Author: Claire Law

  • Town and firefighters clash over plan to cut minimum staffing, reduce overtime

    Sam Mintz and Claire Law

    Brookline firefighters this week took to the sidewalk outside Town Hall to protest a decision by the town to reduce minimum staffing levels.

    Town leaders say the change is necessary to ease strains on the town budget caused by ballooning firefighter overtime. The firefighters union says it would increase their workload and make their jobs less safe.

    The latest disagreement marks an escalation of a dispute between the town and its firefighters that has been simmering for months over issues of overtime and staffing at the department.

    The firefighters’ latest union contract expired last June, and negotiations over a new contract, unsuccessful so far, are entering mediation with the state’s Joint Labor-Management Committee.

    What’s new?

    The escalation of the dispute began when the town’s Select Board voted to reduce the minimum number of firefighters required to be on duty on any given day from 29 to 23.

    Citing “management rights” to set staffing levels following the expiration of the contract, the town is moving to institute the new “flexible staffing” plan starting on July 1.

    The town says the change is necessary to ease strain on the under-pressure municipal budget by saving at least $1.5 million a year in fire department overtime costs, which have ballooned in recent years.

    Currently, the department schedules 36 firefighters to cover each 24-hour shift. If more than seven are absent or request leave, the department must cover those positions with other firefighters earning overtime, according to the expired contract.

    Under the new plan, which the town calls “flexible staffing,” the fire chief would have the discretion to accommodate up to 13 absences – effectively lowering the minimum number of firefighters required to be on duty.

    In practice, it would also lower the minimum number of firefighters needed to staff a truck from four to three, which has been a hotly-debated point in the protracted contract negotiations.

    “This strategic adjustment is based on longstanding staffing models that have been used in virtually every other Metro Boston community,” Town Administrator Charles Carey wrote in a detailed statement  published by the town. “It also addresses the significant challenges the Town has faced in managing escalating overtime costs, which have placed an unsustainable burden on municipal resources.”

    A graphic produced by the town laying out the planned changes to firefighter staffing. Photo courtesy town of Brookline

    The change, Carey said, will also help avoid layoffs and lay the groundwork for a future expansion in South Brookline, which has been a community priority.

    While the town says that the department can maintain its safety standards under the change, the union, which has argued that the department needs increased staffing, is crying foul.

    “Brookline Firefighters have consistently prioritized public safety and have remained open to good-faith discussions,” the Brookline Fire Fighters Local 950 IAFF union said in a statement. “This unprecedented reduction would increase firefighter workload and jeopardize firefighter safety, hampering firefighter effectiveness and endangering lives.”

    “This change will make our job unsafe,” said Justin Robinson, a lieutenant in the department and president of the union. “When you put more work on somebody, regardless of what the job is, you end up not doing things right. And in our job, seconds and minutes matter.”

    The union also sees the change as illegal, violating the terms of their expired contract, which remained in force until the town’s recent decision.

    The two sides have launched competing PR campaigns. The town published a lengthy website with graphics making its side of the argument. The union rallied its members outside Town Meeting this week and handed out lawn signs to supporters in the community.

    Carey said in an interview that he believes the two sides have maintained a “good faith working relationship” despite “a tough issue where we really stridently disagree on a lot about it.”

    Firefighter overtime a pain point for town

    In the big picture, town officials say overtime use in the department puts pressure on an already strained municipal budget.

    For the past three years, the town has paid more than double the amount it budgeted for overtime pay for the Fire Department, according to a memo  presented by Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Charles Young at a March 11 Advisory Committee meeting.

    A Flourish chart 

    This fiscal year, the town increased its Fire Department overtime budget by $300,000, but is still projecting to be over budget by nearly $1 million.

    Between receiving less federal funding, dealing with a strained school budget, and rising costs in general due to tariffs, Carey said, next year doesn’t look promising either.

    “It’s not sustainable,” Carey said. “The town cannot keep paying that much money in overtime.”

    The town declined to comment on the reason behind the increase in overtime pay. However, one reason suggested in the memo is a high rate of firefighters taking leave on weekends.

    “Overtime costs accrue quickly when several firefighters call in sick over the weekend,” it says.

    Robinson said the union believes leave has stayed largely consistent throughout the years, and that the increased overtime pay can be attributed to other factors.

    One, he said, was a 2023 decision that allows for 12 weeks of bonding time for both parents when a child is born. When firefighters are off for leave, others are required to fill in and may need overtime pay.

    “We are a young department,” Robinson said. “You have a lot of firefighters starting families.”

    Three or four person crews?

    Staffing and minimum crew sizes have also been a subject of dispute since well before the latest move by the town.

    Young’s March memo stated that the most effective way to deal with the overtime deficit would be to change minimum staffing from four firefighters per “apparatus” to three.

    The union has strongly challenged that idea, and in a report recently published by its parent organization, the International Association of Firefighters, argued that staffing levels should increase given Brookline’s density.

    Currently, the Fire Department staffs a minimum of four firefighters for each of its five engines and two ladder trucks, with a deputy chief in charge – a minimum of 29 firefighters at any given time.

    Fire Chief John Sullivan said in an email he thinks the department’s staffing is adequate, but declined to comment further.

    Robinson said that with the number of “runs” per year creeping up to 10,000, current staffing will soon be insufficient.

    Call volume, he said, has increased by 37% over the past decade and 15% in the four years between 2019 and 2023.

    “If you imagine water being poured into a cup, we’re at the top of the cup right now and starting to slowly spill over,” he said.

    The union’s report recommends that in the long term, the department should increase staffing to five firefighters per engine in some parts of town and six in the densest areas, to be in line with standards put forward by the National Fire Protection Association recommendations.

    “At the end of the day, firefighting is low tech. The work is still overwhelming numbers, and a lot of water,” Robinson said.

    According to Young’s memo, changing the minimums “would not necessarily result in all apparatus running at fewer than four, and instead the Chief would have the discretion to determine which apparatus could run with fewer than four and maintain current levels of fire safety.”

    A number of nearby communities, according to the memo, operate with a minimum of three firefighters per engine or ladder truck. Carey pointed to Newton and Cambridge as examples of other municipalities that do so. Boston, on the other hand, maintains four-person minimum crews.

    In his statement, the town administrator said that the new flexible staffing model, which in practice allows for three-person crews, is necessary to prevent layoffs.

    “The only budgetarily sustainable alternative to flexible staffing would be to close a fire company,” he wrote.

    If the minimum crew sizes were to decrease permanently, Robinson said, it would change the way the firefighters do their job and increase the time it takes to put out fires.

    “If you take one person off the piece, the job doesn’t go away,” Robinson said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t stretch a hose line, but it’s harder to do and takes longer.”

    The union’s report describes a “two-in, two-out” policy set by OSHA, the federal work safety agency, that requires four firefighters to be present before going inside a burning structure.

    A reduction to three-person crew sizes, the union contends, would mean firefighters would have to wait for another truck to arrive before entering a burning building.

    “Every tragedy starts with bad decision making, and some of that bad decision making can go back decades,” Robinson said.

    A fire burned on Craig Place in April. Photo courtesy of the Brookline Fire Union.

    What’s next?

    Robinson said throughout his 27-year career, there have been many periods where firefighters were working under an expired contract. For him, it meant having to keep up with increased living expenses, but not seeing increases in his salary.

    The union, he said, is continuing to try to raise awareness about staffing issues and is considering its legal options around the latest dispute.

    Town officials say they are expecting litigation from the union, and that case law supports their rights to set the minimum staffing outside of a new contract.

    It would be the second major lawsuit over the fire department’s overtime in Brookline in recent years after a previous dispute was settled in late 2024.

  • Select Board candidates answer questions from public ahead of election

    Dozens of residents gathered at town hall last Wednesday for a forum with Select Board candidates ahead of next month’s election.

    The forum, hosted by Brookline Neighborhood Alliance, was one of several featuring the three candidates vying for the open seat on the town’s five-member Select Board: architect Carlos Ridruejo, photographer Liz Linder and entrepreneur Michael Rubenstein.

    All three candidates are members of Town Meeting, the town’s legislative branch, and have served on various town committees.

    When asked what made them different from the other candidates, Ridruejo noted his unique perspective as an architect. Linder emphasized her front-row seat as someone who works in Brookline Village. Rubenstein mentioned his experience leading a software development company.

    Resident Anne Trecker said she had watched a previous candidates forum online, but this was the first she had attended in person.

    “I know these people, and I was anxious to see how they presented themselves to answer the questions,” said Trecker, a former town meeting member. “I learned a lot tonight.”

    Questions from residents centered around development and the town and school budgets. The candidates answered five questions submitted in advance by the Brookline Neighborhood Alliance, then spent the remaining half of the session answering questions from the audience.

    On the issue of balancing neighborhood character with the need for more affordable housing, all three candidates stressed thoughtful planning.

    “We really need to think about valuing what we have, like tree canopy, walkability, as we move forward,” Linder said. “I’m excited about development … but it has to be done so that it fits in the neighborhood, or it’s not a good neighbor.”

    On budget challenges, Rubenstein said the Select Board needs to continue fixing inefficiencies in town services, and needs to find ways to increase revenue instead of relying on cuts every year.

    Ridruejo said the two problems could be solved in tandem, by encouraging more commercial development.

    “Commercial development has a lesser strain on town services versus the taxes it collects for mixed use,” Ridruejo said. “Residential is always a loss.”

    Another topic raised was whether Brookline – the largest town in Massachusetts by population — would benefit if it were to become a city. As a city, an elected city council with 7 to 24 members could replace the 255-member Town Meeting as the legislative branch, and the Select Board could be replaced with either an appointed manager or an elected mayor.

    Linder said she wants to learn more about potential benefits but likes that town government is accessible to its residents. Ridruejo noted that the town’s current structure, which has 255 members of town meeting, might allow for more diverse viewpoints than a smaller city council would.

    Rubenstein said he wants a formal process to evaluate whether Brookline would be better as a town or city.

    “We should talk about the challenges of getting sufficient input, versus the challenges of actually making progress towards articulated goals,” Rubenstein said.

    In response to a question about how the Select Board should deal with “bullies” at the federal level, Linder said the town is less dependent on federal funding than Brookline schools are. Ridruejo said that projects that expect federal funding, such as the Beacon Street Historic Bridle Path Reconstruction , may have to consider the possibility of not getting it. Rubenstein said the Select Board plays a role in evaluating the town’s strengths and values.

    “The first question I come back to is, what are the values that we hold, and how are we communicating and sharing those values?” Rubenstein said. “We have to understand our finances, understand where we have risks of losing federal funding if we take certain positions, and where we don’t.”

    The three members balked at answering a question about what they would do about racism in Brookline if elected to the Select Board, instead speaking about the benefits of diversity in the community and the need to understand others in the community.

    Arthur Conquest, who had asked the question once before, at a prior forum with the same candidates, said later in an interview that he’s still not completely satisfied with their answers.

    “One of the ways that people answer the question is by avoiding it,” said Conquest, a Town Meeting member for Precinct 6. “If you notice, there was only one other Black person here this evening.”

    Resident David Lescohier, who attended the meeting, said what he values in a Select Board member is the ability to challenge their own opinions.

    “I don’t expect to always agree with them, but I value a Select Board member that I can approach and talk to,” Lescohier said. “There’s a kind of flexibility, if people aren’t wedded to some ideology.”

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism

  • A tribute to William Dawes, Revere’s lesser-known compatriot, rides through Brookline again

    Crowds at Coolidge Corner waited Monday morning for the first batch of marathon runners to pass through. Two blocks away, a smaller group waited instead for the arrival of a man on horseback.

    They were waiting in the lawn of the colonial-era Edward Devotion House for the annual Patriots’ Day reenactment of the ride of William Dawes — the lesser-known “midnight rider” who was dispatched alongside Paul Revere the night of April 18, 1775.

    A resident in a tricorn hat strapped a drum and a set of pipes to his waist, playing melodies on the fife, a shrill instrument used by colonial military musicians. People took turns passing around a 12-pound cannonball, while the president of the historical society explained that a Brookline woman had dug up the centuries-old artifact from the ravine behind her house. Another resident came dressed as the founding father Henry Knox.

    “I’m not wearing my buckled shoes at the moment, because I’m going to be down at the marathon later,” said J. Archer O’Reilly III, vice chair of Revolution 250, a nonprofit coordinating events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution.

    Save for the sneakers on his feet, O’Reilly was faithful to his role. Asked for his name, he produced a card that listed Knox’s name across the top in capital letters.

    Everyone stopped what they were doing when shouts were heard at the end of the street, accompanied by the clop of hooves on pavement.

    A man in colonial attire rode onto the lawn, followed by a second man on horseback and a horse trailer. “Dawes” had arrived.

    “I must warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the regulars are out,” he declared, referring to the Regular Professional soldiers of the British army.

    “You’ve arrived early, William,” said a voice from the crowd.

    The man playing Dawes dismounted from the chestnut horse and launched into rhyme.

    “Poets have never sung my praise. Nobody crowned my brow with bays,” he said, his voice ringing out across the yard. “And if you ask me the fatal cause, I answer only, ‘My name is Dawes.’”

    Resident J. Daniel Moylan played the fife as he waited for “Dawes” to arrive. Moylan said he taught himself to play the instrument, which was played by colonial military musicians. Photo by Claire Law

    The 1896 poem he recited, “The Midnight Ride of William Dawes” by Helen F. Moore, is a parody of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride,” the 1860 poem that gave Revere his posthumous fame . Neither man had been widely recognized before they died, and some theorize  that Dawes was overshadowed by Revere simply because his name is more difficult to rhyme – even though Dawes’ ride was riskier. While Revere crossed Boston Harbor, Dawes rode across the land out of Boston, which was then still a peninsula.

    Brookline is one of several stops between Boston and Lexington made by the National Lancers, a Framingham-based volunteer cavalry militia troop that has performed annual reenactments of the rides of Dawes and Revere since 1920, said troopers at the event, who were dressed in the Army uniform.

    The Lancers, which served in the Civil War and World War I, now operate as a ceremonial unit as part of the Massachusetts Organized Militia.

    Eric Gallant, a staff sergeant who portrayed Dawes, said in an interview that he’s had the job for 14 years, sometimes playing Dawes and other times Revere. The second man on horseback, he said, is a guard dressed in the militia’s red uniform.

    “A lot of people see the red uniform and say, ‘The British are after you,’” Gallant said with a smile. “It’s the National Lancers uniform.”

    Unlike the National Lancers, Dawes hadn’t stopped in Brookline but passed through the town after making his way through British checkpoints along the Boston Neck, then went on to Lexington, where he met up with Revere.

    Brookline, which was originally a hamlet in Boston before becoming a separate municipality in 1705, had a front-row seat to the Revolutionary War.

    In December 1772, the small farming community made a committee to talk with Boston and other towns about the British government’s infringements of their rights, according to Brookline Historical Society President Ken Liss. The following year, Brookline joined other towns in protesting the tax on tea, shortly before the Boston Tea Party. In 1774, the town sent two delegates to the provincial Congress meeting in Concord.

    Goddard Avenue in Brookline is named after John Goddard, a Brookline man known as the “wagon master” for the Continental Army, Liss said. In the month leading up to the war, Goddard transported supplies from Boston to Concord, including rice, flints, barrels of linen, casts of leaden balls, and loads of canteens.

    During the revolution, the British had fired at Brookline Fort, but they didn’t fire back, according to Jesus Maclean, curator and caretaker of the Edward Devotion House. Brookline men were engaged in battle, however, at North Cambridge, where they met British soldiers who were retreating from the fight at Concord. The town clerk, Isaac Gardner, was the only Brookline man to fall in battle – he was shot and bayoneted from behind, Liss said.

    “So, that’s the story of Brookline’s involvement,” Liss said.

    After Brookline, the Lancers would make additional stops including in Allston, Cambridge, and Arlington, before arriving in Lexington Monday.

    “Prepare to mount,” called out the troopers’ brigadier general, Len Kondratiuk.

    Gallant climbed on his horse. As Dawes, he addressed the small crowd a final time, before riding down the street, tailed by the guard in red and the troop’s horse trailer.

    Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the year that Brookline became a separate municipality from Boston. 

  • Introvert-approved: a Brookline library book club where silence isn’t awkward – it’s the point

    A silent book club meets monthly at the Coolidge Corner branch of the Brookline Public Library. Photo courtesy of the Brookline Public Library.

    Bring any book you want to this book club.

    There are no assigned chapters, no fishbowl discussions – just readers enjoying one another’s silent company, lost in their own books.

    Here, reading is a social activity – but not one where there’s pressure to share your thoughts on your reading, said Brookline resident Kaarkuzhali Krishnamurthy, founder of the group and one of seven people who attended its monthly meeting Thursday night in the Coolidge Corner library.

    “We often think of reading as a solitary thing that we do, and it doesn’t have to be that,” said Krishnamurthy, who goes by her middle name, Babu. “We’re all looking for new ways to make connections.”

    The group’s meetings are modeled after those of Silent Book Club, an organization with chapters worldwide. Krishnamurthy said she’s applying to become an official chapter – until then, they’re calling themselves the Silent Book Group.

    Krishnamurthy started the group in September as a way to create a natural opportunity for people to meet other readers. Loneliness, she said, is not uncommon, especially for adults, who might not have as many built-in opportunities for community as children or students.

    “You have your work friends, you may have friends left over from college, but new opportunities to meet people can be limited,” Krishnamurthy said. “I welcome this as a chance not only to meet people whose just natural paths through life wouldn’t necessarily cross mine, but also as an opportunity to meet people at different stages of their life.”

    There is power, Krishnamurthy said, in simply being with others.

    “It’s not dissimilar to when people go to coffee shops to write, or to do personal activities, but to do it in the company of others,” said Krishnamurthy, who was reading “Three Junes” by Julia Glass.

    The group meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Coolidge Corner branch of the Public Library of Brookline. The meetings, which are free to attend, start with half an hour of snacks and conversation, before a silent hour of reading.

    “You don’t have to have access to reading materials on your own,” Krishnamurthy said. “You could pick something up at the library as you come downstairs.”

    Shannon McDonald, supervisor of the Coolidge Corner braanch, said it’s nice the book club is at the library rather than at a coffee shop or bookstore.

    “Libraries are the ultimate ‘third place,’” McDonald said, referring to a term in sociology meaning a place other than work or home. “Public libraries are one of the few places where anyone can come in, and there’s no expectation they spend money.”

    McDonald said programs like this at the library allow people to meet.

    “We’ve got a small group of regulars,” said McDonald, who ws reading “The Ballad of Never After” by Stephanie Garber. “It’s so nice to check in with everyone each month.”

    Brookline resident Peggy Morrison, who attended a meeting for the first time Thursday, said she loved the idea of a silent book club.

    “Nobody’s going to say we need to discuss,” said Morrison, who was reading a book written by her son. “Everyone has what they want to read.”

    For Krishnamurthy, the meetings are strangely rejuvenating – like a retreat, she said.

    “I feel like in all the other aspects of my world, I’m just so acutely aware of time,” said Krishnamurthy, who is a neurologist, bioethicist, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “Here, it’s just so relaxing. This, to me, is like more than a spa. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this getting a pedicure.”

    The book club meetings allow her to honor the act of reading, Krishnamurthy said, simply by making time for it.

    “It’s not reading as an afterthought,” she said. “It’s purposeful. You’re there for exactly that reason, and no other.”

  • Independent pharmacy opens in Washington Square, offering alternative to crowded chain stores

    Days before New England Pharmacy & Wellness opened, owner Sepideh Amirifeli was already fulfilling prescriptions and getting to know patients.

    The independent pharmacy opened Thursday at 1655 Beacon Street in Washington Square, bucking a national trend. Nationwide, nearly one in three pharmacies have closed  since 2010.

    Amirifeli, who lives in Brookline and goes by the name “Dr. Sepi,” opened the pharmacy as an antidote to chain pharmacies where service can feel less personal

    “We don’t want people waiting to get their medication in the line for hours,” she said. “I decided, what if I have my own place so I can help people exactly to their needs and consult with them properly?”

    The store’s opening harks back to a pre-2000 era, when independent pharmacies dotted every neighborhood. Nowadays, independent pharmacies make up just over a third  of retail pharmacies in the country but collectively fill only around 20%  of all retail prescriptions nationwide.

    Amirifeli, who was a Walgreens pharmacist for five years, said the volume of customers there made for long wait times and a pressured pharmacist, which made it difficult for patients to ask questions. Once, she said, a woman waited in line for over half an hour – not to pick up a prescription, but just to ask about her husband’s weight gain after taking a medication.

    “Over there, the system is crowded … one pharmacist has to work the whole shift, even if we have 400 patients,” Amirifeli said. “Here, we’re going to provide health care to people.”

    At her pharmacy, she said, patients can have more one-on-one time with the pharmacist, either by appointment or whenever they stop by.

    Amirifeli said pharmacists can play a huge role in health care. Besides filling prescriptions and giving vaccinations, she said, pharmacists can teach patients how to use their medications, talk about side effects, give advice on over-the-counter drugs, and guide patients to see a doctor.

    “I can say, OK, you’re taking this medication,” Amirifeli said. “You should take this vitamin. Or, you have to take this medication in this specific way in order for it to be effective. Or, you want to take this medication in the morning – you don’t want to wake up so many times at night to use the bathroom.”

    New England Pharmacy & Wellness owner Sepideh Amirifeli. Photo by Claire Law

    Amirifeli, who grew up in Iran, has experience both as a physician and a pharmacist. She was a doctor in Tehran and then in England, she said, before becoming a researcher at Brigham and Women’s hospital. Then, she worked as a fellow at Tufts Medical Center doing research in pediatric neurology, before going back to school to become a pharmacist.

    For now, Amirifeli is the sole pharmacist working alongside two pharmacy technicians. If needed, she said, she will hire another pharmacist so that she would still be able to provide personalized experience.

    Elsa Chulvis-Avalo, one of the pharmacy technicians, said Amirifeli is the most well-informed pharmacist she’s ever met.

    “Once she’s focused on something, she’s not going to stop until it’s done,” Chulvis-Avalo said. “It’s a great inspiration to be around people like that.”

    Chulvis-Avalo said she’s excited to be working at a new business, especially one where she has more time to get to know patients. It’s a stark difference from her previous jobs at Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital – fast-paced environments where she mainly focused on dropping off medication without much interaction with the patients.

    “I hit the jackpot,” Chulvis-Avalo said. “It’s like a new family, and you grow together … I’m excited.”

    The store will host a grand opening April 29 that will include food, a $100 raffle, branded mugs and tote bag giveaways, and a ribbon cutting ceremony.

    Amirifeli’s 14-year-old son, Amir, hung out at the store for a few hours Saturday, giving suggestions on what she should purchase for the store – like a little stand to display her business cards on the counter or a hopscotch rug for kids.

    Brookline resident Sarah Coggan, who picked up a prescription last week said Amirifeli was welcoming and asked Coggan what items she would want the pharmacy to stock.

    “When it comes to something like a pharmacy, it is part of how you take care of yourself, so I think having a good relationship with the pharmacy is important,” Coggan said. “It’s not a chain, so the money that people spend there will go back into the community.”

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Faith groups and activists mobilize in Brookline to support immigrant families

    Speakers represented groups including La Colaborativa, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, and Immigrant Family Services Institute. Photo by Claire Law.

    Around 100 people gathered last Monday night at First Parish in Brookline to learn about ways they can help immigrants in the Boston area.

    They filled the first 10 pews in the sanctuary — a room with arched entryways, stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings with exposed wooden rafters.

    “It’s hard to know where to begin, in figuring out what we can do as the changes happen in this country with the new administration,” said Bob Taube, 77. “I’m hoping to learn what others are thinking and what they’re doing, and finding some way to participate.”

    The forum, hosted by Activist Evenings, the Brookline branch of D.C.-based left-wing nonprofit Indivisible, was one of several recent meetings organized by Brookline residents, many of whom are members of various congregations.

    Get the latest Brookline news free in your inbox.

    All fields required. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Laura Walters, an organizer of the forum, said many residents across various faiths and congregations have come together in a renewed collective effort, connecting with one another and the broader Brookline community, to share ways people can help immigrant families nearby. Activist Evenings, Walters said, is co-led by five women, some religious and some not.

    “We’re reaching beyond our own faith communities,” said Walters, one of the group’s five leaders.

    Jennifer Wofford of Brookline hosted a Zoom event Thursday, the third in a series of virtual meetings she has led in the past couple of months to share ways people can support immigrant families, either volunteering or lobbying campaigns.

    “We try to create space and ways that people can take action, without any pressure,” said Wofford, a social worker. “They can come to the Zoom and just listen. They can come to the Zoom and decide, ‘I’m willing to go to a rally at the State House,’ or, ‘I’m willing to go talk to my senator,’ or they can say ‘I really want to help families.’”

    Another group, the Newton-Brookline Asylum Resettlement Coalition, made up of members from seven congregations, held a Feb. 15 panel about keeping immigrants in the community safe, drawing around 60 in-person and 20 online attendees. It helps asylum-seeking families in the Boston area with finding work, English classes, legal advice, medical care, registering kids for school or day care, and getting rides to medical appointments and grocery stores.

    The group, which serves two to three families at a time, partners with organizations like the Brazilian Worker Center and Jewish Family & Children Service of Metrowest.

    Co-chair Jenny Berz, who attends Temple Beth Zion, said the organization is assembling a new volunteer list to help “fill in the gaps” its partners might be overwhelmed to fill.

    “Organizations are full,” Berz said. “They are not able to provide as much to each family. They can call us and say, ‘There’s a family living in Brookline … We’ve been able to do XYZ, but they really need help finding a job.’”

    On their way in, attendees of the Monday forum picked up “Know Your Rights” cards, reminders of constitutional rights people can exercise when questioned by police or immigration officers. They were available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. Photo by Claire Law.

    Monday’s forum brought together a mix of Brookline residents.

    Gwen Lindquist, a member of United Parish in Brookline, said she came to the forum to learn where her actions would be most effective. Lindquist said she has always been involved in volunteering in general but not as much on immigration.

    “I’m here to learn and determine whether this is where I should put my energy and my ideas, but I feel like I have to do something right now,” Lindquist said. “I’m so disappointed with the government and how they’re handling things, especially with the immigrant community.”

    Her husband, Jim Lindquist, 70, said he recently signed up for Allies for Immigrants, a program  run by Boston Cares and English for New Bostonians that trains volunteers to tutor adults in English or help them prepare for the citizenship exam.

    Ruth Dinerman, 65, said she is not religious and came to the event after seeing an email about it.

    “I’m trying to find what I can do that will be effective and will help protect the values that I hold dear,” Dinerman said.

    Aurora Charbonneau, 17, said she helps babysit for an immigrant family staying at her neighbor’s house, and came to the event to find more ways to help. Charbonneau said she and her younger sister started volunteering with the Dominican Republic Medical Mission Club at Brookline High, which traveled to the Caribbean country to help doctors with tasks like taking measurements, body mass indexes, and eye tests during wellness exams.

    “It was originally to help Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic, but we also realized that a lot of refugees started coming to the Boston area,” Charbonneau said. “So we figured we could help here.”

    At the forum, leaders from various advocacy groups and nonprofits spoke about legislation they are working on and volunteer opportunities people could participate in.

    State Rep. Tommy Vitolo, who represents most of Brookline, said during the event that he is co-sponsoring a few bills spearheaded by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. The bills would prevent  police from entering or renewing agreements with federal immigration enforcement, restrict  how they can ask Massachusetts residents about their immigration status, and fund  legal representation in court for immigrants facing deportation.

    “I think it’s incumbent on all of us to figure out how we can maintain this American dream, and keep our country available for folks who want to come here, and work hard, and be part of our community, and our culture, and our country,” he said in an interview afterward. “There’s limits to what we can do at the state level, and I hope we’re able to get all the way to those limits.”

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Development plans could mean another disruption for Japonaise Bakery

    It’s been only a year and a half since bakery owner Takeo Sakan reopened Japonaise Bakery & Cafe, after sinking over two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars into a renovation .

    Now his landlord, who also owns the space housing The Wine Press next door, is making plans which could mean the popular bakery has to relocate again. The building’s owner wants to add a second story and make changes to the facade according to plans submitted Friday to the Building Department.

    “To be honest, it was all kind of sudden,” Sakan said. “He hadn’t told me until a few months ago.”

    Bob Allen, an attorney representing the owner and developer, 1020-1024 Beacon Realty Trust, which lists Sean Galvin as its trustee, said the Wine Press is moving down the street.

    Get the latest Brookline news free in your inbox.

    All fields required. You may unsubscribe at any time.

    Allen initially told Brookline.News in an email that the landlord is working with Sakan, hoping the bakery can move into the spot vacated by the liquor store “temporarily during construction.”

    “And then hopefully they move back over,” Allen wrote in the Feb. 28 email. “Business terms have yet to be finalized, but that is the intention.”

    In a later interview, Allen said the landlord has no preference whether the bakery stays in its location or moves next door during construction.

    “The goal is to work with the bakery so that he stays there, both short-term and long-term,” Allen said in an interview Tuesday. “That’s the way I see it.”

    In an email, Allen said it’s too early to give an estimate on how long construction might take, as the project needs approval from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

    Sakan said the landlord told him about his plans for renovating the space next door, but that he didn’t initially know the landlord wanted the bakery to move there during construction.

    “If I knew, I wouldn’t have put so much money into the building,” Sakan said. “I put a lot of work in myself. Not looking forward to doing that again.”

    The popular bakery on Beacon Street serves Japanese and French pastries and snacks, with a menu ranging from onigiri and milk bread to sandwiches, croissants and cakes. It is well-known for making buns in the shape of Japanese characters, such as the cat-like Totoro from animated film “My Neighbor Totoro” and the cartoon superhero Anpanman.

    Pastries on display at Japonaise Bakery & Cafe. Photo by Claire Law

    The bakery closed in May 2021 for renovations and reopened in July 2023 with new flooring, ceilings, lighting, display cases and custom countertops.

    Sakan, who raised  nearly $41,000 on GoFundMe for the renovations, said he continued to pay rent for the two years the bakery was closed. He recently recouped the money back through sales, he said.

    “I’m lucky my business is good, and we have a strong following,” Sakan said.

    The building owner plans to add six apartments to the second floor and make “extensive interior renovations” to the retail spaces including building proper restrooms, according to construction plans, which Allen sent to Brookline.News. The plans also propose to landscape the asphalt parking lot behind the stores and finish the basement under the two stores.

    Sakan said he’s not sure yet what the next step is for the bakery. He said he worries the landlord will charge him rent for the basement space after the renovations.

    “I’m at his mercy, really,” Sakan said. “That’s how all tenants are.”

    Sakan’s ultimate goal is to one day buy a building to build a big kitchen and storefront.

    The Wine Press, located at 1022-1024 Beacon St., plans to move to a smaller location at 1050 Beacon St. by April, said owner Aaron Mehta. Mehta said he has a good relationship with his current landlord.

    “It was really a coin flip about what was the best opportunity for us,” he said.

    The turnover rate in that stretch of Beacon Street also played a factor in the decision to move, Mehta said, citing the closure of a Whole Foods Market in 2022. An H Mart opened at the location in 2023.

    “Business on that block has been really difficult for the past four to five years,” Mehta said. “Any time a Whole Foods decides to leave, it’s a monumental event.”

    Sakan said he loves the location.

    “I’d love to stay in Brookline,” Sakan said. “You can’t really beat the location with all the kids around. But there’s other good locations too.”

    This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.