About
Welcome to the online home of the Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association, located in the Roslindale section of Boston, Massachusetts. Fondly known as LANA, the association meets in odd-numbered months on the 2nd Monday of the month from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Meetings are open to the public and are held in the community room of the Longfellow House, at 885 South Street.
Geography:
The Longfellow Area is the section of Roslindale north of the MBTA commuter rail tracks. Its borders are roughly:
- The commuter rail tracks to the south
- Centre Street to the north
- The Arnold Arboretum to the north and east
2018 Board:
LANA is managed by a board composed of neighborhood residents elected annually by the membership:
- Mary Flaherty – President
- Caterina Toste – Vice-President
- Mike Fitzgerald – Clerk
- Linda Burnett – Treasurer
- John Covert
- Wayne Beitler
- Kathy McCabe
- Joe DeMasi
- Julia O’Brien
- Timothy McDonald
- Herb Ryan
- Sue Forti
- Damon Darienzo
History:
The Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association serves the northwest quadrant of Roslindale. Residents from the LANA neighborhood initially organized in 1989 to work on the redevelopment of the vacant Longfellow School building located in the heart of our neighborhood. After many years of successfully working together, LANA was formed as a non-profit corporation in 1995.
In addition to leading the redevelopment of Longfellow House, LANA has helped lead Roslindale’s master planning and rezoning project, worked for three years to secure a 6 ½-acre long-term open space deed restriction in return for Harvard moving ahead with building a new Arboretum-related facility on a 14-acre parcel in our neighborhood at Weld Hill, worked with our neighbors and local police to improve public safety and security, conserved more than 20 undeveloped parcels around the Roslindale Wetlands urban wild for wildlife habitat and public open space, and helps sponsor neighborhood events such as multi-family yard sales, block parties, and the annual Roslindale Day Parade.
