Subscribe:
RSS feed
A community blog in Lynn, MA.
Neighborhood Upgrades–A New Series
My follow-thru with series of posts on a particular theme is not the best. Nevertheless, I give you my first Neighborhood Upgrade, posts singling out improvements to my neighborhood, my littler corner of the universe. I’m going to try to keep it local at first, but who knows what this may develop into. […]
Posted in: Neighborhood Upgrades
Lynn’s Clean Team Shines This Summer
August 27, 2012
Guest post by Roxanne Nealon, Communications Director at Centerboard. The infamous “Clean Team” has become a well-known presence in the city throughout this summer. This group of eleven youth spent their summer vacation cleaning up some of the city’s most run-down areas. They braved intense heat and humidity to reach their goal of making […]
Posted in: Youth
Finding Solutions or “There’s More than One Way to Skin a Rat”
August 23, 2012
I feel obligated to write about Tuesday’s informal meeting of the Ordinance Committee called to discuss the rat/trash problem we have in Lynn. After all, Councilor Darren Cyr invited me and I got to sit at the big table. I even got to speak my piece. Part of me feels like “This is family business–don’t let any […]
Posted in: local government
Trash with a Capital T & That Rhymes with G & That Stands for Garbage!
August 19, 2012
Yessir, trouble right here in Ocean City. Trash trouble. What will the good citizens of Lynn do to keep this ball of trash rolling? Demand more from their city government? You bet! Only we want this ball to get smaller. There’s a special meeting of the Ordinance Committee on Tuesday, August 21 at 6:30 PM in […]
Posted in: Litter
The Ordinance Committee Talks Waste Management
August 14, 2012
The acoustics of Room 402 leave much to be desired. Subtract the presence of carpeting due to renovations and add the open windows due to the lack of air conditioning in City Hall and what you get is a frustrating exercise in listening to the City Council Ordinance subcommittee meeting where solutions to Lynn’s trash problem […]
Posted in: Uncategorized
An Apology to Centerboard
August 5, 2012
I regretfully admit that I made an error in judgement in my post Trash Talk. In that post, I gave the impression that Centerboard owned the property at 56 Essex Street where I documented an accumulation of trash in bags on the sidewalk. I threw out the unsubstantiated allegation that Centerboard contracts with the owner […]
Posted in: Community Service
Trash Talk
August 1, 2012
Every Wednesday morning for the past few weeks, on the way to the train station and in the aftermath of what the Item has dubbed the ticketing blitz, I’ve been taking pictures of the trash left out for collection. For the past two weeks, it looked like this: I posted last week’s picture on the Lynnside […]
Posted in: Litter
Human Rights Commission Vacancy in City of Lynn
July 30, 2012
The deadline has been extended to Friday, August 3, 2012, 12:00PM, for applications to the Human Rights Commission recently proposed by Councilor at-Large Hong Net and created via ordinance by Lynn City Council. Notice is hereby given that the following vacancies which are appointed by the City Council exist: Members of the Human Rights Commission. […]
Posted in: Community Service
Sticking My Nose Where It Don’t Belong
July 29, 2012
I just met the new tenants moving into the commercial space next door. You know, the one that’s been home to several different convenience stores in the last 2 years, remained vacant for months at a time and once housed 4 bored and horny pitbulls, one of which almost burst through our fence. These are […]
Posted in: neighborhood
Dumpster Day This Saturday
July 19, 2012
“Bring me your clutter, your bric-a-brac, Your dusty junk yearning to escape, The wretched crap of your teeming domicile.” 2012 SUMMER DUMPSTER DAY… CLEAN OUT YOUR ATTICS, CELLARS AND GARAGES! DROP OFF: Department of Public Works, 250 Commercial Street DATE: Saturday, July 21, 2012 From 7 AM To 2 PM NO PAINT – NO HAZARDOUS […]
Posted in: Community Bulletin Board
What I Learned When a Car Slammed into my House
July 18, 2012
In case you didn’t hear, a car slammed into my house Sunday night. No one inside the house got hurt, but the drivers of the 2 cars involved were injured. Fortunately, there was no blood to clean up; only oil. I was mainly thinking about the damage to my house. What does that say […]
Posted in: Uncategorized
Citizens Advisory Council and Mayor’s Challenge
July 12, 2012
I’m surprised and happy to see these things on the city of Lynn’s website Homepage: Application For Lynn Boards and Committees Mayor Kennedy is accepting applications for positions on City of Lynn Boards and Committees. Current positions available: Off Street Parking Commission Citizens Advisory Board Traffic Commission Zoning Board of Appeals- Full and Associate Members […]
Posted in: Community Service
Where Do We Go From Here? Toward a Sustainable Solution.
July 7, 2012
I’ve noticed a definite improvement in the way residents in my neighborhood are putting their trash out since we first called attention to the rat problem 2 weeks ago. Most bags are being placed on top of trash cans instead of on the sidewalk. At 68 Essex, there have been no signs of life. There […]
Posted in: Health and Safety
A Slum by Any Other Name
July 2, 2012
I heard her say that word. “You’d call this a slum? I asked. Wearily: “I don’t know…the rats, appliances left on the sidewalk…yeah, I’d call this a slum.” She’s lived on Howard St. for 10 years. We were talking about–you guessed it–the rats. The word slum touched a nerve. I certainly didn’t want to admit […]
Posted in: neighborhood
Mayor Refuses Emergency Funds for Rat Control to Budget
July 1, 2012
Thank you Media Seth! I didn’t stay at City Hall for the 8 o’clock city council meeting on June 26, and missed some lively discussion on the budget. Thank the gods you were there to record the whole thing unedited. I would have had to rely on a 3rd person account if you weren’t there, […]
Posted in: local government
Forgive us Our Trashpasses
June 28, 2012
Good landlords do what Maria Rodriguez and Felix Espinosa did at 68 Essex St. Bad landlords on the other hand, like KJ Realty Trust of Saugus (look it up on Patriot Properties), which owns the commercial lot next to mine, leave their properties looking like this, even after repeated attempts by the city to get […]
Posted in: Litter
One Small Victory in the War on Trash
June 26, 2012
Last Monday, this driveway was a mess, the poster child for neighborhood blight, a perfect storm of overflowing refuse. I’m kicking myself in the pants for not taking a before picture. So this is what a story in the Lynn Item can do for you. According to my neighbor Steve, who lives across from this […]
Posted in: Litter
The Lynn-side Edition 
September 9, 2012
4