Haverhill

Zins Playground Near Holy Family Hospital Haverhill Set for Improvements

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(Additional photograph below.)

A vegetable garden for kids, sandbox, slide, picnic table and benches are all possible additions to Zins Playground, a small park on the corner of Katsaros Drive and Groveland Street near Haverhill’s Holy Family Hospital. The playground was “removed and not replaced back when the hospital was built,” said Board of Health Chairperson Peter Carbone, who is leading the initiative to enhance the space, which currently holds a bench, small monument and trees. The hospital moved to its current location on Lincoln Avenue in 1984, displacing the then-much larger park. Deborah Zins Henegan, granddaughter of the park’s namesake Charles E. “Jack” Zins, said as a child she would play at the public swimming pool, ballpark and basketball courts, where the hospital’s parking lot now stands. It was packed during the summer, she said, and high schoolers put on a weekly craft day.

Haverhill

With New State Limit on Family Shelter Stays, Emmaus Haverhill Finds Options for Those Affected

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Following a new state policy limiting shelter stays to nine months, Haverhill’s Emmaus House says it has identified housing options for three quarters of the 19 to 20 families who may be required to move on. Al Hanscom, the organization’s vice president of operations, told WHAV there used to be no time limit at emergency assistance sites, which are for unhoused families and pregnant women. Gov. Maura T. Healey announced last fall the system reached capacity at 7,500 families. Around 150 will be asked to leave in early July, according to a press release from her office. “As far as Emmaus, we have always strived to be able to help rehouse people, and it is more difficult in today’s world than in the past and it’s not because of these policies,” he said.

Haverhill

Haverhill Ranks Flooding Highly as Regional Authority Assesses Environmental Risks

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Haverhill city councilors plan tonight to hear a rundown of city projects meant to reduce risks posed by the natural environment. They are mostly water-related. Of the 18 listed, roughly half are devoted to flooding alone, while most of the rest address it in part. Overseen by city departments—and sometimes in coordination with state or regional agencies—they range from zoning changes for drinking water protection to the Ralph T. Basiliere Bridge replacement. Police Chief Robert P. Pistone, also the city’s emergency management director, will present on the city’s section of the 2024 Merrimack Valley Region Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is currently in the public comment stage.

Haverhill

Alleging ‘Poor Sportsmanship’ by Adults, League Ejects Private Haverhill Youth Softball Teams

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Near the end of the season, just before playoffs began, a regional youth softball league disqualified all of Haverhill’s teams after umpires refused to continue servicing their games. According to a May 28 email from the Essex County Women’s Softball League Advisory Committee, the area umpire association described “continued issues of poor sportsmanship” on the part of the private, pre-high school program. Only the 12-and-under and 14-and-under teams could not compete in the playoffs, according to a social media post by Haverhill Girls Softball. The post continued the Essex County league does not provide playoffs for younger players. Though she does not have direct knowledge of the situation, Umpire-in-Chief for USA Softball’s Massachusetts Association Dianne Weissbach said, in her experience, parents and coaches are almost always the problem.

Haverhill

Some Hannah Duston Descendants Find Pride in Ancestry; Haverhill Remains Undecided on Legacy

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Overcome with pride, a descendant of Hannah Duston visiting from Michigan yelled to a stranger walking by, “I’m related to her,” after seeing her statue in GAR Park. David A. Dustin, who took the man on a tour, related this story at the annual meeting of the Friends of the Haverhill Public Library Tuesday night, adding a genealogist found around 27,000 ninth generation descendants—including those who married into the family—spread across the country. Dustin’s grandchildren belong to the 13th. During the national reckoning following George Floyd’s murder in the summer of 2020, residents called for the removal of the statue, which was twice splattered with red paint. Erected in 1879, it depicts Duston holding a hatchet and staring slightly down, presumably at the 10 sleeping Native Americans—including six children—she is said to have killed with two other colonists before escaping captivity.

Haverhill

Park, Roadway Construction Near ‘The Beck’ in Bradford Begins

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Construction is beginning on a redesigned intersection and the new “First Nations Park” near the site of a 290-unit housing, restaurant and retail complex, “The Beck,” on Railroad Avenue across from the Bradford commuter rail station. A $1.95 million state infrastructure grant helps pay for a redesign to reduce traffic at the intersection of South Elm Street, Blossom Street, Laurel Avenue and Railroad Avenue near the Joseph C. Comeau Bridge. This project was part of the reason city councilors originally approved the new apartments in 2021, as WHAV previously reported. The 60,000 square foot public park was endorsed by the Haverhill Historic Commission as well as the Native American Commemorative Task Force. Primarily studios, one-beds and two-beds, Procopio Companies predicted construction would be completed by spring 2025 during a groundbreaking ceremony last December.

Haverhill

Council and Mayor Agree on Final Haverhill Budget Bringing Tax, Water, Sewer Rate Increases

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Haverhill city councilors last night approved city government’s $262 million spending plan plus water and sewer expenses for the year starting July 1. The average single-family homeowner should expect a $444 increase in property taxes, roughly double previous hikes, as WHAV previously reported. Water rates will also increase by 17% and wastewater by 11%, driven by increased environmental quality standards. “It is not where we all want to be, but it is where we find ourselves, and I think this is the step we have to take to correct that deficit we have in free cash and funding ongoing items with free cash,” Mayor Melinda E. Barrett said. Council President Thomas J. Sullivan thanked the mayor for her transparency during the drafting process.

Haverhill

Despite Looser Zoning, Haverhill Saw Few New Accessory Dwelling Units This Year

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Despite smoothing the permitting process, Haverhill has not seen many new accessory dwelling units—small, independent houses on a larger property—in the year since the ordinance was changed. Community Development Division Director Andrew K. Herlihy told city councilors Tuesday night, “We certainly haven’t been overrun with these.” And for good reason, he added. After allowing these structures “by-right,” meaning without requiring advance council approval, the city established strict permitting guidelines developed through public input sessions. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett told councilors any new units built must meet quality standards. “You’re not putting nana in the shed.”

Officials explained construction in Haverhill can be quite expensive for units heralded by some state legislators as key to solving the affordable housing crisis.