A la George Mitchell, State Rep. Vincent Pedone played peacemaker at the April 15 meeting of the Shrewsbury St. Area Merchants Association (SSAMA) at Dante’s Restaurant, telling new SSAMA President John Piccolo and others in attendance that a subcommittee of the SSAMA should be formed to mend fences with Gary Vecchio and other residents who are upset with some aspects of the restaurant/nightlife scene.
Mike Lucente of Hillary Landscape Services mows the median along Shrewsbury St. during an Earth Day clean-up sponsored by the neighborhood’s merchants group: perfect timing with the Taste of Shrewsbury St., in June, just around the corner.
Such a subcommittee’s assignment would be to “meet with residents and work out issues so that (the two camps) are not at loggerheads,” Pedone said. “I’m caught right in the middle of this. Every time something happens, I’m getting a call from a merchant or a resident.”
The “five-foot clearance” brouhaha regarding café dining is a good example, he said. “Gary Vecchio wants to resolve this and so do I. Everyone needs to lower the emotion and sit down and hear each other. Residents need to hear that outdoor dining is good for this community. Merchants need to hear that drinking until 2:00 a.m. is not good.”
Appropriate advice, as SSAMA got set to host the Taste of Shrewsbury St. in June, and the full-blown onset of the café-dining season.
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