All charges have been dropped against Stephen Kunian, a prominent Back Bay lawyer and well-known philanthropist who was accused in December of simple assault and battery by artist Gloretta Baynes at an opening party of the Institute for Contemporary Art.

Kunian was not arraigned at the scheduled hearing in Boston Municipal Court Tuesday, following extensive conversations between the district attorney’s office and Baynes’ attorney James Dilday, according to Jake Werk, spokesman for the district attorney’s office. After the discussions, Baynes indicated that she was not willing to go ahead with the case. After reviewing the evidence, the Boston Municipal Court prosecutor took the unusual measure of terminating the prosecution before it had even begun.

“Everyone reasoned that Kunian did not do anything to justify this,” said his attorney Richard Egbert. “Everyone agreed that proceeding in a criminal case was inappropriate.”

According to public record, Baynes originally filed an incident report with the Boston Police, but in the course of their investigation, the police decided not to go forward with it. Later she filed charges and asked Kunian for $500,000 in exchange for dropping them. When the case was dismissed this week, there had been no exchange of funds, said Egbert.

Kunian was pleased and relieved with the outcome of the case. “I was lucky and had tremendous support, but it is outrageous that people can do things like this,” he said.

Kunian, a 1964 graduate of Harvard Law School and partner at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, and his wife Lois are residents of Marlborough Street. Both are supportive of charitable causes, including local arts institutions.

“We’re pleased this horrible ordeal is over and grateful for the outpouring of support from our friends,” said Lois Kunian. “People came out of the woodwork — ones we haven’t seen for years, parents of our children’s friends, even those whose lives have gone separate ways from ours — all telephoned and emailed and wrote letters to us. We were very touched.”

Baynes’ attorney, James Dilday, was not available for comment.

CREDIT: Courtesy photo
CAPTION: City Councilor Mike Ross appointed Sita Smith (left) and Karin Mathiesen (right) to new positions in his office.

There is a new team in place at City Councilor Mike Ross’ office

Sita Smith, who for three years has been fielding residents’ questions from pot holes to dim street lights, is moving up to be acting chief of staff, replacing Jerome Smith, who is now assisting Senate President Therese Murray.

And in Smith’s place, Karin Mathiesen will become director of constituent services to the Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the West End.

Smith, a Northeastern University graduate and North End resident, first worked in Ross’ office as an intern and took over the constituent services role in July, 2005. In her new position, she will be assisting him with policy matters and writing legislation. Moving up, she said, “is a little bittersweet. I have grown to enjoy the relations I have with the residents in the neighborhoods. Yet, it’s time to get fresh eyes looking at those same issues and for me to move up to accept new challenges.”

In accepting the director position, Mathiesen is moving to West Fenway from Weston, Florida, where she spent the past year following her graduation from Wellesley College in 2006. She was a political science major who also serve as an undergraduate intern in Ross’ office during the summer of 2005. She said she is energized about returning to life and work in Boston and looks forward to serving the constituents of the city as a part of Councilor Ross’ office once again.”

credit: D. Harney



The Nova Scotia Connections Festival was held at Copley Square last week. Seen here is fiddle player Andrea Beaton of Cape Breton and Richard Klaas and Aaron Murnaghan, re-enactors of the 78th Highlanders from Halifax.

‘
Psychic readings by Helena, Palm, Tarot Cards, Psychic Personal Advisor’ — all available at 411 Marlborough Street, according to flyers being distributed on Newbury Street and stuck under windshield wipers of parked cars.

But there is one problem, a big one. Stacy Mitchell, who has opened Stacy’s Astrology on the second floor of the residential building near Massachusetts Avenue, doesn’t have a fortune teller’s license for the business. It appears, however, this has not deterred her from operating at the location.

Mitchell had a May 23 date with the city’s Licensing Board to get that permit, and prior to that she was scheduled to appear at the licensing and building use committee of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. But just before that meeting, which took place on May 14, she called Chair Thomas High to say she could not attend because of a personal emergency. At that time, she agreed to withdraw her license application to the city, meet with the committee on June 4 to hear neighbors’ comments and then re-file the application with the city, according to High.

Although she did call the Licensing Board to say she would not attend, she never filed the required written withdrawal. Therefore the board took testimony from neighbors, and High, who explained that the committee had not met with her. The next day Mitchell withdrew the application before the board’s decision was made.

High expected her at the June 4 meeting, as she had agreed, despite the fact that he was unable to contact her immediately prior to the meeting. Residents and neighbors of 411 Marlborough arrived and waited for Mitchell. And again there was no sign of her.

“I am sorry that Stacy Mitchell didn’t attend,” said High. “It would have been good for the neighbors to hear about her plans directly from her and for her to hear the neighbors’ concerns.”

This time the talk continued in her absence. A representative from the buildings condo association said the board had met and decided to oppose the license because of security issues. Two other businesses in the building are located on the ground floor and have their own entrances; Stacy’s, located on the second floor, could only be accessed by the same entrance used to reach the 12 residences.

Other neighbors opposed the application because they remembered the traffic, leafleting, signage and other problems associated with a fortuneteller, also by the name of Mitchell, who once operated at 421 Marlborough Street. They said they do not want to deal with those concerns again.

"All the businesses currently operating in the area are of value and service to the community,” said another neighbor, Penny Cherubino. “I've never heard anyone speak of a need for this type of service. This is a form of entertainment that will attract customers from outside the neighborhood and thus bring in more traffic, noise and parking issues." "

The fact that Mitchell appears to be operating the business was especially troublesome to the neighbors. “We are concerned about this applicant’s apparent disregard for the law,” said High. “It appears that she has begun operations without a license and is conducting advertising to solicit customers. The Licensing Board is aware of this illegal activity and, I’m sure, is taking the appropriate steps.” NABB, in the meantime, decided to oppose the application, should Mitchell file another one with the Licensing Board.

Mitchell, when reached by the Sun after the meeting, said she was not sure if she would re-file. “The Back Bay is giving me a hard time,” she said. “I feel like giving up and moving away. They are being very racist and talking to my neighbors about me without knowing me. They should not make judgments about people without knowing them.”

A crop of tents that had sprouted up recently along the Esplanade near the slopes between the Bowker overpass and Storrow Drive were dismantled last week with help from the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts State Police.

The half dozen tents, belonging to a group of homeless people, were removed, the area was cleaned, trees in the location were trimmed and the approximately dozen occupants told to disperse last Tuesday morning.

“We just can’t let people live on public land that is just not allowed,” said State Police Lieutenant Bruce Lint, who was involved with the effort. “We have a responsibility to enforce the rules and the regulations of the DCR — that is all we did. We tried to do it in a responsible and dignified manner and treat them the best we possibly could.”

In addition to the state police and DCR, representatives from The Pine Street Inn and the Boston Emergency Medical Services were present when the tents were taken down to offer counseling and medical assistance.

Passersby and residents in the Back Bay who noticed the tents, registered complaints about them with DCR. The State Police were contacted and police representatives met with the group and warned them a day ahead of time that they would be taking the tents down.

“This is part of the ongoing challenge that we face when people either will not or can not live in shelters or live in homes or apartments,” said state Representative Marty Walz, who was involved in relocating a homeless man who was living on the Esplanade near Storrow Lagoon last year. “We can’t accept the illegal behavior on the Esplanade or anywhere. At the same time we should treat people as humanely as possible and get them the care they need.”

Stop focusing on the needs of cars

Vehicular traffic congestion causes severe problems for downtown residents. The traffic brings noise, smells, pollution and aggravated drivers who make life hazardous for pedestrians.

That’s why a study considering whether to temporarily remove the ballfields on the Boston Common to expand the Boston Common Parking Garage should be nixed.

That’s why the very able people at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority should instead spend their time and money investigating how to expand other modes of transportation to accommodate the visitors who would otherwise drive their cars. It’s time for all this city’s entities, public or private, to put cars at the bottom of their list of priorities. So many of Boston’s problems, whether it is cleanliness or frustration, can be traced to the car. It is time to create new ways of getting around.

For the garage, it’s the old problem: If you build it they will come. Nothing should be built that attracts more cars. Moreover, everything that is built or changed from now on should give drivers other options besides cars.

The current exercise that Back Bay businesses and residents are going through on the Storrow Drive tunnel rehab highlights the traffic challenges we face. The Storrow Drive tunnel advisory committee is facing the unpleasant fact that Storrow carries far more traffic than was intended and that the future necessary construction will cause severe back-ups. That’s unpleasant for the neighborhood and a time-waster for drivers.

MCCA Executive Director James Rooney said he is not advocating for an expanded garage, but he wants to explore the idea since it was suggested in the study led by Senator Dianne Wilkerson about whether the state should keep running the Hynes Convention Center as well as the new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Morever, Rooney wants to make more money from the garage, since its $5 million in annual profits replace taxpayer dollars that subsidize the two convention centers. Perhaps he could raise the rates in this garage, one of the lowest priced, as well as one of the best run in the city.

Rooney has many options that could be investigated to bring people into the city — a shopper’s shuttle from suburban town centers, expanded commuter rail in which trains run so frequently and fast that no one would think of driving, free commuter rail and T rides. Drivers don’t pay a fee to drive into Boston on Route 93, so why should those taking commuter rail be required to do so?

At this point, as Rooney himself points out, it can be almost as expensive to come by rail from some towns as it is to drive.

Other cities have recently put new strategies in place that change the priority cars have had. London charges a fee for cars entering a central zone. New York leaders are considering such a move. Paris is trying an experiment with free bikes. Leaders of our relatively small city are always defensive — is Boston really world class? If London, New York and Paris are the examples, we won’t be until we start dealing with the car where it should be dealt — at the end of the line in transportation. Let’s start right here by eliminating this study.