credit: D. Harney
Caption: The Ritz-Carlton officially became the Taj Boston yesterday.




For the first time in nearly 80 years, there is no longer a Ritz-Carlton on Arlington Street.

A noon ceremony outside the grand dame of Boston’s luxury hotels signified the end of the Ritz-Carlton and the beginning of the Taj Boston, the 275-room hotel’s new name. Taj Resorts Hotels and Palaces, a subsidiary of The Tata Group, bought the Ritz-Carlton from Millennium Partners last November for $170 million.

Yesterday, the flag of the Ritz-Carlton was lowered and that of the Taj was raised. Hotel operations began right away, with guests scheduled to check in almost immediately. A reception was held later at the hotel for tourism and business officials.

Hotel employee uniforms and hotel logos have changed, said a spokesman for the Taj, but guests can still expect the amenities that made luxury synonymous with the Ritz-Carlton.

“Like the new ownership of the Red Sox, the Taj is looking for new ways to make this an even more exciting location,” said spokesman Jim Borghesani of Regan Communications. “The Taj prides itself on running top-notch properties all over the world, including some of the largest palaces in the world and some of the largest luxury resorts in the world. The chance [to buy] the Ritz, with its prestige and great location, was something that couldn’t be overlooked.”

Borghesani said very little will change at the hotel. It underwent a $60 million renovation in 2002. Company officials will decide in future years what to do with the second floor restaurant, which has been vacant for quite some time. All Ritz employees have been offered employment with the Taj, Borghesani said, but it remains to be seen how many employees will elect to stay on. David Gibbons, of Rockport, who has served as general manager at some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, is the general manager of Taj Boston.

The building at the corner of Newbury Street has a history all its own. Long called the hotel that catered to kings and queens, it has had its fair share of famous guests, including Prince Charles and Howard Hughes. The property offers sweeping views of the Public Gardens and is located in the heart of what is considered by most to be the city’s most refined shopping center.

Taj Resorts Hotels and Palaces is as synonymous with luxury in India as the Ritz is in America. With 75 luxury hotels worldwide, it prides itself on its “unparalleled accommodations and unrivalled service.” It operates the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower in Mumbai and the Pierre in New York.

Boston City Councilor Michael Ross, whose district includes the Taj, said the new ownership of the hotel “is well positioned to bring the [hotel] back to its original luster.”

“The Ritz had a rich and strong history here in Boston and it’s fair to say that in recent years it hasn’t lived up to its reputation,” he said. “I think the Taj is ready to make a real investment to bring the hotel back to its original reputation.”

Gibbons, the new general manager, said Taj Boston is truly a unique hotel. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to bring the Taj brand of luxury and service to a building that already has a sterling reputation for refinement and taste,” Gibbons said in a statement. “I think Taj Boston is going to be a very nice fit for this city and region, and I’m thrilled to be on board.”

Don Harney

credit: D. Harney

caption:


This red tailed hawk took flight from the shoulder of a giant George Washington — more precisely, the statue of Washington — in the Public Garden last week.

credit: John Lynds
caption: Mayor Thomas M. Menino at the State of the City address.





It was standing room only at the Strand Theater in Dorchester Tuesday as Mayor Thomas Menino delivered his 10th Annual State of the City address. With Governor Deval Patrick and public safety officials looking on, Menino vowed to take back Boston’s streets from violent offenders who terrorize neighborhoods and paralyze people with fear.

Menino explained that he chose Ed Davis to be the new police commissioner because of his track record. “He knows how to manage resources, and how to cultivate key partnerships, to achieve the bottom line of reducing crime and violence,” said Menino.

To give Davis the manpower he needs to combat crime, the city will add an additional 190 new police officers on the street this fiscal year, said Menino.

“Our strategy is to increase law enforcement’s visibility where crime is on the rise, reassuring residents that we are here to help, and reminding offenders that we are watching them,” said Menino. “At the same time, we are emphasizing prevention, returning resources to the programs that help young people steer clear of gangs and drugs. And we are recommitting ourselves to strengthening partnerships among police officers, community groups and neighborhood residents.”

Members of the command staff are now spending weekly shifts at district stations, giving rank and file officers a direct link to the department’s top decision makers. “We are establishing advisory councils in every police district, to provide a better framework for communication with residents,” said Menino, who added that these efforts are all about making sure important information gets into the hands of the people who need it to prevent and solve crime in places like the Back Bay.

“It is astonishing how some people stonewall the police,” said Menino. “When neighbors and family members of victims withhold information, they are protecting the very people who pulled the trigger and shattered their lives.” Menino added that he’s committed to bringing Boston’s neighborhoods beyond the recent rash of violence.

“We are doing everything in our power to merit the confidence of people who have information to share,” said Menino. “Because our ability to move forward requires that ordinary people show extraordinary courage.”

City Councilor Michael Ross, who was chair of the city council’s Youth Violent Crimes Prevention Committee, applauded the mayor for addressing violence and crime, and providing solutions to the epidemic affecting all Boston neighborhoods.

“The mayor’s commitment to add an additional 190 officers to Boston’s streets is a step in the right direction,” said Ross. “He’s also brought in some really talented people like Commissioner Davis to deal with the problem of youth violence in crime.”

Ross said he would also like to see more attention paid to improving programs for youth both in his district and the rest of Boston.

“We need to involve ourselves proactively and not wait for violence and crime to happen, but prevent it from happening,” said Ross. “One way we can do this is improving programming for at-risk high school age kids across the city.”

SIDEBAR
Mayor excited to work with governor
By John Lynds

“As your governor, I have broad responsibility for what goes right and what goes wrong, but far less authority than I need to influence the course of either…I will ask municipalities to enter into a new partnership with state government, so that we can work together to reduce their operating costs, to better plan across regions, and to rebuild city and town centers into stronger economic cores,” said Governor Deval Patrick on the day of his inauguration.

These words were like music to Mayor Thomas Menino’s ears. Menino has spent five long years lobbying the state government for more local aid under the credo that Boston is the state’s ‘economic engine’.

“I know that Governor Patrick will lead this state with the honor and commitment our communities deserve,” said Menino. “His announcement to repair recent funding cuts and his decision to include all the residents of the Commonwealth in his historic inauguration show how his leadership will ensure a more hopeful Massachusetts.”

Meeting the varied law enforcement needs of an eclectic neighborhood like the Back Bay can always be something of a challenge. But, according to Boston Police D-4 Captain William Evans, the merger of 33 Municipal Police officers into the Boston Police Department this year could help that effort significantly, particularly with car break-ins, Back Bay’s largest problem.

“Well, there are 33 municipal officers in the academy now, and I think we’ll be getting [three to five] of them,” said Captain Evans this week, when asked about the impact of the merger of the city’s two police forces. “I know some of those officers, and I’d be thrilled to get them, because they’re great guys. There are a couple of guys I can think of who are great at communicating with the public, and I’d think having guys like that on patrol on Newbury or Boylston streets or on Commonwealth Avenue would be a great benefit to us and to the public.”

Evans said deployment plans for any of the new officers haven’t been worked out yet, but he added that the municipal officers’ knowledge of local laws regarding city buildings and parks was extensive enough to be of great help to crime fighting in the Back Bay and in other neighborhoods that get a lot of foot traffic.

“Any additional officers we could get would be a big help,” he said. “Any time you can get an infusion of new blood, especially when they’re seasoned officers, it will make an impact on the way you can patrol streets, but for the most part I think the municipal officers that come into the department will be used in general patrols — be that on bikes or on foot or in cruisers, they’ll be regular police officers, and that alone should be a help.”

He expects his veteran officers to welcome the municipal officers with open arms. “We all have the same motive and goals in terms of providing public safety, we’re all working to raise our families,” he said. “After about a month, I don’t think you’ll be able to tell the difference.”

As for the level of crime in the Back Bay, Evans said that car break-ins are still the most reported calls in the neighborhood.

“Car breaks are always a big issue, as much as we try to get the public to understand that they shouldn’t be leaving their cell phones or iPods or GPS systems in their cars, people still do it,” he said. “Unfortunately, we do have a number of homeless people in the area, and we have people who check out cars constantly looking for valuables that can be sold. Anyway that we can spread the word that people should take their valuables with them or secure them out of sight – in a trunk or under a seat – so that predators walking by their cars can’t see them.”

Evans is excited by a number of “significant” arrests that helped to make the Back Bay safer last year. “I’m hoping that we can build on what we were doing at the end of 2006 and keep improving,” said Evans. “Everybody is working hard, and I think getting some additional officers will be a big help in keeping things relatively quiet.”

Graffiti gripes

The Boston Globe caused a stir among Back Bay residents when it ran a story on January 3 about a woman named Pixnit, calling her an “artist” and a “nuisance.” But “vandals” and “criminals” are the terms Back Bay residents would use for Pixnit and others who deface walls, mailboxes and other structures on our streets. The selfishness and lack of empathy for others that Pixnit and her cohorts display is simply breath-taking.

Readers, including Back Bay residents, quickly set the Globe straight through several letters to the editor.

It made us reflect on the recent history of graffiti “art.” Several years ago graffiti was attributed to black youths from the “inner” city, who spray-painted surfaces to “express themselves.” As was the case in the Globe’s article, some observers, who would have been scandalized had their own children spray painted someone’s fence or wall, approved of such behavior as a legitimate form of art, holding that personal expression was more important than the property, public or private, onto which it was affixed.

Finally, calmer heads prevailed. Robert Kiley, who moved from Boston’s MBTA to the New York Transit Authority, tackled the problem in New York. In a watershed moment, he got rid of the graffiti that covered the underground trains, and the transit riding public felt safer and more inclined to use the system. It became less acceptable to deface property with spray paint.

But graffiti never went away. It became a favorite medium for art students. Suburban youths are now believed to be as responsible for defacing city surfaces as anyone else. City dwellers — for graffiti still seems to be a problem of urban areas rather than rural or suburban ones — have become more organized in removing it, however, and calling attention to its problems.

The matter of graffiti appears to embody conflicts that are particularly American. It pits free speech, if one can consider spray-painting speech, against property rights. It brings up questions of how much disorder a society can endure. When a wealthy neighborhood is attacked by bands of graffiti vandals, it can illuminate class and generational differences. When graffiti was attributed to “inner-city” youths, it reminds us that our urban public schools have often cut art classes in the name of cost-savings. Perhaps if the kids had enough instruction, as well as pens, paper, water colors, clay and other materials at hand for expressing themselves, they wouldn’t have felt the need to paint our walls. Finally, it brings up the age-old question: what is art?

Pixnit asks in the Globe article, “Why are we so afraid of paint on walls?” That’s an easy question to answer. Those of us who are committed to a neighborhood know that graffiti unsettles us. It reminds us that society is fragile. It makes people afraid that things are out of control, that danger lurks, that unimagined forces might destroy what all of us have worked so hard to carefully build. In fact, in some neighborhoods, graffiti is evidence of gangs that actually are threatening to neighbors and to one another.

Graffiti is also a big pain in the neck for the person who has to remove it. After all, our “art” tastes are not all the same. Pixnit may like what she applies to walls, but others may not and shouldn’t be forced to live with it.

As a newspaper, we’ll do our part. We won’t publish photos of graffiti, since such publicity might reinforce the behavior. We will not use the word art when describing it. We also won’t use the jargon, such as “tagging,” which romanticizes the culture. We will cover in news stories the efforts of our neighbors who valiantly go out to get rid of the defacement. The problem is unlikely to go away, but we can diminish it.