News
Friends of Mary Cummings Park delivers complaint to the Mass. Attorney General seeking an investigation of misallocation of trust funds, breach of trust and return of up to 15 million dollars by the City of Boston .
- July 23, 2008
Citing nearly $200,000 in misallocated funds in just the past five years, the Friends of Mary Cummings Park Inc, a local non-profit group, is asking the attorney general to seek the removal of the City of Boston as trustee and a return of the misallocated money. The complaint filed on July 23rd also points to numerous documents demonstrating the intent of City of Boston officials to undermine the clear purpose of the land trust that was established in 1930, which created a "public pleasure ground" from Mary Cummings' 234 acre farm.
According to the City's own records, between fiscal years 2002 and 2007 only 1.2% of the "care and maintenance" trust fund income was actually spent on maintenance of the park. The bulk of the money was diverted to lawyers, surveyors, and appraisers who were preparing residential subdivision plans for land legally designated for use as a public park and playground.
The complaint includes memos from the law firm Palmer & Dodge which show that it was the intent of City Hall to use the trust and public park land to create revenue for the City, rather than the trust. In 1996 and 1999 memos from their legal counsel, City Hall was advised that the land is legally protected as a park and playground under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution but that they might be allowed to change the purpose of the trust and sell the land if they could "demonstrate that the land is not suitable for a park".
The group also cites a petition submitted by the City of Boston to the Attorney General in 1987 to change the trust. The aim of the cy pres was to sell the park land to fund other Boston Park Department operations. This petition includes a claim by the City of Boston's lawyers that the main income producing asset of the trust fund, an office building which was adjacent to Faneuil Hall, was immediately seized by eminent domain by the City without compensating the trust fund. The group says this shows that any lack of current fund in the care and maintenance trust fund is Boston's own doing.
If true, the appreciation and income over the last 78 years from the $118,000 that should have been awarded in 1930 amounts to more than enough for adequate maintenance. The Friends' complaint also seeks a return of this money totaling approximately $15 million in appreciation and income.
Other breaches of trust pointed out by the group include the cancellation of children's programs and refusals of outside funding to keep the field house in repair. Boston for many years ran a garden program in cooperation with the Boston School Department which utilized another trust, the Randidge Trust, for transportation. Boston also permitted Kamp for Kids (Kids Challenge) to use the park. While these two programs were cancelled outright by Boston, the refusal of Boston to accept YMCA funding, other outside funding or to use Cummings trust funds to repair the bathroom facilities in the field house has prevented day camps from operating.
Currently, there are no signs identifying the park and no mention of it on the City's website. The only signs that City Hall has posted are the 15 "No Trespassing" signs that until recently threatened park visitors. These signs, nailed to trees along the road, cost the "care and maintenance" trust fund $2,940 in FY2004.
In December 2007, the Friends of Mary Cummings Park purchased two engraved wooden signs for $2,500 and posted them at the park. City Hall not only confiscated these signs but also made threats of trespass against the group. The signs were eventually returned to the Friends under the stipulation that they not be posted ever again.
The complaint concludes that misallocation of the Trust fund income, cancellation by City Hall of children's programs, public misinformation, purposeful neglect, and refusals of any outside funding to further the trust's purpose and maintain the park are a breach of the public's trust and that the only way to move forward is to have the court appoint a new trustee.
The letter with linked exhibits can be found here
City of Woburn v. HAC and Archstone - Woburn Wins!
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found in favor of the City of Woburn yesterday, June 10th, regarding the proposed development of 75 acres of Northeastern University's campus by Archstone-Smith Apartments. The Friends of Mary Cummings Park wish to congratulate the City of Woburn on its successful appeal, which will limit Archstone-Smith's proposed Chapter 40B development on Cambridge Street to a maximum of 300 units. The Friends of Mary Cummings Park submitted an amicus to the Court on this case, supporting Woburn's position. This is a great success in our efforts to protect Mary Cummings Park from being irreparably damaged by an ill-conceived development on land that is a state-designated Priority Habitat for Rare Species and has also been enjoyed by the public for recreational use for many generations.
The Court's decision released today overturns the Superior Court ruling which would have allowed 540 units on the land and affirms that under Chapter 40B that the Housing Appeals Committee must uphold the locally-imposed conditions unless the developer can show that the conditions make the project uneconomic. So, all 50 conditions imposed by the City of Woburn's Board of Appeals have now been upheld. This was also the main argument presented in the amicus submitted by the Friends of Mary Cummings Park to the Supreme Judicial Court.
The land, composed of a farmhouse and greenhouses on Cambridge Street and over 70 acres of forest and wetlands, was used as part of Northeastern University's Suburban Campus as a "Botanical Research Station". The Friends remain concerned that much of this land is a state-designated Priority Habitat for Rare Species and contains two state-certified vernal pools which would still be negatively impacted by what is still a very large scale and spread out development. The 75 acres of Northeastern University land also cut very deeply into the 210 acres of Mary Cummings Park and the development as proposed would have an adverse impact on the enjoyment of the park. We hope to continue to work with the Woburn Conservation Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental protection to make sure that any development on the Northeastern University land will not adversely impact this protected habitat, the quality of the local water supply, and the enjoyment of the surrounding park.
We thank everyone who has helped in this case and are continuing to help in preserving Mary Cummings Park. Please encourage others to join the Friends of Mary Cummings Park, so that we can build on this success.
Best Regards,
Steven Keleti, President Pat O'Reilly, Treasurer Walt Howe, Secretary Laurel Francoeur, Legal Council Cath Moore, Board of Directors David Cummings, Board of Directors
Friends of Mary Cummings Park, Inc., is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit who's purpose is to help keep Mary Cummings Park, situated in Burlington and Woburn, Massachusetts, forever open as a public park and playground; to promote recreation consistent with the historic uses of the park; and to promote protection of wildlife habitat and watershed.
Memorial Lantern Walk Coming up
- Sunday May 18, 2008 7:30
At Horn Pond there will be a memorial lantern walk in remembrance to those that have passed away. Lantern making and silent auction fund raiser will be on Friday May 9th at 7pm at the Sons of Italy Hall at 168 Lexington St. in Woburn
1st Spring Cleanup a success
- March 22, 2008
In a collaboration between WREN (Woburn Residents Environmental Network), Friends of Mary Cummings Park and Burlington DPW, volunteers collected over 55 bags of trash at the park and over 30 tires which the Burlington DPW was able to haul away the following Monday.
BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE CITY OF WOBURN vs. HOUSING APPEALS COMMITTEE & another
- Feburary 4, 2008
The SJC heard the appeal of the 40B housing development proposed for Northeastern University's 75 acre Woburn campus. For Woburn, at stake is the difference between a 300 unit development and a 540 unit development which will have a very negative effect on the future of one of the great public open spaces inside route 128, Mary Cummings Park. Here is the Globe's report on this and other 40B appeals being heard by the SJC.
"Mystery solved: Boston confiscated park signs"
Boston Globe - December 13, 2007
... disagreement about the status of the 200-plus-acre trust that straddles Burlington and Woburn. The nonprofit group, Friends of Mary Cummings Park, ...
Update on the sign situation
December 11, 2007
As you may have heard by now, the park signs have been removed. Please read our press release to find out what we are doing about it.
A Good Sign
November 30, 2007
Actually two good signs! We reached a milestone in our efforts to promote our park with the installation of two carved wood signs. These signs are truly works of art which should hopefully bring much greater visibility and respect for the park for years to come.
Friends of Mary Cummings Park submits amicus to SJC
September 24, 2007
Friends of Mary Cummings Park Inc has submitted an Amicus brief in support of the City of Woburn's appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In December, the SJC will be considering whether the State's Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) should have overturned Woburn's limit of 300 units, and imposed its own increased limit of 540 units, on the controversial Archstone-Smith Apartment development on 75 acres of Northeastern University land in West Woburn behind the old Northeastern University Botanical greenhouses. Besides, the adverse impact on the local neighborhoods, and the adverse impact on traffic on Cambridge Road, this parcel cuts deeply into Mary Cummings Park which is a large 200 acre public recreational park established in 1930. If allowed to proceed with such a large scale development, on top of the ridge between Whispering and Babylon Hills, what has been set aside as a public oasis of woodlands, fields, meadows and wetlands in an increasingly urban environment, will be permanently altered and degraded.
 before |
 after - graffiti next? |
 yup - update November 2007 |
April 22, 2007 - Thanks to everyone for their hard work, we had a very successful Spring Cleanup on Saturday. As you can see from the pictures we got a lot of garbage, both big and small, out of the park and got to watch some of the Burlington RC Flyers fly after they put in many hours of hard work fixing up their field.
And as the day was drawing to a close, we found a few more treasure troves of trash, but it will have to wait for another day. Please sign up for our new mailing list so you will know next time we have a park cleanup day.
October 21, 2006 - Thanks for joining us for the meeting on Saturday October 21st at Northeastern University's Auditorium. Here is the flyer and powerpoint presentation that we didn't get all the way through before heading outside.
In the News
"Route 128 properties coveted by developers" (12/24/1999 Boston Business Journal)
"City may tap '30s gift to aid Greenway" (08/18/2005 Boston.com)
Murphy: Cummings property in crosshairs again 220-acre land gift presents dilemma (9/15/2005)
"Where there's a will, a land tug" (02/12/2006 Boston.com)
Local Coverage (Woburn Advocate 08/03/2006)
Local Coverage (Burlington Union 08/03/2006)
On-going Talks (Daily Times Chronicle 10/12/06)