Environmental Overview

The Fenway Alliance has worked tirelessly to improve on and advocate for environmental sustainability in our neighborhood, streetscape, and surrounding parklands. Since 1990, The Alliance has been a key partner in the rehabilitation and maintenance of Olmsted’s Muddy River Park and Parklands. This rehabilitation began as an investigation and data collection project at Northeastern University, a founding member of the Fenway Alliance, to inform work needed to contain the terrible flooding of the Muddy River in the early ‘90s. This initial work gave birth to the Fenway Alliance as a leader in a complex, long term, and ultimately successful advocacy project that garnered Massachusetts Congressional Delegation support and ultimately US Army Corps of Engineers undertaking of the restoration of the historic Olmsted Muddy River Park.  One of the largest advocacy projects in Boston history, the effort brought together over 25 organizations and many private residents.  The Army Corps Project was completed in 2018.  It is a remarkable legacy gift the Alliance, City of Boston, Town of Brookline, Commonwealth of MA, and all the partnering advocate organizations and people involved have bestowed to current and future generations.

The Fenway Alliance continues to work on many environmental, beautification, and transportation issues over the last 20 years including the Huntington Avenue/Avenue of the Arts Rehabilitation and Beautification Project, a project that continues to this day, and, more recently, as a member of Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission. Other initiatives include advocating successfully to keep the MBTA Green Line running on weekends when it threatened to stop weekend service due to budgetary constraints.  In 2016, we successfully advocated to keep The Huntington Theatre on Huntington Avenue. In 2016, Boston University changed its longstanding partnership relationship with the Huntington Theatre and put the building on Huntington Avenue up for sale.  Working closely with Mayor Marty Walsh and his team from the City of Boston and some of Boston’s leading cultural advocacy organizations-- like MassCreative, Stage Source, and ArtsBoston—we ensured that the Huntington Theatre was able to remain and thrive on the Avenue of the Arts.  Using traditional and new forms of social media advocacy, the campaign “keep Huntington on Huntington” was a rousing success—Mayor Walsh listed it as one of the best moments in 2016!  In 2019, we were successful in our advocacy for major improvements to the MBTA Green Line Symphony T-stations.