Assembly Square the back story

Part 10:  Dirty Tricks

A commentary by William C. Shelton

(The views and opinions expressed in the commentaries of the Somerville News do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Somerville News, its staff or its publishers)

In 2000, Assembly Square Limited Partners (ASLP) submitted an application to build a giant Home Depot on the mall site.  The project was not allowed under Somerville‚Äôs Zoning Ordinance.  As sole authority to interpret that law, Inspectional Services Division Chief Pat Scrima drafted a letter stating this. 

However, City Solicitor Susan Callahan prepared a letter that merely required a special permit for the project.  She made it clear to Scrima that he was expected to sign it.  He did so, but this and other abuses of authority continued to rankle him.

Although the Planning Board received extensive testimony on the project‚Äôs illegality, they approved it that December. My personal favorite of the five separate violations was the requirement that Home Depot just occupy the existing building.  Drawings submitted to ISD called for demolishing the mall and driving 1,500 piles through its foundation.

In January 2001, mall abutter and Mystic Viewer Lanny Evarts appealed this decision in Superior Court. In response, ASLP partner Gravestar conducted a campaign to discredit and intimidate her and her supporters.

With the cooperation of the city administration, they launched a PR campaign, portraying Mystic View as a tiny group of elitists who wanted nothing built.  In fact Mystic View is composed of Somervillians who work for a living and are the only community group that I know of advocating for greater development density.  The developers were millionaires who lived elsewhere.

The Conservation Law Foundation and the design firm Goody Clancy had been advising Mystic View.  ASLP retained both organizations, creating a conflict of interest and ending their assistance.

Gravestar placed full-page ads in the Somerville Journal promising inflated job creation and tax revenues, implying that CLF and Goody Clancy were partners, and stating that Mystic View member Wig Zamore opposed their project because his own plan would garner him $30 million.  None of this was true.

Gravestar persuaded allies to call the Attorney General and charge that Mystic View was a bogus nonprofit, set up to enrich Lanny Evarts.  Public Charities Division staff attorney Johanna Soris reviewed the evidence and found it baseless.  When more influential people called, Division head Jamie Katz stepped in and found no wrongdoing. 

In response to still higher-level pressure, Deputy Attorney General Dean Richland went through the same exercise, with the same result.  Each time, Mystic View was obligated to produce every legal, financial, and membership record that they possessed. Although the AG‚Äôs office found no basis for the charges, influential ASLP allies called Boston-area foundations that might support Mystic View and told them that the organization was under investigation by the Attorney General.

The Barr Foundation already supported Mystic View.  ASLP retained former Suffolk D.A. Ralph Martin, who tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Barr to cut off Mystic View.

Reporters for the regional press knew the facts about Assembly Square.  So Gravestar fed selective information to less knowledgeable Globe opinion writers with whom they were well connected.

Barr Foundation‚Äôs benefactor, Amos Hostetter, is adamant about anonymity.  Barr requires that grantees not reveal the source of their funds, on pain of losing them. Gravestar‚Äôs private investigator couldn‚Äôt dig up much dirt on Mystic View leaders, but discovered Barr Foundation‚Äôs support.  Gravestar gave a thick file to Globe columnist Steve Bailey, who had attacked Hostetter in the past.  Bailey tried to persuade Hostetter to give him information about Mystic View.  Hosstetter declined, and Bailey wrote a column outing Barr.

When Lanny Evarts, a widow and a senior citizen, began receiving bizarre emails, she called AOL and learned that someone had sent out 3,000 pornographic solicitations under her name.
She received a phone call from Verizon, saying that someone claiming to be a representative of a charity had attempted to obtain her phone records.

In December, 2001, ASLP finally agreed to mediate, on the condition of confidentiality.  When the parties met, ASLP‚Äôs attorney said that his clients were unwilling to negotiate anything on the mall site. Since the lawsuit only opposed the Home Depot project, Mystic View representatives were bewildered.  ASLP explained that they were willing to discuss what they would build on their Sturtevant Street property.  When Mystic View declined, ASLP issued a press release stating that Mystic View had refused to mediate.

Finally, ASLP tried to buy off Lanny Evarts, culminating in an offer of $2 million.  Lanny, a devout Christian, prayed about what she should do.  She later said that she could find a lot of scriptural reasons to reject the offer, but none to accept it.

Ultimately Mystic View‚Äôs resolve only hardened.  In a narrow sense, however, the harassment campaign became a self-fulfilling attack.  Mystic View had been very outgoing, conducting over a hundred meetings in neighbors‚Äô homes. 

ASLP‚Äôs attacks diverted Mystic View‚Äôs leaders.  They consumed hundreds of hours, for example, responding to the Attorney General‚Äôs information requests.  Over time, they came to rely increasingly on legal tactics rather than political persuasion.  Although a couple hundred members attended Mystic View‚Äôs annual meeting that year, outreach efforts declined.

In turn, the developers’ allies in city government illegitimately manipulated the law, culminating in tomorrow night’s public hearing at City Hall.