Verizon telephone and Internet customers in the Back Bay and at Boston University lost service after a cable was accidentally cut last night. Verizon doesn't know how many clients were affected. The service should be back today. Hopefully, it won't affect fantasy football picks at BU. [Globe]
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A public food market is scheduled to open at an empty Haymarket building within 18 months. (Don't hold your breath.) [Boston Globe]
Specially designated parking for motorcycles and scooters will be available on Newbury Street for 25 cents per hour. [Boston Globe]
A poll shows Mitt as Obama's toughest competitor in 2012. At least, he won't be on the Commonwealth payroll if he runs this time. [Boston Herald]
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Governor Patrick proposes broad budget cuts to offset sagging tax revenue. [Boston Channel]
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Results tagged “backbay”
The American Planning Association seems to like Boston, or certain parts of it anyway. The APA named the Back Bay as one America's 10 Great Neighborhoods and also listed the Emerald Necklace as a "Great Public Space."
The latest on Tom Brady's two-car accident Thursday morning near his Back Bay home at Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street:
No injuries were reported after a fire forced a building to be evacuated in the Back Bay. An electrical fire in the basement of 665 Boylston St. led to two alarms.
Maybe we shouldn't have wished for the rain to go away; it's been a ridiculous week for fires thus far. Monday saw a Chinatown blaze (caused by an short circuit) that injured three firefighters, as well as a Fensfire felt as far away as Sullivan Square. And earlier today, a Back Bay condo burst into flames in dramatic fashion. Three people have been hospitalized thus far as a result of the nine-alarm conflagration in the 200-person building, which was built before sprinkler requirement went into effect. The Globe talked to Steve MacDonald of the BFD, who said the fire was reported at 1:46 p.m. on the seventh floor of the building, to which it was mostly contained. One resident said "It looked like a volcano," and the smoke was visible across the river. The fire even affected Lena Chen's commute, among those of many others. Be prepared for a potentially long trip home tonight, but be glad that building residents seem to be safe. Our thoughts are with the residents of the building. [Globe]
Should you be able to sue your neighbor for smoking in the building?
Amar Raavi took a trip up to the sky walk in the Prudential Center and captured some of the wonderful sights of the Back Bay. With 111 Huntington and the Christian Science reflecting pool dominating the foreground, Boston just seems to go on forever.
Post 390, which opened on Friday, October 2nd, is billing itself as a “neighborhood restaurant.” This, despite the fact that it is being run by Eric Brennan, who has served as the executive chef for larger-than-life brands like the late Excelsior and the Four Seasons. This, despite the fact that it is being funded by big names like Kenneth Himmel, the restaurateur behind the Time Warner Center in NYC (home to Thomas Keller’s Per Se) and the CityPlace in West Palm Beach. This, despite the fact that the restaurant itself is a far-from-intimate two-floor space, with walls shaved clean of any hints that it was once a postal building, as its name hints. This, despite the fact that it is sandwiched between two larger-than-life iconic Boston buildings (the Prudential and its sidekick, the Trinity Church) in a “neighborhood” of high rises. All this means that it requires no small feat of imagination—in fact, it may require an outright suspension of disbelief—to see Post 390 as a “neighborhood restaurant.”
But thanks to a food and beverage program that is strong straight out of the gate, a reasonably priced menu of true comfort foods, a few well-placed fireplaces and a staff with a built-in sense of warmth and hospitality (led by the grinning Brennan himself), Post 390 could transcend all that to become exactly what its clever marketers and anxious investors want it to be.
-- Danielle Bremner, who writes graffiti as "UTAH," was sentenced to six months in prison by Boston Municipal Court after she pleaded guilty to tagging buildings in the Back Bay and trains in an MBTA yard in East Boston. Bremner, who lives in New York, had been a fugitive from prosecution for more than a year when she was arrested in Chicago in August 2008. She has also been convicted of vandalism charges in New York. [Herald]
-- The victim of a savage beating that was the alleged work of a group of well dressed men succumbed to his injuries today. The man was found beaten outside of Club 33, in the Back Bay, where an alleged verbal altercation turned into an alleged beating at the hands of 12 men, 9 of whom were wearing matching red tuxedos because they had just been to a funeral. The victim, Jose Alicea, was 22 when he died. The 12 suspects were arraigned today on charges of aggravated assault and battery and held on bail ranging from $100,000 to $200,000. The Suffolk County District Attorney has not announced new charges in light of the victim's death. [BPDNews, Suffolk County DA]
An SUV driver made a quick study of first a light pole, and in turn a Quality Mart, at the intersection of Beacon and Mass Ave earlier this evening. We're guessing the store is closed for business for a while. No one was hurt that we know of.
We've seen the dinosaurs of our city, aging restaurants like Great Bay, Aujourd'hui and Icarus, go down this week, felled by the figurative dust cloud of the recent recession. Great Bay closed its doors this weekend; Aujourd'hui, in the Four Seasons, will become a private function room later this month; Icarus will close on July 1. All have cited the economy as a major factor in their decision.
Drinks and snacks at the bar are a great way to unwind at the end of the day, but the food and drinks can add up fast. Many restaurants in Boston take this into account and have developed special bar menus for these economic times. 33 Restaurant & Lounge's $3 Menu is just one delicious example.
-- Bostonist has been known to read the Craigslist personals and erotic services ads for amusement—a lurid and sometimes hilarious glimpse at a semi-private underworld. But we rarely consider, in concrete terms, the plight of sex workers. More details were released today regarding Tuesday's murder of a Craigslist masseuse operating out of the Copley Marriott that give us an insight into at least one tragic story.
-- Boston police report that a 26-year-old woman was shot to death at a hotel room in the Copley Marriott last night. The victim was reportedly a masseuse who was advertising in the erotic services section of Craigslist. Police believe that robbery was the motive behind the killing and have released a photograph of "a person of interest." The incident may be related to an earlier prostitute robbery that took place at the Westin Copley hotel. [BPDNews, Herald]
Everybody has one: the crazy dog-obsessed friend. The friend who won't come to your parties unless she can bring Fluffy; the friend who never goes out of town because he doesn't trust a kennel or caretaker to prepare Fido's food correctly. These people can be hard to buy for, but you've got a new ally in town: Pawsh Dog Boutique.
-- Cops found an alleged "mother lode" of drugs in the Boylston St. apartment of Taghi Tajgardoun, a 28-year-old who now faces charges that he was the kingpin of a massive drug trafficking operation. Authorities say that they seized $90,000 worth of marijuana, $10,000 worth of cocaine, $25,000 cash, and four Iranian passports when they raided Tajgardoun's home. Among Tajgardoun's more legitimate businesses: real estate. Shocking. Police say that they began to suspect Tajgardoun when he allegedly received a package of weed from California through the U.S. mail. [Herald]
"Idaho" was arrested on outstanding charges that she vandalized property in the Back Bay. Bremner, whose rap sheet is international, faces 33 counts of vandalism. Her bail was set at $10,000. [Herald]
To provide an update on our MassDebate articles opposing and "meh"-ing the proposed redevelopment of the Shreve, Crump & Low building, it seems that Back Bay residents have united in strong opposition to the proposed modernist design, prompting the Boston Redevelopment Authority to put the project on hold. Citizens say there's too much glass, not enough tribute to the way the building used to be, and nothing "Boston" about it. Developer Ronald Druker says "We have an obligation to do a contemporary building and not to do a cartoon of a Back Bay building from the 19th century... Office buildings require consistency, and that's what we're in the process of creating." Consistent with what, we ask--genericness?
According to WalkScore.com, Boston is America's third most walkable city, behind San Fran and NYC. The city ranking system is slightly unclear, but appears to be based on averages of neighborhood walkability, or perhaps numbers of most walkable neighborhoods. Walk Score says Boston's best areas for walking are the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and the South End. Somewhat ironic that a wonderful walking city is in massive transportation debt.
Bostonist was permitted to set foot in Boylston Street's gleaming ice palace of an Apple Store this morning, in advance of its Friday opening. An Apple spokespersonage gestured and informed us that the store's floor is from Italy and that the store's employees are from the Boston area. (Bostonist recognized and was recognized by a former Diesel barista.) The staircase, we're assuming, is from the future. Mayor Menino blessed the whole endeavor and laid hands on a MacBook.
Update: The DA's Office just sent out confirmation. They say both stabbings happened on the outbound platform and that the stabbing victims are expected to survive.
Turns out Green Line service is down between Government Center and Lechmere. Here's the T Alert that was sent out:
--Revere police arrived to a crime scene today at 3:15 p.m. They reported a fatal stabbing and a non-fatal shooting. There aren't many details available at this point, but a source tells the Herald that the victim was attacked by her son. [Boston Herald]
While waiting for the bus at Mass Ave and Washington Street in the South End, we used to always wonder why an entrepreneur never converted the former Alexandra Hotel into high-end condos. It wasn't for the lack of effort.
--Cambridge was the scene of a violent attack on a homeless man. Early on January 29, the man was walking with his girlfriend in Central Square on Norfolk when three men attacked him, and one of them stabbed him in the back. [Cambridge Chronicle]