City Services

Snow Emergency Declared: What You Need to Know Starts with Parking Ban in Effect at 10 PM on Monday

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Mayor Michelle Wu declared a snow emergency on Monday ahead of the forecasted winter storm. What does that mean for you? To start a parking ban is in effect starting at 10 pm on Monday night. Once the snow emergency goes into effect, vehicles parked on major roads and main arteries will be towed. Residents are also encouraged to sign up for emergency notifications through AlertBoston and to call 311 for non-emergency related issues.

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Neighborhood Life

Substation Issue Caused Wide-Ranging Jamaica Plain Power Outage

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On one of the coldest nights yet this winter, around 4,200 Eversource customers lost power on Thursday night in a widespread outage that ranged from the Forest Hills area stretching to towards Jamaica Pond. An Eversource spokesperson said the outage was due to an issue at the substation in Jamaica Plain, and that as of Friday the company was continuing to look into the exact cause by troubleshooting so it wouldn't re-occur. "The substation serves eight different circuits and while doing some planned work the circuit tripped, stopping the flow of electricity to all of them, which is the way it is designed, so we could safely evaluate the problem and make repairs," said Eversource Spokesperson Priscilla Ress. The outage happened around 9 pm, and power was restored to half of the affected customers in about an hour, and it took another 15 minutes for power to be restored to all customers, said the spokesperson. Affected areas seemed rather random and vast, which included Sumner Hill, Tower Street across from the Forest Hills MBTA station, the West Roxbury Courthouse/Morton Street area, Green Street, Louders Lane near Faulkner Hospital, Burroughs Street, and down Centre Street to The Joint.

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City Services

Cold Emergency Declared Thru Sunday: Key Safety Tips and Resources for You

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With wind chills expected to be in negative double digit temperatures on Friday and Saturday, Mayor Michelle Wu declared a cold emergency in the city for Friday through Sunday. Boston Public Schools cancelled school for Friday. and BCYF locations will be activated as warming centers on Friday and Saturday, but are not substitutes for childcare. A full list of locations and their hours can be found here. “Boston is moving quickly to ensure that everyone is protected from the intense cold weather that will start Friday and last through the weekend. I want to thank the many city teams who have already begun preparations and will be responding to this weekend’s brutal cold weather,” said Wu.

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City Services
Sidewalk shoveling, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015.

Volunteers Wanted: Councilor Lara Creates D6 Snow Program to Help Neighbors Shovel

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Many of us are able to shovel our walks, driveways, sidewalks, and so forth. There are also many people who need help. District 6 City Councilor Kendra Lara has created a program to offer shoveling help to those in need. "Our D6 Snow Collaborative Program, created in solidarity with our neighbors and in support of our Public Works Department, connects people in District 6 in need of shoveling assistance with neighbors who have volunteered their time," wrote Lara in an email blast. "We'll also reach out to our elderly neighbors to check on any support they might need during the storm."

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Environment

Photos: Magical Ice Formations at Jamaica Pond

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Local photographer and JP resident Shaheen Pooladvand was recently walking around Jamaica Pond and noticed these magical ice formations at the edge of the water. All photos courtesy of Shaheen Pooladvand. You can see more of Pooladvand's work on her Instagram.  

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Weather
Flooding in the Dominican Republic, November 2016

Donations to Help DR Flood Victims Accepted in Jackson Square, Online

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Devastating floods have hit the Dominican Republic. JP, home to a high number of Dominican families and businesses, is a collection point for donations to aid the recovery. Physical donations of canned food, diapers and shoes are being accepted at 225 Centre St., at the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, through 2 p.m. Sunday. You may also donate online via UnidosConRD. Here's how.

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Environment

Photos: Storm Knocks Down Trees, Shutting Down Roads, Destroying Property

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A quick thunderstorm rolled through the Greater Boston area Monday afternoon at around 4:30 p.m., leaving quite a bit of destruction in its wake in Jamaica Plain. Here are just some of the photos that folks on Twitter shared of storm damage, indicating fallen tree limbs and downed wires around the neighborhood. And the city was quick to get on removing downed trees.  

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Weather

A Towering Tree Topples on Tower Street

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A large tree splintered and fell Tuesday morning across the street from Forest Hills station in Jamaica Plain. John Godfrey posted the above photo on Twitter Tuesday morning. "My girlfriend heard a huge crack when it fell," Godfrey told Jamaica Plain News. "Somehow, no cars got hit, even the street is always busy." Godfrey believes a nearby home may have suffered minor damage, "but nothing terrible.

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