YMCA Neighbors and Members Join Forces Against Northeastern Expansion

Neighborhood residents and members of the Huntington Avenue YMCA came together Wednesday night to declare battle against Northeastern University’s much-discussed , which would replace the Y’s gymnasium on St. Botolph Street with a 17-story residential tower.

“The mission of this meeting…is to bring together constituents with a common goal,” YMCA member Andre Jones told a crowd of nearly 40 gathered at the Susan Bailis Assisted Living facility. “That is to have a voice over demolition of the Y [and] also future development by Northeastern.”

According to Jones, the city’s approval of the residential tower – which would house up to 720 students – included minimal input from neighbors and was rubber-stamped by the Zoning Commission.

“You have a private developer developing a residential hall for Northeastern that [Northeastern] may never own,” he said. “That’s called an apartment building.”

But the city approved the tower, which will be 100 feet taller than zoning restrictions allow for a privately owned apartment building, as if Northeastern were the owner, Jones said.

Jones, a Jamaica Plain attorney, has filed a complaint in Superior Court against the decision.

Northeastern officials have said in past meetings that the University will have the option of purchasing the building once its 15-year-lease with developer Phoenix Properties is exhausted.

Following the law

Although not a Y member, resident Jim Hartmann took issue with Northeastern’s decision to pursue a project outside of the areas agreed upon by community task force members during the forming of Northeastern's Master Plan. In the document, the University agreed to build on the Gainsborough Garage and Cullinane Hall sites, both of which it owns.

“For Northeastern to now come forward and say, ‘Well, times have changed,’ it’s not truthful and it’s not right,” Hartmann said. “For me it’s not an issue with the Y at all. I want the law to be followed.”

Continued expansion

Currently, there is “absolutely no process” whereby community members can weigh in on Northeastern’s expansion plans, which are just beginning, Jones said.

“Rest assured…that Northeastern has every intention of building on Gainsborough and/or Cullinane,” he told meeting attendees on Wednesday. “If it’s important to you, you need to connect on this issue.”

YMCA members gathered over 1,000 signatures in a petition to stop demolition earlier this summer and have appeared in large numbers at community meetings ever since. Jones and others have formed the Save the Boston Y group, which has expanded the cause's web presence and organized community meetings.

The group recently appeared before the Boston Landmarks Commission for a second time in an attempt to upgrade the YMCA's status to a Boston Landmark with state/regional significance. Their was .

Next steps

On Wednesday, Jones urged residents and members to contact state and municipal elected officials with their concerns.

"The state reps are paying attention," he said. "All they need for you to do is speak up. Speak up and things will change."

Northeastern University political science major Jon Phoenix also encouraged the group to include students in its discussions, many of whom are dissatisfied with the direction their school is heading, he said.

"This is part of an unsustainable cycle that I think Northeastern has gotten into," he said of the expansion. "It’s almost a little bit of an arms race between the colleges."

Many students aren't convinced that the new residential tower will offer cheaper housing, Phoenix said. Others are put off by the low approval ratings students at other colleges have given dorms managed by Phoenix Properties (that number is reportedly 22 percent).

"Northeastern does not seem to care about what students tend to think," Phoenix added.