Former Governors, Krens to Unveil Heritage Park, Mohawk Theater Plans

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Three of the movers behind the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art will reunite to promote another groundbreaking proposal.

But where the museum hosted the massive, this newest project at Western Gateway Heritage State Park will focus on the smallest.

Thomas Krens, originator of Mass MoCA, is proposing the development of an "extreme" model train exhibit on the model of Hamburg, Germany's Miniatur Wunderland, which is visited by more than 1 million a year.

Krens,  director emeritus of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in New York City, will be joined by former Govs. William Weld and Michael Dukakis, along with Mayor Richard Alcombright and city officials to make the announcement on Saturday morning at the park.

The model train and architectural museum is one three components being proposed by Krens. In addition tothe redevelopment of Heritage Park, he is also planning a for-profit contemporary art museum near Harriman & West Airport and the renovation and revitalization of the Mohawk Theater.

Alcombright said he and City Solicitor John DeRosa have been in talks with Krens and other parties, including Richard Gluckman, the principal in Gluckman Tang Architects, over the past five months on this plan.

"We've managed to get former Gov. Weld very, very interested in this along with former Gov. Dukakis," the mayor said on Wednesday. "It's almost like a resurrection of those three guys coming back together to do another project."

Dukakis first supported the creation of Heritage Park and provided the intial boost for Mass MoCA; Weld, his successor, worked with the Legislature and private sector to create an economic model of public/private funding for the museum. Mass MoCA was unlikely to get off the ground without the $35 million injection in state bonding at its creation nearly two decades ago. The state recently approved another $25.4 million for the projects final phases,

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.