This is a very serious issue that the city needs to addresss very vehmently. It is talked about at community meetings, but things never change. Dunkin donuts in Bellingham sq. seem to make an effort to keep their storefront looking better than the others around them. I think shopkeepers have to have a meeting with the powers that be and be fined if they just ignore being a caring, prideful business after being notified and attending the meetng.
because it's "just" Chelsea, it is just accepted as that is the way it is, and that is not the way to improve appearances. This lack of cleaning and paint by owners or landlords is not accepted in other cities and towns. We have to crack down on the one's who just don't seem to care. We need a way to compliment the ones who comply via our local newpaper with a certificate of compliance or some sort of recognition. Boo's should also be apart of this , to make them aware, we are aware of their lack of cooperation

If putting together a neighborhood coalition would help I am totally in... I live in the Prattville area of Chelsea and I am very proud of my neighborhood we all take pride in our area, however the downtown Broadway are is a EMBARRASSMENT.. The Broadway strip has the potential to be an appealing area and it is very sad to see it in its current state. The downtown Broadway area from Bellingham Square to the 200 Block looks like Tijuana Mexico all we are missing is the Donkey shows..It is down right disgusting. I would not want my business located any place near this area as it would reflect badly upon my business and its reputation.. Location, Location, Location.. The Broadway area has a great physical location and the potential is real however the appearance is a huge deterrence to new business and new growth.. Chelsea needs Gentrification not stagnation.. It is possible to appreciate and acknowledge other cultures while maintaining progressive growth and do it in a visually appealing manner. I want to see Chelsea grow and develop we have a great location we can be just as popular as Cambridge with equally impressive property values. Lets get going Chelsea, this is good for everyone who lives here.

I'm totally surprised that the 43 folks who have viewed this issuw

I'm totally surprised that the 43 folks who have read this issue have not commented . It speaks to me of the acceptance folks have to the cities problems. It is really an embarassment to walk throught the Bellingham area and down to Chelsea square. In front of Bunker hill is another dirty disgrace in the square and it extends to fourth street, Chestnut street which I often take to avoid Broadway is littered always all the way down to Williams street.
Side yards are filled with debris also in many places. Landlords have to be accountable for their property. Fines should be issued. The purple line area near the train stiation and over towards the bridge is littered with huge boulders, lots of wood and what appears to be bedding on the ground, and just lots of debris. Who is responsible for this cleanup??

Hello Eye (and GingerBeard and Walkabout),
I think this is has been the most active issue submitted on SeeClickFix since the City first started with it, so congratulations to you all. This is also an issue that personally grates on my every nerve, so if I sound a little snarky here and there, I don't mean to be. Please don't take offense. It's just that a lot of hard work IS being done on this issue.

You all are most definitely not alone in your feelings about Broadway and the Downtown area. But it does beg the question, where were you for the past 6 months of meetings held by and at The Neighborhood Developers as part of the Broadway Action Planning Process? As GingerBeard so accurately pointed out, Chelsea is not yet on par with Charlestown, Melrose, and Winchester. Unhappily, that is reflected in your property values. But it's also reflected in your lower tax, water and sewer rates. The point is, since we are not yet a Charlestown or Winchester, we need to all be part of the solution and not just be a "do for me" Chelsean.

To catch everyone up:
(1) No, presently there is not a regulation allowing the City to issue fines to businesses due to trash in front of their business premises, or for cluttered windows. It is, however, something that the City Council is considering. So it would behoove everyone to contact his or her City Councillor and advocate for such an ordinance. If you don't know who your City Councillor is, or don't know how to make contact with him or her, you can find all that information here: http://www.chelseama.gov/Public_Documents/ChelseaMA_BComm/council
Just so you know, that goes for me too. I have not yet contacted my City Councillor to let him know that I would support such an ordinance.
(2) The Action Plan from the Broadway Corridor Action Planning Process will be released shortly. It is the culmination of months of work, months of meetings--both on a Steering Committee level (which involved the City Manager, Chamber of Commerce, Police, Neighborhood Developers, commercial landlords and business owners, etc.) and public meetings attended by many Chelsea residents and others. GingerBeard: a desirable mix of businesses was certainly an often discussed topic in those meetings, but it's not something that is easily or quickly changed. The commercial landlords charge surprisingly high rents along Broadway. They're going to take whoever agrees to pay them. The City can't refuse to issue a business license to someone who will be operating a legal business, just because some feel that we don't need another burrito place. The City can, and has, refused to allow additional liquor stores, however. So the problem is then, how to attract people to open businesses along Broadway that people from Prattville and Admirals Hill might actually patronize? Knowing that the probable customers to a business on Broadway are lower income folks from the neighborhood, and not Prattville or Admirals Hill folk, who wants to be the first business to take that risk? Eye, you said it wouldn't be you and I doubt it would be me either. But you also hit upon the solution, which, unfortunately, isn't quick and simple. It's that the whole area needs to be cleaned up and improved from its present state. It frankly needs a lot of money (which no one including the City has, unless you'd like your taxes hiked) and/or it needs a lot of people and organizations to do a little bit for the greater good, which is what the Action Plan is all about. Specific action steps will be assigned to the City, Police, Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations to try to make some obvious and measurable improvements.

City residents and stakeholders are also being asked to help. I can think of a few ways you could do that right off the bat:
(1) Rather than casting your vote for the doom of Broadway by withholding your patronage, why not spend a couple of bucks at a business that IS trying. Walkabout: ways to recognize these businesses are currently in the works. Go get lunch at Mi Salvador y Mexicano and tell Vladimir that you appreciate how he decorates his windows and changes them for each holiday, and that you enjoy the flowers in front of his door. Go get a birthday card or a bottle of shampoo or a Yankee Candle for Mothers Day at Allen's Perfumers and The Card Gallery. Tell Rick you appreciate that his window display shows you exactly what it is that he sells. Grab a coffee at the Bellingham Square Dunkin' Donuts and tell Rafael that you appreciate that he not only sweeps up in front of his store, but scrubs the brick sidewalks with soapy water. Grab a slice of pizza at Broadway House of Pizza and tell Dimitri that you're glad that he's trying to find a cost-sharing program to rehab the facade of his restaurant. Or pick a store you don't like. Tell the owner you might shop there if you could actually see through the windows and know what the store was about.
(2) Head on down to the Chamber of Commerce (308 Broadway, 617-884-4877) at 9am on Saturday, April 26 for Earth Day/Chelsea Clean Up Day. Grab a broom and sweep. Grab a bucket and ask a store owner if he minds if you wash the dirt and sand and pigeon crap off the front of his store. GingerBeard: Chelsea DPW cleans along Broadway every weekday morning. I'd rather see the businesses sweeping the sidewalk in the morning before they open and let the DPW guys do some more important work, wouldn't you?
(3) Attend a community meeting and get involved. The next City Manager's Forum is Thursday, May 1st where the conversation will continue on establishing a set of Community Standards for residents, businesses and the community as a whole.
(4) Support a community organization that has youths help clean up Chelsea in the summer. I've seen Roca kids spreading mulch and planting in my neighborhood. And every year, two dozen youths from the Chelsea Collaborative's Summer Youth Employment Initiative work with Chelsea DPW. This year, each of the eight districts in the City will have it's own crew.

Although this is already a lengthy post, I don't want to leave anything unaddressed. Walkabout, yes, Chestnut Street is a problem and Inspectional Services is addressing all the reported issues they can with their capacity. The good news is that for the first time in eons, a City Hall department will be expanding--ISD is hiring 3 new inspectors as part of the new Housing Code Inspection Ordinance. As for the train station, that's always a problem also, as you pointed out. And its dangerous. I believe that it is State land under the Mass. Dept. of Transportation, 857-368-4636.

Here's one bit of news that I can share. I hope it makes you as happy as it makes me: The Salvation Army has said they're going to replace the awning on the Salvation Army Store and paint the front facade of the building. If you agree, as I do, that that store is one of the worst looking of the whole downtown, this is very good news indeed.

Eye, you ended your last post on an uplifting note, so I'm stealing it. I agree, Broadway has great location and a lot of potential. And, in some places, great architecture. "Lets get going Chelsea, this is good for everyone who lives here."

Thanks for fixing this issue!