Blogs

A new decade, a new mayor, and federal dollars to move Union Crossing

On Monday, January 4th, State Representative William Lantigua was inaugurated as Mayor of Lawrence. Mayor Lantigua is the first Latino mayor in the State of Massachusetts. According to the article in the Eagle Tribune, he says he wants to be the best mayor Lawrence ever had. Read the full article here. The staff of Groundwork Lawrence congratulates Representative Lantigua and is looking forward to working with him and his staff.

On Tuesday, US Representative Nikki Tsongas was in Lawrence to announce support for the Union Crossing Project in the amount of $743,500. This federal money will drive the project to a groundbreaking later this spring. Union Crossing will transform the former Southwick Complex into 400,000 sf of renovated and newly built space for family and workforce housing, commercial office, retail, community facilities as well as new public green space. Read the full article from the Tribune here.

Quirk Construction moved on site today to begin demolition of Cronin Park's existing structures as part of the park overhaul. The park renovation is being funded by the State Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Community Development Block Grant Funding administered by the Community Development Department. The construction (and before that the design) is being managed by Groundwork Lawrence. The landscape architect for the project is Steven Cosmos (who also worked on Misserville Park among others).

Please keep up to date with the work on the blog and on the Cronin Park Project Page!

Complete the online survey.

The City of Lawrence is in the process of developing a new five-year Consolidated Plan that will establish community goals and guide resource allocations. The Consolidated Plan is a document required by the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The Plan will cover the period 2010-2014. The Consolidated Plan serves as

1. a planning document …which builds on a participatory process
2. a submission for Federal funds;
3. a strategy to be followed in carrying out HUD programs; and
4. a management tool for assessing performance and tracking results.

Read more on our blog post below.

I want to thank the artists that submitted eco-art for this year's Annual Glow Gala and Fundraiser. All the submitted art was excellent and I know the jury had a hard time selecting the pieces to include for the silent auction. I want to especially thank and congratulate Rebecca Veilleux's students for doing wonderful eco-art projects. While we couldn't include all the pieces, we were impressed by the thoughtfulness, creativity and inspiration they exhibited. Rebecca is a Biology teacher in the Humanities and Leadership High School at Lawrence High and a Board member of GWL. Below are a few quotes from Rebecca and her students about the eco-art projects.

Lawrence Youth participate in Groundwork USA Youth Summit in New Orleans

Support GWL's youth members and programs at the Glow Gala, Dec. 10, 2009

New Orleans, LA. November 13, 2009 - Two youth from the Groundwork Lawrence Green Team, a year-round environmental stewardship program that offers part-time, paid employment for 10 Lawrence high school students each year, joined an assortment of 80 youth, Groundwork Executive Directors, National Park Service staff, and youth Green Team leaders in New Orleans, Louisiana to tour the City, explore nature, take part in a service project, and to share experiences about their cities as the Groundwork program continues to grow across the country. Download the press release.

The City of Lawrence, through its Community Development Department, will conduct Public Hearings and a Workshop regarding the development of the Consolidated Plan and the use of approximately $2.5 million in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME grant funds available on or about July 1, 2010. Download English flyer(pdf).

La Ciudad de Lawrence, por medio de su Departamento de Desarrollo de la Comunidad, realizará Audiciones Públicas y un Taller con respecto al desarrollo del Plan Consolidado y el uso de aproximadamente $2.5 millones de fondos Federales para el Desarrollo de la Comunidad (CDBG) y subsidio HOME disponible alrededor de 1 julio de 2010. Más en español (pdf).

The City is soliciting proposals for Fiscal Year 11 CDBG funding. The December 8, 2009 Public Hearing will review the accomplishments of programs and projects receiving funding in the previous year, solicit ideas and recommendations for priorities in the new Consolidated Plan, and provide information on the CDBG funding for the upcoming year. The CDBG Workshop will explain the application process of for FY2011 CDBG funding. The hearings and workshops are fully accessible and open to all.

Completed applications must be received at the City of Lawrence Community Development Department no later than Monday, February 8, 2010 by 3:00 p.m.

Below is the schedule of 3 meetings related to the RFP process:

• Public Hearing: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library (51 Lawrence Street)
• CDBG Workshop:Thursday, January 21, 2010, 6-7:30 p.m. at Lawrence Heritage State Park (One Jackson Street)
• Public Hearing and Presentations by Applicants: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 5-8:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library (51 Lawrence Street)

The City of Lawrence is in the process of developing a new five-year Consolidated Plan that will establish community goals and guide resource allocations. The Consolidated Plan is a document required by the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The Plan will cover the period 2010-2014. The Consolidated Plan serves as

1. a planning document …which builds on a participatory process
2. a submission for Federal funds;
3. a strategy to be followed in carrying out HUD programs; and
4. a management tool for assessing performance and tracking results.

Complete the online survey.

Individuals requiring Spanish translation or American Sign interpreters are asked to contact the office at (978) 620-3510 in advance of the meetings. Technical assistance in preparing your proposals will be available upon request.
For more information contact the Community Development Department at 978.620.3510

We're gearing up for our Glow Gala December 10! We hope you can join us for an evening of fun! Purchase your tickets online or at the door!

Check out pictures from Glow last year!

Support our friends and partners at Lawrence CommunityWorks!
This Wine Tastes Like What?
A Unique Evening of Wine and Laughs

To benefit Lawrence CommunityWorks and its Movement City Youth Network.

Friday December 4, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. at Jackson Kitchen Designs, Butcher Boy Marketplace.

Tickets are $30 and can be mailed to
Lawrence CommunityWorks
Our House Campus
168 Newbury Street
Lawrence, MA 01841

Groundwork Lawrence and Farmer Dave's are please to announce to opening of registration to returning CSA members! This year's CSA will continue to feature Farmer Dave's fabulous fresh produce as well as several new and exciting changes which have been made based on member feedback, including "choice-style" delivery, a longer CSA season (20 weeks, starting in mid-June!), new share sizes ("small" and "super family" in addition to "regular"), and winter shares available for November and December for the first time ever this 2010 season.

Read more about these changes on our CSA Program page. Returning members can download the 2010 registration form below, and registration will open for new members soon...so stay tuned! It's going to be another delicious season!

Download the 2010 registration form here:
PDF version
Microsoft Word version

Mid-June shares will likely include:

Arugula, lettuce, baby beets, radishes, snap peas, bok choi, cilantro, summer squashes, garlic scapes, chives, spinach and scallions.

Winter shares will likely include:

Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, celeriac, turnips, different winter squashes, spinach, winter greens, leeks, apples, cranberries, parsnips, and lettuce.

YUM!

I have spent the past week traveling a bit and sharing Groundwork Lawrence and our experience as well as learning about placemaking at a workshop in New York City.

The workshop was titled "Streets as Places," and was one of several that the Project for Public Spaces organizes. PPS is a non-profit urban planning and design organization who works around the world helping people and communities improve parks, plazas, public squares and transportation infrastructure. The training was designed to encourage participants to think differently about how streets and public ways can create and enhance community. We focused on transit plazas or hubs, intersections in dense urban networks and how analysis tools as well as pilot projects are all important in creating places that people want to engage in. I love Lawrence's street network-we have a dense streetscape with many pedestrians. How can we encourage community through improvements in our streets? How can we focus street improvements on pedestrians-many young people-and their safety and community? How can we focus park improvements on creating community and responding to existing needs and future adaptation of our spaces?

Sunday, I attended the "Greening the City" Conference at Lesly University. The conference was organized by Mass Audubon and Lesley University at Porter Square in Cambridge. I spoke about Groundwork Lawrence and the Groundwork USA network with our sister trust, Groundwork Somerville. GWS spoke about their involvement in the community corridor planning for the extension of the Green Line (Boston T) into Somerville. We spoke on community involvement, outreach, and tools for successful partnerships and engagement.

Yesterday was the celebration of 20 years of the Massachusetts Environmental Trust. MET has distributed over $17 million to municipalities and organizations to support, protect and enhance Massachusetts water resources. Did you know that purchasing one of their license plates directly impacts the work that they are able to do? You can buy a plate (for $40 for two years) online at the RMV. MET has supported GWL many times over the years in our alleyway LID project, our Green Team and other projects.

This weekend Rose, Heather, Kate and a few Green Team members will be attending the Groundwork USA Youth Summit and the 2009 Brownfields Conference in New Orleans, LA. The Brownfields Conference is the nation's largest conference focused on brownfield revitalization and economic development. Groundwork USA's Youth Summit will bring young people from Green Teams across the country to share their experiences from their communities and to develop leadership skills to bring back to their Team. Our crew attending will get to explore a Louisiana bayou, work with Groundwork New Orleans and other conference attendees in re-vegetating a school rebuilt after Katrina, and share and learn from other youth.