Housatonic River cleanup

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On Saturday, August 16th members of First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, joined folks from Berkshire Environmental Action Team, The Trustees of Reservations, the Housatonic River Museum, and other volunteers for a river cleanup at Fred Garner Park. In just under three hours the crew pulled out 22 tires - including one enormous and heavy truck tire - two metal barrels and a plastic garbage barrel, a television set, and several bags of trash.

The group met at Fred Garner Park on Pomeroy Ave. in Pittsfield, and started cleaning at the confluence; where the east and west branches of the Housatonic River meet. From there they worked their way up the west branch of the river as far as they could clean in two hours. They then had to haul everything they collected back out to the parking lot, where the City of Pittsfield will haul everything away for proper disposal. The City Conservation Agent made sure the gate to the park was unlocked and provided large, tough garbage bags for the cleanup.

At the end of the cleanup, workers were greeted with lunch provided by members of First Church.

The cleanup was organized by First Church of Christ, Berkshire Environmental Action Team, The Trustees of Reservations, Housatonic River Museum, Housatonic Valley Association, and the City of Pittsfield.

For more information contact: Jane Winn at 413-230-7321 or jane@thebeatnews.org

Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) is a watchdog group working to protect the environment of Berkshire County and beyond. www.thebeatnews.org.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction is underway to transform the former Harry's Supermarket into a restaurant

Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building. 

"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu. 

A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building. 

White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.  

He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns. 

Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot. 

A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use. 

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