Drama on Upton Street
My Upton Street neighbors repeatedly embarrass me in front of the entire city when they voice hollow concerns over the Pine Street Inn purchase of three townhouses on their street. Hope House currently owns and operates the townhouses as a transitional-living facility for up to seventy recovering addicts. It wants to sell all three units to the Pine Street Inn, which will continue using them as a transitional-living facility, but for only thirty-six residents. The sale hit a snag when some whiners decided they no longer want a shelter in the neighborhood. The Union Park Neighborhood Association (UPNA) is up in arms because they weren’t included in any negotiations.
I’m not sure why UPNA members feel like they should be included in any Pine Street Inn business. Even association president Jerry Frank, who moved to Upton Street several years after the opening of the Hope House facility, admitted the association is sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. According to The South End News, Mr. Frank conceded:
“We’re going to find out how this happened, what the plans are … we want to address the economics of this, although it’s really not our business.”
Hope House used the townhouses in question as transitional-housing facility for over twenty-five years: probably longer than most of these whiney-assed Upton Street residents lived in the area. It’s unforgivable that these people saved a few bucks buying homes near a shelter, and now want to force the shelter out. Maybe they can push the Pine Street Inn onto some other less organized, less educated, less affluent families in some other neighborhood. Again, according to The South End News, Mr. Frank whimpered:
“We want to know why Pine Street Inn persists in pushing here when they know the neighbors object.”
Well, Jerry, the Pine Street Inn may not care that you don’t want it there. Keep in mind, you chose to move in to the neighborhood knowing what was there. Deal with it, Holmes.
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