Author: Vivian Wu

  • A park crawl of Allston-Brighton

    A park crawl of Allston-Brighton

    McKinney Park

    The McKinney Park sign behind the dugout at the baseball field. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    At McKinney Park (74 Faneuil St), a bustling expanse of playgrounds, basketball courts and wide soccer fields, young children gather on the field for soccer practice while teens bump arms in a basketball court. Elderly neighbors and young families walk through the entrance from surrounding homes that line the park. 

    The city has been planning renovations to McKinney Park since 2016. Pam Mullaney, co-founder and treasurer of the Friends of McKinney Park, said she and her neighbor, Michael Bianchi, decided to start the group after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the City’s plans.

    One of McKinney Park’s playground structures. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    Mullaney said she saw firsthand, working for Councilor Breadon with the Friends of Chandler Pond, how much of a difference neighborhood advocacy groups can make. 

    “When a group of neighbors becomes organized and advocates for a park, it makes a huge difference,” Mullaney said. “It can help the neighborhood and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department by having one organized point of contact when some tough decisions are approached.”

    McKinney Park’s renovations are expected to conclude in 2027 and will include splash pads, better park lights and natural turf fields.

    One of the most contentious issues, Mullaney said, is whether the new renovations should include artificial turf. It might mitigate the park’s existing drainage issues and extend sports seasons. On the other hand, neighbors worry about the plastic’s impact on health and heat conduction, especially during hot days. McGuirk and Mullaney point out that the hot rubber would be unbearable to step on in Boston’s heat. 

    According to the National Library of Medicine, the bits of rubber cushioning artificial turf may contain hazardous chemicals classified as carcinogens, neurotoxicants and endocrine disruptors; however, there are not enough studies showing how they actually impact people’s health.

    Elle, almost 1 ½ years old, at the soccer field at McKinney Park. Photo by Sarah Cruz.
    Phoebe, 12 years old, at the soccer field at McKinney Park. Photo By Sarah Cruz.  

    Mullaney and Bianchi started the friends group to give their neighbors a place to voice their opinions.

    “We’re expecting great things in the park,” Mullaney said. “Just more opportunities as the neighborhood continues to be more diverse.”

    Patricia McGuirk, who is on the board of the Friends of McKinney Park, has lived on Goodenough Street, one of the streets lining McKinney Park, her entire life. She said that the park is a great neighborhood resource, especially for families who don’t drive.

    Brian Cerow plays basketball at the court in McKinney Park. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    “I wish we had more trees, more open space, more places for kids to just be kids,” McGuirk said.

    McGuirk described how she took her kids to baseball practice at McKinney Park when they were young. Now, she takes her grandkids to the playground. 

    Established in 1930, McKinney Park has had a long-standing presence in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood. 

    In the 19th century, the area that is now McKinney Park was mainly open fields but contained a few houses near the side of Faneuil Street. 

    McKinney Park was formerly the area delineated under Patrick Kenney and Hiram Barker in this 1890 map. Courtesy of Brighton Allston Historical Society. 

    In the 19th century, the area that is now McKinney Park was mainly open farmland but contained a few houses near the side of Faneuil Street. The infamous Winship family made Brighton, at the time, the epicenter of cattle trade and a significant horticultural hub in New England. 

    Nearby, on much of the land from the corner of Market and North Beacon Street to the river, there were the Winship Gardens. These nursery gardens were a regional attraction. People would come from far and wide using the Boston and Worcester Railroad to see them.  

    In 1937, after McKinney Park was eventually created, a group of 50 children held a demonstration to protest the stalled completion of the park’s field house, where officials had yet to install showers or other accommodations. 

    Charles River Community Garden

    Charles River Community Garden sign. Courtesy of Julian Knight. 

    The Charles River Community Garden (1450 Soldiers Field Road) is sandwiched between the narrow, western side of the Charles River and the busy Soldiers Field Road speedway, where cars zoom past. Runners and bikers speed down a trail towards the Charles River Park. When we meet her on a sunny April afternoon, Susan Bellows, a Charles River Community Garden council member, jokes that if you close your eyes, it almost sounds like you’re on the beach.

    It’s a sunny April afternoon, and Bellows treads lightly along the garden’s woodchip paths, identifying the few small green roots that have sprouted up so far: carrots, onions and strawberries. 

    Blossoming yellow daffodils in Charles River Community Garden. Photo by Sarah Cruz. 

    The garden is quite bare around this time of year — it’s too early for growing. Each plot is separated with wood planks, and one has a batch of yellow daffodils that add a pop of color. 

    In the summer, the garden turns into an all-you-can-eat buffet for voles, rabbits, birds and squirrels, and some gardeners already have built makeshift fences — even entire cages — to keep the critters out. 

    Bellows, who has been involved with the garden for over 30 years, has endless stories about animal mischief — like the time her husband and son went to the garden late one night and turned on their flashlights only to find a colony of rabbits in the garden.

    A faux owl in a garden plot to ward off hungry animals. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    Bellows said when planting starts in the summer, zucchinis, tomatoes and unusual varieties of squash fill the garden.

    “It’s a very international group of gardeners of all ages who bring their gardening techniques and plant preferences and knowledge,” Bellows said.

    The 240-square-foot garden houses around 75 plots and over 100 gardeners. Anyone interested can sign up on the Charles River Community Garden website, where they’ll be placed on a waitlist. There is a 30-dollar annual fee, and members must volunteer two days a year laying down fresh chips, clearing out weeds and trimming roots or trees.

    Sometimes people will abandon their gardens, Bellows said, and at that point, Henry Shapiro, the Charles River Community Garden coordinator, will pull people from the waiting list. 

    Aerial view of Charles River Community Garden. Courtesy of Ross Duncan-Brown. 

    With funding from the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture’s community garden program, Hensler and 20 friends started the garden in 1979 after she could not find an available plot at Herter Garden in Herter Park, according to the Charles River Community Garden. 

    As a board member, Bellows manages shipments to the garden, organizes work activities and supports gardeners when they have disagreements or complaints. She joined the Charles River garden after moving to Cambridge from Los Angeles. 

    “I realized how nice it was when you live in a city and feel like you could still go out and be in a garden and be part of a community,” Bellows said. “

    Chandler Pond 

    View of Chandler Pond from Lake Shore Road. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    Lake Street bleeds into Lake Shore Road as Chandler’s Pond (Lake Shore Road) comes into view and an array of trees frame the water as it ripples in the breeze. Geese float in the pond amidst the peaceful silence.

    Neighbors of the pond walk along the curved path in the adjoining Alice E. Gallagher Park. There is a mix of light chatter and a rhythmic tapping of dog paws. 

    Residents fish along the edge of the water, patiently waiting for a catch. On a patch of grass, two people lounge across a blanket, eagerly sketching the scenery before them.  

    During the New England winters, the pond completely freezes over. In the 19th century, it acted as a fruitful source of ice for residents before the invention of refrigeration and electricity. 

    Local horticulturist and entrepreneur William C. Strong excavated Chandler’s Pond in 1855, establishing an ice-harvesting business. In 1858, he sold the pond and its adjacent ice house to ice merchant Malcolm Chandler. 

    The pond in the late 1800s with Kenrick Street in the foreground and Chandler Mansion on the center right. Courtesy of Brighton Allston Historical Society. 

    He created Strong’s Pond, which is largely gone now, to the west of Chandler’s Pond seven years later. With the introduction of refrigeration, the two owners engaged in fierce competition over the ice business until they eventually sold off their properties to respective buyers. 

    After a trail of different owners, developer George W. Robertson acquired Chandler’s Pond in 1925 and subdivided the area into lots for residential development. The City of Boston then obtained the pond in the late 1930s and, under the persuasion of then-City Councilor Maurice Sullivan, created the Alice Gallagher Memorial Park on the southwestern rim of the pond in honor of the local activist.  

    Boston Parks and Recreation’s sign for Alice E. Gallagher Park and Chandler Pond. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    “It’s kind of unique,” Charlie Vasiliades, the vice president of the Brighton Allston Historical Society (BAHC), said. He explained that many of the ponds in the metro Boston area were later filled in. 

    It is “the last survivor of nearly twenty ponds, which once dotted Allston-Brighton,” according to the BAHC website. 

    Concerned for the pond’s run-down state, Genevieve Ferullo and fellow Brighton residents founded the Chandler Pond Preservation Society in 1996. 

    In a 1998 interview between the BAHC and members of the Chandler Pond Preservation Society, neighbors recall how clean the pond was during the ‘40s and ‘50s, when most of the Chandler Pond residents first moved to the area.

    The pond water. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    “In the spring, I remember, you could go around and see the turtles,” Alan Morgenroth said. “It was nice and clear, you could see all the flora down the bottom.”

    Some neighbors describe the pond shrinking, overgrown reeds along Kenrick Street and yellow algae growing on the water’s surface. 

    In 1998, the Boston Parks Department and Chandler Pond Preservation Society collaborated with Harvard University and the City of Boston’s Urban Wilds Program on a dredging project, according to the Friends of Chandler Pond website. The project removed the pond’s surface sediment and planted wetland species along its shoreline to protect wildlife. 

    The organization was renamed to Friends of Chandler Pond in 2019, according to the Friends of Chandler Pond website. 

    Now maintaining the pond for over 30 years, the non-profit organization collaborates with the City of Boston to advocate for the pond’s preservation. 

    Sign detailing how the city of Boston has helped to preserve the pond through the Boston Community Preservation Fund. Photo By Sarah Cruz. 

    The organization also collaborated with Crawford Land Management to develop a vegetation management plan in 2020, according to the City of Boston’s Chandler Pond improvements master plan, but has not yet been implemented.

    Volunteers regularly hand-harvest invasive species in the water and fundraise for geese mitigation efforts.

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

    Correction, April 12: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Susan Bellows was a board member of the Charles River Community Garden. She is a council member of the Charles River Community Garden.

  • “Let It Linger”: Ama fuses Nepali cuisine with familial comfort

    Bright orange traffic cones and freshly-paved concrete outline a modern, glass-paneled hotel near the upper edge of Lower Allston. Inside, customers, consisting of families, students, business workers and more, gather at Ama, the new Nepali-inspired restaurant that opened just last month inside The Atlas Hotel.

    The restaurant’s design reflects its roots in Nepali heritage and comfort. Nepali prayer flags gently sway on the restaurant’s ceiling. Gray curtains between dining areas allow privacy for guests. A small corner fit with couches and coffee tables offers guests a casual lounging spot. Fuzzy, curving red and gold walls bring warmth to every area of the restaurant.

    Ama’s bar is plastered with multi-textured red and gold material, designed by architects at Marlon Blackwell. Photo by Joe Farfan. 

    On a recent Monday, Nyacko Pearl Perry and Biplaw Rai, co-founders of Ama, sit at a wooden table in the warmly lit “Living Room,” a free third space between the hotel and the restaurant. Perry and Rai, who currently own one other restaurant Comfort Kitchen, are not only business partners but spouses with a three-year-old son. Perry’s family has lived in Allston for three generations, and she says that she wants the restaurant to align with the community’s needs. 

    “What we’re hoping for is that everybody feels like this is their space,” Perry said. 

    Both her and Rai have been working closely with local businesses and artists to bring their vision to life. Above the tall potted plants hang abstract paintings by Allston-based artists — works that Perry herself has handpicked.

    “This is literally a family business,” Perry says. “We really want to be a space where someone wants to bring that caregiver who needs to be cared for once.”

    The restaurant’s name is the Nepali word for “mother” and is named after Rai’s own mother. 

    “I think out of everyone in our family, my mom is the person who cooks,” Rai says. He smiles behind a goatee and takes out his ponytail. He’s laid-back and approachable, a supportive leader who gives his workers freedom and guidance, Renato Rodriguez, Ama’s food and beverage director, says.

    Rai’s parents work in the kitchen at Ama. Almost everyone calls them “Ama” and “Papa”. The restaurant’s culinary director, Shelley Nason, describes Ama as a “tough mom who cares about you and will put you in your place.” 

    Papa makes momo — Nepali dumplings — in the kitchen. Nason, who develops almost every dish, has left the momo untouched. 

    “[Papa] is very passionate about those momo,” Nason said. “It’s the way their family makes it, which is important.”

    The Pork Momo comes with six momos and a tomato achaar sauce for 14 dollars. Hearty ginger and scallion dominate each two-bite snack. Every momo is carefully wrapped in a stretchy, translucent, almost buttery skin. The subtle mala kick in the tomato achaar sauce adds a heavenly vibrance to this earthy dish. Those front-of-the-tongue flavors are familiar to me — just a little taste of my parents’ Chinese dumplings in each bite. 

    Left: The Pozole Verde, part of Ama’s soup series “She Knows the Way”. Right: Papa’s Pork Momo with tomato achaar sauce on the lunch menu. Photo by Joe Farfan. 

    The restaurant differentiates itself from others by sticking to the classics, Rai says. Instead of rushing service, he wants guests to enjoy a full experience. 

    “Our tagline is, ‘Let it Linger,’” Rai says. “You don’t have to have a white tablecloth and three suits to have that service. You can still have that service by being kind and really listening attentively to the guest.”

    Part of Rai and Perry’s effort to offer a slow, comfortable experience is reintroducing soups to the restaurant industry. 

    “If you go to most restaurants these days, you will not find soup on the menu at all,” Rai said, “But [soup is important to] every culture and every family.” 

    The Pozole Verde is one of two soups on Ama’s menu. It’s a green, earthy stew with vegetables and braised pork inside a poblano pepper and tomatillo broth base. Each flavor feels controlled — you can taste the spice underneath that herbal soup and the sweetness from the pork. The crispy tortilla served on the side adds a nice crunch. It’s kind of a hot, savory cereal. 

    One of the most recommended menu items on the lunch menu is the duck fried rice. It’s a comforting hodgepodge of their sweet, crispy duck confit, garlicky greens and egg topped with sunflower sprouts. It’s another playful experiment with texture. The crispy duck and bits of crispy rice complement the fluffy egg and springy sprouts. Small hints of spice from the chili oil bind this hardy dish. 

    Each item on the menu is crafted with story and relatability in mind, Rai said. 

    Perry lights up as she recalls fond memories of her grandmother’s pineapple upside-down cake, which inspired the menu’s Brown Butter Pineapple Cake. For 12 dollars, it could easily be a two-bite dessert. The vegan cake is fluffy and slightly moist, topped with coconut cream and maraschino cherries that brighten the taste. The salted pineapple caramel sauce drapes every flavor in buttery, savory richness.

    A behind-the-scenes look at Ama’s back-of-house team. The restaurant’s open kitchen design allows diners a glimpse at the people preparing their meals. Photo by Joe Farfan. 

    In the future, Rai said he plans to “take more breaks.” His partner laughs, but it’s true. The pair has two restaurants and a son to care for. Despite this, the couple is already thinking about ways to expand. For instance, diners can expect new menu items and a new art installation in one of the restaurant’s spaces in the next six months, Perry said.

    Another restaurant is also already in the works, Perry and Rai said. Fox Club, opening in April 2026, will be a rooftop bar in The Atlas. Perry is excited to install more local art in the space.

    Photo by Joe Farfan. 

    The first six months of opening a restaurant can be stressful, Perry said. Rai and Pearl said they wanted to elevate the comfort of the guest experience at Ama by including a coat check and three meals, seven days a week.

    “I think at the end of the day, it’s like, can we show up for each other in 2026?” Perry said, “We need spaces where we’re doing that, and we hope to be one of those spaces for folks.”

  • Boston City Council votes on housing resolutions in first full meeting of the year

    Vivian Wu

    On January 28, the Boston City Council convened to discuss a rent control state ballot initiative, a potential ban on algorithmic price setting in the housing market and an order to remove parking minimums under newly-elected Council President Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Breadon, representing Allston-Brighton.

    Nine out of 13 councilors, including Breadon, approved the return of Massachusetts Question 9 on the 2026 state ballot during the meeting. Voters will decide if rent control should be prohibited for most privately-owned housing units in the state. Question 9 was most recently on the 1994 ballot, where it passed by about 51 percent.

    “[Tenants] deserve to know that after signing the lease of an apartment within their budget, their landlord won’t decide the next year to demand more than they can afford,” councilor Henry Santana said. “The vibrancy and the inclusivity of our city depend on these measures.” 

    Lizzie Torres, a housing policy associate for MassHousing and long-time Allston renter, said they are worried the restrictions proposed in the ballot question could hinder new housing developments and exacerbate poor housing quality. 

    “Alongside rent control, you have to have a better zoning code that allows for very flexible upzoning,” Torres said. “Otherwise, what you end up having is that rent control usually can create a situation where landlords then only rent to the most wealthy, stable and credit-worthy renters.”

    Councilor Edward Flynn of District 2 objected to the resolution. He said he was concerned the initiative would negatively impact the city’s business climate. 

    “We want investors coming into Boston to invest their money to build housing,” Flynn said. 

    Flynn also objected to a resolution co-sponsored by Santana and councilors Ruthzee Louijeune and Sharon Durkan that would place a tax of at most two percent on real estate ownership transfers over two million dollars. The revenue would fund programs assisting middle to low-income residents. 

    Torres said the resolution overlooks transfers between generations whose property values have increased significantly over time. 

    “It doesn’t necessarily mean that the generation that is inheriting that home is going to be able to pay that transfer fee,” Torres said.

    Durkan and Breadon proposed an investigation and potential ban on algorithmic price setting in the housing market, which would prevent commercial property software from using public and non-consensual private data to suggest prices to buyers. 

    “It’s the best way to protect renters from monopolizing housing in this way,” Torres said. 

    Durkan and Santana also co-sponsored an order to remove parking minimums in an effort to decrease housing costs. 

    “Affordability is my top priority, and it should be the top priority of everyone in this body,” Durkan said. “The two hearing orders I filed for this meeting […] are our first steps.”

    The real estate transfer tax, algorithmic price setting and parking minimum hearing orders were referred to the Committee of the Whole, a less formal session for all committee members to further discuss resolutions before the next council meeting. 

    The Committee of the Whole will meet publicly on February 2 with open public testimony to discuss funding grants sponsored by Mayor Wu. 

    Torres said they hope to see more action on part of the City this year.

    “I think we’ve been yelling about housing affordability being a problem for a very, very long time,” Torres said. “And I think it’s just been very hard to get our elected officials to materially do anything about it.”