UPDATE:
Good news all around for our sidewalk planters: Cedar Grove Gardens has already replanted/replaced all the planters affected by the weekend’s vandalism at a generous discount and Boston Police Department C-11 will have access to security footage from one of our local businesses, whose cameras captured some of the incident just before 2am on Sunday morning (two white males seemingly in their 20s).
Thank you to all who have reached out with support and offers of assistance, including especially the financial pledges from the adjacent St. Mark’s Area Civic Association and several local businesses (The Modern Dog Boston, The Maneikis Companies, Inc., Crawford Drug, and Mohawk Real Estate & Insurance)!
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Earlier this week, our district sidewalk planters program was attacked. Planters furnished by Greater Ashmont Main Street as part of our Beautification & Public Spaces work and maintained by several local businesses (the Ashmont Grill, Ashmont Cycles, Yankee Insurance & Real Estate, EXIT Bayside Realty, Crawford Drug, Metro PCS, Mohawk Real Estate & Insurance, The Maneikis Companies, Inc., and The Modern Dog Boston), with help in Peabody Square from many neighborhood volunteers as well, were vandalized. Seven of the terra cotta style planters along the Dot Ave sidewalk were overturned, stolen, or had their plants thrown into the street sometime between Saturday morning and Sunday midday. Then, around 1:30 am Monday, one of the larger concrete planters in Peabody Square was hit by a vehicle who left the scene, collapsing one of its side walls. The combined damage estimate is about $800.
As has so often been the case when confronted with adversity, our community has quickly rallied to support the work and vision of a beautiful neighborhood for all. Crawford Drug, The Maneikis Companies, Inc., Mohawk Real Estate & Insurance, The Modern Dog Boston, and St. Mark’s Area Civic Association have already stepped forward to offer donations to defray the costs of replacing/replanting the affected sidewalk planters, and Cedar Grove Gardens will generously be doing the work for us at a steep discount. We are grateful for the many business, associations, and neighbors who call our district home and for your constant partnership towards creating a beautiful and welcoming Boston Main Streets district for all of us. Thank you!
Those desiring to help us replant or to support our ongoing beautification work in the district can give financially at greaterashmont.org/donate/ or give of your time and energy by participating in our next conversation about plans for these sorts of initiatives going forward, Deep Dive re: Comfort & Image (Dot Ave Visioning) in our offices on Saturday, July 29th, 10-11am (co-hosted with the office of Boston City Councilor Andrea J. Campbell).
