Letter: Vote DeMayo-Wall for Planning Board

To the Editor:

The only way that you can live in Williamstown and say "let's wait for the new town plan to solve our housing problem" with a straight face is if you're new to town or you have been asleep. We know that Williamstown will not follow housing recommendations in a master plan because we have a near-perfect record of not doing so.

Here's the evidence we do have: Williamstown's 2002 plan outlined seven strategies the town should use to create a target of 200 new housing units that people at or under the area median income could afford. We then spent the next 20 years ignoring all but one of the recommendations, and disparaging those who sought to bring them about. The MP recommendation that a portion of the Lowry property, in the town center, be used for housing was shot down. The MP recommendation that the Water/Spring Street area be used for housing was nixed when our own Select Board voted not to accept a proposal to build affordable housing on Water Street (Jane Patton was the only vote in favor). When the
Planning Board drafted bylaws to encourage housing density in the town center, another MP recommendation, it was accused of over-depending on the residents of Cole Avenue to accommodate housing; when it recommended bylaws to encourage housing out of the town center, it has been accused of supporting sprawl and runaway development.

Cheryl Shanks
Williamstown, Mass.

Crust Serving Up Pizza Pies in Two Locations

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:03PM / Saturday, June 28, 2025

Crust owner Jim Cervone and manager Lexi Politis make pizza's at the Williamstown location. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Crust has been serving up classic and specialty pizzas since its opening in 2020 in Pittsfield, and for over a year now in Williamstown.

 

Owner Jim Cervone said his inspiration was his love for cooking and pizza.

 

"I love pizza, and I'm Italian, and I grew up with cooking. I remember my grandmother cooking. Some of the recipes we have here are from my grandmother, specifically the meatballs," he said. "So I've always grown up with food. I'm a good, amateur chef. Always liked cooking. Whenever I travel, I always look for pizza, because that's one of my things. ...

 

"I wasn't really crazy about the offerings, not just around here, just in general. And so the inspiration was, how can I make a really good pizza at an affordable price?" 

 

Cervone said his most popular pizzas are chicken bacon ranch and buffalo chicken, flavors requested by customers and not something he was planning to add to the menu at first since chicken pizza isn't usually found in an Italian restaurant.

 

"I personally think the Grandma's Pizza, which has got a sliced mozzarella cheese underneath, and the organic red sauce on top with meatballs, is one of my favorites," he said. "They're homemade meatballs. It's my grandmother's recipe — that's a popular one."

 

Also on the menu are red and white mushroom pizzas, a "green" version with housemade pesto, peppers and mushrooms, and the option to build your own pie with a wide variety of crusts, sauces, cheeses, toppings and finishes.