Around 33 people attended a meeting of the Community Alliance of Mission Hill (CAMH) on Jan. 19, where they created a working group, heard a guest presentation and voted on a restaurant expansion.
New Working Group
CAMH member Dave Greenup created a CAMH Working Group to focus on quality of life issues for Mission Hill residents. Topics of discussion could include student problems, absentee landlords, and community engagement.
The Working Group meets via Zoom and is open to all CAMH members. Its purpose is to identify action items to present to CAMH, to be forwarded on to elected officials and City agencies.
CAMH members supported Greenup’s creation of the working group, and 11 people signed up to participate. The group held its first meeting on Jan. 26, where it discussed student issues.
Email [email protected] for more information or to obtain the link to their next meeting.
ONS
CAMH welcomed special guest Brianna Millor, Boston’s new Chief of Community Engagement and senior cabinet-level advisor to Mayor Wu. Millor discussed her vision for leading the Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS), which encourages citizen participation in City government.
CAMH members expressed feeling like not enough was being done to engage with community members when making big decisions, such as the decision to move homeless individuals into enVision Hotel. Millor said she is hoping to change that with the help of community liaisons from each department.
Members also said that collaboration and communication between City agencies needed improvement on joint projects. Millor agreed that the City could do better on that front.
Millor announced that Mayor Wu is seeking a Chief of Planning, which will coordinate and direct all City plans and lead structural reforms of the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Restaurant Expansion
The owner of popular Asian restaurant Laughing Monk Café at 737 Huntington Ave. appeared before CAMH to petition to convert their current beer and wine license to an unrestricted liquor license. The owner also plans to expand into an adjacent vacant space to allow for takeout options and more customer seating.
Abutters seem supportive of the upgrades. CAMH members also praised Laughing Monk Café for its reputation and contributions to the community. When put to a vote, CAMH unanimously voted to support the proposal. It will now submit a formal letter of support to the licensing board.
CAMH meets on the third Wednesday of the month via Zoom. Email [email protected] for information.