Combating The Redevelopment Agency

"For most of its seven-year history, the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods has operated relatively quietly, chronicling and commenting on the often-contentious interactions between neighborhoods, developers, and the city. But with a new presentation titled "Show Me The Money!", the group is now getting ready to take to the public its central message -- that the Boston Redevelopment Authority is far too powerful."

"Why reform is needed was detailed in a PowerPoint slide show by developer Kevin McCrea of the South End in a borrowed classroom at the Berklee College of Music this month. Using a series of graphs and pie charts, McCrea, a onetime City Council candidate, outlined what the group called waste and abuse by the city and the BRA: millions of dollars in city-owned property that does not generate tax revenue, the taking of land by eminent domain for private purposes, and the exceptions to zoning laws that the group says are often made for private developers at the expense of neighborhood interests."