North Adams Announces Downtown Crosswalk Art Project

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The City of North Adams announced a public art project for downtown North Adams.

The project involves the selection of four artists to create artwork for eight downtown crosswalks. Each selected artist will receive a $2,000 honorarium for design and implementation. The project aims to enhance the visual appeal of the city for residents and visitors.

The initiative follows a previous project that placed artwork on ten downtown electrical boxes.

The project is a collaboration between the Cultural District Committee, Public Arts Commission, Assets for Artists, City Councilor Andrew Fitch and Mayor Jennifer Macksey.

Project Details:

• Four artists will each paint two crosswalks.
• The City of North Adams will prepare the crosswalks for painting.
• Artists will be assigned specific painting windows due to street closure limitations.
• Crosswalk locations:
  • Main Street & American Legion Drive
  • Main Street & Eagle Street
  • Main Street & Holden Street
  • Holden Street & Center Street
  • Eagle Street & Church Street
  • Ashland Street & Main Street
  • Center Street & Marshall Street
  • Eagle Street & Center Street

Project Timeline:

• March 17: Open call begins
• April 4: Submission deadline
• April 14: Decision notification, crosswalk assignment, and request for final design submission
• May 16 - June 6: Painting period
• June 6: Finished product showcase at June First Friday

Submission Requirements:

• One crosswalk art design example (.jpeg or .pdf)
• Contact information
• Statement of connection to and interest in North Adams
• Optional: Link to website and/or social media page

Selected artists will be assigned two crosswalks with dimensions and must submit a final design for approval by April 25.

Submit art here

The North Adams Cultural District Committee, funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural District Funding and other grants, is coordinating the project.

Clarksburg Looking to AG's Receivership Program to Help With Distressed Properties

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:34AM / Tuesday, July 21, 2026

 

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town is looking to move two properties into receivership to get them cleaned up and back on the tax rolls. 

 

Health Agent Valerie Bird has raised the idea last month when a Daniels Road property was ordered vacated for multiple code violations. Bird and the Select Board didn't believe the owner had the capacity to address the myriad issues. 

 

Bird recommended the Attorney General's receivership program, which takes blighted property and, through the court system, gets it into the hands of a developer who can rejuvenate it. 

 

Maja Kazmierczak, assistant attorney general with the Neighborhood Renewal Division, offered a virtual presentation to the board on Monday, explaining the program and how it might be able to help Clarksburg. 

 

"We've partnered with over 170 municipalities, and we definitely have over probably about 215 active properties that we're working on," she said. "We've had just about $715,000 in back taxes returned to municipalities through our program."

 

The program has been around for 30 years in various forms, with the goal to turn abandoned and blighted properties that have code violations into safe housing. 

 

The state's receivership statute allows the court to appoint a receiver to a property if there are code violations and there is no one to repair them.