Community civic associations in the Boston area have recently become the recipients of grants from commercial entities doing business in the neighborhoods the civic groups represent. A strategic infusion of funds to build stronger communities and neighborhood groups offers a rare opportunity and one we should welcome. The money can also serve as a springboard for bringing neighborhood groups together to strengthen Dorchester as a whole.

Many of the civic associations we have today in Boston have been around since the early 1960s, when the federal government became more engaged in urban development, and City Hall needed community entities that could work with them on how grants were spent. These associations have had staying power as neighborhoods have used them to advocate for city and state services, and for having input on how their neighborhoods get developed.

I recently threw my hat into the race for president of the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association (CSHCA) and was elected to a term that begins this month. I had been president before – 40 years ago – and I launched my 1983-84 agenda “as a series of issues, some of which need to be immediately addressed, and some of which have been perennial matters of concern.” This approach coincided with the election of a new mayor, Ray Flynn, who took office in January 1984 with a populist message and a promise to bring the city together.

With new leadership in City Hall, I urged residents to join the association and work on key issues, identified as public safety, bar closing times, the relationship of UMass with the community, and the creation of crime watches. Other issues sound familiar today, such as demanding that the highway department maintain its property and expressing the desire to work with the Boston Parks Department on park cleanups and graffiti removal.

The big issue of my term was the Savin Hill Flyover. When it was determined that the MBTA interchange that brought the Braintree and Ashmont lines together before the Andrew Square tunnel needed replacement, the Civic Association demanded that it be rebuilt south of Savin Hill station, so that the Braintree trains would stop at Savin Hill and JFK/UMass stations, thus doubling the amount of service to the Dorchester community. We did not prevail.

Other topics covered in the civic agenda during this period included the rebuilding of the Southeast Expressway, the Fair Housing Bill, the creation of Neighborhood Councils by the Flynn Administration, the development of a Columbia-Savin Hill community strategic plan, the launch of cable television, resident parking, rat control, the development of the Dorchester waterfront, City Council redistricting, the establishment of a Dorchester Avenue Commission, lead paint concerns, and the birth of the All Dorchester Sports League, which started to bring Black and White kids together in sports, following the racial turmoil of the previous decade.

Development issues in the ‘80s included rent control, permitting for condominium conversion, expanded “homesteading” of abandoned houses and vacant lots, and a Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) that made decisions the neighborhood found objectionable.

As I begin my 2024 term, the issues that are similar to what we faced in the 1980s include poor city and state services, and a transportation system that needs a complete overhaul. We also have a Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) and ZBA that ignore the need for comprehensive planning at a neighborhood level. The BPDA operates on a parcel-by-parcel basis for development, sending most projects to the ZBA, a process that essentially makes our zoning code irrelevant.

Over the past few years, CSHCA, in reviewing the plans of developers, has determined that just the ones we know of would add more than 10,000 units of housing, and 7 million square feet of commercial space in our section of Boston. While the civic association has supported the developments that follow the guidelines established by the community (Dorchester Bay City and Center Court developments), it will not support any additional large-scale development without a comprehensive plan that takes into account the impact of all of the planned developments and the need for open space and parks, a balance of family and small unit housing, reliable transportation, daycare and school requirements, and other infrastructure needs.

Then and now, there has been the desire to work collaboratively with City Hall on these issues, and I’m reminded by the passing of Steve Coyle, the BRA’s director during the Flynn administration, that it is possible to work together if City Hall makes it a priority.

A major difference between my first engagements as a civic activist and now is the cohesiveness of the neighborhoods. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, many of Dorchester’s neighborhoods were more homogeneous and organized around Roman Catholic parishes and local schools. As a result, residents in those communities had more opportunities to get to know one another, a situation that was reinforced by civic associations (boundaries were identical to parish boundaries) and housing patterns (advertising for apartments was done by parish in the Boston Globe).

The parishes also connected people to political systems and jobs. As an outsider coming into Dorchester in 1972 (I’m originally from New Jersey), I found it difficult to break into these multi-generational cohorts, but I was able to thanks to the relationships I developed through civic associations.

With the breakdown of homogeneous neighborhoods, the loss of dominant churches, and the end of local schooling, much of that neighborhood cohesiveness has also broken down. I was shocked a few years ago in a discussion at my home regarding residency parking stickers when a person from a nearby block informed our well-organized street that he didn’t know any of his neighbors. This is not uncommon in our neighborhoods.

Civic associations are among the few local organizations that can help build neighborhood cohesion. CSHCA has committees that assist in bringing people together through annual events, such as a Halloween parade, the Savin Hill Music Festival, holiday caroling, yard sales, an annual picnic, and other events. It also has a public safety committee working on slowing down traffic and a well-organized planning committee that focuses on development in the area. CSHCA is also in the process of developing a strategic plan, a vision for what the residents want the future of our community to look like.

Imagine what could be done with significant financial support behind this initiative. Civic associations could help build stronger neighborhoods in the following ways:

• We could expand events to include block parties and neighborhood celebrations. As an example, the Codman Square Neighborhood Council has an annual awards event that celebrates “heroes and sheroes” who help the neighborhood function and add to its character.

• We could organize residents with experience in dealing with what can be arcane processes – applying for admission to school or replacing heating systems, to name a couple – to help those who need to do so.

• We could assist residents in making the community environmentally sustainable, establish crime watches, and ensure that youth and their families are aware of educational and employment opportunities.

• We could work with our Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, and local health centers to develop family sports and fitness groups.
• We could create a welcome wagon program for new residents.

• We could encourage community agencies to host events and invite neighbors to see what goes on inside our schools, historic buildings and museums, health centers, CDCs, community centers, churches, and businesses.

• We could support Dorchester-wide efforts to develop an arts council, support events such as Ashmont-Adams Neighborhood Association’s DorchFest, and build a robust relationship with UMass Boston.

• We could re-create a civic entity that brings together the civic groups of all of Dorchester.

Finally, we could create an effective communication network to alert all residents of opportunities and events.

This is just a sampling of ideas that the community could mull over should it receive that significant financial support. They are ingredients in building cohesive neighborhoods in which residents can be civically engaged and better able to participate in the opportunities of living in Boston. As the city continues to reinvent itself, building strong neighborhoods should be a goal of City Hall. With resources and leadership, civic associations can play a major role in making this happen.