yeah, you, boott mills

it flies under a lot of radar in this city, but ENEL of the "gee, don't worry, our proposed bladder dam that holds back more water than ever before won't make that flooding in your basement any worse" pawtucket dam fame also owns a subsidiary here in town called boott mills LLC, which, in turn, owns, among a bunch of other stuff, the obscure "coal pocket" building behind the mass mills apartments and adjacent to the national park service parking lot. those who do know where the "coal pocket" building might be might also know that the structure has been deemed an immediate public safety risk for well over a year now (over a year and a half, i think) and have noticed the safety fencing and scaffolded walkway beneath it. i know i have.

well, anyway, last year the folk festival folks found it "reasonable" to push the walkway over right next to that hulk of falling masonry (and collapse risk--this is no joke) so they could zip their little club cars back and forth for maximum convenience. forget that it's the three days of the year that the absolute most people with small children in strollers would be exposed to the danger--it was "reasonable" for them to continue to enjoy the coincidence of someone else's easement to run their little golf cart fleet as they pleased.

this year, i am proud and pleased to say, the city of lowell has said "ENOUGH" and insisted that the festival folks not increase an already long-outstanding public safety hazard, and run their little cart party somewhere else. kudos to building commissioner robert marsilia for the last-minute "save". it's greatly appreciated.

but, see, here's where the long-simmering outrage at this situation starts to fester. it's been A YEAR AND A HALF. boott mills, and its trustee/president/treasurer/manager/custodian/whatever-you-call-it, marshall field, have thumbed their noses at the city, its residents, and any and everyone who lives in the vicinity of this looming and leaning hulk of falling brickwork, and have made absolutely not one single move to fix the problems for which they are responsible. NONE.

i heard the estimate that the repairs would require a weekend, a bucket lift, and some capping mortar, and maybe ten grand to pay for all of it. maybe marshall wants to comment here and correct any possible misinformation. but it's getting to the point of absolutely ridiculous that two folk festivals will have passed since the problem was identified, and cries of poverty (seriously--the company claims it can't afford ten grand, despite all the property and other assets and income they have) just don't cut it with me. first of all, it's a public responsibility for a public company. second of all, it's THE RIGHT THING. third of all, resign if you can't do the job.

so, anyway, if any of you wind up in a queue waiting to crawl beneath the scaffolding there behind the coal pocket building, remember to thank marshall field for both the inconvenience, and the life-threatening risk you took going there. (anyone who thinks that scaffolding would save a pedestrian in case of a collapse should drop a brick on an ant beneath a matchbox and observe the results). it's about time something gets done. i even have the name of the judge that's sitting on a contempt order for mr field to whom you can write your own opinion.

enough is enough.