May 2016 New Listings...
88 Ossipee Road, Somerville ~ $1,175,000 Walk to Davis and Teele Square from this beautifully renovated 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom 3-story single family with driveway and fenced backyard. Contemporary finishes blended with lovely original details. Dreamy master suite occupies entire top floor.
1 Summer Street #5, Somerville $2,450,000 Stunning, award-winning renovation of a historic church in the heart of Union Square. Grand living and entertaining space with 65 ft. ceiling; 500-bottle wine storage in dining room; 3-4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths on 3 levels; chef’s kitchen; 2 garage parking spaces.
11 Chandler Street #2 ~ $779,000 Just a block from the Davis Square T stop, this bright unit has 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and a study on 2 levels. Private front porch and back deck; exclusive basement storage; private garage and additional driveway space.
51 Bow Street #1, Somerville ~ $495,000 Enjoy living in the heart of Union Square from this 2-bedroom, 1-bath condo with lovely shared backyard and basement storage.
51 Craigie Street #2, Somerville ~ $395,000 Large 1 bedroom/1 bath condo with 2 side-by-side parking spaces, and treetop views. Walk to Porter Square T station and to shops and nightlife in Porter and Union Squares.
Coming Soon
Thalia Tringo
North Cambridge Townhouse
President, Realtor ® 617.513.1967 cell/text Thalia@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Walk to Davis, Porter, or Alewife T stops from this 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom
Davis Square Loft-style Condo Steps from the Davis Square bike path, stunning 2 bed, 2 bath unit with parking.
Teele Square Condo First floor 2-bedroom, 1 bathroom with private yard and porch near Teele and Davis Squares.
Commercial FOR LEASE – ASSEMBLY ROW
East Somerville /Assembly Row $14-$25/SF NNN
Steps from Assembly Row Orange Line T stop and just off Rt. 93. This 4,500 sq. ft. space on 2 levels has exposed brick walls and abundant natural light from windows on 3 sides and comes with 12 parking spaces. Lease terms subject to build-out requirements and whether the property is leased wholly or subdivided.
Free Classes How to Buy and Sell at the Same Time for homeowners contemplating a move Monday, June 6th
6:30-7:45 pm
If trying to figure out the logistics of selling your home and buying a new one make your head spin, this workshop will help make the process understandable. This workshop, led by our agents and a loan officer from a local bank, includes a 45-min presentation and 1/2 hour Q&A session. Handouts and refreshments provided.
How Individuals Can Buy Property Together as a Group: a primer for non-traditional homebuyers Tuesday, June 14th
6:30-7:45 pm
When two or more people, whether or not they are related, buy property together, what are their options for taking title? How do you determine each one’s financial contributions, percentage legal interest in the property, and expense allocation? What kind of arrangements can be made in the event one or more parties want to move on but others want to keep the property? What type of financing is available? We will address these and other questions in this class with a follow-up Q&A session. Lead by our team and a local real estate attorney.
What to Look for When You Buy—or Own—a House: advice from a home inspector Wednesday, May 18th
6:30-7:45 pm
Are there warning signs you should look for as a house hunter or homeowner? What regular maintenance do you need to do to prevent major problems? Led by a local home inspector, this class includes a 45-min presentation and 1/2 hour Q&A session. Handouts and refreshments provided.
To reserve space in any class, please email Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com. Admission is free, but we appreciate donations of canned goods or coats/gloves/hats for the Somerville Homeless Coalition. Also email Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com for future class dates.
Todd Zinn
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.852.1839 cell/text Todd@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Niké Damaskos
Residential Sales and Commercial Sales and Leasing 617.875.5276 Nike@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Jennifer Rose
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.943.9581 cell/text Jennifer@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Lynn C. Graham
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.216.5244 cell/text Lynn@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Brendon Edwards
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.895.6267 cell/text Brendon@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Adaria Brooks
Executive Assistant to the President, Realtor ® 617.308.0064 cell/text Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
About our company... We are dedicated to representing our buyer and seller clients with integrity and professionalism. We are also commi ed to giving back to our community. Our agents donate $250 to a non-profit in honor of each transaction and Thalia Tringo & Associates Real Estate Inc. also gives $250 to a pre-selected group of local charities for each transaction. Visit our office, 128 Willow Avenue, on the bike path in Davis Square, Somerville.
MAY | JUNE 2016 ::: VOLUME 39 ::: SCOUTSOMERVILLE.COM
contents 6 // EDITOR’S NOTE
8 // WINNERS & LOSERS Those $50 street sweeping tickets sure do add up. 10 // NEWS: AIR GRIEVANCES Mayor Curtatone’s challenge to Wynn is only the latest in the city’s storied environmental past. 14 // WHAT’S NEW? More food news than you can shake a steak at. 48 // SCOUT’S HONORED Time to nominate your favorite local spots!
GET OUTSIDE
28
18 // POUNDING PAVEMENT A local man is running every single street in the city—and learning a lot along the way. 20 // SHRINE, JESUS, SHRINE “Bathtub monuments” tell a story about immigration and home ownership, class and identity, that’s part of the city’s heritage.
50 // SCOUT OUT: THE DEATH OF DIY? What does it mean when our creative fixtures can’t afford to live here anymore? 54 // SCOUT AND ABOUT Here’s where you can say hi to our staff this spring. 56 // CALENDAR 58 // MARKETPLACE 60 // SCOUT THIS Win $50! 62 // SCOUT YOU
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24 // GUERRILLA GARDENERS In a place this densely packed, any patch of open land can become a garden. 28 // JOIN THE CLUBHOUSE A new space on Somerville Avenue exists to celebrate athletic achievements of all kinds—not just the professional ones. 32 // A DECADE OF DOG PARKS Featuring some of the city’s Instagram-famous canines. 36 // PITTY PARTY No breed is banished from this Somerville-based dog walking group. 38 // UNWIND OUTSIDE Prefer passive to active outdoor endeavors? Our writers share the best places to sit, think and take some time for yourself. 40 // GETTING TO KNOW THE SOMERVILLE RAMPAGE Our new semi-pro football team is already a championship winner. 44 // SOMERVILLE’S CYCLISTS ARE ON A ROLL We’re one of the most bike-friendly cities in the nation, but some cyclists say we still have a long way to go.
Photo, top: Chas Wagner (left) and Sean O’Donnell take a break from ballin’ at The ClubHouse. Photo by Jess Benjamin. Photo, bottom: Peter Bien-Aime of the Somerville Rampage—part football player, part superhero. Photo courtesy of the Somerville Rampage. On the cover: Boston terriers Measha (left) and Banjo visit Nunziato Field Dog Park with Paws in the ‘Ville walkers. Photo by Jess Benjamin.
EDITOR’S NOTE
PUBLISHER Holli Banks hbanks@scoutmagazines.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Emily Cassel ecassel@scoutmagazines.com emilycassel.me DEPUTY EDITOR Katherine Rugg krugg@scoutmagazines.com OFFICE MANAGER Melinda LaCourse mlacourse@scoutmagazines.com
W
The Get Outside
hen we decided, way back in February, to make our feature: really, just May/June feature about getting outside, we knew an elaborate ploy to hang out with dogs we’d have to contend with that whole “April showers” for work. Photo by thing. And let me just tell you how many times we had to Jess Benjamin. reschedule this issue’s interviews and photo shoots around the rain: so many times. I know, I know. The only thing more painful than being strong-armed into small talk about the weather is having to read an editor’s note about it. Too bad. I don’t mind talking temperatures; in fact, I kind of like chatting about the rain, about humidity, about how ridiculous it is that we had snow in April. The weather is one of the things that binds every single person in a given geographical region together. It doesn’t matter if you’re a dog walker (p. 36), a football player (p. 40) or even an independent filmmaker (p. 50). When it’s raining, we all reach for our waterproof jackets. When it’s sunny, we put on our shades. A springtime snowstorm makes nearly everyone—drivers, pedestrians and cyclists (p. 44) alike—groan. Anyway, a little precipitation wasn’t enough to stop the ol’ Scout team. We worked around the rain, checking the weather obsessively, and the photos on the following pages show off Somerville’s sunny side. All in all, we had a blast putting this magazine together, and we hope it will encourage you to get outside—to plant a garden (p. 24), paint a mural (p. 28) or just take your dog to the park (p. 32). Weather permitting, of course.
ART DIRECTOR Nicolle Renick design@scoutmagazines.com renickdesign.com PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Jess Benjamin jbenjamin@scoutmagazines.com jsbenjamin.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joshua Eaton, Kristofer Jenson, J.M. Lindsay, Sean Maloney, Eliza Rosenberry NEWS CORRESPONDENT Marisa Dellatto COPY EDITOR Joshua Eaton CANINE COVER STARS Paws in the ‘Ville pawsintheville.com BANKS PUBLICATIONS c/o Scout Somerville 191 Highland Ave., Ste. 1A Somerville, MA 02143
Emily Cassel, Editor in Chief ecassel@scoutmagazines.com
#ICYMI ONLINE-ONLY CONTENT FROM MARCH AND APRIL
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Office Phone: 617-996-2283 Advertising inquiries? Please contact Holli Banks at hbanks@scoutmagazines.com.
RUNNING ON FUMES: With the GLX in jeopardy, the Somerville Road Runners make a plea in support of the Community Path Extension. scoutsomerville.com/srr 6
May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
SHARING IS CARING: Shared workspaces have been popping up all over the city. Which one is right for you? scoutsomerville.com/shared-workspaces
CIRCULATION 30,000 copies of Scout Somerville are printed bimonthly and are available for free at more than 200 drop spots throughout the city (and just beyond its borders). You can find a map of our pickup locations at scoutsomerville.com/pick-up-spots or sign up for home delivery by visiting scoutsomerville.com/shop.
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W&L WINNERS
LOSERS
CHARLOTTE KAFKA-GIBBONS Ever get the notion that our city’s high school students are smarter than you are? That’s how we felt when we heard about Charlotte KafkaGibbons, the highest-scoring Somerville High School student at this year’s Region IV Science Fair. Thanks to her study on the effects of pH on bacterial growth in pickles, Kafka-Gibbons placed fifth overall and was presented with a $250 prize from Tufts University. (Is that pickle-down economics?)
DRIVEWAY-LESS DRIVERS There are 33 different types of parking violations here in Somerville, but street sweeping regulations are among the most likely to get you in trouble. While street sweeping is only in effect from April 1 to Dec. 31, those $50 fines add up. The Somerville Journal reported in April that during the period between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, the city issued a whopping 30,374 street-sweeping violation tickets that raked in a combined $1.5 million in fines. Read those signs carefully before you park, people.
THE SOMERVILLE 18 In March, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan announced that she was dropping all charges against Jessie Lowell of the so-called “Somerville 18,” the group of Black Lives Matter protesters that shut down I-93 during rush hour last January. Lowell was the final remaining member of the 18 still facing potential jail time for the action. Vocal supporters, including Mayor Joseph Curtatone, had called for prosecutors to drop the charges. “I’m thrilled and relieved that it’s finally over!” Lowell told WGBH in an email. “It has been a long fourteen-and-a-half months.” TRANS RIGHTS In March, the city’s Board of Aldermen unanimously voiced their support for transgender rights, urging state legislators to pass Senate Bill 735 and House Bill 1577. If passed, these bills will extend to transgender individuals protections from discrimination in public spaces including restaurants, hotels and medical facilities. There are no protections under current Massachusetts law to prevent businesses from turning transgender patrons away.
MENTAL HEALTH For decades, a quaint Victorian building at 78 College Ave. known simply as the Red House provided a treatment program for those in the area suffering from chronic mental illness. But those years of service came to an end when the program shuttered in March, likely to make way for condos. Despite help from the city, organizers have thus far been unable to find a new location in Somerville. “It’s leaving our most chronically ill and most vulnerable patients without their touchstone,” Jessica Gutchess, the program’s director, told the Globe. GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY Want to get your hands on public records here in Somerville? It’ll cost you. In March, the Somerville Journal reported that the city has a track record of charging as much as it can for Public Record Law (PRL) requests—and heavily redacting those documents when they’re released. “[Somerville] is a poster child for giving high fees for administering requests,” Michael Morisy of the PRLfocused website MuckRock told the Journal’s Danielle McLean. City officials maintain that they’ve abided by Massachusetts records laws. But according to McLean, the Journal has, more than once in recent years, been charged fees higher than those the state senate voted in February should be allowed by law.
Someone rustle your jimmies or tickle your fancy? Let us know at scoutsomerville.com/contact-us, and we just might crown them a winner or loser. 8
May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
OUTSIDE, ONLINE Head to scoutsomerville.com for even more on the great outdoors.
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR A local Instagrammer is photographing Somerville and Cambridge’s eyecatching entrances and exits. scoutsomerville.com/doorsofcamberville
WHERE THERE’S A NEIGHBOR, THERE’S A WAY Meet the activists who are using plants and spray paint to make city streets safer. scoutsomerville.com/neighborways
THE WEIGHT PODCAST Husband and wife Tina and Kevin are shedding the pounds and sharing their journey, one week at a time. scoutsomerville.com/weightpodcast
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NEWS
AIR GRIEVANCES MAYOR CURTATONE’S CHALLENGE TO WYNN IS ONLY THE LATEST IN SOMERVILLE’S STORIED ENVIRONMENTAL PAST. By Emily Hopkins
E
llin Reisner first became concerned over the air quality in her East Somerville neighborhood because of the soot that would collect on the side of her house. Now, having lived within coughing distance of I-93 for 17 years, she’s learned when to spend time outside and when not to—namely, during rush hour. She never opens the front windows of her house because they face the highway, and she and her husband use high grade filters in their air conditioning system—a precaution she says isn’t cheap. “People have been paying the price of this pollution for years,” says Reisner, who since moving to East Somerville has become an active member of Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP). For the past several years, STEP has advocated for transportation improvements in the area. The organization helped launch the Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) study with Tufts University in 2009. Air quality issues made headlines earlier this year when Mayor Joseph Curtatone moved
An aerial view of I-93 and the Inner Belt rail corridor in East Somerville. Photo by Nick Allen used under a Creative Commons license. 10
May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
to appeal Wynn Resorts’ environmental permits, which would allow the developer to break ground on a casino just across the Mystic River in Everett. Curtatone, who came out against the state’s moves to legalize casino gambling in 2011, says he filed the appeal over concerns about the health costs Somerville residents would shoulder from the 18,000 additional vehicle trips per day the casino would attract. To the uninitiated, Curtatone’s appeal might seem like a last-ditch effort to keep gambling out of his backyard. But justified or not, it’s the latest in a long saga that has found Somerville footing Greater Boston’s environmental bill. Somerville is built like a rust-belt city. But thanks to its proximity to other municipalities, its density and the sheer resilience of its people, it has avoided some of the problems now plaguing other cities, like Detroit, that were built around manufacturing. Nonetheless, it carries the burden of that legacy. Some may remember the trash incinerator in Brickbottom that used to put white flakes in children’s hair. Others might recall, more recently, the $400,000 grant awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency to help clean up brownfields in Union Square and East Somerville. And slicing through our eastern flank is Interstate 93—what Brad Rawson, Somerville’s head of transportation of infrastructure, recently called “the elephant in the room” in terms of the city’s environmental legacy issues. Those who commute to Boston from points north on I-93 have likely seen Somerville’s ghost ramp. The unfinished stretch of road is
The unfinished “ghost ramp” on I-93 is like a vestigial limb of a past America, a testament to the massive power wielded by urban planners during the mid-20th century, as well as the force of The People to stop them. like a vestigial limb of a past America, a testament to the massive power wielded by urban planners during the mid-20th century, as well as the force of The People to stop them. In the shadow of World War II, federally subsidized highways webbed their way across the country, until a culture shift during the the 1970s stalled their growth. After decades of unregulated industry, people started to notice the adverse health effects caused by pollution, and President Nixon signed legislation introducing regulatory agencies like the EPA. Citizens also began to reject the on-high attitudes of urban planners, protesting and ultimately halting projects like the Inner Belt, a major highway project in the Boston area that would have cut right through many neighborhoods, including Central and Inman Squares in Cambridge. By the time then-Massachusetts Governor Francis Sargent placed a moratorium on building highways, I-93 had been planned and approved. Homes were razed and construction was completed. Now, 150,000 vehicles travel over the elevated highway every day, spewing sound and pollution onto the houses that border the roadway. “When they did the studies for I-93, they knew that the lead would go up by a factor of four in the neighborhoods along I-93, to way above any reasonable level,” says Wig Zamore, who works with STEP to advocate for air quality issues. By the time it was built, the state was moving funds away from highways and into public transit. But federal
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News
money had already been committed, so officials pressed on with the construction of I-93. “Boston and Cambridge remember [the time] as a watershed, positive event,” says Zamore. “In Somerville they had already gotten some commitment of federal funds, and the state decided to go ahead with I-93 notwithstanding the studies that showed it to be detrimental.” Since then, researchers have learned a great deal more about the repercussions of living so close to a major roadway. Zamore, Reisner
“People have been paying the price of this pollution for years.” — Ellin Reisner, Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership and a group of community leaders and student researchers from Tufts University drove the 2009 CAFEH study, which looked at residents near highways in East Somerville, Dorchester and Chinatown. Students and researchers collected blood samples and activity reports from residents in these three communities to examine how and to what degree they were being exposed to ultrafine particles— miniscule pollutants that have been linked to higher rates of cardiovascular diseases and death. After these particles are dispersed into the air, they tend to accumulate, becoming larger and therefore less likely to be breathed in. That means that residents living right next to the highway are at a much higher risk of inhaling the toxins when they are in their smallest and most dangerous form. The EPA regulates air pollution, but only at a regional level. The ill
MBTA GREEN LINE EXPERIENCING MAJOR NORTHBOUND DELAYS
L
istening to interviews earlier this year, you can hear the anger in Mayor Curtatone’s voice as he talks about the possible environmental impacts the city would bear from the Wynn Casino. You can hear that same anger in footage from Off Track, a 2006 documentary on the delays of the Green Line Extension. “Somerville is, I repeat, is the most densely populated city in New England,” Curtatone says, “that is closer to downtown Boston than most neighborhoods in Boston, has four rail lines cutting through the city, eight different commuter and subway lines and just one stop,” at Davis Square. The Green Line Extension was supposed to serve as environmental mitigation for the Big Dig. The dig has been dug, but for the past two decades, none of its effects have been alleviated.
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May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
“You could have, theoretically, addressed the regional air quality issues somewhere other than Cambridge, Somerville and Medford,” says Rafael Mares, vice president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation, “but I think it was intentional to do it [here] considering ... the fact that it’s such a densely populated community that is suffering the burdens of the transportation system but didn’t see a lot of the benefits.” He goes on: “This is a light rail project in an existing right of way, and it’s in one of the most densely populated areas of the country. It’s a legal requirement and it has attracted a federal subsidy of $996 million. If we can’t build this public transportation [project] … then what project can the commonwealth complete?”
STEP’s Wig Zamore (right) talks local transportation with a visitor at last year’s ArtBeat. Photo courtesy of STEP.
effects of ultrafine particles drop off just a few hundred meters away from the highway, so taking those measurements and averaging them out over all of New England doesn’t shed light on the problem, according to Zamore. The resource-strapped EPA would have to be working on the municipal
level, and coordinating with Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns—not to mention those in other New England states—would be a costly, timeconsuming endeavor. It’s unclear what kind of mitigation will bring relief to those with I-93 in their backyards. Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin says he’s advocating for sound barriers, which would push air and pollution up above abutting homes and reduce exposure. But the state only builds retrofitted sound barriers for noise issues, not pollution, and the projects are doled out to a waiting list based on priority. That makes McLaughlin angry. “That’s unacceptable to me,” says McLaughlin. “All of our state reps are supportive of it. It’s frustrating when you see how we’re dragging on the Green Line, and I can’t even get sound barriers to deal with this problem in the short term.” Reisner and Zamore each see other paths to safer air quality for residents. Zamore would like to see better regulation of these microparticles. Reisner says that sound barriers are great, but she’s hoping for a program that helps residents near the highway get high-grade filters into their homes. Somerville seems poised to face its environmental legacy. Mayor Curtatone’s challenge to Wynn is a line in the sand—or, perhaps more accurately, a line in the soot. And earlier this year, the city released a greenhouse gas inventory to help it move toward carbon neutrality. The future here looks green—if we can find a way to clean up the past.
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WHAT’S NEW?
GETTIN’ SCHOOLED
SOMERVILLE HS RENOVATIONS
CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES UNION SQUARE
JOURNEYMAN UPDATES
J
ourneyman (9 Sanborn Ct.) is really bringing the Heat. The restaurant closed down for a few weeks in April to replace its stoves with a wood-burning fireplace and to ready its new, casual sister—Heat—which now operates out of the restaurant Monday through Wednesday. You can make a reservation at journeymantickets.com.
SOMERVILLE JOURNAL MOVES
The Scout staff is losing two great neighbors. The Cambridge Chronicle and Somerville Journal, which have long been located on Central Street—just down the road from our offices on Highland Avenue—are moving out. “Due to changes in our business model and in technology, we find it makes sense to concentrate our staffs in fewer locations,” publisher Chuck Goodrich said, according to the Chronicle. The good news is that we’re not really losing a neighbor at all; as Goodrich added, “That’s not a difficult choice given the fact that technology today enables our
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May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
journalists to be out in their communities more than ever.” He said that reporters will continue to work directly out of the cities they cover, filing stories remotely. EAST SOMERVILLE
FAT HEN
In news that the restaurant admitted is “bittersweet,” La Brasa (124 Broadway) will bid farewell to its indoor market soon as it introduces a new, 30seat restaurant in the space. Fat Hen—how great is that name?— will serve “bowls of fresh pasta, braised meats and locally grown or foraged produce,” according to Eater Boston, and will have a small open kitchen. Fat Hen should be open by late spring or early summer.
DAVIS SQUARE
STREET IMPROVEMENTS
The red brick sidewalks in Davis Square are classic, beautiful and charming. They’re also, as a member of the Davis Square Livejournal pointed out in a post last month, “a hazard,” and “murder on anyone in a wheelchair.” But they won’t be for long; according to the newly updated Somerville by Design website, a host of streetscape improvements “that will offer increased safety, easier wayfinding and traffic calming improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers” are on their way to the square. That means upgraded sidewalks, new seating areas and signals and better connectivity to the Community Path.
At an April 11 meeting, High School Building Committee members unanimously voted in favor of a more condensed building layout, which they say will preserve the school’s original 1895 wing and its 1914 additions, as well as the war memorial and fieldhouse, while allowing for more green space and athletic fields. The Somerville Journal reports that the updated building could be as tall as five stories on the Highland Avenue side, with six stories along the back. This less-spreadout design, officials say, will help preserve energy while lowering operating costs. According to the Journal, the committee will present a detailed plan to the Massachusetts School Building Authority on June 2 as it looks to receive a state reimbursement of around 72 percent for the $100 million-plus project.
POWDERHOUSE SCHOOL SALE
City officials are readying to sell the Powderhouse Community School (1060 Broadway) to a developer who plans to convert the site into mixed-use and senior housing. In April, the Somerville Journal reported that the development will include 48 total units— including eight artist’s live/work units and eight affordable units— and that the site must have no less than 10,000 square feet of front commercial space, 118 bike parking spaces and 27,767 feet of open space that’s available to the public.
Photo, top left: Journeyman’s new wood-fired grill. Photo by Joanna Bobrow. Photo, top right: Somerville High School. Photo by Tim Pierce used under a Creative Commons license.
THE ANTI-
RENAISSANCE, RENOVATIONS
DAVIS SQUARE
MUSEUM OF MODERN RENAISSANCE SEEKS NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK STATUS
Husband and wife artists Nicholas Shaplyko and Ekaterina Sorokina recently announced that they were seeking National Historic Landmark status for their Somerville home (115 College Ave.), which is far more than just a home. This is the Museum of Modern Renaissance, a building covered—both inside and out— with Shaplyko and Sorokina’s art. The house has a rich history; in addition to its current purpose as a museum, Shaplyko explains that this is where yoga was first introduced on American soil. He and Sorokina would eventually like to see the building become a World Heritage site.
GLX
What do you say, is it time we just dedicate a recurring column in “What’s New” to the latest problems plaguing the Green Line Extension? The ongoing GLX saga continued at a series of public hearings in March and April, where citizens voiced their concerns about potential cuts.
Upwards of 300 people packed out the Armory on March 2 to demand more than the scaledback station designs now being proposed by the MBTA, and on April 15, fired-up residents spoke out against cuts to the Community Path Extension that would have pedestrians and cyclists spend a half-mile on McGrath Highway rather a dedicated bicycle path. “The path is open 24/7 and doesn’t break down like the Red Line does,” said one local hero, according to the Somerville Journal. It’s just the latest in the GLX’s decadeslong drama. Maybe these updates belong in a section called “What Isn’t New at All.” DAVIS SQUARE
MOST EXPENSIVE HOME (ALMOST)
A Davis Square single-family home made headlines in March when it was sold for its full asking price, a cool $1,690,000. The house at 63 College Ave. was built in 1901 and recently renovated with Brazilian maple floors and a custom kitchen. The Somerville Times reported that it was the most expensive home ever sold in the city. But
CARPENTER
Curbed Boston noted that it isn’t, quite—a home at 32 Foskett St. went for $1,725,000 in April 2015. Both of these properties could be bested soon; Curbed added that a unit at 1 Summer St. is currently asking $2,450,000. CITYWIDE
HOMELESS SUPPORT
The Somerville Community Corporation recently received funding through the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund, a program that provides subsidies for projects that serve vulnerable, lowincome populations, to renovate two vacant two-family homes. When repairs are completed, these units will house formerlyhomeless families. “Our initial acquisition of the two properties was funded by the city through Community Preservation Act money,” explains SCC CEO Danny LeBlanc. “Those dollars enabled us to buy the properties in the first place.” The state money will allow the SCC to make necessary repairs to the properties and rent them to families in a much lower income bracket. “We’re excited,” LeBlanc adds.
Though they may share a name with the noble guild that built your home, carpenter ants in fact threaten to undo all the good work of their namesake. In the United States the most commonlyfound carpenter ant is the black carpenter ant, and Somerville is no different. These little beasties hole up in and around moist, decaying or hollow wood. Though they don’t eat the wood like termites, they do a number on the wood through their nesting process. The resulting damaged wood is not only often unattractive, but it can be far less stable and therefore dangerous. Carpenter ants tend to spring up in spots most vulnerable to moisture, like under and around windows and roof eaves, and on decks and porches. You’ll know they’re there if a sawdustlike material starts showing up in these or other moisturesensitive areas. And you’ll want to act fast to get rid of them because of the effect they can have on the wood in your home. If you think you have a problem – or just want the peace of mind that comes with knowing you don’t – make a quick call to Best Pest Control Services. Unlike other companies, Best Pest will treat your home only if it’s necessary. We are a locally owned and family-operated business. We’ve been serving Somerville and greater Boston since 1984 – and not just for roaches. Ants, bedbugs, mice, rats – you name it, we’ll get rid of it. Our rates are reasonable and customer service is our top priority.
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What’s New?
FOOD FOR THAW
Temperatures are heating up, and so is Somerville’s dining scene. Here are just a few of the eateries that have opened recently or are slated to debut later this year. SPRING HILL/ UNION SQUARE
VEGGIE CRUST
Dosa N Curry is back in a big way. The eatery reopened in January after an electrical issue forced months of closure, and in late March announced that it would open a vegan and vegetarian pizzeria called Veggie Crust in the space next door (445 Somerville Ave.). The new pizzeria will be in the former home of A4 Pizza, which, unfortunately, permanently shuttered due to that same electrical issue. Ashes to ashes, crust to crust. UNION SQUARE
YUKI SHABUCHINESE GOURMET
DAVIS SQUARE
OATH CRAFT PIZZA
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izza prepped in 90 seconds flat—that’s the promise of Oath Craft Pizza, which will open a Davis Square outpost at 280 Elm St. this spring. The Nantucket-based pizza place’s fast-fired ‘zas are popping up all over greater Boston; the Somerville store follows a South Station location that opened last fall and a shop in Chestnut Hill Square that just started service in March. The new storefront should be open in late May or early June. You can head to ridetheville.com and enter to win one of three sweet long boards (and free pizza) that Oath is giving away to celebrate the grand opening.
DAVIS SQUARE
ASSEMBLY ROW
A grocery store in the heart of Davis Square? Finally. The supermarket bfresh, which also has an outpost in Allston, is slated to take over the spot at 240 Elm St.—but, as the Somerville Journal reports, there are a few additional hurdles to jump. The city wants bfresh’s owner to pony up $138,000 “for costs relating to the building nearly collapsing last year,” according to the Journal. A spokesperson for the grocery store told the paper that the new bfresh will be open “later this year,” but there’s no timeline in place just yet.
They’re not joking about that southern thing—blackened gator tacos, country fried steak and whiskey flights are all slated for the menu at the forthcoming Southern Kin Cookhouse (500 Assembly Row). And if you prefer sweets to savory stuff, there’s good news for you, too. Southern Kin will have a “whole menu of pies,” according to a recent Facebook post from the restaurant. Eater Boston reports that the spot should be open by late May or early June.
BFRESH
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Dance Union has a new downstairs neighbor at 16 Bow St.—Yuki Shabu-Chinese Gourmet, which opened up in March. If that building’s former tenants are any indication, Yuki could have a bright future ahead of it—that’s the spot where Union Square Donuts was popping up before moving into its permanent storefront down the street. COMING SOON
DAVIS SQUARE
SUGIDAMA
House-made soba, loads of vegan options, sushi, grilled whole squid— there’s something for everyone on the sprawling menu at Sugidama (260 Elm St.), which opened in March. The Japanese eatery also offers lunch specials and all kinds of skewered meats.
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COMING SOON
Photo, bottom right, courtesy of Sugidama.
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WINTER HILL
Man, it has been a year for the Union Square Donuts team. In February, the Somerville flagship store announced that it would be open seven days a week. That same month, USD debuted in Boston’s Seaport District at a cluster of restaurants located in shipping containers. In March, a short-term, satellite location popped up at the Clover Food Labs space in Inman Square. In late April, the donut shop announced that a second permanent storefront is on its way to Coolidge Corner. And beginning in mid-May, you’ll be able to get their “doughies” at Johnny Cupcakes on Newbury Street. Union Square, everywhere.
Tipping Cow Ice Cream (415 Medford St.) is so, so close to opening. The all-natural, nutfree ice cream shop is in the final stages of the process and should be serving up sweets sometime this spring. Until then, don’t forget that you can grab a pint at a bunch of shops in the area, including Whole Foods in Medford and Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge.
UNION SQUARE DONUTS EXPANDS
SPRING HILL
FORGE ICE CREAM BAR
Diesel, Forge Baking Co. and Bloc 11 are about to get a sweet, sweet new sibling: Forge Ice Cream Bar, which will soon find a home adjacent to Forge’s Somerville Avenue storefront (626 Somerville Ave.). “We are hoping to incite the feel of a vintage ice cream shop, with an antique, revitalized dipping cabinet, soda fountain [and] vintage stools,” Forge’s Jennifer Park told Boston magazine.
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ASSEMBLY ROW
MIKE’S PASTRY
And then there were three! Mike’s Pastry, which has had a home in the North End since 1946 and expanded to Harvard Square in 2014, plans to open a third location at Assembly Row in early 2017. The bakery will be among the first retail and restaurant spaces to open up in the first floor of the Partners HealthCare building when it opens next year. We’re already craving those cannolis.
amortondesign.com 617.894.0285 info@aMortonDesign.com scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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GET OUTSIDE
POUNDING PAVEMENT
DAVID LEWIS IS RUNNING EVERY SINGLE STREET IN SOMERVILLE—AND LEARNING ABOUT HIS CITY ALONG THE WAY.
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BY EMILY CASSEL
avid Lewis is a lot of things. He’s a dad, an experienced litigator and a Somerville resident of more than 20 years. But one thing he says he’s not is a serious runner. “I’m the proverbial dad with a little kid, who’s ten pounds overweight and trying to get that down so you don’t get the wagging finger from your doctor,” Lewis insists with a laugh. So you might be surprised to learn that he has a somewhat “serious runner” goal: to run every single street in Somerville. About a year ago, Lewis found himself feeling a little listless. Before the birth of his son, he used to run a lot. But between working and raising a family, he found himself lacing up his sneakers less and less
RUN FREE Looking to get back into running but don’t want to go it alone? Consider one of these weekly (and free!) meetups. Runfellow runners show off their gear. Photo by Alexandra Roberts Photography.
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frequently until he had almost stopped entirely. “I was like, ‘Okay, I have to change my motivation. My circumstances have changed,’” Lewis explains. He needed a reason to start hitting the streets again, but he also wanted a program that would work on his time and his terms—something flexible enough that he could set it aside on busy weeks and return to it when he had the time. Having lived in the city for close to two decades, he figured, why not run every road in town? So he printed out a map of Somerville and started with the streets closest to his house. To accommodate his schedule, Lewis likes to run on weekend mornings. He’ll form a general idea of the streets he wants to hit, fire
MONDAYS, 6:45 P.M.
MONDAYS, 7 P.M.
THE BUR-RUN No need to sign up for this 5K fun run that kicks off at the Burren (247 Elm St.) in Davis Square.
MONDAY NIGHT MOM RUN Daddy Jones owner Dimitra, a mom and a runner herself, hosts a weekly run that meets at her Magoun Square restaurant (525 Medford St.).
Photo, top: Lewis tracks his progress using a Somerville map he keeps on his fridge.
up a running app on his phone to track his progress and get to stepping. Once he’s finished, he fills in the day’s progress on that Somerville map, which he keeps on his fridge. He’s also a firm believer in multi-modal transit; the red dots on the map are stations for the bike-sharing system Hubway. “I started doing this thing, and I’m in terrible shape,” Lewis jokes. He could run the streets near his house, but as he expanded into Central and East Somerville, he realized that he was spending a lot of time (and energy) just getting to and from those streets. The Hubway stops have been a crucial component of his strategy. Lewis says he enjoys these workouts because they take him down streets there would otherwise be no reason to see. “If it’s not the fastest way and it’s not a shortcut, unless you were lost—or trying to do what I’m doing—you’d never see them,” he says. But on each weekend run, he learns something about the city that he didn’t know before. In fact, the reason for his runs has almost evolved over time. He used to return home, tired and sweaty, and let his wife, Christine, know if he had seen something cool. Now, he pounds Lewis gears up for an early April run along Medford Street. Photo by Emily Cassel. the pavement purposefully, looking for unexpected landmarks throughout the city that he can share with Christine and their son. After one early April run, he sent a text with some of the things he noticed: “a couple of beautiful farmhouses on Adams, a bunch of sideways houses on Partridge that have been renovated differently and several houses here and there that still had their barn in the back.” “You never know what you’ll find when you start going down roads you’ve never gone down before,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun, but you’ve also gotta pay attention.” Overall, Lewis says Somerville is a great place to run. The density of housing means that it doesn’t get too windy in the winter. There’s the Community Path, which he—along with many of the area’s runners, cyclists and pedestrians—hopes will eventually get longer. Of course, there’s also the huge hill that runs right down the middle of the city. “Looking at the map, I’m like … definitely some of those sections I’ve gotta fill in I know are really hilly,” he says. But hills aside, he hopes to finish up later this spring or early summer. He’s planning for his very last run to wrap up at Assembly Row—and to celebrate the accomplishment with a little party in the beer garden at Slumbrew’s American Fresh Brewhouse. And after that? Will he run every street in Cambridge? Or Medford? Boston? “Actually, the other day when we were at a cocktail party ... somebody was like, ‘Wow! Which city are you going to run next?’” Lewis laughs. “I was like, ‘Whoa. Stop.’ I’ve lived here, and this is where I’m going to run. I don’t really have plans to do another town.”
TUESDAYS, 7:30 P.M.
THURSDAYS, 7:15 P.M.
RFRC SOMERVILLE Feeling sluggish? Lightningfast? All paces are welcome at Runfellow Run Club’s three- to five-mile meetups, which start at a different Somerville or Cambridge bar each week. Head to runfellow.com/runclub for updates.
THURSDAY NIGHT 4.06 MILER Meet at Casey’s Bar (171 Broadway) for this race with the Somerville Road Runners. Not for the faint of heart—the SRR website promises “Speed + Winter Hill = Roadkill.”
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scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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Shrine, Jesus, Shrine VISITING THE “BATHTUB MARYS” OF SOMERVILLE BY JOSHUA EATON PHOTOS BY CATHERINE PIANTIGINI
C
atherine Piantigini has probably seen most of Somerville’s yard shrines, but there’s one on the Medford line that’s her favorite. Our Lady of Grace stands in a blue-and-white bathtub, her arms open in welcome. The paint is chipped, and Mary’s gaze is cast down as if she’s lost in thought. Someone’s written “MPB 1975” in the concrete at her feet. Part of the reason Piantigini loves this shrine is personal; she remembers being here in Somerville in 1975. “But it’s also very beautiful,” she says. “It’s understated, but beautiful.” To Piantigini, the statues scattered throughout the city’s yards are more than just religious objects or lawn kitsch. They tell a story about immigration and home ownership, class and identity, that’s part of the city’s heritage. “I don’t consider myself a very religious person, but somehow, there 20 May | June 2016
scoutsomerville.com
was something about these shrines that really drew me in,” Piantigini explains. “They have a very quiet beauty about them, a lot of them.” Piantigini has spent most of her life here. She was born at Somerville Hospital and grew up in the city. After leaving to attend college at Fitchburg State University, she spent a couple of years in Chelsea but eventually moved back to the city in the late 1990s. Now, she supervises children’s services at the Somerville Public Library. Despite her strong Somerville roots and her even stronger Italian last name, Piantigini grew up in a Methodist family and spent her childhood in neighborhoods that didn’t have any yard shrines. “I never really paid attention to them before,” Piantigini says. That changed in 2012, when a running injury forced her to slow down. She began taking long walks from the library on Highland Avenue toward Davis Square and the Minuteman Bike Path. One day, Piantigini
noticed a statue of the Virgin Mary set inside a sideways bathtub in someone’s front yard. When she started spotting more of these shrines, she decided to photograph them. Eventually, that evolved into a Tumblr, Bathtub Marys of Somerville, where she began counting and recording each one she saw. “It was the perfect thing to do, you know? You’re walking, you have Instagram, and I started taking pictures,” she explains. “It was a great incentive to walk, actually.” Her Tumblr is home to 591 images of different Catholic yard shrines at homes around Somerville. The most popular statue is an image of Mary called Our Lady of Grace, followed by Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima. At first, Piantigini stuck to shrines that she could photograph from the sidewalk. But before long, she says, the temptation grew too strong. She still remembers one of the first times she trespassed, sneaking behind a series of row houses near the Target on Somerville Avenue to photograph a yard shrine. “I went in, and then there were two other ones,” Piantigini recalls. “Like, come on. It was like finding the best-kept secret.” She got caught a couple of times, but no one was ever upset. And a few times, she even walked away with a story. “Everyone I encountered was either indifferent or nice about it,” she laughs.
C
atholic yard shrines reach back to the Middle Ages. They began as public markers of important sites, boundaries or crossroads, according to Joseph Sciorra, a scholar at the City University of New York’s John D. Calandra Italian American Institute and the author of a book on yard shrines, Built with Faith: Italian American Imagination and Catholic Material Culture in New York City. When working-class Catholic immigrants in the U.S. began to buy their own homes and move into the suburbs, Sciorra says, they brought yard shrines with them. It was a way for people to make a connection to where they or their family came from, to mark their arrival as homeowners and to thank the saints they believed helped them get there. “A house is a big achievement for people,” Sciorra says. “Often, people pray to the Virgin Mary or one of the other saints to accomplish this great task of getting a house of their own.” Yard shrines are part of what Sciorra calls a “vernacular, ethnically based” Catholicism. They vary based on locale—a shrine of Mary that’s venerated in a particular town in Sicily, for instance, might not be available at the local garden store in Somerville. That makes the shrines just as much about community and family as religion, according to Sciorra. “It also expresses ... a relationship to one’s ethnic background, and the family they grew up in, the community one grew up in,” he says. People also tend to do what their neighbors do, and yard shrines can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, or from city to city. For example, while many statues in Somerville are set in a scalloped concrete alcove, that’s rare in New York City, according to Sciorra. While many people take pride in their yard shrines, Sciorra says they’ve developed something of a stigma. For some, they’re markers of working-class life to be left behind as people move up the social ladder. For others, they’re too superstitious, too Catholic or too publicly religious. The sentiment is so strong that Sciorra avoids terms like “bathtub Mary” or “bathtub Madonna” because they’ve been used to slur and belittle the shrines. “The media has created a kind of negative image of the yard shrines, and people pick up on that,” he explains. “Their children might be ashamed of the yard shrines, or their local priest might tell them that this is not the proper way to practice their Catholicism.” 1. Of the 591 shrines Piantigini has photographed, this one is her favorite. 2. Avon Street, #194
3. Franklin Street, #229 4. Kensington Avenue, #504 5. Quincy Street, #8 6. Ten Hills Road, #514
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o be fair to the “bathtub Mary” nickname, Catherine Piantigini says about 50 of the shrines she’s photographed in Somerville are literally set in repurposed claw-foot tubs. She’s spoken with some residents who, when rehabbing their homes, used the old tubs to create shrines. A priest at St. Ann’s Parish in Somerville also spoke favorably of her photo project in a sermon after he read a blurb about it in the Boston Herald, she says. And the project has been a hit with the community as well. In early 2013, Piantigini had begun displaying her photographs at the now-closed Sherman Cafe and Market in Union Square. But her world turned upside down later that same year, when her husband suffered a life-threatening accident that landed him in a coma for three weeks. On the rare occasions when she left the hospital, she’d stop by Sherman
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Cafe for food. That was when she discovered that people had heard the news about her husband and were buying her photographs to show their support. The money wasn’t important, Piantigini says—it was about knowing other people cared. “It was just so sweet,” she says. “It was a nice acknowledgement of community.” Everyone from Mayor Joseph Curtatone to the New York Times has urged hip, young, affluent new residents to make Somerville their home. As the city gentrifies, the working-class houses that gave birth to the shrines are getting carved up into middle- and upper-class condos. But for Piantigini, yard shrines are too important to let go of so easily. “It just seems like it’s a very special thing,” she says. “It’s a part of the fabric of what we used to be.”
7. Belmont Street, #587 8. The most popular bathtub Mary, Our Lady of Grace.
9. Otis Street, #57 10. Sellon Place, #421
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GET OUTSIDE
The of Somerville BY EMILY CASSEL
W
ith their bike trailer and their bright orange “Let’s do this” buckets, Brian Burke and Hannah Peterson are a magnet for confused glances from the people they pass as they lug water from a drinking fountain to a small strip of land behind Vernon Street Studios. It’s a scorching August day, and they’re covered in sweat as they make multiple trips to and from the fountain, their trailer laden with four five-gallon buckets of water. This isn’t the first afternoon they’ve repeated this trek, and it’s not the first time a skeptical passerby has wondered what they’re doing. 24
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Burke was once approached by a woman who had a theory of her own. “She was like, ‘Can I ask you what you guys do with the water? Honestly, we thought you guys were, like, a hipster fire department,’” he laughs. “But from their point of view, I mean, we go to a water fountain—a proper drinking fountain—and it’s in the park,” Peterson adds, grinning. “People have no idea what we’re doing. I would wonder, too.” They’re not a hipster fire department—Peterson jokes that their methods are barely suitable for what they’re actually doing, which is watering a 5-foot-by-50-foot garden perched above the old train station Brian Burke and Hannah Peterson take a break from carrying water to their guerrilla garden off of Central Street. Photo by Emily Cassel.
at Central Street. They “adopted” the weedy patch of land last March and spent the summer of 2015 tending to an array of flowers and vegetables. “This was a scary sight when we started,” says Burke. “I mean, it was a really rough looking spot.” “There was trash, just, everywhere,” Peterson concurs. “Weeds and a bunch of trash. The first day we spent just cleaning.” Not the types to be deterred by a few broken bottles and cigarette butts, the two saw potential in this sliver of land. It’s one of the few unused spaces in the city that gets light all day, and as they dug through the debris, Burke and Peterson found things they could actually use: pipes buried in the soil that they repurposed as a frame for the garden, gates that once led to the train station below that have become a trellis. The small piece of land eventually yielded a healthy garden. As last summer drew to a close, the pair harvested zucchini, herbs, sunflowers and tomato plants that they shared with friends and neighbors. Peterson says they spent the season waiting to get yelled at, for someone to tell them to pack up their water buckets and garden somewhere else. But the worst reaction they got was mild bemusement. Burke still remembers the exchange he had with a confused police officer as he tended their plot on a warm summer evening early last year: “Do you work here?” “No.” “Are you getting paid to do this?” “No.” “Then why the hell would you do this?”
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urke and Peterson aren’t the first to see potential in an unused Somerville space and make it their own. In fact, they’re just two of a growing number of renegade gardeners putting down roots in unclaimed plots throughout the city. Local artist Janet Campbell has been tending her own pair of flourishing gardens along the Community Bike Path since 2012. She didn’t even know how to garden before planting there. “It was just one of those things I wanted to do before I die,” she says. Today, hydrangeas, nasturtiums, yarrow, hostas, begonias, ferns and many, many more plants bloom next to the path. “And they all have stories,” Campbell says. “That’s the thing.” The Concord Ave Community Space—now a more than fifty-person strong organization—also got its start as a guerrilla garden. Years ago,
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“Do you work here?” “No.” “Are you getting paid to do this?” “No.” “Then why the hell would you do this?” organizer Shana Berger noticed a vacant lot at the corner of Concord and Webster Avenues in Union Square. After doing a little digging, she learned that the land was privately held and reached out to the owner, who said it was fine if people wanted to plant there. Thus, a community space was born. “I just went and did a bunch of door knocking in the neighborhood and got people together,” Berger says. She and her neighbors built raised beds, and the group and garden have grown each year since 2013. All are welcome to attend Concord Ave’s movie screenings and other events; the front gate is adorned with a hand-painted sign reading scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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“grow with us” that’s translated into several different languages. “I live on the street where it is, and I’ve gotten to know a ton of my neighbors because of it,” Berger says. “It’s a great community-building space.” Even the gardens that aren’t formal community organizations foster neighborhood ties. Burke and Peterson didn’t know each other when they started planting their space; Burke was on his back porch, which overlooks the garden, when he first spotted Peterson with a handful of flowers. He came downstairs, struck up a conversation and learned that she, too, was new to Somerville. “It’s been a great way to meet people,” says Burke. “I feel like I know so many people on this block now.” They’ve even learned about their neighborhood from some of the long-time residents who periodically drop by to check out the planting progress. “Did you know? I just found this out the other day,” Peterson says, turning to Burke. “Bruce—one of the people who frequents the garden—he started the Garment District! He’s the one who told us that this used to be a train station.”
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or its part, the city tends to look the other way when it comes to these semi-public gardens. “It’s neither encouraged nor is there an official policy forbidding guerrilla gardening,” says Luisa Oliveira, Somerville’s senior planner for landscape design, adding that “unofficial gardens” on public property may be cleared during routine maintenance for a number of reasons. Workers may not realize what they are, and plants are sometimes removed because they block sight lines or because new construction is planned for the space. Janet Campbell was inspired to start her garden along the Community Path after a patch that had been planted by the Somerville Garden Club was razed by the city, and the Concord Ave Community Space is on a parcel of land that could have been seized during the
redevelopment of Union Square. As members of the advocacy group Union United, they’ve worked with the city to have the space preserved as part of the Union Square Neighborhood Plan. Oliveira, who sympathizes with the growing demand for gardens, says that the city does encourage “landscape stewardship” and that there are several opportunities for community members to enhance open spaces on a more city-sanctioned basis. There’s the Urban Agriculture Ambassador Program, which gives residents agricultural training in exchange for 30 hours of community service. The annual autumn Bulb Blitz invites residents to help plant 3,000 tulips and daffodils in one day, and each April, Somerville celebrates Earth Day with a citywide Spring Cleanup. Somerville also has several community gardens, and the city adds new community plots each time a park is built or renovated, according to Oliveira. Still, there are a lot of green thumbs clamoring for those shared spaces, which is why Concord Ave Community Space gardeners work with organizations to sponsor beds for people and families of all income levels. Burke and Peterson say that part of the reason they claimed their spot overlooking the train tracks is that they didn’t want to wait. Before they got to it, that stretch of land was unused and ugly, practically begging to be planted. Why wait for a space? Besides, they say it’s been gratifying to watch a trash-filled patch of dirt that abuts a parking lot become colorful and vibrant. “The first couple of people who went by were like, ‘Oh, good luck with that,’ as we’re, like, picking the glass out,” Burke remembers. But as sunflowers and squash started sprouting in the space, supportive neighbors began donating flowers—or even doing a little planting themselves. “After a little while,” Burke recalls, “when it started to take shape, people were like, ‘You know, I’ve always wanted to do that.’” Photo courtesy of Concord Ave Community Space.
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E H T N I O J BHOUSE U L C Chas Wagner (left) and Sean O’Donnell shoot hoops outside of The ClubHouse space, a former auto body shop on Somerville Avenue.
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IN AN OLD GARAGE ON SOMERVILLE AVENUE, ARTISTS AND ATHLETES BECOME ALLIES. BY EMILY CASSEL PHOTOS BY JESS BENJAMIN has Wagner knows that artists and athletes aren’t expected to get along. “Typically, sports is kind of over on one end of the spectrum, and the art world is kind of over here,” he says. Design, fashion, music, tech, food and drink—“you associate the creative class in those worlds,” he adds. “Sports, you just kind of see this jock, like, screaming at the TV.” Wagner is the founder of Rally Sports, a sporting goods company that celebrates Boston’s athletics culture with limited-run, small-batch, made-in-America clothing, posters, pennants and gear. He’s done popups with his merch at the Inman Square Clover Food Labs space and at the weekend markets at the Armory. Now, he’s opening up his own storefront: The ClubHouse. In the simplest terms, The ClubHouse is a retail space. Wagner wanted a physical shop where he could sell his artfully designed Red Sox bats and Bruins-themed hockey sticks, but he didn’t want something that felt like your run-of-the-mill retail shop. He avoided Newbury Street and set his sights on Somerville, a city he says is uniquely positioned to appreciate the intersection of athletics and the arts. Earlier this year, he signed a lease on an old garage at 471 Somerville Ave. After months of painting and power washing, the shop started hosting popup events and makers markets in April. While there are goods for sale at The ClubHouse, that’s not necessarily the focus of this space. Wagner believes that sports can be an art form—that they’re their own kind of creative endeavor. He and ClubHouse head of operations Sean O’Donnell envision the building as a hub for sports, arts and culture—a place to merge those worlds. On the March afternoon when we meet, Wagner and O’Donnell are seated in what will become their “hangout room,” where the duo want to screen games, sports films and highlight reels. They also envision this room as a place to host classes, workshops and speakers whose work is connected to sports and the arts—someone who designs shoes for New Balance, perhaps, or works with the Celtics. “Sports are a connector,” Wagner explains. “Growing up, you find out where someone’s from: ‘Oh, I’m from Kansas City.’ And you can be like, ‘Oh, how about the Royals?’ It’s a connection point, but not one that everyone has.” (Wagner himself grew up in Pittsburgh—don’t hold it against him.) “Sports can bridge the geography gap,” adds O’Donnell. Also, “It’s a great way to bridge between decades of people. It’s a great way for a 20 year old to talk to an 80 year old.” Wagner and O’Donnell aren’t the only ones interested in the way athletics intersect with culture at large. The Inman Square-based graffiti artist Caleb Neelon, who has worked with Fenway and collaborated with Converse, designed the mural that adorns the outer wall of The ClubHouse’s space. And a Boston-based group of “craftivists” called the New Craft Artists in Action (NCAA—get it?) painted The ClubHouse’s colorful outdoor basketball court and made the net that’s affixed to their hoop. “Generally, we do projects that address the overlap of craft and athletics—how their histories are very particular to our region,” explains
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“ALL THESE WEIRD, DIFFERENT SPORTS. KIDS PLAYING STREET BALL AT CONWAY PARK. I FEEL LIKE THERE’S A VOID; THERE’S NO PLACE WHERE THAT’S BEING CELEBRATED.” — CHAS WAGNER 30 May | June 2016
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NCAA founder Maria Molteni. Basketball was invented in Springfield, and Lowell, the birthplace of America’s industrial revolution, was for many years the nation’s largest textile center. “Those histories overlap a lot, even though people don’t think of them doing so,” Molteni adds. “The first hoop was a peach basket— which is a fiber craft.” That desire to merge the worlds of art and athletics is just one goal shared by The ClubHouse’s founders and the NCAA artists. “One of the main things with the space—with the vision and the belief—is that we’re inside way too much,” says Wagner. “We’re sitting too much, we’re inside too much, we’re at our screens way too much.” The NCAA’s Molteni concurs. “We kind of have this tagline, almost: participation over spectatorship,” she says. “We’re encouraging people to make things and play and not just sit on their butts and watch TV.” O’Donnell explains that there are plenty of places all around town where you can sit down and catch a Bruins game over Bud Light and chicken wings. He has nothing against those bars and restaurants—after all, they’d like to screen games at The ClubHouse. But the converted garage feels more like a rec center or a YMCA, a place that encourages visitors to be active rather than passive. The basketball court is open to all, and as the weather warms, Wagner
Where you come to be. The NCAA’s Maria Molteni, Randi Shandroski, Giancarlo Corbacho and Alicia Casilio spent a March afternoon painting The ClubHouse’s colorful court, and Somervillebased artist Cara Kuball made the basketball net.
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wants to welcome food trucks to set up camp in the front lot. As for the speakers you might someday see in the space? Wagner’s shortlist includes athletes like Becca Pizzi, the Belmont woman who ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. “Everyone says Boston is such a good sports town, and mainly what they’re referring to is at the pro sports level: Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins,” Wagner says. “But there is so much interesting stuff happening at the college, high school, amateur level—running, cycling, surfing. All these weird, different sports. Kids playing street ball at Conway park. I feel like there’s a void; there’s no place where that’s being celebrated.” Unfortunately, The ClubHouse’s tenure on Somerville Avenue might be brief. Wagner has a short-term, 18-month lease on the space— there’s a good chance it will get demolished and made into condos when that time runs out. But he’s hopeful that, if people rally together and build a network, The ClubHouse might be able to have a home in the neighborhood that extends beyond 2017. “This won’t be anything without the community that fills it and surrounds it,” says Wagner. “That’s the lifeblood of the whole operation.” “We’re still trying to figure out what it’s supposed to be,” O’Donnell adds. “We want to see what the community wants.”
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A DECADE OF
DOG PARKS BY ELIZA ROSENBERRY PHOTOS BY JESS BENJAMIN
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t’s a dreary, drizzly Saturday morning in Somerville, and most residents have opted to stay indoors. There’s almost no traffic as I cross Washington Street at Buddy’s Diner and follow an industrial side road to the liveliest spot in the city: the Zero New Washington Street Dog Park. “I don’t think I really understood that dogs have so many personalities,” one Somerville resident observes, as a half-dozen canines race happily around the park. He’s a new dog owner, and his pup—a five-month-old Pomeranian-husky mix named Pixie—is holding her own against the bigger retrievers and hounds. But when Pixie first arrived a few minutes ago, she was instantly tackled by two dogs her own size. “It’s an initiation,” chuckles another owner, a Charlestown resident who frequents the park on weekends, as she intervenes.
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omerville’s first dog park at Nunziato Field opened 10 years ago in April. At the time, Mayor Joseph Curtatone predicted that dog parks would be “a genuine win” for the city: a safe place for dogs to exercise and socialize off-leash without disturbing others in the community who had concerns about safety and cleanliness. Since 2006, the number of registered dogs in Somerville has almost doubled from 729 to 1299, according to Somerville Animal Control records, and the city now boasts three “Off-Leash Recreation Areas” (dog parks), with a fourth planned for the redesigned Lincoln Park. Today, the mayor remains an ardent supporter of facilities for Somerville’s dogs. “Over the 12 years of this administration, I am proud that we have added or renovated more than 30 parks and open spaces that all of our residents can enjoy,” Mayor Curtatone tells Scout, “including our four-legged residents.” scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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DOGS OF
INSTAGRAM Did you really think we’d write about the city’s dogs without telling you their Instagram handles? Here’s where you can find the pups whose owners we spoke with for this story—along with a few of our other favorite four-legged locals.
MOOKIE g hemuppetdo @mookiet
ELOISE
@eloisethefren
chbulldog
STANLEY
@stantheman_boston
BLUE
@abostonnam
edblue
RIGBY
ldog @motivationa
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Zero New Washington is the crown jewel of Somerville dog parks. With tunnels and ramps, a gazebo and water fountains, the park spans approximately half an acre and draws dogs from across the city and the region. Its location—a desolate lot with inconvenient pedestrian accessibility—isn’t a deterrent for Somerville resident Anu Gopala and her miniature poodle Zoe. “It’s perfect since it’s out of the way,” Gopala says, “and there is plenty of parking.” The only complaint from visitors is the mud. “We all end up covered in dirt when we leave this park,” says Angie Flight, whose cockapoo, Mookie, is otherwise a big fan of the space. After Zero New Washington was completed in 2010, “landscape architects from other companies and other towns were calling us and asking us how we did it,” reflects Arn Franzen, Somerville’s Director of Parks and Open Spaces. He points to Curtatone and the late Alderman Tom Taylor as enthusiastic champions of dog parks over the past decade. The new Lincoln Park’s dog park will be modeled after Zero New Washington. Somerville is “trying to make [Lincoln Park] the best park in the Boston metro area,” Franzen reports, “so a dog park was a natural inclusion.” While it’s showing its age, Nunziato remains the city’s default dog park, likely due to its accessible central location—particularly for those traveling by foot or paw. Located just a few short blocks from bustling Union Square, Nunziato sometimes attracts an audience of dogless spectators. This year, on April Fool’s Day, a thoughtful prankster dropped 100 tennis balls into the park. There’s also Ed Leathers Community Park, Somerville’s third dog park. Nestled between Pearl and Walnut Streets, and separated by a chain-link fence from the Lowell-bound commuter rail tracks, the park is tucked behind a commercial property that displays a “Beware: Attack Dog On Duty” sign. It’s not exactly a scenic spot for out-of-town guests. Most dog owners I asked, even those who frequent other dog parks and recreation facilities in the area, had never heard of this spot. But it’s perfect for pups who might get overwhelmed at the more crowded locations. Would-be visitors occasionally continue on their way if they see the park is occupied at the moment, proof that a small and simple setting like Ed Leathers can be an in-demand resource for some residents.
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aelli Craig and her French bulldog, Eloise, commute almost an hour from Framingham to visit Zero New Washington. They’re attracted not only by the amenities but by the park’s social culture. “We’ve noticed the people are generally more friendly toward each other and more attentive to their dogs” than they are at other dog parks in the area, Craig observes. This is a sentiment echoed by others: Gopala has found Nunziato lacking in owner oversight, and Charlestown resident
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Janel Helibrunn and her dog Stanley prefer Zero New Washington as well: “There’s usually a good crowd, and the people are very nice.” Somerville Animal Control officer April Terrio-Manning said that tickets for park rules violations are rare, but the most common infraction is having more than three dogs per person. Dog park regulars suggested those culprits are often amateur dog walkers. Overall, though, residents are generally pleased with the city’s efforts to accommodate its canine constituents. It helps to have a mayor who maintains that dog parks are “important to the fabric of our community and to quality of life.” But there is still room for improvement. The west side of Somerville lacks official dog parks, and some owners there risk fines by letting dogs roam off-leash along the Community Path or in other open spaces. For resident canines who don’t frequent the city’s three dog parks, there are other sanctioned social opportunities. The organization som|dog, which advocates for dog parks and responsible canine ownership, also coordinates social events and fundraisers. On May 22, som|dog’s annual Spring Fling Community Social will be held at Bull McCabe’s in Union Square—and it’s open to all. “We plan to connect with the community of dog owners, have a beer and discuss upcoming community activities and goals for the non-profit,” says som|dog president and chairman Brian Davis. “We’re excited to connect with everyone.”
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ack at Zero New Washington, about a dozen dogs and their owners come through the park over the course of a progressively rainier hour, though I’m told that number is much higher in better weather. Everyone starts to head home as the rain worsens, until there’s just one dog remaining: Milo, a tiny dachshund. This is his firstever visit to the park, and owner Che’Risse—who is presently involved in a never-ending game of fetch—tells me that she was hesitant to bring him here because he gets “excited, then scared” around other dogs. Let the record show: Milo handled his first visit like a pro.
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GET OUTSIDE BY EMILY CASSEL PHOTOS BY JESS BENJAMIN
“I
Jill Stammer and Comet, one of the biggest bullies who walks with Second Chance.
A group of local dog lovers is working to change the perception of bully breeds–-one walk at a time. 36 May | June 2016
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know that people have this idea of pit bull owners—and maybe one of those ideas is me.” Jill Stammer laughs and leans back in her chair, running a hand through her closecropped hair. Stammer owns Second Chance Dog Walking and Sitting, a company that caters to pit bulls, bull dogs and other “bully” breeds. And it isn’t lost on her that she’s the poster pet owner when it comes to these pups. Strong and self-assured, with tattoos lining her arms and legs and plugs dangling from her ears, she is, without doubt, the stereotypical bully breed owner. Kate Dyson and Nick Perl, on the other hand, are not. Dyson is an attorney with a large firm; Perl is a chemist who works in drug discovery. They own their Somerville home, where they live with their two-year-old son, Henry, and a 110-pound American bulldog named Comet. Dyson grew up with big dogs—though not dogs quite as large as Comet—and she didn’t hesitate to adopt him when they were introduced at the MSPCA in 2012. But others aren’t always so sure. Dyson says that while it doesn’t happen often, people will occasionally cross the street while she and Comet are on their walks. “I would say that owning Comet is not that different from owning, say, a standard poodle or a golden retriever,” she says, “except that people are afraid of him.” Stammer, who has worked with bully breeds for close to 20 years now, says Dyson and Perl are like many of the dog owners for whom she works. Lots of Second Chance’s clients are successful career-types, and a surprising number are homeowners. “If you walked past them on the street, you’d think, ‘Maybe you own a chihuahua. Or a cat,” jokes Madelein McCormick, Second Chance’s operations director. “Or a lab.” adds Stammer. They say that they walk one dog for a guy who fits the bully owner mold— tattooed, muscular and tough.
“But not even!” Stammer interjects. “He’s a vegan, and his dog is a vegan.” It’s this diverse group of dog owners who Stammer says are helping in the mission she’s had since she founded Second Chance: to change the perception of bully breeds. She explains that many breeds have been where pit bulls are now: german shepherds and dobermans, for example. But pit bulls are having trouble shaking the stigma; they’re being banned in some U.S. cities, and they’re often the first to go at a kill shelter. That doesn’t sit well with Stammer, who rushes to defend these dogs. She says that her pit bull, Frank, like many of Second Chance’s dogs, is really a big baby—slow to go out in the cold and the rain, the first one to shiver in the park, great with kids. “All they want to do is cuddle,” she says. “I’ve never met a pit bull that didn’t love and protect children.” According to the United Kennel Club, the world’s secondlargest all-breed performance-dog registry, “The American pit bull terrier is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers.” Still, Stammer explains that there are several dog walking companies and kennels that won’t take these breeds. She kept meeting owners who had pit bulls, rottweilers or bulldogs and couldn’t find someone to care for them. When she decided to start a dog walking group, she knew she wanted to specialize in bully breeds. But while Second Chance’s focus is on providing a place for bullies, the company welcomes all breeds, from tiny pomeranians to bulldogs
“We keep it local and let people know that there is a space for their dog here in Somerville.” — Jill Stammer, Second Chance Walking like Comet. And regardless of size, McCormick and Stammer say that the bigs and littles truly get along. “They really love their pack,” McCormick says. “They know exactly who’s in their crew, in their squad … whatever the kids are calling it these days.” “I always tell people,” Stammer adds, “your dog is gonna have, like, 25 bodyguards.” That’s not to say that taking a pack of pitties to the park is the same as strolling around town with a pug—it isn’t. These are big, high-energy dogs that need tasks and structure, and the Second Chance Walking crew does take precautions. New walkers train side-by-side with Stammer for a month until it’s clear they can handle the work, and all new dogs have to learn hand signals as well as verbal commands. After dogs have been trained in the basics, they join the “welcoming committee,” the Second Chance group made up of the biggest dogs (including Comet). And in the park, Stammer says walkers are vigilant, monitoring each canine’s body language and occasionally “resetting the energy level” by bringing them over, making them sit and releasing them. There are owners who won’t sign their dog up with Second Chance, or who balk at the sight of six bully breeds together in the park. “I knew that this was going to deter a lot of people from hiring us,” Stammer says. But while some owners may be turned off by this bully-friendly business, many more are seeking Second Chance out. Their pack is growing, and the business is expanding—especially among owners in the South End, where Stammer says there’s a lasting stigma surrounding the breed. That’s part of the reason that Second Chance walkers actually go to Back Bay and beyond—Cambridge, Allston, Arlington—to pick up dogs
Nick Perl, Kate Dyson and their son, Henry, pose with their pup, Comet, in their Somerville home.
and bring them back to the park at Somerville’s Nunziato Field. “It’s just a little bit more of an inclusive feeling here,” McCormick explains. Recently, when they told a woman who lived more than 45 minutes away that the distance was too much for the team, she replied to ask if she could drop her dog off in Somerville every day. In this way, the Second Chance walkers are a welcoming committee all their own. “We keep it local and let people know that there is a space for their dog here in Somerville,” Stammer says. “I think a lot of people come here, they move here, because of that.” Owners have reached out to Second Chance on Instagram to find out where they’re located, and McCormick says they’ll connect people with local real estate agents who have bully breeds and know the dog-friendly apartment buildings and landlords. At the end of the day, Stammer and McCormick say they’re trying to provide their bullies with what all dogs need: somewhere to play and someone to watch over them. “And someone to stand up for them, really,” Stammer says, “when it comes down to it.” scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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Unwind Outside PHOTOS BY JESS BENJAMIN
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asketball, football, gardening, dog walking—this issue is packed with fun activities to help get you out of the house this spring. But sometimes, it’s nice to be outside sans activity or destination, to pick a place and people watch or settle in with a good book or even just sit and think. We asked a few of our writers to share the Somerville spots they frequent when all they really need is a little time to themselves.
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ew things in the city of Somerville are more relaxing than watching the life-and-death ballet that’s performed daily in the Circle of Terror—er, Powderhouse Square. No, seriously. Pulling up a piece of lawn in Nathan Tufts Park to watch the ebb and flow of humanity as pedestrians try and figure out that horror show of an intersection is a more tranquil activity than it might seem. Here, the screeching of brakes and honking of horns becomes as natural and familiar—as soothing, even—as the chirping of crickets by a country pond. The confusion as to why the hell there’s a traffic light in this rotary hangs in the air like the scent of roses. Pedestrians murmur to themselves, some blissfully unaware how close they’ve come to certain death. A car with New Hampshire plates is holding up a line of traffic, like a carny who’s too drunk to start the roller coaster. Someone drops their Dunkin’ Donuts iced gross-acino beneath the cylindrical sign that points all visitors towards their own personal oblivion—Somerville’s own power-drunk Cheshire Cat. And through it all, the walk signals and traffic lights confuse drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. As the yellow light flashes, the yelling and screeching resumes. Sometimes, you even get to see fist fights. Hands down, it’s the best entertainment in town. — Sean Maloney 38 May | June 2016
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f you told a friend to meet you in Seven Hills Park before leaving the country for good, the best-case scenario is that they’d laugh and tell you to pick another spot. (The worst-case scenario, I guess, is that they’d say nothing, and you two would never see each other again.) But even if you’ve never heard the name “Seven Hills Park,” you’re no doubt familiar with the place itself—it’s that cozy little half-acre tucked behind the Somerville Theatre and the Red Line T stop at Davis. Without announcing itself as such, this humble spot is a terrific decompression zone hidden between the quiet of residential life and the bustle of commercial activity in Davis Square, with a lighted walkway leading to the beginning of the Alewife Linear Park section of the Somerville Community Path. It boasts some of the best public art of the city, both official (the statues by James Tyler) and unofficial (photos of David Bowie stapled to trees, deluxe birdhouses overhead), and has even served as home to the city’s annual outdoor Summer Movie Series. If you’re looking for a place to jog, bike, walk your dog, organize group exercise—or for somewhere to reorient yourself following an overly enthusiastic karaoke night at Orleans—Seven Hills Park should be on your list. Maybe it already is, and you just didn’t know what to call it. — Kristofer Jenson
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I
f my OKCupid matches are any indication, the typical thirtysomething in Somerville has the life of a Prana model. Their days are a blur of hiking and rock climbing, yoga on the beach and early weekend mornings at the farmers market, interrupted only by the occasional trip to Machu Picchu. I’ve always found the wholesome, outdoorsy spirit that permeates New England unsettling. Growing up in small-town Georgia, being outdoorsy meant visiting the woods to kill things. I was more likely to be found in a coffee shop or a record store than a deer stand, and not much has changed since. Nature is dirty and the wifi is terrible—what’s the appeal? As I’ve grown older, though, I’ve come to appreciate a nice evening walk. There’s one spot in particular that catches me: the intersection of Hall Avenue and Liberty Avenue in West Somerville. It’s near the peak of a hill in a residential neighborhood. The low, slate retaining wall in front of one of the corner houses makes for an ideal perch, with a 180-degree view. Looking straight ahead down Hall Avenue towards College Avenue, a row of blue, brown and beige gables is set against the fluorescent orange and purple of an early spring sunset. Down the hill to the left, hipsters bike back and forth down Appleton Street. Up the hill to the right, old Italian families head home for the night. Overhead, jets fly up through cloud and sky as they flee Logan for parts unknown. Overlooking it all is a large statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that stands in the third-floor window of a yellow walk-up on the corner. He’s painted bright red and stark white, his arms outstretched in a gesture of welcome and protection. I come here to think, to relax, to watch. It’s not the Fells, but it has a different kind of a magic. For a few minutes, at least, I don’t even miss the wifi.
WANT TO WORK FOR SCOUT? We’re currently seeking an Office Coordinator to work out of our Somerville location from Monday through Thursday. This is a 20 hour per week position which will include some evening and weekend hours at occasional events. Applicants should be highly motivated, organized and reliable professionals with exceptional written and verbal communication skills. The ideal candidate will have experience with managing the flow of an office, ordering supplies, answering phones, issuing invoices and recording payments. Familiarity with Quickbooks (and a love for Scout!) a plus. This is a salaried position that includes a bonus package. Interested applicants can email their resume and cover letter to hbanks@scoutmagazines.com.
— Joshua Eaton scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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G E T T I N G
T O
K N O W
T H E
e l l i v r Some
e g a p Ram
BY EMILY CASSEL PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMPAGE FOOTBALL
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ast year, Somerville got itself a semi-professional football team: The Somerville Rampage. They’re a new entry into the New England Football League, the largest semi-pro football league in the country. And they’re already championship winners; in their inaugural season, they were the league’s North Atlantic Conference Champions. We sat down with Rampage co-founder Kevin Prophete so we could get some fast facts on this football team. THEY’RE SOMERVILLE BORN AND BRED. “It started with four of us,” says Prophete. “We grew up in Somerville, played Somerville High School football.” Those founding four went their separate ways after high school—Prophete attended technical school, two joined the military—but eventually returned to the area and joined the nearby Charlestown Townies—the oldest semi-pro team in the country. The Townies were the closest option for semi-pro ball, but, “We had terrible, terrible seasons. I think, in five years, we won maybe four games, five games,” Prophete laughs. “It just kind of felt like, why not represent where we’re from?” THEY MISS WHAT FOOTBALL USED TO MEAN TO SOMERVILLE. To be sure, there are still plenty of people in the city who want to play football and who care about the game. But Prophete says he thinks the appreciation for the sport isn’t the same as it used to be, especially at the high school level. “When we were growing up … that Friday night before a game, it meant something to walk around the halls wearing your jersey. People almost looked up to you as a football player.” He doesn’t get that feeling when it comes to Somerville High School football anymore. “It seems like the love for the game has kind of faded … the kids lose that push to try harder.” “To see kids that are going into high school talk about, ‘I don’t want
to go to Somerville High, I’d rather go to Everett, I have a better chance of winning there’—it’s bad,” he adds. FOOTBALL CAN BE A PATH TO SELF IMPROVEMENT. Prophete had a handful of classmates who graduated from high school around the same time he did—‘04 or ‘05—who ended up getting into drugs or alcohol. He says that there were two guys specifically who had fallen into a pattern of drug abuse until they found support in the Rampage organization. “Their fans would come to games—it literally saved their life,” Prophete says. Having two practices and a game each week gave them something to look forward to and something to work for. He calls that turnaround “unexpected” but adds that it’s everything he loves about football. “There is hope,” he says. “You can get back into sports and leave that life behind.” THIS IS A “GLASS-HALF-FULL” GROUP OF GUYS. The Rampage are here to help keep the dream of college or professional football alive for high school players who might still want to play. “That was the real reason [for founding the team]: to give kids that hope,” Prophete explains. It’s an unpaid league, so high school graduates can stay in the area and play for the Rampage while they attend community college and accumulate game film that they can eventually submit to universities. IT’S FOR THE KIDS. This will be Prophete’s eighth season coaching youth football, which he sees as an important team- and community-building endeavor. “When [kids are] growing up together, and they’re playing together, they build chemistry when they go into high school together,” he says. “That’s what’s going to feed our high school system. scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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The city announced at the end of last year that Somerville Recreation would switch from fullcontact football to flag football in its youth programs. But Prophete and co. plan to continue supporting and funding a youth program—the Somerville Junior Rampage—for youth who want to play tackle ball. SAFETY COMES FIRST. Prophete knows that parents are concerned about the wellbeing of their young athletes, and he’s aware of the heightened focus on concussions. Helmet technology has gotten better, but as awareness has gone up, so too have concussion rates. “Safety is always our number one concern,” Prophete says, especially when it comes to the youth they’ll be coaching. The Rampage have worked with Cambridge Health Alliance and are now collaborating with a facility in Woburn that does impact testing. Every kid they coach will have brain scans that they can keep on a flash drive. In case an injury does occur, parents can take the drive to the hospital and compare the results against a new scan. “The hope is to give parents that peace of mind,” he adds. “We care about your kid.” THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. Last year was the Rampage’s inaugural season, and they took home the NEFL’s North Atlantic Conference championship. “To me, it didn’t really mean much, as an individual, but now we have something to show everybody else in Somerville,” Prophete says. “This is what you can achieve. And if you want to win, you’ve gotta put in the hard work to do so.” Prophete envisions a future where the Rampage organization— both the semi-pro team itself and the youth they’re working with—are a part of the fabric of Somerville’s athletic community. “It feels good to know that, hey, we’re going to be working with these kids, and they’re going to feel like they’re part of something bigger than they are,” he says. You can learn more about the Rampage on Facebook at facebook. com/somervillerampage and find player profiles on Instagram at @somerville_rampage.
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GET OUTSIDE
SOMERVILLE’S CYCLISTS ARE
ON A ROLL 44 May | June 2016
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BY J.M. LINDSAY
A
lmost eight percent of Somerville’s commuters get to work on a bicycle—and while that percentage may seem small, it actually puts the city in fifth place nationally, according to a 2014 report by the League of American Bicyclists. “It all stems from [the Curtatone] administration’s push,” says Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters, Chairman of the Somerville Traffic and Parking Committee. “They want to be a bikeable and walkable city.” A lifelong Somerville resident, McWatters thinks small steps have had a big impact when it comes to making the city friendlier and safer for cyclists and pedestrians. “I grew up in the city and I never had a bike lane,” he says. (The city’s first bike lane, on Washington Street, was only built in 2003; its second was installed in 2008.) He lists the bike-sharing system Hubway—which is adding four new locations in Winter Hill and East Somerville in 2016—as an example of a positive change that’s making cycling more accessible. He also points to Neighborways—low-volume residential streets designed to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety—as a “great, effective, low-cost traffic-calming measure.” Ken Carlson of the Somerville Bicycle Committee agrees that many of the small-scale improvements coming this year and next will go a long way to increase bike safety and overall ridership statistics. And there are big infrastructural changes on the way, too. Bike lanes are currently being added to Beacon Street, which sees up to 400 cyclists per hour during rush hour, making it one of the
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Get Outside
HAPPY BAY STATE BIKE MONTH! Have yourself a little two-wheeled fun this May.
MAY 1, 12 P.M.
MAY 22, 2-5 P.M.
MAY 4, 6-7:30 P.M.
JUNE 6 (RAIN DATE JUNE 13)
Open Studios Bicycle Ride Nave Gallery, 155 Powder House Blvd. Bike Talk Social Hour with Jon Ramos of Boston Bike Party Aeronaut Brewing Co., 14 Tyler St.
MAY 11, 6-7:30 P.M.
Bike Talk Social Hour with Josh Zisson of Bike Safe Boston Aeronaut Brewing Co., 14 Tyler St.
MAY 13 & MAY 27, 8-9 A.M. Bike Breakfast Whole Foods, 45 Beacon St.
Somerville Historic Bike Ride: Paul Revere’s Ride Holiday Inn, 30 Washington St. Rush Hour Challenge Outdoor party at Redbones starts at 5 p.m. and goes until 8:30 with a ceremony at 6:15. (Read up on last year’s race at scoutsomerville.com/rush-hour.)
Photo by Shawn Musgrave.
busiest biking corridors in Greater Boston. Within a year of adding protected bike lanes, Carlson expects that number to increase to 600 per hour. “When you build safe bicycling infrastructure, you increase the people riding bikes in cities,” he explains. “When you put in protected bike lanes, you increase ridership.” But not everyone is so enthusiastic about Somerville’s cycling culture. Sam Christy and Zach Hirschtritt, co-founders of the Somerville Bike Kitchen in Davis Square, find that there’s a frustrating disparity of resources between drivers and cyclists, as well as a culture clash between the two groups. “No amount of paint you’re going to put on the road is going to change driver culture,” laments Hirschtritt in regard to initiatives like Neighborways. Christy adds that, in addition to building better infrastructure, the city could make cyclists and pedestrians feel safer and more welcome by holding motorists accountable for the financial strain they place on the city. “It’d be nice if cars had to fully pay what they actually cost the community,” he says, listing snow removal, parking issues and the physical space cars take up as resources that bikes and pedestrians don’t require. Asked about Somerville’s consistently high ranking as one of the country’s most bikeable cities, Christy cautions against being too optimistic. “Even in the best situation, 99 percent of the road is [for drivers] and one percent is ours ... There’s a real long way to go,” he explains. Adds Hirschtritt, “The streets are designed for cars, the lights are timed for cars. It’s all built around cars.” Carlson and the Somerville Bicycle Committee understand these frustrations. With the support of the mayor, they want to increase the number of cycling commuters to fifteen percent. To do that, Carlson says that fostering any kind of “usversus-them” narrative between bicyclists and motorists is counterproductive. “A bicycle is closer to a car than it is to a pedestrian when it comes to how it operates
HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT
on the road and how it moves,” Carlson says. “If we as cyclists want to gain respect as vehicles on the road, and coexist with other vehicles ... we have to give respect to get respect.” Instead of fighting over which space belongs to whom, Carlson believes that the city should be implementing solutions that will make the roads safer and easier to navigate for everyone. One of the best ways to do that, he says, is by putting in constructed intersections—intersections designed with very clear visibility lines to minimize the chance of a “right hook” by constructing a physical barrier that extends into the intersection, staggering the stop line and giving cyclists a head start, thereby also protecting pedestrians. To Carlson, nothing is more important than infrastructure. “In the last seven years,” he says, “we’ve added miles and miles of bike lanes, we’ve added safety boxes, we’ve had a change in culture.” “You can see the change happening,” Carlson adds, “and it’s leading to a healthier environment.”
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It’s time to play favorites. NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR OUR 2016 SCOUT’S HONORED AWARDS.
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SCOUT OUT
THE DEATH OF DIY? “ONLY NEW YORK HAS MORE ARTISTS PER CAPITA THAN THE CITY OF SOMERVILLE,” BOASTS THE CITY ON ITS WEBSITE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THOSE CREATIVES START LEAVING FOR LESS EXPENSIVE PASTURES? BY KRISTOFER JENSON
T
he Boston movie brand is so embedded in the American filmgoer’s psyche that when New Hampshire-raised Seth Meyers parodied the stereotypes earlier this year in his fake trailer Boston Accent, there was no need to reference any specific film. The viral clip had it all: the dropped R’s, blue-collar poetry about loyalty and neighborhood pride, gratuitous violence. Though the current crop of high-profile, Hollywood-produced, Boston-set films have steered away from the gritty niche genre pictures of old to those with a higher pedigree and wider appeal—Spotlight, Ghostbusters, Central Intelligence—the area’s cinematic reputation remains in the hands of artistic and financial forces from another coast. So dominant is this perception of Boston-based movies that it took bad news for the world of local filmmaking to find a place in the city’s media—polymathic partners Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola had made the decision to leave their longtime Somerville home for Los Angeles. In a mid-February Facebook post that gained attention from such outlets as the Boston Globe and Vanyaland and even elicited a response from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Epstein, who serves on the Somerville Arts Council and founded the Somerville Makers and Artists Group, described in detail the circumstances that culminated 50 May | June 2016
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in the duo’s decision to relocate. The post garnered hundreds of comments from fellow artists who shared messages of empathy and solidarity, demonstrating that this is a sentiment, and a worry, shared by many. More and more, local filmmakers have a choice: stay in this creative community and risk getting priced out of the neighborhoods they helped make cool in the first place, or leave for an “industry” city, like LA, where there is less of a chasm between making art and paying the bills.
YOU CAN’T PUT A PRICE TAG ON COMMUNITY.
“M
aking a film is an incredibly stupid thing to do,” says Brendan Boogie, musician and screenwriter of The Mayor of Rock and Roll. “The only stupider thing is to not make the film because you’re letting something like money or time get in the way of you doing something you want to do.” For many local filmmakers, the only easy aspect of production is the decision to do it. Still, no matter the obstacles and frustrations, no one we spoke with has regretted their work once it was completed— even if they might have done a particular aspect of a project differently.
Problems tend to arise when the long-term realities of creative life cause successive projects to be more and more difficult. Often, these are issues shared by artists of all stripes—rising rents in formerly artist-friendly neighborhoods or a lack of studio and exhibition space. Others are specific to film, like the state’s perceived preference for glamorous productions from LA. These big-budget films tend to benefit from the Massachusetts film tax break, but no equivalent consideration is given to people who already live, work and create in this state. (More on that later.) Tax policies, infrastructure and cost of living aside, area filmmakers—even those who have headed West or are considering the move—love this city. They love the people of Somerville, of Boston, of Cambridge—love to have local establishments as partners on a project. Actress, visual artist and live performer Porcelain Dalya recently made her directorial debut with the short film One, which appeared at last year’s Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF). “I was doing a music video once,” remembers Dalya, who is currently in preproduction on her second film. “We were in a park in Cambridge. The park ranger was like, ‘Just so you know, you really should have a permit. I’ll let it slide for today, but if you come back, get a permit.’ Whereas if we were in New York or L.A., they’d be like, ‘Nope, fuck you, get out, you’re done.’” “The thing that I like about Boston is how ridiculously loyal people are,” Dalya continues. “It’s really hard to make friends in the city. It’s challenging. Yet the people you do make friends with are friends. They’re loyal. And I think that stands for the scene.” Mike Pecci agrees, citing the receptiveness of both individual residents and businesses to independent productions. Pecci works in commercial photography and video, makes documentary films and has shot music videos for acts such as Czarface and Killswitch Engage. His newest passion project, the psychological thriller 12 Kilometers, premiered at the Boston International Film Festival in April. Once, Pecci recounts, while he was filming a television pilot on a rooftop in New York City, a man from the next building would wait to hear, “Action!” and begin screaming. He’d stop yelling when the crew stopped shooting. As it turned out, the man wanted money from the crew before leaving them to film in peace. His tactic—while annoying—is not altogether illegal. Luckily, it’s unheard of in Greater Boston. With the NY/LA experience under his belt, Pecci made the decision to remain in town. He says that despite its sometimes contentious relationship with artists, this area is preferable to the alternative. “I would say the access that people are willing to give you is the best part,” he says. “[There’s] this wonderful blend of blue collar and students and academia, and so it has this really wonderful mix of people. And so when you’re creating and you’re writing, or if you’re putting on something, you can go sit at the bar and have a conversation with those same three people at the same bar.” Somerville’s arts culture has proven crucial to artists like Jim McDonough, who says he would never have submitted his short Manicorn to BUFF—where it won Best of Fest Short—had he not networked with other artists at a gathering of the Boston Indie Mafia, which meets at the Center for Arts at the Armory. “I’d never been to a festival until last year,” he explains. But at the Armory, McDonough says, he met an encouraging group of people who gave him the confidence he needed to submit his work to festivals like BUFF. “And that part of the community—you just can’t put a price tag, you can’t put a number to it.”
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ou can, however, put a price tag on the making of a film, and often, that figure is frustratingly high. Financial support is available through grants, a system from which narrative filmmakers could theoretically benefit. But often, the mission of these grants doesn’t coincide with the artistic vision or production timeline of a project. Izzy Lee has self-funded all of her work, primarily in horror. Her award-winning short Innsmouth has garnered rave reviews from across the U.S. and recently debuted locally at BUFF. “My work tends to be pretty risqué, and I can’t ever imagine public funding wanting to be a part
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51
Scout Out The Death of DIY?
of that, so to speak,” she says. Dalya has applied for grants in the past through her home city of Medford, but there’s a clause in the fine print that says the work of recipients must benefit the citizens of Medford. It’s unlikely, she says, that a short horror film will be seen as a project for the public good. Pecci finds himself in a similar place. “Going through the process of writing for grants is a skill within itself,” he says. “Someone like me who does a lot of genre stuff, like, ‘Hey, give me a grant to do a horror movie,’ it really doesn’t work out that way. It’s never worked out that way for me.” Michael J. Epstein, who also serves on the Somerville Arts Council, feels more artists who work in film should make that effort, both to improve their chances of receiving funding and to make the case that more attention should be paid to film. Grants awarded by the Somerville Arts Council are proportional based on the number of applicants in a particular medium. “The more [film] applicants there are, the bigger chunk [film projects] get,” he explains. “Visual arts, music—film tends to be the least popular category.” Filmmakers have found workarounds for many of the hurdles they face—crowdfunding through Kickstarter or Indiegogo instead of seeking studio support or investment, working for cheap (or free) for other artists so that they will return the favor, finding audiences through festivals and independent streaming platforms instead of trying to court distributors. But there is no workaround for infrastructure, spaces for artists to work and live out of at a price that is reasonable for what they produce and provide for the city. “What’s the cliche?” Epstein asks. “‘You can give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.’ In a way, grants are like the fish for the day, but a person who gets a grant— even if they were given enough money to survive for a year—they have nothing to survive on the next year.” As a result, Epstein and others are pushing to create a culture where artists aren’t fighting over “the scraps” of council funding. He envisions a future where the infrastructure and the culture make it so that it’s viable for creatives to stay in the city. Lee agrees that the region is in dire need of both more living spaces for artists and studio spaces where artists can do their work. It’s not just a problem for big cities like Boston; “Even now in 52
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Somerville,” Lee says, “everyone’s being pushed out.” “Historically,” she continues, “low-income neighborhoods that artists have made flourish become where people flock to, and then eventually, [those artists] get pushed out a decade or two later. And that’s happening with Dorchester now, too.” Boogie shares this worry. “What I’ve noticed is that a neighborhood gets cool because artists and cool people open cool places,” he says. “Not just artists, but cool restaurants, cool people doing something unique. Then it gets popular ... they get priced out, and it becomes homogenized. And it just happens over and over and over again.” The much-touted and debated tax incentive for films with budgets of $50,000 or more is already a contentious issue in government and media alike, and likewise with those who find themselves struggling for recognition with budgets a fraction of that size. The incentive, as explained on the website for the Massachusetts Film Office, offers a “25 percent production credit, a 25 percent payroll credit and a sales tax exemption.” Everyone is in favor of some form of tax break, but few find that the existing break offers advantages for those who already live here, and even fewer are the recipients of any trickle-down benefits. Pecci, who has worked on projects large enough to benefit from the incentive, has found that there are indirect, if imperfect, benefits. He notes that the credit does not include items such as the fee a filmmaker pays himor herself, which can push the actual budget up to about $60,000 or $80,000. “Does the tax credit really help? If I get into feature film
territory, which I’m aiming towards right now, yeah, maybe then it’s really going to start to help,” Pecci says. “But as far as development goes, in helping nurture companies to develop and produce in this city, there isn’t really a lot of attention to that.” The incentive helps keep rental houses, like Red Sky Studios in Allston, in operation—which Pecci says is great when it comes to supporting film crews and the industry. “But,” he adds, “it doesn’t necessarily support me.” (As of press time, the Massachusetts Film Office had not returned a call to Scout Somerville for comment.) “I have a huge problem with the tax break,” says Epstein. “I think it
“Historically,” she continues, “low-income neighborhoods that artists have made flourish become where people flock to, and then eventually, [those artists] get pushed out a decade or two later. should exist, I don’t think it should go away. But I have a huge problem with the fact that the tax break doesn’t force enough of the labor hired under these projects to be locally sourced … It’d be great if the tax breaks encouraged projects on a small scale. I think they’re not.” “Or even encouraging local breaks,” Cacciola chimes in. “It’s good to have any film industry happening here, and just the idea of things being filmed here encourages more to happen.” Dalya agrees, noting that that “the arts should be taxed differently, because we have a different outcome than other industries.” “They attracted GE with tax incentives, so why not encourage a dance company or a theater troupe to headquarter here?” asks Epstein. “Any art, really. If you’re giving breaks to tech companies, why not give breaks to creative companies? If that’s important to your city. If it’s not, don’t do it. I like to think that Boston and Somerville both think that arts are important.”
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Photos: Stills from Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola’s 2015 psychological sci-fi flick Magnetic. scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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Ever wondered who, exactly, is behind the magazine you hold in your hands? Come meet us! We’ll be hanging out at a whole bunch of events in Cambridge and Somerville this May and June.
PorchFest 2016 SATURDAY, MAY 21 We’ll be in front of the Armory at 191 Highland Ave. in Somerville
MSPCA Fast & Furriest 5K SUNDAY, MAY 22 Baxter Park at Assembly Row in Somerville
Live Music Thursdays Kickoff THURSDAY, JUNE 2 Baxter Park Amphitheater at Assembly Row in Somerville
Cambridge River Festival SATURDAY, JUNE 4 East Cambridge Waterfront
Taste of Somerville WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 Davis Square in Somerville
Scenes from last year’s River Festival. We’ll be eating, drinking, dancing and sharing the Scout love at this year’s celebration on Saturday, June 4—come say hi! Photos courtesy of the Cambridge Arts Council. 54 May | June 2016
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CALENDAR
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WHIMSY | May 14
TINY SHIPS FESTIVAL 3 P.M., FREE UNION SQUARE, SOMERVILLE Last year, Greg Cook brought bummer vibes to Union Square with the Pity Party. This year, he’s trading sadness for sea monsters with the Tiny Ships Festival, a “celebration of everything tiny and nautical.” That means kiddie pools filled with mini mermaids and small-scale submarines, plus sea-themed crafting stations and baby-sized boat races— all soundtracked with nautical tunes. Costumes both welcomed and encouraged.
MUSIC | May 21
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FILM | May 13 - June 2
TIME AND PLACE ARE NONSENSE! THE CINEMA ACCORDING TO SEIJUN SUZUKI SHOWTIMES VARY THE BRATTLE THEATRE AND THE HARVARD FILM ARCHIVE, CAMBRIDGE Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch and Wong Kar-wai are among the contemporary directors who site Japanese B-movie director Seijun Suzuki as an influence, but he’s still mostly a cult favorite. This retrospective from the Harvard Film Archive and the Brattle Theatre brings Suzuki’s campy, chaotic films back to the silver screen.
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PORCHFEST 12 - 6 P.M., FREE CITYWIDE, SOMERVILLE Grab your friends, leash up your dog and strap your kids into their strollers—Porchfest is back! The citywide celebration of al fresco song returns in May, with tons of musicians in every genre serenading passersby from porches. Find the full lineup and a handy map at somervilleartscouncil.org.
ART | May 26
FREE ADMISSION DAY 10 A.M. - 5 P.M., FREE THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS, 32 QUINCY ST., CAMBRIDGE The museums are offering a day of no-cost admission to celebrate Harvard’s commencement, but you don’t have to be affiliated with the university to get free access to exhibits like “Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia.” You’ll also be able to catch two new exhibits that open May 21: “Drawings from the Age of Bruegel, Rubens and Rembrandt” and a collection of ancient Chinese pottery.
BOOKS | May 31
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LABOR OF LOVE: THE INVENTION OF DATING 7 P.M., FREE HARVARD BOOK STORE, 1256 MASS. AVE. “You will never swipe right the same way again,” says Empathy Exams author Leslie Jamison of Moira Weigel’s Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating. Weigel, whose book dispels the notion that romance is dying by offering a history of the way we date, joins Boston Globe Love Letters columnist Meredith Goldstein for a conversation about working, hooking up and (probably) Tinder.
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COMUNITY | June 4
RIVER FESTIVAL 11 A.M. - 6 P.M., FREE EAST CAMBRIDGE WATERFRONT, CAMBRIDGE Six stages of local musicians, dancers and performers, plus storytelling tents, community tables, works from local artisans and lots of food. Also: Sculpture Racing is back again. You won’t want to miss it! 3. Photo by Emily Hopkins. 4. Photo courtesy of Harvard Art Museums. 6. Photo courtesy of the Cambridge Arts Council.
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NATURE | June 4-5
HERBSTALK 9 A.M. - 5 P.M., $15-$50 THE CENTER FOR ARTS AT THE ARMORY, 191 HIGHLAND AVE., SOMERVILLE Curious about herbalism? This two-day intensive can serve as an introduction, with classes on everything from urban foraging to herbal oral care to managing stress with natural remedies. Or, take a stroll outside with an “urban plant walk” and learn about the great greens that grow along city streets. Tickets and more at herbstalk.org.
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FOOD | June 8
TASTE OF SOMERVILLE 5:30 - 7:30 P.M., $50 OR $75 FOR A VIP PASS DAVIS SQUARE, SOMERVILLE You know the drill: Dozens of the best restaurants bring their most delicious bites to the heart of Davis Square, and the proceeds go to local nonprofits, so you can feel good as you fill up. (Last year we tried— and failed—to eat something from every single eatery without getting too full to stand. Maybe 2016 is our year.)
9 RUNNING | June 8
HIGH HEEL DASH 6 P.M., $25 - $30 340 CANAL ST., ASSEMBLY ROW, SOMERVILLE Strap on those stilettos and join hosts Melissa and Ramiro of HOT 96.9 at the Boston area's first high heel dash! Guys and gals will run 50 yards in their favorite two-inch-tall (or higher) heels, then enjoy an afterparty with complimentary appetizers, cocktails, prizes, a silent auction and more. Costumes are encouraged, and all proceeds benefit Project Smile. Find more info at highheeldashboston.com.
10 DANCE | June 24-26
THE FESTIVAL OF US, YOU, WE & THEM PRICES VARY (BUT MANY EVENTS ARE FREE) THE DANCE COMPLEX, 536 MASS. AVE., CAMBRIDGE For the second year, the Dance Complex is throwing open its doors and taking to the streets for a weekendlong celebration of performance art. With pop-up concerts and classes, a choreographer’s showcase, a gallery and “spontaneous actions of creation,” organizers hope to emphasize the inclusive and humanizing nature of the arts and movement. Head to dancecomplex.org for the full festival lineup.
8. Photo by Glenn Kulbak. 10. Photo by Charles Daniels Photography.
11 THEATER | June 9-July 10
BEDLAM’S TWELFTH NIGHT TIMES VARY, $15 - $59 CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER, 450 MASS. AVE., CAMBRIDGE Are you the kind of person who wants to have it both ways? Catch Bedlam’s staging of Twelfth Night, which finds the same five actors performing the exact same play in two radically different styles. The Wall Street Journal calls it “radically innovative and winningly playful.”
scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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MARKETPLACE Comprehensive & Empowering Legal Service
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CATERING TO THE SEASONED MIXOLOGISTS AND THE COCKTAIL CURIOUS ALIKE
Thalia Tringo
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Todd Zinn
LAW OFFICE OF JACLYN R. KRYZAK
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P: 617-775-4341 | kryzaklaw@yahoo.com
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.852.1839 cell/text 617.245.3902 vm/efax Todd@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
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Louise Olson & Scott Kistenberger 32 Years of Exemplary Real Estate Service
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H A R VA R D S Q UA R E 19 Arrow Street, Cambridge
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.216.5244 cell/text Lynn@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
About our company... 1730 Mass. Ave. • 617-930-1288 We are dedicated to representing our buyer and seller clients with integrity and professionalism. We are also commi ed to giving back to our community. Our agents donate $250 to a non-profit in honor of each transaction and Thalia Tringo & Associates Real Estate Inc. also gives $250 to a pre-selected group of local charities for each transaction.
TrueHomePartners.com
Dedicated to representing our buyer and seller clients with integrity and professionalism. Committed to giving back to our community.
Visit our office, 128 Willow Avenue, on the bike path in Davis Square, Somerville.
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T R U S T. KNOWLEDGE. EXPERIENCE. VA L U E .
Our agents donate $250 to a non-profit in honor of each transaction and Thalia Tringo & Associates Real Estate Inc. also gives $250 to a pre-selected group of local charities for each transaction.
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May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
MARKETPLACE
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thank you again, Somerville, for voting us Best Gift Shop!
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MAKE DUMPLING SCHOOL YOUR NEXT TEAM BUILDING EVENT! scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
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SCOUT THIS!
CONGRATS, CHRIS CARROLL!
C
ongrats to Take Your Scout to Work winner Chris Carroll, who emailed us the above photo with the caption, “Daily Jaws of Life check—with the help of the Scout.” Carroll, who grew up in Somerville and has worked with the Fire Department for about five years, is an avid Scout reader. “I couldn’t help myself,” he says of his entry. “Every morning our trucks get checked out. I looked over and saw the Scout, and I had to throw it into the mix.” As for the $200 in contest winnings? “I was thinking about finding a way to donate it,” Carroll says. He went through the automotive technology program at Somerville High School and says he’d like to pay it forward to current students. “I just feel like giving back to the community in any way I can,” he adds.
What’s the buzz? Best Bees beekeepers bring Scout to check out a client’s hive.
The Juice Union team turns the “Somerville at Work” issue into a refreshing drink.
SCOUT MAGAZINES ARE YOUR BIMONTHLY GUIDES TO GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOMERVILLE AND CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY PROFILES 60 May | June 2016
scoutsomerville.com
HYPERLOCAL NEWS
FOOD & DRINK
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PET PROJECT
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Win ! $200
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21 Bow St, Union Square 617-718-7555
ime for another photo contest! This time around, we’re asking you to submit your best pet portraits—featuring Scout. It’s easy to enter: Just snap a pic of your furry, scaly or feathered pal with a copy of Scout Somerville. Post it to Instagram (and make sure to tag @scoutmags so we see it) using the hashtag #scoutpets. Here’s Lindsey Barcebal’s cat, Sammy—who loves leftover tuna cans and sitting in puzzle boxes—showing you how it’s done with our January/February issue. Have some fun with it! Get creative! We want to see what kinds of outside shenanigans our readers and their pets can get into. The person who posts our favorite photo will take home $200 in cash and prizes, and entries should be submitted by June 15. Not on Instagram? You can also email your entries to scout@ scoutmagazines.com. Winners must be available for interview.
WHERE TO GO WHAT TO DO
AND WHO YOU’LL SEE ALONG THE WAY
$24 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION OR GET TWO YEARS FOR $40 Call 617-996-2283 or email scout@scoutmagazines.com to receive in home delivery.
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scoutsomerville.com May | June 2016
61
SCOUT YOU
Photos by Jess Benjamin.
Sila and Maya King spend an afternoon together in Davis Square.
Ken and Amelia Bauer do some shopping at Whole Foods on Beacon Street.
Firefighters respond to an alarm at the Maaco building on Somerville Avenue.
Rebecca Henriksen takes a break from her steel work at Artisan’s Asylum.
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May | June 2016 scoutsomerville.com
Paws in the ‘Ville dog walker Vicky with her pup, Blue the Boston Terrier.
Workers stand outside the Hill Building in Union Square on a sunny day.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
HYPERLOCAL NEWS
FOOD & DRINK
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SCOUT MAGAZINES
ARE YOUR BIMONTHLY GUIDES TO GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOMERVILLE AND CAMBRIDGE
WHERE TO GO. WHAT TO DO.
AND WHO YOU’LL SEE ALONG THE WAY.
$24 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION OR GET TWO YEARS FOR $40 Call 617-996-2283 or email scout@scoutmagazines.com to receive in home delivery.
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Guiding you home. From luxurious Back Bay condominiums to charming Cambridge residences, discover Boston’s ďŹ nest homes and the best agents to guide you there.
Boston 617.206.3333
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