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Allston-Brighton residents, city council members, and members of the State Senate gathered at the steps of the Jackson Mann Community Center on April 14, to protest a lack of funding for the community center and demand the city council allocate more funding towards renovation. 

“I think until the City puts its money where their mouth is and actually says ‘Yes, we’re doing this, and give us a time,’ we can’t just kick this thing off into the future,” said Boston City Council President Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Breadon. “We need to do it now, because the longer we wait, the more expensive it will be.”

During the City’s neighborhood office hours session April 3, officials announced there would be no funding for the center in the upcoming FY2027-2031 city budget. A city spokesperson later told Allstonia that 10 million dollars in city funding would be allocated to the Jackson Mann community center in the city budget. 

Breadon began the rally and spoke about the importance of the community center — especially in one of the biggest neighborhoods in Boston.

Breadon said that Allston-Brighton has only been served by only one Boston Centers for Youth and Families facility (BCYF) for nearly 50 years. “This building is locked up, and it’s not accessible,” she said. 

In an interview with Allstonia, Breadon reinforced the need to take action and advocate for funding a new and improved community center in the neighborhood.

Breadon also said that the City will vote on the final capital budget in June, and until then, she will continue to advocate for more money to be allocated to the community center. She also said these rallies are important right now in order to “mobilize enough pressure” to “encourage” Mayor Michelle Wu to change her mind. 

Councilmember Henry Santana spoke later during the rally, and said he supported more funding for the community center, pointing to his own experience being raised in public housing and in community centers as a reason to advocate for more funding.

“I’m a product of the community centers. I remember being able to go into our community centers seeing loving adults who look like me, who spoke the same language as me, who are from my community, and we need that in every single neighborhood,” he said. “My number one priority on the city council has been our youth and our young people, and that’s why I’m going to demand that we have a community center out here.”

The rally saw approximately two hundred Allston-Brighton residents come and show support. People were handed posters with slogans like “Fund Allston Now” and “Invest In Allston.” 

Residents, alongside their counterparts at City Hall, expressed their concern with the lack of funding for the community center given that it is the only one in the Allston-Brighton area. 

Nick Weiske, a paraprofessional teacher at Brighton High School, attended the rally because he was concerned about the impact a lack of funding for the Jackson Mann would have on the students he teaches. 

“I think a big part of what makes spaces like this important is that students need to feel like they’re part of the community,” he said. “ Third places like the West End are great, but variety is important too. Jackson Mann is the perfect place for that.” 

Weiske also said he was concerned that the lack of funding for Jackson Mann puts the Allston-Brighton community as a whole at risk of losing a third space for people to gather with each other. 

“It’s important to have third places, not just for students, but also for parents,” he said. “It brings people together, especially in a neighborhood as transient as Allston-Brighton, and it’s really important that new people in the neighborhood can be welcomed to the neighborhood.”

Rita Vaidya, owner of North Allston Farms, was initially surprised to hear that Jackson Mann would not receive any funding. Given that she frequented the center along with her children, she felt as if an important part of Allston was being neglected.

“My kids came here for a soccer program, and it was so lively. It brought the community together,” she said. “People with all different languages came together, it was a safe place for kids to be there, and for three hours, they could be outside. It was just very lively, and everybody was welcoming.”