NEWRA Presentation Includes Energy, Bridge and Candidates

By Phil Orlandella

No voting items were on the agenda at the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) monthly meeting held on June 8 in the Nazzaro Community Center.

Reports from the president, Parks and Open Spaces, Zoning Licensing and Construction and Public Safety Committees were presented.

NEWRA’s Volunteer Organization requested volunteers for their summer party.

Stephen Passacantilli (North End) and Margaret Farmer (East Boston) candidates for the District 1 Boston City Council seat that will be vacated by Councilor LaMattina.

MassDOT and the project engineer updated NEWRA in other members of the community on North Washington Street/Charlestown River Bridge, a four-year major construction project scheduled to start late June or early July. The design plans have already been submitted to MassDOT for approval.

Residents posed questions about noise, traffic, emergency responders, work daily timetable and other things of concern.

Once a developer is selected, another community meeting will be held. One suggestion on the table is requesting the developer set up monthly meetings with the neighborhood to update residents on the status of the project. “This will help the community by allowing them to have a chance to discuss the project on a regular basis and present opinions relating to the mostly federal funded replacement project,” David Kubiak told the Review.

Members of the Community Choice Energy for Boston informed residents of the fastest way to move the City of Boston away from fossil fuel and take steps toward greenhouse gas reduction goals, while creating more clean energy jobs.

One of the ways to reach this goal is bulk purchasing which would allow the City of Boston to negotiate and purchase local new England renewable energy for every resident regardless of income.

Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu has held a public hearing on this matter and the next step is approval by the full Council. Apparently, the timeline for a startup could be three or more years.

Obtaining five- to ten percent more renewable energy without significantly increasing energy cost is another goal.

The next NEWRA monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, July at 7 PM in the Nazzaro Community Center.