North End parks, due to open in Spring 2007.

The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy released their report this week on the Greenway's design and progress, the Globe reports (unfortunately they haven't posted the report on their website). They recommend that the Massachusetts Horitcultural Society lose their designation on the parcels near South Station that were slated for the Garden Under Glass. Mass Hort has had some very public trouble with leadership, design and raising funds for the Garden, but their new executive director seemed shocked by the Conservancy's report, according to the article. Interestingly, there is no mention of the Garden on the Mass Hort website. The report also recommends hard deadlines for the Greenway's other major projects (the Boston Museum Project, the New Center for Arts and Culture, and the Harbor Island Pavilion), relocating the Armenian genocide memorial to another part of the city (how did it ever wind up on the Greenway in the first place?), employing organic gardening techniques, and designating the Conservancy as the sole oversight organization for the whole Greenway.

These all seem like good recommendations. The Greenway definitely needs someone to keep an eye on the big picture and continuity. Mass Hort is surely loathe to give up their prime spot, but it really seems like they bit off more than they could chew. And these other major development projects certainly need to be given the same sharp-eyed scrutiny – and the same boot out the door if they aren't feasible (ahem, Boston Museum Project).