During an agenda-packed neighborhood meeting last
Wednesday night at the Cross St. Senior Center that attracted over 50
interested residents, Mayor Joseph Curtatone vowed that the substation
would remain open, said Ward I Alderman Bill Roche.

"Budget
cuts are tough this year," he said. "But the people expressed the
difference that the substation made in East Somerville. It's active.
The visibility of the substation has really affected the neighborhood."

The
police substation at 81 Broadway opened in October 2008 in efforts to
increase the reporting of neighborhood crime and make the area safer
for residents and businesses.

Also of interest on Wednesday
night was how to handle repeat code violations. It has come to the
attention of neighbors and city officials that the same people tend to
mishandle trash disposal and fail to shovel snow. Oftentimes, the
culprits are absentee landlords, Roche said.

It was decided
that neighbors can help monitor the offenses. Roche said that if
someone knows that it's an absentee landlord issue, they should call
the citywide hot line number, 311, to report the offense. Otherwise,
people can ask Roche to talk to landlords, in case they don't
understand the procedures for handling trash, keeping a property clean,
shoveling snow, and so on.

The Harris Park land swap with Stop
& Shop is also well underway, Roche said. He hopes to hold
neighborhood meetings in the fall to go over the park's design. The
plan involves moving Harris Park behind the Cross Street Senior Center,
away from the noise and pollution of I93. Also coming to East
Somerville will be a new dog run and tranquility park at 0 New
Washington Street.

In other news, in July, the air pollution
study (in partnership with Tufts Medical School) will be underway, said
Ellin Reisner, the president of the Somerville Transportation Equity
Partnership and Mt. Vernon Street resident who is helping with the
study. You may notice a van in the neighborhood that will measure the
volume of particulate air pollution, especially within 400 meters of
I93. Those conducting this study will also randomly interview residents
along the I93 corridor and ask for voluntary blood testing and blood
pressure samples, Reisner said.

"We have over 250,000 cars going through Somerville each day, so we want to look at the cardiac impact of pollution," she said.