It’s kind of a common refrain - it’s just hard to meet people here in Boston. It’s kind of clique-y. People aren’t friendly. Everyone just hangs out with the people they met in school or their families. It’s expensive to live here. What’s a newcomer to the city or his/her neighborhood to do?
This age group is known for its social networking skills – via the Internet, cell phones, Twitter, IMs, alumni networks, and the like, but that only goes so far. That six degrees of separation on Facebook may link a person to a neighbor, but it’s hard to start up that conversation, or even recognize that the person lives a few doors down. It takes work. Neighbors here don’t come over with a pie to welcome the new person down the hall.
That’s where Onein3 Boston comes in. It uses Facebook and e-newsletters to connect to some of its members, and through its website on the Boston Redevelopment Authority website.
“Facebook has been great for us,” says Onein3 Boston manager Devin Cole, 28, who says he may branch out to Meetup.com and other social networks and organize old-fashioned block parties.
The Back Bay branch of Onein3 organized a private room at the Rattlesnake Bar last week as part of its monthly networking series. The room filled up as the night went on. Some knew each other before they got there, but others were there to make the leap and get to know people in their neighborhood, a radical concept for a Bostonian.
“It’s not so much our age group has trouble connecting with people. It’s that they live in neighborhoods and are not connecting with people there,” says Cole. “You don’t say hi to people at your bus stop. We provide a safe space to make connections. If you get to know someone on your street, then your street life will be better.”
Cole grew up on Fairfield Street in the Back Bay, and has never moved further than three miles from there, he says. When he moved to Charlestown, on Russell Street, he knew his roommates and a few others, but most of his friends were from high school and college. “I probably walk by 100 young people in Charlestown,” he says. “Last year, I was at the Bunker Hill Parade, and a guy came up to me and said, ‘You just moved here?’” Cole was living in Charlestown for two years at that point. “Turns out he lived three doors down. There never was a reason to get to know each other,” Cole adds.
Cole has been working on this project for four years, and about two years ago, launched the neighborhood groups to target the one-third of Boston's population between 20 and 34 years old. The program connects Boston's young adults with resources related to home buying, business development, professional networking, and civic engagement, whether they are young professionals, parents, singles - anyone in that age group.
“It’s an outgrowth of neighborhood groups,” says Cole. “This organization is building a civic organization. You first have to create basic social connections … to do more proactive civic organizing.”
The One in 3 neighborhoods right now include Back Bay, Beacon Hill, North End, Charlestown, Brighton/Allston, Roxbury, and South Boston, with co-chairs for each group.
The North End chair, Michael Ratty, had moved there from Somerville two years ago, and started planning North End nights while on the mayor’s advisory council. Ratty became active in the community, and has become extremely well connected in the neighborhood. He’s just one of dozens of those active in the Onein3 Boston network, says Cole. “They’re people who moved here three or four months ago, or lived here all their life.”
Back Bay co-chairs Molly Eckman and Caryn Lazaroff both live on Beacon Street, but didn’t know each other until they joined Onein3.
Eckman, who lives on Beacon Street, points out that living in the Back Bay means tiny apartments, and “Tight spaces make it awkward to have conversations,” she says.
Eckman’s day job is at a travel council in Fort Point Channel, but when she comes home to Beacon Street, she laments she didn’t know anyone at the local Starbucks in the morning, or her neighbors next door. In contrast, she knew everyone in her hometown in Carlisle, Pa.
Eckman decided to move to Boston on a whim after seeing Babaloo, a local band who came to her Rochester college and seemed friendly. She had some friends in the area, but says, “It took me five or six years to feel stable here, to feel like a Bostonian…there were years without knowing a neighbor.”
She was doing some online searches to become more connected, and she came across Onein3 on Facebook. Cole appointed her co-chair.
“I want to go to the coffee shop or bookstore and see people I know,” says Eckman. “Everyone says this is a town, but this is not the biggest city in the world, it should have more of a neighborhood feel.”
Eckman stopped to say hi to Michele Laudenberger. In a weird coincidence, Eckman had been visiting her hometown and ran into her neighbor, Laudenberger, who was also home visiting, but lives in Boston. “I told her about this,” said Eckman, and Laudenberger came to the Rattlesnake to meet others, too. “I love this city,” says Eckman. “I want people to love it here.”
Eckman loves it so much, she is now invested in the city. She bought a studio and is looking to join the neighborhood association and take classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education.
Caryn Lazaroff, 30, grew up in Rhode Island and lived in Manhattan before coming here two years ago. She says, frankly, people are friendlier in New York City. An outgoing person, she doesn’t think twice about going places alone, but it was just hard to meet people. “It’s sort of clique-y here,” she says. “People only talk to the people they come with.”
She had friends in Boston, but, she says, “I wanted to carve out my own space.” She saw an ad for the mayor’s advisory counciland was invited to be a co-chair of the Back Bay group. “I met the neighbors in my building,” she says. Through the group, she is meeting more neighbors. “I am getting to know the city better,” she says. “This provides a warm sense of community.”
It’s also in Boston’s interest to try and keep our young residents from fleeing the city, even the state, so ONEin3 Boston provides links to career resources, parent resources like schools, parent groups, summer camps, day care, and area attractions, volunteer opportunities, information on local government and elected officials, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, tools for renting, and first-time homebuyers programs.
So far, Cole says, he hasn’t heard of any romantic connections at these events, “but it would be a great place to meet someone,” he adds.
Tonight at 6 p.m., the One in 3 career division will host an entrepreneurs night at the Boston Public Library, with guests invited to dissect and critique a few presentations. Boston Young Entrepreneurs provide support to entrepreneurs at varying stages and levels of experience while establishing a united voice for its members. It’s open to all young voices and meets in the evening on the third Tuesday of every month.
For more information on Onein3 Boston, go to www.onein3boston.org.

Without a peep from the public, developer Ronald Druker cleared another hurdle en route to the demolition of the Shreve Crump and Low building last week, earning quick approval for his new development project with a unanimous vote from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA).
Because the vote wasn’t part of a public hearing, nobody from the public voiced opposition or support to the project before the vote was taken.
Druker, who refused to answer questions from the Sun, found himself back before the BRA after the city nixed his original design for a mixed-use office and retail complex on the A-B block of Boylston Street. The decision by the BRA means the authority will support the project in principle, pending additional design review, and will support the developers in their request for variances from the Zoning Board of Appeal.
For now, the Shreve and its neighbors are still under the protection of a 90-day demolition delay imposed by the Boston Landmarks Commission, which expires in November. Tenants currently occupying the building say they are planning to be there through December.
In response (perhaps a desperate one), a group of art deco enthusiasts has filed a second request for landmark status with the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC). The BLC has already heard and rejected an application for the Shreve, clearing the way for Druker’s wrecking ball. A second application only has a chance if the applicants have additional information that wasn’t previously considered, according to the commission. The BLC will hold a public hearing on the building on Monday, November 10, at City Hall, which could most likely represent the last chance for the historic structure.
If all avenues of opposition are exhausted, the Shreve, along with its irreplaceable, highly detailed copper frieze, will be lost to history in favor of what one architectural blogger has called “a precast shoebox”.
The proposed replacement structure has gone through more than one redesign, but would combine ground floor retail and restaurant space with 200,000 square feet of boutique luxury office space. Proponents of the building say it will provide much needed office space to the city and a shot of vitality for one of the Back Bay’s least successful blocks.
Councilor Bill Linehan is among those lined up in support of Druker.
“This is fertile land for development,” said Linehan. “Given the current state of the financial markets, further delay must be avoided, if possible. This is a sound project that satisfies members of our constituencies [proposed] by a respected Boston-based developer.”
Others, however, have reacted negatively both to the proposed destruction of the Shreve and to the new design proposed by Druker. Earlier this year, a member of the BLC referred to the design as appalling. In response to the criticism, Druker came back with a boxier design with greater setbacks on the top floors.
Druker and his architects have said several times that the realities of the MBTA tunnels underneath the building make reusing the façade of the Shreve a nearly impossible engineering feat. They also said the floor plates of the old building are insufficient for sustaining a modern office environment.

In this day of programmed cell phones and Internet orders, who knew the renovation of a flower store would have left such a hole along Newbury Street, even when there was another Winston’s around the corner?
The flagship 131 Newbury Street store, which opened in 1944, hadn’t been renovated in more than 15 years, so it was closed since mid-June. Customers only had to travel to the Boylston Street store around the corner, but still, the Newbury Street shop was missed by the neighborhood and area merchants.
“So many people came in and said it was worth the wait,” said store manager Kelly Bonzani, who is thanking her customers for their patience during the renovations. “It really kind of made my day. One customer said she’s been coming since the ‘70s, said she saw every renovation, and told us what a good job we’ve done. Our customers agree that it looks amazing and that they are happy that this is in their neighborhood.”
Winston Flowers will show off its extreme makeover tonight at its open house. The store received a sophisticated new look by designers Kelly Monnahan Design and Studio F-Kia, along with Winston Flowers creative director Hilary Nylander.
Bonzani, who has been there for more than a year, oversaw the Boylston Street and Newbury Street shop transitions, with a goal to achieve a look that’s equal parts natural and modern design, to showcase floral and plant designs and products.
“While we are a company looking for a more modern direction aesthetically, it’s important we still want to look like a flower shop,” said Bonzani, who lives in the North End. “Instead of making the store so sleek, it was almost sterile, we made it a little warm yet modern, while still keeping the feeling of the Back Bay by keeping the exposed brick.”
We weren’t sure a flower shop could get any greener, but Winston’s is doing the best it can. It upgraded the windows for insulation and the staff’s comfort; installed energy-efficient lights, and will also be turning them off a half-hour after closing and before opening to save energy. They’re also focusing on buying flowers from local farms, said Bonzani.
The redesign of the front also brings more light into the basement level shop. “We cut the awning in half,” she said.
There’s also a new lawn, with five-foot-deep planters currently seeded with Lirope grass. “They will change with the seasons,” said Bonzani.
To say thanks, the shop is offering a limited-edition floral design, and complimentary delivery on "The Newbury" or any floral arrangement of $120 or more, until the end of the month.

The City Council's Boston Common Committee held a hearing Monday to discuss a federally-funded capital grant of $200,000.00 from the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service to refurbish the decaying Brewer Fountain on the Tremont Street side of the Boston Common. The committee recommended Monday that the $200,000 be sent to the City Council for a vote on Wednesday. "If all goes well work on the fountain will begin in early spring 2009 and take about a year to complete," said City Councilor Michael Ross, co-chair of the Boston Common committee. "The important thing here is that the Tremont Street side of the Common is not as built up as it could be and this side of the park is in need of the most work. I think refurbishing the fountain will certainly kickoff the effort to turn this part of the Common around." City Councilor Sal LaMattina added that the fountain "is one of the nicest fountains we have in the City of Boston". "We have have an opportunity here to restore a city treasure," said LaMattina, who co-chairs the committee with Ross. "I'm looking forward to turning this beautiful landmark back to its original glory." The Boston Parks and Recreation Department received a $200,000 grant from Save America's Treasures, to be matched by $300,000 from the mayor's Capital Budget, and $100 from the Fund for Parks and Recreation. The city will refurbish the bronze statue fountain, and install a new water circulating system. The fountain was given to the city in 1867, and has been spewing green ever since. According to Henry Lee, who leads the Friends of the Public Garden, the fountain was restored about 10 years ago, but the water pump and the recirculating system became flooded. “That all has to be replaced, plus the work on the monument itself,” said Lee. “It has never run very well for very long in its entire history. William Dean Howell looked at the allegorical figures [in the fountain] and said it was the four seasons of drought. He said that 120 years ago, and nothing much has changed.” Lee said that lovingly, because the fountain is a treasure that not only needs this funding, but an ongoing endowment. The area surrounding it is also in need of renovation. “It is bleak and barren and in very bad condition,” he said. “We think part of making the fountain once again the centerpiece of the Common is making it more hospitable and attractive. That, too, will cost a great deal of money.” The Friends are working with a local landscaping architectural firm to develop plans and hope to have “something to study” within the next months, said Lee. For now, the $600,000 refurbishment will include disassembly, removal, transporting to an offsite conservation studio, cleaning, repair, repatination, reassembly and reinstallation of the historic 1868 bronze fountain, said a spokesman from the Parks Department. The project will also clean, repoint and repair existing granite masonry elements, and include a bird deterrent system. Bids to start the project, as designed by Carr, Lynch and Sandell of Cambridge, are due Thursday, October 23, and assuming bids are received and are appropriate, the project will be awarded that day, said Hines. The contract will probably be executed within eight weeks, with work starting in December. According to Mary Hines of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, the bronze sculptural fountain piece will be restored offsite in a conservator’s studio. While the fountain is away, the existing concrete basin will be partially removed, new piping will be installed and a new, more historically accurate concrete basin will be installed. The water level in the fountain will be slightly reduced, but will be adequate to maintain the sound of the water splashing. The basin will be lined with dark gray, 2-3-inch flat stones set in a bed of mortar. In addition, two new underground vaults will be installed in the turf panel directly east of the fountain. The equipment vault will hold pumps, filters, heaters, and other equipment required to run the fountain, while the storage vault will hold the fountain water, leaving the fountain empty during night hours. The new pumps will be higher capacity and will force more water through the fountain than in previous years. Once everything is installed, the bronze statue will be returned to the site and re-installed atop the existing granite plinth. For now, Lee is crossing his fingers that the mayor’s recent cutback plans won’t include the fountain. “It’s tied to other funding,” he said hopefully. The Friends of the Public Garden understand current economic conditions mean the parks may be overlooked. “It’s nothing that a few million dollars wouldn’t take care of,” Lee said, joking. But more seriously, he said, perhaps it is time that the residents around the park look into funding their front yard. “In many other cities, groups have gone to neighbors and argued successfully that half the value of their property is looking over the park,” Lee said. “Everyone wants to see the Common improved, but the city is short of funds.” He also argued that the parks receive no improvement money from the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, which runs the underground garage, or the MBTA, which has several stops on the Common. “Both state agencies use and damage the Common but don’t provide any funds to support the Common. Nor do any of the development firms in the neighborhoods,” he said. Again, Lee knows the economic climate isn’t very sunny right now. “We’re not expecting any big bonanzas in the next six months, but one can always hope,” he added.

What is in a temporary sign? A lot, according to the Back Bay Architectural Commission (BBAC), who told the owners of 93 Mass. Avenue to think outside of the box and come back with a more appropriate sign. The sign that was submitted was to be used for approximately 12 months, during the construction of the building, which received BBAC approval in July.
The applicants will appear before the commission next month.
In other news:
- The developers of 161-163 Commonwealth Avenue were given the green light to start their project. The details for both the windows and pre-patina copper were finally approved by the BBAC at its monthly meeting last Wednesday night. The project will build a new townhouse on the vacant lot near Dartmouth Street and also rehab the other townhouse at 163 Commonwealth Ave. Parking will be provided in the back and the building at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Dartmouth Street will be rehabbed into two condos, each with approximately 10,000 square feet of space.
- The current tree located on the property doesn’t grow at 175 Marlborough Street. However, that fact didn’t deter the commissioners from telling the owner to remove the dead tree, have the soil tested and replaced with another magnolia tree. However, the owner preferred to use shrubbery in place of the tree.
- The owner at 270 Clarendon Street will get some outdoor space, but not as much as he wanted. The building located at the corner of Marlborough and Clarendon Street offered challenges to building a roof deck, because the building is located on a corner. The solution was to cut the deck down from 15 feet by 17-feet to 10 feet by 10 feet. Access will be through a roof hatch.
- “A great opportunity to improve the most egregious building in the district,” according to BBAC Senior Planner William Young, was also on the agenda. The renovation plans of the building at 45-47 Commonwealth Avenue calls for a garage door to be cut into the existing rear wall and numerous improvements on the front and rear façades of the building. The plans also include recessing the top two floors facing Commonwealth Avenue by approximately 9-1/2 feet and replacing it with a mansard roof. The aluminum siding on the rear of fifth and sixth floors will be replaced by slate.
The back yard will be landscaped and open with brick, trees and shrubs. The only issue was the garage door that created a quandary for the commissioners. The garage door will be located at the end of the driveway that will slope down from the street to accommodate the eight-foot high door. One commissioner asked, “Can we justify doing it?” referring to guidelines that prohibit cutting into a façade. The project was approved in concept, but the owner will appear again with more detailed drawings to show the location and appearance of the garage door.