Real Estate

Letter to the Mayor About Moving JP Post Office

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Here is the letter about possible relocation that is posted at the Jamaica Plain Post Office:

Jan. 9, 2015

The Honorable Martin Walsh

Mayor, City of Boston

1 City Hall Square, Suite 500

Boston, MA 02201-2013

 

Dear Mayor Walsh:

The United States Postal Service is considering relocating the retail services currently provided at the Jamaica Plain Post Office ("Post Office") at 655 Centre St., Boston, Massachusetts to a yet-to-be-determined new location with the same Zip Code area. The Postal Service is considering relocation because its lease at the present location will terminate shortly and it has been unable to reach an agreement with the property owner for a new lease to remain in the property. In undertaking this project, the Postal Service will complete a process set out in 39 CFR 241.4 for gathering input from the community and local officials. The process includes a public meeting to discuss the project with the community and solicit comments for 15 days, then the Postal Service evaluates the comments and makes an initial decision whether to proceed with the project.

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Business

Caffè Nero JP Slated to Open on Thursday

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Caffè Nero is set to open its JP location on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. Credit: Chris Helms

Jamaica Plain's newest coffee shop, Caffè Nero, is scheduled to open at 8 a.m. Thursday. While many residents have welcomed the family-owned coffee house, others decry an international chain planting its flag in competition with mom-and-pop coffee purveyors. Caffè Nero has said it aims to provide a European-style coffee house where guests are encouraged to linger and talk.

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Business

Statement from Harvest Coop Board on Closure of South Street Store

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On Tuesday, Harvest Coop announced it will be closing its 57 South St. store. Below is a letter from the community-owned grocer's board of directors. Background

The Harvest Co-op Market on South Street in Jamaica Plain is facing the end of its lease term on February 28, 2015. The store has operated in this location for 15 years and has been a valued part of the neighborhood since it opened.

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Photo of the Day

Stepping Into the Mural

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Boston Eliot Street Mural, December 2013. Credit: All rights reserved to fotosqrrl

Don't you love how the people on the sidewalk seem like they're part of this Eliot Street mural? Great street photography and composition by fotosqrrl, who shared this photo in the Jamaica Plain News Photo Pool on Flickr. Each weekday we post an image from around the neighborhood. If you have a photo that screams (or even whispers) "Jamaica Plain," here are four ways to nominate it as our "Photo of the Day":

Email me at chris@jamaicaplainnews

Tag a picture on Twitter with @02130News

Put your photo in the Jamaica Plain News photo pool on Flickr

Tag a picture on Instagram with #02130News

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Business

Harvest to Shutter South Street Store in Mid-April

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Harvest Coop announced Tuesday it would close its 57 South St. grocery store, saying the "trajectory of the business model has become unsustainable." The announcement — not unexpected in many quarters — comes one week after members of the coop packed a board meeting to talk about the possible closure. At that meeting, held Jan. 5, only members of the coop were allowed in to the tiny Forest Hills Street room where the meeting was held. As resident Kendra Nordin previously reported, the meeting was held in two shifts to accommodate all 60 people who showed up.

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Photo of the Day

Throwback Thursday: Centre Street Teens, Circa 1971

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For our Photo of the Day on Thursdays, we highlight an image of old JP. This week it's a glorious slice of life on Centre Street, circa 1971, by Spencer Grant, from the Boston Public Library's Flickr collection. The firehouse in the background, as most residents know, is now JP Licks. In addition to the BPL's collection, The JP Historical Society's photo archive is a neighborhood treasure. Please visit it!

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Police and Fire

Gun-wielding Robber Takes Cash, Smokes From JP Variety Store

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A South Street bodega suffered an armed robbery Tuesday. Witnesses told police a man came into JP Variety at 162 South St., brandished a small handgun and made the employee put cigarettes, cash from the till and more cash from the clerk's wallet into a plastic bag. According to Universal Hub it was about a dozen packs of smokes. The man fled on foot toward the Southwest Corridor Park, said Police Officer Rachel McGuire. Cops found his footprints ended in tire tracks.

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The patio outside the Harvest Coop on South Street
Business

Whole Foods is Killing the South Street Harvest

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SECOND UPDATE: The Coop announced it will close the South Street store in mid-April. UPDATE: The Harvest Coop board has announced it has made a decision — but hasn't made that decision public yet. ~~~~~

Members of Harvest Coop packed a board meeting Monday night to talk about the possible shuttering of the communally-run grocer's South Street location. Only members of the coop were allowed in to the tiny Forest Hills Street room where the meeting was held. As resident Kendra Nordin reports, the meeting was held in two shifts to accommodate all 60 people who showed up.

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Business

Future Unclear for Harvest Coop’s South Street Location

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The lease on a popular coop grocery store is up on Feb. 28, fueling speculation on whether the location will stay open. Harvest Coop has two locations in JP — its original South Street location and a newer outpost in Forest Hills. A board of directors meeting has been set for Monday, Jan. 5, in JP.

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A shooting took place at 128 South St. about 11:40 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 26, 2014.
Police and Fire

Cops: South Street Shooting Was Gang Related

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Police say a shooting in broad daylight Friday on busy South Street is probably gang related. To judge from the bullet holes left in the car, more than 10 shots were fired. The violence, which took place right in front of James's Gate pub, wounded one man in the leg. Boston Police said the man, whose age they do not yet have, was shot about 11:40 a.m. Friday at 128 South St. His injuries aren't life-threatening, said Police Officer James Kenneally.

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