Volunteers Shine in Hyde Square

Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street will spread mulch as part of Boston Shines today.

A local organization is getting in on a citywide spring cleaning. Volunteers will join Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street Saturday to beautify the Hyde and Jackson square as part of Boston Shines Community Cleanup Day, according to the organization’s Facebook page. “Saturday is going to be a beautify day to shine up our street - come join us,” the post says. “Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street volunteers will be spreading fresh mulch to trees along Centre Street as part of Boston Shines. Meet us at Mozart Park at 10:00 am and bring your friends.” Boston Shines 365 is a program launched by Mayor Thomas Menino which provides neighborhoods with materials to help spruce up neighborhoods around the city. If you participated in Boston Shines, upload …

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Hyde or Canary Square?

A post about shoplifting at a CVS touched off a conversation about borderlines in Jamaica Plain.

There’s Jackson Square, Egleston Square, Hyde Square, Forest Hills, the Downtown Centre Street area, the S. Huntington Corridor area, the pond and…Canary Square? Thursday’s story about shoplifters arrested at CVS – 467 Centre St. – touched off a conversation about the name of the area in which the convenience store is located. While the headline of the story referred to it being in Hyde Square, some commenters said this was actually now known as Canary Square. Other commenters, however, called the area Hyde Square, arguing that there is actually no such thing as Canary Square – other than there being a restaurant on South Huntington Avenue which bears the name. Boston is a historic place. Though there are several officially named landmarks…

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Chris Child

3:27 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013

@Anne - Just a correction it's William E. Canary Square (not A.). And some additional background if you are interested - William Emmett Canary was born in Roxbury at 21 Mechanic Street, April 21, 1896, son of Owen & Margaret (Murphy) Canary (His mother came over from Ireland and his father was born in Hyannis, MA and the son of Irish immigrants). The street he was born at is now part of …   more ›

More Shoplifters Arrested in Hyde Square

The area had a rash of shoplifters arrested over the weekend.

Two were arrested after attempting to steal cosmetics from CVS in Hyde Square over the weekend. Violet Santiago and Jamie Rodriguez, both of Jamaica Plain, were arrested Sunday after police were alerted by CVS employees that they were concealing cosmetics. Santiago attempted to conceal cosmetic products in her coat pocket, according to a police report. When police arrived and questioned here, she began scattering the items throughout the store. After a brief struggle with police, she was arrested and charged with shoplifting items worth between $50 and $199 and resisting arrest. Rodriguez, who had left the store moments before police arrived, was later located in front of the 7/11 at the intersection of Centre Street and South Huntington …

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Does JP Need a Hubway Station?

Boston’s bike-share program added 11 stations in 2012, does Jamaica Plain need one next?

Jamaica Plain is a bike-oriented community, and though many own their own bicycles, could the area benefit from a city-operated Hubway bike station? Kris Carter, interim director for Boston Bikes, told the Jamaica Plain Business and Professional Association Wednesday that with sponsorship, JP could have a bike share station in its future. “Everyone knows the easiest way to travel on Centre Street and not have to worry about parking is on a bike,” he said. Carter said the city was looking at Hyde Square or Jackson Square as possible locations for a Hubway station in the future, but where do you want to see a Hubway station in Jamaica Plain? Leave your answers in the comments.

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Eddie G.

11:11 am on Saturday, March 23, 2013

It would make sense to have these bikes available closer to the train like the Forest Hills area (seems like there is a lot of unused space) and Jackson Square. I have noticed more and more of my friends and neighbors riding bikes to commute. I hope this all happens soon!   more ›

Driver of Acura That Knocked Down Street Light, Flipped Bronco Cited for Speeding

Police have filed several citations against a man who allegedly caused a spectacular wreck in Hyde Square Monday morning.

Police have issued citations for speeding and reckless driving to man behind the wheel of an Acura Integra that knocked over a light pole and flipped a Ford Bronco in the heart of Hyde Square Monday morning. The driver, who wasn't named in the police report, plowed into a street light at Centre and Sheridan about 1 a.m. The car also collided with two parked vehicles. One of them, a Ford Bronco, was knocked on its side and nearly into the adjacent building. The pole and truck came to a rest at a front door right beside Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo. The damage can be seen in the incredible photos residents have posted to JP Patch. It's clear the damage to the recently-moved tattoo parlor could have been much worse. "That Bronco died to save our …

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Whole Foods Installs Seating at Their Jamaica Plain Store

Some community members had argued against the grocer adding seats, saying it would put pressure on locally-owned restaurants nearby.

Whole Foods on Monday added long-awaited seating to their Hyde Square grocery store. "Our most asked for community request has been answered... Our seating is here!" Tweeted Jennifer Licht, marketing team leader and community liaison for the 413 Centre St. store. That means that patrons are now able to eat prepared foods at tables inside and outside the store. Some in the community had opposed the move, testifying to the License Board that it might hurt locally-owned restaurants by causing competition. But Whole Foods and its supporters said the grocer was responding to customer demand — and that consuming take-out items from a grocery store wouldn't compete with nearby eateries. "We don't think we'll be competing," Whole Foods' attorney, …

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The Answer to 'Guess the Restaurant' is...

The light on the panini was a clue that this week's Guess the Restaurant is a new face in Hyde Square.

Blessed Sacrament Condo Plan Splits Affordable Housing Backers, Neighborhood Development Corp.

Some advocates of affordable housing and parts of JP's Latin community are engaged in a fight with an organization that is usually a staunch ally — The JP Neighborhood Development Corp.

Tensions appear to be running high between, on one hand, advocates of affordable housing and some parts of JP's Latin community and, on the other, their longtime ally the JP Neighborhood Development Corp. The cause: The future of the remaining undeveloped parcels on the Blessed Sacrament campus. The Neighborhood Development Corp. has brokered a deal to bring 32 or so market-rate condos to the long-vacant Blessed Sacrament Church in the heart of Hyde Square. Also at issue is the old Norbert School Building. The Neighborhood Development Corp. says the plan is in keeping with the community's overall vision for the entire campus — one in which at least 50 percent of the units on the campus as a whole are affordable. They say the market-rate …

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