I’m a landscape architect and urban designer. When I moved to Boston in 1993, I looked into the BRA as a possible place to work, since my previous employer, an architect/landscape architect, had worked there back in the Pleistocene Era. I was just settling in to talk to the BRA’s landscape designer, when a roll of blueprints was brought to her desk. She explained that this was the landscaping plan for the parking lot that would be left when the historic Pilgrim Theatre would be demolished.
I said, “A historic theatre is going to be destroyed, and you’re worrying about the plants around the parking lot?” She replied, “Well, it’s going to happen no matter what, so we might as well screen the cars.”
I left, and spent the next couple of years trying to save the Pilgrim. I failed, of course, but I met a lot of people, learned a lot about the BRA, Mayor Tom Menino and his department heads, and who was who in the power structure.
More recently, I, together with other citizens more knowledgeable than I, tried (and failed) to save the Gaiety Theatre, but gathered more public awareness and more active allies. There aren’t any historic theaters to save now. We have just a handful left, and they are either in use as theaters, or have been converted to restaurants, dorms, etc. Mayor Menino let the Pilgrim and the Gaiety be demolished for his developer friends, against the zoning laws, of course, but he did put up colorful banners proclaiming the streets of the Theater District. He had to: there aren’t enough theaters now for the tourists to know they’re there.
I have learned the consequences of “having too high a political profile,” which means doing anything that crosses the Mayor/BRA: I was blacklisted by most local design, planning and policy offices. But I got increasingly involved in community advocacy, finding out what on earth is going on around here behind all those closed doors and telling other people, in the hopes that they’d rise up and demand a real government. I’m still hoping.
I co-founded the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods, so that residents all over the city could unite, share information, and take action at a higher level of reform than was possible for individuals or neighborhood groups.
My special interest has been to expose and eliminate the BRA, and after 15 years of toiling in the vineyards, there is a glimmer of light. The public, the media, and the candidates at political forums are finally starting to deal with the problem of a city run by a quasi-private, unaccountable redevelopment authority and a virtually omnipotent development-obsessed mayor, with an almost non-existent city council. No transparency, no accountability, no checks and balances. Welcome to the cradle of democracy!
If I had known it would take this long, I might not have started. Or...I would have started much earlier.
Below are links to some newspaper stories about me.
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
-- Anne Frank
The Boston Globe Jan 7, 2004
Steve Bailey, columnist
In a city like ours, there is much talent. Here is one man's very incomplete
list, in no particular order.
Shirley Kressel, cofounder of the Alliance for Boston Neighborhoods, is the one person willing to attend every hour of every meeting on development in this town. Most of this stuff is so boring it makes your teeth hurt. She is a font of information on the arcane world of zoning and variances, and the bane of developers and the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Kressel, sometimes over the top, sometimes not, is a valuable cop on the beat.
The Boston Phoenix September 23 - 30, 1999
Ben Geman
Shirley Kressel tells anyone who will listen that city
development policy threatens Boston's soul.
What's got her so worried?
Here are some of the words on Shirley Kressel's shit list: "economic development," "public-private partnership," "linkage," and "revitalization." They're all terms used to describe an increasingly common urban goal: bringing government and business interests together. For business and policy types, these words are part of the vernacular of rebuilding and improving a city. But to Kressel, they amount to ... weasel words....
_________________________________________________________________________
Two community residents, I was surprised to see, submitted the following letters to the editor of the Phoenix about Geman’s piece:
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 16:38:17 -0400
Subject: The Boston Phoenix article on Shirley Kressel
From: "Eva Webster" <ewebster@gis.net>
To: letters@phx.com
CC: Shirley Kressel <skressel@tiac.net>,
Paul Berkeley <pberkeley@hq.interleaf.com>
I was not impressed with Ben Geman's article (The Boston Phoenix, Sept. 23-30) featuring Shirley Kressel, the maverick president of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods. My first impression as a reader was that Geman was just inches away from being highly unethical as a writer. It was obvious from the article that he had milked his subject for most of the information he used, took advantage of her hospitality at her home, and ended up writing a cynical and hostile piece that shows little understanding of the seriousness of the problems that Kressel is trying to bring to light.
The article demonstrated a mismatch between a rather ignorant, anti-intellectual reporter and a brave, driven, highly intelligent, knowledgeable, and civic-minded woman. Geman's vaguely disguised criticism of Kressel's personal style detracts from the real issues -- and the issues that Kressel is championing are worthy of a serious public debate. Unfortunately, thanks to his careful choice of quotes, Geman poo-poos them one by one.
From what I could tell, the writer does not understand why Kressel believes that public space in Boston and elsewhere should stay public. He's just incapable of comprehending all the dangers that come with privatization of public land -- currently a national trend, not limited to Boston, that is disturbing to anyone with a shred of conscience. I, for one, dread to live in a city/country where everything is in private or corporate hands, where the government is too weak and too poor to properly care for public land -- be it parks, large gathering spaces, nature preserves, etc.
How is the government supposed to fulfill its role as a responsible guardian of the public domain when the public servants themselves eagerly embrace plans to divest public property by placing it in private hand? The individuals quoted in Geman's article say they have to operate within the existing reality. Who is supposed to shape the reality? Are they, by the virtue of their positions, exempt from the responsibility to push for doing what is right? Do they know what is right? If we don't have an open discussion, and if we dismiss people like Kressel as "gadflies", how will we ever know what is right?
Kressel won't do it alone. But while she is courageously trying to change the reality -- for the benefit of all of us -- why not help a little by showing her a little respect? The woman is standing up for what she believes. That's humanity at its best.
Eva Webster
Brighton
From: Berkeley, Paul
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 1999 4:51 PM
To: 'bgeman@phx.com'
Subject: the gadfly
Ben Geman gets a "twofer." In his story this week, "The Gadfly," he managed to denigrate two community activists, who happen to belong to the same organization (Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods) by portraying one as a foe to the city and the other as a friend. The trick was he did it by comparing the two to each other. No doubt to the activist world, the friend will be seen as the foe. The Alliance was formed to unite community members city-wide on issues they feel a shared interest in. Of primary importance to us all, is the preservation of public process, and the right to be involved in development issues affecting our neighborhood and our city.
Community activists feel a solidarity with each other, and although I appreciate comments about my ability to work cooperatively with the city on neighborhood development, it loses much of it's value if used to criticize someone who I happen to agree with on many issues, and admire as a leader. We are all individuals, with different styles, but we all want the same thing: a decent quality of life for our neighborhood.
Paul Berkeley, President, Allston Civic Association
Member, Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods.
And here’s how it looks on paper...
Shirley Kressel, M.L.A., M.P.H.
________________________________________________________________
EDUCATION
1983 Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
1969 Master of Public Health, UCLA School of Public Health
1968 Bachelor of Arts, Brandeis University, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS
Sustainable urban planning and design; privatization of the public realm; environmental justice
ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, Board of Directors
Move Massachusetts, Board of Directors
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Landscape Architecture/Urban Design:
Project design; planning; community advocacy; proposal writing
Columnist (bi-weekly), South End News
Contributing writer, North End News, Back Bay Sun, Beacon Hill Times, Fenway News
Occasional opinion pieces, Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, Landscape Architecture Magazine
Co-founder (l995), Alliance of Boston Neighbothoods, advocating for good government
Brown and Rowe, Inc., Landscape Architects & Planners, Boston, MA
Bremen Street/Memorial Park design
Carol R. Johnson & Associates, Cambridge, MA
Tamsui River (Taiwan) Comprehensive Watershed Management Strategy Report
Schwartz/Silver Architects, Inc., Boston, MA
New England Aquarium Site Programming
City of Boston, “Boston 400” Comprehensive Plan, Urban Design Task Force
Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Seaport Task Force
Boston Society of Landscape Architects representative, Boston 2000 (CA/T restoration)
Boston Society of Architects Washington Street Corridor Charrette
Boston Historic Theaters Charrette, liaison to BSA Washington Street Corridor Charrette
City of Boston "Sustainable Boston" workshop: community group discussion facilitator
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Urban Tree Symposium, organizer, research report editor
Hanna/Olin, Ltd., Landscape Architecture and Planning, Philadelphia, PA:
Downtown Strategic Plan, Los Angeles, CA
Rebstockpark Mixed-Use Development, Frankfurt, Germany
Union Station Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
Frick Foundation Historic Landscape Restoration, Pittsburgh, PA
Columbus Courtyard, Canary Wharf, London, UK
UCLA Campus Planning Study, Los Angeles, CA
Broadway Business Improvement District, New York, NY
Westlake Park, Seattle, WA
Yokohama Convention Center, Yokohama, Japan
Riverside Park Master Plan, New York, NY
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York, NY
Public Health:
Program evaluation; public policy analysis; community outreach; grant proposal writing
Government Studies and Systems, Inc., Philadelphia, PA:
Evaluation system for developmental disabilities care programs
Health Policy Program, University of California, San Francisco, CA (Dr. Phillip Lee):
Public policy analysis, development of data system for coordination of Health Maintenance Organizations and Professional Standards Review Organizations
San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA:
Health care program evaluation
University of Washington, Seattle, WA:
Development of health care outcomes index
Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA:
Community outreach for program planning, program evaluation
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Harvard University Graduate School of Design, guest speaker, community participation and public process
Boston Architectural Center, occasional instructor, urban design and planning
Radcliffe Seminars Forum, "Public Open Space Privatization: Contemporary Issues"
Harvard University Graduate School of Design, guest critic, Washington Street Studio
MIT, Introductory Urban Design course guest lecture, "Ecological Framework for Design"
MIT, Environmental Design Forum lecture, "Los Angeles Downtown Plan: Urban Reclamation"
The Boston Globe Oct 24, 2004
Jan Gardner, staff writer
...in the language of a Michael Moore, Shirley Kressel unleashes a scathing critique of development. In a sea of suits, Kressel stands out. And she usually stands up... Kressel's got a home office packed with files...
Photo below is from this article.
