By Michael Coughlin Jr.
In what the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association’s (JPNA) Treasurer Andrew Pike described as “Probably the fastest JPNA meeting that we’ve ever had,” on Monday, residents in attendance heard some announcements, Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) project updates, and more.
The meeting, which lasted only about a half hour, was cut short due to a postponement of a presentation on the revised shipyard project from Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina.
“The reason for the postponement is that Massport had some changes to their project — so it hasn’t been approved by Massport yet. We didn’t feel like it was worth spending time discussing something that may or may not be moving forward depending upon what changes Massport has for them,” said Pike.
The JPNA also pushed back board elections which contributed to the brief meeting. “We initially were going to have our elections today with JPNA Board Member candidates talking, and then obviously we would have a vote,” said Pike.
“Originally, we had decided to postpone that because of the shipyard — we wanted to give more time for people to speak. Even though the shipyard isn’t going to be here, we’ve decided that we are going to push that [elections] to August.”
Even with the election postponement, one new candidate for a Board Member position got to introduce themselves, Karolina Chorvath, an East Boston resident for about eight years who is a writer and a chronic illness and disability advocate.
“My whole heart is in East Boston, and I’m just really looking forward for an opportunity to help represent some of the voices in our great neighborhood,” said Chorvath.
In terms of announcements, JPNA-sponsored events that will be a part of Eastie Week — which according to Pike, is slated to run from July 9 to July 26 — were revealed.
Some of these events include a movie night, art in the park, and a curbside free stuff day. “The final calendar will be provided in the next few weeks,” said Pike.
Further, the JPNA will be holding a summer potluck on July 10 in lieu of its monthly meeting at the Golden Stairs Terrace Park at 6:30 p.m. with raffle tickets and prizes to be announced.
As for upcoming meetings, residents should be aware that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will be holding a meeting at Mario Umana Academy from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday to discuss the Sumner Tunnel Restoration Project and the Gove Street Citizens Association (GSCA) will be hosting the 9 McKay Place development team on June 26.
Later on in the meeting, attendees heard from Ryan Shea, the Acting Director of Construction for the BWSC, who provided a quick update about ongoing and upcoming projects in the area.
“Happy to report the project is 85-90 percent complete. We have two streets left on the job — Sumner Street and Maverick Street,” said Shea.
Shea explained that the BWSC is working on Sumner Street between Clipper Ship Lane and Maverick Square, which just has water work to be done, which is projected to go through the end of July.
The second area of ongoing work on Sumner Street between Orleans and Lamson Court involves a drain relay and other water work projected to go through Mid-August.
“That’s the update of the ongoing work that we have right now. Once Sumner Street is complete, we’re going to transition over to Maverick Street, where we have one remaining piece of work between Orleans and Cottage,” said Shea.
In response to a question about paving, Shea said, “We’re going to try and pave as much of this project as we possibly can without sacrificing potential quality in the future, but to answer your question, Water and Sewer will be responsible for paving over our trenches on the streets that we have affected in the project.”
Although the JPNA had a briefer meeting than usual, it clearly provided attendees with information to keep in mind for the coming days and weeks.