Author: Sam

  • New development in the neighborhood

    New development in the neighborhood

    Here’s some info from the recent meeting of The Chinatown Coalition about a new development going forward nearby: “On February 1, 2011 National Development (the “Proponent”) filed their Project Notification Form and is proposing to redevelop the underutilized and soon to be vacant site located at 300 Harrison Avenue in the South End (the “Project”).…

  • Winter Lights going up tonight in Chinatown Park

    Winter Lights going up tonight in Chinatown Park

    We’ll be out tonight to see this installation in Chinatown Park. Here’s details from the Greenway: FIGMENT lights up Chinatown Park this winter! As part of the Winter Lights series on the Greenway, FIGMENT will feature five interactive art displays in Chinatown Park throughout the winter season. The kick off event will take place Thursday,…

  • New Boston Hostel coming to the neighborhood

    New Boston Hostel coming to the neighborhood

    Here’s a project around the corner that we’re very excited about: New Boston Hostel.You can even take a hard hat tour, details below from the Chinatown Coalition: Hostelling International Hard Hat Tour – January 12 Space is Limited and Reservation Required! The hard hat tour will be led by Hostelling International and will leave approximately 10:30am from…

  • Greenway Public Meeting about Public Art

    Greenway Public Meeting about Public Art

    The Greenway wants your input about public art. Here’s their announcement: Public Meeting – Public Art Strategy Kick-off Join us for a discussion on the developing Greenway public art strategy. Meet the consultants, hear from the planning committee and begin a dialogue. We’ll continue the conversation and celebrate over cocktails at a neighborhood restaurant, TRADE…

  • A cultural performing arts center for Chinatown

    We noticed this story in New York’s Chinatown about a effort to bring a cultural/performing art center to an abandoned theater. The news caught our eye because of a similar effort here in Boston to launch Boston’s Chinatown Cultural Center. (Not many people know, but there is actually an abandoned theater in Boston’s Chinatown…)

  • Chinatown Cultural Center coming along

    Here’s an excerpt from a recent update from Alice Leung, Start-Up Manager of the new Chinatown Cultural Center. Alice is looking for help on several fronts as she prepares for a soft-launch of the Center in early 2012: Dear Friends and Supporters of the Chinatown Cultural Center, …In the past few months, we have had many…

  • Elevated Train in Boston's Chinatown

    Here’s a remarkable image of a train wreck at Beach and Harrison Streets in Boston’s Chinatown, taken in 1928. Our friend Will D., who has a longstanding interest in and connection to the neighborhood, shared the photo with us. Thanks Will. You can see this image and many more at the Boston Public Library Special…

  • New Chinatown Cultural Center seeks web designer

    Here’s an announcement from our friend Alice Leung, Start-up Manager for the new Chinatown Cultural Center. The Center is seeking a web designer: The Chinatown Cultural Center (Cultural Center) is a collaboration of community members and community-based organizations to develop a cultural center in Boston’s Chinatown. The vision of the Chinatown Cultural Center is to…

  • Park re-opens in the heart of the neighborhood

    The ribbon cutting at the Mary Soo Hoo park yesterday answers two questions the kids and I have been exploring for several years now: what does it take to clean up a park and a vacant lot. (See our “cases” in the menu above.) Today the city and local advocates accomplished both, and we’re moved…

  • Mary Soo Hoo Park to open this Saturday

    Anyone who has followed our little blog over the years will know that we are excited to share the following invitation: Mayor Thomas M. Menino , the Boston Redevelopment Authority & the Soo Hoo Family invite you to attend the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Mary Soo Hoo Park Saturday, November 19, 2011, 1:00 PM at…

  • Chinatown Park/Greenway gets new seating/umbrellas

    Here’s an invitation from the Greenway Conservancy to celebrate the new umbrellas on the Greenway in Chinatown Park. We’ll be there! Please join the Chinatown Community and the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to celebrate the collaborative effort to bring new tables, chairs and umbrellas to Chinatown Park and to thank…

  • Outdoor chinese-language films this weekend

    Starting tomorrow, we’ll be on Hudson St. helping to show free films for the neighborhood. Come on down to Films at the Gate 2011!

  • New effort to bring books and learning to Chinatown

    Here’s a Globe article about a new project in the neighborhood to create a small-scale reading room in Chinatown. This is the start of a longer-term effort to create a new Chinatown Cultural Center in Boston. (Here’s a blog post from back in May with some photos of books on the move.) We’re excited that…

  • Shovels in the dirt

    Groundbreaking for Mary Soo Hoo Park, Boston MA. Photo by Malcolm Davol.  

  • Groundbreaking ceremony for Mary Soo Hoo Park 7/15

    From the Mayor’s office, an invitation to groundbreaking for the new park is copied below. We’ve been taking lots of photos and posting on the kids’ Flickr Stream here. Mayor Thomas M. Menino & the Boston Redevelopment Authority invite you to attend a groundbreaking for Mary Soo Hoo Park Friday, July 15th, 2011 3:00 PM at the Chinatown…

  • Mary Soo Hoo Park construction underway

    We’re excited that construction is underway for the new Mary Soo Hoo Park on Hudson St, right next to the Chinatown Gate. We’re been hoping for and working on improvements to this corner of our neighborhood over the years. (See our cases above Improving Gateway Park and Tending a Vacant Lot.) Now, we’re experimenting with…

  • Reggie Wong

    Our family will miss chatting with Reggie on summer evenings near the Gate. His passing reminds us that building great neighborhoods does not need to be complicated—it starts with great people who are willing to take the time. Reggie Wong 1943-2011. Boston Globe obituary.

  • Where do you want a food truck?

    Through April 13, you can give your input about locations for food trucks via a new online survey offered by the City of Boston. If you’ve spent time on our little blog, you know the kids and I have a favorite truck which we think is several lengths ahead of the nearest competition: Clover. They…

  • Stone Soup Farm CSA started spring delivery today

    Stone Soup Farm is an outstanding farm that has a CSA pick-up right near South Station in downtown Boston. This week’s delivery included a hen’s first egg, which is a tiny egg that a hen produces when she lays for the first time. Her “warm-up” egg, basically. Great vegetables, hard working farmers who are building…

  • Flower Market at the Gate

    Our friends at Chinatown Main Street have brought a small flower market to Chinatown Park on the Greenway to celebrate Chinese New Year. Great idea for the space—looks terrific, livens up the plaza, and provides a timely service for residents and visitors alike. Open, January 29 – February 2 from 9AM – 6PM.

  • Parcel 24 Public Meetings

    Here’s a neighborhood development project that we support and are excited about: Parcel 24. This is not your typical building project in downtown Boston, in large part because of the hard work of our friends at the Asian Community Development Corporation who have a stake in the project.  We’re taking a “field trip” to the public…

  • Tonight, Lights and Events on the Greenway

    Tonight from 4-7PM, check out the unveiling of “Bright Lights for Winter Nights” with music and activities on the Greenway. We hear that Clover Food truck will be staying out late at Dewey Square, which is where we’ll be having dinner.

  • New design for Mary Soo Hoo Park, meeting 12/2

    Here’s an invitation from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for a community meeting about the renovation of Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park. The Boston Redevelopment Authority invites you to attend a public meeting for Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park Thursday, Dec 2nd, 2010 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent…

  • New design for Mary Soo Hoo Park, meeting 12/2

    Here’s an invitation from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for a community meeting about the renovation of Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park. The Boston Redevelopment Authority invites you to attend a public meeting for Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park Thursday, Dec 2nd, 2010 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent…

  • Join us at Home Movie Day, Saturday Oct 16.

    We’ve been offline lately but still working hard on the neighborhood! Join us at a little event that we’re helping to host in downtown Boston called Home Movie Day, next Saturday, October 16 · 11:00am – 4:00pm in the Independence Wharf Public Room, 470 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02110. Details here. Home Movie Day is an…

  • Chinatown Gate/Mary Soo Hoo Park plans approved, construction bids next

    The Boston Redevelopment Authority’s board of directors approved the current proposal to improve the Chinatown Gate/Mary Soo Hoo Park and granted approvals to seek construction services bids. Read more from here from Banker and Tradesmen.

  • Chinatown Gate/Mary Soo Hoo Park plans approved, construction bids next

    The Boston Redevelopment Authority’s board of directors approved the current proposal to improve the Chinatown Gate/Mary Soo Hoo Park and granted approvals to seek construction services bids. Read more from here from Banker and Tradesmen.

  • Chinatown Master Plan Meeting on April 10

    Here’s information about the next Chinatown Master Plan Meeting from Kye Liang: The Chinatown Master Plan 2010 is hosting the second to last public meeting on: Saturday, April 10th 1pm-4:30pm Josiah Quincy School cafeteria 885 Washington Street, Boston (child care and refreshments will be available) The purpose of this meeting is to confirm master plan…

  • Third public meeting—Gateway Park

    The BRA will hold a third public meeting about Gateway Park on March 25, 2010. More project info here from BRA. Here’s a copy of the invite: The Boston Redevelopment Authority invites you to attend the final public meeting for Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park. Thursday, March 25, 2010. 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM…

  • Second public meeting on Gateway Park design

    The BRA will hold a second public meeting about Gateway Park on Feb 25, 2010. More project info here from BRA. Here’s a copy of the invite: The Boston Redevelopment Authority invites you to attend the second public meeting for Mary Soo Hoo (Chinatown Gateway) Park Thursday, February 25th, 2010 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM…

  • We've been hanging out in the Library

    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…

  • Public Meeting on Mary Soo Hoo Park (Chinatown Gateway Park)

    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…

  • Design team for park to be announced today

    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…

  • Storefront Library at August Moon Festival

    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.

  • Boston Redevelopment Authority issues RFP for re-design of China Gate Park

    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…

  • Littered Gateway Park

    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…

  • Family Games back in Chinatown Park

    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:

  • Toys and Games in the Chinatown Park tonight

    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. Come outside and play.

  • Storefront Library for Chinatown

    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…

  • Stone Soup Farm CSA

    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…

  • Dewey Square Farmers' Market Returns

    The Dewey Square Farmers’ Market opened today and will be open until 6:30PM this evening. This public market near South Station is a program of Boston Public Market. We’re glad to have it back in 2009, after missing it last year.

  • a little reorganization

    This week, the kids and I took a moment to think about our site. We decided to update the structure a bit. We want to talk about the neighborhood in two different ways: 1) small, quick encounters/observations; and 2) longer-term projects that take weeks or months of advocacy. Until now, we’ve dedicated our posts to…

  • Fixing park lights on the Greenway

    The newly-installed lights along the entire west side of the Chinatown Park on the Greenway are out. Another lamppost on the east side is half out. We noticed all this while playing wall ball in the evening. In the city, there’s always a question of who’s-in-charge-of-what. On the Greenway, the main players are the City of Boston,…

  • Cleaning a storm drain

    The storm drain at the end of our street needs to have its catch basin mucked out. My son pointed out the smell weeks ago, and I agree—something’s not right. The smell is overpowering, and we had to hold our breath to take this photo. There is a small restaurant on the corner which suffers…

  • Tending a vacant lot

    We live near a narrow, fenced-in, overgrown lot in the heart of downtown Boston. A section of the chain link fence regularly collapses onto the sidewalk, allowing you to walk inside. Under the shrubs, you can see how the lot has absorbed bottles, takeout containers, and illegally dumped restaurant grease for years. (On a recent…

  • Neighborhood events this week

    Films at the Gate Wednesday, Sept. 3 – Sunday, Sept. 7 (films start each night at 7:30 PM) For five nights this week, for the third year in a row, a vacant lot near Boston’s Chinatown Gate will become a free, outdoor theater, showing Kung-Fu and classic Chinese-language films. Learn more here. The film series is a community event…

  • Finding a missing farmers' market

      On May 21, 2008, the City of Boston calendar (screen shot) announced the opening day of the farmers’ market at Dewey Square/South Station in Boston. The Boston Public Market Association website listed the same information. We walked over to the square, but there wasn’t any market. Here’s what we did about it: Steps [2008.05.21]  We called the City…

  • Fixing a broken traffic signal

    The red light on the northeast corner of Kneeland and Tyler Streets has been out for weeks. Even with a signal, crossing at this intersection is tough for pedestrians because cars speed, run red lights, and make numerous turns. The pedestrian/walk button on the same corner is also broken. The button has been jammed into its socket…

  • Improving Gateway Park

    Gateway Park is a small park/playground located near the southern end of Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway. It sits in the shadow of the Chinatown Gate, so the park’s condition sends a powerful message about the state of the neighborhood and Boston generally. Unlike the newly created Chinatown Park to the north, Gateway Park is in poor condition and suffers from the…

  • Fixing residential recycling collection

    Recently, we noticed that our curbside recycling was being dumped into a garbage truck with our household trash. We shot this video and sent it to the Boston Department of Public Works. Steps [2008.05.05]  City employees replied by email and said a meeting was planned with the collection contractor (Capitol). [2008.05.09]  On the next trash day, household trash was picked…