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Comments
I don't even see how this is
I don't even see how this is up for debate. It is state land. The state should provide at least the majority of the necessary funding. This isn't some little residential park. Just think of all the many millions the office workers and tourists who use this park pay to the state in taxes.
It's an issue because the
It's an issue because the Greenway Conservancy is grossly inefficient. In an ideal world, the Greenway would be just another park managed by the state DCR or the city Parks Department. Instead, we have a quasi-private organization funded by public dollars that costs $300k an acre every year to basically cut the grass.
A few years ago their management woes were big news:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2012/12/18/rose-fitzgerald-kenne...
You get what you pay for
I've worked with DCR and the City of Boston Parks department and the Greenway to run events on parcels all over town. The city and state are awful, every time. The Greenway is always amazing. They have great staff who work very hard to make that park the gem that it is. There's a reason the events are better, there are plentiful food trucks, there's always art, the grounds are always beautiful, the fountains always work, and the parks are always packed on the Greenway. It's because they have funding and vision and that allows them to have talented staff.
No other park in metro Boston even comes close in terms of a total package of horticulture, programming, and size. There's a whole lot more happening there than just "cutting the grass."
Start charging rent
On the businesses making a killing by operating on the Greenway.
Define 'making a killing.'
Define 'making a killing.'
Does they get a "credit"
Does they get a "credit" against that rent for the 50 years the disgusting old central artery ran in front of their buildings?
The businesses along the
The businesses along the Greenway would already be paying higher rent. It's the people who own the buildings that make a killing. They raise rents as the area becomes more popular.
But nobody
Will lose their VERY lucrative pay grade.
Should of been cut long ago.
All mgt, maintenance, landscaping, etc should be bid honestly and you'll see the $$$$ won't be missed.
Self-sufficient?
It's a PARK. A park that bisects the city. How exactly should it be self-sufficient? Should it sell tickets to walk through it? If that state wants to cede the land to the city, that's one thing, but refusing to pay for upkeep on one of the prettiest parts of the city is a really crappy thing to do.
The state probably means it
The state probably means it wants the Greenway to subsist on the interest from its endowment, not the principal. Greenway can also make money by hosting events - like the Thursday night block parties at Dewey Square, local food festival, etc.
As the article mentions, there was a huge controversy about how the Greenway Conservancy utilizes funds. Check out how big its staff is: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/about-us/conservancy/staff/. It should probably be managed the same way the Common and the Esplanade are. It should be run either by DCR or Boston Parks Dept, not by some random pseudo-public organization. Not sure why the Greenway has this special designation.
It wasn't rolled into DCR or Boston Parks because
It was as chance to create a brand new kingdom out of thin air. Complete with high paying jobs for part time overseers to be dolled out to people as political favors. Welcome to Massachusetts.
Well said, erik g.
The funding for the Greenway shouldn't even be cut. If they do cut funding for the Greenway, I think it's safe to assume that the people who're now in charge in Washington have a great deal to do with it.
Yup
I'm sure Trump is anti-Greenway funding. Great call.
Washington?
Hope your snark button is locked in the on position.
If they don't cut Greenway funding - they have to cut spending it on something else. What should be cut to spare the Greenway?
Cut Convention Center subsidies
Convention Center subsidies.
Costs
I don't understand why it costs so much to upkeep. A $5m budget for a park. Landscapers can't cost that much.
Well,
There's directors, managers, administrative assistants, lawyers, accountants, connected hacks, insurance premiums,.......
It's a mile long
It has something like a dozen discrete parcels, each with their own unique maintenance needs. It has fountains, a carousel, multiple different types of gardens, many hundreds of trees, tons of signage, free WiFi, benches, tables, chairs, umbrellas. It hosts hundreds (yes, hundreds) of events each year. It's got art, music, lighting, and more. And almost all of it is free. Those amenities are second to none, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people a year, and cost about the same as two weekends of security for the president his trips to Florida.
I93
They're also cutting funding for I93 under the Greenway, right? It's not self-sufficient either.
Soon all state parks will have to be self sufficient
The greenway, really a median strip interrupted by highway on and off ramps, was stripped down below what was promised. Now even the meager greenway will have to turn into a self sufficient lawn?
Will this be true of all state parks and recreation facilities, Baker has made more cuts and approved fees at state parks in next years budget. (read his lips, no new fees, except for working people who don't own vacation homes).
Will the convention centers also be asked to be self sufficient, or do we need to continue to subsidize them?
When the city didn't want to
When the city didn't want to pay for the Franklin Park Zoo, they gave it to the state. It's about time the state gave this turd to the city and be done with it.
Greenway is supposed to be
Greenway is supposed to be operated by that conservancy trust (or whatever it's called), which is why they get to operate in much more of a closed-books manner.
If the state has actually been funding to such a degree for so long, then their payroll should be available public information like the other agencies.
Turn it over to the city of
Turn it over to the city of Boston and let them mow it . Enough of this Greenway excellence. Perhaps run a trolley line down it, the North / South connector, there you go!
Have Rose Kennedy's heirs pay for it
Although they never met a tax they didn't like for us, the Kennedy's, to enjoy the lower taxes, claimed Rose was a citizen of Florida at time of death, even though she was long in a vegetative state in Hyannisport and hadn't seen FL in decades.
Married to a corrupt, pro-Hitler apologist, two son's who authorized wiretapping of Republican Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in an attempt to undermine the Civil Rights movement, another who left a woman to die while he swam to safety and prepared his political lifeline while offering none to her, and allowing the Josef-Mengle like lobotomy on a flirty daughter, Rose is a thorn in most other states.
If the Kennedy's want her name on it, let them pay for it. Same for the Ted Kennedy
Pub and GrubMuseum on Columbia Point. The Rose Kennedy median strip would be just as nice with corporate sponsor naming rights, "G.E. Greenway" "Fidelity Greenway" etc. I believe the Republican Sheriffs of Bristol and Plymouth County have talented prisoner-landscaper crews who would cut the grass for free, eliminating the massive Greenway bureaucracy.Thezak, is that you?
Your ability to bend any conversation to your favorite topic is pretty impressive.
The GE Greenway? So you don't
The GE Greenway? So you don't want taxpayers to fund parks, but you are OK with taxpayers giving 100+million dollars to GE and them returning a little of it to put their name on a park? Better to just have the state put the money directly into the park instead of funneling it through some corporation.