NABB & Friends of the Clarendon Street Playground

Member Communications and Meetings - NABB educates its members and the public through meetings, emails, website and social media posts, and monthly bulletins of activities in the neighborhood that may affect the architectural beauty of the Back Bay and/or its residential character. These activities include new construction, renovation and building repair projects, as well as new restaurants and other businesses in the neighborhood. NABB has regular meetings of its Architecture, Development & Transportation, and Licensing & Building Use Committees where proponents are invited to make presentations and receive feedback from the community regarding their plans. NABB also participates in hearings before the Back Bay Architectural Commission, the Boston Licensing Board, the Zoning Board of Appeal and other local public bodies where it provides community input regarding such activities. NABB also holds neighborhood forums and an annual meeting of its members where individuals are invited to make presentations to educate neighborhood residents about matters of public importance.

Homelessness Task Force - NABB has a Homelessness Task Force (HTF) that works to increase understanding of homelessness in Boston and promote effective prevention and treatment programs through public education and advocacy. The NABB HTF produces free Educational Forums on Affordable Housing and Homelessness Prevention and Treatment that are open to the public, in collaboration with the Boston Public Library, and has formed collaborations with other organizations working to prevent and reduce homelessness in Boston and the state of Massachusetts.

Commonwealth Avenue Mall Maintenance - NABB makes donations to the Friends of the Public Garden, another nonprofit organization, for the improvement, preservation and maintenance of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Expenditures for the Mall are made as authorized or recommended by the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee. One-half of the members of the Committee are appointed by NABB and the other half are appointed by the Friends of the Public Garden.

Clarendon Street Playground - NABB assists the City of Boston in maintaining the Clarendon Street Playground and hosts community events for children and families during the year.

Neighborhood Cleaning - NABB has a "Graffiti NABBers" group that reports and removes graffiti and other illegal postings from Back Bay buildings and structures on an ongoing basis. NABB also conducts its "Alley Rally," which it usually holds on an annual basis, where residents clean the neighborhood's alleys as part of the City of Boston's "Love Your Block" program.

Public Safety Education and Crime Preventions - NABB has a Public Safety/City Services Committee that supports the community policing initiative of the Boston Police Department, primarily by sponsoring monthly meetings with the Boston Police Department and other City departments to discuss various issues about crime and other public safety-related subjects in the Back Bay. NABB also has a group of volunteers, called "Block Captains," who regularly monitor their respective blocks and use city services to report any areas of concern or violations, such as illegal trash disposal, rodent activity, crime, parking violations, property damage, and accidents.

Green Initiatives - NABB has a Green Committee that hosts speakers and provides information and assistance to neighborhood residents to help them minimize their contributions to climate change through energy and natural resource conservation, including participation in the City of Boston's Community Choice electricity program.

Condominium Management Forum - NABB also has a Condominium Management Group that provides a forum for Back Bay residents to identify and discuss concerns associated with the maintenance and management of residential condominiums in the neighborhood.