Housing, Community Development and Equity Committee

Good evening.

This is the Committee of Housing, Community Development and Equity. of the City Council. I am City Councilor at Large, Kristen Strezo. I am the chair of this committee. Today is Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. It is 6.01 p.m. We are... in the committee room at City Hall and hybrid tonight. We have one agenda item tonight and well, no, I better read our little disclaimer. Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, this meeting of a City Council Committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. Uh, Ms. Quirk, can you please call the roll? Yep, this is roll call. Councilor Sait? Here.

Councilor Link?

Here.

Chair Streza?

Here.

Right, with that we have all members present, so we do have quorum.

Thank you.

Um... Sait, Yeah, I can say that.

Through you, Chair, Strezo. Hello, everyone. This is Councilor Sait. I just want to say for the record that I have to recuse myself from this item. As the ward councillor, I am involved in the tenant selection process, so I checked with the city's legal team and they confirmed that I have to recuse myself. Thank you, everyone.

Okay, with that, we will have Councilor Sait and seeing how we have one agenda item and, you know, we can approve minutes without you. Have a good evening. Thank you for being here for this, for tonight. With that, so no we don't have to approve any minutes looks like on the agenda so we've one agenda item tonight that is a public hearing is item 260265 i'm going to read the item And then I will discuss some rules regarding that. And we have only one agenda item that is the only focus of tonight. And we are not too deliberate on that or have any discussion.

We are here to listen to you and just book it in here and leave them there. and then have a good evening.

So we very much insist your meeting. So thank you very much for that. The item is, like I said, 260265, referred recommendation that this city council for the public hearing. on the petition submitted by 52 registered voters regarding Out of the Blue community art space at Arts at the Armory pursuant to section 2-11 of the city charter. So, We are going to be heading into our public hearing, and I cannot find the, I think I've heard it out. Let me get that one, but more just like the rules. Oh, hey. I'm sitting on it, but I'm not anymore. Okay. So what we're going to do is we are going to, um,

We're going to have this public hearing and the chair of the committee and I am aiming for, no, we're going to highlight some expectations for tonight. Public comment for tonight's hearing is on the item only. and only comments on that following agenda item will be accepted. When I open the public hearing, all in the public who wish to speak will have two minutes. We have a timer. When I call you, call your name, please come to the podium. Give your first and last name and your address. Enter your affiliation with Somerville. And then you'll have that two minutes. And that are those who wish to provide public comment online. So we'll do in person and then we can go to online and we do have some people online and we'll go for that.

And I'll make it very clear that respect is to be upheld for everybody here tonight and just in general. Kind words and just the stuff all around. If I feel that that is not happening, I will give you one warning. And if not, then I will, that's it. We'll not, yeah. But, you know, we have to say it. of course for every public hearing and um with that you know this is a community and and we'll yeah exactly so we'll just keep it all civil and as we as we will as we of course will So with that, I'd love to open this public hearing. And nobody signed up. You guys were supposed to sign up.

Oh.

It's cool. But that's fine. You know what? Because I stole the phone. All right. Probably was. I'm going to get next next meeting. I mean, just get like one of those deli counters. But then everyone will expect to have cookies, which also may happen. You never know. Yes. Or I will move into some scones.

Okay, so with that...

We have one agenda item and it is ultimately going to be that. So as you are, I believe the person that brought this forward, Feel free to come to the podium. So you'll see, they'll be able to see me. I set up that pretty podium. I feel it doesn't get enough use and I'm interested. Gosh darn it, but it should. I mean, it's a great piece. Nice and retro. Why not use it? Thank you so much for being here. So please state your name, person last name, and your address for the record.

Hello, everyone. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Thank you, the public, for being here. I appreciate it. My name is Parmita Paddai. I've served art in the Somerville and Canberra community. Can you give me your address, please? My address is 191 Highland Avenue, and there's a living workspace in 3B. I also have a performance and education space in the sixth of Armory and I am the CEO of a non-profit gallery and I'm here to speak of I'm feeling very vulnerable in terms of my housing situation and in terms of the topics of today and the committees of today for equity

And I was asked by the former owner of the Armory, Joseph Sager, and the former CEO of the Center for Arts at the Armory, to serve as a person who would help Curate art in the building to work and live in the building and that was honored to me in September 2019. and my first year was quite nice and I enjoyed it tremendously and I created the first four building-wide gallery in the armory in all of its 22 years of existing with the help of my lovely partner, Steven Piazzaro. In the wake of one year of the pandemic,

that really started taking off in Somerville and everywhere in the world April 2020 is really when I started to feel nestled but also you know there's a pandemic and Things were already hard for the gallery to operate, for any of us to operate with a worldwide pandemic called COVID. Yet, I insisted on keeping the legacy of Tom Tipton dearly past a few months ago. the founder of the Out of the Blue Art Gallery's Vision Alive. However, when the city took over in 2021 I found myself A date that in March 2021 I read and pressed.

This is two minutes. However, I'll give you like a few more minutes because I know that you were the one who put this forward.

I really appreciate it.

Okay.

Thank you for trying to be brief.

Yes.

So since the city came in, I was kind of bewildered why I felt that the eviction of myself and all the tenants in the gallery was happening to the press as I first read about this potential. in March 2021 and the fact that the City Council had unanimously decided on taking the building by any domain. I immediately had my own reservations about this and I wanted to learn more. But when I spoke and delivered my freedom of speech and also my half of my life's career serving the arts in the community of Camberville, It very much hurt to receive what would be considered an illegal eviction report myself and the other tenants to move immediately by December 31st, 2021. So I decided to be the spearheader of fighting for my gallery and its 30s artists.

And at that time, ten times. Six of those times, I believe, moved out since the kind of hard and fast measures I believe that the city had placed. But for speaking out, I definitely feel and know that I experience the most difficult repercussions of speaking out. There were three police reports filed on me that were illegal. They accused me of providing a space for underage drinking and serving this, which I would never do, and that I was hosting Events with marijuana use. Neither of those things were validated. Yet I was now in constant fear. Since 2021, there have been events that I have held. Meaningful events. Haitian poets... People coming over the COVID pandemic and coming from places.

Ladies, my mother and father, all ages access. and even a peace exhibit for my Somerville students that I've taught for two years. So now my home is in compromise. I received in July, just kind of end this, so thank you for your time. In July of 2025, incidentally, the founder of my gallery, the Honorable Tom Tipton, passed away. and within weeks I received from the city the fact that I could not live in my space and I should have to leave with first 90 days notice then 60 days notice then 30 days notice To be on the street on the shortest month of the year Which just passed, February 2026 On the Black History Month of the year

and incidentally the coldest month of the year with multiple snowstorms and that seemed unreal and I found out Through discovery myself that many city councillors did not even know such a note was given to me that in the middle of the dead of winter I would be placed on the street. That is not right. and I am very happy though and I see a bright light as spring approaches and holy just happened in Hinduism yesterday. And what else happened is Joseph Sater, the person who created The Armory Building and what it is from an eyesore when I was a teenager, from my practice and many other things, he passed too. But now. So I lead the legacy of the Out of the Blue Art Gallery. One more minute. Thank you. Thank you so much.

And I lead the conviction to help myself and all the tenants in the building who deserve to be there because there is a lot of space in the building. I appreciate what Summer Arts is doing in their spaces which are two of some of the largest spaces in the building. I appreciate that it's open to the public And there is way too much space for us tenants not to live. And if I must leave, which has been a continual thing for the last five years through no wrongdoing, then the city of Somerville, by eminent domain, legal causes from what I see, She should provide me with a place and answer it with what I have today and I certainly shouldn't be kicked out of Somerville. And that is how I feel. So I end with I am a teacher. I am a philosopher. I am a community organizer. Many people in this city know who I am and I have served the community for a very long time and since I was very young.

I hope to go into the ages convening Not being called by the police, not being told horrible things, not being, and I end with, one year ago was my last press article that was discovered and everything happened and I was told, By an unwatched warming center by the city of Somerville, by an unwatched time, and I end there, F-U-N-D, you call the cops on me, I will burn your house down. This should not be happening. So everyone, thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Next we have Stephen.

Yes.

The road in cursive. I cannot read any. Sorry. Can you please give your first and last name and address?

My first name is Steven. It's a bubble of beans. And your last name, please? A-S-A-R-O. Thank you. 191 Highland Avenue, 3B, Stonewall, Massachusetts. So yeah, you know, two minutes. Two minutes is a really short time. to convince five years of open hostility into a narrative. So I've been stressing about this for days now. You know, what thread do I follow? Where do I start? Where do I end? So what I can say is there's no way to get it all up. It's impossible. Impossible. But if anybody's interested, and no one anymore. I am available. I will sit down with anybody and I'm going to read documents. The back of everything I say, I will never say and will not say anything.

that can't be backed up with eyewitness testimony, emails, affidavits, and the such. So I bumped into Gregory. Not sad he's gone. And he asked, You know, oh, so you guys are going to put an hour here. I said, why? Why would I bother? Why would I take the time? Why would I go to the workshops and little clients you guys offer to help people take a record of the... Jargon and speak that, you know, it was necessary to engage in some bureaucratic endeavor like submitting a proposal to the city. Why would I do that? Why would I waste my time? The conclusions of our existence in this place is foregone. Why would I say that? Why would I say, you know, I know the answer is no.

Before even asking the question, I already know the answer. I don't know why I'm wasting my time. Why would I say that? I say that because of everything that's happened up until now. And when I talk about news and paper and documents and police reports and harassment complaints It's too much to get over two minutes, so I don't give the speaker to anybody who was clarity on that. So... Well, this building was built in 1901 by the federal government. This is the state of Massachusetts after the Second World War. Massachusetts does what it does until it falls into It's a band of ultimate disrepair and squatters and crackheads and places falling apart. And it goes off into the city of Somerville for free.

You can have it. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you very much. Any additional comments?

Please feel free to send an email to publiccomments at somervillema.gov and I'll give you the email address as well. Next we have John J. Philmeyer. Come on up.

And one of those hearing dogs is signed to speak, right?

Yes, yes.

So Marcus or anyone who wants to speak.

I just wrote some things. I'm going to just say it. I asked myself earlier what Out of the Blue Art Galleries meant to me. To me, Out of the Blue Art Galleries fills that hole I feel inside for community. There are not many places around Somerville. Wait, I forgot to tell you my name and all that stuff.

I mean, I said it for you, but I want you to say it because, yes, please.

I work in Somerville. For the record, yes. At Sky Body Works. 93 Allen Street. I currently live in Cambridge, 173 Hampshire Street in Edmond. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. There are not many places around Somerville that people can just go to hang out and not spend a lot of money. Out of the Blue Art Galleries offers that when they're open. Of course, I'm not saying that they're a non-profit organization. But they are welcoming. Since the city took the building and proceeded to poorly manage it, they have caused nothing but hardship for my friends over at the Out of the Blue Art Galleries. The Out of the Blue Art Galleries. I forgot if I used my spot.

The galleries welcome artists of all backgrounds into their space from artists who make art on the side outside of their day jobs to folks with disabilities who only make money from their art. I remember going to the gallery when they were in Central Square and it was run by Tom Tipton and XO. May they rest in peace. There was a very welcoming vibe there. I would just walk by, the doors were open, I'd pet XO, walked in, felt welcomed. Tom Tipton left out of the blue in the good hands of Parliament Steve because she knew they would continue his footsteps He knew that they are very much community oriented and they have all the love in their heart for this community, this art community. I believe that Out of the Blue has been treated wrongly by the management team from the city

After they took the building over many years later, may he also rest in peace. He was another example of someone well-renowned in this community, much like Tom Tipton. I hope they're both looking down on this meeting. to help guide it to a good result. He also entrusted Pharmacive to come into their establishment to help them further their goals of a heart with the art at the center of the community. I believe that there should be a master plan for the armory. I'm not fully familiar with the current guidelines of the plan, but I don't think that it's right to completely neglect those who currently live or run it. Almost done. Business there and do so much for the building without even being asked. Please allow the current residents a seat at the table in the decision making of the Armory Master Plan. Be diverse and inclusive without judgments of unique personalities Make up for the maltreatment.

But if the decision is no longer to allow residents at the armory, please help them find a new place for residence in Somerville.

Okay. Thank you very much.

You deserve the best outcome.

Thank you very much, Jim. Thank you. Next is Marcus Nishay. Nishay, thank you very much.

So this is the fifth incarnation of the... Give me one more moment.

Give me your name for the record. I just want to know your name.

Mark Neche.

And your address, please.

202 Framble Street, Cambridge.

Thank you very much.

Okay, so this is the fifth incarnation of the Out of the Blue Gallery in the past 30 years. First Brookline Street, Cambridge, Prospect, Cambridge. Right in the central square there. And then the firehouse in Alston. So now it's the basement of the... And also the stairwell and the apartment upstairs. Don't forget Obama. That's what he said. What? Oh, I don't remember that. Oh, yeah, yeah. That was like you had to go to a house. This is a public space. And in the front room, people walk in. This is an amazing scene at the coffee shop in the corner. I see the open stage, I see the people performing, and I ask about, like, yeah, there's something you can get, you know? And there's another space like that in the basement that happened.

We all pull together. Sometimes people who I've never seen come in and they sign up and go on stage. It's great to have these two places in this building. It'd be a real shame if it was lost. and it would be really because people like myself sometimes impromptu want to go on stage because I've just written a poem that day and other people come in and they also perform that day. and you know afterwards we all kind of hang out upstairs and you know go up you know the the fire escape and it was all it's a wonderful it's a wonderful kind of you know aftermath to to the art scene that happens in that basement space. And it's also the gallery itself, the people showing the corridors and upstairs. The artists have their talks about their art. And I was a part of all that.

You know, through the 90s, it's a place where artists don't have to submit a $25 fee only to have their artwork rejected from a gallery. Okay? And this is something that, you know, they pulled together, right? And it's... The kind of spontaneous impromptu scene that happens there. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that pitch. Thank you. I think this case Two artists.

And your beautiful signatures. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Can you please state your name, first and last name, and your address, where's the record?

Kate Levin, 169 Morrison Ave in Summerbone. I've lived in Somerville for a long time and there's a lot of really special, really cool places in Somerville and the Armory is one of them and the Out of the Blue Gallery is one of them. And it just feels sad that we would kick this space out. It's like a really culturally important place that I think like I moved back to Somerville after leaving. because of spaces like this and I don't know it's just important I think it's important and we should have a space that's like inclusive and and just has a space for artists to To thrive.

Yeah.

Okay well that is all on who signed up to testify in person and we have uh so anybody anyone else like to speak no no okay um

The sign-up sheet is still here while the public hearing is happening. So we have some participants online. And so we have, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. I see some. And then we'll call your name. Do you want to call the name or do you prefer I?

Either is fine. What?

It looks like the same person three times. Okay, someone online has cloned themselves. That is magical. That's cool. Okay, well, yeah, I guess we'll have Danielle McNevin. Please feel free to mute one of your three selves and you have two minutes. Once we'll check and make sure that you can hear us, we can hear each other, and then we'll say you have two minutes. And when you do, please state your name, first and last name, and your address or affiliation with Somerville. Can you hear it? See that little mic? Danielle, can you hear us?

I'm Bill Lewis and you have me on. Okay.

All right, could you please state your first and last name and your address and then you've got your two minutes.

Can't hear you.

Blessing and a curse.

Can you hear us? We can't hear you.

Okay, Danielle, we'll... If you can figure out, oh, no, yep, yep. Hold on, maybe. Okay, we'll leave the option for you to speak, of course. You just let us know if you can figure out the technical difficulties, etc., and we'll put you back. In line. Next, is there anyone else? I see names, but if anyone wishes to speak, please raise your hand up. There's Danielle again. Let's do this.

Unmute all of them. Maybe she'll get her.

Yeah, I hear, wait, maybe.

Okay, we're going to move on. Just, uh, Keep trying and we'll put you back in line when and if we can figure this out. Do we have anyone? We see only two hands raised. So if you do wish to speak, please raise your hand. and we will call on you so you have my mic on now oh right okay so this so hold on we have back in line Danielle McNeil, McNevin, I'm sorry. Please state your first and last name and your address and then you'll have your two minutes. Oh, curses, purses. Okay. Wait a second.

Wait a second. Are you mixing me up? This is Bill Lewis. Oh, there's Bill Lewis.

All right, Bill Lewis. That's you, Bill Lewis. Okay, give your address or affiliation, and then you got your two, and then please, we'll start the clock. Go for it.

All right then, my name is Bill Lewis. I have had the enormous honor and pleasure. I lived at 410 Kidder Avenue for a good number of years. I now reside in Priest River, Idaho. but I had the enormous honor of teaching there in the school system and then at Tufts University and before MIT waved money in my face but anyway I care about Somerville is still part of my heart. That's why I'm here. I've been involved with Parma and the gallery for decades and she makes her space welcoming and personal she is exactly what i want in a public art space someone who is so warm and so welcoming

and just so happy and she makes all the difference in the world so that is that is my take on the situation if i were building an art space i would pay a million dollars to have someone like Parma be responsible. Thank you.

Thank you, Bill. All right, hope the weather's, well, we had nice weather today, so never mind. But I hope you're having as nice a weather as we are. Over there. Okay, do we have anyone else? So you have anyone else willing that is wishing to speak? Please raise your hand now. We're going to go through the list.

I'm not sure what's going on with that one person.

I don't know if people are joining with their link.

I think if there's three of them, we leave them all unmuted and maybe she'll hear one of them.

No, Jay, if you do that, you're going to create a warp zone and some kind of like alternate universe. You have to be very careful about these things.

The person who has their hand raised should be able to speak if they are able to speak.

Can you hear me?

What is this?

This is David Stickney.

You are new. Okay, you also have the same name of someone else. So I don't know. I told you about these war zones. See what you did? Yeah, nothing, nothing. Welcome. Please stay here. Thank you for coming. Please state your first and last name and your address or affiliation. Somerville and you have two minutes to speak. Welcome and thank you.

Thank you. My name is David Stickney. I am a resident in Savin Hill, Dorchester. My address is 12 Claystead Road in Dorchester. My affiliation with the gallery is that I have been an artist with the gallery since its creation with Tom Tipton and I have been there through the entire history of the gallery and I am proud to be part of it. And I'm proud that Parma is running it now. And Steve. And they do a wonderful job. They've been through hell and back supporting the gallery and their local artwork. Community. They do such a really good job and they deserve to stay.

That's all I have to say. I see another hand raised. Daniel McNevern. Oh, my gosh. I told you. This is all your fault, Jane. You created a warp zone, and now I don't know. This is like... I don't know, what level of Super Mario Brothers? You can only unmute the one that is speaking. Okay, anyway, okay. So the next, Danielle McNevern. Could you perhaps ask, if you have already spoken with Pauline, if you could lower your hand, because we don't know who is who. So, let's give it a shot. Okay, the third, Danielle McNefford.

You have the floor.

Okay, is anyone there?

Maybe try the second one.

Hello, hello, is there anyone, anybody in there? Yes, okay.

Great, so I can explain what's going on with the link. We all got a link from Daniel's thing. That's why we're all Daniel McNevin.

So there's only one of you, just so we're clear. There are not... Several clones of Daniel McNevern?

We are, you're so clear about that and you're accurate.

Okay, thank you so much.

My name is Thomas Fahey. and I'm a local artist. I went to MassArt and then I lived in Boston for a decade after that. Well, I lived in Jamaica Plain. And I have known the gallery for a long time. They were a launching point for me and for so, so many artists. I can't Stress enough how this place, although the aesthetic was really busy, it was a home for a lot of local artists and not just... Big deals and it really had a community around it that was inclusive and it was a third space that people could be at that wasn't a bar that wasn't going to try and grab a ton of money from them and things of that nature. I think it it always struggled you know and the

I really believe the city ought to care about these kind of community things because I have since, and I didn't say this so I'll say this now, I now live... In northern Massachusetts, and I'm nomadic, I live at 19 North Street in Westford, Massachusetts, and... I am always wanting to move back to Boston in that area because of the... I ran my own space and the Out of the Blue Gallery were some of just... Next level connection, relationships and realness, I suppose, within a community that I really haven't experienced anywhere else. and it makes me want to come back and the idea I think about it a lot and I probably will move back to that area at some point um and I think, you know, one thing I do wonder and think about is like, is it the same place that it was when I left?

You know, so many people have left and COVID and these things. and so to to imagine you know more of this really positive community stuff dying just makes me really sad and I think it is It's so valuable and Parma and Steve are incredible and they've taken it over and I think that Somerville needs to value it. That's just how I feel. So thank you.

Thank you very much. Okay, next, another, Danielle, unmuted? Okay, no, we're going to go to Jay Plum. Jay Plum, you have the floor.

Okay, great. Oh, is my real name up here? Okay. I'm not Danielle, I'm Jay Plum. I live at Hudson Street, pretty much right behind the Armory. I'm a neighbor. Thank you, Councilor, for having this meeting, and thank you, Parama, for asking for it. First off, I find the whole Armory building to be an amazing asset to the community. and I guess I should quickly say you know rest in peace Joseph Sater the person who bought the armory and spent three million dollars renovating it and then turning it into this wonderful asset to the community and also to the entire Boston metropolitan area I am not sure why... Any one is being evicted.

As far as I know, the city has not explained why the gallery is facing eviction, so that really troubles me. But I'll be short here. It's my opinion that... All existing tenants should be allowed to stay with the appropriate conditions. and I'll leave it at that. I want to make sure a special shout out to the Out of the Blue Gallery. I think they're an amazing asset within the building itself. So I would hope that we get an explanation of why there's an eviction. And I'll leave it at that. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Okay, next we have new Danielle McNevin, who's different than other Danielle McNevin.

They should be able to rename themselves. You're going to...

Okay, new Daniel McNevin, you have the floor. Please identify yourself and your address.

Oh, I'm me? Is it me you're talking to?

Oh, it's you.

Okay, well, I'm really Gordon Goes. I'm not whoever that other, Danielle or whatever. Nobody does it better.

Just you. Welcome.

I'm the best Gordon Goes there'll ever be, I can tell you that.

I have no doubt.

All right, so my name is Gordon Goes, like goes down the street, like goes to this meeting. I am... Originally from recently moved out of Killington which I've been there Vermont and I'm now in Massachusetts but I know the gallery because I come from a different perspective I am also an artist My son's an honest, but I am. A visitor. Somebody who comes into your town and looks and sees the armory. And as the person before me said, I think the armory is a great place. But one of the things that people always notice in anything is what you see right away. So you can have as many bands and as many things as you want, but the thing that grabbed my attention and my son's attention every time I visited is the beautiful artwork that's in the hallways. And if you work your way downstairs, you have the... I'm a drummer, so I really like the... The Blue Man Group thing. And I'm also a solutions architect.

So I am the kind of person that comes in and lets people know what the heck they're doing wrong. Thank you for having me. People like notoriety. They think that they can redo the wheel. The wheel was working great. Let's spin a new wheel. Let's try to change something that's successful. This gallery not only is successful, but it also has a long history, a history that's important to the armory, important to Somerville. I think there has been some things that have been done as far as bills and go that weren't delivered to the tenants in a reasonable amount of time after the fact. Changes in the way that I would be teetering on some of those were at minimum unethical so I think that in all fairness it would be best for the visitors for the artists for the people of Somerville

For the people who work at this armory to understand that the history, the fine art, what you display for the people to see. Thank you so much, Mr. Boggs.

Do we have another, Danielle?

McNevin?

No, no, no, no, no, no.

I think I'm the same guy. Do we have anyone else online that wishes to speak? Please raise your hand. The new Danielle McNevin. Hi, can you hear me? Hey, hi. Are you actually Danielle McNevin?

Yes, and it's actually Danielle McNevin.

Well, welcome. Please give your, you said your first and last name, give your address or your affiliation to Somerville and you will have two minutes to speak.

Thank you so much. My name is Danielle McNevin. I live at 40 College Hill Road in Somerville. I actually used to...

I've known out of the blue in Parma for a very long time.

I also knew Tom Tipton who owned the gallery Out of the Blue has been a safe place for artists, creative artists, as well as musical artists for years. Now and to see what they have gone through to stay being a creative safe space for artists all around Boston has been heartbreaking for all of the work that Parma, Steve, Tom, and all of them. It's very heartbreaking to see them try to take art away from Boston. They also want the space for art. I have been an advocate for art. I'm a graphic designer. I've lived in Massachusetts my whole life. and I really believe I don't understand why they are repeatedly challenged by the city um all they want to do is city and art to everyone

and they have created that over the years even with the hardships. Both music and art, a lot of our friends who have passed over the years, their art still is being displayed in the album, in the art of the Out of the Blue. I'm not sure why I'm being for some reason it's repeating back to what I'm saying but it's okay you're coming through fine keep going Okay, thank you. Basically, all in all, Out of the Blue Gallery is something that should and needs to remain around Boston for a safe place for artists, musical, and every other aspect of the world. Word.

Okay, thank you very much. Next up is another Daniel McNevin. No? Okay. Do we have anyone else online that wishes to speak? Go ahead and raise your hand. We're going to do a quick scan. Go in once. Go in twice. Okay, we have another person in person again that wishes to speak. What is it with you artists?

Ben. No hate.

No hate? Artists, we're cool. Would you like to come up to the podium? I put this lovely podium. It doesn't get enough love either. I put it up for you guys also.

All right.

So let's make it easy. So please give your first and last name for the record. No, the hat did not blow. You know what? We're going to honor you if you want. No, it's okay.

Because this is one of the places that Out of the Blue displays art. Out of the Blue is an incredible, unique organization.

Hold on, hold that thought person last name and your address and go right forward. Because yeah, I want to hear all these things.

Beckwith. I live at 58 Tufts Street now. But in any case, is that... You're on.

Two minutes. Go for it.

Yeah. You know, Out of the Blue does more than any other gallery I can conceive of for artists sponsoring their art in places like the Middle East. and various locations. I've also known out of the blue since Tom Tipton. Yeah, yeah, it was Tom Tipton. And it's also art and music go together. I have played music at art openings, art closings. It's been a great opportunity. Art, you know, and performance spaces need to be protected because these are just like the soul of our humanity. I think that's not too much of an exaggeration.

You know, there's absolutely no reason to not let Outer Bloom continue to do what they do. And for that matter, for them to be independent, they're doing fine. there's no problems here you know there was like there was no problems with uh arts at the armor doing what it does without the city involvement um so you know um Yeah, that's, I mean, I don't know what else to say. I just, yeah, strongly need to stand up for Abooff.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

And Steve, I know that... You had your two minutes. If you wanted to speak for two more, I'll give you the option.

Because you seem like you're... I agree. I can go on for a long time.

But just go on. Just give him two more minutes.

Can I go a little too many vignettes?

It's great.

I'm not playing, you know? Yes, you're great.

How do I know that? How do you know that?

Maybe you are the natural work plane.

What is your work?

There's only one my plane. Okay. Sometimes I worry about my repertory there. My plane had a booth and that booth is still there. Although it's behind the percentage now, so we can't say it when the rest of it stays. Anyway. All right, so what are we talking about? We're setting the clock, though, after two minutes. Again, so back to my point, why would I bother trying to stay here? When I know the conclusion is full gone, like it's already been decided. It was decided before the seizure of the building, right? The seizure of this building is and was nothing more than a vanity project for Gregory Jenkins, you know? We had to do a lot of research and it all comes back to us. That being said, he had to distance himself from the whole process. I remember Mike Niedergang saying to me when I raised that suspicion, it's over and over.

You're thinking about the old Somerville. This is the new Somerville. We've rooted out that type of nepotism and corruption. No, you didn't. You didn't. because Pollard's assessment was exactly right in the get-go. You know, and then... Strange things started happening. You know, the unwelcome wagon was quickly rolled out. You know, the open hostility came immediately. And little subtle ways and stupid things, like petty things, petty things like... Tom Galigani, I'll refer to him as Tom from now on. Tom questioned whether our lease in D6 was legitimate. It was. He didn't seem to want to believe that. At the time, we were borrowing the mailbox key from the center for the armory because they have all the mailbox keys. They have all the keys to all the buildings. All the rooms in the entire building.

So if you like yourself out of your place, you can go to the center and they'll let you in. You can use the key. So we've been using the mailbox key in that fashion for a while. And then one day, after Tom questioned the legitimacy of our lease, we were concerned that there was some time-sensitive material to that mailbox. And then Would they do that? But that was denied us access to the mailbox. I have.

There's a Facebook mailbox there.

The mailbox where it goes on. So, you know, Suddenly the mailbox keys aren't available. And then I'm told by Stephanie, through her surrogates, it's not her job anymore to provide a mailbox key to me. Like, well, you can just give me the key and I don't have to ask her anything. Problem solved. But no, not my job anymore. You'll have to contact someone from the city. So I called Tom, sitting in the cafe in front of everybody. Sitting in the cafe, Tom, Stephanie tells me it's not her job anymore. You can read the mailbox to me. Yeah, that's right. Not a job anymore. Not a job. You're having to go through the city now. You're dealing with the city now. Everything has to go through a process. Perhaps I'll put in a work order, have a new mailbox key made. My tongue, that's batshit crazy. Like, why would he do that? The mailbox key is on the outside of his wall. It's like literally 10 feet away from us. Just tell Stephanie to give me the key, and I'll never have this conversation again. Oh, no, no, no. You don't understand. You're dealing with the city now. Everything has to go through a process.

Perhaps I'll have all the mailbox keys changed. Why would you do that? Like, that doesn't make any sense. Doesn't make any sense. I'm like, all right, Tom, thanks for your help. I hang up. And then confused, I go upstairs because something doesn't ring true. And so I go upstairs and I call my son-in-law, who is the manager of the post office of Method Square. And he's like, oh no, the city of Somerville doesn't own or control or have any, you know, say over the mailboxes. The mailbox is run by the federal government. Anybody that inhibits in any way, shape, or form, even if they put a big box in front of it, they have to walk around. Anything that inhibits your free and unfettered access to the mailbox is a felony. It's a federal crime. So Tom and Stephanie conspired to commit a felony, to deny me access to my mailbox. And so this is right off the bat. So when I say like the second the city took over this building, we were met with palpable and open hostility.

This is what I'm talking about, you know? People willing, dumb enough to not know they're committing a felony, and brash enough to do it anyway. You know, like, just, you can't have access to your mailbox. Okay. Our attorney asked me, because I went right upstairs, I signed a small affidavit with our attorney. And he said, okay, that's a felony. We've got eyewitnesses. We've got collaboration with our actual post office superiors, supervisors. Do you want to press charges against Tom Gallaghani? For felony activity, I said no. I'm not interested in destroying people's lives. I'm not interested in hurting people. and I didn't.

But what I'll tell you about Tom is...

Okay, thank you very much. Do we have anyone else online that has not yet spoken? Actually, well, yeah, no, we did that. Okay, so boop, boop, boop. So that is everybody in the room, I think. Okay. So I will now close this public hearing. You can still make or submit comments. You can give written testimony. It can be sent to public comments at somervillema.gov. I will leave the comment section open until this Friday. which is uh Let's see. Thank you. So Friday, March 6th. And we will have that open until, say, 5 p.m. Friday.

You can email again publiccomments at somervillema.gov. And so that is our only agenda item for tonight. With that, I move to close this meeting.

And, uh, clerk, if there's a decision to be made and how long it'll be here.

All right. On adjournment. Councilor Sait. Link.

Yes.

Chair Storza. Yes. All right. With that, it's 6.56 p.m. and we're adjourned. Thank you very much. Thanks for all who came to listen or to speak and for sharing your experiences and thoughts. Thank you very much.