Last Thursday, on the evening of March 13th between 7-9PM, about 20 community members including two children, gathered at the Pisani Center in The Port/Area 4 for a monthly community meeting. Neighbors met & mingled while enjoying a delicious meal of rice & beans & Fried chicken which was provided by Izzy’s Restaurant. The meeting began with Open announcements then quickly moved to Park Updates, UDAG presentations, & Approvals for a Convenience store license…
The Harvard Street Park - Jim Wilcox from Public Works said that the new park, located one block from the Fletcher Maynard School, was almost complete even though work had begun on it in December 2006.

What caused the hold up? Workers had to first remove then replace contaminated soil “up to 6 feet” in some places said Wilcox. Jim speculates that the park will be open by late Summer 2008 but more work must be done - on the sidewalk, the community garden, installation of sod (grass) and more... read more...

About 30 attendees spent the evening of February 14th, Valentine’s Day, at the Area 4 Youth Center to discuss with heavy hearts the February 8th loss of 18-year-old Lucien Christalin. Christalin was by all accounts well loved and had bright future prospects for continuing success. He was a role model to younger kids and held two jobs, one at City Hall and one at the youth center. A teacher had already written him a college recommendation. As one attendee said, “Lucien was considered a success story, with distinct goals for his life.” However, continued the speaker, “peer pressure is hard to resist.”

Tonight clergy, police and residents tried to comprehend why this young man would find himself on a Friday night with friends playing with a gun. From his family members who are experiencing the unthinkable loss of their loved one; to fellow CRLS students, friends and neighbors who came out in droves to a candlelight vigil -- to new officers fresh out of the police academy who have been involved in the aftermath of the shooting incident -- the community has been profoundly affected. read more...

On Wednesday, February 20th from 6:00-8:00PM, FOR the LOVE of LUCIEN , a poetry reading in Christalin's honor, will be held at the Margaret Fuller House @ 71 Cherry Street in the Port/Area4. For more info CALL - (617)-547-4680 -Or email margaretfullerhouse.org

A tribute BeLive show at CCTV will take place at 7:30 on the same evening, and will be cablecast live on channel 9. All are welcome to watch and/or participate.

I’m not really feeling this 2008 Valentine’s Day – for my heart is with the family of Lucien on this day. 18-year old Lucien Christalin, a Haitian–American man who attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin, died from gunshot wounds on Friday night in a living room on Windsor Street in Cambridge.

Lucien and his friends were playing with a gun, and while they were certainly going against the grain of doing what their parents taught – I still ask God why, why Lucien? After all, they are/were young folks who forgot, or misplaced their parents unending mantra of be wise, be safe. And though we parents say those words, pray those words, we never know what attack lies for our babies once they go out the front door.

I knew not Lucien, but his face is familiar to me. Surely I have bumped into him on some basketball court around the city, I must have said “Hey now”… with a “Yall be safe” to boot. I must have seen him amongst the gaggle of teens who weekly liven up the CCTV hallways – and matter of fact he made his mark by getting involved at CCTV in 2005. read more...

BEing Homeless - NOT - the MSC's 20th....
One Fall night seven years ago, I buzzed from being a single college girl livin' with friends and family to a unmarried homeless (did I say brown?) mother...So you know the other night I had to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Multi-Service Center (the MSC) located on Brookline Street in Cambridge. What's the MSC - a collection of helpful services for homeless folks all under one roof! They help with budgeting, housing services, and a host of other things that help low income peoples.

Len Thomas, the director of the MSC, emceed the event and there were madd (many) city officials and ex-employee's of the agency in attendance. The highlight of the night for me was personal testimonies - MSC's first director Phillip Mangano's memories & energy was inspiring and Mr. Flanagan's story of his rise from the trenches was remarkable.

Nuff respect to the Mutli Service Center (Tyree, Taylor, Melo, J.J., Decker, Dennis & other) And thank God the City of Cambridge continues to fund the MSC - our light at the end of that gloomy tunnel!!!
Hope to see yall at the CCTV cookout tomorrow and do remember to Always Be Right!!!