The Week in Review: Bombay Club Closes, Washington Street Building Crumbles

It was another busy week in the South End: A Washington Street building owned by the Church of Scientology threatened to collapse, the Bombay Club closed its doors for good, and proposed traffic changes were unveiled along the Harrison/Albany Corridor. Those stories and more are below (just click the link to see the full story):

Boston firefighters cordoned off the sidewalk beneath a Washington Street building owned by the Church of Scientology after a brick reportedly fell from the outer wall Tuesday night, putting it in danger of imminent collapse. On Thursday, the church's attorney said the building will likely be torn down.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority will propose a series of changes to traffic patterns in parts of the South End to accompany re-zoning initiatives along the Harrison/Albany Corridor, the BRA announced at an Advisory Group meeting on Wednesday.

: The contentious issue of public vs. private alleyways has been taken up by City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Bill Linehan who requested a hearing on the issue during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

Originally formed in 1978 and more formally incorporated in 1993, the South End Business Alliance (SEBA) might be the single-most important entity in the neighborhood; without it, we could end up looking like South Bay. SEBA provides a forum for small business owners to strategize ways of staying afloat, devise cross-promotions, organize fundraisers and just generally share information about what they observe.

South End City Councilor Bill Linehan was the lone voice of opposition during Wednesday’s introduction of a petition to ban smoking in public parks across the city, arguing that such a move would infringe on the public’s civil liberties.

A South End resident for nearly five years with an MA in Theater Education from Emerson, McCaela Donovan is now a third year grad student at Brandeis. She also teaches an improv class as part of her graduate curriculum and is currently performing as Carla in the SpeakEasy production of Nine,” the Kopit/Yeston musical adaption of Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographical film “8 ½.”

Add the Bombay Club to the list of restaurants closing their doors in the South End this winter – the Washington Street restaurant was shuttered Friday morning and will remain closed, sources say.