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But, the transforming coastline is raising tough questions about Boston’s broader “Climate Ready” plan: Will it go far enough to prevent flooding, will the private developments built under its policies accelerate gentrification in flood-prone neighborhoods, and how will the city pay for necessary public improvements, such as flood walls and elevated roads?
East Boston, the city’s most flood-vulnerable neighborhood, is the proving ground.
To address sea level rise, city planners envision a mix of public and private projects that, like a skinny jigsaw puzzle, would fit together to create one long coastal barrier: elevated streets, flood barriers disguised as sloping parks, and new developments on higher ground.
In other words, the plan is to plug all the holes along the coastline where seawater could penetrate. When all is said and done, it could cost more than $3 billion.
“Are we going to be ready? I don’t know,” said Ellen Douglas, a climate scientist and lead author of Boston’s foundational climate impact report that the city used to guide its adaptation strategy.
Climate scientists expect the long-held international target of keeping the planet below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, compared to the preindustrial era, is probably out of reach. Still, with strong action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, global warming could be limited to about 2 degrees.
For Boston, 2 degrees could mean anywhere from about 5 inches to more than 60 inches of sea level rise by 2070.
Already the seas along the Boston shoreline reach about 3 inches higher than in 2000; scientists and policymakers believe that about 9 more inches over the next few decades are unavoidable. So, for planning purposes, the city picked a rise of 40 inches, or about 3.5 feet, by 2070.

If that 40-inch figure comes to pass, thousands of homes in East Boston would be affected by flood waters during a severe storm, according to a city analysis, and with no additional protection, losses could rack up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually through the 2070s.
For neighborhoods most at risk — South Boston, East Boston, Downtown and the North End, Dorchester, and Charleston — a detailed planning process identified the vulnerable areas in each and the corresponding public or private engineering projects that could protect them.
Much of the land that needs fortifying is privately held, and Boston’s climate strategy continues to allow developers to build right on the water. That has irked some environmental advocates who say the land should not be redeveloped, but rather restored as a natural barrier.
But Catherine McCandless, a climate resilience project manager for the city, says the projects will protect the communities and in many cases create new public green spaces.
“Assuming we can move forward with all the projects that we’re intending to, I think we will be able to preserve the safety and functionality of these different neighborhoods,” McCandless said.
East Boston is almost completely surrounded by water. The bustling peninsula is home to Boston Logan International Airport, an ecologically important salt marsh, and more than 45,000 residents, most of them Latino, and many of them immigrants.
Now, after years of planning, it’s time to come up with the money.
The biggest holdup: Boston is waiting on a study by the US Army Corps of Engineers, a prerequisite to unlocking federal funds necessary for dozens of small projects.
Stacia Sheputa, a spokesperson for Boston’s environmental office, said the Wu administration allocated $111 million for coastal resilience projects, the most in city history. But in East Boston alone, the city expects these coastal adaptation projects to cost more than $800 million between now and 2070.
Some projects are done: An expansion and elevation of Piers Park, which is owned by MassPort, cost $20 million. Others in the offing include a $39 million project along a stretch of Border Street that would elevate roadways, parks, the Harbor Walk and docks, and install flood walls.
Next to the Clippership Wharf condominiums, in an area now called Carlton’s Wharf, rising seas could penetrate a gap between buildings and spread into the mostly flat interior of Eastie. There, the city imagines flood walls disguised as part of an elevated harbor walk.

Sheputa, the city spokesperson, said it’s “difficult to quantify” how much money on climate resiliency has been spent on East Boston so far because the waterfront is owned by businesses and various government entities.
Boston is trying to get creative with funding. For the Carlton Wharf project, previously known as the Clippership Hodge Berm, the Boston Planning and Development Agency applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for funding. But the application, which planners say they filed in 2022, hasn’t been approved.
“I believed … that we would have already been through the FEMA process by now,” said Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, Boston’s chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space, during a public meeting about coastal resilience in late January. “That is a barrier.”
Climate scientists and public policy researchers have largely praised Boston’s little-by-little approach. It’s more flexible than, say, a massive concrete barrier in the ocean (an idea that was studied and discarded as being both ineffective and too expensive). It should be easier to finance, too.
Without big dollars from the feds, though, Boston in the interim is relying on public-private agreements and policy changes to nudge its “Climate Ready” goals along, such as new design guidelines that encourage developers to elevate their buildings.
But Chris Marchi, an environmental activist in East Boston, said that so far, such efforts look more like gentrification than climate resiliency, and asserted that the neighborhood’s most pressing needs — including affordable housing and better air quality — are falling to the wayside.
While Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration has greatly expanded the city’s focus on climate issues in the neighborhood, Marchi said, “it doesn’t seem like anybody in East Boston is any safer than they were, you know, 10 or 15 years ago.”
“It doesn’t seem like we’re very far along,” Marchi said.
Sheputa, the city spokesperson, said the high cost of housing is one of the mayor’s top concerns and pointed to the East Boston Neighborhood Trust’s acquisition of several multi-family buildings, an effort that the city helped fund.

John Walkey, a local environmentalist and director of waterfront and climate justice initiatives with the community-based organization GreenRoots, called the requirements for developers “minimal.”
He and other environmental advocates have called for “nature-based” solutions — such as reinforced dunes and restored wetlands — instead of allowing more development right on the coastline.
Sheputa said the city has a “strong preference” for those strategies.
But in most places along Boston’s shoreline, experts point out, there is little left of nature to enhance: The land is built up, and moreover, is not controlled by the city.
Paul Kirshen, a civil engineer and climate adaptation professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said the shortage of space to create nature-based solutions is a “killer.”
“The land constraint is really binding right now,” said Kirshen, who is also research director of the Stone Living Lab, an initiative that tests nature-based solutions.
But Walkey, of GreenRoots, thinks it’s more a question of political will.
If a developer offers to put in luxury housing, he said, “it becomes very hard for the city to say no. … [It’s] how the city makes its budget.”
Erin Douglas can be reached at erin.douglas@globe.com. Folow her @erinmdouglas23.
Two people were stabbed following an alleged bar brawl in Southie over the weekend.
According to a police report, officers arrived at Tom English’s around 10:30 p.m., Friday for a report of a fight. When they arrived on the scene, a victim told police that he was sucker punched during a fight and pointed out a person who was the “main aggressor” throughout the incident.
The suspect was pat frisked by police, but the report said they did not find any weapons. “The suspect stated that he was jumped [by the party of the victim,” the report said. “The suspect refused to cooperate any further after repeated attempts by officers to get his version of events.”
Both the suspect and victim declined EMS.
Then about an hour later, three more victims arrived at a nearby police station to report that two of them had been stabbed in the fight at Tom English. One of the unnamed victims said that the fight started after the suspect kept moving coins he put down to play pool. The suspect, according to one of the other victims, told them to meet him outside.
All parties were kicked out by a bouncer and “a large brawl ensued,” the report said. The victims told police that that suspect brandished a knife and the victims said they “fled the scene on foot fearing for their lives.”
In the report, police noted that they saw wounds on two of the victims. EMS was called to treat them.
BPD did not confirm whether the suspect was arrested.
Reports of fireworks led Boston Police to recover a firearm Monday night in Mattapan.
Officers responded to the area around Callender Street at about 10 p.m. for a call of shots fire, but a supervisor alerted them that individuals were shooting off fireworks.
When police got to the scene, they said they saw a group of people standing near a car that had several packages of fireworks. As officers approached, one man started to sprint towards Blue Hill Ave., throwing a jacket off as he ran, according to BPD.
Multiple officers responded to detain the suspect and a pat frisk of the jacket uncovered a ghost gun with 7 rounds in the magazine, police said.
Kahnari White, 24, of Mattapan was charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without an FID card, and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
While the foot pursuit and arrest of White unfolded, police said the group standing with the fireworks began to become “hostile and threatening to an officer who remained with them on scene.”
One person allegedly continued to threaten an officer and bumped him on the chest as more officers arrived.
“Multiple de-escalation tactics were attempted, but the suspect continued to threaten officers,” Boston police said in a statement.
Eventually, officers were able to detain Sean Galvez, 40, of Quincy. Galvez was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer.
Both suspects are expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
A 22-year-old from Dorchester was arrested on gun charges after police said they approached the suspect for drinking in public Monday night.
Officers saw a group on Draper St. drinking publicly around 8:30 p.m., and when they approached them, one individual started to walk away.
“When officers advised the male that he could not be drinking alcohol in public, he fled on foot,” Boston Police said in a statement. “A foot pursuit ensued, and officers stopped the suspect.”
Police recovered a Smith and Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380 with nine rounds in the magazine during a pat frisk and said that the serial number on the gun was defaced.
Denilson Pires was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and defacing a firearm serial number.
He is expected to be arraigned at Dorchester District Court.
BPD responded to 252 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included one robbery, six aggravated assaults, one residential burglary, seven larcenies from a vehicle, 15 miscellaneous larcenies, and five auto thefts.
All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
— Francis Haugh, 248 Albany St., Boston. Assault with a dangerous weapon.
— Ismann Nuuh, 421 Old Colony Ave., South Boston. Warrant arrest.
— Michael Buckley, 37 Washington St., Newburyport. Warrant arrest.
— Misty Lottmann, 1 Davis Sq., Somerville. Possession of a Class B drug.
— Michael Nicholls, 39 Boylston St., Boston. Threat to commit a crime.
— Yeson Silvestre, 48-52 Glenville Ave., Brighton. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
— Galvester Johnson, 123 Hamilton St., Dorchester. Assault with a dangerous weapon on a person 60 or older.
— Nilton Cardoso, 112 George St., Boston. Uninsured motor vehicle.
— Edgar Aguilar, 29 North St., Newtonville. Possession of a Class C drug.
— Jorge Guillermo Cruz Ortiz, 24 Heard St., Chelsea. Unregistered motor vehicle.
— Askia Lelaind, 47 Chestnut St., Springfield. Larceny under $1,200.
— Tewshawn Hector-Coleman, 111 Woodbine Rd., Stoughton. Warrant.
— Frammy Llaveria, 55 Vallar St., East Boston. Unarmed robbery.
— Eric Hale, 780 Albany St., Boston. Unregistered hawker & peddler ordinance.
“I know we’re used to rushing, but this is a mind game. So we want to slow down and think,” Shaheed said. “Don’t move off of impulse.”
It’s a message that extends far beyond the chess board.
Organizers of Boston’s new Chess for Peace program are using one of history’s oldest board games to teach kids important life skills, including strategic thinking and conflict resolution. Their goals are to reduce youth violence and address the negative impacts of technology.
The program offers free chess classes Sunday afternoons in the basement of the Madison Park High School gym in Roxbury. It’s affiliated with a Boston Public Schools initiative that also includes basketball, boxing, yoga, rugby, and more, an effort to support families and keep students engaged throughout the week.
The 6-WON-7 program, which has grown significantly over the past couple years, is about to mark its 100th Sunday, said Cory McCarthy, director of student support at Boston Public Schools. School administrators launched the program partly in response to reports about unruly teenagers causing chaos at the South Bay shopping center and elsewhere on weekends, McCarthy said.
“School should feel like a community,” he said. “It’s the forgotten piece in the academic journey. It’s a safety issue. It’s violence prevention, it’s youth development, it’s all part of student wellness.”
While violent crime has decreased overall, youth violence remains a concern in Boston, largely concentrated among small groups of teenagers and sometimes fueled by gang affiliations. Social media often plays a role, experts say, with kids posting threats or bragging about crimes they’ve committed.
As technology shortens our attention spans, encourages rash decision-making and limits in-person interactions, playing chess can be a robust kind of antidote, said Renee Callender, a retired Boston police detective who spearheaded the program.
“It’s more than just a game. It actually mirrors life,” she said. “In the game of chess, like life, every action comes with consequences.”
During more than three decades on the police force, Callender saw firsthand how cycles of violence start and end. She also founded a nonprofit called Promoting Conflict Resolution, Inc.

She said the idea for the program came from watching a youth chess tournament on TV; she was impressed by how poised and attentive the players looked. Maybe this could help kids in Boston stay out of trouble, she thought.
“It’s not only about how to play but how to lose,” she said. “How to gracefully lose. How to be humble.”
Indeed, it’s all fun and games until your king is in check.
Jacquami eventually lost to his opponent, 7-year-old Filip Rancic, who said his winning strategy involved steadily advancing his pieces toward the middle of the board.
“Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses. So that’s good for him,” said Filip’s dad, Milan Rancic.
“They need to learn to be patient enough to develop a strategy, and obviously avoid a tantrum when they lose — pretty much everything we want our kids to learn,” he added.
During the class, three sets of players sat across from each other at classroom desks, with Shaheed monitoring their games and offering instruction. Sometimes the clink of plastic chess pieces was the only sound in the room.
“I think I got checkmate,” exclaimed Henry Lee, 10, bouncing excitedly in his chair.
Shaheed inspected the board and confirmed — checkmate, indeed.
“Good game,” Lee said, reaching out to shake hands with his opponent, 11-year-old Jesus Beltran.
“Can you believe you just lost to a 10-year-old?” he asked, grinning.
Beltran laughed, rolled his eyes and started setting up the board again; he had won the previous match. In addition to chess, the boys play soccer together. They agreed their friendship can easily withstand some light-hearted competition.

A few turns into the next game, Lee made a move he instantly regretted.
“Can I have that turn back?” he asked Beltran, who smiled and shook his head no.
“So often, they’re focused on just one piece,” said Rhodes Pierre, another instructor with the program. “I tell them to examine the entire board.”
Pierre, who grew up in Mattapan, has experienced firsthand the impacts of violence. His older brother was shot and killed in 1994 near their childhood home, about two weeks after he inadvertently witnessed another daytime shooting nearby. The case was later linked to a neighborhood drug gang, according to news reports at the time.
Pierre said he started playing chess in college and quickly came to appreciate the life skills it teaches.
“Giving people another outlet to express themselves without having to revert to violence, that’s a good thing,” he said. “Making people sit down and think. It’s a better avenue than what we have right now.”

While sprinkling in the basics of chess strategy, Shaheed sends a similar message.
“It’s about seeing the moves behind the moves,” he told the class. “It takes paying attention, hearing your own self think. Most games are won or lost because of focus.”
It’s something he personally learned the hard way, Shaheed said.
Now 45, he spent much of his youth caught in a cycle of poverty, crime, incarceration, and mental illness. From foster care and psychiatric institutions to jails and prison, he ended up playing a lot of chess.
The game took on a central role in his life, an overarching metaphor that changed the way he approached decision-making, Shaheed said. Especially when he found himself in a hostile environment, he would think about the moves available to him and their potential consequences. That finally helped him leave the streets behind and forge a new path.
“The easy money, it wasn’t working. It was almost like a setup — nothing made sense anymore,” he said. “I needed a better move.”

He still plays chess regularly with various partners he’s befriended around Boston. He said he hopes younger generations will find some of the same benefits he’s experienced.
“Chess is a game of distress, tribulations, defeat, obstacles, resistance, competition, sorrow, and conquest,” Shaheed wrote in his recently published book, “Games Over: The Real Story About Chess and Life.”
“And that’s what life is all about — overcoming barriers and making progress.”
Lea Skene can be reached at lea.skene@globe.com. Follow her on X @lea_skene.
Boston Marathon
In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.
Name: Brian Wishart
Age: 42
City/State: Marblehead, Mass.
I am running as the Chief of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine division at Spaulding Rehab to help support the hospital and adaptive sports programs.
At Spaulding Rehabilitation, we have a full team that is really incredible at what they do. Each staff member, from the physicians, therapists, nurses, case managers, social workers, to the front desk and care assistants, are incredible.
We work everyday in inpatient, in the clinic, in the therapy gym, and doing research to bring these types of outcomes to all our patients. Though we see wonderful outcomes, there is always work to be done.
One of our goals is to really integrate the amazing research being done at Spaulding into clinical care.
Every kid should have access to the best, most cutting edge treatments, and we aim to do that here, regardless of where the kids come from or what resources they have themselves.
We also want to make sure we are thinking about some of those less flashy innovations in terms of how we are educating or empowering our patients, or how we are supporting and helping them cope with a new reality.
Pediatric care is resource intensive, from needing a lot of expertise to just needing multiple sizes of each piece of equipment.
I am working to raise funds and support to really think broadly and expansively about what we are doing and how we provide care everyday for every patient.
That may mean bringing meaningful research to the clinical setting or ensuring there are enough child life specialists available with the resources they need to make these children comfortable in the hospital.
It is a privilege what I get to do every day and I thank you all sincerely for any support!
Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
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