Residents celebrate last month’s open<strong>in</strong>g of the Greenway. “It is our goal to engage multi cultural and multi generationalaudiences with a range of activities.” Thesewords fueled the <strong>in</strong>tense <strong>in</strong>augural celebration on Oct.4 that marked the momentous official open<strong>in</strong>g of theRose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.To those gathered, there was no better way to celebratethan with a Ferris Wheel, ReadBoston storymobiles,carousels, rock-climb<strong>in</strong>g activities, multiculturalmusical and dance performances, and more. In apromis<strong>in</strong>g attempt to unite the diverse and extensivecultures that make up Boston, the Greenway hostedan extravaganza, stretch<strong>in</strong>g for 1 mile from Ch<strong>in</strong>atownto the North End, that brought families, friends, andBostonians closer together.Mayor Thomas Men<strong>in</strong>o made a guest appearance atthe Wharf District Parks section of the Greenway and,later <strong>in</strong> the day, everyone’s favorite monkey, CuriousGeorge, arrived along with special guests from theNew England Aquarium.With<strong>in</strong> the Wharf District Park lies the Mother’sWalk, where Bostonians can reserve a special paverfor a close loved one (they don’t necessarily need tobe a mother) and have it placed there to be rememberedand recognized forever. Student w<strong>in</strong>ners of the“Write to Honor Program” also won an engraved paverto be placed <strong>in</strong> the walkway.Before the Greenway was established, the spacewas a jam-packed, frustrat<strong>in</strong>g highway known as theCentral Artery. The Central Artery was sluggish fordrivers and almost always clogged, keep<strong>in</strong>g people <strong>in</strong>traffic for hours. The artery also presented a substantialsafety problem as the accident rates skyrocketedto four times the national average on urban <strong>in</strong>terstates,accord<strong>in</strong>g to masspike.com.As a solution, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authorityconstructed an underground 8-10 lane highway(replac<strong>in</strong>g the former 6 lane highway) and also extendedthe I-90 turnpike, creat<strong>in</strong>g the Ted Williams Tunnel<strong>in</strong> December 1995. Now a park replaces the automotivejungle that used to occupy Downtown.The open<strong>in</strong>g of the Greenway presents an opportunityfor Boston neighborhoods that were once separatedby the Central Artery to unite aga<strong>in</strong> for the first time <strong>in</strong>almost 50 years.All AFH photos by Haidan Hodgson
Bikes Not Bombs is tucked away <strong>in</strong> a Jamaica Pla<strong>in</strong> corner.AFH photo by Julia MorganKater<strong>in</strong> L<strong>in</strong>ett Rodriguez, an <strong>in</strong>tern at Bikes NotBombs, says they send bikes overseas “becausewe are sick of the government policies that wouldrather send people bombs to settle problems thanto give the people someth<strong>in</strong>g that they need. Bikesallow people to move around to get food, go toschool, and advance themselves.”Once the bikes arrive at a new country, they aregiven to young entrepreneurs to set up bike shops.The shop owners are given six months of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gand the first shipment of bikes is free. After that,the shops start to survive on their own by sell<strong>in</strong>gthese bikes to people who do not have a mode oftransportation. “Say a person has to get water forhis family, and the well is two-three hours awayby foot. Once he has a bike, the time is cut <strong>in</strong> halfand he can th<strong>in</strong>k about other th<strong>in</strong>gs,” says AnubhaThapliyal, a BNB <strong>in</strong>tern.There are many ways a person can help this programsucceed <strong>in</strong> their mission to provide bikes toother countries. One way is by attend<strong>in</strong>g Wednesdayvolunteer nights which occur every week. “It is theTucked away <strong>in</strong> a corner of the BreweryComplex <strong>in</strong> Jamaica Pla<strong>in</strong>, the world headquartersof Bikes Not Bombs is easy to miss.As you turn the corner you are met by ag<strong>in</strong>ormous pile of twisted metal, rubber, andcha<strong>in</strong>s. As you get closer you realize that this is a pit o<strong>fh</strong>undreds of bikes. Inside is not much different with allof the available space covered with bikes and bike parts.What do they do with all of these bikes, you ask?Bikes Not Bombs (BNB) is a non profit organization <strong>in</strong>JP that uses bikes <strong>in</strong> a way most people would not th<strong>in</strong>kof us<strong>in</strong>g them. BNB uses bikes <strong>in</strong> a variety of programs,such as Earn-A-Bike and a program where you can learnabout becom<strong>in</strong>g a bike shop mechanic. Another BNBactivity is to donate bikes to parts of the world wherethey do not have the many advantages Americans have.They have sent more than 33,000 bikes to countries likeGhana, Tanzania, South Africa, Nevis, Guatemala, ElSalvador, and Nicaragua dur<strong>in</strong>g the past 24 years.The bikes BNB sends to other countries are alldonated. The staff takes the donated bikes and puts asmany as can fit <strong>in</strong>to the shop. The rest are piled up <strong>in</strong> anarea known as “The Pit” out front. From there theywork on as many of the bikes as possible that are<strong>in</strong> the shop, so the bikes are <strong>in</strong> the best conditionwhen they are sent to their f<strong>in</strong>al dest<strong>in</strong>ations. If thestaff is not able to fix the entire bike, parts of it aretaken and used on other bikes. At this po<strong>in</strong>t theyslowly start work<strong>in</strong>g on “The Pit.” The fixed bikesare stored <strong>in</strong> the shop where they wait to be placed<strong>in</strong> huge crates with 450-500 other bikes to be sentaway to exotic places.best way anyone can help us because there is a lot todo,” said Rodriguez. Bikes have to be flattened andstripped of their parts and other office jobs need tobe done.The mission of Bikes Not Bombs is to be a part of aworldwide movement for peace and responsible stewardshipof the earth. Readers are <strong>in</strong>vited to jo<strong>in</strong> them.For more <strong>in</strong>formation, contact BNB at: 617-522-0111(ma<strong>in</strong> office) or 617-522-0226 (bike shop and youth jobtra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g), or log on to: www.bikesnotbombs.org.The time has come to elect a new president. Unfortunately, notmany high school students are old enough to do so. Have no worries;local Youth Community Organizers (YCOs) of the Hyde Square TaskForce (HSTF) <strong>in</strong> Jamaica Pla<strong>in</strong> have launched a campaign that may solvethis dilemma. They ask adults to vote for them.HSTF has been work<strong>in</strong>g s<strong>in</strong>ce the start of the 2008 summer vacation to registereligible voters to take part <strong>in</strong> what could be history if Barack Obama is electedpresident. Their mission was to set out to educate the Jamaica Pla<strong>in</strong> community onthe importance of vot<strong>in</strong>g, as well as to register new voters. By tak<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>itiative toknock on doors, the youth leaders ask everyone to vote <strong>in</strong> the election to voice teenop<strong>in</strong>ion. Through the “Vote for Me” effort, “We want all youth who are not yet 18 notAFH Artworkonly to register to vote, but to actually vote <strong>in</strong> the presidentialelection,” said Sacha Ruiz, 17, of the Hyde Square Task Force.Because most high school students are not of legal age to register tovote, the ‘Vote for Me’ <strong>in</strong>itiative falls perfectly <strong>in</strong>to place. “If you knowsomeone who is unable to vote or doesn’t want to vote,” said Ruiz, “have themvote for the candidate you want.”HSTF teens managed to knock on more than 1,500 doors. In a letter to theJamaica Pla<strong>in</strong> Gazette, YCO’s Melissa Aybar wrote, “As youth leaders of the ‘Votefor Me!’ campaign, we…have taken the <strong>in</strong>itiative to <strong>in</strong>crease the voter turnout <strong>in</strong> ourcommunity by register<strong>in</strong>g new voters, mobiliz<strong>in</strong>g community members who rarelycome out to vote, and educat<strong>in</strong>g others who fail to see the importance of vot<strong>in</strong>g.”