MPDC's blog

We're excited to share that our CEO, Jeanne Pinado, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Design Leadership at Boston Architectural College's 2015 commencement held at Old South Church in Copley Square on May 22nd.  Congrats Jeanne!

On Friday, July 19th, the organizations that call 184 Dudley Street home came together to enjoy an afternoon filled with good conversation and delicious food.  Our receptionist, Amanda, shares what she experienced at the event below...

This past Spring MPDC formed an Organizing Committee comprised of twelve Lower Roxbury residents to shape and support our community organizing agenda. The Committee meets monthly to share t heir vision and advice with MPDC staff. At the same time, they are building connections with one another and taking advantage of leadership development opportunities. On January 6th these resident leaders elected Ann Luster, resident of Madison Park Village and Valerie Shelly, resident of Orchard Gardens to serve as the first co-chairs for the Committee.

In thinking about plans for Café Tatant I’m reminded of a review that Eden Page wrote of jazz journalist Nat Hentoff’s memoir, Boston Boy (2001), for www.amazon.com: “Nat Hentoff eloquently reminisces about a time when the soulful sound of trumpet and clarinet, piano and bass—pained, glorious, yearning, introspective, challenging, alien even—could inadvertently reach out of the smoky, dark, cave-like clubs of Washington and Columbus Avenues, and so mesmerize a young boy that it could change his life.”

Whether you know it as Orchard Park, Orchard Gardens or just plain old OP, this neighborhood has never been a stranger to crime. Over the years the Orchard community and MPDC has made tremendous strides to fight against violence and we are happy to share that our efforts are working.

According to a study by The Center for Urban Research (CUR) at the CUNY Graduate Center, Boston is one of 19 major cities in which “the negative correlation between participation rates and the percent of the population that is Black is stronger than the national pattern.”