A seemingly minor infraction involving a dumpster has raised questions regarding renovations underway in the Charles Street building that is home to DeLuca’s Market.
Earlier this month, the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) learned of neighbors’ grievances with ongoing construction in the building while reviewing a request to renew a street occupancy permit issued by the Boston Transportation Department for a dumpster and a work vehicle in the alley behind DeLuca’s. Neighbors’ concerns, including the removal of bricks, windows and a chimney and storage of steel support beams on the premises, prompted the BHCA to contact the city’s Inspectional Service Department (ISD) to ensure that the proper permits were in place for the project.
On June 15, ISD issued a stop-work order to Virgil Aiello, proprietor of DeLuca’s and the building owner, for working without permits.
Aiello countered that he had obtained an “exploratory permit” from ISD in late 2007 before work commenced on the project and said that he intends to provide ISD with updated plans to have the stop-work order removed.
As for the scope of the project, Aiello said he planned to raze two studio apartment units located in the rear of Charles Street Cleaners, which adjoins DeLuca’s, to expand a basement storage area and create additional space for the market. The Web site for Architectural Consulting LLC, the construction firm for the project, described the job as a “1,350 square-foot underpinning project, including new mechanical and electrical services.”
The project came under further scrutiny amid ISD spokesperson Lisa Timberlake’s assertion that neither Architectural Contracting, which lists 15 Charles St.- the same address as Deluca’s – as its office location, nor Joseph Silvano, the sole partner listed with the firm on its Web site, were licensed with the city or state.
While he conceded that he wasn’t personally licensed by the state, Silvano said Architectural Consulting was a state-licensed “home improvement contracting” firm that employs a project manager with an unrestricted license to oversee day-to-day operations on the job.
“Furthermore, all subcontractors employed by us are licensed and insured specifically for their work, and an architect and engineer have been working with us and doing inspections since the beginning of the project to make changes to the jobs, plans and specifications as need be to complete the work,” Silvano said, adding that his subcontractors had secured permits for minor electric and gas work pertaining to the job.
The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission, which has jurisdiction over all exterior construction work visible from the street, has also issued a violation to Aiello for not bringing his plans to the commission.
Aiello, who is scheduled to appear before the commission at a July 15th hearing, maintains that the work he has done thus far was only to the building’s interior and he intends to restore all exterior materials to their original condition upon completion of the project. “I don’t think legislation requires permits to do work that does not alter the exterior of a structure,” he added.
Emily Wolf, the city’s staff member for the Architectural Commission, replied, “Removal of exterior elements constitutes exterior work.”
Meanwhile, City Council President Mike Ross agrees with Wolf’s assertion that Aiello should cease working on the project for the time being.
“I believe that the decision to prohibit DeLuca’s from doing further work on its property until after the violation hearing in July is the right one,” Ross said. “The rules apply to all businesses, and I look forward to the market continuing its renovations in the proper manner after the hearing.”

The Committee on City and Neighborhood Services of the Boston City Council held a public hearing Thursday to explore the possibility of bringing a new outdoor café to the Boston Common.
City Council President Mike Ross, who sponsored the hearing with City Councilor Bill Linehan, suggested that a plaza at the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets be restored and entered into a long-term lease of no less than eight years.
“It’s an opportunity to bring a world class café to a part of the Common that really needs it,” Ross said. “I can’t stress how important it is that we do the right thing now.”
Antonia Pollak, commissioner of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said the Boys & Girls Club had executed a lease for the site, which was set to expire after the summer of 2010.
Since 1996, Emerson College has operated an outdoor café at the location under a sub-lease agreement with the Boys & Girls Club, a venture that Pollak said has met with limited success. Pollak said the Boys & Girls Club could put the plaza out to bid for a short-term lease in the spring of 2010 after the college issues a formal release from its current agreement for the site.
Also, Pollak said the “pink palace,” located near the Common’s tennis courts and ball fields, could accommodate a café. Renovations to the site were estimated to cost $1 million, besides the restaurateur’s start-up costs, but unlike Emerson’s outdoor dining area, with its removable tables and chairs, she said the pink palace is a permanent structure.
“The Landmarks Commission asked us to find a new use for it,” Pollak said, adding that the commission and the Parks and Recreation Department have final approval on any major changes to the Common. “We hope to open [the matter] for public comment during the winter months.”
In December of last year, the Special Committee on the Boston Common, composed of Ross, Linehan and City Councilor Sal LaMattina, chairman of the Committee on City & Neighborhood Services, submitted a report that addressed the future of the Boston Common, regarding its maintenance and physical infrastructure, public safety and financial opportunities and challenges.
The committee’s report recommended opening a new outdoor café on the Common as one way of revitalizing the area, citing the success of the Shake Shack, a year-round take-out eatery with outdoor dining that now operates in New York City’s Madison Square Park.

The National Park Service recently released its General Management Plan Environmental Assessment for the Boston African American National Historic Site (BOAF), which outlines three alternatives for preservation and visitor interpretation for the 15 locations associated with the creation of a free African American community on Beacon Hill during the 19th century.
The previous management plan was prepared in 1984 for BOAF, including the African Meting House at Smith Court, the first black church in Boston that was built in 1806. Since 1984, visitation to the BOAF has increased dramatically, the Park Statement has developed a working relationship with Boston’s Museum of African American history, and new research has revealed previously unknown information pertaining to African Americans on Beacon Hill during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, according to the new General Management Plan.
Alternative 2, which the General Management Plan describes as the “preferred alternative,” intends to expand outreach. Under this alternative, new initiatives include expanding Web-based technology to allow a wider audience to experience the BOAF and the creation of new exhibits at the African Meeting House and the Abiel Smith House on Joy Street. The development costs for Alternative 2 are estimated at $2,775,000, with an additional $993,000 projected for annual operating costs.
The goal of Alternative 1 is to improve operations at the BOAF. In addition to making provisions for maintaining buildings included in the BOAF, this alternative would also introduce a video version of the guided tour of the Black Historic Trail for disabled visitors and help fund new exhibits and interpretive programs that would focus on 19th century abolitionism on Beacon Hill. The development costs for Alternative 1 are estimated at $2,600,000, with annual operating costs projected at $843,000.
Finally, the Status Quo Alternative would continue the current management practices at the BOAF, making no substantive changes in direction or investment of resources. The annual operating costs for this alternative would remain at the current level of approximately $743,000, and there would be no additional development costs.

Several Little Leaguers from Beacon Hill will participate in the 2009 North End Athletic Association Annual All-Star Game, scheduled for this Friday, June 26, at the North End Little League Field on Commercial Street.
The game features some of the league's best players in a competitive baseball contest that usually attracts a big crowd.
A free barbecue is also part of the All-Star Game, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
"The NEAA invites Beacon Hill residents to attend this very popular All-Star Game, " said baseball coordinator John Romano. "The game is usually very exciting and competitive and the players would love to see the stands full of family, friends and neighbors."

Congratulations, Representative Aaron Michlewitz

The election of Aaron Michlewitz to fill the unexpired seat of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi marks a true changing of the guard.
It also marks the moment in a young man’s life when everything in front of him in the political world is all about opportunity.
Representative Michlewitz will be sworn into office in a few weeks, so he has some time to think about what he wants to bring to the table as Beacon Hill’s voice on Beacon Hill.
Just starting out, he needs to pledge himself to remain pristine in his dealings both great and small as a representative.
He needs also to pledge himself to give to Beacon Hill residents the same type of representation given to the neighborhood by his predecessor, former House Speaker Sal DiMasi.
DiMasi’s indictment doesn’t erase the years of interest he showed in the well-being of Beacon Hill.
Representative Michlewitz will do well to conduct himself above board in all his dealings in order to keep the clean slate he is starting out with - clean above all.
Our best to Representative Michlewitz.

Bunker Hill Day

Beacon Hill is not Bunker Hill, but it is Suffolk County.
In addition, when the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought in June 1775, many Beacon Hill residents at that time climbed to the top of the hill to watch the battle, and later in the afternoon, after the British set the town on fire, they watched Charlestown burn.
The Battle of Bunker Hill wasn’t a British loss and it certainly wasn’t an American victory.
However, this battle was the proverbial line Americans had drawn in the sand for the British.
Hundreds died as Americans proved that our irregulars could stand up to the might of the British Empire and everything it could throw against them.
It was a battle that shocked the British and the world as no nation had been able to stand up to the British before Bunker Hill for about 300 years.
The dead, for the most part, were buried where they fell, making the Bunker Hill battle site a burial ground – hallowed ground, if you will.
And it marked the real beginning of the end for the British in North America.
Now comes the movement to remove Bunker Hill Day as a holiday in order to save money.
But what will be saved if it means the denouement of a key moment in the American Revolution?