JAN 2, 2026

To the Editor

I am writing in response to an article, “Community Leaders, Officials Express Support for Plans to Redevelop Pier 5 in Charlestown.” While the BPDA has approved this plan, the issue is far from settled in the court of public opinion. In fact, that approval only heightens the urgency for residents to continue speaking out. I am deeply troubled that this deal has moved forward despite decades of community advocacy for a truly public, free waterfront park, and I urge my fellow Charlestown residents to oppose what I believe is a deeply flawed and misguided project.

To be clear from the outset, I support Courageous Sailing and respect its mission. However, the Pier 4/5 expansion plan involving Courageous is not about sailing. It is an aggressive commercial proposal, developed with ASM Global/Legend—a multinational venue operator—to control and manage a multimillion-dollar event space on Charlestown’s waterfront. Framing this project as a sailing expansion obscures its true purpose. It is, quite simply, a Trojan horse. The BPDA’s approval of this proposal is baffling. The plan appears to violate several core RFP provisions intended to protect the public interest and ensure transparency.

Most critically, Courageous Sailing lacks the capital to fund a project estimated to exceed $80 million. Instead, the proposal depends on revenue from private, large-scale events—managed for a fee by ASM Global/Legend—to make the project financially viable. Courageous Sailing is a modest sailing organization, not a private event management company, and Charlestown should not be asked to bear the impacts of a commercial entertainment venue masquerading as a nonprofit expansion. As Charlestown convenes committees to preserve its historic character, a behemoth private event venue—bringing inevitable noise, traffic congestion, trash, crowds, and environmental risk—has been greenlit for our waterfront, in a known flood zone where climate resilience should be paramount.

Charlestown must ask itself: who are we, and what kind of community do we choose to be?

Heather Buzby Charlestown, MA

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