Today, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) officially dedicated a new garden at the Old Colony development to John C. Berlandi, a well-respected former resident.

Berlandi would snake a garden hose from his wife’s washing machine through the window of their building at the Old Colony development to wash the walkway and water the garden almost every day. He was renowned throughout the neighborhood for the attention and love he lavished upon the oft forgotten East Courtyard. In 1993, Berlandi suffered a fatal heart attack while reeling the hose back into the building one sweltering summer day. He was 80 years old.

Due to environmental regulations, the BHA recently removed a defunct oil tank from the ground beneath the courtyard. The Authority used this opportunity to completely rebuild the East Courtyard from building to building. New landscaping with trees, flowers, grass sidewalks and fencing, has replaced the cracked concrete and patches of dirt in the courtyard, which has never been the same since Berlandi’s passing. In order to complete this project it was necessary to remove many of the human touches bestowed upon the space by Berlandi, including aging rose bushes. After careful study, the BHA’s arborist discovered that many of the trees were dead and the bushes past their prime.

During the ongoing construction project, residents of the surrounding community were quite outspoken about his enduring focus on this little piece of the city. Many wanted to see Berlandi’s legacy honored. Therefore, the Boston Housing Authority crafted a plan to dedicate the new garden in the courtyard to John C. Berlandi.

BHA Deputy Administrator, and South Boston resident, Bill McGonagle was on hand to help dedicate the garden. “As the manager of the Old Colony housing development in the early 80s, I remember with great fondness my conversations with John. I’d often stop by to chat while he was tending his garden. He was a good and decent man. I am pleased we are able to dedicate this garden in his memory,” McGonagle recalled.

Berlandi was born in Boston in 1913. After graduating high school, he went on to marry and have a son, John Berlandi, Jr. Berlandi was divorced when he met his second wife Rosemary, a widow, who lived in the Old Colony development. They were married in the late 70s, and John moved in. Immediately Berlandi began to take an interest in the maintenance of Building B and its adjacent courtyard. Rosemary often joked, “You should work for the housing authority.”

While not picking up litter, raking leaves, planting rose bushes, watering the grass, or “chasing kids away,” Berlandi worked as a contractor with his son and as a Zamboni driver at the old Boston Garden.