DSNI HISTORIC TIMELINE

1984

• Riley Foundation focuses on Dudley Street area after visit; Dudley Advisory Group formed
• Nearly one-third of Dudley land lies vacant after years of disinvestment, abandonment, arson

1985: Together, We Find the Way

• Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative named
• First Community meetings: resident control established and key issues identified
• First board elected

1986: Don’t Dump On Us

• First staff hired and office opened
• DSNI organizes neighborhood with “Don’t Dump On Us!” campaign to clean up vacant lots
• First annual Neighborhood Clean-Up
• First Multi-Cultural Festival

1987: Bottom-Up Planning

• Innovative, participatory community planning with DAC consultants to produce The Dudley Street Neighborhood Comprehensive Revitalization Plan
• Plan adopted by the City of Boston
• “Don’t Dump On Us” campaign closes illegal trash transfer stations
• Commuter rail service restored

1988: Take a Stand, Own the Land

• Made history as the only community group in the nation to win eminent domain power; for acquiring vacant land in central “Triangle” area
• Dudley Neighbors, Inc. (DNI) community land trust created for Dudley Triangle
• First “inner-city” neighborhood to win State grant to create a Town Common

1989: The Triangle Plan

• Dudley Triangle build-out plan completed
• DSNI joins anti-redlining Community Investment Coalition (CIC)

1990: Building Houses and People Too

• “Building Houses and People Too” campaign around human development concerns
• Young Architects and Planners Project designs models for community centers
• Agency Collaborative founded
• CIC community reinvestment agreement signed with banks
• Tenant organizing to improve conditions at 147-unit Cottage Brook Apartments

1991: Dudley PRIDE: People and Resources Investing in Dudley’s Environment

• “Dudley PRIDE” campaign begins around health, safety and environmental concerns, including de-leading, hazardous waste clean-up and neighborhood clean-up
• Nubian Roots Youth Committee established and first youth elected to DSNI Board
• Community Summerfest held at Mary Hannon Park, youth recreation program begins
• Project Hope opens Magnolia Cooperative Housing
• Family Daycare Providers Network formed
• College mentoring project begins

1992: Growing Resources

• $2 million Ford Foundation low-interest PRI loan to buy private vacant land
• Community Facilities Planning Group formed
• Homebuyer classes started
• Neighborhood Scholarship Fund founded
• Dacia-Woodcliff Community Garden opens
• Best Kept Neighborhood Civic Award from City

1993: Breaking Ground

• Declaration of Community Rights
• Break ground on Winthrop Estates, first new housing in Dudley Triangle
• Mary Hannon Park rehabilitated
• Youth design and paint “Unity Through Diversity” Mural
• “Economic$ with People in Mind” Summit with residents, labor, business, government, lenders
• Dorchester Bay EDC completes Alexander/Magnolia Cooperatives; buys and renovates Cottage Brook Apartments
• Coalition organized to fight proposed asphalt plant in neighborhood
• Casey Foundation chooses DSNI for multi-year Rebuilding Communities Initiative (RCI)

1994: Streets of Hope

• Streets of Hope, acclaimed book about DSNI published
• Orchard Gardens Community Center opens
• Stafford Heights limited equity cooperative project begun by Nuestra Comunidad CDC
• 17 hazardous waste sites included in State public involvement process
• City commits funds to renovate Vine Street/Cape Verdean Community House

1995: Food for Thought

• DSNI is a case study in US General Accounting Office report to Congress on comprehensive Community Development
• Orchard Park public housing development granted funds for major renovations
• Soil Safety Initiative tests 70 gardens and provides compost to 50 gardens
• Food Project begins Farmers Market

1996: Buck$ Stop Here

• “Holding Ground,” award-winning documentary about DSNI premiers
• Grand opening of Dudley Town Common
• “Buck$ Stop Here” economic power campaign is launched
• Major street and sidewalk improvements on Dudley St. and Blue Hill Ave.
• Dudley Business Directory produced
• Community Urban Visioning process updates revitalization plan
• Food Project begins reclamation of Dudley land for food production

1997: Sustainable Development

• Urban agriculture plans include construction of a community greenhouse on rehabilitated brownfield site
• Welfare reform Community Response Network formed
• Youth Entrepreneurship Program launched
• “What if...?” scenarios planning uncover lasting approaches for community economic power
• DSNI receives prestigious American Planning Association Award for housing planning
• 504 Dudley St, formerly Dudley Mill Works, renovated and opened as offices for DSNI, YouthBuild Boston and Children’s Services of Roxbury

1998: New Beginnings

• Dennis Street Park, once vacant lots, designated an official Boston City Park
• Brook Avenue Cooperatives developed by Gatehouse Group/Veterans Benefit Clearinghouse
• Construction begins for 126 units of Orchard Commons (off-site) housing
• Neighborhood Human Services Directory published
• Co-authors Reclaiming Lost Ground: A resource guide for community based brownfields development in Massachusetts
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) education and tax assistance campaign launched
• RCI neighborhood grants program begins
• Planning begins with Bird Street Community Center for a new Uphams-Dudley community center
• Resident Development Institute established
• Memorandum of Understanding with the City over disposition of vacant land in the core area

1999: Education and Economic Development

• Break ground for Vine Street Community Center
• DSNI and DNI establish The Stalk Exchange and Dudley Investment for Neighborhood Enterprises (DINE) to engage in economic development activities
• We Need to Stand Together, report on welfare reform produced
• Community planning for core area housing
• Low Income Women’s Organizing Committee formed
• Cape Verdean Community Task Force founded
• Participating in multi-year Boston Parent Organizing Network to improve educational outcomes

2000: Village Jamboree

• Fannie Mae Foundation selects Dudley Triangle as one of 10 “Just Right” emerging neighborhoods nationwide for affordable home ownership with growing capital investment
• New City licensing requirements for solid waste and recycling businesses
• Planning for mixed-use (commercial, residential and open space) on Dudley Street with new state-of-art planning tools developed with MIT, Boston Advisors and Abt Associates
• DSNI hires resident Executive Director

2001: Resident Leadership

• DSNI receives Independent Sector’s 2001 Leadership IS Award
• Emerson Schoolyard playground completed
• Solid Waste Industry Best Practices Report
• Deleading existing homes and yards
• Rebuilding Communities Initiative (RCI) finishes
• DNI staffed by DSNI
• 65 units of affordable housing break ground
• Education e-News started

2002: Investing in the Community

• Vine Street Community Center opens!
• City’s White Fund commits $3.4 million to the new Uphams/Dudley Community Center
• Tax Assistance Program recaptures $393,000 in the neighborhood
• Resident Development Institute pilots leadership series
• Neighborhood-Based Team joins DSNI to form the Urban Village Work Group
• Julian Judson Playground completed in partnership with DNI, Computer Associates, KaBOOM! and neighborhood residents
• Secondary area residents ask for greater inclusion
• Center for Community Builders launched
• REAL takes Nubian Roots place

2003: Strategic Focus

• 3 Strategic focus areas identified for greater impact - economic power, resident leadership, youth opportunities and development
• Planning for mixed use on Dudley & East Cottage St. land
• DNI turns 15!
• Howard Dacia Townhouses Coop (25 units) by Nuestra Comunidad
• Sargent St. Homes 10 homeownership units by Nuestra
• Julian Judson Gayland Park gets major plantings
• DSNI Board includes secondary area residents
• Resident Development Institute offers leadership series facilitated by residents
• Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School opens
• Youth News started
• REAL Talent Shows
• New Majority Coalition launched
• Participation in Student Assignment Task Force
• Partnership with Young Achievers Math & Science Pilot School & Antioch New England Institute
• REAL College Bound

2004: Celebrating 20 Years of Transformation

• Woodville Julian 11 homeownership & 2 rental units (New Boston Housing)
• Project Hope (commercial space) & Dorchester Bay EDC (50 rental units & commercial) designated for Dudley & East Cottage St land
• Blue Hill Commons 10 homeownership units break ground (RLFJB Corp)
• Community Greenhouse built
• Dennis & Huckins St. Garden & Lewis Place Orchard under construction
• Youth leadership development
• “Race, Racism, & Power” dialogues
• Voter Participation
• GOTCHA collaborative captures 153 youth summer jobs in 24 non-profit agencies
• Wireless Zone
• Computer Loan Fund

Our Urban Village-In-Progress

• More than 3,600 DSNI members and counting
• Over half of 1,300 vacant lots rehabilitated for homes, gardens, parks, orchard, playgrounds, schools, community centers and a Town Common
• Over 400 new homes built and over 500 housing units rehabbed since DSNI formed
• Business and investment are growing
• Visitors come from around the world
• Residents who were children when DSNI began have become leaders throughout the community