Address

Newton City Hall
1000 Commonwealth Ave
Newton Centre, MA 02459

617-796-1000
TDD/TTY 617-796-1089

Hours

Monday - Friday
8:30am-5:00pm

Tuesday
8:30am- 8:00pm

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NEWTON CENTRE TASK FORCE

Members
(in alphabetical order by last name)

 

 

F. Gerard Adams (Jerry Adams) is Professor of Economics at the School of Business at Northeastern University. He is a specialist in quantitative economics and has done many studies of the linkages between economies. Some of his early work included modeling the regional and urban economy. His most recent book is " East Asia, Globalization, and the New Economy". He moved to Newton Centre eight years ago after many years in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Economic Development Commission, Newton Pride, and the Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee. He and his wife, Heidi Vernon, are avid gardeners.

 

Ray Ciccolo is the president and sole owner of Village Automotive Group (Honda Village, Newton; Cadillac Village, Norwood; Hummer Village, Norwood; Boston Volvo Village, Brighton; Charles River Saab, Watertown; Saab City, Framingham; Village Collision, Brookline). He has been doing business in Newton since 1954. His Flagship product Volvo was originally located in Newton Center which he later developed the property into 3 separate stores: The Post Office, National Lumber and West Coast Video. Real Estate development continues to account for a significant amount of his corporation’s revenues. He has been married for 40 years and has 3 daughters and 7 grandchildren.

 

Alderman Victoria Danberg

 

Charles Eisenberg is the principal of Eisenberg Consulting. He has 30 years of real estate experience, the last four as a consultant managing or assisting in the development of residential, commercial and mixed-use developments, as well as assisted living facilities. Over the years, Mr. Eisenberg has served on numerous educational, civic and community boards. Amongst other positions, he is currently the Chairman of the Newton Economic Development Commission and the Newton Centre Task Force; a member of the Sustainable Newton Committee and the Newton Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee; Vice Chairman of Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly; and a Fellow of Brandeis University. Mr. Eisenberg also provides consulting services to non-profit corporations on a pro bono basis through Harvard Business School’s Community Action Program and is an adjunct professor at the Boston University Center for Real Estate Studies. Charles Eisenberg grew up in Chestnut Hill and has lived in Newton Centre since 1976. He has a B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.A. in Government and Planning from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Harvard. Charles Eisenberg is married and has two grown children.

 

John Furst has lived in Newton for most of his life. He attended the Newton Public School system and Washington University in St. Louis. After experiences as a camera man for National Geographic and a teacher in the Weston school system, John opened Videocraft Productions, a full-service film and video production company located in Boston. He sold the company in 1989 and moved to Australia for a year with his family. In 1993, he and his business partner, Neal Solomon, opened Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Centre. Johnny's serves over 1,000 customers a day, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. John lives in Waban with his wife, Amy Cody, and children, Arlo, a sophomore at Colorado College, and Madeline, a senior at The Cambridge School of Weston.

 

Andrew Gottlieb is Deputy Secretary in the Office for Commonwealth Development (OCD) where he focuses on development of innovative financing strategies in support of Smart Growth implementation. Prior to joining OCD, Mr. Gottlieb was at the Department of Environmental Protection in a variety of positions, most recently Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Planning. Mr. Gottlieb received his M.B.A. from Boston University in 1996 and his B.A. in Government from Harvard University in 1985.

 

Vicky Greenstein was born and grew up in Orlando, Florida ( 2nd generation Floridian). She moved to Boston to attend Boston University and graduated Boston University with an B.S. in Special Education and a M.Ed. in Audiology. For 36 years Vicky worked for the Boston V.A. Medical Center as an Audiologist. She was Senior Staff Audiologist when she retired two years ago. Vicky has lived in Newton with her husband, Alan Greenstein, for 30 years. He is a C.P.A with Cohen and Greenstein. She have two children- Daniel who is 27 years old and lives in Brookline and Amy- 23 years old and lives in New York City. Vicky has grown to love her adopted city of Newton and would like to see some changes in Newton Center to make it more attractive and vibrant.

 

William Hagar and his wife, Dottie, have lived in Newton for over 30 years. Their children: Doreen, Cheryl, William, and Jennifer went to Newton Schools. While they were in school, Bill was an organizer and coach for numerous youth sports teams in Newton from 1978 to 1984. He has been a member of the Board of Directors Newton Conservators since 1992, and was elected president in June 2005. He is an associate professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and has taught Biology and Biochemistry classes for over 30 years. His research interest includes environmental monitoring, and teaching science topics through experimentation. He has a patent for an environmental monitoring system using a cordless or cellular telephone for data transfer. He received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2000 and a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of New Brunswick, Canada in 2003. He is a supporter of science education at all levels and has judged high school science fairs and Massachusetts State finals since 1993. He has a B.S in Chemistry from Widener University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Temple University.

 

Candace Havens is an urban planner who specializes in public dispute resolution, public policy, program and project development, and parking management. She began her career as a planner in San Luis Obispo, CA where she reviewed development plans, managed civic projects, the city’s parking program and its structures, and assisted the City Administrator. She helped create and was Founding President of the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum. She currently chairs the Newton Traffic Council, is a member of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and several local task forces. She has an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Urban Studies from the University of California and a Masters of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government. Outside of work her passions include renovating an historic home in Newton Corner with her husband Jim, raising their four children, cooking, wine tasting, art/design, languages, music, running, and traveling across any country.

 

Amanda Heller grew up in New York, came to Massachusetts to attend college, and never left. After working as a staff editor at the Atlantic Monthly, she became a freelance book editor, primarily for Harvard University Press and other university imprints. She is also a book reviewer, and for many years has written the Boston Globe’s “Short Takes” column. She and her husband, Richard, have been residents of Newton Center since 1976; their son, Ben, a graduate of the Newton public school system, has made the reverse migration and now lives in New York. A neighborhood activist who has worked to maintain the residential integrity of Newton Center, she is an officer of the Association of Residents of Newton Center Village and is active in other local organizations.

 

Todd Krasnow was part of the original management team of Staples where he helped open the world’s first office superstore. Under his sales leadership, Staples grew to over $7 billion in annual revenue. In 1998, Todd left Staples and founded Zoots, now the country’s largest dry cleaning chain with 62 stores in 10 states. Todd was CEO of Zoots for five years, and is Chairman of the company today. In addition, Todd serves on the boards of a number of other companies and non-profit organizations. Todd is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Business School. He lives in Newton Center with his wife, Debbie, and their three children.

 

Marianne Paley Nadel is an urban planner specializing in community based development. Marianne’s interest in planning grew out of her work at Historic Mill Properties, a family real estate firm in Lawrence and Dorchester Lower Mills. Marianne worked at the New York City Economic Development Corporation focusing on arts, culture and economic development, including the initial plans for the 42nd Street Redevelopment and South Street Seaport projects. After receiving a Masters in City Planning from MIT in 1993, Marianne became a Senior Planner at Icon Architecture concentrating on historic districts and heritage projects. Marianne was the founding Executive Director of Groundwork Lawrence, an environmental non-profit in Lawrence, MA. Under her guidance from 1999 to 2004, Groundwork has designed and developed brownfield sites into new parks and playgrounds, renovated over 30 city parks, created a community plan for an urban river greenway, and initiated an environmental youth service learning program. Marianne and her husband Eric are the proud parents of Josh, Emily and Henry.

 

Fran Seasholes and her husband Brad have lived on Cypress Street since 1962. Several ancestors of hers have had long or short residency there through connection to the theology school. Since the Seasholes live in a 1873 house, Newton Center's changes are of great interest. While raising four children Fran was active in Bowen, Weeks and South PTAs. Other memberships include the Newton League of Women Voters, the Newton Conservators, The Newton Green Decade, the Second Church in Newton UCC, Newton Community Development Foundation, and the Bowen-Thompsonville Neighborhood Association. She is retired from being a child welfare social worker and for several years they have hosted international students studying English.

 

Jane Shoplick

 

David Stein is managing partner of RE: Investments, Inc., a company specializing in the redevelopment of historic real estate. Prior to RE: Investments, Inc. David was a founder and E.V.P of SmartRoute Systems, a technology-based traffic information service and also worked for New England Development where he managed the mixed-use CambridgeSide Galleria project. David serves on the Newton Housing Partnership and is a past chair of the Newton Human Rights Committee. He lives with his wife, Elizabeth and their daughters, Hadley and Perrin, in West Newton.

 

Andrew R. Stern is a life-long resident of Newton Centre ( Rice School, Mason School, Mason-Rice, Weeks and Newton North) where he lives with his wife and daughter, a sophomore at Brown University. Andy is the Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Chairman of the Community Preservation Committee. He also is a Past President of the Newton Schools Foundation. A partner with the national law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP, Andy concentrates his practice in the areas of business, real estate and construction law. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Chicago Law School.

 

 

Eve Tapper received a Masters in Planning degree from the University of Virginia in 1998. Before moving back to Massachusetts more than four years ago, she worked for Montgomery County, MD where she helped write a master plan for the town of Silver Spring. She has also worked on transportation and housing issues at the national level as an aide to former Congressman Sam Gejdenson (CT-2). Currently, Eve is a planner for the Town of Lexington, MA. She lives in Newton Centre with her husband, Adam, and their two children.

 

Terry Wendt conducts development planning and urban design for real estate development companies and municipalities. His projects range from residential communities of all sizes to leisure-based mixed-use developments and downtown revitalization. His responsibilities are to manage a project from inception and site identification through the programming, design, and entitlements phases, up to the point of construction. Mr. Wendt earned Masters Degrees in Architecture and City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota. He is the recent past Chair of the New Urbanism Division of the American Planning Association.

 

Beth Wilkinson lives in Newton Centre and is a member of the Association of Residents of Newton Centre Village. She received a master’s degree in English literature from Boston University. After several years of teaching there, she left before completing her Ph.D. dissertation to become a textbook editor at Houghton Mifflin. For the past fifteen years, she has been a community volunteer: serving as co-president of the citywide Newton PTO Council, acting as state legislation liaison for the Newton League of Women Voters and hosting their Round Table cable television program for two years, being on the Board of the Friends of the Newton Free Library and co-chairing their annual Book and Author luncheon for the past three years, and being the deputy director of Newton’s successful override campaign. She is a Principal Master Gardener and has done variety of tasks with the Mass Horticultural Society, ranging from participating in a research project with URI and working in their greenhouses and gardens to giving presentations at the flower show and to garden clubs.

 

David Zussman entered the home building industry in 1956 and in 1958 was named by “Builder Magazine” as one of the Massachusetts Builders of the Year. One year later he was one of the five largest home builders in Massachusetts. In 1968, his firm, Condominiums, Inc., marketed Massachusetts’s first new condominium in Newton at 209 Commonwealth Avenue. His firm, Boston Development Group, has also been successful in developing, marketing and managing of mixed-use shopping and office complexes such as Piccadilly Square in Newton Centre, where its office is. Boston Development Group has also developed and owned senior communities and hotels. Mr. Zussman is an overseer of Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and has been President of Massachusetts Kidney Foundation, Chairman of Lesson One, Director of Temple Beth Avoda as well as involved in other non-profit organizations.

 

 

Alternates

 

Warren Brown is principal of Boston Commercial Properties, Inc. based in Wellesley. The firm provides complete commercial real estate advisory services including tenant representation, corporate relocation, facility planning and marketing of commercial properties in the Greater Boston area. Mr. Brown has been practicing in the real estate profession for approximately 19 years and has handled several million square feet of commercial lease and sale transactions. Warren received a BS in Administration and Management Science and Economics and a Minor in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in 1983. He has been a resident of Auburndale for 12 years where he lives with his wife and two young children.

 

Kevin Dutt is the Managing Partner of KCD Solutions, LLC, a small, management consulting group that specializes in sustainable business practices. He is also the VP of Product Strategy for Emerging Vehicles (electric vehicles), and the VP of Product Development for Seahorse Power Company (solar powered devices). He earned his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University in 1993 and his MBA from Boston University in 1996. His expertise is in operations, product development, and business systems. In late 2002, Mr. Dutt created his own consulting team, KCD Solutions, which develops sustainable operations and products for privately owned manufacturing and service organizations. Mr. Dutt is also active in the City of Newton in the areas of environment and housing affordability. He sits on the Board of the Green Decade Coalition and the Community Living Network. He represents the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce on the Energy Commission and the Renewable Resources Committee, and is also the co-chair of the High Performance Buildings Coalition.

 

Rob Gifford is a 19-year resident of Newton Centre and a Principal with the AEW Capital Management, L.P., a real estate investment advisory firm with approximately $21 billion of client capital invested in properties and securities in North America and Europe. Prior to joining AEW in 1986, Rob was an Assistant Development Director with The Rouse Company in Columbia, MD. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College (B.A.) and the Yale School of Management (M.P.P.M.).

 

Jennifer Y. Grams currently serves as the Assistant Town Administrator in Brookline, MA. She has over 10 years of experience in the government and non profit sectors, including work at the City of Boston OBM, the New York City Transit Authority, and UNIFEM. Jennifer holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University and a BA from Denison University. Jennifer lives in Newton Centre with her husband Scott and their son.

 

Ann Hochberg is a lifelong resident of Newton. She graduated from Oberlin College with a B.S. in Biology, Oregon State University with an M.S. in Oceanography and Northeastern University School of Law. She currently practices law in Boston with the firm Broude & Hochberg, LLP. Prior to working for the firm she worked as an environmental attorney at the MWRA and as a real estate attorney at Goulston and Storrs. Locally she has been involved as an attorney with the Bullough’s Pond Association, Newton2000 and as secretary of the Mason Rice PTO. She lives with her husband and three children in Newton Centre.