Letter: Homeless Housing in MCLA Dorm is NOT the Solution

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To the Editor:

Initially, I was not against the idea of MCLA's president, Jamie Birge, announcing plans to open a currently empty dorm building for housing homeless families, however, the more I've talked with neighbors and friends, the more I believe it's a horrible idea.

As a direct neighbor to MCLA, I didn't have a problem with the Boardman Block being used for people in recovery once I learned about the support services provided (even though I don't believe it's an ideal companion to the students that work and live nearby and that MCLA should have had the vision to acquire it for themselves for future needs/expansion).

This current plan reinforces my long held belief that Mr. Birge has no vision for MCLA and, as a part-time resident of New Hampshire, he's not at all invested in the future of MCLA or North Adams. I question whether or not Mr. Birge has aggressively pursued all recruitment and retention opportunities and identified organizational changes to increase student admissions. That must be his No. 1 priority and I'm incredibly skeptical that it is.

If the homeless situation in North Adams is such that additional housing is needed then I am all for considering every option. However, if the homeless families would be relocated from outside the city, then I think Mr. Birge is simply looking for "easy" money. Unless all efforts are made to increase the shrinking admissions, Mr. Birge's plan seems no different than when North Adams slumlords placed newspaper ads in Troy, N.Y., years ago offering free TVs to Section 8 renters if they relocated to one of their North Adams units.


In the years since Mr. Birge has been MCLA's president, I've failed to see any evidence of passion or vision on his part to strengthen or expand the college's future legacy. Fault lies not only with him, but also with the members of the board of directors and selection committee. It's their responsibility to hold Mr. Birge accountable and to have made passion and vision for the college (and the city) top criteria for the job. It appears they've failed to do either.

By establishing a significant homeless population two blocks away from the new recovery housing, Mr. Birge would practically guarantee a continued decline in admissions and risk the future closure of the college altogether.

Again, I am in full support of identifying safe and comfortable housing for our local homeless population if that is an actual need. Such a proposal should not be situated on the campus of an already struggling college and should not be the solution for other communities' failure to address their own housing needs. If it is a local issue, then city residents should be made aware of it because I've yet to speak with any of my friends living all around the downtown area that have seen or know of a single homeless person in North Adams.

MCLA is a huge asset to the city, the county, and the state and should be treated as such. If Mr. Birge has not been able to successfully address the college's declining admissions then perhaps it's time for the fresh perspective of new leadership.

Kurt Kolok
North Adams, Mass.

 

 

 


Tags: homeless,   

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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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