‘A Space That Will Help Everybody In This Community to Bond Together’

The former Blessed Sacrament Church, empty for a decade, will become a cultural center for Boston and neighborhood hub for Hyde and Jackson squares. That's the vision laid out by Claudio Martinez, executive director of Hyde Square Task Force, the youth development organization that has taken on the enormous task of turning the vacant church back into a vibrant community building. Martinez, in an interview done Saturday while the church was open to public for a mayoral visit, said the building would be used for a variety of uses once renovated. One one hand, as a function hall for neighborhood gatherings like quinceañeras and first-birthday parties. On the other as a civic center with arts programming, talks, debates and movies.

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Brad Brown at the State of JP forum, Feb. 27, 2014

JP — ‘The Greatest Place to Live in North America’

Thursday night, more than 250 gathered for a forum addressing racial justice and equity. Here are a few short clips of residents reflecting on the "State of JP." Betsaida Gutiérrez

These comments, from perhaps JP's most well-known advocate of affordable housing, are in Spanish. Scroll to the bottom for a rough translation into English. Native speakers, let me know in the comments if I missed anything!

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