By Linda Scott
Watertown Resident
Are We in Balance?
Balance: “An even distribution of weight, enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.” Oxford Languages
I was reading a Watertown News article entitled: “Life Science Building Could Potentially Go on Part of the Home Depot Parking Lot” and the comments that ensued and felt the need to write. As usual, it got long!
Balance in Bio Lab Development
First, thanks, Corey Dillon for the list of labs that are empty and/or underutilized at this time. May I add to your list with other lab spaces in Watertown? I do not know their occupancy status, and my list may not be complete, but your list does not give people the full picture and magnitude of what is going on here. I’ve written my additions in bold print and red print. My additions, by the way, may not be a complete list, either.
Corey’s List
66 Galen street – not fully leased (or not leased at all) 5 acre campus 224,000 sf
64 Pleasant street – 45 percent vacant 164,000 sf
99 Coolidge – 60 percent vacant 255,000 sf
500 Forge – 25 percent vacant. 120,000 sf
580 Pleasant street – 60 percent vacant (Russos Part 1: 147,000 sf)
250 Arsenal – partially vacant 213,500 sf
Properties that have been approved but not developed:
- Acton street (Cannistrano site). 180,000 sf
- Waltham street (Sterritt Lumber site). 67,000 sf
- Pleasant Street (Russos site) (Russos, Part 2 is planned for 191,930 sf)
- 29 Elm street – partially vacant (I may be wrong, but didn’t the developer, having no lab space “bites,” give up on this and try to sell the space for another use?)
And, add to that:
- 705 Mt Auburn Street (Western Electric Bldg) 536,792 sf
- 64 Grove Street property (next to Newlywed Foods) 61,173 sf.
- 65 Grove Street 124,271 sf
- 100 Forge Street 9 stories 156,600 sf
- 500 Arsenal Street (Target Mall) plus adjacent property 93,507 sf
- To the left of 250 Arsenal Place … 20,000 sf available in existing building
- 490 Arsenal Way (entrance on Nichol’s Ave) 185,000 sf
- 200 Arsenal Yards (3 buildings) 108,000 sf
- 100 Talcott Avenue building 313 3 story 85,108 sf
- 400 Talcott Avenue Building 97. 52,983 sf
- 88 Water Street (next to MBTA car barn, not yet built) 226,000 sf
- 1 Kingsbury Avenue Building 60 18,294 sq ft
- Arsenal on the Charles (Buildings 1-3) 207,000 sf
- 400 North Beacon Street, building 97 sf N/A
New and up for approval:
• Manley way
And, a huge project up for approval:
• Alexandria Watertown Mall, Phase One … for details, click here.
This new proposed building behind Home Depot spotlighted in the Watertown News article would also be competing with the plans that Alexandria (a large developer of bio lab space) has for the Best Buy/ Watertown Mall site as well. It must be stated that the Alexandria site will be multi-use with bio labs, retail space, and housing (after negotiations with the City).
And what will happen when Home Depot loses parking? (What actual percentage of the parking lot is Home Depot, a very busy and successful Watertown business, going to lose?) Will Watertown lose a major hardware business in our community? Exactly how many services do we want leaving our community, necessitating residents leaving the City to get even the basics? And is that a balanced community? In a community with so little acreage, we can’t just say, “Why don’t you move over here, Home Depot?”
As has been stated many times by City decision-makers, “Labs want company,” when stating a rationale for encouraging building even more of them. I don’t know what you think, but it’s my opinion that as it stands now, it seems they’ve already got their ample share of companions here in 4 square mile Watertown! Not to mention that the Cambridge and Boston labs are only a short bike ride away.
Why does Alexandria sell off properties elsewhere and stay in Watertown? (A claim that’s also been touted more than once as something to be proud of). I don’t know … maybe it’s because they own so much of Watertown already? Or maybe we’re just the cheapest and easiest date?
One of the things that I’m pretty sure isn’t generally understood is that these biotech businesses are not stable, like banks. They’re speculative by nature and can be shut down even months into their operation. There’s tremendous pressure by the investors to succeed quickly, so many just don’t make it. They come and go like the wind in Watertown, leaving no forwarding addresses or updates on new management.
There’s a cottage industry that grows up amongst bio labs. If you’re alert, you’ll see them all over the city … trucks that clean labs and carry their hazardous waste through our streets. One thing that is rapidly expanding: the list of vivariums in these labs, lab space used for animal experimentation.
Balance in keeping Watertown residents healthy:
One of the topics brought up by a resident at the State of the City address the other night was rats. The answer was the cause was warm winters and fruit trees. There was a nod to best practices being used at the new High School build, which is a good strategy. But the first answer … fruit trees? Yep, they’re the enemy, not the massive amount of construction clogging our streets, causing tremendous amounts of dust and noise pollution and driving these disease laden creatures from their warrens.
I have no argument with things like untended gardens and fruit trees adding to the problem, but we’ve had those for hundreds of years. They did not drive these creatures into our neighborhoods. No, construction with inadequate planning did.
An old and well-worn political strategy is at work here: look here, not over there. Or as the cartoon character Pogo once stated, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
The Health Department is doing yeoman’s work on the rat issue, creating and implementing a dumpster ordinance for the very first time in Watertown. This kind of work was not done under Health Department leadership in the recent past, so our Health Department is playing catch up, with apparently no significant cooperation from our Planning Department.
By the way, the Health Department is also responsible for dealing with all of the environmental hazards these construction monoliths create. Just a few examples:
A Watertown resident was disembarking a bus on a windy day when she realized that a large pile of construction dirt was flying every which way in the air. She went up to one of the workers to remind him that the rules were a pile of dirt like this needed to be either hosed down or covered. His response? “F… you, lady!”
An old building was starting to be dismantled, roof first, with workers in hazmat suits throwing what appeared to be asbestos to the ground, rather than containing it, with people living nearby. Yet another problem for the Health Department, which was pointed out by a citizen, not City staff.
Not sure with all of this construction chaos that the Health Department has gotten to bio lab inspections yet … another big topic that was ignored by the previous Heath Department administration. The City’s apparent attitude: Take the money and don’t ask too many questions.
As one City Councilor finally asked at the 11/9/2022 City Council meeting, “There are no inspections. Does this work on the honor system? How do we know that they’re doing what they say they’re doing?”
The answer from Brad Parsons, the Chair of our BioSafety Committee, a blunt, “We don’t.” That question was asked almost two years ago.
At any rate, I look forward to the day when/if the residents and small businesses of Watertown will enjoy the same due diligence and consideration that their large corporate neighbors get. A little more balance between corporate and human interests, please!
How in balance are the hiring priorities of our budget? I would think when increasing Watertown personnel, where we spend our money is where we show our values. Please, Mr. Proakis, enumerate exactly how many positions (and in what departments) you’ve added since becoming our City Manager and how much more it’s costing for those positions (in pay and benefits). Your scheduled October budget meeting with the City Council would be a very appropriate time to share this information. Many residents are worried!
Right now it may be a wash, but down the road, as you so gently hinted at in your State of the City address, “It (falling revenue) is a risk we have to keep an eye on.” And it’ll be on the backs of the citizens of Watertown.
“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” — Joe Biden
And finally, a few more questions:
How balanced is a city where even the people living in the central part of town can’t walk to a Post Office or where residents of the City have to leave town to mail a package on a Saturday?
By the way, the Boston Globe had an article on Sept. 20th, by Niki Griswold entitled “City Councilors call for emergency hearing over ‘inadequate’ USPS service in many Boston neighborhoods.” Watertown is mentioned in it:
“At the end of August, Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with eight other members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation, sent a letter to DeJoy to demand an in-person meeting with the USPS’ Massachusetts and Rhode Island District Manager Scott Manier over their concerns with USPS service across the state.”
“They listed several problems, including post office closures in Medway and Watertown and lost mail and delays in Roxbury, Somerville, Brookline, and other communities. The lawmakers also emphasized their objection to USPS’ new proposal to consolidate processing centers and delay mail delivery in rural areas.” Are we proud to be part of the problem, Watertown?
How balanced is a city where the overall construction of housing heavily favors the very affluent and childless?
How balanced are City services when you compare Johnny on the spot City responses to road and sidewalk improvements to accommodate large developers when a Watertown elementary school has to wait eight years for a safe school crosswalk for its kids?
How do we achieve a balance? Matt Lashof-Sullivan is correct in saying that “Soviet-style planning” isn’t the answer, but more prudent oversight and planning, which includes forethought and more community control is needed. Commitment of our City government to Watertown as a community, not just as an expedient revenue source should be our goal.
I think Joe Levendusky said it best:
“Those who have concerns about over building in one sector–the eggs in one basket issue–have an excellent point. More diversity in our commercial real estate inventory would be healthy for the town, just as diversity in one’s investment portfolio lowers an individual’s exposure to risk. Those who are worried about over development in the area of the river–our most precious natural asset–also raise a vital concern. When we desecrate an area like the riverfront, the damage is unlikely to be undone in our lifetimes, if at all. Boylston Properties has habitually shown little regard for the river. Those who care about our built environment must also question the land use decision of building more lab space. We are constantly being told that we need more housing and yet too much land is being developed for labs and tech. We need to pause on building labs and find a way to build affordable housing on our remaining developable land. Soon it will be too late. Too much land going used up bio tech means that we wind up with housing development that is oversized and too dense in other locations. This has a negative impact on the character of our city.
Finally any future development in the Arsenal area must be contingent on upgrades in public transit. Currently the Arsenal Corridor is underserved and has poor transit choices. At a minimum, Bus Rapid Transit should be considered. One cannot continue to pile traffic load onto this area without serious quality of life consequences.
The traffic situation is bad enough presently, but we seem to be gleefully working our way toward a catastrophic breakdown. It is a bloody shame that we lost the Watertown rail spur right of way. It might have been a piece of a transportation solution for the future. It was extremely short sighted not to assign greater value this asset.”
Does the fact that many folks in decision-making positions in our City government aren’t Watertown residents and are not exposed to these 24 hour a day challenges have any impact on any of this? That’s a clear possibility.
Finally, a personal observation: George Proakis, our City Manager, is impressive standing up before a screen, explaining the ins and outs of planning and zoning. But to my mind, and I think to many other residents, he is even more impressive when he walks a Watertown street, like Highland Avenue, listening to residents’ legitimate complaints and concerns and committing to help them with their (mostly City-created) problems. Then following through with his commitment. It’s part of a simple recipe for a happy and balanced community.
Linda,
I’m glad you oppose Soviet-style planning. I agree that, if certain businesses are causing harm to our community in various ways (e.g. pollution, noise), that should be regulated. What I meant by Soviet-style planning is the notion that the community and/or the government should decide what amounts and types of goods and services we “need” or “don’t need” and mandate that those goods and services are the only ones that should be produced/provided. The entire insight of free market capitalism is that a planner inevitably does a bad job of this.
Let’s have government do what it does best, which is preventing harm and providing public services, and then let the market do what *it* does best, which is (in the aggregate/long run) supplying the amounts and types of goods and services that people are willing to pay for.
Oy! Again, the term “Soviet style planning” is right wing screed designed to induce fear and anger in citizens rather than logical thought. Soviet style planning has not been seen on the planet since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Our allies in parts Europe have often been quite successful with a concept called Social Democracy. To simplify, it is a form of government with a Capitalist economic system but with safeguards to protect against most of the damaging excesses that Capitalism can bring about. It is not socialism because there is no command economy involved. But right wingers like to call it socialism, which is thoroughly incorrect.
BTW, folks in such countries tend to really like their government. And if you want to see good development, go to Copenhagen.
Agree. It’s a Leninism – more inline with Fascism than Socialistic policy.
Yeah, I mean if the shoe fits, y’know?
Anyway, I’m no right-ist, and I normally wouldn’t throw that S-word around, but my sense is that the original letter writer is herself on the conservative end (I disagree, but nothing wrong that that I suppose). But it is bizarre to me that folks who are otherwise quite conservative can be in favor of so much government control of business – not even because of any concrete harms associated with the business but just because they think they know better what goods and services we will “need” in the future.
I often feel like we have the same folks who are pushing for limited government, low taxes, etc are the ones pushing for such fine-grained government control of what gets built in our community.
I agree that Nordic-style social democracy is good. That actually is accomplished by relatively free markets combined with high taxes and a high level of public services. Let’s do that instead of this please.
“That actually is accomplished by relatively free markets combined with high taxes and a high level of public services.”
There is also generally a higher degree of regulation and planning. But the capitalist distributive system remains, though government intervenes to ameliorate the harsher negative outcomes of an unregulated capitalist state.
Trying to point out the nuances as I too hate when people throw out terms or words without an understanding of them. Same could be said of feminism or any ism – it not about buzz words but liberation. The 5 year plan comes out of a specific history, a history in which the Czar was just as culpable as the Revolutionaries. The Bolseho Ballet could have stormed and taken the palace. Russia was and always has been terribly “governed.” As most people know, Marx was examining how economies and governments may end up operating – he wasnt purposing anything. This is different from what Lenin or even Stalin did or what the Nordic countries do. You are not supposed to read Animal Farm and come away with distrust of Oslo.
It is twice as expensive to buy a home in Copenhagen than in the second largest city in Denmark.
Does Copenhagen build nice housing, yes. Is it affordable as compared to others areas in Denmark, not even close.
Watertown has about $17m in CPA funds, it would require nearly all of it to purchase that 1.5 acre plot by the Home Depot. (the lot on Galen that was the Buick dealership cost $7m in 2019 and it was 1.3 acres) . So what programs are we cutting to purchase this plot of land to run a housing design competition ?
The same might be said of Massachusetts. It’s much more expensive to buy a home in Boston than Worcester. What’s your point?
CPA funds will grow every year. We should have a transfer tax to augment those funds.
It’s easy to be negative when you don’t care about solving problems that impact other people’s lives.
That is exactly my point. You constantly blame capitalism for high housing costs but even in your socialist Utopia example there are huge price disparities .
Anytime someone presents the solution to the problem as taking someone else’s money to fix another groups problem , they inevitably make the problem much worse.
Can we just all stop this pipe dream of getting brand new affordable housing. Nothing newly built is going to be mid to low price range without massive tax payer funds. You want something like that, find a fixer upper and stop thinking the government is going to step in and save the day.
Socialist utopia. . .blah, blah, blah. . .more right wing labeling with no real thought.
Like I said it’s easy to be negative when you have no vision and don’t care about other people.
Let them live at Mass and Cass. . .right? That’s your solution?
Human beings have needs. Foremost among them is housing. The markets are not producing our most drastically most needed commodity. . .affordable housing. All humans deserve a decent roof over their heads. Not just the well off.
So what can we do except have government play a role. Or perhaps you would be content with rampant homelessness. Perhaps you are nostalgic for Hoovervilles?
It’s illegal to build apartment buildings in most of Watertown and most of the rest of Massachusetts. So maybe we should legalize apartments? Abundance is the only cure for scarcity, ever. Everything else merely allocates scarcity.
I have been very clear with my solution. Remove the regulator road blocks to build more dense housing near public transit and city centers. When you increase the supply of something the costs come down.
We don’t need heavy government spending and subsidies, we need to get them out of the process as much as possible. Give specific incentives to get the costs down. No heavy handed design reviews and arguing over color palettes and subject ascetics.
This isn’t right wing, it’s Econ 101.
Okay Eric, so that’s your solution. Trouble is, it won’t work. There are too many externalities for such a simple market solution to work in terms of improving affordability. Plus there are likely bad outcomes for the town from removing all oversight.
Econ 101 isn’t commensurate with the situation. A much more sophisticated analysis is required. Maybe Econ 450?
But the first step is that you actually have to care about affordability.
Taking tax money from one group and giving it to another doesn’t do anything about affordability it just changes who is bearing the cost.
But good luck trying to get 10m of tax payer money and creating a ministry of pretty buildings to run your design competition .
So you’re okay with increasing homelessness?
If the market can’t produce housing that normal workers can afford, then who beside the government can?
Given the stark inequality that prevails, building more high price housing will only draw a demographic that can afford the price and displace those who can’t.
I don’t necessarily love redistributive taxation as a permanent solution, but under current economic conditions, there must be a corrective or an increasing number of citizens will be unable to afford a roof over their head.
As I said, it’s easy to be negative when you don’t care.
The answer always seems simple when it’s “spend someone else’s money” but in reality it is just lazy virtue signaling in an attempt to when a moral high ground.
What really should happen is that the City of Watertown should purchase property with CPA funds and then hold competitions for proposals to build quality 100% affordable housing projects. The proposals selected would get the land and perhaps tax abatements.
Developers and their architects and engineers would have to get creative in order to give us quality, but I am convinced it could be done. And it is what is necessary to do if we are serious about affordability.
Giving developers concessions to build high cost housing will not produce the desired effect. In our locale, this will mostly produce more housing for the demographic that can afford inflated prices. A real estate transfer tax may also be necessary. In the current, hyper-inflated market some folks are garnering nearly unimaginable windfalls while others can’t afford a place to live. That’s the inequality society folks.
100% in agreement with leveraging CPA funds for the city’s property purchases. 10% of CPC funds is annually earmarked for affordable housing use on annual basis, and very little has been spent for that. Many municipalities around us have taken those funds and allocated them to the Affordability Housing Trust. Either spend it or move it to those who can.
Why does this writer think she has a right to advise property owners what to do with their properties, whether and when to build or lease? And how does this writer think she has the necessary expertise to evaluate the *future* potential of the properties listed? She failed to mention that 66 Galen St. has now leased around half the building to a well known biotech entrepreneur. The biotech industry is clearly turning upward with billions of investment $$$ flowing in recently. This money takes time to ripple through to company formation and leases. Yes, these companies come and go, duh, we all know that. But others rise to take their place.
Many people don’t realize that life sciences is a clean, modern industry and nothing to be afraid of. It’s one of the largest industries in our state. Yes, it takes education to qualify for some (not all) of these jobs. Some Watertown residents reveal their hostility toward “elites” in their opposition to this industry.
Note: hazardous waste is carried through our streets every single day from many industries.
About city inspections: Life sciences companies are subject to significant STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATION, including state inspections and FDA audits. They also hire specialized consultants which help them manage safety. Little tiny Watertown can add no value sending people they trained for 2-3 days to inspect something they don’t understand. Life science companies have much more compelling reasons to work safely… like their company reputation and future. I worked for a Watertown biotech for 2 years, and I’ve seen first hand how they operate.
And here’s what this writer fails to understand about animal testing: Potential new therapies must be tested for safety and efficacy in humans before being approved for sale. And no regulatory agency anywhere in the world would allow testing in humans without first testing safety and efficacy in animals (usually mice or rats.) It’s mandatory by law. Without that, you simply will not have any new drugs. Period.
To me, Watertown is in perfect balance and moving toward the future! Life sciences is a great addition to our city. It has saved property owners like me thousands of $$ in property taxes because developers paid millions of $$$ in developer fees.
And don’t blame life science companies for non-related issues like the Post Office closing or the City deciding not to install a raised crosswalk in front of a school (for Gods sake!). If you want to advocate for better postal delivery service, take that up with the federal agency which distributes the mail.
Agreed. It’s great that so many people here are engaged in the process. But there are way too many self-appointed experts on areas beyond the nuts and bolts of city government!
You might consider the self appointed experts a direct reaction to lack of vision and leadership on the part of local government.
As a public servant, I guess you feel that all of us “self appointed” experts should gratefully accept your pronouncements as gospel? I think not.
What happened to serving the public?
So apparently one must agree with you to “serve the public”. Everyone has an opinion but that alone doesn’t make anyone an expert in that field. Education and experience does. I don’t crowdsource my medical or financial issues so everyone can weigh in on how I should handle them. Weigh in all you want, but please don’t expect us to take your opinion as anything but that.
Exactly! The problem with non experts is they are more likely to fall prey to the “black swan” paradox. Just because all I see are black cats in the neighborhood, it doesn’t mean there aren’t orange or yellow cats out there. I many never see them, but I cannot claim there are only black cats. Experts could at least calculate the prevalence for color preference among cat owners. I know nothing about cats except that they make me sneeze and supposedly scare off vermin. Experts do fall prey to this, but at least they know to be weary of certain conditions and when. I wouldn’t go to Mr Contractor for a heart condition just like I wouldn’t ask a Chief Surgeon to put in a Storm Drain. I guess systematically they could work the same way, but the attribute values of blood and water are very different.
Both the comments above make disingenuous arguments.
No it is not necessary to agree with me, but it is necessary to respect the opinions of the citizens one serves. And don’t forget that these citizens pay your salary.
Many groups of experts from time to time fall into a kind of groupthink or lazy orthodoxy that results in bad outcomes. A great example is the urban renewal initiatives of the 50’s and 60’s. We have a textbook example of one atrocious outcome in our backyard–the demolition of the West End. Devised by experts, it is now taught as an example of exactly what not to do.
Another local example of expert failure would be the MBTA. The experts at the T and their high priced, highly educated consultants not only made a bloody mess of our transit system, but had not the vision to expand the system to meet the needs of our current time.
These are only two of many examples.
The examples above also illustrate the sometimes corrosive effect of politics. Very often in the public sphere, the work of diligent, informed and competent public servants is undone by others with more political aims.
Then there is human nature–always a wild card. Experts are not immune to the human nature factor as they tend to be humans.
Very often, the clearest thinking comes from outside. That’s why in my business we have what is called peer review. In public affairs we have public process.
As a manager of complex projects, I long ago realized that a good idea can come from anyone–even a non expert–and it takes as much intelligence to recognize a good idea as it does to come up with one.
Sure I would want a heart surgeon and not a plumber if I needed heart surgery. But as someone who has helped two parents navigate the health care system, I have witnessed countless mistakes, screw ups and infuriating problems in a system devised by experts.
Advice from a non-expert, don’t ever both sides an argument because you reveal your hand. It’s often a way to shut things down. I don’t think that was your intention though. Both sides implies dichotomy and equivalency. Things are far more complex than two sides. Sometimes there are just two sides but often it’s multiple sides. Even within the pro housing “side” there is disagreement about transit, parking, traffic patterns, sidewalks, etc. At its base though, is an acknowledgment that experts know that cumulatively adding to the supply will shift the supply-demand curve to a lower price point. The “other side” talks about process adherence, increases in crime and traffic that don’t bear out in studies, and emphasizing open space over other concerns. That is not to say that some individuals on the “other side” have had not had really good ideas. And if sometimes there are two sides than sometimes there really is just one side because one side is absolutely right or one side has more evidence that cannot be ignored in the face of opinions, complaints or preferences.
It’s about false equivalency. All feedback has value. But it’s not all equally valid or informative.
Well, she can advise them all she wants, I guess. But what crosses the line here is her view that we should have the government enforce that “advice” on people whose business judgment disagrees.
So business people never make mistakes or serious over-reaches that have profound consequences for the rest of our society? I submit the recession of 2008 for consideration.
Often there is a kind of group think in professional circles that is well balanced by informed public opinion.
“Why does this writer think she has a right to advise property owners what to do with their properties, whether and when to build or lease? ”
She has the right to join in the public debate and petition her various levels of government for oversight and regulation because what private commercial interests do with their “private property” often has profound and far reaching impacts on communities and society in the larger sense. And we happen to live in a democracy.
Trusting the wolves often results in bad outcomes for the sheep.
“Some Watertown residents reveal their hostility toward “elites” in their opposition to this industry.”
I’d say that it is equally true that some elite newcomers harbor contempt for their neighbors who have lived here a long time and have deep investments in their community. There is slow burning class warfare going on in Watertown. I think we would do well to acknowledge this and try to solve it. And no, the elites don’t necessarily have the most informed view of everything. Maybe just the most self interested one.
The sensitivity toward environmental hazards stems from the fact that in the past Watertown sustained serious pollution generated by elites that were trusted.
Great questions! And in 100% agreement.
I don’t love it either but development is for the future…i forget where i saw it but in the Commonwealth, Watertown is projected to have the most growth of any town or city in the next 100 years so love it or hate it all these buildings will be filled in a hundred years.
Copenhagen is smaller that Rhode Island and not very diverse. No comparison
Copenhagen is a city. Rhode Island is a state. And actually all of Europe is becoming quite a bit more diverse.
A large swath of Europe has government based on the Social Democracy model. It seems to work and the citizens like it.
Perhaps you have a better solution to housing affordability? And let’s add education and healthcare to the mix. Your solution?
The fate of Watertown’s future housing costs may not depend on our decisions alone. If Watertown succeeds to provide new housing and surrounding communities don’t keep pace, the new constructions will become highly sought-after and expensive.
I agree Edward.
New housing stock is Always going to be more expensive than older stock by the nature that everything is more expansive now than it was back when.
There are much more difficult living environments in many other places in the world so more people will want to be here where things are relatively more stable. We are not known to have many tornadoes, hurricanes, earth quakes, water inequities or wars (except perhaps wars of words :-)) etc.
As I have seen it, Watertown has been a quiet and humble neighbor to Boston and Cambridge and that is what has made Watertown such a great place to be.
I fear this humble and simpler town is being lost to various richest points of view on what a town or city should be. I can guarantee you this – We will need a much more expanded and creative forward thinking if we are to have efficient transportation for all these new people coming in since the current transport systems are already over stressed.
I hope we can somehow incorporate personal transportation devices in a overhead system of transportation (fly over walk ways and bike ways). Granted this is an expensive and complex idea but sometimes the only correct solutions involves expanded ideas.
Hello All,
I’m trying something different here. I’m responding to many people at once, using topics, not names. First, I sense that this conversation at times has gone off track, with it turning into a conversation about me, not the issues at hand. It’s a well-worn deflective strategy called ad hominem, but I’m not buying it.
Definition: Ad hominem fallacy (or ad hominem) is an attempt to discredit someone’s argument by personally attacking them. Instead of discussing the argument itself, criticism is directed toward the opponent’s character, which is irrelevant to the discussion. (Britannica)
I’m thinking that it’s also meant to cut short any conversation by others who disagree with your point of view. In other words, “the cruelty is the point.” Case in point, some very prolific writers who were contributing to Watertown News a few months ago, continually attacking me in a way that was meant to silence my thoughts and produce a chilling effect on similar commenters.
It was discovered that they were not “real people,” but trolls, and a convenient way to squash real conversations.
So I’ve decided to approach the many responses with brief comments on some of the topics discussed.
Topic: Regulation
I’m glad that there was a discussion on public safety and an agreement that government regulation in matters of public safety is a good thing. Could the person that commented on that, with their knowledge in such matters, please advocate for our City to do its regulatory duty and develop a system for bio lab inspections on behalf of our residents? Many residents would appreciate that!
Topic: Assuming you Know Someone
Until you get to know someone, please don’t draw conclusions on their motives or their political leanings. You might be very surprised. As Einstein famously said, “Assumptions are made, and most assumptions are wrong.”
Topic: Common Ground!
I like that two of the commenters have come to some common ground when it comes to “nordic- style social democracy.” I suspect that neither party would characterize the Nordic way of doing things as “communistic.”
Topic: Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse and bitter name-calling need to be under control. It can be “controlled” through group shunning, but ultimately, the onus is on the individual to do the right thing. In my opinion, differing opinions do not call for verbal abuse, name calling, and labelling.
Topic: Post Office History??
Please do not disconnect the closing of the post office from our City Government’s actions. That is revisionist history at its best!
Topic: The City’s Response to Regular Residents
My point is that our City seems to be able to do the hard things for the very rich and influential but can’t seem to get the simple things right for its residents. As one commenter said, “Let’s have government do what it does best, which is preventing harm and providing public services.” Sadly, Watertown is currently not living up to these “best practices.”
Topic: Elitism
Nelson Mandela: “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
Topic: Bio Labs
At their best, bio labs are wondrous things. But what is being ignored is that with money and risk can come desperate shortcuts, careless mistakes and false claims. Our City needs to stop closing their eyes to these possibilities. Labs need inspecting!
And finally,
Topic: The Sad State of Construction Materials
It’d be nice if these new buildings would be here in 100 years, but I wouldn’t count on it. Talk with many workers in the construction field, and they’re shaking their heads about the lack of durability and quality of materials that they see being used in many projects. Planned obsolescence at its best!
Thanks for your patience with my little experiment!
The writer often writes articles that are thought provoking on important issues going on in Watertown. Some might be opinions, suggestions, questions on procedures or policies or other important happenings around the city.
Balance is truly needed in any community as the people come from different backgrounds, whether it be educational, economical, work experiences and many areas of our society.
With regard to Bio Labs many people in Watertown feel we have plenty of them, with at least seven more on hold right now due to the interest rates and the economy. They can certainly add to our city by aiding our tax base, but when they seem to be the only industry that is coming to us, there can be some concerns.
Many people say that putting all their eggs in one basket is typically not a good thing; this seems to be what we are doing. With the downturn on building right now, we are seeing many of these lab buildings totally or partially vacant. Even if they get tenants, will those tenants stay there?
Many of the startups don’t make it or get bought out by bigger companies that may move them into their bigger facilities and leave Watertown behind. This doesn’t seem to provide the needed balance for a sustainable economy or business environment.
There was an article in the Globe on September 25 that mentioned a gene therapy company was reducing its workforce by 25% to save money because another competitor entered the market with a similar product. The competition is stiff and the money is tight. This happens all the time.
Having more life science businesses puts more stress on city services. Even though there may be state and federal guidelines, we can’t depend on those entities alone to safeguard our community. We’ve seen things fall between the cracks in industries under state and federal scrutiny before. Another layer of inspection closer to home is required. Therefore, we need the city Health Department and groups like the Bio Safety Committee and the Fire Department to make sure that they can check to see if our standards are being met and enforced. Have we added staff there to facilitate the process?
Certainly the Planning and Development Department has added considerable staff. Are they pursuing or encouraging other types of businesses to move to Watertown? If we only draw the life science businesses, we will only attract people with higher salaries to move here and inhabit the high-priced new apartments. That does nothing for the needs of lower income people who want and need jobs and housing here.
There are real estate groups all across the country that are gobbling up properties to control rents and push prices up. They often seem to have ins with local governments and for them it’s all about the big bucks, not people’s needs. Is anyone considering quality of life for people who have lived in a community for a long time and want to stay for the rest of their lives?
Boston tries to do everything for everybody and they are possibly facing an increase of 33% on their real estate taxes to meet their bloated budgets. They are now shifting a huge tax burden on businesses that may force more businesses out of Boston and Massachusetts. I recently heard that 1,000 people per day are leaving MA due to high taxes and economic stress. If we do what Boston and some other cities do, we could end up losing many of the very people who help to make our community a balanced place to live. I don’t think we want this.
There is a Newton Corner Plan study going on now. The discussions at the most recent meeting included the need of more MBTA services to reduce the congestion, make the area safer for pedestrians and bikers, and reduce traffic accidents. One resident said the response from the MBTA was they can’t promise anything as they need more drivers. Many cities like Newton and Watertown are requesting additional services and the system has daily problems. Manager Proakis says he feels the T will respond to our requests. Why would we expect that we would receive the additional services?
There are no easy answers. Thoughtful dialog can help, but denigrating others thoughts with extremely negative suppositions doesn’t help the process. Assuming someone’s political leanings doesn’t help or facilitate a good outcome. People often have different views on different subjects.
Other communities in MA have lower priced land values because they are not already dense. We don’t need to solve all the housing needs in Watertown’s four-square miles. People are not going to give up their cars. If other areas increase housing and businesses, that could take some of the pressure off of us and reduce some of our traffic. This is a regional problem, not just Watertown’s.
The writer doesn’t claim to be an expert. She is providing ideas to ponder with the hope that reasonable solutions can be achieved. We need government to serve our basic needs to protect us from ourselves and people with greed as a motivator, but they need to look out for the majority of its residents rights and quality of living environment too.
We aren’t like Europe in many ways and results of elections determine our laws and government preferences. As long as we have a Constitution, which sets us apart from other countries, we will have freedom of speech to express our opinions and desires and, hopefully, do that respectfully.