By Judy Vance

A housing developer is encountering heavy resistance in Mattapan as he and his attorney, who also serves as chairman of the city's Zoning Board of Appeals, attempt to persuade skeptical residents to embrace their plan to construct several new, multi-family home on the slope of Wellington Hill.

Opponents say Joseph LaRosa, owner of LaRosa Development Corporation, who is represented legally by Joseph Feaster, Jr., chairman of the mayorally-appointed city review board that scrutinizes all residential and commerical petitions in Boston, has a poor track record of constructing shoddy homes in city neighborhoods. And, even before reports surfaced this week in the Boston Globe that suggested that Feaster's advocacy for LaRosa presents a conflict of interest, Mattapan activists blasted the arrangement in a public meeting on May 10.

LaRosa wants to build eight, two-family homes on a narrow stretch of land on Ormond Street on land that overlooks the rear of Blue Hill Avenue's Morning Star Baptist Church, which sold the land to LaRosa last year. As LaRosa and Feaster tried to present the housing plan to a gathering of residents, several lashed back, claiming the quality of the developer's homes were poor- and calling into question Feaster's representation.

"This man builds the cheapest crap you can find," said an angry David Lopes, a Mattapan resident who lives in the Wellington Hill area. "All he [LaRosa] cares about is the almighty dollar."

Feaster, responding to the quality of the homes, said he thought his client's workmanship issues were behind him.

Lopes, who has been in development for years, called LaRosa's work a detriment to the Mattapan community. As heated words exchanged, Feaster said, "I didn't bring my client here to be beat up." At which point Lopes quickly replied, "Well, then tell your client to stop beating up the community."

While Feaster tried to defend his client's work, LaRosa stepped forward to say he stood by his work and even returned to a new home to repair damage caused by flooding. Residents responded that a home shouldn't flood if built properly.

Russell Holmes, who lives in one of the homes LaRosa built in Mattapan, said he began to notice problems with his home two days after moving in. Holmes said the house on Goodale Road was a year old when he purchased it from a previous owner. Holmes said he noticed structural problems, water seeping into the garage and front steps that several people have fallen on. Holmes had the Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) come out to look at the construction and he said ISD determined the work was not done to code. Aware that LaRosa is trying to build another home in his neighborhood Holmes said he will be one of those protesting the action.

"I will be very unhappy if he [LaRosa] builds another house in this neighborhood because he did a poor job at building mine," said Holmes.

Holmes admitted that after repeated complaints one of LaRosa's foreman came out to his home and fixed one step and hasn't returned.

Following the meeting, residents questioned Feaster's role in representing LaRosa, claiming that it was a conflict of interest. Residents felt Feaster's role with the Zoning Board of Appeals provided favoritism to LaRosa's projects.

Feaster, responding to the allegations, told the Reporter, "It isn't a conflict because I don't appear before the Board. When his [LaRosa's] projects come up I recuse myself. There's no conflict when I don't appear on the Zoning Board of Appeal."

But in a June 7 Boston Globe article detailing Feaster's dealings with LaRosa, the Globe cited a 1996 State ethics laws which prohibit city employees from working as agents or attorney for anyone on matters which the city has an interest.

Further, the Reporter Newspapers have learned that LaRosa- who is re-developing land predominately in communities of Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury- regularly offers additional financial payments to the seller if LaRosa is successful in getting a certain number of units through the community and zoning review process.

When asked about one such arrangement, in which LaRosa offered incentives to Fair Foods in Dorchester for a project he is developing on Geneva Avenue, LaRosa responded it was a private matter and that he didn't get the desired number of units. Community opposition to LaRosa's plans for multi-family homes that section of Dorchester has prompted LaRosa to scale back the scope of his project.

Feaster said LaRosa went through an official request for proposal process to win the right to buy and develop the Ormond Street site in Mattapan, but acknowledged that there is a similar arrangement for additional "financial compensation", as he referred to it, with Morning Star Baptist Church. Feaster said he could not recall the exact number of units that was negotiated in order for the church to get additional money.

Residents in Mattapan who are monitoring the issue say that LaRosa will have to improve the quality of his homes if he is to get their support.

"If anything is built, it will have to be of high quality," said Lopes.

Steve Busby, Project Manager for the Mattapan Community Development Corporation said after the meeting, "Maybe through this process we can help him build better homes."

This week, following the Globe stories of June 7 and 8, Mayor Tom Menino, who appointed Feaster to the city board ten years ago, demanded that Feaster cease any involvement with the Board of Appeals until an investigation into the matter is complete. City officials are also reviewing allegations that Feaster is violating city residency laws.

Judy Vance is a reporter and editor for the monthly Mattapan Reporter. This story also appears in the June 10th Dorchester Reporter.