Open forum held concerning Emerson dorm expansion into youth hostel

Approximately 45 people gathered on Monday night at the Morville House in Fenway to hold a public meeting concerning the planned renovation of Boston Fenway Inn into a temporary Emerson College dormitory.

On July 15, Emerson College started to plan to move approximately 115 students from Emerson’s Little Building dormitory — which is being shut down due to renovations set to last two years — to a former youth hostel and current Fenway Inn located at 12 Hemenway St., according to a flyer passed out by the Boston Planning and Development Agency, formerly the Boston Redevelopment Agency.

Attendees sported bright yellow and orange colored flyers hanging around their necks reading, “BPDA=BRA: Still the same pretend process!” and “Emerson: 90% say no! Why don’t you listen?”

Michael Rooney, a project assistant at the BPDA, and Associate Vice President Peggy Ings, of Emerson’s Office of Government and Community Relations, called the meeting in response to Emerson’s filing of an Institutional Master Plan Amendment, which would allow them to continue with the plan to move into the residence at 12 Hemenway, according to the flyer.

Ings explained that after the two-year lease is up, the space would revert back to its original use as an inn, and Emerson would manage the residence the same way it manages its permanent on-campus dormitories.

“We would operate it just as we would operate it to the standard of our dorms that are at the other end of Boylston Street,” Ings said.

Ings said the residence staff-to-student ratio would be increased at 12 Hemenway.

“On Boylston Street, there is one residence director for every 300 students. Here, there will be one [residence director] for 115 students,” Ings said. “We also have residence assistants, which at this location would be one for every 23 students, where on the Boylston campus it would be one for every 30 students.”

Several attendees brought dummies with flyers around their necks, and there were multiple uproars during the meeting as the crowd became less and less pleased.

Massachusetts State Representative Jay Livingstone attended the open forum and spoke out against Emerson’s bid to occupy the hostel.

“I’m opposed to the dorm being placed in this area,” Livingston said. “The problem is, as soon as a dorm is allowed in this building, in two years, another university — all of which in the city are under this type of pressure — is going to be back here.”

“Enough is enough is enough!” shouted Leah Camhi, the executive director of the Fenway Community Development Corporation.

After the meeting, Ings described the benefits she saw with the potential move, noting Fenway currently has a security problem and could benefit from additional lighting in the neighborhood.

“They do need security, and we’ll have double security in that corner,” Ings said. “The more [street] light[s] there, less trouble and crime there is.”

A small number of people in the audience expressed their understanding of Emerson’s planned dormitory move. However, most attendees were not as welcoming of the new students.

Grace Holley, 26, of Fenway, and Fenway CDC member, commended the turnout of the event, praising the participation and passion of the crowd.

“If nothing was accomplished, then I’ll be really discouraged because clearly 99.9 percent of the people here were very opposed to the idea of adding students to the neighborhood and a dorm to the neighborhood,” Holley said. “If that doesn’t change what’s happening on the other side, it’s going to be incredibly discouraging and frustrating.”

Louvere Walker, 38, of Fenway, did not share the same optimism.

“I question if this meeting is going to have any real impact,” Walker said. “I don’t know how effective this meeting is going to be — I’m suspicious.”

Ashley Reid, 74, of Back Bay described how she’s witnessed the institutional encroachment on residential neighborhoods on her own street over the years.

“It all comes down to money,” Reid said. “What people don’t understand is what’s going to take this country down is greed — and that’s what it’s all about.”