below is a description of the project (a temporary public library in a vacant storefront) which we’ve extended through January 17, 2010. Come visit us there, and we’ll see you back here at Little Impact in 2010.
The Chinatown Storefront Library has transformed one of Boston Chinatown’s vacant, commercial, street-level spaces into a temporary public library. Operating for approximately three months, the project is creating a memorable event for Chinatown, while providing a selection of urgently needed services for a community that has been without a library since 1956. The library offers: books, Internet access, newspapers, a children’s reading area, and a mix of programs and activities.
The Storefront Library is not a branch of the Boston Public Library, nor is it intended to be a substitute for a permanent branch. The project’s purpose is to activate street-level space with an installation that will demonstrate the potential impact of a library in the neighborhood. It will also model how cities can move forward in tough economic times to activate urban space.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority will hold the first public meeting for Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park on Thursday, December 17, 2009, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, 90 Tyler Street, Boston MA 02111. Translation will be provided.
BRA staff and its consultant team, Stephen Stimson Associates, will review the project schedule, the existing site conditions, and begin a discussion of potential site improvements within the scope of work.
For more information contact:
Jill Ochs Zick,
Boston Redevelopment Authority
Phone: 617.918.4354
Email: jill.ochs.zick.BRA@cityofboston.gov
Sue Kim
Boston Redevelopment Authority
Phone: 617.918.4418
Email: sue.kim.BRA@cityofboston.gov
From Kye Liang of the Chinatown Gateway Coalition: The Mayor’s Office, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Soo Hoo Family will be hosting an event on Wednesday, Oct 21 to announce the selection of the design team for the Mary Soo Hoo Park (aka Chinatown Gateway Park).
Update: a design team was announced today by the BRA.
On Sunday, August 16, the Storefront Library Project will appear at the 2009 August Moon Festival. Staff will be on-hand to discuss the project, and elements of the Storefront Library program will be demonstrated, such as a small children’s reading area, photography and calligraphy books for adult browsing, and free WIFI.
On July 28, 2009 the Boston Redevelopment Authority sent out a request for proposals to re-design Gateway Park (or “China Gate Park”). The RFP states:
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (”BRA”) is soliciting proposals from qualified individuals or companies (“Proponent”) to provide professional Design Services in connection with China Gate Park on Hudson Street in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. This proposal will develop park and play space improvements that address issues of site and landscape design including pavements and drainage, play elements, and signage for the proposal area.
The kids and I will be following how this plays out, and we’ll be learning about how designs for public space are chosen in a city. Good stuff.
We’ve been thinking about the situation in Gateway Park for some time. Today, uncharacteristically in fact, the trash cans in the park have not been emptied for days, and the litter is swirling around the park and playground. Tomorrow morning, if it’s still a problem, the kids and I have decided to make some calls and see who can address it.
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[2009.08.05] Update: the trash cans were emptied by mid-morning and the litter cleaned up. No calls made on our end. Next time, we’ll explore who could have helped.
Despite overcast skies, the Family Games at Chinatown Park were, once again, well attended tonight. The staffed play area is being provided by the Greenway Conservancy every Wednesday from 5-7PM through August 19, 2009. Here’s a little video from tonight:
We’re working on a project in the neighborhood called the Storefront Library, which will transform one of Boston Chinatown’s vacant, commercial, street-level spaces into a temporary public library in the Fall of 2009.
On Sunday, July 12, 2009 the Storefront Library Project will make an appearance at the 2009 Chinatown Main Street Festival to conduct outreach. Staff will be on-hand to discuss the project and provide a small children’s reading area and free WIFI for a limited number of users.
Read about the project here, and come out to the festival to learn more.
This year we signed up with Stone Soup Farm to receive a produce and egg share. We’re interested in exploring and supporting the CSA model downtown, and it’s great to have another source for produce in the neighborhood. We pick up our share every week in the lobby of the Nonprofit Center near South Station. The produce has been excellent, and the pick-up process fun and well organized.
Here’s how the Stone Soup Farm describes the CSA concept on their web site:
CSA is a method of purchasing your produce on a pre-pay basis. You sign up at the beginning of the growing season, and receive a weekly load of veggies for your family. The quantity and variety varies throughout the season, giving you a full spectrum of seasonal produce that is grown at the farm.
In a way, buying a share is like buying stock in the farm. You pay for a percentage of the farm’s output, and each week we distribute evenly to all CSA shareholders that which is available. Like when buying stocks, you share in the ups and downs of the organization. If Stone Soup has a very poor potato harvest, then you will not receive many potatoes. On the other hand, if there is a bumper crop of potatoes, then you will receive a heavy load of them. Our planning is aimed at providing a balanced and steady supply of all the vegetables, but the reality of farming is that it is sometimes inconsistent, and CSA members will share in the ups and downs of the farm.
Start little. Aim big.
We are raising our two children in downtown Boston. This site is about making small improvements to our urban neighborhood and teaching our children how to do that work themselves.
The kids and I focus on the block where we live, and we work outwards from there. We explore “new” tools, like video and social networking. We also [...]more →
The Boston Redevelopment Authority will hold the first public meeting for Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park on Thursday, December 17, 2009, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, 90 Tyler Street, Boston MA 02111. Translation will be provided.
From Kye Liang of the 
On Sunday, August 16, the 
Tonight from 5-7PM, the Greenway Conservancy has brought a staffed children’s play area with balls, games, and hula hoops to the Chinatown Park.
We’re working on a project in the neighborhood called the 
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