About
Allston Village Main Streets (AVMS)
Founded in 1996, Allston Village Main Streets (AVMS) is part of the country's first city-wide, multi-district Main Street revitalization program, a non-profit, public-private partnership between the City of Boston, the National Main Street Center and neighborhood stakeholders. The program relies on volunteer community involvement with staff support.
AVMS's mission is:
- To help make Allston Village a thriving, safe, friendly business district which provides diverse cultural offerings and a variety of businesses which both serve and employ residents.
- To promote Allston Village, so that people will want to live in Allston and shoppers will come from other areas to enjoy its vibrant arts, retail and entertainment offerings.
- To make Allston Village cleaner, greener, more pedestrian-oriented, and free of trash and graffiti.
- To improve the storefronts of Allston Village with better signage and fewer roll-down grates.
- To help foster cooperation among residents, businesses and landlords to build a healthy, economically vital Allston Village.
- To work together through Allston Village Main Streets, helping the community make Allston a great place to live, work and socialize, embodying the slogan "It's all in Allston."
These goals are accomplished through volunteer committees.
The AVMS Design Committee works to improve the physical appearance of the district. AVMS runs a Facade Improvement Program and Sign, Lighting and Awning Program, which award design assistance and matching grants. The committee also focuses on public improvements, such as landscaping, street furniture, banners, public art and cleanliness, and on historic preservation efforts. The committee sponsors occasional clean-ups and ongoing graffiti-removal.
AVMS's Promotion Committee markets the district through press releases, ads, tours and an annual Allston Village Dining, Shopping and Business Guide as well as www.allstonvillage.com. The committee also runs events, most notably the annual Taste of Allston Village, Rock City Prom, Rock City Style Show and Washington Allston Birthday Breakfast.
The Economic Restructuring Committee activities include distributing welcome packets to new Allston Village businesses, providing technical assistance where necessary, and helping property owners recruit appropriate tenants and new businesses find appropriate sites and assistance. The committee also maintains a local job-posting web page, and a local commercial space Web page.
Volunteers are invited to join any of these committees or simply to commit to occasional tasks, such as bulb-planting, event set-up and the like.
Board members for the current year are: Judi Burten, Val Pak; Carmela Deghmane, Citizens Bank; Charlie Denison; Paul DerBoghosian, Rainbow Visions; Kim Harris, LAB Boston; Marc Kadish, Sunset Grill & Tap/Big City; Scott Matalon, Stingray Body Art, resident; Dave Norton, WGBH; Sam Resnick, Exit Realty; Bob Webber, Model Hardware.
AVMS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization; contributions to AVMS are tax-deductible. Memberships are welcome.