On Tuesday, resident Chris Hoeh took the podium at First Church to announce that Franklin Park Area Stop the Olympics was in place and in your face.
Saying that “Jamaica Plain stopped I-95 and we can stop the Olympics,” he urged everyone in the sanctuary to come out to the Mayors Boston Olympic Community meeting on June 30 to say Franklin Park and Harambee Park ( Franklin Field ) are not for the Olympics. “The meeting is a great opportunity!”
In a hand-out, the group stated that Franklin Park Area Stop the Olympics was formed “in response to calls for locally organized resistance….We will help stop the Olympics and build the city we need.”
Hoeh – who lives on Adelaide street and is grade school teacher – spoke at the conclusion of a lecture by Smith College Professor Andrew Zimabalist on the “Economic Gamble of Boston 2024.” The talk was sponsored by Jamaica Plain Forum and Papercuts JP.
Zimbalist said that the Olympics bid by Boston was an “illegitimate public process” because “no political body” submitted the bid. It was submitted, he maintained “by the construction and hospitality industries.”
Hoeh’s group intends to change that political dynamic. Formed last Thursday, the group of five announced not only its presence but its methods by holding its first protest at White Stadium dressed as oligarchs “surveying our new playground,” in the words of their website.
The five came in on childrens’ hobby horses emphasizing the Boston 2024 plan to use Franklin Park for horse trials. They chalked in blue and red the words “IOC Property” on the walls of the Stadium. By Tuesday morning, a Boston Public Schools crew had removed the writing, according to an email received by Christine Poff, executive director of the Franklin Park Coalition.
The new protest group published photographs of the action their website.
Their website states that Franklin Park Stop the Olympics is “fighting for our community and against the Boston Olympics.”
Differences of Opinion
Hoeh admits he has not been involved with or talked to the Franklin Park Coalition or the Sportsman Tennis Club or Franklin Field Tenants Task force at Harambee Park.
That a group barely a week old did not talk with the Franklin Park Coalition, widely recognized as the major advocate of Franklin Park for forty years; that has also been closely involved with the Olympics process for months, speaks loudly about the level of polarization seeping into the Boston Olympics debate.
Cole Rainey-Slavick told Jamaica Plain News that the Coalition “has been bought off” by Boston 2024.” Echoing the words from those involved in stopping I-95, Slavick said “This is my community; I don’t want it ruined.”
Poff, of the Franklin Park Coalition told Jamaica Plain News that Hoeh has not been involved with the Coalition but came to its May 9 annual meeting and asked direct questions about the Coalition’s position on the Olympics.
“We’re been frustrated” Poff said.”We don’t want to risk losing badly-need investment in the park – that Boston 2024 might bring – but we realize the park is fragile and very historic so we’re afraid for the consequences.”
The Coalition has not taken a formal position for or against the Olympics.
“We are concerned first and foremost and only for Franklin Park” said Poff, who is the sole full time staff person of the Coalition. “That’s what the board and volunteers and I do. But we need more information about the impact of he Olympics on Franklin Park.”
Mayoral Olympic Meeting Coming to JP
More information may come out of Mayor Marty Walsh’s Tuesday, June 30 Olympics meeting at English High School. The session starts at 6:30 p.m.
More action appears on the table, too. Hoeh said that a planning meeting to chart responses to the hearing by Franklin Park Stop the Olympics will be held on Tuesday, June 23 at Spontaneous Celebrations.
Strong doubts are in place already. As resident Laura Foner pointed out, June 30 is also the deadline for a preliminary submission by Boston 2014.
“Are they just going to roll out a plan and have us approve it? What kinds of deals are being made? These people aren’t stupid,” Foner said.
Poff, of the Franklin Park Coalition, cautiously sees the debate about Boston Olympics as potential to get badly-needed investment into the historic landscape of Franklin Park.
Hoeh, of Franklin Park Area Stop the Olympics, steadfastly sees the debate in apocalyptic terms.
“If you saw a hurricane coming,” Hoeh said, “wouldn’t you want to stop it?”
