NBSS, RUFF and a Friends Group Featured at Community Meeting

While there were no voting items on the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association agenda, there were three interesting presentations involving the North Bennet Street School, RUFF (Responsible Urbanites For Fido) and a new group calling themselves Friends of the North End Parks.

The latter appears to be a duplicate of the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association Parks and Open Spaces Committee.

NBSS President Miguel Gomez-Ibanez updated the committee on the status of the school’s move to their new facility, the old printing plant on North Street. He believes that the move will take about a year and the school could be fully operational by September 2013, just in time for the Eliot School to move into the North Bennet Street location.

NBSS has been located in the North End for 131 years.

Ibanez said, “There are no plans to raise the building beyond the 55 foot limitation imposed in the North End. The facility is currently 50 feet,” he added.

Leslie Horn and Amy Hand spoke about the newly form local group called RUFF, (Responsible Urbanites For Fido), both are active members of the dog owners group which has 72 members.

RUFF has already held one monthly meeting and clean-up project. They have also distributed flyers and hung posters in the neighborhood reminding pet owners of their duties and responsibilities as North End dog owners.

RUFF is planning its second community clean-up scheduled for Sunday, August 19 at 9am starting in the Prado.

Friends of the North End Parks was represented by Nathan Swain President, and Diane Valle. The goal of this group appears to be to beautify the parks so they can have world class gardens, engage the community so they can enjoy being involved in their parks and create a space that the community loves and supports, according to a brochure handed out at the meeting.