Environmental Justice - a plea from a concerned citizen

Comments by Judith Grove at the February 10, 2015 Board of Selectmen Meeting


 A group of concerned Town Meeting Members and residents is here tonight to address the issue of Environmental Justice in Framingham.  We are a community of over 68,000 people inhabiting an area of 25 square miles and possessing a diversity of neighborhoods and people.

Most of us are familiar with the lovely neighborhood of the Framingham Centre Village Green which is bordered by the Village Hall, the History Center and colonial churches.  We look forward to the Farmer’s Market and the Concerts on the Common.

On the southeast corner of Framingham is an area about twice this size.  It is bounded by Beaver Street, Leland Street and Irving Street.  Within this densely populated area are three known toxic chemical sites. This is an Environmental Justice Neighborhood.

For over 100 years (late 1880s to 1960s) companies like Dennison Corporation, Old Colony Tar Company and Com Gas located factories there because the area possessed railroads, waterways and a ready population of workers.  These businesses brought jobs and prosperity

Injustice to an Environmental Justice neighborhood

Read article: Framingham residents raise concerns about mulch pile fires

Read article: 350 Irving Street - facts you need to know

Read article: 350 Irving Street: a continuing contaminated site

 

A pattern of Framingham employees paid after resigning?

By Jim Haddadin
Daily News Staff,
Posted Feb. 23, 2015

Alison Steinfeld didn’t have trouble finding work when she left her position as Framingham’s director of community and economic development in 2013.

Within days of her departure, Steinfeld, a Harvard-educated planning professional with decades of experience in the public sector, was hired as the head of Brookline’s planning department, a post that had been filled on an interim basis for months.

Framingham residents raise concerns about mulch pile fires

by Danielle Ameden
Metrowest Daily News, February 19, 2015

Southside residents complained to the Board of Health this week about mulch fires spontaneously igniting on contaminated land at 350 Irving St.

Town Meeting members Judy Grove, George Lewis and others said they worry about the risk to firefighters and the public because of toxins in the ground.

Misconceptions of a Skateboarder

Samuel Marcincavage, son of  Katherine Lopez. 
Read related article written by parent

Skateboarding is a sport that is uniquely different from all others. It doesn’t require a team competing for a common goal. There isn’t a legitimate system that judges how talented a skateboarder is. There is no league regulating how skateboarding should be done. Skateboarding is an individualistic sport that provides infinite potential for progression. There is no limit on the amount of tricks that can be learned or landed. With stair sets, handrails, ledges, and street obstacles everywhere, the world becomes a skateboarder’s playground.

Toxic Smoke Danger at a Contaminated Site

from George Lewis
Town Meeting Member Precinct 18 Chair

"And once they start, peat fires can burn for years..."

At 350 Irving Street, there are serious concerns about Landscape Depot, Inc. for these reasons:

        1. In the last 4 years, the Framingham Fire Department has responded to 14 incidents of mulch fires at Landscape Depot. It is unknown how many fires occurred that were not reported.

LaBarge: Is there a two-tier justice system in the Town Government?

Comments by William J. LaBarge, Town Meeting Member, Precinct 18 Chair
Article from FramGov dated February 7, 2015

On February 7, I got word that one of our dogs was at the Town pound and we were going to have to pay $45 to bail that dog out. After paying the $45, we were issued a $100 fine citation for that dog getting out again. I was very upset, but I went to the Town Clerk office to pay that fine.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander