Dear City Council members and Mayor Fuller,

Thank you for considering the growth and improvement of Albemarle fields. 

As the board of Friends of Albemarle, a certified 501(c)3 with more than 500 members including a majority of City Council and two state representatives, we want to ensure that you’re aware of our unanimous perspective on the issue of installing 2 acres of synthetic turf at the northern end of the field. 

On balance, we find this installation to be the right choice for our community. We think the extremely high volume of traffic on this small field makes it an ideal candidate for synthetic turf. Much like a dirt road is ideal but just can’t support as high a volume of traffic as asphalt, so too this spot of open space needs to support the highest volume of outdoor recreation in all of Newton with more than just grass.

Here is one of our earlier letters to you on the issue.

Rather than relying on the intensive irrigation and chemicals needed to keep a high volume of players able to use this outdoor space, we think synthetic turf could help the environment. Modern turf is permeable and will help manage flooding concerns. Overall, we are in favor of grass and trees and natural outdoor spaces, and are also realistic about supporting a city of 90,000, many of whom need outdoor spaces to play. This will bring us to only 6% synthetic turf of our playing fields in use.

If we delay upgrading Albemarle, we also delay a planned bike and walking path that will create significantly safer conditions at Albemarle, not to mention improved grass fields, wetlands integration and rainwater management, and better lighting that allows for healthy outdoor community recreation.

A couple of last thoughts: 

If you’re voting based on environmental concerns, please be sure you’re working with the facts of modern synthetic turf and PFAs as well. PFAs are in everything, including the current grass at Albemarle, and most notably in the takeout containers of Newton. If PFAs are the main reason for lack of support, please consider taking action in areas that are more directly related to harm than playing fields. Newton kids play travel sports on other town’s synthetic fields, and there is no evidence of harm to them. It’s important that we share a set of facts about the modern products so that we can support outdoor recreation in the best way possible.

More info on PFAs in our air, food, water, takeout containers and more is here: https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained

Newton North concerns – 

Day Middle School gets out at 2:20 and has practice on the Albemarle until 4. North gets out at 4 and will have practice until around 6. After that, and on weekends, this synthetic turf will be the only one that is accessible to the community in all of Newton. Albemarle has an extremely broad and diverse group of users, of all ages, and sports, too. To be able to play cricket, football, soccer, etc – even on days when the ground is wet and other fields are closed – allows Newton to have an amenity that most of our surrounding communities already enjoy. Let’s go for it!

Thank you!

The Board of Friends of Albemarle

May 2, 2024
Re: RFR ENV 25 MVP 01 – Letter of Support for Flood Storage and Bank Restoration Along Cheesecake
Brook

Dear Ms. ———,

I am writing to express support for the City of Newton’s application for the FY2025 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant to implement flood storage beneath the proposed Craft Street playing field and bank restoration along Cheesecake Brook. I am president of Friends of Albemarle, a 501(c)3 nonprofit with more than 500 members representing all 8 wards of the city, including half of city council and several state representatives. Our mission is to advocate for this crucial 17-acre asset that is the largest swath of open space in Newton north of the Pike.
Albemarle’s future is fully interdependent with that of Cheesecake Brook, a vulnerable area that requires proactive measures in mitigating the impacts of climate change, particularly in vulnerable areas such as Cheesecake Brook.

Cheesecake Brook, as a tributary of the Charles River, plays a significant role in the fabric of Newton, providing valuable access to nature and a place to walk and relax for residents. However, the increasing frequency and severity of flooding events pose a significant threat to the health, safety, and well-being of our community members and infrastructure.

We agree that the City of Newton must prioritize resilience planning and take proactive steps to address the challenges posed by climate change. I am confident that the successful implementation of this project will strengthen our community’s resilience as well as the public’s use and enjoyment of a valued natural space.

We urge the review committee to give full consideration to the City of Newton’s application for the FY2025 MVP Action Grant. This investment in resilience will yield long-term benefits for our community and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future for all residents in our community.
Sincerely,
President, Friends of Albemarle

May 1^st, 2024

The Honorable Jake Auchincloss

1524 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC, 20515-2104

Via email

Re:      FY25 Community Project Funding Application

Dear U.S. Representative Auchincloss,

As President of the Friends of Albemarle, I am pleased to support the City of Newton’s application for FY25 Community Project Funding for the Albemarle Stormwater and Phosphorus Control Project.

This project will allow Newton to reduce nutrient pollution entering the Charles River through Cheesecake Brook which cause harmful algal blooms and negatively impacts ecosystem health within the watershed. It will also address the increasing threat of localized flooding throughout the Albemarle Corridor by increasing flood storage and reducing total runoff volume.

Cheesecake Brook and the Albemarle Corridor play a significant role in the social fabric of Newton, providing valuable access to nature and a place for recreation and relaxation for its residents. As demonstrated in recent years, the threat of climate change brings ever increasing storm intensity and frequency. The proposed green and gray infrastructure in this project will help capture, treat, and infiltrate stormwater runoff, furthering the City’s MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) improvement efforts as required under the Clean Water Act.

We applaud the City of Newton for prioritizing resilience planning and taking proactive steps to address the challenges posed by climate change. I am confident that the successful implementation of this project will strengthen our community’s climate resilience as well as the public’s use and enjoyment of a valued natural space.

Sincerely,

Cedar Pruitt

President of Friends of Albemarle

Newton PRC invites you to attend an upcoming virtual meeting to discuss project updates on Athletic Field Improvements at Albemarle, Burr School & McGrath. 

Park Project Update meeting: 

Monday, March 25th, 2024 at 6PM

Register in advance for this webinar right here:

https://newtonma-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AC-vlRQVR62B7Vts8v4fHg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For more details on Parks, Recreation and Culture Projects, please visit their webpage at:www.newtonma.gov/parkprojects

Please email them with input, questions or concerns at: athleticfields@newtonma.gov

In our Winter newsletter, we shared a post on Field Improvements. Here is the stand-alone version!

Fields, Lights, Trees, Courts and Paths – Moving Forward with No Delays

A beautiful plan exists to upgrade Albemarle with more trees, better footpaths, rain gardens, playing fields, pickleball courts and better, smarter lighting (like Newton North). It’s approved, funded and in place. Now we just need to finalize the design and find a contractor.

As a riverfront area (it’s a wetland and tributary of the Charles River), this project will be given a permit for the entire site. Once that permit moves forward, much like the pool redesign, the design team can swiftly move to finalizing construction documents and bidding this summer. Any delay will result in the delay of significant benefits to the community.

We do not want a delay. All of these improvements are badly needed.

They include:

·      Park accessibility for all residents

·      Upgraded equipment

·      Safer routes for kids to go to school at Day, Fessenden and NECP

·      Better and safer 4^th of July, Indigenous Peoples day and other events.

·      Newton Fire and Police Departments will get better and cleaner access to area

·      Many multi-generational opportunities abound including pickleball courts and easier path use

·      Addition of many trees throughout the park

·      Environmental benefits of better, smarter irrigation and maintenance systems and process

·      Improved traffic conditions by providing alternate modes of transportation through the park’s multi-use path

·      Rain gardens that capture any run off into the brook, leading to a cleaner river and ocean

·      Equitable access to athletic environments for the North side of Newton

We’re confident that, working as a community, we can all rally together to ensure that the entire permit moves forward on time to get these badly needed improvements for the north side of Newton.