Boston PIC Approves Roxbury Easement, Defers Verizon Pole After Abutter Objections

BOSTON — March 27, 2025 — Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved two items outright and advanced six more toward public hearings at its March 27 session, while rejecting a Verizon pole petition and continuing two public hearings for unresolved maintenance and design questions. Chair Yasha Franklin Hodge approved a joint Verizon–Eversource pole on Belfort Street in Dorchester with conditions, and approved a pedestrian easement in Roxbury for the Mildred Haley III Limited Partnership and the Boston Housing Authority, along with specific repairs for 581 Boylston Street Owner LLC. A separate Verizon petition for a 30-foot pole behind 262 Newbury Street was continued to April 24 after property owner Michael Jambrough alleged he had not been notified and had been given a conflicting explanation of the pole's purpose, and Erin Lawless of 264 Newbury Street said she had never requested any service changes. The commission also advanced new business including the Sleeper Street safety redesign in South Boston — triggered by the March 2024 pedestrian death of Gracie Gonchar — and a petition to rename Wellington Hill Footway in Dorchester to David Lopes Footway, backed by more than 200 signatures and a letter from City Councilor Brian Worrell.