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Upcoming Meetings

• The Allston-Brighton Community Plan will host a virtual meeting on June 22 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. regarding the Cleveland Circle Redesign. 
• The city will host the third meeting on the improvements for the Penniman Road Play Area on July 23 from 6:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. on Zoom. 

Allston Civic Association Monthly Meeting (June 21, 2026)

District 14 Officer Christine Marini provided the police report:

• Break-ins or attempted break-in:
  • Break-in, 110 Antwerp St: resident heard noise around 9:51pm (5/22), found brother’s bedroom window open with a folding chair propped outside; shoes and keys reported missing
  • Break-in, 6 Riverdale St (Airbnb): occupants returned from a Red Sox game to find a kitchen air conditioning pushed in; AirPods and black Sony XM headphones stolen, which were last tracked to Cambridge St in Cambridge
  • Break-in, 105 Washington St: juveniles broke a mag-lock to enter a vacant apartment 
  • Attempted break-in, 15 Donnybrook: suspect looked directly into a Ring camera, tried a pocket knife on the door, then stole a “Welcome” sign from the porch 
  • Attempted break-in, 61 Tremont St (1:20am): suspect tried entering through a bathroom window, fled toward Washington St when confronted — described as Hispanic male, 30s-40s, blue shirt, gray/white shorts. A similar incident at the same address the day before (11:30am) was never reported to police
    • Officer Marini reminded residents to lock their windows and to put away anything that potential robbers could use to prop themselves up to access an unlocked window.

• Four car break-ins (15 Graycliff Road, Common Ave/Gordon, 51 Dustin St, 47 Gardner St) — all vehicles were unlocked; one suspect (a teen with a backpack) caught on Ring doorbell for 51 Dustin St
• Attempted robbery, 40 Armington St (3:41pm, June 10): three juveniles tried to steal a man’s backpack near Ringer Park; he fought them off but was punched/kicked. Suspects fled toward Jackson Mann and Allston St — described as two Hispanic males, one Black male; incident caught on video
• Assault/shoplifting, Huntington Market (12:15pm, June 8): woman stole a vodka bottle, fought with the store owner, fled, and dropped her phone; officers reached her contacted (listed as “Dad”) and informed him to tell her to pick up the phone at the station; phone has not been picked up
• A carjacking began as a private car sale arranged via Snapchat; buyer and seller arranged to meet in Brookline, car was taken on Leicester St after a struggle. Plate number didn’t match the car description and the car hasn’t surfaced on license-plate readers 
• Ongoing package and bike thefts  at multiple places in the neighborhood: officer Marini urged residents to use multiple locks/trackers on bikes and record serial numbers 
• Theft from an unlocked Planet Fitness locker (Allston) led to stolen credit cards being used
• A McNamara House resident discovered nearly a year of small fraudulent charges on her debit account

ONS (Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services) Update 

Allston-Brighton liaison Jennifer Roberts provided several city-level updates for Allston-Brighton:

• Reminder that World Cup-related street closures, followed by Sail Boston, will affect traffic this summer; ask residents to plan out their trips ahead of time to get around road closures
• City pushing for better census participation and recruiting poll workers 
• The city’s Licensing Board has approved extended hours (to 3am) for 190+ bars and restaurants through the summer under temporary state legislation through July
• There will be activities planned for late summer/early fall ahead of the library’s 25th anniversary  
• Community survey for Jackson Mann programming has plateaued around 200 responses; city hopes to reach 400 before the July 10 deadline 

Permits and Developments

• Duchess Cannabis (257–259 Cambridge St, Allston) presented a proposal — already conditionally approved by the Boston Cannabis Board — to add delivery service via third-party courier Treebit LLC
  • Proposed delivery hours: Mon–Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–7pm; ~25-mile radius; estimated 14 deliveries/day; no deliveries to college dorms; drivers ID-verify customers and must park legally

• Studio Allston Hotel GM Ali DeMilia outlined a large booking (Aug 14–23) tied to a Hindu spiritual gathering hosted at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre — full hotel buyout (117 rooms) plus an RV encampment on the adjacent (non-operating) Skating Club lot
  • Setup includes 6 guest RVs, 1 communal RV, 1 dining RV, and a tiny home for the group’s spiritual leader; site will be fenced and screened, with electric hookups (no generators) and daily-serviced waste/water tanks
  • Permits in progress: open-flame, temporary assembly, electrical, catering registration, fuel storage, and tent assembly (2–3 tents) 
• 16 High Rock Way Permit Request
  • Homeowners Michael Dorgan and Kin Chow are seeking support for  a permitted addition/renovation after a tree fell on their house at Christmas, damaging the second-floor deck, a rear room, and pushing the front wall out of alignment 
  • Proposed work: a front “vestibule” addition to structurally brace the leaning wall, an expanded kitchen, a larger family room replacing a small rear study, and a second-floor addition adding a master bath, second bathroom, and closet space 

McKinney Playground renovation contract awarded, construction to begin in September

Last week, Nelle Ward, the project manager for the McKinney Playground renovation project, announced that a contract has been awarded to JAM Corporation. The permitting process will be opened between July and August. The park will be closed beginning September (an exact date has not been set), and it will remain closed for construction until the end of 2027. 

BPDA Greenlights Flint Cleaners Redevelopment

On June 18, the Boston Planning and Development Agency approved the development at 170-172 Western Avenue where Flint Cleaners is currently located. The proposal aims to build an eight-story building containing 20 residential units and two retail units on the ground, one of which will be the Flint Cleaners dry cleaning business. The project will also provide 28 bike parking spaces distributed across four bike racks. 

Ongoing Comments

Jackson Mann Community Center Public Comment until July 10

Following the release of a feasibility study of possible models for a community center at the Jackson Mann, the City of Boston is soliciting feedback from residents for what they would want a community center to look like. The form is open until July 10, 2026.