Future Boston Alliance

I don't think they realistically think they can compete in electoral politics -- although they hope someone does for them. One problem with the Boston area as a whole is that the constituency for a lot of the changes they propose actually lives in Cambridge and Somerville, with small minorities in Allston and maybe JP-ish. There's a reason Menino keeps getting elected.

Rather, they want to be more of a lobbying/pressure group. And why not? It's not like the developers who are chums with Menino have his attention because they can mobilize voter wards.
 
czsz said:
I don't think they realistically think they can compete in electoral politics -- although they hope someone does for them. One problem with the Boston area as a whole is that the constituency for a lot of the changes they propose actually lives in Cambridge and Somerville, with small minorities in Allston and maybe JP-ish. There's a reason Menino keeps getting elected.

Rather, they want to be more of a lobbying/pressure group. And why not? It's not like the developers who are chums with Menino have his attention because they can mobilize voter wards.
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I, too, get this feeling on both points. Cambridge in Kendall Square initiative with MIT, and Somerville with the Green Line extension are both enacting a policy framework to build more housing and services in addition to more offices and labs. They both feed off of Boston's success, but provide it with valuable policy laboratories on a smaller scale. Our own sort of federalism. Boston is trying to learn from this in the innovation district by verying obviously taking success framework of cambridge and bringing it to SPID. But with the business needs to come the lifestyle and cultural changes.

I think the mood is right for a strong lobby group that can unify essentially the yuppie crowd (of which i am apart). Success 23-35 years olds without kids that have the mind of a college student and the income and decision factors of an adult. This would quickly become a very influential group in my opinion. One that would push for things like development policy that encourages density and height not as an end, but as a mean to bring down costs. One that encourages diverse storefronts at street level to make the city more vibrant. One that says policy arbitrarily shouldn't limit what people can do when, but should provide a framework and space to safely do anything while respecting others who choose not to indulge in the same thing.

If this is what it becomes, I would be very pleased, and needless to say, I am keeping a close eye on them.
 
Looking back at the last 20 years. I would have to consider Cambridge to be more successful than Boston on creating a better balance for its NIMBYS, Jobs, Innovation and development.

It seems Cambridge is looking towards the future. Somerville is even becoming attractive.
 
Somerville was already attractive. It's just becoming attractive to different people for different reasons.
 
Davis and increasingly Union Squares were attractive. The rest, to a much lesser extent -- and it remains sort of terra incognita to many who don't already live there. The Green Line extension will likely open up the majority of the city in the same way for the first time, though, and that buzz is still over the horizon.

Lobbying Boston City Hall is still important, though. The city sets the pace for local culture as a whole (and has much more weight in state politics, which will be the real battleground for a lot of these issues), and there's only so much experimentation Cambridge and Somerville can achieve within that framework.
 
I read somewhere Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard on hearing Menino was considering running for city council in Boston.

Maybe The Don will run. Oh wait, he doesn't live in Boston.
 
^ It's clearly working out better than Boston's, but still not completely satisfying the talent that startups need to stay in the Boston area. If all anyone needed to do was be on that side of the Charles to have the fun they're looking for, this group would not be necessary.
 
Justin7 said:
grumblegrumbleyoungfolkgrumblegrumble
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That's the funny thing, I'm probably younger than most of the assholes behind this thing. The difference is they have no obligations, responsibilities or even real jobs for that matter. Like small children, they're caught up in minutia. Most property owners, myself included, couldn't give two shits about what they're selling - 24 hour gyms, food trucks, what t-shirts Nike can display, dancing regulations, our standing relative to New York and LA, etc. I'd love to hear what they have to say about public sector pension reform and the rampant abuse of the disability retirement system in the police, fire and school departments that wind up costing taxpayers real money. I realize Menino's not going to achieve anything in that realm, but these goofball kids, well, they're just that, useless goofball kids.
 
I'm sure businesses will flock here once the disability retirement system in the police, fire, and school departments is fixed. What is the point of criticizing a group for not concentrating on this when you acknowledge it's not likely to happen anyway? Maybe the whole point is to concentrate on easy-to-achieve objectives.

And those objectives aren't necessary irrelevant for "property owners". Do you know what else costs taxpayers money? Failing to expand the tax base by opening pointless regulatory barriers. Failing to stimulate the local economy by promoting a legal structure that encourages entrepreneurship. Failing to expose the cronyism that allows established stakeholders to rip off the city for subsidies and other bad deals while a more visionary and diverse group of investors is locked out.
 
Wow, kmp, you sound angry.

How do you know so much about them, like what jobs they have?
 
Benjamin Franklin Quote
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic"
 
kmp1284 said:
That's the funny thing, I'm probably younger than most of the assholes behind this thing. The difference is they have no obligations, responsibilities or even real jobs for that matter. Like small children, they're caught up in minutia. Most property owners, myself included, couldn't give two shits about what they're selling - 24 hour gyms, food trucks, what t-shirts Nike can display, dancing regulations, our standing relative to New York and LA, etc. I'd love to hear what they have to say about public sector pension reform and the rampant abuse of the disability retirement system in the police, fire and school departments that wind up costing taxpayers real money. I realize Menino's not going to achieve anything in that realm, but these goofball kids, well, they're just that, useless goofball kids.
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I just read about this group for the first time today.

1. The founder of the group was the founder of Karmaloop. That company was cutting edge and successful by any measure.

2. I'd suggest that the Archboston forum probably wouldn't exist if people were satisfied with the quality of architecture, development and the regulatory environment. Not to mention rampant cronyism. That said, any time anyone here proposes a major upgrade to the system, the defenders of the status quo are outraged.

As with all things, talk is talk and results speak for themselves. If I were the Mayor, I'd consider embracing these ideas instead of considering them divisive.
 
KMP...I agree with you that the the fundamentals of city governance in this town are an abomination. The problems are deep and expensive- fire/police/bloated bureacracy, but that doesn't mean the problems they cite are irrellevant. Maybe you dismiss the idea of a creative class, but I don't. The culture of a city matters. If it is open and freewheeling, it will draw innovative talent. If it is cold and run by an all powerful mayor who thinks he's entitled to control every action on every corner in the city, then the city will suffer.
 
kmp1284 said:
That's the funny thing, I'm probably younger than most of the assholes behind this thing. The difference is they have no obligations, responsibilities or even real jobs for that matter. Like small children, they're caught up in minutia. Most property owners, myself included, couldn't give two shits about what they're selling - 24 hour gyms, food trucks, what t-shirts Nike can display, dancing regulations, our standing relative to New York and LA, etc. I'd love to hear what they have to say about public sector pension reform and the rampant abuse of the disability retirement system in the police, fire and school departments that wind up costing taxpayers real money. I realize Menino's not going to achieve anything in that realm, but these goofball kids, well, they're just that, useless goofball kids.
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Too cool to be hip...no wait, you're just bitter. Apparently young, working city residents and homeowners shouldn't advocate for a better and more vibrant city? I get the complaints about the cronyism, but mocking the people who are trying to change the city's culture and dismissing their efforts is just the type of "if you don't like it, then leave" kind of attitude that perpetuates the status quo and all of the problems you identified.
 
It's the I got mine mentality. If it doesn't benefit me, the hell with them. If they don't see things the way I see it, they are below me. Hence the "not a real job."
 
His interview with Inc is rather revealing, and not exactly consistent with the Globe Alliance article about being able to find employees in Boston.

My commute is one minute and 20 seconds. I live two blocks from work, which is why I chose this office. The building was slated for demolition, but then the economy tanked, so I contacted the landlord, and he gave us a great deal. I wanted to stay in Boston. It's my hometown; plus, there are a lot of really smart kids coming out of the universities here, so we grab them before they go anywhere else.
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http://www.inc.com/ss/liz-welch/way-i-work-greg-selkoe-karmaloop#9
 
It's one thing to dazzle some kind with a job offer out of college; another to retain him when he has options. Also a very different thing to make lateral hires from other locations.
 
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