They don’t, actually. Not in any meaningful way. What I meant to type was parking, not Kardashians. Sorry. Parking, the way we manage it here in Newton and how that affects traffic, local businesses, and residents—that will be the topic of a public forum on May 17.

Print out the flier (PDF).

On the face of it, parking may not be as thrilling a topic as what passes for entertainment today. But parking is a limited commodity in Greater Boston, and therefore valuable—and not only to shoppers. Village center restaurants are beholden to antiquated zoning that limits their seating (and therefore revenue). Retailers need affordable parking for their employees. The list goes on.
[Read more →]

I’d been watching for Newtonville Books to open in their new location at 10 Langley Road in Newton Centre ever since the store announced their plans to relocate a few months back.   I wrote one of our Village Business Profiles of Mary Cotton and Newtonville Books about a year ago at their old location, and have been a long-time fan and customer of the store.

As of April 1, Newtonville Books is open for business and feels like it has always been part of the Newton Centre village community.  I popped in one recent afternoon to buy a book for my niece (at 6-going-on-7, she is already an avid reader) and business was brisk.  Many customers congratulated the staff on the new store, and commented on how much they liked the new space.

Even though the new store is technically smaller than the old space on Walnut Street in Newtonville, it has a much better floor plan so feels brighter and airier.  The check-out desk features a cool display of stacked books, and is a centerpiece of the front room.  A clever book shelving system in the main browsing room enables all of the shelves to be pushed to the perimeter, creating tons of space when the store hosts one of its many  events.  Events have always been a hallmark of Newtonville Books, and I am pleased to hear that they continue to plan to host between 75 and 100 readings, book club discussions, author appearances, and other events annually.  In fact, the desire to improve access to events — specifically via access from the MBTA stop in Newton Centre – is one of the factors behind the move.

So welcome to Newton Centre, Newtonville Books.  Live long and prosper!

I just uploaded this to Village 14, but it belongs here as well:

Cash Mobs – organized, roving, cash-wielding, gangs of local-spending consumers – have been in the news several times over the past few weeks. There’s even a blog set up to coordinate efforts, and a self-designated International Cash Mob Day (which we missed – it was last weekend).

These groups have set upon local businesses in several local communities (including Boston) in order to show support for struggling local businesses.

As support for our Villages goes, this is pretty informal and short-term. But we do have Newton Serves coming up on April 29, and all of our fine folks are likely to get a little hungry weeding, mulching, painting, and even cleaning up the remains of a few skating rinks. Maybe a few of these folks might then want to descend upon the villages with cash in hand when lunchtime comes around?

The Village Bank and Newton Community Pride are sponsoring a food drive April 2-16 to help stock the shelves at the Newton Food Pantry. Collection boxes will be located at the bank’s branches in Auburndale, Newtonville, Nonantum, Newton Highlands, Waban and West Newton.

Food drive donations can also be brought to Newton City Hall on Sunday, April 15, during registration for the 20th Newton Heartbreak Hill International Youth Road Race. This is the bank’s fourth year sponsoring the food drive.

Contributions of non-perishable foods, toiletries, diapers, and cleaning products are recommended.

And if you miss the food drive, donations are always welcome at the Newton Food Pantry and the Centre Street Food Pantry. Check their websites for details.

Aldermen on the city’s Zoning and Planning Committee (‘ZAP’ for short) have scheduled a public hearing for Newton residents and merchants to weigh in the the proposed “mixed-use” development of property at the MBTA’s Riverside Station along Grove Street.

The proposal and details of deliberations dating back more than a year may be found on the Riverside page of city’s website.

The three aldermen from Ward 4 (Auburndale) have filed language limiting the Riverside development to a specific number of square feet, one office building, no more than 290 housing units in two buildings.

The docketed language also limits retail space 20,000 square feet. That’s roughly 40% less retail square footage than is found in the entire village of Waban, and around 10% smaller than the space occupied by West Newton Cinemas. [Read more →]

At a public meeting on February 12, the Urban Falls Greenway proposal–a rail-to-trail project–was endorsed 9-0 by the Upper Falls Area Council.  Thanks to Village14 for announcing the meeting and to all the activists who are making it happen!