Gov. Mitt Romney, Senate president Robert Travaglini, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello joined US Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to announce the creation of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Conservancy Inc. The city says the creation of the conservancy is a "key step" in determining the future of the Greenway. Planning efforts for the Greenway are already under way by the Turnpike Authority and the city notes that the conservancy will continue to focus on connecting the property with city neighborhoods, communities and the Boston Harbor.

"With a renewed spirit of partnership and collaboration, we are poised to take full advantage of this historic opportunity that will create for Boston a new landmark destination," says Menino. "Our city's vision to reconnect our neighborhoods to each other and to our harbor, to make the Greenway a true common ground, is becoming a reality."

The agreement ensures funding for the Greenway. In addition to the $5 million in seed money from the Turnpike Authority, the agreement calls for the conservancy to raise $20 million in private funds by the end of 2007. If that goal is not fully reached, the state, the city and the Turnpike Authority will work with the conservancy to develop alternative ways to fund the operations and maintenance of the land.