North
End
North End Park: Two ideas, one design
By Sofia Celeste
Concerns
DiGangi, for one, still isn’t satisfied.
“There is nothing Italian in any of the 16 parcels,” said
DiGangi, who has been a constant, critical presence at the Central
Artery Committee meetings.
Tony Cecca, a local contractor, agreed and insisted
the plans for Chinatown’s parcels had more of an ethnic
feel.
“Chinatown was treated differently. It has a gate; do you
see Roman arches [in the plans]?” he asked angrily.
Franco
Graceffa, owner of Dolce Vita restaurant, and local businessman
Pasquale Gilberti, key players of Friends
of the Piazza, volunteered
to donate their own funds to build a resident’s parking garage
and a “Bay State Memorial to All Immigrants,” a structure
that they said would also serve as a monument to the multitude
of immigrants who made the North End their home when their vessels
docked at Boston Harbor at the turn of the 20th century.
 |
A
recent photo distributed by Friends of the Piazza
incorporated park-inspired features as well as a “Bay State Memorial” for
immigrants. |
Unlike the park, the piazza would have been corniced by commercial
businesses like a gym, shops and two parking lots.
But local politicians did not support this idea, certainly not
this late in the game.Aluia
said Rep. DiMasi, a North End resident and native, “wants
to hear what the community has to say as long as it’s not
a drastic change.”
“He [DiMasi] does not support ‘retail within the
parks,’” he said, alluding to the parking garage and
cafés illustrated on the cover of Boston’s North End, “A
Piazza for Boston” issue.
City Councilor Paul Scapicchio, who represents the North End,
agreed.
“It’s very important to frame the North End as an
open space for the community,” he said.
Despite the Friends of the Piazza’s efforts
to defeat current plans, Mass Turnpike spokesman Dough Hanchette
said the park plans
remained on track.
“The public process has gone very smoothly and the design
of the parks is progressing steadily,” he said.
Next: Long-term effects
| North
End Home |Piazza
vs. Park | Planning |
|Concerns|
Final obstacles |
