The Hyde Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA) held its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, March 5. Its main appointment brought City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune before the group of about 20 to present an informal update and to field questions.

The most significant of them was asked by HPNA President Mimi Turchinetz regarding the councilor’s thoughts on the possibility of the City purchasing Crane Ledge Woods.

The site – which overlooks American Legion Highway and is owned by Jubilee Christian Church – has been at the center of a development process that has been going on for the last five years.

After a protracted and contentious application that eventually ended up in litigation favorable to the developer, Crane Ledge Woods (990 American Legion Highway) – which covers about 24 acres near the Hyde Park/ Roslindale/ Mattapan line, 14 of which are slated for development – was reluctantly approved last September by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board for 204 market-rate apartments that would take up most of the lot and would bring in nearly $1 million in extra taxes.

Nonetheless, residents in the neighborhood as well as other parts of the city have continued to push for City Hall to negotiate with Jubilee Christian Church to purchase the land for use as a public urban wild. In advocating for this, community members who have been in contact with Jubilee advisors have stated that the church would consider a serious offer from the City.

Despite that, Mayor Michelle Wu has given every indication that she has no interest in City Hall entering into negotiations in an attempt to purchase Crane Ledge Woods for public use.

Louijeune – in addition to representing all of Boston on the City Council – is a longtime Hyde Park resident who lives near the site and is also frequently described as a close ally of Wu.

“I know how important Crane Ledge is to the community,” she said in response to the question from Turchinetz. “I do know that the City has never spent as much money on an acquisition, which is a big problem. We are right now in a challenging fiscal period.” She also touched on, and would return to, the “important dynamics” of Jubilee – a Black church – owning the land.

To that, Turchinetz noted that it “is looking for an off-ramp. We know that they are willing to negotiate. So that’s one thing that is a fact.” She suggested monetizing the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and/or floating a green bond to raise the funds to purchase the land.

“I’ll talk to the mayor about it again to see where her thinking is there,” Louijeune offered. “I will also see Pastor Matt [Thompson] next weekend. I’ll be with him. I can have the conversation with him there,” adding that she would “check in again on this as an issue on both sides.”

As the exchange wound down, Louijeune also asked about non-profits that might be willing to provide some financial assistance for the purchase, while Turchinetz noted that Jubilee is looking to work with a credible negotiator “that understands commercial markets.”

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All of which fit with how Louijeune closed the dialogue. “I support it in theory,” she said of the idea of the City buying the land. “Financially making it happen while also being respectful of the Church is also… those are also just two important considerations that we have to weigh.” Building on that theme, she finished. “I just also want to make sure that we are not making them feel as though we are some big entity trying to clamp down on their property rights, frankly.”

The meeting also featured a small project development proposed for 4 Adams St. – a private way off River Street near Reservation Road. It was awarded to the developer by the City (the property is currently owned by the Mayor’s Office of Housing) and would entail the razing of the derelict single-family house there now for the construction of a three-family condominium building.

Several abutters were in attendance, and they expressed their concerns regarding the size of the proposed building, given the lot size – a common complaint with new development in the city.

A more unusual complaint had to do with the reduced electricity that they contend the building will cause. “We haven’t adequate capacity on our street to begin with,” Mila Levine said, citing flickering lights and underpowered appliances. “Every time they add another unit nearby, ours is getting worse – to the point that we’re going to wind up one day with no electricity at all.”

Project attorney Ryan Spitz noted that the applicant (who was unable to attend the meeting because he was traveling for work) had reached out to Eversource and received a response, which he read, and which acknowledged the problem but offered inconclusive solutions.

The proposed project also has eight zoning violations, and the HPNA opted to not vote on it.

The meeting also offered one last chance for complaints about the City’s poor snow removal before Mother Nature, in her warmth, would bail it out over the next few days. “I usually know I’m in Milton because Milton does a crappy job. This year, Boston did a crappy job and Milton did a good job,” Fairmount Hill resident Joe Smith said. “It seems like we’re not doing as well as we once did because the Milton streets used to be in the condition that our streets are in now.”

The HPNA meets on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Hyde Park Municipal Building/BCYF (1179 River St.). For information, email hydeparkneighbors@gmail.com.