Grand Hustle: Providence Street Playground pt. 3

I love how the Telegram and Gazette, with Rondo-sized assists from Paul Clancy, District 3 Councilman, Robert Antonelli, Assistant Commissioner of Parks and Public Works, and Robert Moylan, Commissioner of Public Works and Parks, are reporting that the playground on Providence Street is "only" costing between $200k to $300k.

These are the same men that said that there would have to be improvements made to the surrounding area, sidewalks installed and the cost would be around the $455k mark.  Nice way to coveniently forget about $255k to $155k!

The kicker to the T&G article is, "Mr. Antonelli acknowledged that some neighbors remain opposed to the playground, though Mr. Clancy said he had only received one negative e-mail about the project since construction started last year".

Mr. Antonelli has a better memory than Paul Clancy, because he can remember the push-back from area residents at the meeting that took place at the Vernon Hill School on February 27, 2008, where residents in attendance told them they were full of shit building a playground when there were better ways to spend more than $100k.

Maybe the money didn't come from property taxes, but the playground was proposed as,"gesture to show the city's gratitude" to the residents affected by the expanded Ballard Street compost site. Neighborhoods such as those in the areas of Gibbs Street, Granite Street, Dane Avenue and Svenson Avenue, to name a few, are affected whenever the compost site emits odor.

The then principal of the Vernon Hill School, Ms. Joanna Bowolick, was all for the playground because it would benefit her students directly, but she wouldn't be a the school long enough to see the first backhoe at the site.

 The BIG kicker came in December 2008, when the proposal for the playground was approved by the City Council, after Paul Clancy very slyly had the proposal brought up at a City Council meeting right before Christmas.  Hey, he knows when people are sleeping and he knows when they're awake, and Paul Clancy banks on the fact that most of his constituents are asleep at the wheel.  True Masshole modus operandi.

The playground was approved, Clancy is pleased, Moylan is pleased, Antonelli is pleased and the people that live in the area are pleased, but do they know that they've been Grand Hustled?