March 24, 2008
Drama on Upton Street
My Upton Street neighbors repeatedly embarrass me in front of the entire city when they voice hollow concerns over the Pine Street Inn purchase of three townhouses on their street. Hope House currently owns and operates the townhouses as a transitional-living facility for up to seventy recovering addicts. It wants to sell all three units to the Pine Street Inn, which will continue using them as a transitional-living facility, but for only thirty-six residents. The sale hit a snag when some whiners decided they no longer want a shelter in the neighborhood. The Union Park Neighborhood Association (UPNA) is up in arms because they weren’t included in any negotiations.
I’m not sure why UPNA members feel like they should be included in any Pine Street Inn business. Even association president Jerry Frank, who moved to Upton Street several years after the opening of the Hope House facility, admitted the association is sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. According to The South End News, Mr. Frank conceded:
“We’re going to find out how this happened, what the plans are … we want to address the economics of this, although it’s really not our business.”
Hope House used the townhouses in question as transitional-housing facility for over twenty-five years: probably longer than most of these whiney-assed Upton Street residents lived in the area. It’s unforgivable that these people saved a few bucks buying homes near a shelter, and now want to force the shelter out. Maybe they can push the Pine Street Inn onto some other less organized, less educated, less affluent families in some other neighborhood. Again, according to The South End News, Mr. Frank whimpered:
“We want to know why Pine Street Inn persists in pushing here when they know the neighbors object.”
Well, Jerry, the Pine Street Inn may not care that you don’t want it there. Keep in mind, you chose to move in to the neighborhood knowing what was there. Deal with it, Holmes.
Click here for more South End news and posts by Alyk
April said:
So let me get this straight. The Pine Street Inn wants to REDUCE the number of people living in the transitional housing from 70 to 36 and the “neighbors” have a problem with this? They moved in knowing it was there and NOW have a problem with it?
Sounds too much like Framingham politics to me.
March 24, 2008 11:43 AM
alyk said:
April, you summed it up perfectly. Did you read the original post at The South End News? The more I read, the more embarrassed I was.
March 24, 2008 2:35 PM
Lisa said:
I want to know why they moved into the neighborhood in the first place if they knew the shelter was there? Appartently, rich people have no life so they need something to whine about.
March 24, 2008 3:32 PM
james said:
They sound like a bunch of dumb-asses. It sounds like the association president is saying “wouldn’t have had a problem if you just consulted us first, but because you didn’t consult us, we you need to leave.”
When that yahoo said they got rid of 80% of the board members because they weren’t listening to their concerns, did he mean they didn’t support banning the Pine Street Inn? Were the concerns they weren’t listening to the hollow concerns about the sale?
What a jackass.
March 24, 2008 5:28 PM
Katie Carson said:
I only care about poor people in far away countries and, even then, only when my kids won’t finish their dinner and I need a source of guilt on the double.
March 24, 2008 8:10 PM
John said:
Yup, I guess it’s true.
The South End really *is* over.
March 24, 2008 9:29 PM
jill said:
Man the Pine Street Inn looks so good from the outside but is so so nasty on the inside, at least that’s what the cop bf tells me. I don’t know where these neighbors think these people will go, Christ, they’re humans too. And it’s not like it’s in a super uppity up portion of the neighborhood, it’s down the street from the bf’s station which is down the street from the projects. Puh-lease ( as my 4 year old niece would say).
March 24, 2008 10:15 PM
bigeddie said:
I don’t think they care where these people go, just as long as it’s away from Upton Street. Maybe those a-holes could volunteer for the Inn, and make sure the houses are kept up on the outside. It’s not really the best reason in the world to volunteer for anything, but it’s a start.
March 24, 2008 10:26 PM
April said:
You’re right Aly. the more I read the more irritated I got. Especially once I read it was permanent long term housing that they were planning. They have even MORE regulations in those types of programs then they do in transitional housing.
Please keep us posted on this.
March 24, 2008 11:58 PM
Ta2dMom said:
That doesn’t even make any sense. Surely, they’d welcome LESS transient population, someone regulating things etc.?
March 25, 2008 9:30 AM
andream said:
Where are Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn when you need them?
March 25, 2008 4:57 PM
haha said:
hmmm…
the number 1492 comes to mind…
and
everything after that…
is just history
March 25, 2008 10:41 PM
Kristie said:
That’s so absurd and sad.
March 26, 2008 7:01 PM
Brookie said:
If there were less people in shelters wouldn’t more people be out on the street?
March 27, 2008 11:15 AM
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