Good morning,

Here's something our mom-and-pop retailers definitely don't need heading into the holiday season.

DoorDash delivering shoes, clothing and other goods.

This week, the app known for delivering meals — and hurting restaurant economics — announced deals with Macy's, Anthropologie, The North Face, Vans and Timberland for speedy door-to-door delivery, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Those and other brands will offer their products on DoorDash's website. Drivers will deliver them in as little as an hour. They’ll also pick up and return items.

Uber Eats is making the same play.

Our advice?  Shop where the owner knows your name and pays property taxes to your community.

Overwhelmed by ballot questions? Who isn't?

Massachusetts voters face nine ballot questions this year — tying a state record.

That's a lot to get through. And research shows voters become increasingly likely to skip questions as they move down the ballot. One study estimated that this so-called "choice fatigue" accounted for about 8% of skipped votes on ballot contests.

Need guidance so you can avoid being part of that statistic?

• CommonWealth Beacon, one of the state's leading public policy news outlets, has a comprehensive voter guide.
• Tufts' Center for State Policy Analysis offers an in-depth analytical breakdown of all nine questions.
• Prefer to hear from experts in person?  State Rep. Amy Sangiolo has organized two ballot-question forums in Newton with top-shelf presenters. The first is Monday (Oct. 5), 6:30 at the Cooper Center, with another round on Oct. 13, at the Allen Center.

Parts of Arsenal Yards goes on the market

Boylston Properties has put parts of Arsenal Yards up for sale, Charlie Breitrose at Watertown News reports.

Boylston declined to comment but "confirmed the retail and residential portions of the complex on Arsenal Street are up for sale," Breitrose writes.

The hotel and lab/office space aren't included.

According to a CBRE marketing brochure cited by Breitrose, the package includes 257,000 SF of ground-floor retail and more than 300 luxury apartments. No asking price was listed.

Boylston and partner The Wilder Companies bought the aging Arsenal Mall (on part of the site of the 1816 U.S. Army arsenal) in 2013.  

The mall closed for redevelopment in 2018, though Marshalls and Home Depot stayed open. New stores began opening in late 2019 and the apartments opened in 2021.

Newton councilors eye holding by-right project hostage

The whole point behind the MBTA Communities Law was to let developers build multi-family housing near transit without the kind of local board interference that stymies so many projects.

But that didn't stop some Newton city councilors from trying to hold an MBTA Communities project hostage this week.

Beacon Communities' proposed 72-unit, 100% affordable development at 1314 Washington Street (the former Santander Bank building) in West Newton is allowed by right under zoning the council created to comply with state law.

That’s not in dispute. But here's where it gets tricky. And some councilors too.

To make the project work, Beacon is requesting that a relatively small share of its financing come from the city's Affordable Housing Trust, partly using Community Preservation Act funds.

And since the council must approve CPA spending, some saw an opening Monday to claw back leverage.  Not over money. Over parking.

That included Councilor Pam Wright, who believes the city would be funding a bottleneck in West Newton and pushed for more time.

"I want affordable housing. I want this project to work,” Wright said. “I want to work with them to make it work.”

However, Council Vice President David Kalis warned the project could die if it's delayed. Beacon is pursuing state funding with a December deadline. Delays could jeopardize the application and increase costs.

"We are using the funding mechanism to impose additional zoning requirements; we are doing them discriminatorily against an affordable housing development. And I think that that is just plain wrong," Councilor Sean Roche added.

Councilors Albright, Dahmubed, Getz, Gordon and Kalis voted to move the funding forward. Wright, Baker and Council President Oliver abstained.  But this is far from over.  The funding still needs approval from the council's Finance Committee and the full council.

Friday grab bag

• Busy on Sunday?  Please join us at the free Needham Harvest Fair, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring 125+ vendors, free pumpkins, flu shots and Michelson’s famous shoe sale. Stop by the chamber booth and say hello.
  
  
• The first of the MBTA's new Green Line train cars have arrived in Massachusetts. NBC10 has photos.
  
  
• We Are ALX hosts "The Competitive Case: Massachusetts and the Economic Power of Latinas," a webinar on Oct. 5, 10 a.m. that draws on findings from the report "Data Beyond Demographics: U.S. Latinas' Economic Power, Influence, and Growth."
  
  
• The Newton News Foundation, publisher of the Newton Beacon, will host Harvard political philosopher Danielle Allen for "Democracy, If We Can Keep It," a conversation on America at 250 and how to strengthen our democracy ahead of the Nov. elections, on Oct. 8, 7 p.m. at the Allen Center in Newton.
  
  
• The Wellesley Square Merchants' Association hosts Discover Wellesley tomorrow (Sat) and Sunday, with more than 20 Wellesley Square shops, restaurants and studios.
  
  
• Greg Verdine, a venture partner with Andreessen Horowitz and founder of both LifeMine and Vida Vinci at 66 Galen in Watertown, was named one of MassLive’s 25 Most Influential Innovators.
  
  
• State Rep. Amy Sangiolo and Marcia Johnson will run the 50th Boston 10K for Women on Oct. 10 to raise money for the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts' civic education fund.  Sangiolo’s race page and Johnson’s race page.
  
  
• Watertown City Council President Mark Sideris says the council heard mixed public feedback on a proposed Watertown Square garage and will look at other options. (Watertown News)
  
  
• Congress is again pushing legislation to cut swipe fees, an expense that cuts deeply into retailers, restaurants and other small businesses' bottom line. (Washington Times)
  
  
• MassLive explains why the Wada Hoppah still isn’t hopping down the Charles River.

A food pantry for household goods turns ten

For 10 years, Welcome Home has helped thousands of families across Eastern Massachusetts turn empty spaces into homes — for free.

City and state officials marked the milestone at the organization's West Newton facility this week. The nonprofit provides dishes, linens, appliances, furniture and other essentials to those in need.

What makes the model special is trust. No forms. No ID. No proof of need. If someone says they need help, Welcome Home helps.

Fellow Chamber members pitch in too. SharkNinja regularly donates appliances. Mark's Moving & Storage helps move donated goods.

And tomorrow (Saturday), Welcome Home and WS Development are hosting a blanket and towel drive at The Street Chestnut Hill, 10 a.m. to noon.

Help wanted: Must have talons

Tired of pigeon poop and nuisance birds at T and commuter rail stations and parking garages?

The MBTA thinks it has a solution: Hawks.

The T is seeking falconry experts to scare away "nuisance birds" from its stations and maintenance facilities, reports StreetsblogMASS.

"Pigeons, seagulls, starlings, and other invasive and nuisance birds are drawn to MBTA stations and facilities in search of food and shelter," according to the solicitation.

"Bird droppings can carry diseases, corrode critical infrastructure, and create unsanitary conditions for the public and MBTA employees."

The BART system in California has been using raptors to provide "bloodless intervention" since 2022, as have some cities in the U.K (in photo). Still, the MBTA’s "request for information" asks potential falconers to tell it more about "industry standards regarding carcass removal.”

That’s what you need to know for today, unless you need to know how to become an MIT-certified pirate.

See you at the Harvest Fair, mateys.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

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