BrooklineCAN Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a year in duration and vaccines are available for distribution.  Our guest on the 30^th episode of the AFC-TV series of programs was Dr. Swannie Jett, Director of the Brookline Health and Human Services Department.  We discussed the status of many of our older adults and the programs now in place to ensure vaccinations reach them on a timely and effective basis. Dr. Jett and the Health Department are doing wonderful work in Brookline re prevention.  Dr. Jett is the right person for the time.

AFC-TV programs are aired on Channel 3 on Comcast and RCN immediately following The Grandstanders live sports analysis show and are available on DVDs at the Sr. Center, the library in Brookline Village, the BrooklineCAN web site and the BrooklineCAN Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Join us on Tuesday, March 16 from 1:30-2:30 pm via Zoom for an interactive group discussion about housing concerns and options in Brookline and the surrounding area. If there is sufficient interest in learning about housing options, there will be a meeting on Tuesday, March 23 with a panel of housing professionals who will share information about moving, downsizing and financial considerations.

This program is sponsored by the Brookline Senior Center. RSVP dwaxman@brooklinema.gov or call 617-730-2767 and leave a message if you plan to attend.

The Brookline Senior Center has opened up shop on Etsy—a global online marketplace for vintage, handmade, custom and unique items—under the name   BROOKLINE BAZAAR.  Brookline Bazaar showcases a diverse collection of antique and vintage treasures and collectibles from around the globe‐ including many one‐of‐a‐kind pieces. New items are added weekly, and 100% of Brookline Bazaar proceeds go to support Brookline Senior Center (www.brooklineseniorcenter.org ) In fact, your support has allowed us to provide many of our virtual programs including our monthly Art Matters membership videos, and Emily Brenner’s Combo Dance Fitness Class! Click the following link to take a look around the shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/brooklinebazaar

Do you have a unique or one‐of‐a‐kind vintage item or collectible that you would like to donate to BROOKLINE BAZAAR? If so, please contact jmilleygee@brooklinema.gov for more information.

Brookline Adult & Community Education is rolling out something special – Festival of Learning which will take place virtually over the week of March 22 – 27, 2021.  Open to residents of all communities, the Festival will offer a variety of 30+ fun, hour-long courses which includes guest speakers you will not want to miss. Along with your favorite instructors. For list of featured programs see https://brooklineadulted.org/2932-2/

Festival of Learning is also an important fundraiser for BA&CE.  Early registration is open and week-long passes are being offered at a reduced rate of $75.  The pass allows participants to drop in on any of the 30+ live virtual classes or speaker sessions, held over Zoom, at their convenience and for less than it would cost to sign up for a typical single class.  It is a bargain!

To register, visit  www.brooklineadulted.org or call at 617-730-2700.

Brookline’s Department of Public Works (DPW) and the Commission on Disability have created an informative 2-page full-color, fact sheet, Public Rights of Way (https://www.brooklinema.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23408/Public-Rights-of-Way )

Designed to help prevent sidewalk obstructions. this project complements the Town’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee and BrooklineCAN’s project to keep sidewalks clear to preserve and enhance Brookline’s walkability.

“Walkability” must embrace the diversity of Brookline residents and visitors, including those with mobility issues requiring wheelchairs and walkers, the visually impaired, and those using strollers and shopping carts.

“One of Brookline’s top assets is our pedestrian network, connecting our parks, commercial areas, schools, and other destinations for business and pleasure,” said Erin Chute Gallentine, Brookline Commissioner of Public Works. “It is every property owner’s responsibility to maintain adequate passage along adjacent sidewalks and through curb cuts.”

Residents and others who encounter sidewalk obstructions are encouraged to report them using the Report A Concern  (http://spot.brooklinema.gov/reports/list_services) web form, or by downloading the BrookOnline mobile app, both available from the Town of Brookline https://www.brooklinema.gov/. 

The Public Library of Brookline is celebrating Women’s History Month with a virtual concert! On Saturday, March 6 at 2 PM, Women in World Jazz presents an educational performance for the whole family featuring an international ensemble of all-female performers showcasing music from around the world. Sign up to see the concert on Zoom Webinar here! Or watch the livestream on the Library’s Facebook page. Following the concert, a recording will be posted to the Library’s YouTube channel and will be available to watch for four weeks.

This event is generously sponsored by the Brookline Library Foundation and the Library Trustees. For more information, please contact Lily Weitzman at 617-730-2370 or email lweitzman@minlib.net

A number of programs this month are being offered to the public this month, some free and some with a small charge, by the Boston Athenaeum. https://www.bostonathenaeum.org/    Registration is required.  Of particular interest:

Tuesday, March 9 at 6 pm, Book Talk.   $5   Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.   Event details    Event registration

Saturday, March 13 at 10 am, Virtual Art & Architecture Tour .  Free. Docent-led tour of the Boston Athenaeum’s historic landmark building and introduction to its collections   Event details     Event registration

Thursday, March 18 at 6 pm, Book Talk   $5    The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine.  Event details    Event registration

Wednesday, March 24 at 11 am, Virtual Up Close Tour   Free. Carvings and Quandaries: The Life and Work of Horatio Greenough and Thomas Crawford.  Two American early nineteenth century Neoclassical sculptors who expatriated to Italy.   Event details      Event registration

If you are interested in learning more about the current state of zoning in Brookline and the threats posed by unplanned zoning changes, you are invited to attend the March 8, 3:00 pm, meeting of BrooklineCAN’s Livable Community Advocacy Committee.  Linda Olson Pehlke, an urban planner and Brookline Town Meeting Member, will be giving a special presentation on “Charting the Course for Brookline’s Future: The Role of Planning and Zoning” at 3:00 pm, followed by a question and answer period   If you are not currently a member of the LCAC and wish to attend the meeting via Zoom, please email Carol Caro at carol.b.caro@gmail.com by March 7 for Zoom link.

Join Jonathan Ribner, BU Art History Professor, on Mondays from 3:00‐4:00pm for this weekly virtual series of art survey lectures that will look at European art before, during, and after the Impressionist exhibitions This series is being offered in collaboration with Center Communities of Brookline and it began in December, but you are welcome to join on any Monday that you are available!

Join by computer, simply click on the ZOOM LINK below at the designated time: https://bostonu.zoom.us/j/92992563888?pwd=dHY5SHJNbEhIMEdNcmhkd3ltcXh3UT09  If you have any trouble accessing the link above, please contact Julie Washburn at jwashburn@brooklinema.gov and she will send you the link directly.  To join by phone, call 1‐646‐876‐9923 (toll call). When prompted, enter meeting ID: 929 9256 3888 and passcode: Brookline

Brookline residents can learn the latest about the COVID-19 vaccine and its rollout in Massachusetts at an evening virtual program Tuesday, February 2, 2021, 7:00 pm.  The forum, COVID-19 Vaccine: Brookline Update, features Brookline public health professionals who work at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine activity in Massachusetts. The discussion will explore the status of the vaccines in Brookline and in the Commonwealth, including insight into their development and distribution.  Registration for the program, which is free and open to the public. Click here to register

The featured speakers are Lindsey Baden, MD, Director of Clinical Research, Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and principal Investigator of the Moderna vaccine clinical trials at Brigham and Women’s. Larry Madoff, MD of the COVID-19 leadership team at the Mass. Department of Public Health (MDPH) and serves as Medical Director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences for MDPH. He will discuss the Commonwealth’s plan for distributing the vaccine throughout Massachusetts. Dr. Swannie Jett, Director of Brookline’s Public Health Department, will outline how administration of the vaccine will occur in Brookline.

Natalia Linos, MSc, ScD, serves as Executive Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard Chan School of Public Health.  Dr. Linos will serve as Moderator for the program.