Late last fall, on a walk, I came upon developer Leslie Clement’s housing construction underway along Springfield’s Tiffany Street (pictured at left), in the Forest Park neighborhood.
The cluster of arts-and-crafts style homes can be found along Tiffany, as well as some along adjacent Brentwood Street, and another street Clement named June’s Way after her daughter. She offered an interior tour and pointed out the close proximity of the VFW pavilion nearby, at the time easily visible through the increasingly bare trees (pictured below).
Some of the houses are occupied now. Since last fall there has also been the occasional bit of gossip or news that problems and friction have erupted between residents in the new housing development and party revelers at the VFW pavilion, which is often rented out for festive occasions.
Yesterday, I happened to run into Clement and mentioned the recurring talk about her evil developer intentions on MassLive.com’s Springfield forum, where some have voiced their frustration over her raising complaints against the partying problems at the VFW.
Formerly surrounded by a large wooded lot, new homes were constructed relatively close to the pavilion (see site plan, left). Some would blame Clement for building where she should not. Last fall, she told me that the land was always intended to be developed; the previous owner had just been sitting on it for a long time.
The perspective Clement shared yesterday is that the VFW should not have been allowed to build its pavilion where it did (her claim is that it should have gone to the “rear” of the building). Her opinion is that such a location of a pavilion would never pass now, with neighborhood residents likely to speak against it, and that when it was built, the matter was simply rubber-stamped.
In addition, alcohol is not supposed to be consumed outside, she asserted. Such consumption is, she said, would be considered a violation of liquor licensing requirements.
Clement has related stories to share about problems related to drunkenness during parties and other events, but the main issue about where the alcohol is served, she said, is worth pursuing with the city. Working with the development residents, she has secured the item on the License Commission’s agenda at its meeting this week at Springfield City Hall, Thursday, July 26, at 5:30 pm.
Those who have observed rumors on this matter being lobbed back and forth on the MassLive.com forum, unsure about the facts, might be interested to attend.
