At the April 25th meeting of the Board of Aldermen, a request was made that the Licensing Commission investigate why the Arts at the Armory used their driveway for a cookout and staging area on April 20th and report back to the BOA any violations that took place that day.
According to Alderman At Large Bruce Desmond, he received so many calls that he went to the Armory and found them using the driveway to prepare food for an event in the main hall.
This issue comes after the Zoning Board of Appeals approved numerous requests for the Armory that included later hours and the option to apply for an all-forms liquor license among others.
The Licensing Commission meeting starts at 6pm on Wednesday May 22nd and is conducted in the TAB building - 167 Holland Street - between Teele and Davis Square. Their agenda for this meeting has been posted for review.
7 comments:
And people were harmed by this how???
HOW? The potential for "harm" existed with the driveway blocked for use by emergency vehicles. Fire, ambulance, police for a multi-attended event.
Did all people involved in setting the more recent restrictions, limitations, etc., agreed upon by all concerned, really believe there would be no violations; or lacking a degree of common sense in not blocking a driveway for a function--or, or would occur because of a "lack of communication" with those in charge of running an event.
If they did there is a ocean-front property in Arizona I would like to sell.
OK, if they were blocking driveway access, yes, I see that is not good in the event of a fire. However this overall anti Armory attitude is troublesome. We should be supporting this community resource. If you want to live in a stuffy town where you have to drive to get to anything non residential, there are tons of other towns like that to choose from.
..."overall anti-Armory attitude is troublesome."
What begets "trouble" is when the restrictions and limitations agreed upon by the powers-that-be operating the armory, and adding a lack of common sense by whoever is running a function, are not complied with or exercised.
When neither, or one of the above, are allowed to occur guess who's quality of life is negativly impacted?
For the most part, not the persons attending a function,most who live far beyond the reaches of the neighborhood, but abutting neighbors, many of whom have been living there for years before the armory came to be what it is today.
Many of whom coming from "stuffy towns" where a situation such as Somerville's present day armory would never be allowed to gain a foothold.
Walk a mile in an abutter's shoes and you will readily see where the core of the "overall anti-armory attitude" exists.
You have not described a single case in which you have been harmed.
There was a 1/10th of 1% increase in risk of fire in the Armory due to lane being blocked. Yes that should not happen because we should be careful, but this is not a methadone clinic bringing terrible people into your neighborhood. It is increasing the quality of life in your neighborhood.
The fact that you lived there for years while it was vacant and had the expectation that is would stay vacant and abandoned, providing you with free parking, is irrational and irrelevant. Or do you want it to be condos?
To the last poster:
Your post is so loaded with misconceptions, untruths, unsubstiantated facts and lack of knowledge as to the subject building and neighborhood, etc., it barely warrants a reply.
1st---me being harmed?
The situation is what it is----a whole neighborhood/abutters have been harmed to one degree or another since ther armory was bought for its present use.
2nd--- you cited "1/10th of 1% increase in risk of fire due to the lane being blocked." Obviously meaning the lane block was no big deal!
Pray tell, where/how did you arrive at that statistical conclusion?
All buildings in Somerville are at risk to fire. Blocking an access lane contributes to first responders being hampered to fight a fire; a fire not caused by a lane being blocked.
That's why many smaller streets, alleys, dead-ends, are posted with a "no parking fire lane."
Altho it was noted that food for eating inside the building was being prepared in the driveway.
We can only deduce that a cooking fire, fueled by propane and/or charcoal, was being prepared in the access lane---possibly in violation of an ordinace that prohibits a cooking fire from being placed within so many feet of a building (10 feet). Not just the armory building itself, but also 10 feet from adjacent houses.
3rd--You defined persons attending a methdone clinic as "terrible people." Excuse me, but your bias is showing. Those unfortunate persons are there for help! No more or less terribile than those persons blocking the armory driveway.
4th--Nowhere in my posts did I say I lived there. Whether I do or not is irrelvent to my points made.
5th--As to living and moving into the subject neighborhood with the armory vacant and expectations as to the armory remaining vacant; and use of free parking, etc. you obviously do not know the history and uses of the armory.
Many, many, family units---still there-- took up residence in the subject neighborhood when the armory housed a military unit, a State Police Detachment, and subsequently other civic entities;
Once cleared of all of the above the building was continued to be used for neighborhood meetings from all over the city; with no "harm" to abutters or neighborhood.
lastly, all the present management has to do is to comply with the more LIBERAL (hours, liquor, noise, enhanced attendees,crowd control etc) requested by the armory powers in control recently negotiated---and exercise a degree of common sense which was absent when the access driveway was allowed to be blocked.
If not, then condos would be a better fit there!!
BTW---I neglected to, and intended to, respond to your comment regarding... "increasing the quality of life in your neighborhood."
1st----where did I ever state, in past posts here, it was, or was not... "my neighborhood."
Never said it was mine, or was not my neighborhood. Either way, I have the 1st Amendment, as a citizen of Somerville, to voice my thoughts and opinions on the subjec
You are quick to come back with unsubstantiated comments lacking, in-fact, substantiated support.
As to the "quality of life in the neighborhood being increased."
You gotta be kidding!!
Where and why do you think neighbors/abutters, from day-one, have voiced their concerns. Certainly not because their quality of life has been enhanced. On the contrary my friend!
The only quality of lives that have been increased are those people attending nightime functions---and return to THEIR peacefull neighborhoods located elsewhere.
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