Somerville Police Substation: City Dedicates to Late Community Leader and Former BC Football Player

SOMERVILLE, MA—The new Assembly Row Somerville Police Substation will honor a man who served many in Somerville’s newest community.

Many gathered in front of the new substation on Jan. 12 to honor the memory of Russell Joyner, the late general manager of Federal Realty’s Assembly Row who suddenly passed on New Year’s Day in 2015. A memorial plaque in Joyner’s name was unveiled at the facility.

Joyner’s leadership and life was remembered by many.

“I still get phone calls and messages from all over the country, all over the world, from people wanting to remember and giving some little quote that he said, and it sticks with us and will stick with us forever because he taught us all a lot about living, about giving back,” said Brenda Joyner in a press release. “After he passed I never realized how much and many people he was taking care of.”

As a defensive end and captain for the Boston College football team, Joyner lead the Eagles to the 1982 Tangerine Bowl, which was the school’s first bowl appearance in nearly 40 years.

In honor of his work as General Manager of the Assembly community, Somerville Deputy Chief Stephen Carrabino presented Joyner’s family with a Somerville Police Badge to commemorate Joyner’s work.

“Russ knew how to engage people, one of the greatest qualities a leader can have is to be a good listener, said Mayor Joseph Curtatone in the release. “There is not a day I don’t think about Russ because he was certainly a compassionate and sympathetic soul, which you need a lot more of these days and he believed in community.”

Somerville Police Department officers will staff the station, and Federal Realty funded the space. The facility serves as an on-site response center for the Assembly Row neighborhood.