Vietnamese community leaders are hoping to stage an inaugural street festival along Dorchester Avenue this summer to highlight the newly created Little Saigon cultural district. Annie Le, director of Boston Little Saigon, told members of the Fields Corner Civic Association (FCCA) on Tues., April 5, that the board wants to close Dorchester Avenue from Park Street to Adams Street on Sun., July 31, in the late afternoon and evening hours for an event featuring food, performances, music, and information booths. 

“Many people might have seen Open Newbury [in the Back Bay],” said Jeannie Cai, who is helping to organize the event. “It will be similar to Open Newbury. We’re keeping cars out and people in on the street and having businesses utilize the street and really try to highlight all we have in Fields Corner with an exciting event. That’s what we’re aiming toward.”

“We want to do this in Fields Corner along Dorchester Avenue,” said Le. “The reason for us doing it on Dorchester Avenue, as opposed to the Town Field Park where we have a lot of other things, is that the pandemic really hurt a lot of our businesses. When we did in-person events, we had a hard time getting people to come to the Field if food wasn’t free. Restaurants had to keep their business open and send extra staff to the event, and they weren’t doing that well. The idea here is instead of the vendors coming to us in Town Field, we’ll be bringing the event to them.”

As of now, organizers are still gathering support and talking to city officials about the logistics. Le said that having that area of Dorchester Avenue closed makes sense as it would still allow traffic to use Adams Street to connect with Dorchester Avenue.

FIELDS CORNER NOTEBOOK
• The BT Group, led by Fields Corner resident Hiep Chu, gave the first showing of a zero-parking transit-oriented development that it is proposing for a vacant lot that it owns, 22 Freeman St., which abuts the Fields Corner MBTA Station. Hue Architecture’s Jenny Ha and Chu told neighbors that they are proposing a new building with 14 rental studios and no vehicle parking, but 15 bicycle parking spaces.

The building would be five stories tall but would utilize the current topography to have the first floor underground. That space would contain indoor bike parking, mechanicals, trash, and storage rooms. The first floor would feature an expanded outdoor veranda with greenery, as well as community space inside and two units. The top three floors would be only residential units. All the units would be between 378 and 396 square feet.

BT Group is now working out the affordability aspects as the project begins to take shape. Chu said he feels that the development meets a need in Dorchester for young professionals who cannot afford to live in the neighborhood, but who want to live here or want to stay here.

“The reason we want to do studios is we’re targeting another group of people that do not have a family and…need decent high-quality housing next to the T,” he said. “I don’t anticipate that population has a car or can afford a car.”

In addition, he mentioned, BT Group has had preliminary talks with property owners next door, as well as with the city regarding the community garden two doors down. Chu said there is a possibility that both of those properties could be developed with a similar product.

“The intention is there,” he said. “We haven’t been able to figure out how to move forward yet.”:

• The new officers for FCCA were in place for the meeting on April 5: President Jim Doyle, Vice President Shamia Hicks, Treasurer Hiep Chu, and Secretary Tran Le. Doyle indicated that graffiti is becoming a serial problem and they are hoping to get a more long-term solution to preventing and eliminating it in Fields Corner – particularly on private property. The May 5 meeting will feature a neighborhood anti-graffiti group from the Back Bay that has had success, as well as the city’s Graffiti Busters.

• The Dorchester Bike Kitchen will now be open on Saturdays, from 6 to 9 p.m., at 1443a Dorchester Ave., which is the office for Boston Little Saigon. The kitchen features bike tools and other repair facilities, as well as opportunities to help with bicycle giveaway programs.

• The Massachusetts Asian Restaurant Association, a new effort by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) to try to attract more Asian eateries, will have its kick-off meeting at Pho Le Restaurant in Fields Corner in early May. More details will be forthcoming.

• FCCA voted to make a $200 donation to the Dorchester Day Parade Committee for this year’s event.