A controversial proposal to build an Armenian Memorial on the Rose Kennedy Greenway is again under fire, with a city-appointed task force asking a state agency to weigh in on the matter.
The Armenian Heritage Foundation's plan to build a memorial on the greenway has ignited opposition from community groups and city officials -- including Mayor Thomas Menino -- since it was publicly unveiled last year.
But now the Mayor's Central Artery Completion Task Force has asked for an advisory opinion from the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs as to whether the Armenian Heritage Foundation has followed the public process.
The mayor's task force -- appointed to work with the city and state to vet the programming and design for each of the greenway parcels -- contends that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority did not bring its plans for what is known as Parcel 13 before the task force and chose to instead designate the Armenian Heritage Foundation as the developer. Parcel 13 is located in the North End near Christopher Columbus Park.
The task force alleges the foundation is not following the established public process and that it continues to hold meetings with community groups despite opposition to putting memorials on the greenway. In addition to seeking an advisory opinion for the state, the task force and the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy have gone on record opposing any memorials on the greenway for five years.
In place of soliciting the task force's, city's or state's opinion, the Armenian Heritage Foundation has instead "conducted an extensive series of one-on-one meetings and presentations as well as several larger meetings with various groups and organizations," according to a May 4 letter to state officials written by Robert Tuchmann, co-chair of the mayor's task force. The letter goes on to say "no such meeting has been made to the Mayor's Central Artery Completion Task Force."
The Turnpike Authority continues to hold meetings with community groups -- with the most recent occurring on May 9 at the Nazzaro Community Center in the North End -- and the mayor's task force has asked MEPA to "issue to the MTA a letter indicating that the redevelopment of Parcel 13 should follow the established procedures which have applied to all other designations and designs along the greenway."
The public comment period on the Armenian Memorial proposal ended Tuesday, and MEPA is not expected to make a decision until June 8. Officials at MEPA declined to comment until a decision is reached.
The Armenian Heritage Foundation was designated as the development of the parcel by former Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello last June. The current chairman, John Cogliano, was not available for comment, but authority spokesman Jon Carlisle said one potential option the MTA might entertain would be to issue a request for proposals for
Parcel 13 that would allow any interested parties to propose a design.
"Chairman Cogliano's goals are to move the process forward but to do it in a way that allows all interested parties to add their voices," said Carlisle. "We want to make sure the process is as open as possible and solicits as many (opinions) and input as possible."
In a letter dated May 7, James Kalustian, president of the Armenian Heritage Foundation, wrote that his group has tried to meet with the task force several times and has been rebuffed. Kalustian said the foundation "wishes to clarify the facts so this project, and the process we followed, can be seen in a true light."
The foundation has held 33 meetings to date, including a meeting with Tuchmann in October of 2005.
It also says the memorial is dedicated to commemorating contributions by all Armenians to Massachusetts, with a small statue in memory of those killed in the Armenian Genocide. Kalustian states community groups including the Wharf District Task Force and the North End Waterfront Residents Association support the project. [Bolding mine]
"I think there are some people that are concerned about process. I think there are some people who really don't want this park on the greenway, and I really don't understand why," said Kalustian.
But try telling Nancy Caruso that. Caruso is a North End resident and co-founder of the North End Waterfront Central Artery Committee.
"I want them to go through the process," she said. "Everybody else had to follow the rules."