My Five Senses

"Theater District" Oh well

2011-08-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

So it looks like I live in the "Theater District." (Yes I know this is an old article) As I have said before I cannot stand this neighborhood name. I mean it's fine for other places. Neighborhoods that have more than one theater in the "district." I mean to be honest I guess the "Theater District" does have three theaters. I mean you have the Hanover of course. Then you have the Paris. I am fairly certain also that there is some sort of theater space in the old School of Performing Arts on Chatham St. You know, you could even go so far as to include the New Art over on Pleasant in this "Theater District".

Now if you are a positive person, you could put a twist on this and say that all three of these Theaters will be developed and opened up as maybe a small arthouse theater or a Foothills style playhouse or any other number of things that could be done and would be truly truly amazing. My guess though is that the people who came up with this idea to call this neighborhood the "Theater District" weren't even thinking about these three other theaters in their redevelopment plan.

Now don't get me wrong. There are a whole lot of positives here. Just the fact that Worcester is attempting to name and brand another neighborhood as well as define it's borders is enough to make me want to do a little dance. I just cannot agree with the name the "Theater District."

A thing that Worcester needs to be wary of is creating false impressions. There are things you can say that to an outsider create certain expectations. Phrases like "Theater District" or "Second Largest City in New England" or "Canal District" create an expectation that is in no way lived up to in the Woo. This in turn leaves a sour taste in an outsiders mouth. It seems like terms like this are thrown around not to entice outsiders, but instead to try and give all of us something to be proud of. Maybe make decision makers feel like they are accomplishing something with their decisions. Well if I live in the "Theater District" then I guess the "Theater District" is where I live. I sincerely hope that someday I can say it with pride to a non Central Masser and they will recognize my neighborhood and maybe ask me what it's like to live there. Until then, maybe I will have a memorial service for "Federal Square." I sure liked that name and liked the thoughts of the future that came to my head when thinking about it.

Viva la Theater District..... I guess.

Rollins 2011

2011-05-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

My 5 Senses has been silent for close to a year now. The main reason being is some of my readers got very vocal about me putting up or shutting up and shut up I have done since last August. In that time I have done a lot of thinking about how I feel about Worcester Massachusetts, if I want to stay or go, and if I do stay what I want to do to make it the kind of place that I and everyone that lives here can feel proud to call home.

I am hereby announcing my candidacy for an at large seat on the Worcester City Council. For too long people who do not work, live, and play in our urban center have controlled the destiny of our urban center and for the most part have ignored it's quality of life issues.

Join us this Thursday at Jak's Pub at 536 Main Street between 7pm and 9pm for a campaign kick off party/fundraiser. Entertainment will be provided by two of Worcester's finest singer/songwriters, Scott Ricciuti and Michael Thibodeau. We have a great deal of work to do and need your help to do it. This is something that has a serious reality of happening and I am excited at the possibilities. A donation to the campaign of $20 is suggested however any donation is appreciated up to and including your time and presence.

Thanks for reading this blog over the years folks! Your comments both on line and in person are what make me have the energy and confidence to make this happen.

Hope to see you on Thursday.

Get Rich Quick

2010-08-05T20:10:00.001-07:00

A coworker just got back from the Dominican Republic. In a conversation about how things are down there he was saying that a popular scam by the locals that is often done on Americans is folks asking to get paid to watch your car because the cities there are so "scary" that if you leave your car unattended it will "certainly be stolen."

So when is the next show at the Hanover?

You can complain....

2010-07-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

Article today in the Telegram about the sale of the Chevalier building in the Canal District to Winn Management. Comments are filled with boobs as per usual. So first order of business Worcester needs to do is abolish the term low income housing and start calling it what everyone else does: rent control. Next thing they need to do if they are going to keep funding this stuff is start educating the public on what rent control is, who is eligible, and how they can benefit from it.

$33,600

That is how much you should be making to be eligible for one of these apartments. There are real good, honest, hardworking folks making this kind of money. Young folks just out of college that are living with roommates they can't stand in drafty 3 deckers in parts of the city a lot shittier than the Canal District. Parts of the city where they need to get in their car to get some good take out or go to a decent bar, or go shopping at a good thrift store. Parts of the city where they need to take a car or get in a cab to get to the commuter rail. Parts of the city where it takes them 15 minutes just to get to 290 in rush hour. And I don't know if you have looked around Water St in a while, but parts of the city where they may not feel as free with their sexuality as they might in the Canal District.

We as a city can blame Winn all we want if this fails (and they would deserve some of the blame) but we as a city are funding a part of this and you know what? It's a done deal. So instead of being the cowpokes that we are and not understanding the difference between clustered low income housing in an already ghetto-ized neighborhood and rent control in a hip, up and coming neighborhood, how about we do things like direct people looking for a place to live to this neighborhood and you know, be a little fucking positive for once?

I don't believe Worcester can be what I want it to be anymore, but that doesn't mean I don't think that stuff can't work out sometimes as intended. If I was single, 23 years, just out of college, and living in Worcester I can't think of anywhere else I would want to be than the Canal District because there is actually shit going on there all the time on a weekly (most of the time nightly) basis year round. You can't say that about any other neighborhood in Worcester.

Some True Nerd Shit

2010-06-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

So this is some true nerd number running right here and this post comes as a companion to my last post.

After a recent trip to Austin and some research I did upon my return it occurred to me that most large American cities are much bigger land wise than the large cities we have here in the Northeast. Due to this people who have spent most of their lives living in the Northeast may have a distorted view of what makes a large city. I contend that because of the city and town system of New England, even though the towns surrounding a large city are autonomous, independent and have their own municipal governments the group of towns and cities themselves are what dictate the culture of the metropolitan area that gives the core city it's reputation. So I present to you the stats for Worcester, Boston, Providence, Lowell, Hartford, and Springfield. 1st column is the population, second column is the land area in sq miles, third column is the density people per square mile. On the bottom you will find the totals. Since Austin was the inspiration for this I tried to get as close to 300 sq miles as I could. This is by no means scientific but I do think it illustrates my point, which is to stop thinking of Worcester as the second biggest city and trying to get it to live up to all the expectations that entails.

So to start off with Worcester:

Worcester	182,596	37.60	4,678.10
Shrewsbury	31,640	20.70	1,526.30
Westborough	17,997	20.50	876.90
Auburn	16,259	15.40	1,035.30
Holden	15,621	35.00	446.40
Grafton	14,894	22.70	655.00
Northborough	14,013	18.50	756.10
Clinton	13,435	5.70	2,355.70
Oxford	13,352	26.60	501.50
Northbridge	13,182	17.20	767.20
Millbury	12,784	15.70	812.50
Spencer	11,691	32.90	355.90
Charlton	11,263	42.50	264.80
Leicester	10,471	23.40	448.30
West Boylston	7,481	12.90	580.00
Paxton	4,386	14.70	297.70
Boylston	4,008	16.00	250.00
	372,547	293.00	1,271.49

Boston:

Boston	620,535	48.43	12,813.00
Cambridge	105,594	6.43	15,767.96
Quincy	92,339	16.80	5,496.40
Lynn	87,122	10.80	8,066.90
Newton	83,271	18.10	4,600.60
Somerville	74,405	4.10	18,147.60
Waltham	59,758	12.70	4,705.40
Malden	55,712	5.10	10,923.90
Medford	55,565	8.10	6,859.90
Revere	55,341	5.90	9,379.80
Weymouth	53,272	17.00	3,133.60
Arlington	41,144	5.20	7,912.30
Chelsea	38,203	2.20	17,365.00
Everett	37,269	3.40	10,961.50
Braintree	34,422	13.90	2,476.40
Watertown	32,521	4.10	7,932.00
Randolph	30,168	10.10	2,987.00
Needham	28,263	12.60	2,243.10
Melrose	26,708	4.70	5,698.30
Wellesley	26,613	10.18	2,614.10
Saugus	26,078	11.00	2,373.70
Milton	25,961	13.00	1,976.00
Dedham	24,132	10.50	2,298.30
Belmont	23,356	4.70	4,969.40
Canton	21,916	18.90	1,159.60
Winthrop	20,154	2.00	10,077.00
Hull	11,050	3.00	3,648.90
Nahant	3,632	1.20	2,918.70
	1,794,504	284.14	6,315.56

Providence:

Providence	171,557	18.50	9,473.00
Warwick	85,808	35.50	2,457.00
Cranston	79,269	28.60	2,774.70
Pawtucket	71,765	8.70	8,437.00
East Providence	49,515	13.40	3,692.00
North Providence	32,411	5.70	5,720.20
West Warwick	29,581	7.90	3,728.70
Johnston	28,195	23.70	1,191.40
Lincoln	20,898	18.20	1,146.60
Smithfield	20,613	26.60	775.30
Central Falls	18,683	1.20	18,683.00
Barrington	16,812	8.40	1,997.90
Scituate	10,324	48.70	212.10
	635,431	245.10	2,592.54

Hartford:

Hartford	124,512	17.30	7,025.50
New Britain	71,254	13.30	5,358.70
West Hartford	61,173	22.00	2,781.00
Manchester	55,572	27.30	2,036.00
East Hartford	49,173	18.00	2,732.00
Newington	29,676	13.20	2,248.00
Vernon	29,491	17.70	1,666.00
Windsor	28,778	29.60	972.00
Wethersfield	26,220	12.40	2,115.00
South Windsor	25,985	28.00	928.00
Farmington	24,941	28.10	888.00
Bloomfield	20,581	26.00	792.00
Berlin	19,590	26.50	739.00
Rocky Hill	18,760	13.50	1,390.00
Windsor Locks	12,411	9.00	1,379.00
	573,176	273.90	2,092.65

Springfield:

Springfield	150,640	32.10	4,692.80
Chicopee	54,563	22.90	2,389.70
Westfield	40,072	46.60	860.30
Holyoke	39,958	21.30	1,871.40
Agawam	28,144	23.20	1,210.90
West Springfield	27,899	16.80	1,665.70
Ludlow	21,209	27.20	752.10
South Hadley	17,196	17.70	971.00
Longmeadow	15,633	9.00	1,732.50
East Longmeadow	14,100	13.00	1,087.10
Wilbraham	13,473	22.20	606.30
Belchertown	12,968	52.70	245.90
Palmer	12,497	31.50	396.30
Southwick	8,835	31.00	285.40
Hampden	5,171	19.60	263.30
	436,422	281.40	1,550.90

Lowell:

Lowell	103,512	13.80	7,500.90
Methuen	43,979	22.40	1,963.30
Billerica	42,038	25.90	1,623.00
Chelmsford	34,128	22.70	1,503.40
Andover	31,247	31.00	1,007.80
Tewksbury	29,607	20.70	1,430.30
Dracut	29,498	20.90	1,411.40
Burlington	25,034	11.80	2,121.50
Westford	22,066	30.60	712.10
Wilmington	21,679	17.10	1,267.80
Bedford	13,146	13.70	959.60
Tyngsborough	11,860	16.90	701.80
Groton	10,641	32.80	324.40
	418,435	280.30	1,492.81

So there it is. Again, I wrote my last entry on the fly without looking back at these numbers so the numbers I quoted were exagerated, however, these numbers here, all taken from 2000 census numbers do illustrate my point. If all cities in New England were southern city size, Worcester would be number 6 of the bunch (maybe further down as I haven't run the numbers for New Haven or Bridgeport, which by the rules I set would probably just be one gigantic city).

The city (government and it's citizens) need to stop referring to the city as the second largest in New England because it simply is not and it leads to expectations that simply cannot and will not be met.

They're just not that into you Worcester

2010-06-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

I am slowly starting to realize that this right here is Worcester's biggest obstacle to becoming a true city with a non poor urban core. The majority of people who grow up in Central Mass and stay here are not people who enjoy a dense urban lifestyle. People who do enjoy city living and want to stay in the area almost always end up moving to Boston, Providence or NYC. So what you have left is a very small minority of folks who truly love the city and are living in the urban neighborhoods and trying to make things better. Than you have folks moving to "the second largest city in New England" (a title true in population only and false in every other way imaginable) expecting all that title would entail and being hugely disappointed. What you have here is a bunch of people trying to run a city who haven't the faintest clue about what true city living is being voted in by a population who could care less about true city living.

Worcester for most of it's history prior to the industrial revolution was a small town. In the span of about 40 very quick years it became a city on the cusp of being a great American city. I-290, the GI bill, and white flight halted this practice in it's tracks in the 50's and 60's and the entire city has been an exercise in futility ever since. The title of second largest city in New England plus the skyscrapers and other big city infrastructure has fooled Central Mass into having faith that this city should be something it isn't and fooled New England and the rest of the outside world to expect this city to be something it just doesn't have the capacity of becoming.

Add in the fact that the metropolitan area is absolutely tiny. Worcester has far less people coming into the city on a daily basis to use it's services and amenities than Boston, Providence, Hartford, New Haven, Springfield, and Albany, and even Lowell. We like to compare ourselves to Providence but people can't seem to grasp the idea that a Northeastern cities density and metropolitan area are what make it feel like a large city not it's population.

If Boston was laid out like a southern city of over 150 square miles it would be an absolute megalopolis. Providence and Hartford would be very large cities of over a million people. Worcester would still only be about 300,000 people. Think about that next time you are comparing and thinking about what you think Worcester should be versus what it is.

CSX

2010-03-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

It is a bit crazy reading all the comments over at the Telegram regarding the CSX expansion and the Grafton Hill Business Associations opposition towards it. A few commenting there see it but what the majority is failing to see is that this is a rare opportunity to do it right. Now when I say right I mean really right. Not right for economic development, not right for gentrification (a concept that I fully support in Worcester by the way), and not right for aesthetics, but right... as in really right... worldly right …everything is right with the cosmos right.

Here is an opportunity to usher in jobs, not just any jobs, but jobs for people that need them. People who may not have the good fortune to own a car that is going to take them east to professional jobs. People who may not even have the college education needed to get those jobs. People that for whatever their lot in life may contribute greatly to the make up, appearance and bad rep that our city has.

Let's face it, Grafton Hill ain't no great shakes. You drive down any of those side streets between 290 and Billings Sq and the conditions are very similar to those you see in Main South, Piedmont Village and neighboring Vernon Hill. These folks need work and they need blue collar work. How nice might it be for these folks to have well paying jobs that they can walk to. I am guessing that if the people who live in Grafton Hill that oppose the expansion want to leave the neighborhood folks with new found CSX jobs would love to take their place.

Now, as far as the businesses go, you operate your business in a city. A city that NEEDS to change. I would ask yourself these questions: Does the neighborhood you do business in need help? Does it have a plan? Are you part of that plan? Does your existing business fit in with that plan? If there isn't a plan are you prepared to be there when one is drawn up? If you have never asked these questions you need to get with the damn program because when shit changes it is on YOU not the city, and not CSX. You think the Kenmore is poo pooing over this? You think Choo Choo Charlies is? You own a garage? Get a diesel mechanic! Adapt. There are going to be 100 more trucks a day. These guys need STUFF. When they come asking for it, HAVE IT!

The face of Grafton Hill is going to change. The change is that it's daytime population is going to go way way way up with people with money in their pockets. Now you can continue to whine and carry on about it or you can step up, adapt, and make money along with everyone else.

As far as The Canal District, Washington Sq, and Shrewsbury St go, the negative impact will be minimal and if and when we get those 20 extra trains, the positive impact will far far far outweigh the negative.

So in short, have a little faith and STFU for a change Worcester. This is a good thing, the rare good thing that is a good thing for EVERYBODY.

PLEASE JUST SIT BACK AND LET IT HAPPEN.

The Points North in Sydney Australia 1/21/10

2010-01-25T07:22:00.000-08:00

I definitely don't talk enough music in this here blog.

The Points North are a fantastic alt-folk band made up of current and former Central Mass residents Chris Alspach, Regina Peterson, and Dylan Clark. They recently set out on a tour of Australia. This is a video from a show they did last Thursday at the Vanguard in Sydney. They have been known to grace the stage at Nick's on Millbury St from time to time, usually for no cover charge and a pass of the hat. Keep an eye out for their next appearance after they get back home in March.

Sometimes the best things happening in Worcester are happening on the other side of the planet.

Response Time And How The WPD Chooses to Swing The Hammer

2010-01-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night I was visiting a friends house up in Tatnuck. A couple of lady friends were outside on the steps smoking when they noticed a car coming down the street. The car sideswiped a neighbors car, went through the intersection and swiped another car. The girls called the police right away and they arrived in less than a half hour. The officers took down the info about the car and took off. Within the hour they had circled back around, told us they had found the car, and requested the girls give them a more formal statement.

So this is nothing spectacular. The police do not deserve huge kudos for this. It was a good job absolutely, but it is a job we should just expect out of them. It is what should be expected by all of us no matter what zip code you call your own and what address you lay your head at. Those of us that live in urban Worcester know that recieving this type of treatment from the WPD is a pipe dream.

I understand that times are tough and that we are short staffed on the WPD. I also understand though that in the coming years there is much money to be made in Fed Sq, North Main, Shrewsbury St, and the Canal District. Money that will help out with these tough times. So as a city I guess we can either get with the program and have the WPD make our primary economic development zones as much a priority as Tatnuck and the rest of the Westside or we can continue to ignore the perception problem and very real response problems in those neighborhoods. Of course every year we have less money coming in off of commercial tax rolls the higher the residential tax rises. Cities just aren't supposed to be paying for the amount of services a city needs to pay for with this much residential money.

Bottom line is that residents need to feel safe to go out and use the neighborhoods they live in for economic development to happen. As citizens who have a vested interest in how this city progresses we need to realize that economic development starts at the residential level. We need to start looking at every neighborhood as it's own village.

Can we do this? Please?

Mudslinging? For an At Large seat on the Worchester City Council? Really?

2009-11-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

As reported by Wormtown Taxi yesterday, there has been a video floating around the internet accusing At Large incumbent Rick Rushton of lying about not accepting the council wide pay raise instituted at the beginning of 2008. Rushton fired back today sending out a flurry of emails with documentation proving he in fact did not accept the pay raise.

I am baffled by out and out lying just to obtain a city council seat. Crazy business.

Interview with Bill McCarthy Candidate For At Large City Councilor

2009-11-02T10:19:00.000-08:00

What will be your primary job as an at large councilor?

Worcester needs new leadership so that we can turnaround our city’s sluggish economy and reform spending so taxpayers are not continuously overburdened by their property tax bill. For years the Council has let us down by failing to attract new businesses to our community and to keep control of spending. I can make a difference. I believe that it is the job of a Councilor to be a fiscal watchdog for his constituents. It is time that Worcester had a bold new plan to promote economic development that creates jobs. I can make a difference by utilizing my doctoral degree in human resource education and workforce development, employing my experience in criminal justice and instituting a bold new strategic plan to promote economic development that creates jobs. I will aggressively promote our city, one-on-one, to CEOs and entrepreneurs so they will locate here. I will build an Economic Development Action Team to create incentives to keep and grow Worcester’s diverse industries.

What in your opinion are the biggest issues facing Worcester in the coming years and what plans do you have to deal with these issues?

Recently the City Council voted for a tax hike for hotel/motel rooms and the meals tax. I believe that is like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. Even with these increased taxes Worcester is still facing a $2 million deficit. It is frustrating to see our friends and families making budget cuts to live within their means while our leaders are taxing us more and more. As a City Councilor, my first order of business would be to rollback the $13,000 pay raises that the council voted themselves. Then I would focus on:

Protecting the Taxpayers: I will put my doctoral degree to work for residents by developing innovative solutions and by finding ways to stretch tax dollars.

Protecting Families: With my experience in criminal justice as a state trooper and professor and as a father of three children, I understand what it is going to take to make our streets safe and I am willing to do the hard work. I believe in stronger tracking of sexual predators and reducing gang activity.

Protecting our City’s Economic Future: It is time that Worcester had a bold new plan to promote economic development that creates jobs. Worcester needs economic triage, the city is bleeding and we need to stop it. To do that, we need more jobs. Our city leaders can talk all they want about these (development) planned projects, but how many jobs have they created? I will work to bring jobs to Worcester by partnering with the businesses that are currently here and finding out what we can do to help them stay here. And then I will work to bring new job opportunities to the city.

How do you feel about the job City Manager O'Brien has done thus far? What do you like about what he has done? Where do you think he needs improvement?

He answers to the City Council and I don't think the City Council has assigned him all the needed performance indicators to really measure his accomplishments and performance in these tough economic times. When elected I would work to revamp those performance indicators and then really assess his performance from these needed measures and baseline.

The perceived lack of public safety in Worcester is a definite image problem for the city. Since in many instances perception is reality, what are your ideas on how to improve this perception and make not only our citizens but people from outside the city feel secure when they are out in our neighborhoods?

With my experience in criminal justice as a state trooper and professor and as a father of three children, I understand what it is going to take to make our streets safe and I am willing to do the hard work. I believe in stronger tracking of sexual predators and reducing gang activity.

On the issue of neighborhood's, many other cities have had success defining their neighborhoods and marketing them separately as different cultural options. How do you think Worcester might benefit as a city by doing something similar?

I like that idea and will work to bring that about. However, Worcester needs economic triage, the city is bleeding and we need to stop it. To do that, we need more jobs. Our city leaders can talk all they want about these (development) planned projects, but how many jobs have they created? I will build an Economic Development Action Team to create incentives to keep and grow Worcester’s diverse industries. Take a moment to look around our city. Why would a business open in Worcester? The amount of empty store fronts in downtown Worcester really says it all. We need to find a way to rent out over 4.75 million square feet of office space. I propose we offer some meaningful tax incentives for businesses to locate here. Many towns in the southern US are offering anywhere from 1 to 10 years of municipal tax-free status. Many towns are offering assistance in obtaining the necessary licenses, permits, and approvals by shortening the process to just a few months. This is another type of model I would implement to encourage job growth too.

How do you envision the urban core of Worcester at the end of 2011? How will you lead us to that vision?

I look at it this way. The previous presidential elections contain some lessons that should be applied to the upcoming Worcester election. “It’s the economy stupid”. Worcester’s economy has been failing and continues to fail. “Are you better off now than you were”? The staggering number of people who have left Worcester would answer no. The large number of residents who do not feel safe in their own city would answer no. “It’s time for a change.” “If we do not learn from history, we are destined to relive it”. It’s time for sweeping reform and change in the government of the city of Worcester. I will work to bring jobs to Worcester by partnering with the businesses that are currently here and finding out what we can do to help them stay here. And then I will work to bring new job opportunities to the city.

In Response to Common Culture Clash

2009-09-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

There was an article by Diane Williamson today in the Telegram about the percieved lack of safety in the common. This was my response. Not sure if it is going to show up on the website or not.

"Common Guy, I applaud your comments. I live at 50 Franklin and luckily have Mondays off so I have the opportunity to enjoy the tables if I want. If I were to live in the neighborhood and work a M-F 9-5 shift I would NEVER have th opportunity to enjoy the tables. And before you think there might be special circumstances think again. These tables were locked during the Latino Festival, hands down the most attended annual City Hall event in the city. If they aren't unlocked during that then ask yourself when will they be unlocked. Also, if your a Worcester citizen who doesn't use the common often so you think this doesn't affect you, think again. These tables cost $39,000. That is a teacher who could be making a difference in your child's life. I applaud the purchase of the tables but like most good things with this city, it is not the idea, it's the execution. The citizens of Worcester, namely the citizens of Federal Sq are not getting $39,000 of use out of these tables. This may appear to be a small issue, and in the grand scheme of things it is, but if you step back and really look at it, these tables are symbolic of almost everything that is wrong with our city and everything that hinders our city from even coming close to it's potential.

Ask yourself why the tables aren't unlocked and locked back up on Saturday and Sunday and most likely holidays. Ask yourself why the answer to that question wasn't foreseen by someone in City Hall. Ask yourself why in God's name we payed almost 40 grand for tables that are getting 40 hours of use a week.

In a nut shell, City Hall, from Council, to Admin, to individual departments has no clue what city living means. None whatsoever. They know city visiting, not city living."

2009 Mayor/City Council Elections Episode 2: District 2 Council Seat

2009-09-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

This guy right here is running unopposed in District 2. He's my district councilor. He is the councilor of Federal Sq, Downtown, North Main, Shrewsbury St and The Canal District. He chose not to respond to my interview. I'd print his name, but you know, screw him. Shutting the hell up is probably the smartest thing dude has done all term. I mean the guy who thinks that young people and their ideas are bad for Worcester should probably shut the hell up right? Hooray Phil, Worcester's apathy gets you another term! Congrats. Thanks for not growing a pair and answering my interview!

2009 Mayor/City Council Elections Episode 1: District 3 Council Seat

2009-09-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

So one of the things I wanted to do with this was not hound or try and convince the candidates to do these interviews. The way I see it, as I said in the email, this is an opportunity. As much as I want to, I am not going to spin these interviews in any fashion. The candidates words are going to appear as they write them, without commentary from me. To date I have not recieved any response from D-3 candidate Frank Beshai. Incumbent candidate Paul Clancy however, responded right away. We can talk all we want about how it's the apathy of voters that keeps the same faces in council chambers year after year after year, but maybe it's simply that these people know how to run a campaign. ANYWAYS, here are Mr. Clancy's responses.

Next week: District 2!

1. What do you feel will be the impact of Walmart, whether negative or positive, on the neighborhood of Quinsigamond Village?

The Walmart store, part of a larger retail proposal called “Worcester Crossing”, was a project that was vetted with village residents and retailers. The development should have a positive impact on the neighborhood. It replaces the blighted complex which was efficiently demolished by recycling most of the materials in keeping with the effort for a green environment. The project is being constructed with 100% union labor giving many jobs to area residents. It will employ over 300 full-time and part-time positions offering employment again to area residents. It will also offer shopping opportunities that do not currently exist in the immediate area.

The developer of Worcester Crossing has made himself available at local and municipal meetings. He was able to complete the engineering that was needed to allow for ornamental lighting on Blackstone River Road. He is working with city officials to deliver the right-of-way at the rear of his property to the City for future development – one of the few areas where the Blackstone River is visible. He was also instrumental in working with Walmart to get design changes that would better suit a village concept and in working with local labor leaders to insure that construction would include union labor.

All of these factors contribute to a better project for the Quinsigamond Village area.

2. What in your opinion are the biggest issues facing District 3 in the coming years and what plans do you have to deal with these issues?

The biggest issue facing District 3 in the next few years is the financial impact of decreasing revenues facing the City budget. This will have significant impacts on essential city services such as public safety and education. I have worked closely with the City Administration to maintain services by encouraging the use of PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes)programs with non-profits, by seeking reforms in health insurance costs through legislative channels and collective bargaining negotiations, and by seeking legislative relief through home rule petitions and acceptance of provisions of the Municipal Relief Act. These actions have redirected substantial dollars from fixed costs to maintaining many local services in the areas of education, fire, police, public works, library, etc.

Other key issues facing the district are the continuation of key capital projects such as street and sidewalk repairs, private street conversions, sewer and storm water improvements, park renovations, traffic improvements and school renovations. Through my efforts, the district has received a generous share of street and sidewalk repair monies, the majority of private street conversion monies, significant dollars ($2M) toward the Granite Street and Route 20 sewer projects, $1M to access matching state monies for a $3.5M renovation of Vernon Hill Park. Also, monies ($2M) from the Greenwood Street landfill capping programs have been redirected to Quinsigamond Village projects which to date include street scape improvement programs. It is the first time that monies from a city operation have been dedicated to a specific neighborhood use.

A few years ago, as Chairperson of the City Council’s Public Works subcommittee, I advocated for an increase in the capital budget for funding street and sidewalk repairs. This year, due to budget constraints, the capital budget was cut 17%. However, I again successfully advocated to maintain the previous level of funding for street and sidewalk repairs – which means that 60% of the capital budget is now dedicated to this item.

3. How do you feel about the job City Manager O'Brien has done thus far? What do you like about what he has done? Where do you think he needs improvement?

City Manager Michael O’Brien’s strength rests with his ability to deal with financial issues. He has done a yeoman’s job to trim fixed costs and redirect those moneys to fund essential services. He has advocated for health insurance reforms through the adoption of Section 18 and through negotiations with collective bargaining agreements. By reducing fixed health insurance costs over the past five years, he has redirected approximately $60 million to municipal services saving the City hundreds of jobs that otherwise would have been cut, crippling essential services in the areas of police, firefighters, teachers, public works employees, etc. At the end of the fiscal year 2010, the estimated savings from health insurance reforms will be approximately $100M.

The area where the City Manager needs improvement is in expanding his accessibility to the public and to employees. He needs to make a more concerted effort to attend neighborhood meetings and to make regular reviews of departmental operations.

4. The perceived lack of public safety in Worcester is a definite image problem for the city. Since in many instances perception is reality, what are your ideas on how to improve this perception and make not only our citizens but people from outside the city feel secure when they are out in our neighborhoods?

Each week the Police Chief and his command staff review all emergency and non-emergency call statistics to determine where the priorities of the community rest. These statistics are then compiled monthly, by neighborhood, and presented at the crime watch meetings held throughout the City. On many occasions, people are generally relieved that the actual crime statistics are lower than they had in fact anticipated. I would suggest that a greater effort be made to report these monthly findings to the larger Worcester community. Ironically, the City did not receive any federal funding in the latest round of COPS grants because Worcester is considered a much safer community than most given our crime statistics. This is a story that needs more attention and publicity.

5. On the issue of neighborhood's, many other cities have had success defining their neighborhoods and marketing them separately as different cultural options. How do you think Worcester might benefit as a city by doing something similar?

Worcester has many great neighborhoods which are vibrant for several reasons. Some neighborhoods, such as Green Island and Shrewsbury Street are mixed development areas with residential and heavy commercial components. Green Island has become a destination for entertainment while Shrewsbury Street is a draw for its many restaurants. In District 3, Quinsigamond Village has undergone a visual transformation with the completion of Route 146, the development of Worcester Crossing and the improvements through the village proper. There is currently a committee in place that will market the area for its cultural and historical roots. A central part of this effort is the renovation of the Moen building into a visitor’s center that will anchor the Northern Corridor of the Blackstone River Corridor Commission. To date, $11M of city, state and federal dollars have been set aside for this effort with the Worcester Historical Museum committed to be a major tenant at the site. As chairperson of the committee which has nurtured this project from its infancy, I am very excited about the potential that this endeavor holds for the neighborhood, city and region.

Other areas in the district are heavily residential such as Vernon Hill and Grafton Hill. Each has business and neighborhood organizations as well as a Community Development Corporation (CDC) that work to make improvements and to hold activities for their respective neighborhoods. When the city was designating Neighborhood Stabilization Areas (NSA), I lobbied heavily for the inclusion of lower Grafton Street for such designation. As a result, over a half million dollars of block grant resources are now available for storefront improvements. Two such projects are in the pipeline with more to follow. I also successfully introduced two parking overlay zones for lower Grafton Street and Quinsigamond Village. This allows small storefront businesses to waive restrictive parking regulations that would otherwise prevent them from opening. These initiatives help to create a more vibrant neighborhood business environment that further defines a specific area.

6. How do you envision the urban core of Worcester at the end of 2011? How will you lead us to that vision?

The urban core of Worcester has undergone significant changes during the past decade. The addition of numerous projects such as St. Vincent’s Hospital, the renovation of Union Station, the DCU Convention Center, the new courthouse and the garage on MLK Boulevard have all replaced a most blighted and underutilized area of the urban core. New businesses have sprouted along North Main Street and in the area of the Worcester Common as a result. However, more work needs to occur. With the final details of the City Square development completed and with the agreement of Unum as a major tenant, the demolition of the old Worcester Center Galleria will soon begin. Then the reconstruction of a street grid system in the city core will once again unite neighborhoods such as Shrewsbury Street and Green Island to the urban core while providing for expanded redevelopment. I am most proud of my leadership in all of the projects discussed above. There is not one project that did not have my direct contact. As chair of the previous Commerce and Development subcommittee of the City Council and as the present chair of the Public Works subcommittee, I worked very closely with development teams, the city administration, and my colleagues to ensure that these projects moved forward. I am most optimistic that Worcester’s urban core will once again become an area of activity for all of Worcester’s residents and employees to enjoy. To that end, I will continue my strong efforts to meet that goal.

Council/Mayoral Candidate Interviews

2009-09-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Back in August I had the idea that it might be interesting to attempt to interview each and every one of the candidates running for Mayor and City Council. This is the email I sent to all candidates along with their 6 questions:

Hi everyone,

Some of you know me, and some of you don't but my name is Gabe Rollins and I am the author of a well read blog about Worcester's urban core entitled My Five Senses. I had the idea that a good way to introduce all of you to my readers would be to do a short interview with all of the candidates for Mayor and Councilor At Large as well as the candidates for the mostly urban Districts of 2, 3, and 4.

All of you will get the same 5 questions plus one more that is specific to the office you are running for. Starting on September 14Th I will publish two of these a week starting with the district races first, moving on to at large, and ending with all three mayoral candidates the Monday before the election. Along with this I will publish a picture and any website and contact info you wish for me to publish.

I hope you will take this opportunity to make yourself known to a demographic that may not follow the more traditional forms of media and publicity in our city as well as take the opportunity to set yourself apart from your opponents in the upcoming election. I wish all of you the best of luck in your campaigns.

Thanks

Gabe Rollins
My Five Senses

The time is here. Let's get this shebang going!

When You Think You Are Helping But Actually Making the Problem Worse

2009-06-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

If you've been around the common over the past couple weeks you may have noticed that the ice skating rink that was finished earlier this year has changed shape a bit. As a matter of fact if you didn't know that was it's main purpose you may not recognize it as a rink at all. The city took down the boards and left the four wrought iron corner fences. They also scattered about 10-12 cafe tables complete with umbrellas around the oval.

While walking through there the other day I noticed that the tables were all locked up but I thought nothing of it as it was past 9pm and I am sure that the park was technically closed.

About an hour ago I took a stroll up to the White Hen and out of curiosity I walked across the street to see if my worst assumptions would be proven true. Sure enough, on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm all of the tables and chairs were still locked up in a manner that would make it impossible for anyone to sit in them.

You have to really wonder whether the City of Worcester is ever going to get it. When you live in an urban apartment or condo with no yard you depend on neighborhood parks for your outdoor recreation. For anyone who lives in Federal Square or Downtown that park is the common. Now granted I am one of probably only a handful of working money making folk living down here who actually want to use the park but that doesn't mean other folks that live here can't discover the park. A year from now the population down here, at least in Bancroft Commons development, will be doubled.

Making a park have the appearance of a vibrant useful park and then denying neighborhood residents use of a part of it during normal daylight hours is an absolute slap in the face to anyone who has chosen to live down here. I mean why even put the tables out there? What was the point. Can anyone tell me what the point was?

Crystal Ball

2009-06-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

If Worcester ever truly gentrifies, future urban settlers will fall in love with Worcester not for what it has become, but for whatever white trash roots remain. Mark my words.

55 Pearl

2009-05-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

(Image ganked from Bill Randell over at his blog. He probably ganked it from someone else anyways)

This may very well be the best outdoor dining spot in the whole city. Not a very wordy review here except to say that I had a ridiculously good burger topped with cheese (don't remember the kind of cheese) applewood smoked bacon, and tempura leeks and a Sierra Nevada for $12 and sat outside underneath a big tree and watched downtown go by. I will go back to 55 Pearl many times over.

CHALLENGE!

2009-03-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

Can anyone give me the name of an economically successful and vibrant city that does not have a dense population of middle to upper class folks living in it's urban core?

(before anyone jumps all over me for being a racist or bigot or class warfare artist or all the other outstanding names I have been called over the last few days note that I didn't say exclusively middle to upper class)

Dear Councilors

2009-03-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sent this out today. I urge anyone reading this to do the same.

Mayor, Councilors, and City Manager,

I was alarmed to see the story printed in the Telegram today about the low income housing development planned for Water St in the Canal District. If you care about the city and care about the progress that has been made in one of the truly up and coming neighborhoods in Worcester you must understand that this is a terrible idea and one that could erase everything that has gone on in that neighborhood over the past 5 years. While great strides have been made in the Canal District there is still much to do to get things where they should be and part of that is getting the neighborhood densely populated by a demographic that will frequent the great new restaurants, bars, shops, and galleries that are opening on what seems like a monthly basis there.

Low income housing may very well add more crime, and overall will hinder attempts to make the neighborhood clean and aesthetically pleasing as it must be to be attractive to the young urban minded folks it needs to attract to move forward.

I hope that you take this seriously and understand that along with City Square, the future urban quality of life in Worcester also hinges on the success or failure of neighborhoods like The Canal District, Federal Sq, North Main and Shrewsbury St. We should be working diligently to make these neighborhoods our urban crown jewels.

I understand the development is already approved but I would hope you take the opportunity to oversee the process and make sure that it fits with the character of the Canal District as has already been defined and not let the building become an eventual cultural eyesore that may in fact hinder the rejuvenation of what could potentially not only become one of our greatest urban neighborhoods, but a destination for many in Central Massachusetts and beyond.

Thank you for reading and I hope you understand the possible implications of this development.

In case you haven't read it this is what I am all fired up about:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20090319/NEWS/903190624/1101/LOCAL

Dripping With Disdain

2009-03-12T01:44:00.000-07:00

So this is almost a month old but I was surfing around the Womag website and came upon this interview with Rajesh Patel, manager of the Newsroom on Front St. Dude seems to really dislike his business.

What strikes me though is two questions at the bottom of the page. One is a follow up of a question where Womag asks if he has had any ideas to turn the store into something else.

Part of his reply is this: "Some people are telling me to turn it into a grocery store, but I can’t do that because people downtown who come by bus won’t bring their groceries from here to home on the bus."

What the hell Rajesh? There are about 600 people living right across the common from you. Do you even know that?

Then the interviewer asks what he likes about doing business on Front St Patel responds: "The foot traffic and the bus stop keeps us going. If there was no bus stop, we would have been closed a long time ago."

The densely populated urban areas of Worcester are coming, maybe not right away but the writing is on the wall and they will be here. Federal Sq, in and of itself will be a very densely populated place most likely by the 2010 census with 11 buildings of dense housing all within a seven block radius that will be mostly filled by then.

The businesses that are going to come out ahead of the curve in that neighborhood and the adjacent neighborhoods are going to be the ones that figure out how to take advantage of the needs of the folks who live in these buildings. It's obvious by this article that even if you know there are people living in these buildings you are already at an advantage over some of your competition because some of them don't even know that. I wonder how many people on Front and Franklin are even factoring in the skating rink into their winter 09/10 plans of attack.

Also, I remember hearing rumors about a year ago that the Newsroom was looking to change formats into a liquor store which was denied by the city. At the time I was glad because my thinking was all they were trying to do was capitalize on the void left by Bancroft Liquors on the 40oz and nip market. Sorry to see I was correct in that assumption.

Place always left a bad taste in my mouth and even though it is right across the common from me as a citizen of the neighborhood I don't find much reason to go in there. I would like to hope that in the future this might change, but after reading this interview it's hard to keep the faith.

I'm No Economist....

2009-03-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

And really I'm not and don't claim to be. Someone could probably find several holes with what I am about to say here but I wanted to say it.

The economy has been bad for a long time, not just recently and I think it started to fall in the 80's and has been in a steady decline since then.

Remember this, the majority of families have only had both parents working for about 30 years or less. Also remember that families used to be much much larger.

So your average family of three or four with both parents working can barely afford to buy a house and feed and clothe the kids in 2009 when in 1963 your average family of 6 could afford a house in the suburbs on one income? Does anyone else not see this?

I don't want to hear jack about a good economy until we are back to one income being able to finance the American dream in this country. Anything else and we are being lied to, and we were lied to, for a very long time.

Neighborhoods

2009-02-17T00:17:00.001-08:00

So if Worcester had a strong mayor, and I was that guy, the first thing I would do would be to meet with the people in charge of this website. What we would talk about is the direction of this part of the website and try to figure out how we could make it more comprehensive. My first order of business would be to get rid of the 7 links under the "More Information" heading (and the heading all together) and then add 30 links which would be:

Airport Hill
Ararat
Beacon
Burncoat
Canal District
Chadwick
Chandler (Or Peidmont Village)
College Hill
Downtown
East Side
Federal Square
Gateway Park
Grafton Hill
Greendale
Green Island
Hadwen Park
Highland/Elm
Lower Lincoln
North Main
North Worcester
Quinsigamond Village
Shrewsbury Street (or Bell Hill)
South Worcester
Tatnuck
University Park
Upper Grafton
Upper Lincoln
Vernon Hill
Webster Square
West Side

Each neighborhoods page would have a map of the neighborhood, pictures of the neighborhood, and information divided into four sections.

1. About The Neighborhood- A clear and concise yet brief history of the neighborhood and explanation as to the shaping of the neighborhood and how it got to be the way it is today including demographics, cultures, ethinicities, and crime stats. This section should sell the neighborhood but should do so in an honest and straightforward fashion and should not be sugar coated unless merited. In Shrewsbury Streets section for example it would be perfectly acceptable to talk about the abundance of restaurants. Negatives should not be talked about but for example if the neighborhood has a crime problem it shouldn't be called a good place to raise a family.

2. Living In The Neighborhood- What does the average house cost and what is the housing stock in this neighborhood? What about the average rent for one, two and three bedrooms? What schools will kids attend if they live in the neighborhood? What does the neighborhood offer for places of worship? What is the parking situation? What highways are close? What bus lines run through? How walkable is the neighborhood? What is here for grocery stores and markets?

3. Playing In The Neighborhood- What does the neighborhood offer for restaurants, cafes, bars, galleries, shopping, museums, theaters, parks, sports, classes, and other indoor and outdoor leisure and cultural activities.

4. Working In The Neighborhood- Does the neighborhood have any large employer or dominant industry?

Worcester is not just one community. In this city of almost 180,000 people there are many communities and many different priorities, but before we start to really tackle any of them we need to organize as best we can these communities so that we can come up with good master plans for all of them and try the best we can so as to not just create desirable spaces to live, work, and play but also do so in a way that not only raises our tax base so that we can keep doing it but also do it wisely so that the neighborhood becomes self sustaining.

I feel that once this happens, once our neighborhoods are defined and master plans are drawn up then we can go through them one at a time, much like you would do with the rooms in a house and do them up and do them up right. Of the 30 neighborhoods listed above 14 of them have something major going on in them either right now or drawn up and being looked at. We are spreading ourselves too thin. I say put enough in to all the neighborhoods to keep them as they are right now without letting get any worse and starting with the ones that are closest to being turned around put everything we can into executing that neighborhoods master plan to the fullest extent we can and then move onto the next one.

We do all this, and when the next real estate boom hits, here we will be, waiting with open arms, organized, saying Welcome to Worcester, here is what we have to offer, take off your coat and stay a while.

How Worcester Could Be More Like NYC and Less Like Pyongyang

2009-02-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

I was talking Worcester with a friend of mine the other night as I am known to do sometimes. He asks me if I have heard what New York City is doing with fines for public dumping.

Check this out!

It turns out that in New York what they are willing to do is if you give them any information that leads to anyone being caught and fined for illegal dumping you get half of that fine, which sometimes can be upwards of $25,000. I am sure many of those people surviving on food stamps out there on the streets of the Woo would love a nice check for $12500. I am sure money like that would cause a large number of people to become professional part time watch dogs.

You know, why not price gauge on fines? We are a poor city right? A poor city that is also a city filled with broken down buildings that should be condemned, property owners who allow trash to flow freely all over their property (and other peoples property), and overall properties that have been allowed to fall into such disrepair that they have become a public nuisance. Why not kill three birds with one stone and clean the city up, create revenue for the city, and create revenue for it's citizens all at the same time?

Give the slumlords and absentee landlords three choices, clean your property up, sell your property to someone else who wants it and is going to take care of it, or pay through the nose. That is an ordinance I could get behind.

No matter what Worcester wins.

Worcester and Pyongyang: Maybe Not So Different?

2009-02-16T08:14:00.000-08:00

Okay get your attention?

What the hell is this nut job squawking about now you ask?

Bear with me here.

So 4 or 5 years ago I was watching this documentary on IFC. The name of it slips my mind but it was about an American journalist going into North Korea to film a documentary. This of course had to be cleared with the North Korean government and the whole time he was in country he had his own personal government appointed chaperon to take him around from place to place and of course this guy whizzed him around North Korea at break neck speeds so he couldn't possibly film anything except what they let him film.

One particular night they stayed at a hotel in Pyongyang and they were able to film a little bit out of the window in the morning before the chaperon got there. What they filmed has always stuck with me as one of the creepier things I've ever seen. They filmed out their window at the intersection below. In the intersection there stood an officer directing traffic which is not very strange at all until I tell you there was NO TRAFFIC. This guy was standing in the middle of an intersection going through all the motions of directing traffic except there was no traffic. What this always seemed like to me is that someone in the North Korean government had seen some sort of American movie or TV show where a cop was directing traffic and didn't even understand what the cop was actually doing but thought to himself that a modern metropolis should have a guy standing in an intersection waving his hands and blowing a whistle like they have in America not even fully understanding what the actual practical purpose is of having the officer there doing it.

So today I am coming into Worcester via 146 and I come to the 4 way intersection of Cambridge, Quinsigamond, "Olde" Millbury St, and 146. Next time you are there check this out. If turning right onto Millbury from 146 if you look to your left there is a tiny park on the corner with three park benches sitting on a nicely laid brand new brick foundation. Those benches must be there for all the foot traffic down at the end of a major divided highway right?

Give me a break City Hall!!!!!!

Those benches are there because some boob who makes way to much money (money that we pay by the way) saw some benches somewhere and said, "hey well, cities have park benches right? well let's put some here."

What should have been there and what would have been a much much much better use of that money is some nice landscaping and a beautifully crafted sign that said something like "Welcome To The Green Island Neighborhood, Worcester Massachusetts" or "Welcome To The Canal District, Worcester Massachusetts" and if you really want urban park benches put them were there is some damn foot traffic like in Kelley Sq, or on Green St or Water St, or on Park Ave, or on Highland.

Okay Worcester, you are taking the first step and trying to make things look good and I commend you for that, but Jesus, you are supposed to be professionals. Things need to look good but they are also supposed to have a purpose. We need park benches in our city, and we also need signage telling people where they are.

Please try to put the stuff in the right place and don't just put stuff in places all willy nilly because you saw it on your last trip to the big city. Just putting things wherever without any sort of master plan is how we got into the predicament that we are in in this city to begin with.

Act like grown ups would you?

So yeah, long story short Worcester and Pyongyang, both doing things they saw in the big city without fully understanding what it is they are actually doing. Who woulda thunk it?

Interesting

2009-02-13T01:51:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia:

"In the United States there are two categories of urban area. The term urbanized area denotes an urban area of 50,000 or more people. Urban areas under 50,000 people are called urban clusters. Urbanized areas were first delineated in the United States in the 1950 census, while urban clusters were added in the 2000 census. There are 1371 United States Urban Areas & Urban Clusters with more than 10,000 people.
The US Census Bureau defines an urban area as: "Core census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile (386 per square kilometer) and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile (193 per square kilometer)."
The concept of Urbanized Areas as defined by the US Census Bureau are often used as a more accurate gauge of the size of a city, since in different cities and states the lines between city borders and the urbanized area of that city are often not the same. For example, the city of Greenville, South Carolina has a city population under 60,000 but an urbanized area over 300,000, while Greensboro, North Carolina has a city population over 200,000 but an urbanized area population of around 270,000--meaning that Greenville is actually "larger" for some intents and purposes, but not for others, such as taxation, local elections, etc."

Why Density? Well This Is Why.

2009-02-11T23:27:00.001-08:00

I had a good albeit trying evening out in Worcester on Wednesday night. After bringing the car to Lou's Custom Exhaust on Harding St Tuesday morning my car no longer sounds like a heavy duty front end loader so I don't mind driving it around town. If you haven't heard of these guys what they do is pretty cool. They are able to do everything for a cheaper price then the competition because they manufacture all their exhaust systems on site. I sat and watched as they custom cut all the pipes for my car right in their shop. Pretty neat.

For entertaining/movie watching purposes I am in the hunt for a new TV. Being as I like to give the local folks my dollar first I went over to Percy's on Gold Star to see what they could offer.

FAIL

Percy's is only open until 6pm on weekdays so obviously they do a brisk housewife business. Good for them. Odds are I won't be back. What ridiculous hours for a retail store to keep. I mean open a little later and close a little later, you know?

From there I hit up Best Buy in the Greendale Mall and then swung over to the Shoppes at Blackstone in Millbury to price out TV's at the soon to be an eye sore Circuit City and Target. 8 minutes from the Greendale Mall to The Shoppes. Not bad.

After that it was back into the city for something to eat. I drove back into Worcester via 146 and took a right onto "Olde" Millbury St and into the Canal District. I briefly though about Baja Grill but decided to keep going to see what captured my interest. I drove across Kelley Sq and down Water St seeing the fairly new Cavo Doro which used to be the old Club Car. I figured I would stop in and see what the food there was all about.

FAIL

Per the bartender the kitchen is closed for a little while because it wasn't doing so well. Really? You've only been open for how long and you are already drastically altering your business model. Most people I know probably don't even know you exist. Wow.

I parked on Harding St so instead of getting back in my car I decided to try another place I have yet to go to, Roma Pizzeria. Roma is a restaurant that has opened over the past year that is brought to you by the same folks who ran Primo's on Shrewbury St and The Restaurant at Union Station. Dude makes good food and Roma is no exception. Brick oven style pizza with fresh toppings and a sauce that was a little chunky which was nice. Will I be back? Well here is where we get to the title of the post. I know, it took a while.

As I am sitting at my table looking out onto Harding St I am struck by a couple things. The first is that Roma has four, maybe five, parking spots of their own. Second I think about how many people are actually living right here. There's the newly redone apartments directly upstairs from the restaurant, which actually probably give them a little bit of business and there are a few people living over on Water St across from Blu. Other than that, everyone who comes to Roma has to go out of their way to go there. Wait through a bunch of traffic signals, deal with city traffic, find a parking spot. So again I ask, will I be back?

I live right Downtown so yes, I will be back. It's right around the corner, and especially when the weather turns it will be no big deal to walk down there. If I lived over on the Westside though would this pizza be good enough to sit through 15 red lights on my way here? Probably not. That is nothing against Roma though. Fact is the pizza here is probably better than 90% of the pizza you'll get in Worcester. But here is where the problem of neighborhood density comes in and the dirty little secret of why so many folks probably consider opening a storefront in the urban core of Worcester to be such a losing proposition.

If you are going to open a new retail, food, or bar business in Urban Worcester you better be good. You better be really good. Destination good. You can't afford to be anything less. Most of your potential clientele doesn't live right around the corner. Most of them are going to have to get in their car, circle the neighborhood a few times to find a parking spot, walk a couple blocks, maybe obtain a designated driver or a cab. Long story short they are going to have to go out of their way.

Odds are your business isn't going to be this way though. It's not going to be a destination. Odds are if you know what you are doing it's just going to be pretty good, AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT AND IN A CITY THE SIZE OF WORCESTER THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO KEEP YOU IN BUSINESS.

There are probably close to 100 stores, restaurants, bars and specialty shops in the city that are pretty good with varying levels of success. It's the lack of success of the good "neighborhoody" type places though that gets me down. Take a bar like The Greyhound in Kelley Sq which is a great neighborhood bar. Aside from the Scotch selection (which in my opinion has no equal inside the city limits) there is nothing to really draw you to the Greyhound. Fill the Canal District with 40 or younger urban minded professionals though and I would lay money on the Greyhound maybe not being packed, but doing a very good, very steady business. Same with Roma, same with Baja Grill.

The sad part about Urban Worcester though is that we aren't just losing our best and brightest college graduates, we are also losing our best and brightest entrepreneurs, whether due to losing their shirts simply for not being able to open a 5 star establishment, or due to them seeing the writing on the wall and choosing to go elsewhere with their ideas.

WE NEED PEOPLE. WE NEED PEOPLE WITH MONEY, AND WE NEED THEM LIVING IN THE URBAN CORE. I WILL VOTE, ENDORSE AND TIRELESSLY CAMPAIGN FOR ANY CANDIDATE FOR COUNCIL THAT CAN CONVINCE ME THAT THEY HAVE A PLAN TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN IN URBAN WORCESTER.

I ended my night with a couple of ciders at a couple of bars. First off I headed over to Nick's on "Olde" Millbury St and bought a Strongbow from Mr. Chip O'Connor and grabbed a seat in the back of the room to listen to Hat On Drinking Wine for a bit. They advertised this as being a full band show however they sounded a bit thin without a bass player. I did enjoy their laid back brand of Americana while I was there though. A few times they straid a little to close to Counting Crows territory for my tastes but they never fully went there so that was cool. They play over at Nick's every Wednesday night from 8-11 and are worth checking out.

I then went up to see my man Paul Curley at the Greyhound for a pint of draft Magner's and some impassioned Canal District themed conversation with some familiar faces. I love The Greyhound.

So a very thought provoking Wednesday night in the Woo.

Cinema 320 at Clark

2009-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Because I do a whole lot of ranting, here is a rave. Cinema 320. We do have a true arthouse Cinema in Worcester and while you can't get your fru-fru coffee drinks and they don't have an art gallery you sure can see cutting edge film from all over the world. Here is the spring schedule:

ARE YOU TIRED of waiting for Congress to pass that pesky stimulus program? Cinema 320 couldn't agree more. So Cinema 320 hereby passes its own stimulus program - our latest program of stimulating world cinema, that is! CINEMA 320 AT CLARK - SPRING '09
950 Main, Worcester, MA. Tix: $5.50, $3.50/current Clark ID & over 60. 508-793-7477

For more information on each movie: www.Cinema320.com

A CHRISTMAS TALE (France 2008; NR)Tues Feb 24, Thurs Feb 26, Sat Feb 28 - 7:30PM; Sun Mar 1 - 1, 3:50PM.A bone marrow transplant for the matriarch (Catherine Deneuve) of a big, tempestuous French family brings skeletons galore sprawling out of their closets in this emotionally rich, absorbing comedic drama of sibling conflicts and parental favoritism. "Almost indecently satisfying" - NY Times. "A film that pulses with human life in all its terrible and beautiful irrationality"- Seattle Post Intelligencer.150 min. Subtitles.

OBSCENE: A PORTRAIT OF BARNEY ROSSET AND GROVE PRESS (2008; NR) Tues Mar 3, Thurs Mar 5, Sat Mar 7 - 7:30PM;Sun Mar 8 - 1, 2:50PM.A very engaging biography of the legendary free-thinking publisher who spent a fortune fighting obscenity charges against "Lady Chatterley's Lover and "Tropic of Cancer," made the FBI's watch list, overcame a bombed office (and four bombed marriages), and also managed to bring no fewer than five Nobel Prize winners for Literature to American readers. "A warm, entertaining compendium of counterculture voices and literary landmarks" - NY Times. 97 min.

I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND (Czech Rep 2008; R)Tues Mar 10, Thurs Mar 12, Sat Mar 14 - 7:30PM;Sun Mar 15 - 1, 3:20PM.The picaresque progress of an ambitious young man from busboy to headwaiter to millionaire hotelier to elderly impoverished ex-political prisoner is enjoyable chronicled in this funny and flippantly cynical comedy of Czechoslovakia's turbulent 20th century. "A mischievously hedonistic, Chaplinesque farce.... bouyantly but seriously traverses the horrors of World War II with a subtlety and sophistication that most American comedies cannot grasp" - Village Voice. 120 min. Subtitles.

TROUBLE THE WATER (2008; NR)Tues Mar 17, Thurs Mar 19, Sat Mar 21 - 7:30PM;Sun Mar 22 - 1, 2:50PM.As Hurricane Katrina bears down on New Orleans, an aspiring young rap artist tries out her new video camera on her friends and neighbors in the Ninth Ward. No one can guess the scenes of horror and heroism, desolation and resilience that will pass before her lens in the weeks to come. "A spellbinder you do not want to miss"- Rolling Stone.Grand Jury Prize Documentary, Sundance 2008. Academy Award nominee, Best Feature Documentary 2008. 90 min. English and subtitles.

WENDY AND LUCY (2008; R)Tues Mar 24, Thurs Mar 26, Sat Mar 28 - 7:30PM;Sun Mar 29 - 1, 2:40PM.Wendy (Michelle Williams) is a young woman driving to Alaska in search of work. Lucy is her dog. When their old car breaks down on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon the consequences make for a movie that will stay with you for a long time. "Modest, minimalist. But it nonetheless reverberates like a sonic boom" - Philadelphia Inquirer.Year's Ten Best - American Film Institute, National Board of Review, NY Times. 80 min.

***************************************************************************
No shows March 31-April 5 - Latino Film Festival. Call (508) 793-1900. ***************************************************************************

GOMORRAH (Italy 2008; R)Tues Apr 7, Thurs Apr 9, Sat Apr 11 - 7:30PM;Sun Apr 12 - 1, 3:35PM.A cross-section of Mafiosi characters big and small give life to this exceptionally dynamic dramatization of journalist Roberto Saviano's sensational bestseller about organized crime taking over Naples - a book so painful to the Mafia's self-esteem that Saviano remains under armed guard today. "A vividly panoramic film about a pitiless world of criminality" - LA Times. Cannes Grand Prize winner 2008. 137 min. Subtitles.

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Israel 2008; R)Tues Apr 14, Thurs Apr 16, Sat Apr 18 - 7:30PM;Sun Apr 19 - 9PM only.A veteran of the 1982 Lebanon campaign goes inquiring among his buddies for their memories when he strangely finds that he cannot recall his own. "Surreal touches, deployed with tactical restraint, make the picture extraordinary and convey the febrile atmosphere of warfare, whereby fear, horror - and later guilt - distort and distend perception and memory" - Variety. Academy Award nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, 2008. NOTE: No Sunday matinees this week. Sunday show 9PM only. 90 min. Subtitles.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Sweden 2008; R)Tues Apr 21, Thurs Apr 23, Sat Apr 25 - 7:30PM;Sun Apr 26 - 1, 3:15PM.Ingmar Bergman meets Nosferatu. Lonely 12-year-old Oskar gets a desperately needed friend when a bewitching and reclusive adolescent girl named Lina moves into his apartment block. But Lina's arrival also coincides with an outbreak of appalling murders in which the victims are drained of blood.... "The best fairy tales always have so much darkness in them. That's why they resonate so deeply. This is a magnificent film" - Film Threat. "Funny, fear-inducing.... right up there with the blood-sucking classics" - Philadelphia Inquirer. 114 min. Subtitles.

THE CLASS (France 2008; PG-13)Tues Apr 28, Thurs Apr 30, Sat May 2 - 7:30PM;Sun May 3 - 1, 3:25PM.In a working class Parisian school, students from every place in the world where France ever set foot live out a challenging school year with their teacher. "I would be surprised if this brilliant and touching film didn't become required viewing for teachers.... Everyone else should see it as well - it's a wonderful movie" - New Yorker. Cannes Best Director. Oscar nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, 2008.128 min. Subtitles.

IMAGINARY WITNESS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST (2004; NR)Tues May 5, Thurs May 7, Sat May 9 - 7:30PM;Sun May 10 - 1, 2:50PM.Sometimes craven, sometimes heroic, Hollywood's checkered yet fascinating confrontation with Nazism and the Holocaust across sixty years of movie history becomes grist for an astute and compulsively watchable documentary narrated by Gene Hackman. "Offers both a generalist survey of Hollywood's fun-house mirror reflection of history and a subtle diagnosis of America's not entirely healthy appetite for entertainment posing as fact" - NY Observer.92 min.

May 11 - Outta here for the summer! See you this fall.

Directions to Clark from all points: Take Route 290 to the Route 9/Framingham-Ware exit in downtown Worcester. Turn left off exit ramp if coming from the south, turn right off ramp if coming from the north. Follow the signs for Route 9 West (Highland Street) through Lincoln Square. Stay on Highland about a mile. Turn left onto Park Avenue at Elm Park. Proceed about 1.2 miles up Park Avenue to Downing Street (Peppercorn's restaurant). Turn left onto Downing. Go through one stop sign. Cinema 320 parking permitted in Clark Downing Street lot on left. Cinema 320 is in the building directly across Downing Street. Use main campus entrance in middle of building and follow theater signs. Cinema 320 is located on the third floor of the Jefferson Academic Center, at the corner of Main and Downing streets. The auditorium is elevator-accessible via the Geography Library entrance on Main Street, until 5 minutes before showtime.

Our web site: www.cinema320.com

For email schedule delivery, or to unsubscribe: Steph76711@aol.com
For USPS delivery: Cinema 320 at Clark, 950 Main St, Box B-6, Worcester, MA 01610

Thanks as always for your support..................Steve Sandberg

Home

2009-02-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

I was out to dinner with a friend tonight at the outstanding Armsby Abbey on North Main St and she was saying after being away from Worcester for a bit there is something drawing her back here at the moment.

A little history here. She grew up in the 'burbs of Boston but ended up going to school here. One of the infamous "college kids" the city always talks about retaining. After college she stuck around for a bit and just like many other young adults with degrees she got disgusted with the city and it's abundance of typical city problems without all the good things a city can offer and she left with her finger in the air and bought a house up in the sticks of North County.

Why does she want to move back?

"It just feels like home."

I have never written about this here but I have been saying for a long time that as a city we should try to figure out a way to get the college kids to "fall in love" with the city. While this was a pretty solid idea in my own head I think (and rightly so) no one knew what the hell I was talking about.

This is what I am talking about. Home.

An actual emotional connection with the city. An abundance of good times. An abundance of adversity. Memories. Friendships. STUFF TO DO.

Make the city friendlier to the young, educated, cultured, adult.

How do we do this? I am not sure. I have some ideas of my own of course that are not fully fleshed out, but I just wanted to write about this while I was thinking about it. Hopefully it makes you think too.

Please Please Please No Strip Malls

2009-01-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

A post over at Wormtown Taxi brought my attention to an article in the Telegram yesterday about the infamous Wyman Gordon property that straddles Madison Street just west of Kelley Square. If you aren't familiar with it do yourself a favor and go take a drive (or a walk) down there and take it all in. The property is large. The figure quoted in the article is 15 acres. That is a lot of space.

In the article what is talked about is that there is some interest in possible retail development of the parcel. Are we talking strip malls here?

The city needs to be very very very careful as to how this proceeds.

People always get all up in arms about these conversations. Who is a city to go and tell people what they can and can't do with their property, blah, blah, blah. This is nothing new, and believe it or not it's not even anything new in Central Mass. Sturbridge for instance has a signage regulation which I believe limits the height and size of your businesses free standing signage.

See Sturbridge has a plan and an idea of what Sturbridge is. It's clearly defined to them. Some things are Sturbridge and some things are not. You are welcome to do business in Sturbridge, but you are going to do it in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to Sturbridge. In that way Sturbridge defines it's identity and holds on to it.

Now of course we are talking apples and oranges. Sturbridge is a small town, Worcester a much bigger city. This however is where strong neighborhood organizations and very specific neighborhood definititions come in.

If retail where to go in what kind of retail would compliment and add to the Canal District? What type of buildings? What type of parking? How does a development need to look and feel to exist harmoniously with the rest of the neighborhood?

In my opinion it is better to leave the whole thing barren then to rush into something just to have something there. As is stated in the comment section of the article, this parcel, and how it is developed could be a make or break for urban Worcester. We really do not need a strip mall with a dollar store, a nail salon, a storefront church, and a pizza place. I hope the property owners, business owners, and residents of the Canal District get this and are prepared to tell the city what they would like to see there.

What would I like to see? Well, you know me... always the dreamer.

Activity

2009-01-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Lots of activity going on with the two vacants on Portland Street over the weekend. If they give these two buildings the same treatment as they gave the Bancroft itself these will be pretty nice buildings.

I'll tell you what though. If they fill these up and still can't fill the rest of the commercial on Franklin, Portland, and Salem Federal Sq can fall on a knife as far as I am concerned. If by the end of 2009 we have 12 densely populated residential buildings in a small 7 block area and the streets aren't teaming with activity (of the legal and productive variety) Worcester is really going to have to step back and look at ourselves as a city and reevaluate.

Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?

2008-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

This the first of a two part question I would want an answer to from anyone interested in being on our city council. The second part being, what do you plan on doing to get there?

I would hope the answer to the first part at least would be living in a vibrant urban center in Worcester Massachusetts. It's the only answer I want to hear at least.

If you care about the urban core of Worcester I urge you to run for city council, if you think you have the capacity. If you don't I urge you to try and convince people you know who you think would do a good job to run, and start working with other folks to get some bodies on that council that care about turning our urban center into a good looking, fun, interesting, safe, vibrant, and welcoming place to be.

The urban core has been left twisting in the wind for too long by our elected officials who talk a good game but when push comes to shove do not look at the rejuvenation of our inner city as a priority, and why should they when their constituency says they don't need to?

As a city we need 3 or 4 nice, welcoming inner city neighborhoods that draw folks from outside the city not only just to work and play but to live also. Without this we will always be not only a second class city, but a third class city.

If we were a town we could get away with bragging about how nice the West Side is or how much we have to offer as far as hiking and parks and outdoor pursuits in general but we aren't, we are a city and as a city we will be judged. As a city we are a shit hole. This is not negativity, this is the reality of the perception of most people who have visited, all who have abandoned, and too large of a percentage who still live here.

This needs to be changed and it is time we start working right now to make this change next November. Starting with Phil Palmieri as our biggest priority, we need new blood on that council. To me it seems like all it will take to send the gentrification of Federal Sq, Downtown, North Main, The Canal District, and Shrewsbury St into high gear is a change in perception. A feeling that living here and investing here is the right thing to do. Phil is the councilor for what I feel is the single most important district in the city, District 2. District 2 is home to the neighborhoods that I listed above. Those five neighborhoods are standing right at the peak of a roller coaster they have slowly been fighting their way up for years now. At the bottom on the other side are the great urban neighborhoods we know these 5 neighborhoods can become. Let's find someone to give that roller coaster that little extra push it needs, because Phil ain't the guy.

Judging by some of the things I have heard him say I am not even so sure he is on the same ride as most of us. Let's get someone else in there Worcester.

A New Term

2008-10-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

"Giving It The Worcester"

Definition: Blaming whatever problems your community may be having, no matter how large or universal, on the community itself.

Example:
After the 6th straight day of rain, Bob was really upset and complained to his coworkers about how much his city sucked and how only here could it rain for six straight days. His coworkers laughed it off knowing he was just "giving it the Worcester".

Worcester's Online Media Explosion

2008-10-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember Worcester has been a black hole as far as media is concerned. The Telegram and Worcester Magazine definitely do their fair share but aside from the work of Scott Zoback neither of the papers have really ever had that ear to the ground journalism that defines what it means to live work and play in the city of Woo. Television is a total wasteland aside from WCTR Channel 3 news on the cable (which seems to have zero web presence) and WCCA public access television. Radio has always been a little better with WXLO, WSRS and The Pike on the FM and WCRN (who still hjave no real website at all), and WTAG on the AM giving exposure to many things Worcester. Even Boston heavy weight WAAF hasn't forgotten their Worcester roots and probably pays the most attention to the city out of any of the Boston media outlets. WICN, WCUW, and WCHC are nice alternatives on the lower end of the dial as well.

I think that 2008 will be remembered as the year internet based media exploded in the city. Between all the blogs, the web video magazine Worcester Love and Mike Benedetti's informative 508 podcasts you really don't need to look much further then your computer anymore to figure out what is going on in Worcester at any given time.

The culmination of all this though and also a result of the fallout of Womag being sold seems to be the emergence of several online Worcester based news and magazine websites. Here is a quick rundown of some of them.

Worcester Wired is a site that seems to have just sprung up over the past month and looks like it may be the only one out of all of these sites so far that looks as though it may be positioning itself as an online challenger to Womag's alt weekly throne. It's a great looking site that appears easy to navigate and is probably worth at least a once a day stop.

Just like it's discontinued print version, Blank Canvas Magazine's new online version will be one to check in on every once in a while. The content that is here is great but I have a feeling that new content will be added quite sporadically. Still, when something is put up on the site it will certainly be worth your time.

No site is more a result of this online media explosion then Real Worcester. Launched just last week Real Worcester's goal is to be a one stop shopping location for all online Worcester news and info. All your favorite blogs and all your Telegram and Womag headlines are linked off of this site. Add to that that they are also going to have original content and this should be a fun site to watch develop. (Full disclosure: I have been tapped to do a weekly music column on the site as well as contribute other writing as I see fit).

I am not sure just how long ago it started but the grandaddy of sites like these has to Worcesterite.com. Worcesterite was formerly called Volcano Boy but changed it's name this year to reflect it's hometown and make it more inviting for people of all walks of life to peruse the information there. Almost more of a discussion board then anything else it is a great place to go to get some publicity for an event or to rant about the latest city council vote. As the elder statesman of Worcester's online community I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Worcesterite make a move in 2009 to put itself squarely at the front of this online media explosion.

2009 should prove to be a very fun year to watch the interwebs in Worcester. See you there.

Business Friendly

2008-09-16T07:12:00.001-07:00

Part of my weekly routine over the past several months has been going to KJ Baaron's in Washington Sq for the free Single Malt Monday Scotch tasting that happens there weekly from 5:30 to 8pm. Jess Lofgren is a great host and usually there is quite a bit of Scotch to choose from and also some food to munch on picked to specifically go with whatever Scotch is being tasted out. Sometimes they even sample a craft beer or two.

Last night I went there a little past 7 only to find the store completely closed and all entrances blocked off by a paving crew on Summer Street. The store closes earlier than most at 9pm. The DPW couldn't have waited until after the only business on the street affected by the paving closed? I also have it on very good authority that no advance notice was given about the paving.

I would say there were about 30 people who are regulars at the weekly tasting who were probably pretty pissed off. Let's hope for KJ Baaron's sake that all 30 of these people are folks who are familiar with the way things work here in the Woo and don't decide that it's the businesses fault. I know this is a very small percentage of the cities' population but that's not the point.

KJ's and the people that frequent it are the type of demographic that Worcester has been trying to attract and keep in the city for a very long time. Things like this don't help.

WTF Moylan?

Sky Mark Tower

2008-09-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Wow!

If you know what I am talking about then you know exactly what I am talking about. If not you need yo get yourself into Downtown at night at some point over the next couple days. I really hope this is a permanent part of the landscape of the Worcester skyline.

Montreal very much has a signature thing with it's skyline with the rotating spotlight on it's tallest building. Worcester now has something like that. Go and check it out. It is very cool.

You Can Blame It On The Rain But Don't Blame It On Worcester

2008-09-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

It really is too bad about the storm that is going to wreak havoc all over New England tomorrow. I was looking forward to a day of leaving my house on foot around 10am and not returning until about 2:30 am and experiencing an outdoor/indoor music and fun filled day. Not an 18 hour day but it could be stretched to about 17 if I chose to get some breakfast after the bars close.

Starting at 10 in the morning we would have had the Main South Farmers Market happening at the corner of Main and Benefit featuring locally grown produce, live music, and awesome happenings.

Then I would have walked back over to the Canal District for Canal Fest at the corner of Harding and Winter featuring great food, great music, canal replication silliness and more awesome happenings.

At 6:00 over on Green St Ukestock is starting up in the White Eagle ballroom which should be a good time and something you don't get to see everyday, which is a whole slew of people playing ukeleles. An added bonus is that it happens in the Arcadia Ballroom in the White Eagle which is one of more fantastic rooms in the city.

And then to end the night we have three of the cities best getting together right across the street at the Lucky Dog in Huck, Thinner, and Little Big Wheel. By the way I want to just put it out there that if I endorse a band as good they actually are and it's no hyperbole. You hear me say a band is good and in my opinion they are as good as anything you would see at one of the bigger regional music venues. They ain't no Probable Cause.

Can we have a moment of silence to contemplate just how god awful Worcester's self proclaimed best band is? I mean they really really suck. They aren't even any good at playing other people's songs and it makes me a little sad that they draw the numbers that they do.

...............................................................................................................................

So I have a feeling the Farmer's Market is still happening. Canal Fest has been officially postponed until November 1st so that throws a wrench into things, but Ukestock and the phenomenal show at the Lucky Dog are still going on so tomorrow is a great time to get yourself out of the house and make some memories in the the Woo. If you see me say please say hello.

While We Sit On Our Thumbs...

2008-09-03T23:48:00.000-07:00

Rhode Island Is Cashing In

Threepenny Opera at WPI

2008-09-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Also via the Go List:

The Music Division of the Humanities and Arts and VOX are pleased to present the "The Threepenny Opera" with book by Bertolt Brecht and music by Kurt Weill. Originally set in the impoverished back alleys of Victorian London, this production of The Threepenny Opera finds underworld antihero Mackie Messer(a.k.a. Mack the Knife) in prohibition Chicago as he tries to woo PollyPeachum and elude the authorities. Tickets are $15 general admission and$10 for students (with ID). Doors open 30 minutes prior to the show. Advising the production will be Professor David Dollenmayer, whose students will be providing German and English translations. Returning to direct her fourth production at WPI will be Kristy Chambrelli. Her past direction at WPI includes "The Mikado", "Sweeney Todd", and John Delorey's"Witchwife" The show will be performed Friday, September 19, 2008 at 7:30, and Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm. The production will be fully staged and costumed, with a cabaret-style pit band, conducted byProfessor Douglas Weeks. This year the musical is part of the Parent's weekend festivities and in partnership with Student Activities we are able to provide online pre-orders with credit card through Saturday, September 6. The website is: http://www.wpi.edu/Admin/SL/Parents/Weekend/form.html

If you'd like to reserve tickets for purchase at the door you can email vox-info@wpi.edu or call 508.831.5051.
WHERE: Alden Memorial, Great Hall
WHEN: Friday - 9/19 - 7:30 pmSaturday - 9/20 - 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm
TICKETS: $15 General/$10 Students (with ID)
NOTE: Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain.
Thank you and we hope to see you at the show!
Thomas Collins
Professor John Delorey
The Three Penny Opera, Executive Producers

Main South Farmer's Market Launches This Saturday

2008-09-03T21:12:00.001-07:00

From the Go List:

Please help spread the word for the new Main South Farmers Market launching THIS Saturday from 10am-2pm at 807 Main St. (corner of Benefit and Main). The market will feature booths from local farmers (including the YouthGROW Farm), Coffee/Tea and Breakfasty treats, soap and incense, kids art projects and live music. Come on down! Call Casey 508-799-9139 or email education@recworcester.org if you have questions or would like to volunteer! Thanks!

Stoop Conversations

2008-09-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday night around 9pm I took a walk in the neighborhood and when I got back I decided to sit on the stoop for a little while and watch Franklin St go by.

What made me sit down and pay attention in the first place was police activity inside the common. Not sure what was going on but for some reason the officers decided to drive their cruiser right up inside the common. There was a guy on a bench and two officers were talking to him and shining their flashlights in his face. A couple times one of the officers walked away and shined his flashlight on the ground over by the cemetary so I am thinking it was most likely something to do with drugs. Eventually they picked him up and brought him out to the Franklin St side of the Common where a van came to haul him away.

Now what made all of this interesting was as this was all happening a young Asian couple pulled up in front of the building, probablty in their late 20's driving some sort of newer mid sized Japanese car. They park their car and walk up to the front steps. They look at the building, look at their car, look at the dude getting arrested, look at the building, look at their car, look at the dude getting arrested. I ask if they are possibly looking to move into an apartment, prepared to tell them how wonderful of a time I have had living there. They say no they are just visiting a friend. They are still looking around and the woman asks if I live there, to which I reply that I do. Then the man asks, "Is the area safe?"

Along with the man who got arrested there was another man pushing a shopping cart who also got kicked out of the park. When the couple asked if the area was safe they were both staring straight at this man with very concerned looks on their faces. I said that the neighborhood was completely safe and that the man with the cart, while not very pleasant to look at was just homeless and completely harmless. As the paddy wagon raced off, blue lights flashing, they did not seem to believe me. By this time their friends had come down stairs to let them in and we bid each other a good night.

So the question I would have for the officers who took part in this arrest would be:

1. Did you really need to drive the cruiser right up into the common and have your lights going so that anyone driving by the common and just glancing in would think that Downtown is crime ridden?

2. Did the police van really need to be sitting there with it's lights going? Again, do we really need to call attention to the crime? If it's minor things like public disturbances can't we just discreetly deal with it instead of putting on a show in the middle of Downtown?

The impact of this is that our young couple goes back to wherever they came from and tells their family, friends and coworkers about the awful, scary experience they had in Worcester over the weekend. They also probably give their friends shit for living in such a place which makes them doubt whether they want to renew the lease when the time comes.

And Here Comes The Backlash

2008-08-31T05:17:00.000-07:00

You don't layoff a boatload of writers and expect them all to remain quiet about it. Janice Harvey is the first one to speak up over at Worcesterite today.

Part of the Worcester Frustration

2008-08-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Part of it, for me at least, is the lack of choices that do not allow you to live your life as you would in a real city. Businesses and establishments are inconsistent the world over for sure, but when you walk out your door at 11:30am on a Saturday morning and your choices for something quick Downtown are Subway, Woosta Pizza, and Spoodles and only one of them is open when all three claim to have regular Saturday hours you can't help but walk back to your apartment with your head down muttering obscenities about Worcester under your breath.

Great Quote

2008-08-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

"We have theories, specialisms, regulations, exhortations, demonstration projects. We have planners. We have highway engineers. We have mixed use, mixed tenure, architecture, community architecture, urban design, neighbourhood strategy. But what seems to have happened is that we have simply lost the art of placemaking; or, put another way, we have lost the simple art of placemaking. We are good at putting up buildings but we are bad at making places." -Bernard Hunt, London architect

Destination Worcester

2008-08-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Fantastic!

Now can we please get a website that looks this good that is all about marketing the city to people who may want to live here?

All Good Things Must Come To An End

2008-08-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

It is with a bit of sadness that I must announce that First Fridays for the time being are on indefinite hiatus. It was a ton of fun while it lasted and there is no saying that a more finely tuned version of the series might not pop up in the future. Until then though I went through the profile and tried to pay as much tribute as I could to everyone who has helped make it work.

Bob Largess and the Hotel Vernon allowed me to use the beautiful Ship Room in Kelley Sq here in Worcester. Derek Ring created one of the staples of the series which were his incredible posters that made the whole city and the greater New England music scene take notice. Keith and John Menard lugged their PA System from Douglas up here to the Woo once a month and never asked for anything in return but a pile of wings from Wings over Worcester.

We did ten shows over the course of the series with varied results. The one constant though was that all the bands played their asses off and I thank them for this. We never drew huge crowds but we had a small and loyal following that came out and took in the music in what weren't always optimum conditions. For that I thank you very much.

Of course I owe the most to the bands, most of whom came from an hour or more away, who came out and did these shows usually for less than gas money but had a shared belief that good shows should happen and need to happen. I think we can all get caught up sometimes in the socialization of the bar, club and music scene and forget that though a simple pleasure, sitting in an audience with a tasty beverage and just letting good live music wash over you can be one of the finest gifts we have the ability to give ourselves. Thanks again to the bands for allowing these shows to happen.

Maybe someday First Fridays will return but in the meantime, go to the profile, listen to 6 really great songs, and then follow the links in the top friends section to hear more great music. New England is one of the best regions in the world for original music. Take advantage and never take it for granted.

First Fridays

Latin American Festival 2008

2008-08-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

Living in Main South for almost 8 years there was nothing I wanted to go to less than the Latin American Festival. Mostly because of years of encountering things like this:

I have to say though that all those years I was really missing out. What a good time this is!

Really this is all I have to say about it. Very very very good music and very very very good food being enjoyed by very very very good people having a very very very good time.

Musical highlights for me were Murga La de Todos (Uraguay), Franroy Figuero & Carlos Boys Band (Cuba), Grupo Boriken (Puerto Rico), Gregorio Uribe Big Band (Columbia) and Yomo Toro and the Frankie Morales Orchestra.

Just incredible. I am already looking forward to next year. Take advanage in 2009 folks. This is world class pro music that could be commanding quite a heavy admission charge and it is totally free and happening right here in your city. Do not sleep on this next year.

Strange Fruit comes to Worcester

2008-08-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

If you didn't get to see one of the six performances this Australian performance troupe did over the past couple of days you really missed out on something special. I shot some video of it but these three videos do a much better job and capture almost the entire performance. I still can't really describe it in words so check out the videos yourself.

It was great to see something like this happening downtown. I saw Mike O'Brien watching and made sure to tell him that it's things like this that make city living great. He said there is lot's more to come. Let's hope I can take the man at his word.

Worcester Block by Block #2.1: Franklin, Salem, Myrtle, Portland

2008-08-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Although the main property in Bancroft Commons, the downtown development by the Mayo Group, is the old Bancroft Hotel at 50 Franklin Street, most of the land and buildings in the development exist on this block which neighbors the Bancroft.

The block consists of 4 residential buildings with street level commercial store fronts, 1 office building with street level commercial store fronts, an old theater, an enormous old indoor auto sales and service complex, and a large industrial building.

We'll start at the corner of Franklin Street portion and work our way around.

60 Franklin St: The Hooka Hot Spot

The Hooka Hot Spot is the first new business to open in the Bancroft Commons development and features hooka smoking as well as coffee, tea and smoothies. Aside from chips and salsa or hummus there really isn't any food at the moment. The Hooka Hot Spot is currently in soft opening phase and will have their grand opening in September at which time I hope to have a more detailed entry just devoted to them. Personally I am a big fan of the Hooka smoking and find it to be one of the more relaxing and conversation friendly activities you can participate in. If you have never done it right now is an excellent time to try it as the Hot Spot is offering a free Hooka to first time visitors for the entire month of August. I say try it out, what do you have to lose? They are open Sunday through Wednesday 5pm to Midnight and Thursday through Saturday 5pm to 2am. For more info, including an interesting page about the Hooka and it's history, check out the website.

62 Franklin Street: Offices

This building appears to be 3 floors of as yet to be renovated office space above the Hooka Hot Spot and Sylvia Dress Shop. I am not sure what Mayo plans to do with this address but as of right now it sits vacant. As with the rest of the development, it will be interesting to see what the future holds.

64 Franklin Street: Sylvia Dress Shop
Sylvia Dress Shop recently moved from their digs on Main Street over here to their completely refurbished store at 64 Franklin. I don't know much about dresses but what Sylvia seems to specialize in is fancy dress. Think gowns of the wedding, prom, and evening variety. For my thoughts on the old Sylvia location and the building it resided in see the future Block by Block entry on the Main, Franklin, Portland, Federal block.

66 Franklin Street: Mass Pro Hair Braiding
In one of the two little store fronts that straddle the entrance to the Paris. Awful signage and a business that I am not sure fits the demographic of the neighborhood. Although there seems to be an interesting one stop shopping thing that is developing here on Franklin I am not so sure if it's the kind of thing that goes with Mayo's vision of the neighborhood.

68 Franklin Street: Paris Cinema

Here it is folks, the granddaddy of the downtown eye sore. For those unfamiliar the Paris for years was a porn theater and store which was the sight of all sorts of arrests, prostitution and socially unacceptable behavior. Today it sits closed and vacant as a constant reminder to the citizens of Worcester of what their beloved downtown tragically turned into over the last 4o years of the 1900's. When I first became a resident of this neighborhood last October I applauded Mayo's intent to demolish the building. For the most part I still do but what I think would be great and one of the most psychologically satisfying things that could happen for Worcester as a whole would be the remodeling of this space into a replacement for the closed and shuttered Bijou Cinema which was forced out for the building of the City Square project in late 2004. From the small entrance way it's hard to tell but if you look at the back of the building (you can see it a little bit in the picture) it's a large old theater similar to the Hanover and The Palladium. It would do so much for the attitude of the city to see the Paris returned to the former glory of the Capitol Theater while at the same time filling the need of an Art House theater in Worcester that was left wide open with the closing of the Bijou. This may be a bit of dreaming on my part though. Read the comments at the bottom of the link I provided, they get pretty interesting.

70 Franklin St: Vacant store front

72 Franklin St: A's Barber Shop

74 Franklin St: Sonja's Wigs

76 Franklin St: Worcester Commons

76 Franklin is one of the three current residential addresses of the Bancroft Commons development. I've never been inside so I cannot attest to the apartments or what they look like.

78 Franklin Street: Vacant Store Front
Wow would a pizza place or some sort of takeout be awesome right here. I will more into this in later Block by Block entries but there is a real good business opportunity here for someone if they are willing to jump on it.

82 Franklin Street: More Apartments

Very cool old building at the corner of Franklin and Salem. What is something to take notice of next time you go buy is how the streets are names right on the corner of the building and the building was built at a time when Franklin St wasn't called Franklin St but was called Park St instead.

84 Franklin Street: 83oAM WCRN True Talk Radio
One of the more interesting new tenants in the Bancroft Commons development is local talk radio station WCRN. With their big, open, on air studio (bottom right of the above picture) facing the common they definitely add a nice feel to downtown. I am still tempted to go and hold up signs when Peter Blute says something I don't agree with. No real web presence yet though, which is odd for a station who is definitely trying to be a big time radio station. Get on the ball folks!!!!

Worcester Block by Block #1 in Pictures

2008-08-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

David Simon does it again

2008-08-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else but I am very very psyched about this.

NEW YORK (AP) David Simon has made the streets of Baltimore famous with gritty television dramas such as "The Wire," "Homicide: Life on the Street," and "The Corner." Now he wants to take on the Big Easy. The next series he hopes to produce for HBO is about musicians reconstituting their lives in New Orleans, he told The New Yorker for its issue hitting newsstands Monday.

Simon, whose dramas are known for their authenticity and detail, has been spending time there researching the music scene."This show will be a way of making a visual argument that cities matter," Simon said. "'The Wire' has never done that. I certainly never said or wanted to say that Baltimore is not worth saving, or that it can't be saved. But I think some people watching the show think, Why don't they just move away?"

A goal of the show will be to celebrate the glories of an American city, and "why we need to accept ourselves as an urban people," Simon said.

Worcester Block By Block #1: Main St, Front St, Franklin St

2008-08-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Worcester Block by Block is something I have been thinking about for a long time. Basically documenting every block in the urban core on foot and then adding a little of my own commentary about the block to go along with it. As I have said quite often Worcester is an insider's city and I think that since I see so much of urban Worcester on foot that I see the city from a different perspective than a lot of Central Massachusetts residents. It occurred to me it might be fun to share some of this perspective. I figured I would start dead center in the middle of the city and work my way out in rings. Hopefully there will be entire posts along the way about single things on a certain block that deserve more attention. I also hope that my ADD doesn't get the best of me and I can follow this through to the four corners of urban Worcester. I also hope that during this little experiment I can get a new digital camera and take myself some pictures. If you are free during the day and would like to be the official Worcester Block by Block photographer though, let me know.

Let's get started

There are really only two things on this entire block, city hall and the Worcester Common Park. Along with the stretch of Main across from city hall the block also serves as the hub for the WRTA. Rumor has it though that the WRTA is looking to change this and move the hub to Union Station.

Most days during the week the Common is a wash with activity from people waiting for buses to downtown workers on their lunch breaks to people with nothing better to do then just hang out in the park. The Main St side of city hall is usually filled with inner city kids hanging out and always appearing to be up to no good. Who knows what they are really up to though. Most mornings Monday through Friday there is a vendor at the corner of Main and Front selling hot dogs.

The Common Park has always seemed a bit underutilized which may have to do with their not being too many folks living near it. Right now they are building a skating rink in the Common and have half of it dug up and fenced off which pretty much cuts off the main residential building (Bancroft Commons) from the area of downtown north of city hall. I question the wisdom of the build it and they will come thinking of the ice skating rink but am excited about the event pad that will be there during the warm months. I am interested to know how big the rink is going to be and if it will be possible to pay regulation hockey games on it. St. John's versus St Peter Marian anyone?

Another plan

2008-07-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

The Telegram reported today on yet another proposed redevelopment plan for one of the cities many blighted urban neighborhoods. As most of these plans do, this one has it's good ideas and bad ideas. Good being knocking down that AT+T building. Bad being operating a trolley in one neighborhood that sits in between several neighborhoods that all are walkable.

As an aside by the way, a trolley that serviced Shrewsbury St, The Canal District, Downtown, and Elm/Highland would be phenomenal, but this is only talking about North Main.

Why I do this I don't know, but I usually read all the comments on any stories involving development and planning on the Telegram page mostly to get myself all riled up and the ignorance that gets spouted over there. Every one in a while you see something pretty good.

From a poster known only as "Gonzoworm":

"As a professional city planner born and raised in Worcester, I can hear and understand some of the frustration with 'another plan,' but such plans are the only way that investors and business people get the signal that a certain area should be invested in...however, the city's real problem is not so much too many plans, it that there is no one unified vision for the city...Tim Murray wasn't a plan...Worcester Ctr. Common Square or whatever Mr. Park calls is not a plan or vision either...the reason Worcester continues to languish is that no one can articulate how these competing and sometimes incompatible mini-plans (north main, courthouse, Hanover, canal district, Shrewsbury street, gateway project, union station etc.) work TOGETHER...that's where real planning happens...the city has no trained city planners working for it (sorry, Joel Fontaine) and the the continued recycling of long-time ineffective city hangers-on (see: Steve O'Neil, Dennis Hennesey, Julie Jacobson) and grandstanding unimaginative and under-educated elected officials, it's no wonder people continue to feel that despite all the activity in recent years, it's not leading anywhere. Like Hemmingway said, never mistake motion for action. For what it's worth, I work for a real estate and architecture firm consulting nationwide...large scale moneyed investors often look to see is a city has a current master plan before making investment decisions...Worcester's last master plan was done in 1987 before computers using typewriters and hand-drawn graphics...Worcester is fond of promoting it's innovative industrial heritage and current biotech-university new frontier...but with a no modern, unified plan, we'll be having this same discussion within 10 years...at one time Worcester was a national leader. It's time to reassert ourselves. GENERAL PLAN NOW!!!!"

I think we need more people like this Gonzoworm character getting involved with the reshaping of urban Worcester.

Downtown Preacher Man Live Blog

2008-07-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

As blogged about over at 4rilla is For Real this guy has been down at the Worcester Common every Saturday in the good weather since I moved here in mid October of last year. Sometimes he is so loud that I can't even watch television, read, or even concentrate in my own apartment, and I am 8 floors up and about 70 yards away. I decided this weekend that I would get to the bottom of it. Here is what transpired. Kudos to the police for the quick response.

1:03 PM
Here I am. In the common on the free city wi-fi. I am about to call the police on the dude. Let's see what they do.

1:08 PM
Supposedly an officer is on his way.

1:18 PM
An officer arrived and talked to the preacher. He in fact has a permit for every Saturday in the common for the rest of the summer.

So what is the next step here? Ask yourself. Would you stand for this? How much does it cost to get a permit to do something involving amplification in one of the most high profile public spaces in our city? If I wanted to have a concert in the common with amplification every Saturday could I? Would I need a police detail? Should the preacher have a police detail? Does my city councilor know about this? How does he feel about it? All questions I intend to get answered this week.

1:33 PM
I haven't heard a peep out of him in about 10 minutes he talked for a little bit after the police showed but since then I haven't heard much. The officer did tell him to turn down a bit.

I honestly don't mind him being there if he keeps it to a dull roar. I didn't move down here for the peace and quiet. Almost anything that loud that happens on a weekly basis though has gotta go.

1:55 PM
He's gone. He is usually here, two three hours. Interesting. He has a permit, but the police coming down obviously made him think about some things.

To be continued next week...

Do You Remember

2008-07-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

That PSA that used to run in the 80's about cocaine? "I need to keep working more hours, so I can make more money, so I can buy more coke, so I can work more hours, so I can make more money so I can buy more coke, so I can work more hours so I can buy more coke...." And so on and so on.

I have a new one for Worcester.

There's no one downtown, because people think it's dangerous, because there's no one downtown, because people think it's dangerous, because there's no one downtown, because people think it's dangerous... and on and on and on.

A Quick Public Service Announcement

2008-07-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Long time Worcester music community member and my former roommate Justin "Pez" Day needs your help readers. If you have spent any time around The Lucky Dog, Ralph's and the rest of the music venues around the city you know Pez as one of the premiere 4 string players in the area and have seen him play with local outfits Gutta and Huxley. Pez's current band, The Luxury, is currently in a contest sponsored by WFNX where the winner gets to open up the sold out Coldplay show at the Boston Garden.

The contest started with 400 entrants and was narrowed down to 15 finalists. Right now the final 15 are being voted on with 3 top vote getters to be put in front of Coldplay themselves for the band to decide who they want to share the big stage in Boston with for the night.

The Luxury are currently number 2 in the voting and need to stay that way until Thursday when voting concludes.

Take a moment out of your busy day and help a local boy do some good out there in the world. The Luxury are the second down from the top. Take a moment to watch the video too, it's for their song "Malcontent" and it's pretty good.

Soft Opening

2008-07-14T05:40:00.000-07:00

The Union Station parking garage is finally open. Of course I really had to go snooping around to figure this out. Franklin St, on the garage side, is still not connected to Grafton St. If you come down the hill into the city from Brown Sq there aren't any kind of signs letting you know the garage is open. There are however all sorts of signs that say "detour" pointing down Franklin St from the end of Harding and it was kind of comical yet also kind of sad watching all the cars zoom down Franklin, hoping that one of the best short cuts in the city was now open again, only to come face to face with do not enter signs.

I walked through the tunnel into Union Station. It isn't "scary". (in a Telegram article a few days ago about the garage's grand opening someone in the comments section said that there were many unanswered questions about the new garage, one of which was whether the "tunnel" that goes under the tracks and to Union Station from the garage would be safe. We really have some grade A geniuses in the Big Woo). I also hoofed it (the elevators aren't operational yet) to the top floor of the garage to check out the view. I've always been really into the views from the tops of urban parking garages. It's not often you get any type of roof access in the city and here they are letting you go right up there.

This would make a real good spot to get a nice picture of the Worcester skyline. Hey Zoback, Womag should do a Worcester skyline photo contest. I don't think I have ever seen a good pic of the city's skyline.

So yeah, garage open, no Grafton St access yet. Other than that it looks beautiful. I wonder if the shops have any confirmed tenants yet. I will lay money on Starbucks or Dunks. Maybe we'll get a Tim Horton's?

I forgot to ask the rates folks. Sorry.

No One Cares About Downtown

2008-07-13T20:18:00.001-07:00

Did you know that someone got stabbed in the chest in our city on Thursday? Did you know that this happened at 4:37 in the afternoon? Did you know that it happened right across the street from City Hall?

Why are people not completely furious about this?

The story has 10 comments. Someone almost gets murdered in broad daylight across the street from City Hall and it musters up 10 comments? It's not even in the most read stories of the past few days list.

Why?

No one cares. No one could give a shit about what goes on in the urban core of Worcester. It simply isn't a priority for anyone.

I know I reference Baltimore quite a bit but I am going to do it again. I am sorry but it's what I know. What do you think would happen at Baltimore Police Headquarters, Baltimore City Hall and The Baltimore Sun if someone were to get stabbed at the Inner Harbor? I'll tell you what...

All hell would break loose, that's what.

Pay attention Councilors. Take note of this. Someone got stabbed in the heart of your city and everyone just shrugs their shoulders. Why? Because everyone expects it. That is the attitude you are dealing with in the Worcester metropolitan area. There is no outrage about someone getting stabbed downtown because most people believe that it is just par for the course.

Do you think the people of Boston would shrug their shoulders at an afternoon attempted homicide in Government Center? Or the people of Providence in Waterplace Park?

The phone should be ringing off the hook at City Hall, Police Headquarters, and at the Telegram. But it isn't. Because no one cares.

NO
ONE
CARES

Hey councilors, deal with this shit. Hey Palmieri and Lukes, you should be on the phone with the Chief on the hour until those guys are aprehended.

It's about 1 trillion times more important than whether Dougie Garden Fresh sells one less mediocre salad because Johnny Hot Dog is stealing his customers.

I want to see the guys that did this in cuffs on the front page of the Telegram within 7 days and if I don't see that I want my local newspaper to provide me with answers as to why not.

Hey Worcester(and I am talking to every single person reading this who calls this city home), you are just as much at fault in this as City Hall, the poe poe, and the Telegram. Your, "Oh well, somebody got stabbed downtown. See Margie? I told you that place was a war zone" attitude isn't helping matters either.

I mean as a city are we really okay with dudes just getting stabbed in broad daylight in our downtown? A place where our tax money is building an ice skating rink not 50 yards away that our children will be using by winter of next year? Or maybe you have already decided your children aren't going within 1 mile of that rink or downtown in general for that matter. Ever.

I am shocked and horrified that this happened on Thursday. You should be too. Or maybe you aren't because you reside in the town of Worcester. Stuff like that happens in the City of Worcester, that's why you moved out. Thank god you don't have to worry about that anymore.

Downtown this morning 7/12/08

2008-07-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Got up early (well early for me on a Saturday) with the goal of going down to the barber on North Main and getting my hairs cut. Like a whole lot of businesses in the city this week he is closed for vacation. I was going to write a big diatribe here about this and then remembered that I took July and August off for the First Fridays so I need to drink a big glass of shut the the f*ck up.

On my way there I noticed that there is a new designer glasses store opening up at the corner of Walnut and Main. The guys inside said about two weeks. They weren't the owners though so who knows how factual this is. They couldn't even tell me the name of the business. There is a very nice Georgio Armani logo stenciled on the front double doors however.

I was looking to eat some lunch/breakfast and passed by Garden Fresh. They were open. I kept walking. The owner thinks that street vendors are going to cause bomb like hysteria in downtown Worcester. Stupid folks like that are bound to mess my food up. I won't ever go there again. You shouldn't either. You are only asking for eventual bad food.

I went walking around behind Garden Fresh up George St and Eden St. There is an absolutely gorgeous old house I have never seen before at the end of Harvard Ct with it's windows all smashed out and a big red x on it which of course means it's destined for the wrecking ball. It's really too bad. This house could have been a really cool three or four unit apartment or condo building.

I continued down Eden and was noticing all the urban residential in this area. A great deal of what looks like 6 or 7 plus unit buildings. You would think with Unum and Fallon right here never mind all the other offices that these buildings would be packed with young professionals. Especially with the rising cost of gas. What has changed where it was so common in the early days of industrial America for workers to live so close to where they worked but now this just isn't the case? I would love to live directly across the street from my job. I would love to live 80% of my life on one block and spend the other 20 traveling. Maybe this is just me.

I walked back down to Main and ended up getting lunch at Spoodles at the corner of Main and Maple. This place is a real jewel that doesn't get much play in the Worcester word of mouth. It's one of those places that does everything right. Food and atmosphere. I had a pastrami on rye while sitting up in the loft seating looking at pictures of Dean Martin and James Dean and listening to an early 50's pop satellite radio station. Yep good experience down to the last detail.

I walked past City Hall on the way back to my place. There was some crazy Christian Jesus Saves type demonstration going on on the steps of City Hall where a bunch of people were yelling at a bunch of other people and telling them that the way they live their lives is wrong. What happened to separation of church and state? What would happen if next Saturday I wanted to have a rock concert on the steps of City Hall? And for jeebus sake can someone get that preacher with the high wattage public address system out of my front yard on Saturdays?

Last Night On Green St

2008-07-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

After a long night of drinking some very tasty beers on the new patio at the Dive Bar I walked out with the idea of getting a sausage from Chris, the new vendor who sets up right outside the Dive on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Thursday I got a pulled pork sandwich that was really really good. Apparently everyone else thought so too because he sold out of it for the weekend already on Thursday night.

Some friends I was with only had $4 between them (not enough for anything Chris sells) so we went down the street to "Moe's Hot Dog's" who set up on the other side of Green St half way between Creegan's and The Lucky Dog. The dogs, at $2 a pop were great and Moe took the time to grill the buns on both sides. Always a plus for me.

Last Saturday night I pretty much stayed in for the night. Around 12:30am I got hungry and so I walked over to the Kenmore and got some grub. Thursday night I got a pulled pork sandwich from Chris's cart outside the Dive, last night Moe's Hot Dog's, tonight maybe it will be Fresh Way or Wings over Worcester.

But here is the bigger point of all of this. These are my options in The Canal District for eating after midnight:

Kelley Sq Pizza: Decent Greek style pizza and okay sandwiches. Nothing spectacular but they are there and they are open until 2:00am AND they deliver.

Wings Over Worcester: Outrageously good wings, bone in and boneless. There is usually a pretty long wait but if you are in the mood for wings it's totally worth it. The place is usually completely packed up so if you are getting wings mostly you are getting them and taking them home.

Fresh Way Pizza: Awful cardboard taste like crap pizza close to three of the bigger mook bars in Worcester, Fusion, The Blackstone Tap, and Jose Murphy's. Due to the mook factor the people behind the counter are dicks to everyone. It's kind of warranted. Still, shitty food, and their delivery kind of blows too.

The Kenmore: A Worcester institution. You always know what you are going to get at the Kenmore which is average at best diner fare and a long wait in line if you get there past 1:15-1:30am. Sometimes it does the job nicely though and it is really your best option in the Canal District if you want to sit down with friends and chill and have a conversation after the bars close.

Chris' Wacky Green Street Sausage Stand: I am not sure what he is calling his business but he offers very non standard fare and pretty decent prices and it is food you can hold in your hand and you don't need a table for it. It gets made quickly and Chris is a pretty friendly dude.

Moe's Hot Dog's: Like I said these hot dogs are made right to my own specifications, grilled dogs, grilled buns. You can get two of them for less than your average beer and they are GOOD.

So I have six options as to where I want to get food in the wee hours in the Canal District. I see myself giving all six of these businesses my patronage again depending on my mood, the circumstances, the color of the moon, which knee is bothering me, if I had a good week at work, if I am feeling social, etc, etc.

You get what I am saying.

More options overall means a better experience for me, the urban Worcester dweller. If they all cancel each other out I know that I will still have options because Kenmore and Kelley Sq Pizza aren't going anywhere. I hope they can all survive though because options and convenience are two of the cornerstones of real city living. Just in one neighborhood if I want to get something to eat between midnight and 2am I have 6 options all within walking distance of each other. This is really awesome.

The thing to note about my above list however is this. At the moment, of the six listed only three are making an effort to serve quality food. Quality for what they do at least. Of course the food at the Kenmore is just as good as the food at Moe's Hot Dog's but I don't have to wait in line with a bunch of bouncing off the wall drunken mooks to give them business. Sometimes I will though because sometimes I will want to sit down with my friends at a table.

Everyone of these places isn't perfect and isn't the absolute best thing for everyone looking to get food in The Canal District at this time. But this is where the real answers to problems comes in.

It's all a numbers game. Simple percentages.

As a business owner instead of worrying about the next guy you should be reaching out to him and working together with the city and with neighborhood representatives to insure that every night you are open for business that there are enough people to go around for all of you to make a little money.

If you only need five customers a day and there are 100 potential customers walking by your business every day well then all you need to do is get 5% of those potential customers to be your customers, right? Now if you can't and the numbers are there the only person you have to blame is yourself. Not your competition, and not the city. Right now the numbers aren't there. Right now the growth of our urban core is a rather new development too. It is way too early in the game to start pointing the finger at each other. Form neighborhood business alliances and work with the city to try and figure out ways to increase the numbers. This is the real answer and the one that will make the city, the people that live in it, and the businesses happy in the end.

Downtown this morning

2008-07-11T07:57:00.001-07:00

Downtown this morning is really awesome.

Dude playing catch in the common with his kids. Two street vendors on Front St, one selling flowers the other selling jewelry and incense. Another vendor, who is selling hot dogs in front of City Hall, told me there was TV coverage this morning on the street vendor issue.

My favorite thing going on this morning though?

In a transformation of space that should embarrass City Hall, there is a busker singing and playing guitar in the foyer of the old Paris Cinema on Franklin St. Seems to be cleaning up too.

VIBRANCY!!!!

Neighborhoods 2

2008-07-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Let's face it. Worcester doesn't know whether it is coming or going when it comes to neighborhoods.

If you look around the internet you will find all sorts of different info on the neighborhoods of Worcester. Over at Buy Worcester Now they list the city as having 26 different neighborhoods. If you go to the city council website you will find that according to the city each district councilor represents about 12-15 different neighborhoods. At 5 districts that's about 75 neighborhoods. We all know Worcester doesn't have 75 different neighborhoods of course. My favorite breakdown of the neighborhoods and the one I feel to be the most correct is supplied in the Worcester Housing Study. The study breaks Worcester down into 15 submarkets along with maps that clearly define each of the submarkets.

Beaver Brook
College Hill
Downtown
East Side
Great Brook
Green Hill
Green Island
Greendale
Main South
North Side
Oak Hill
Piedmont
South East
South West
West Side

This is my favorite simply because I agree with it. I feel the way they have seperated the neighborhoods is correct culturally as well as the overall feel of the neighborhoods. There's a couple things I would change. I would extend the downtown neighborhood all the way to Chadwick Sq. I would leave the natural boundaries of Green Island intact and include the whole Canterbury St area with the rest of Main South. That is only two off the top of my head.

So why all this neighborhood talk?

I feel it's important.

I think there is a need to define Worcester's neighborhoods. To give them distinct boundaries. To profile them. To let the world know about them. To give people an expectation of what they will find when they visit them. To give people a bit of a guide as to what it is like to walk down the streets in these neighborhoods. If you are a Worcester resident or someone familiar with the city ask yourself this. If someone where to want to move here and they were to ask you where they should move, what would you say? If you asked them questions as to what kind of neighborhood they were looking for would you be able to give them an idea based on their response?

Simply put, if you break the city down into neighborhoods and then look at it that way it is easier to tackle some of the problems that ail it and feel good about some of the progress that it is making.

I think it is very easy to think of Worcester and think of it as just one big neighborhood. I know for a fact that is how a great deal of people who know of Worcester but don't KNOW Worcester feel about it.

Imagine a guide that broke down all the neighborhoods, what housing was like there, what the schools were like there, talked about the parks and the shopping and the nightlife or lack of in each of the neighborhoods. I think if there was something out there that did this and did it comprehensively I think the neighborhoods would really start to take shape. It is an insider's city. If I was to come here to live and not know anyone odds are I would end up in the wrong neighborhood. There is nothing telling me anything about any of the neighborhoods in the city online. This is something else that ails our urban core too. We are an old mill town. I feel we can get to the point where the city is asthetically pleasing but it is going to take a lot of time and we are already way behind in getting there. If you don't know the city the entire urban core most likely appears to you to be a train wreck that you are better off stearing clear of.

Maybe this is something the city could work on. Defining the neighborhoods. Fostering strong neighborhood associations who will take the reigns in the marketing of their neighborhoods. I know I would love to see it.

Cities and Towns

2008-07-09T04:44:00.000-07:00

Inspired Mike Benedetti's post over at Worcesterite the other day I went to the city council website to write Phil Palmieri about the street vendor issue. While I was there I noticed that all of the councilors have their addresses up right on their profiles. I was curious.

Paulie over at Paulie's Point Of View has really been making a point to enlighten us about the fact that only one of our eleven city councilors actually lives within the urban core of Worcester, that one being District 4's Barbara Haller. Since I think it is pretty loosely defined and I am sure there will be some questions asked, I define the urban core pretty much by squares running from Chadwick Sq down Park Ave to Webster Sq down Cambridge St into College Sq, down 146 and up Providence St into the Rice Sq area and down Plantation across the hill to Lincoln St and Brittan Sq. That to me that is urban Worcester. You live within those boundaries and you are living in the city of Worcester. You live outside of that and you are living in the town of Worcester. Worcester really does exist on two different levels. You get outside of that urban core and it really is hard to tell you are in a city. Most people would say that is a plus, and I guess they are right. Here is the kicker though and here is the crazy crazy thing I found out.

I opened up map quest and threw all eleven of the councilor's addresses in there to find out if this was in fact true. It really is only the queen of district 4 that lives within the dirty scary filth that is Worcester's urban core. It is a fact. What I also found out though was even more disturbing.

Six of our councilors , more than half, live less than a mile from the end of the Worcester city limits. Along with Barbara, only Phil Palmieri (District 2), Paul Clancy (District 3), Gary Rosen (at large) and our Mayor Konnie Lukes (at large) live more than a stones throw of getting the hell out of Worcesterville. The other six councilors barely live in Worcester. BARELY! That's right Mike Germain, Joe Petty, Rick Rushton, Kate Toomey, Joff Smith, and Bill Eddy, I am talking to you.

See here is the thing. I lay my head down every night in the City of Worcester. When I walk outside to my car I do it in the City of Worcester. I probably spend about 120 hours a week in the City of Worcester. At least Mr. Palmieri and Mr. Clancy live a stones throw from the urban core, just outside of Brittan and Rice Squares respectively. Mayor Lukes and Mr. Rosen live on the West Side but in the most vibrant part of the West Side close to Chandler St and Tatnuck Square. The other six can't possibly know what my day to day is like. How I can't find a place to get a quick bite to eat in the downtown of the second biggest city in New England past 7pm. How people will not come into my neighborhood because they think it is "scary." How when I got mugged a few years ago on Beaver St a cop actually advised me that it would be better if I "just moved to the West Side." I like city living. Scratch that. I love city living. I live in a city however that just so happens to be two entities. A city and a town at the same time. Most of the money and influence resides in the town. It also happens to be run by an 11 member city council form of government, 10 of which don't actually live in the city.

If you are reading this and live within the urban core of Worcester do me a favor, next election vote these people out. If you enjoy city living and want your quality of life to be better, vote these people out and vote people in who actually live in the urban core. The Suburban 6 do not know what city living is all about. They for all intents and purposes live in the suburbs and you know what their dirty little secret is?

Go to any other desirable city in the US and take note of where the good parts are and where the bad parts are. Really all you have to do is take a look at where the bad parts are. They are on the outskirts. They are not in the center. The city part of Worcester is being left to die by people who have no stake what so ever in seeing it succeed. It would sure be nice and all but it is not even close to a priority for them. Look how long it takes to get stuff done! The one thing Worcester has in spades that every other city has is the negatives. The crime, the drugs, the homelessness, the grime, the pollution. The general unsightliness. This stuff is kept tightly inside the urban core. When was the last time you walked out of the White Hen at the corner of June and Chandler and someone asked you if you had any change? Worcester is being kept from sprawling within it's own city limits. You want to really give people who can only afford low income housing a nice place to live? Build them a nice high rise on the shores of Lake Quinsigamond or Indian Lake. Stop screwing my neighborhood up. Please! I am begging you!

VOTE THEM OUT!

I'd Like to Introduce A Theory

2008-05-27T03:15:00.000-07:00

It's a pretty obvious theory, but it's a theory inspired by listening to a 508 podcast from a couple weeks ago. Mike, Brendan and Bruce talk at length about the proposterous perception that downtown Worcester is a scary and dangerous place. Unfortunately, while I do believe this perception to be completely unfounded, I do talk to more people who believe this than don't believe it.

I noticed while spending time in Central Sq in Cambridge a couple weeks ago that there are way way way more scary individuals on Mass Ave then any centralized location in Worcester. This however is where my theory comes in. While there were way more thugs, junkies, homeless, and overall shifty looking people in Central Sq there were also many other different types of people walking around. No matter what type of person you might consider yourself, chances are there were enough of your kind walking around in Central Sq so that you won't feel out of place. Of course there were people who wouldn't be able to take certain aspects of the Sq at all, but chances are these are people who just really don't like cities to begin with.

The theory is that for every upstanding person walking around the common and the general neighborhood of downtown Worcester there are nine shifty looking folks walking around. Now the reality is that these ten people may very well be the only people in the common at any given time, and there in lies the problem.

The city can do what they want to combat this, they can have foot patrols, they can take the benches out of Federal Sq (I am eating a bit of crow on this one I admit), and they can try and shew this population away. Guess what? We live in a city of almost 200,000 people. These people are here to stay. What the city needs to do is get creative and figure out ways to draw a broader range of people downtown so that folks feel comfortable in their own skin. We can criticize Central Massachusetts' citizens all we want for their unjust fear of Downtown, but I think it's only human nature for people to not feel quite right about being a minority, no matter what type of minority you are.

Frickin' Lowell

2008-05-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

I am usually not totally ashamed to be from Worcester.

http://www.lowellsummermusic.org/page.php?page=root/home.htm

When Lowell is kicking your ass culturally it is time to seriously reevaluate. I think the best we can come up with is Orleans on Shrewsbury St maybe five years ago? Go to that link. There are some serious names on there.

Priorities People!

2008-05-13T16:39:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while something comes to my attention that makes me realize how messed up the cities priorities are and how time and time again they fail to see the big picture. This memo was left in my door the other day. Check this ridiculousness out.

Attention: Residents of 50, 76, and 82 Franklin Street

Dear Resident,

I am sad to report that the City of Worcester's Director of Parks and Recreation called this morning to inform me that because some of our residents who own dogs do not clean up after their pets, dogs are no longer allowed in the Worcester Commons park, behind City Hall.

Unfortunately, it s necessary to remind our residents that responsible pet ownership includes consideration for others, and cleaning up your pet's waste matter.

Now that dogs are no longer permitted in Worcester Commons, if you are found walking your dog there, you will be fined $200, and your pet confisacted. Any questions concerning this matter may be directed to management at the leasing office located on the 1st floor of 50 Franklin St.

Now I fully understand that folks need to pick up and dispose of their dogs doggy doo doo. And I also agree that if you don't you are kind of an asshole, but this seems a bit extreme doesn't it? There are quite a few dog owners in the building who are probably here because they have found a building where they can live right in the middle of the city and still have a dog and have a nice place to walk the dog. Has the city thought about putting up bags to dispose of the waste? Maybe they need to conduct a million dollar research study on this that will take 3 years to complete that they will just ignore anyways. Of course we all know that the biggest problem with the lack of attractiveness of the Common is dog shit. What we really really don't need is responsible dog owners who already live here moving the hell out of downtown when their lease is up over something so harmless as compared to the bigger picture of the things that ail our downtown.

I have a memo to send too. It goes something like this.

Attention: Residents of Worcester Massachusetts and surrounding municipalities

Dear Resident,

I am sad to report that the people of Worcester called this morning to inform me that because some of our residents who own human bodies do not clean up after themselves, drunks and junkies are no longer allowed in the Worcester Commons park, behind City Hall.

Unfortunately, it is necessary to remind our residents that being a responsible member of society includes consideration for others and cleaning up after yourself and not being intrusive and intimidating to other people who are trying to use the park.

Now that drunks and junkies are no longer permitted in Worcester Commons, if you are found walking there, and you are a vagrant, you will be fined $200, and your freedom confiscated for 24 hours. Any questions concerning the matter may be directed to the Worcester Police Department, Lincoln Square.

Thank you for your consideration, and cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

The Citizens of Worcester, Massachusetts

Little Big Wheel, Mike MacDonald and the Widowmakers, and Necktie Party tonight in Worcester!

2008-05-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

For a New England state that for the most part is free of tumbleweeds, cowboys, and the wide open range, Massachusetts is developing one hell of an alt country/Americana community. Come see three of it's best as Little Big Wheel and Necktie Party join forces with Boston's Mike MacDonald and the Widowmakers for a night of music any self respecting Uncle Tupelo/Graham Parsons/Wilco fan should not miss.

The Hotel Vernon
1 Millbury Street in Kelley Square
Worcester MA
21+, $5 Cover

Neighborhoods

2008-04-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

Over at Bill Randell's blog on Monday he put up a link to an excellent post on the Sringfield/Hartford blog Urban Compass titled Neighborhoods As Building Blocks. I have been saying for a while that Worcester really needs to put some serious thought into officially defining it's neighborhoods and in turn promote and define what life is like as a resident in these neighborhoods. As they always are in these matters Providence is one step ahead of us already.

In my opinion (one which is shared by many, just seemingly not in the city which I call home) neighborhoods create community, a sense of home, and a sense of belonging. I saw this first hand in my time in Baltimore. The nicest neighborhoods in the city were the ones with a strong community of homeowners who lived in their neighborhoods by choice and intended to work together to make their neighborhood as collectively liveable as they possibly could. In turn the neighborhoods draw renters like myself who due to the identity of the neighborhoods find it easy to figure out which neighborhood is going to suit their needs and where they should begin looking for an apartment.

When I moved to Baltimore I narrowed my search down to about five neighborhoods in the city that I would look into and ended up finding exactly what I wanted just one street south of one of the neighborhoods I was looking for. In my 35 years it's still the nicest place I have ever lived including where I lived growing up.

I can't even fathom being an urban minded person relocating to Central Massachusetts from another part of the country and trying to figure out where to live. I think sometimes as Worcester folk we take for granted everything the city has to offer and don't realize that it really is an insider's city and you can live here for years without ever seeing a band at Ralph's, getting breakfast at the Gold Star, getting a Hot Dog at Coney Island, or taking a trip to the Worcester Art Museum or Mechanics Hall.

Our city does a tremendous disservice to itself by not taking the initiative on it's own to define and promote everything it's neighborhoods have to offer and give someone who is coming to Worcester for the first time, whether to live, work, or play, a general idea as to what they are dealing with and where they need to go to take care of whatever need or want they may have. Of course they could always leave it up to the ever positive citizens of Worcester to tell them themselves. Many might think after further search that Worcester is just one big neighborhood unto itself.

Neighborhood development works economically too because once neighborhoods start to become defined, enteprenours will find it easier to decide where the best place is to open up their business to take advantage of whatever customer base exists immediately outside their door. You are already starting to see this happen in the May St/Chandler St corridor with businesses such as Spiritual Haze, The Q and Buddha Hut all opening over the past year all within an easy walk of each other. I can't tell you over the years how many businesses I have seen open with seemingly no research into location at all. The lack of synergy here in Worcester is down right apalling sometimes. How long is it going to take for someone to open up a nice restaurant in Federal Square to compliment the Hanover Theater?

Konnie L., Mikey O and the rest of you movers and shakers, get out your damn notepads and jot this shit down. This is how it's done:

Live Baltimore

Where I ended up living: Remington

My two favorite neighborhoods in the city: Hampden, Fell's Point

Two of the more exclusive neighborhoods in Baltimore: Federal Hill, Mount Vernon

Arguably the worst neighborhood in Baltimore: Sandtown

One of the more up and coming neighborhoods in Baltimore: Pigtown/Washington Village

I lived in Baltimore for 9 months and garnered all this information. This is not a coincidence. Baltimore makes it easy. Worcester should very very much make a serious effort to do the same. Do whatever research you need to do just get it done!

Some other cities broken down into neighborhoods:

Manhattan

Philadelphia

Portland

Austin

Chicago

Buffalo

Newer Blogs You Should Check Out

2008-04-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Since I really haven't been inspired to write lately I figured I would hip you people to a couple new Worcester related blogs that have been piquing my interest.

Paulie's Point of View
If you have been reading many of the Worcester based blogs that have popped up over the past year you are familiar with Paulie adding his 2 cents in the comments section of many of our local web pages. It's good to hear a voice who really gets what city living is all about and it is really good to hear someone demand a good urban quality of life in Worcester. As Paulie points out most of our city leaders do not live in the urban core. A good urban experience isn't just going to happen here, it needs to be demanded. Paulie seems to be doing that.

Free Art Worcester
This blog is friggin awesome! The idea: Make art and leave it around Worcester for whomever wants it in what appears so far to be very strategic places. It would be awesome if they made it like an online art scavenger hunt and put clues in their entries. Critics may argue that the art isn't of the highest quality, but hey it's free. I don't think that this blog is about high quality art however, I think it's about making something interesting happen in Worcester, which is more than most are doing. I hope to stumble upon something at some point.

The Wire: June 6th, 2002- March 9th, 2008

2008-03-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

I was going back and forth with myself about whether I wanted to write anything in this space about the conclusion of what I feel to be the greatest show we have ever seen in the short history of American television. I mean this blog is about Worcester, the city I live in. Why should a show like the Wire interest anyone living in Worcester?

The Wire is set in Baltimore, Maryland. And this is the main reason I started watching it. I had heard of it a little bit as it was part of HBO's stellar line up of shows including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, and Oz among others. I really knew nothing about the show and when I moved to Baltimore in the summer of 2005 I thought that it would be neat to watch a show completely shot on location in the city I lived in. Add to this the fact that a couple of my neighbors were in the crew of the show and it was just something I had to check out.

When you first start watching the show you are presented with a special investigative unit of the Baltimore Police Department and an organized West Baltimore drug distribution organization. What follows throughout the next five seasons of this show is a very in depth look at urban decay as set in Baltimore. It could be anywhere though. As the seasons go on we see exploration of such inner city issues as crime, drug use, employment, politics, education, media, and economy looked into and thoroughly disected through the very well written and acted characters on The Wire.

As I have read before, in time this show should serve as a document as to what it was like for a portion of our society to live the American urban experience in the early 21st century. I can only hope that this show wasn't a one of a kind thing and that more television with this type of commitment to quality and realism will follow. Until then we will always have the DVD's.

Taste Worcester

2008-03-08T18:56:00.001-08:00

Tonight I was searching around for an online take out menu and I stumbled upon Taste Worcester. This seems to be a fairly comprehensive guide to dining out in Central Mass, whether on the cheap or if you happen to have a few extra dollars in your pocket.

One thing Taste Worcester does is break things down by different parts of the city which I love. There isn't enough of this going on in local media and I have always felt it leaves an outsider or someone who doesn't know the city feeling as though if you have seen one Worcester neighborhood you have seen them all which those of us in the know can attest is untrue. It's a neat website though. I would love to see something similiar for Worcester bars and clubs.

Tonight! First Fridays at the Hotel Vernon

2008-03-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

Tonight at the Hotel Vernon in lovely Kelley Square Worcester Massachusetts, First Fridays presents, The Curtain Society, Aloud and Drew O'Doherty in a full night of music to sooth your soul after a hard week.
9pm, $5, 21+

http://www.myspace.com/thecurtainsociety
http://www.myspace.com/aloud
http://www.myspace.com/drewodoherty
http://www.myspace.com/firstfridayrockshows

Geography Geek

2008-03-07T01:36:00.000-08:00

When I first moved back to Worcester from Baltimore I was all fresh with all this Baltimore stuff that I felt Worcester should be doing. Sitting at Vincent's one night talking to a friend he said something to me that has always stuck with me.

He said, "You know, Worcester shouldn't even really be here."

His point was that Worcester is a total anomoly. It's not a port city and it's not a capitol city. It has no riverfront. I am big on comparing Worcester before trashing it. Really thinking about my negativity before I start bitching and reasoning out through comparison whether or not my negativity is justified. Well, what American cities can we really compare Worcester to? I decided tonight at work, while it was a little slow, that I would find out.

I found this really cool site called Maps'N'Stats. All the stuff you need to keep a geography geek happy for days. I went through and found all the cities in the U.S. with populations between 148,000 and 202,000. This gave me 56 cities in 26 states. I needed to narrow it down a bit for comparisons sake. First thing I did was take out any cities that were on the ocean or a river using our Streets and Trips software here at work. As has been pointed out many times, lack of water really has alot to do with how things are and how things have developed here in Worcester. This cut the field pretty much in half to just 27 cities in 13 states. Then I removed all cities that are state capitols. State capitols are going to have a bit more activity simply by being a state capitol. Not really a fair comparison. This got me down to 23 cities in 10 states.

Next I got rid of cities that were just part of the metro area of another larger city. Glendale California and Tempe Arizona are two that come to mind here. Silly me, I did not record the number this got me down to. My next qualification really shrunk the numbers down though and this is the thing that really makes Worcester unique. I wanted to remove all cities that were out in the middle of nowhere. So basically for these last two qualifications the city had to be more than 30 minutes from a larger city but less than 45 minutes. Just far enough away where it was a pain in the ass to live your life in that bigger city yet close enough where that bigger city couldn't help but invade the culture of the city you live in.

This got me down to four cities including Worcester. Four qualifications and I go from 56 cities to four cities. I knew that Worcester was unique, I had no idea it was that unique though and to me this explains quite a bit about why we are the way we are here. These are the only four landlocked, non capitol, non metro yet close to larger urban area cities in our country with populations between 148,000 and 202,000 people.

Santa Clarita, California (Santa Clarita should not be counted here. It is a brand new city and mainly is the same thing as if Framingham, Marlborough, Hudson and Westborough decided to incorporate into one city, it is north of the LA metro area)

Worcester, Massachusetts (just outside of the Boston metro area)
Durham, North Carolina (just outside of the Raleigh metro area)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina (just outside of the Greensboro metro area)

So I am going to spend some time reading about Durham and Winston-Salem and see how our city compares. Should be interesting. Of course there are things inherently wrong in Worcester that have nothing to do with whether the city has a waterfront, or whether the city is a capitol, or whether the city has a large metropolitan area or whether or not it is part of a larger cities metropolitan area. Of course this is true.

But maybe just maybe there are things that we want out of Worcester, things we see on a night out in Boston and Providence, things we see when we travel to other cities in this country that just aren't in the cards here in Worcester and never will be. Maybe we need our leaders to help us find an identity for ourselves as Worcesterites and then go from there instead of trying to give our citizens things that most well thinking people left to find on their own a long time ago. What can Worcester give me that I can't get 45 minutes up the road and most of the time get better?

Mrs. Lukes, Mr. O'Brien and the rest of the the folks who sit in the big wooden chairs in city hall this is my challenge to you. Define Worcester. Define it positively. Tell me what it means to be from Worcester and why I should continue to live here. You are our leaders. Step up and lead.

Downtown Notes

2008-03-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

I got takeout from the 99 on Sunday night. I don't know if there was something going on at the DCU or what but the place was packed. Good to see for a Sunday night in downtown Worcester, even if it is a chain.
I think one of the bigger challenges to the Mom and Pops is to remain as incredibly consistent as the bigger chains are. I went over to D'Errico's on Sunday to grab a gallon of milk. I walked up to the front door at 6:46pm to find the doors locked and people still shopping inside. This would make sense to me if they closed at 6:30pm but that seems like an odd time to close and it also seems odd that they would close at 6pm and still have people in there 45 minutes later. But what do I know. I was really just irritated that I couldn't go in and buy milk. No posted hours by the way. I guess they can open and close whenever they damn please. Doesn't mean I have to continue shopping there though.
I was going over there for milk because I have stopped buying anything from Honey Farms. This is due to a small inconvenience turned into a larger irritance the other day. See I have lieved downtown since the middle of October of 2007. On my way back home from work it is really easy in the morning to come up Central St and take a left on Commercial and stop at the Ho Farms at the corner of Commercial and Foster for whatever small food items I might need. They have this really delicious frozen coffee type concoction that I'll pickup sometimes when I am in there. This stuff is good but I do not need 44 ounces of it. Problem is that the super large cup is the only size they have with a complete cup and lid set. It's been like this almost every time I have gone in there since mid October. So I point this out to the girl behind the counter and she says to me, "Oh they are on order." I then explain to her that they are out almost all the time. She disagrees with me. This is where I get a little pissed. I mean I've stopped in there a few times a week, every week, since I have been living downtown. I probably try to get a small helping of frozen coffee deliciousness once a week. I think I have been successful maybe about 4 times. I tell her this and she disagrees again. We exchange a few other things and I leave bidding her good luck running a business with that attitude in downtown Worcester. I then call Honey Farms corporate to file a complaint. They give me a voice mail where they play a message that tells me to leave my number and they will call me back. They never do. Adios Ho Farms. I will not be shopping at your stores anymore. It was nice knowing you.
So my last stop Sunday before I went home was the White Hen at the corner of Main and Franklin to finally get my milk. As I am checking out this kid, looking all of about 16 comes into the store looking absolutely horrified. "How do I get to route 9 from here?" I give him some quick directions, asking him where he is tryin to get back to. "Westborough, I am lost and I lost my cell phone.", he says in a quivering voice. I always forget how sheltered some folks are in New England. I wonder how he would have been doing if he got lost over by Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

So there are some downtown notes from Sunday night. Wow do I sound like a cranky old man. Why shouldn't I expect good customer service and a store to post their hours and stick by them? Why should I not write about an establishment in these pages if I have a bad experience there?

I do have good experiences too like the one I had at KJ Baaron's on Monday night. I will post about that later on in the week.

No Bags

2008-02-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

I spent about seven years of my youth living on Edgewater Avenue in Shrewsbury across the street from Spag's. I realize now looking back on it that this is where my thirst for urban living comes from. Urban living in Shrewsbury you ask? Damn right.

I spent whole summers rarely leaving that neighborhood as a kid. It was really really great. I had a huge paper route delivering the Evening Gazette. Two newspapers. The Telegram can't even support one newspaper and they had two then. The neighborhood was chock full of kids and we had no shortage of things to keep ourselves occupied with. If we weren't spending our time playing street hockey or riding our bikes around Jordan Pond we were going to White City Pizza (actually still there) or Orlando's Meat Market for lunch or going to Frosty's for ice cream or Joe White's for soda and candy. I remember going to see Gremlins and Goonies and Pee Wee's Big Adventure with my friends at the White City Cinema. I remember going to MacDuff's and looking at all the guitars and drums that added fuel to the dreams of a kid already obsessed with rock'n'roll. I remember that wierd little opening that connected Iandoli's and Bradlees. I remember Child World. I remember my Dad buying me a copy of Bill Cosby's "Why Is There Air?" on vinyl at the Shrewsbury location of Album's. One of my most vivid memories is going to Spag's with a couple of my friends on busy summer Saturdays and racing from the front doors to the back because Spag's was so absolutely mobbed with people that the race was actually a challenge and you had to know the store well and know what aisles you could use for shortcuts. An independent Worcester business being so crowded with people that you could barely move. Imagine that.

As I got older and wanted to give up the paper route and make a little more money I still didn't need to leave the neighborhood to find a job as Burger King, Bradlees and CVS all took me on as an employee. My parents would eventually buy a house in Oxford and although I only attended school there for 3 years versus the 7 in Shrewsbury I still consider Oxford the town I grew up in. I still have very very good friends that I met in Oxford and I still have a soft spot for Carl's Oxford Diner, N+J Donuts, the French River and Buffumville Dam.

As I look back though I realize that while Oxford is still the town I grew up in, Shrewsbury is an emense part of my personal history. Shrewsbury is where my appreciation for urban living, tight communities, and easy walkable access to whatever you need came from. I don't know what the culture is like in that neighborhood anymore though. Maybe everyone that lives there shops at Walmart and eats at Subway. I don't know.

What is with this sudden surge of nostalgia? I was searching around the net for information about the history of Lake Quinsigamond. I was inspired by a comment left by Ms. Crystal about the lack of water in Worcester being one of the causes of Worcester being the way it is. I have always wondered what would have happened if Worcester's downtown didn't end up being where it is but was centered around the lake. What if the canal didn't come in where it came in but came up from the Blackstone and then up the Quinsigamond River into the lake and created a nice little harbor in our otherwise landlocked city. How would that have affected how the region developed over the next 100 years or so?

What really made me wax nostalgic today though was when I found this website about Spag's.

Now I know that to a lot of people Spag's has a very negative connotation. The "Spag's mentality" is something you hear alot about as something that kept alot of high end shopping out of Central Massachusetts due to folks used to being able to get good merchandise at cheap prices for so long. I don't know much about that. I do know that if they do tear that building down I will most likely shed a tear. That's a huge huge huge part of my youth that is going to bite the dust right there.

Maybe it's a good thing though. Maybe it's a good thing to forget that this city and Central Massachusetts were once great areas and Worcester was a center of commerce and had a culture of it's own. That it meant something to be from here. That Worcester was an important American city and not just the joke that all of us have allowed it to become. Maybe it's a good thing to forget and move on. I know that when the day comes that they swing that wrecking ball into the side of the big ol' white warehouse on route 9 will not be a happy day for me. It's too bad. Spag's really was one of a kind.

I Heart Population Statistics

2008-02-17T23:19:00.001-08:00

I have long stood by the opinion that one of the reasons for the constant frustration many of us feel as Worcesterites comes from the belief that we are bigger than we actually are. I have also long stood by the opinion that part of the fault of this lies within the surrounding towns and not with Worcester itself. I have finally found a little data to support this theory.

One of the facts that Worcester prides itself on is that we are the second biggest city in New England. It's a statistic that in our constant inferiority complex lets us feel like we have something over Providence and Springfield and and that we can downright hold our heads high and our noses in the air towards such villages as Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven. Those people in Connecticut don't know a city from a one horse town now do they?

This pride is also a burden too because you can sit in Worcester and look at that statistic but then you go and visit these other cities and you notice something. You go to Providence and realize that Providence is just a flat out better city than Worcester. You go to Hartford and realize that downtown Hartford is awash with vibrancy and activity albeit during the day. You go to New Haven and find a vibrant nightlife and cultural scene. How can this be? Worcester is a bigger city than all these places. Why can't we have a bustling downtown? Why is it that our cultural landscape isn't as rich as some other cities? WHAT THE CHRIST IS WRONG WITH WORCESTER THAT THESE THINGS CAN'T HAPPEN HERE???!!!!!!!

Today I was looking around and came upon this entry on wikipedia. A little from the entry:

"A New England City and Town Area or NECTA is a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U. S. Office of Management and Budget, for use in describing aspects of the New England region of the United States. A NECTA is a region associated with a core urban area with a population of at least 10,000, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting and employment. NECTAs are analogous to Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) and are similarly classified as either metropolitan NECTAs (corresponding to Metropolitan Statistical Areas) or micropolitan NECTAs (corresponding to Micropolitan Statistical Areas). A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 while a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000."

I am a bit of a geography geek. I look at lots of maps, read lots of statistics, and constantly compare my findings to my hometown. When comparing things you need to find the differences. Why is it that something works one place but it doesn't work in another. I have always noticed that most of the other bigger cities in New England are surrounded by smaller cities. Boston has its Cambridge, Quincy, Newton and Somerville. Providence has its Warwick and Pawtucket. Hartford it's West Hartford, East Hartford, and Weathersfield. Worcester has it's ... um ... Shrewsbury?

So according to the census bureau, the New England City and Town Area of Worcester actually ranks 7th in population behind Boston, Providence, Hartford, Bridgeport, Springfield and New Haven respectively. So out of all the bigger cities in New England our metropolitan area is dead last in population. Check out the numbers here.

We're still a city though. The next closest NECTA is Portland with almost 200,000 less. Here's the top ten:

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division (2,773,832)
Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan NECTA (1,291,932)
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metropolitan NECTA (1,059,878)
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metropolitan NECTA (892,283)
Springfield, MA-CT Metropolitan NECTA (668,960)
New Haven, CT Metropolitan NECTA (571,310)
Worcester, MA-CT Metropolitan NECTA (539,828)
Portland-South Portland, ME Metropolitan NECTA (333,624)
Nashua, NH-MA NECTA Division (291,674)
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division (280,997)

To me the key sentence here is this:

A NECTA is a region associated with a core urban area with a population of at least 10,000, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting and employment.

I have felt for a very very long time that Worcester, for whatever reason, hasn't developed an ingrained culture like many other cities do. You spend your childhood in the suburbs, you grow up, you get an apartment in the city, you meet someone, you get married, you buy a house, you start a family, you sell the house in the city and move to the suburbs, your kids grow up, the circle of life continues. You have an area filled with generations of people who are Worcester people. People who are "from Worcester" who don't actually live in the city limits. A local culture that revolves around the city of Worcester. I am not sure about Bridgeport and Springfield, because I think those two cities may be in the same boat that we are in, but I do believe that in the Boston, Providence, Hartford and New Haven areas you will most likely find generations of families like this. Not just living in the cities themselves but living in the suburbs. People that live one or two towns out from the city but know that "the best fresh baked bread around is at this little place", or "damn if you want to get a good burger you need to go to this place, I went there with my Grandfather every Sunday one summer when I was a kid."

I think this does exist in Worcester but I don't think it's as far reaching as in most other cities. I think there are a ton of people that live in the actual city who might make statements like this but I think you get into the bordering towns and that number drops sharply and once you start getting into the Oxfords, Charltons and Spencers of the world I would guess that the numbers drop even more.

Of course this is all just an observation not any type of solution. Just something I wanted to write out for the people like me who like to ponder the problems of our little corner of the world called Worcester. To go into the reasons why the circle of life I described above does not happen and why the populations of towns like Shrewsbury, Auburn, Holden, and Millbury did not grow along with Worcester's population is probably a very long and complex conversation. It is something to think about though.

What We Are Dealing With

2007-12-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

I got this through an email list I am a part of. It blew my mind. If people like this are going to start to get active then I absolutely need to get active. This is a proposed petition letter to city hall:

"We would like to raise our concerns about the proposed redesign of Federal Square Fountain and Plaza which has been put forward to buttress the re-development of the new Hanover Theater. The recently announced plans call for the complete elimination of the benches that are presently part of the plaza. While we recognize the value in improving access to the new theater from the Federal Square parking garage by removing fencing that hinders pedestrian traffic, we feel the removal of park benches and public seating is a step backwards. The removal of park benches frequently used by those who are low-income and homeless in exchange for improved pedestrian access is both an unnecessary trade-off and unacceptable direction for new development. Removing the benches effectively creates a barrier to the presence of the low income and homeless people who currently make use of these benches in Federal Square. At the same time, bench removal isn't necessary for improved access to the theater. Development in Worcester should be inclusive of everyone's needs in our community. For years, Worcester has taken active steps and engaged community residents in efforts to increase public space. It is important that we see Federal Plaza not simply as an "amenity" connected to the new theater, but as a community amenity as well. If we are to continue the journey towards being a creative city, increasing, rather than eliminating public space must remain a priority in all of our development efforts. We ask that you reject any redevelopment plan for Federal Square that eliminates park benches and community space. Sincerely,"

I kind of want to sign it. Because I don't want those benches removed either. To want to promote a little corner of downtown right in front of The Hanover as a refuge for the homeless is assinine however. The theater's success or failure means so much to the downtown neighborhood and helping the city become more of a creative and cultured city. A park full of homeless and alcohol and drug addled folk are not going to help matters. Are people really on this much crack? The concentration should not be giving them a gorgeous downtown destination to hang out in, the concentration should be in coming up with ways to make sure younger folks don't end up in their position eventually. They already chose their path, and yes it is sad. If we put all our rescources towards homeless prevention however, then we can actually wipe it out. These folks who have already reached the purgatory that is homelessness and addiction will take care of themselves eventually. We as a society should not be doing anything to make things more pleasant for them, that's not doing them any favors. If we can make that rock bottom rush up a little sooner that might help them out a bit. Really, let's not give them a comfy place to be on the nod. Now that we have that straight let's work on programs that will steer more people away from this type of life. Prevention. Say it with me. PRE-VEN-TION.

Here is a harsh reality for the young and idealistic because I was one of you and still am one of you in some ways and I am sure I still have many slaps in the face coming my way. Right now you don't have alot of disposable income. Once you get that social services job (that still isn't going to pay a whole lot) you are going to want to spend some of that money. The idealist in you thinks that when you start earning that extra money you are going to keep just enough to get by on and donate the rest to charities and organizations that benefit the community. If you were able to do this for a while that would be great. Or maybe you won't. Either way when and if you wake up in Worcester Massachusetts with dollars in your hand you are going to want to either spend some of that money on giving yourself a very well earned good time or go out and celebrate the fact that you and your charitable friends are better humans then those neanderthals that aren't so charitable. When you look around what you might find is that there is a very short list of bars, restaurants, shops and other things that you are going to feel good about handing your hard earned dollar over too. You will get sick of the fact that every Saturday there are only about 5 things that you and your friends can come to a consensus on as far as how you are going to spend your time and you do those 5 things for years and years over and over again. At some point you will say to yourself, "What the hell, Worcester?" This is the crossroads.

Some of you might think that last paragraph has nothing to do with the arguement. Trying to go into what these two ideas have to do with each other might take a book. I cannot begin to tackle this concept in one blog entry. I just tried and found myself going on and on without any conclusion. I think the only conclusion I can come up with is that I wish more people would put more effort into permanently fixing problems instead putting band aids on them. A park with a fountain isn't going to help the homeless. All it's going to do is make them forget for a while. Ultimately in the end it's up to them whether they want to fix their life. They won't take any of us up on our do gooder offers of help until they are ready. They won't be ready until they reach rock bottom. Let's not pull them away from the fire before they feel it's burn.

The Globe Throws Us A Bone

2007-12-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

Nice little photo slide show at boston.com featuring Ralph's and Gilrein's. It's good for a couple of our clubs to get some attention from the big boy paper. The shots of Ralph's in particular are awesome and really capture what a great place it really is. As I have said mainy times about Ralph's, it really does transend the mid sized city that it is in and has a world class feel as far as divey rock clubs go. You could drop it as is in a much larger city and it would still be one of the coolest places around to go get a burger and a beer and see some music. Nice to see it get some regional attention.

Update: I thought it was just the slide show but there's an article here too.

Another Update: I want to explain just what I think is good about this article. It's very simple actually.

Two dudes work in Woburn. Two dudes have no prior opinion about Worcester. One dude reads this Globe article on Sunday and goes into work on Monday. The other dude says to the dude who reads that he is thinking of moving to Worcester. The dude who reads says, "Oh yeah, I just read in the Globe yesterday that for a smaller city they have a pretty good thing going on for live music."

Of course if you rather we could have him say, "That place is horrible. Why would you ever want to move there?"

A Worcester Negamonger Challenge

2007-11-17T06:57:00.000-08:00

I have a challenge for the citizens of Worcester. This is what I would like you to do.

The next time you are out and about in the city and you see something you don't approve of or something bad happens to you personally or whatever happens that makes you swear under your breath, "F*cking Worcester" I want you to ask yourself how you got the perception that whatever you are complaining about shouldn't be the way it is. See if you can think of an example where whatever is bothering you isn't that way somewhere else. Then I would like you to think about whether that comparison is fair. I will give an example and this was also the inspiration for this.

Over at Wormtown Taxi on Thursday, Jeff posted a thought about city hall and whether our citizens lack of participation in their city's government might have something to do with the fact that there isn't much parking at city hall. At that point I tried to think of different city halls that I have had to go to over the course of my life.

The one I have had to go to the most is Worcester. There's plenty of parking, expensive and cheap, within a very very short walk of the building. I don't know if us common folk are allowed to park in the garage underneath the building. This is a big secret to me. Worcester has about 175,000 people living in it.

I have had to go to Government Center in Boston quite a few times. I always take the T there though. Never have I even had to think about parking my car there. I did alot of walking those days though. Boston has a population of about 597,000 people.

When I was living in Baltimore I had to go to City Hall once. I took a bus to the Light Rail and then took the Light Rail the rest of the way into downtown. Again, quite a bit of walking. Bringing a car into downtown Baltimore is ridiculous to me. I mean there is no where to park! There actually probably was but I didn't know enough about the city to know where that parking was. Baltimore has a population of about 641,000 people.

I lived in Oxford MA for quite a bit of my life. I had to go to the town hall often to pay for this or register for that. There is a parking lot in the back plus a lot at the Cumby's nextdoor. Really easy to get in and out. Oxford has a population of about 13,000 people.

I mostly grew up in Shrewsbury MA. I never had any business at the Town Hall in Shrewsbury but my parents often did and I accompanied them alot. Huge parking lot on site. Never a problem. There really isn't anywhere off site to park and walk to the town hall. Also of note, the town hall in Shrewsbury sits on a pretty large parcel of land that is so big that there is about 2 acres of just lawn. Shrewsbury has a population of about 32,000 people.

One time I had to go to Meriden CT to get a copy of my birth certificate. They had a parking lot out in back of the city hall. It was a little hard to find city hall through their maze of a downtown but I finally found it. There also seemed to be ample metered street parking too. I did my business but downtown was kind of a pain. Meriden has a population of about 60,000 people.

So this is my history of going to City and Town Halls. Two large cities where I did much walking and took much public transportation, one mid sized city where I parked and walked a couple of blocks to city hall, a small city where there was free parking behind city hall, a large town where there was plenty parking in the emence civic complex known as the town offices, and a mid sized town where there was a large public parking lot on site.

But of course what do I know. The only mid sized city hall I have been to is Worcester's so I don't think much of having to walk a couple blocks to get to city hall because it's all I know. Everyone who complains about not being able to park right at city hall must have been to mid sized city halls all over this country where you can park for free right on site to make Worcester stand out as this freak exception. This could be the case. It could also be the case that they might feel more at home in Boston, Baltimore, Meriden, Shrewsbury or Oxford.

So this is all I ask. When you have an idea of how something should or shouldn't be here in Worcester ask yourself where you got that idea from before you start condemning the city and make sure that your expectations are realistic. I mean let's face it, I think we would all love an NBA franchise here, and we all know Worcester sucks because we can't get one.

That last bit was sarcasm folks.

The Hanover Theater

2007-11-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

See the key is that for every negative post you need two positive posts.

The Hanover Theater in Federal Square seems to be coming along nicely. After working for so long on the actual theater it looks like they have finally started to work on the facade. It'll be cool to see how it progesses and I will try to keep you updated. I think they said Spring 2008 for the opening? Can't wait!

Follow the link above to tell them what you want to see. Vote music!!! Vote good music!!!

Murals Of People Painting Murals

2007-11-16T11:47:00.001-08:00

I know that in my previous post I talked about negativity and how the city has too much of it and that there really needs to be more positivity and less negativity in Worcester. Well sometimes negativity is justified and this here new fangled mural is one of those occasions.

If you aren't familiar with his piece of civic genious it is at the corners of Franklin, Foster, Green and McGrath. Now don't me wrong, I am not slamming the artists. They were commissioned to do some public art and they did some public art. The only problem is that the public art that they did is a mural of people painting a mural. Does anyone remember the totally bad ass Oilzum advertisement that used to adorn this space? And now we get this?

I am not one to criticize without suggestion but something way way way better that screams "We Are Worcester And We Are Awesome!" Could have gone here. This is the kind of mural that you put in a troubled neighborhood to show everyone that the neighborhood gets along and that we are all working together to make the neighborhood a better place. That is the message this mural sends. It should be saying that our downtown district kicks serious ass or at least give that message.

"Welcome to the Canal District"

"Welcome to Worcester"

"Welcome To Green Island"

Any of these would have been better then this. The city needs public art and I applaud efforts to make this city more asthetically pleasing to the eye but I cannot applaud this. Worcester needs beautification in the worst way but this is heading in the wrong direction. Whomever approved this needs a slap. This mural will hurt more than it helps. A mural of people painting a mural. Wow.

Progress Part 2

2007-11-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned previously I just moved downtown into the newly refurbished Bancroft Hotel building in the development that is known as Bancroft Commons. Bancroft Commons is not just the Bancroft itself but is actually a rather large mixed use development that is the Bancroft Hotel along with the entire block between Portland and Salem Streets minus the Printer's Building. The company doing the development is called the Mayo Group and from what I have seen so far they seem to really have their act together and have a tremendous vision of what their little corner of downtown Worcester can become. Of course, and probably for this very reason, there has been minimal press on the Mayo development. How much negative press has City Square gotten? Here we have a developer who is doing it and doing it right and very few people are even speaking about it. Worcester loves it's negativity and with City Square Wootown negamongers seem to have hit the motherload.

I have been here for one month and so far I love it. I know some things and I have heard some things. What I know is this. There is a Hookah Bar/Coffee House going into the space at the corner of Franklin and Portland. In the picture below you can see where the windows have been soaped at that space. There is a Super 88 going into the old Bancroft Nissan on Salem St. It will be nice to have a grocery store within walking distance just to pick up groceries. I don't mind going to Green Island for my meat and produce but I am kind of stuck when it comes to grocery. Super 88 will fill that need.

These are the things I know about. Things I have heard about that are not confirmed are that the Paris is being demolished, which would be awesome and take a heavy load off of the image of downtown. If Mayo successfully demolishes the Paris Connie Lukes herself should give John McGrail the key to the city. Also the two tenemant buildings on Portland are getting demolished and all of that open space is to be replaced with a brand new residential high rise. I have actually seen the artist renderings for this but you know, until I see actual progress on this front it is all hear say. I also hear that an established cafe in another area of downtown is going to move into one of the basement spaces in the Bancroft. I hope that happens soon. Those empty basement spaces look awful. Mayo should do something to dress those windows until something moves in there.

What I feel that Mayo is doing correctly is they are trying to bring people in before they do anything else. Before offices and before commercial. Offices and employees are great and we need them downtown but in my opinion you can only expect about 12 hours of vibrancy from people working downtown while you can expect 18 hours of vibrancy from people living here.

So I am very happy with my new abode downtown and happy to be contributing to what finally may be the rebirth of downtown Worcester. I have to believe in it you know? I really have no other choice. I mean if you had a son or daughter that made mistakes her whole life you would have no choice than to support him or her every time they made an effort to make strides in their life, right? I was on the fence for a very long time about this city. Now that I have finally decided that this is where home is, that Worcester isn't just a place I am temporarily but a place were I will most likely live out the remainder of my days I have never seen things clearer. And speaking of seeing things it's fun to see progress and change everyday. I have a pretty good vantage point too. Check it out.

There's No Bollards Like Show Bollards

2007-11-14T05:03:00.000-08:00

As first reported here and then commented again on over here , the city installed 45 bollards as part of the upgrade to the common a few years ago. Of those 45 bollards only 36 of them are actually secured to the ground.

I say we take the 9 that are not secured and line them up in front of the entrance to city hall. How does something like that go unchecked? You know maybe the city council should stop crowing about Berkley Investments, Young Park and City Square and start making sure that their own infrastructure, the stuff that they actually have control of, is ready for the added amount of pedestrians that the next few years are going to bring to downtown.

Reasons To Love Worcester That Would Make Most People Hate Worcester: Post #1

2007-10-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today I am moving some stuff into my new apartment downtown (more about that in another post) and after going up and down a few times I buy a drink out of one of the machines in the building and I go outside and start to drink it while enjoying the nice weather we are having. I have my head kicked back in classic drinking posture when all the sudden this voice is right up in my ear.

"YOU KNOW WHO'S PLAYING AT THE CENTRUM TONIGHT???!!!", the voice says.

I tell the dude he shouldn't just come up on people and yell in their ear like that.

He just gives me a funny laugh and yells again, "OZZY OZBOURNE!!!!"

Now when he first yelled in my ear my reaction in my head was like, "WTF, who is this annoying Worcester street person and what the hell does he want." Then I realized hey, this guy is probably in his early 40's. He has probably had a much rougher life then I can ever dream of having and today his favorite rock n roll dude is in town and that makes him so happy he just wants to tell everyone he sees on the street. I can actually relate to that. He even had some old Ozzy concert T shirt on.

Is his wierdo look and smushed mouth and missing teeth making my city a less attractive place? Sure. Not his problem though. A little public art and cleaner streets and buildings would help the city much more than this guy showering, getting some new clothes, and having some dental work done.

I am thrilled actually that this little guy is walking around my city today spreading the good word about his favorite rocker. I am a little dissapointed however in my initial reaction and what I am sure are going to be more reactions like this to this guy throughout the day. Even more dissapointing is the thought that someone might have a conversation with him today and go home to Holden or Sterling and tell their family how "run down" the city is becoming over chicken pot pie.

Irked

2007-10-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

So apparently there was an armed robbery yesterday in the Midtown Mall. I had just eaten breakfast about 6 hours prior to the robbery in the Midtown Diner.

The Midtown Mall has always been one of the saddest things to me about downtown Worcester. As in many things in Worcester the short sightedness of whomever the management company is who handles this place blows my mind. The Midtown Mall is so cool. The layout of the place. The narrowness of it. The atmosphere in there could be incredible. Instead we have what we have in there which is some pretty sketchy stores and a half decent breakfast/lunch place. One of the stores literally just seems like someone selling clothes out of boxes.

Unfortunately in this case, no one can go in and tell someone what to do with their private property. No one will open up anything half way decent in there due to most folks being scared as hell of the place.

If it were up to me I would boot some of the tenants in there when their lease is up and try to attract a different kind of shop in there. In the Worcester community I know of two different people trying to open up boutiques in the city and I am sure they would give the Midtown Mall a look see if it wasn't so unappealing to potential customers.

We can't however tell the folks who run the Midtown Mall what to do with their building. All we can hope for is that they see the fact that a different type of person is calling downtown home these days and that person is looking for more than knock off jewelry and clothes sold out of cardboard boxes.

Here is the small T+G article on the robbery. It generated alot of attention in the comments section:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20071025/FRONTPAGENEWS/71025004

One Side Of A Conversation About My Friend Worcester

2007-10-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

...He's coming over for dinner tonight. He's really a good dude. ...What's that? ...Yeah that's him, the overweight guy that needs a haircut. Yep. ...Yeah.... I guess I get used to the smell you know?.... You just have to get to know him I guess ... Yeah, but you have to get past all that, I mean listen, I know the dude really needs a shower and a shave and someone really needs to take him out to get some new clothes... What?... yeah, dude does really need to get some self esteem you're right. Actually the self esteem is almost more of a problem then the poor hygiene. I have never met someone that has such a bad attitude about himself then this guy.... What??!!Oh my god he's not scary at all! Yeah, I guess he does look kind of scary. Really he's just kind of wierd but he's completely harmless, he's probably more scared of you then you are of him.

But here is the thing though. I've known him since we were kids and we're like brothers. He's an amazing cook... Yeah really good, good musician too, and a good artist. He's got so many really good ideas but he can't seem to get off his ass and get anything going.

...okay, so you won't be over for dinner? That's too bad because I am telling you he's a real good guy and a good person to get to know.

Okay, take care of yourself, bye...

First Friday II

2007-10-05T02:50:00.001-07:00

Dell'ovo's Kitchen

2007-09-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I have noticed that breakfast has been getting more and more expensive. I remember a time when out of the three meals you could have out at a restaurant breakfast was always the cheapest. It seems that as of late prices have risen and breakfast is going to cost you as much as a good lunch and more than just a sandwich.

Because of this I was thrilled with my decision get breakfast the other day at Dell'ovo’s on Shrewsbury St. I always thought this little place was one of the many Italian restaurants along this stretch otherwise known as restaurant row. I walked in to find about six tables and a short counter with about 4 stools. Dell'ovo's appears to be simply a breakfast and lunch place.

I went up to the counter and was greeted with a bright smile from the woman behind the counter. I ordered french toast with a side order of sausage. Coffee came with this, but I chose a chocolate milk instead. I realized I needed something to read and went outside only to find the T&G box outside to be empty. When I went back in the lady at the counter as if reading my mind asked if I wanted a paper. I thought that was pretty cool.

My food came in no time. 3 slices of french toast on thick slices of italian bread sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar and two fat links of breakfast sausage. I read the paper and ate my breakfast. I have to say it wasn't bad. The french toast on Italian was a nice touch. The food, although fairly good, is not the appeal of Dell'ovo's however.

I finished my meal and went up to the counter to pay my bill. I am handed the slip and stare in disbelief. I look at my friendly waitress and ask, "Is this for real?" She smiles and nods affirmatively. The slip read $4.73.

$4.73 for 3 thick slices of french toast, 2 fat links of sausage, and a generous glass of chocolate milk. Wow. Wow is all I can say about that. I might have to get breakfast there every morning.

Progress in Worcester? Imagine that.

2007-09-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

The days of The Continental are numbered. By the end of May the title of coolest apartment on Beaver Street will be handed down to some undeserving Clark student and I will hopefully be settled into some new digs.

I talked earlier in the year of moving to Portland Maine and also talked about moving to Brighton. Portland would of course involve me having to quit my job and shortly after my Portland visit I learned that they started a new bonus program here that makes it kind of ridiculous to leave this job. At that point I set my sights on Brighton. I realized however that within a year or two I am going to be ready to buy something and I am sure as hell not doing that within the 128 loop. Being that I refuse to not live in the suburbs and I also refuse to quit my job and I also refuse to move out of Worcester, only to move back to Worcester a couple years later, well... that leaves Worcester.

For the most part I am okay with this as things are really starting to shape up here. People are still complaining but I have never seen so many things happening in the city as what is happening right now. And it's stuff that is actually happening not just being talked about. Worcester finally seems to be moving forward and the fact you can actually see it happening is kind of exciting.

I have stipulations though, and the biggest of which is that I need to be in a walkable neighborhood. Being there are only 2.5 walkable neighborhoods in the city (because let's face it, Highland Street is only kind of walkable, there's only about 4 or 5 worthwhile things to walk to) I need to put my focus on The Canal District/Green Island and Shrewsbury St or something very close to one of those neighborhoods.
I am pretty intrested in The Bancroft. It's affordable and it's being completely redone. There is going to be a fitness center, a lounge and a game room. When the building fills up I can only imagine that the empty storefronts in the immediate area will also.

I went down there on Monday morning to kind of skulk around and check out what was going on down there. I was standing out front putting the rental offices number into my cell when a pretty clean cut dude walks up to the front doors. I ask him if he lives in the Bancroft and he says no but he is with one of the companies contracted out to do renovations. I tell him I'm intrested in the place and he asks if I want to go up and take a look at some of the units he's working on. They look pretty nice, nothing spectacular, but nice all the same. This piques my intrest even more.
Last night I went down and parked my car on Franklin St around 7pm to see just how walkable the area was as far as the kind of stuff I would be into doing. I got out of the car and walked down Portland St and cut through a parking lot over to Madison St. Here I had options. I had brought a book with me with the thought that I was going to get a something to eat. Ping's was closed for renovations. I noticed however that somebody thought it was a good idea to open a conveniance store/deli in that plaza. OOF!

I then briefly thought about getting some Coney and then I thought well shit, let's see how far it is to just walk to Kelley Square. Where was I going to get dinner? Tony's? Yeah, I will just get a sandwich at Tony's. As I approached the Square though I saw Takara and made my descision. I walked in there for the first time and looked around and it just didn't feel right. It looked like a pretty good time and I wanted my first time eating there to be social. I will wait on that one. I decided to walk towards the Broadway, making a mental note to hit the Vernon at some point during my travels tonight and check out the open mic. I crossed the square and started walking down Harding Street and remembered that new Deli/Fruit stand place and made another command decision that if they were open that's were I would eat. They were closed and I was just about to take a right on Harrison and head to the Broadway when I remember that a couple weeks ago I was at Canal Fest and had one of the best burgers I have ever had at the Blackstone Grill booth. So I take a left instead of a right and walk up to Green St. I take a right on Green St and walk past the White Eagle and the new Banner Sports Bar which looks far from finished.

As I come up on the Blackstone Grill I see two tables out front and since it is such a nice night I decide then and there that I am eating outside. I go in and order the veal parm dinner which they are out of so I settle on the chicken parm. I notice they have beer, nothing too exciting but your basic Bud/Michelob/Coors selection. I buy a Bud bottle and get this: I proceed to go outside sit down at the table and drink it. That's right I was out of doors in Worcester Massachusetts, not fenced in like an animal and drinking an alcoholic beverage. In a very short time they brought my meal out, 2 giant slices of garlic bread and a huge portion of chicken parm. I ended up getting two meals out of it and I still feel as though I made a bit of a pig of myself. And this was no shitty pizza place sauce either. The sauce had some pretty awesome chunks of pepper in it.

So I am sitting out there, alternately looking at the Worcester skyline, the sky (I could actually see some stars!) above the asian jewelry store and reading my book. Some dude I don't recognize drives up to the Lucky Dog and gets out of his car and I realize it's Phil MacNamera. I wave to him and he comes over and sits down and we shoot the shit for a while. Erick Godin pulls up and I give him a wave and he heads into the Dog. I pay my bill, have the very friendly folks at the Blackstone Grill wrap my leftovers up, bid Phil a farewell and start walking back up Green Street, across McGrath and up Franklin to my car. I put my leftovers in the vehicle and kept walking.

I walked up to Main and took a right and walked past city hall and took a right on Front St. By this time it's about 9:30pm. I walk down Front and take a left on Commercial. Downtown is a ghost town. There is hardly any activity at all. The thing that strikes me the most though is all the businesses that are closed for the day that don't have any hours posted. Viva Bene I am looking at you!

I take a left on Exchange and look into the courtyard of what used to be the Firehouse or whatever other tons of names it has been since. One of the gates in is not locked and I contemplate going into the courtyard and nosing around but I decide against this and move on up Exchange St to Main.

I take a left on Main Street and notice right away that there are a few new businesses opening soon. A new bar where the old Octane was and a new cafe wer A'brizzio's used to be. If they make as good of a roast beef and turkey as A'brizzio's did I will be happy.

It's really wierd how downtown just shuts down on weeknights. Hopefully with more people living down here this will change. There is one thing I noticed over just about everything else. In all the walking I did in downtown and Kelley Square I never once felt nervous, scared, creeped out or intimidated. As I said, downtown was pretty much a ghost town. The only people I really saw were some folks hanging out in the open bars and folks walking in and out of the White Hen and Honey Farms. Green Island (or "The Canal District" as I guess they are calling it now, what the hell was wrong with Green Island?) had a bit more activity as there were more places open. Even with the activity and the couple of thuggish looking kids walking around I still felt very safe and secure. That's an important thing to note. Worcester, specifically, has a reputation as being a scary place. It's really not. It might be the most beautiful place, and it mide not be filled by the most attractive people in the world but most of them are harmless. I don't see you encountering any kind of random violent crime here as long as you are aware of your surroundings and don't walk into any dark alleys.

I then got in my car went down to the Vernon, got a beer and watched some of the open mic and then went to work for the night. A thing to note about this little adventure is the hard time I had making a decision on where to eat while I was on foot. I think that is pretty incredible. Living in Worcester and having whole weekends where I might not even have to move my car seems almost too good to be true.