City Council

and those in the audience to please silence their cell phones and electronic devices. Also, pursuant to Rule 42, I remind all in this chamber that no demonstration of approval or disapproval from members of the public will be permitted. Thank you. Mr. Clerk, could you please call the roll to ascertain the presence of a quorum?

Councilor Breadon. Yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata. Yes. Councilor Durkan. Councilor Fitzgerald. Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, and Worrell.

Thank you. I have been informed by the clerk that a quorum is present. Now it is my pleasure to introduce this week's clergy, Pastor Wilson Santos, who will be providing our invocation, invited by Councilor Santana. After the invocation, we will recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilor Santana, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and good afternoon to everyone. It is my pleasure to introduce Wilson Santos, a pastor and dedicated public servant, to lead today's invocation. Mr. Santos is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who has been an active member of the Castellón León de Huda Congregation Lion of Judah, a bilingual church based in Roxbury since 1991. There, he served as a deacon and a youth pastor for 12 years before being Ordain in 2023 and currently serving as a full-time associate pastor. Not only has he been deeply involved in the church, but he has shown his dedication to serving his community through his work with the Department of Youth Services and the Department of Children and Families, and has uplifted our youth as a supervisor of attendance for Boston Public Schools. Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Pastor Wilson Santos.

Thank you for those warm words. Again, thank you, Councilor Santana, for the invite. I look around the room, and I know a lot of familiar faces. They visited our churches in Roxbury. and every, really quick, every Friday I meet with three retired teachers, one active teacher in Boston Public Schools and we pray for the city of Boston. We've been doing that since the pandemic in 2020 and I think it's Just the investment that we have or just praying for our cities and the Bible itself tells us to pray for our elective officials. So I wanted to just read a quick verse before I do a quick prayer. And the verse that I'm going to be reading is in James. James 1, verse 5, it says, But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. I wanted to read that particular verse is because I know that the times that we're living in we need just God's wisdom and that's the prayer that I want to pray for everyone in this room that's sitting here. that this is a time where we need wisdom. So I'm gonna just pray wisdom over you and just pray over your families. So Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for allowing me to be here today, Lord God. I pray for every city council that's here and the ones that are not here, Lord God. I pray for wisdom, Lord. I know that they have a tough, a very tough job representing the city of Boston, Lord God, but you've put them in this place for a reason, Lord. And I just pray, Lord God, that as they make decisions that are gonna impact our Our neighborhoods, the people around us, Lord God, I know that you have put them in this place with a purpose, Lord. And like your word says in this particular verse, that if we ask for wisdom from you, Lord, You will give it to us, Lord. So I just pray over them. I pray over their families. I pray for protection, Lord God, and to them to always know that everything that they do, it matters because you know each of them individually by name, Lord God. And again, it's not a coincidence that they're here, Lord God. I pray for the meeting that's gonna happen. and for everything that's going to be discussed today Lord God because there is meaning in that Lord and these meetings are important Lord and again I just pray for The City of Boston. I pray for our Boston Public Schools. I pray also, Lord God, for just our families of Boston, Lord God, and I pray for the things that are happening around. And again, Lord, just give us your wisdom because we're looking for that. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you again for the invite, and God bless you all.

We will now recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands,

One Nation, Under God, Indivisible,

Thank you again for that beautiful invocation, Pastor Santos, and for all that you do in the Roxbury and the Boston community. Mr. Clerk, could you please update the attendance record to reflect that Councillors Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Mejia, and Worrell are now present and with us. Thank you. We are on to two presentations. We have two presentations for today. One from Councilor Pepén, recognizing Pedestrian Safety Month, and one from myself, recognizing Dr. Barry Gaither. Councilor Pepén, you have the floor in five minutes.

Good afternoon, everyone. Today, I am honoured to be joined by a lot of our activists, organizations, residents, groups that are doing a lot of work in regards to pedestrian safety, not only in the city of Boston, but across the state of Massachusetts. Whether we are voting to adopt school bus cameras in the City Council or the administration is redoing Major Corridor in pursuit of Vision Zero, It is heartening to see a shared effort across the city to reinforce our pedestrian safety measures. While we continue to work for infrastructure upgrades, whether they be speed humps, lights, and signage, so much of the work done is done by the people on the ground. especially our crossing guards who are littering the lane of traffic keeping our families safe. I also want to thank our advocacy organizations, many of whom have joined us today that have researched, organized, and continue to promote safer streets so that we all can cross Here today behind me we have Bikes Not Bombs, Boston Better Streets Coalition, Boston Cyclist Union, Cargo Bee, Safe Routes to School, Transportation for Massachusetts, Walk, Massachusetts, Walk Up Rossendale, and West Rocks Bikes. I started some of my community work with one of the organizations here at Transportation for Massachusetts. I wanted to thank... former executive director Chris Dempsey for giving me that opportunity. But what I really learned about transportation and pedestrian safety is that transportation is how we really Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. the one that are doing the work and we're going to have three very brief speakers starting with Reggie the executive director of the transportation for Massachusetts

Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Reggie Ramos. I'm the executive director of Transportation for Massachusetts. We are a coalition working on transportation justice across the state, believing that it is an integral part to a dignified quality of life. Our members recognize that safety along with affordability remain their top concern. Our streets and sidewalks are the biggest real estate we all share. and yet we have not made it truly a space for everyone to feel safe. Safety in our streets, crashes in our streets remain high and we have to recognize them as public health issues impacting us and our neighbors. Streets made safe for all. Young and old, seniors, people with disabilities, pedestrians, allow us to walk in solidarity with each other. It is in public transit spaces, in sidewalks, where we can feel connected to our own humanity and that of others, no matter how fleeting the encounters. Making our community safe is an intentional policy and a practical decision. Especially at this time, we must not lose Sight of the fact of the need to keep working on these improvements and working to get the funding we need locally and federally to keep our neighborhoods safe and a great place to live. We all certainly deserve that. Thank you.

Now I'd like to bring up Brendan Kearney from Wauk, Massachusetts.

My name is Brennan Carney, Executive Director of Walk Massachusetts. Thank you, Councilor, and all the Council members for your focus on pedestrian and transportation safety. In Boston, it's now been 10 years since the Marty Walsh administration committed to Vision Zero and established the Vision Zero Task Force, which grew out of a pedestrian safety working group. It was a pledge to focus the city's resources on proven strategies to eliminate fatal and severe traffic crashes in the city by 2030. Subsequent mayors Kim Janey and Michelle Wu have honored this commitment and moved the effort further to protect residents and visitors. Fatal crashes do not tell the whole story of traffic safety. When we look at the injury dashboard on the City's Vision Zero website, it's heartening to see the number of crashes involving pedestrian injuries where Boston EMS responded has trended down since 2015. This is a testament to the work that City's Transportation and Public Works staff have been doing to plan and implement street safety projects like speed humps, better signal timing, and road dives so a pedestrian does not have to cross multiple vehicle lanes at once. We hope these efforts ramp up once more so we don't lose this momentum, not only for Boston, but for the example it can set for pedestrian safety efforts across Massachusetts. Thank you.

And our last speaker will be Tiffany from the Boston Cyclist Union.

Thank you, Councilor Pepén. We really appreciate your advocacy around safe streets and safe mobility. The Boston Cyclists Union advocates for safe streets for everybody. We push for mobility justice. When we think about the word justice, We think about how we accommodate equitably for everyone. And in every space we should be thinking about how to accommodate for our most vulnerable users. And on the roads, Those are people who do not travel by way of car. We live in a beautiful city. We live in a city that has elected officials and a lot of really talented engineers. Being able to be safe Having just will to be able to travel along the street safely is a right. And I know that we can get to where we need to be so that all residents and all constituents in Boston have that ability to be able to choose their mode of transportation with the expectancy of safety.

On behalf of the entire Boston City Council and the City of Boston, I would like to just, I'm not gonna read every single one of them, I'm gonna read one and then I'm gonna give it to you. Be it resolved that the Boston City Council extends its gratitude to all of you, and recognition of your dedication for better, safer streets for pedestrians in all modes of transportation. Thank you for your advocacy. To be further resolved, that the Boston City Council extends its best wishes for your continued success. That the resolution be duly signed by the President of the City Council and attested to and a copy thereof transmitted by the Clerk of the City of Boston. Congratulations and happy Pedestrian Safety Month. And can I invite my colleagues to picture with everyone?

Thanks for having us.

It's okay, I'm good here. I'm totally good here.

Yeah.

You got to do the like.

Just got to make sure everyone has a window. I'm a yiff. Weber's going to block me.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Awesome. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Oh, there's always so much fun!

St. Louis, St. Louis, St. Louis,

Thank you very much.

Thank you again Councilor Pepén and to all the organizations he brought today to recognize Pedestrian Safety Month. Thank you for all you do to make Boston a walkable, bikeable, safer city for everyone. Thank you. We are now moving on to our second presentation, and it is my honor to be honoring the one and only Dr. Edmund Barry Gaither. So if Dr. Gaither, if you could come forward. I am so honored that I get to recognize Dr. Gaither. If you have ever been to the grounds of the NCAA, you know how special of a place it is. and how special of a man Dr. Gaither is. It is a ground that is always open to and for community. He is an American curator who is known for his education and museum-related activities. Born in a small town in South Carolina, his interest and passion for art began at an early age. But because he grew up in a small town, he had no way to visit museums. After high school, Dr. Gaither attended Morehouse College, the only male historically black college in the United States. It was an extremely important time for him. He graduated with a bachelor's of arts and went on to further his education at Brown. He went on to found the National Center of Afro-American Artists located in Roxbury, birthed out of the work of so many artists like Alma Lewis. He just gave us a whole, he's also a walking history lesson. So he just gave us a little lesson in my office. The center has become a vitally important showcase of African-American artists and culture for Boston and the United States. A Love for Education led Dr. Gaither to develop a course on African-American art at which he served as a lecturer at various colleges across the nation. He's a respected individual in the museum field and has served many positions. Some including Commission on Museums for a New Century, Commission on Equity and Excellence, serving as a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts. I always love going to the grounds for Juneteenth. When it is splendidly open for community, I have learned so much from you, Dr. Gaither, the City of Boston, we are lucky to have you. I hope that retirement means retirement and that you take it easy, but I know that you will continue to be involved in all things related. to the center in the museum and that you will continue to teach the importance of black art in this city. So on behalf of the Boston City Council, I'd like to present you with this citation. This is an official resolution presented by Boston City Council President Ruzui Zhen. Be it resolved that we extend our congratulations to Dr. Edmund Barry Gaither. in recognition of over five decades of visionary leadership as executive director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, where you champion the brilliance, dignity, and creativity of Black art and artists. Your enduring stewardship, scholarship, and service have left an indelible mark on Boston's cultural and artistic landscape for generations to come. Congratulations.

I'll put these down while you speak. Okay. Madam President and all of the distinguished councillors, let me say it has been an extraordinary privilege to have served my adopted community for a half a century now. I came to Boston first at the very end of 1969 in the vision of Dr. Elma Lewis, a 20th century daughter of Roxbury, and she gave us A garden. We have the opportunity to really make that garden flourish. The garden is in terms of the institutional structures that she sought to put in place and which I was privileged to join her in trying to sustain. Those were, for some of you who may have been around for a long time, the Elmer Lewis School of Fine Arts, which was enormously The National Center for American Artists and its museum. And from those Come to wonderful fruits that I'd like to just flag quickly for you as an evidence of the continuing productivity of her vision. You may have gotten Some interest stimulated on the Museum of Fine Arts over the earlier part of this year, especially around the work of John Wilson, an artist born in Roxbury and now recognized internationally as he ought to have been a good 25 years ago. John Wilson is the creator of Eternal Presence, the monumental sculpture on our grounds in Roxbury. A head committed to celebrating human spirituality and human creativity from the beginning of the human family to the present. The second cultural gem that I would flag quickly is black nativity. Black Nativity is the fruit of the mind of Langston Hughes converted to a music play and located in the season of the Christmas holiday. Ours will show for the 55th season This December. And I hope you'll all have a chance to come and get it. Come and enjoy it. What I want to illustrate by those two things is An ongoing commitment through the arts to fostering our sense of humanity. Because the arts on their own are not simply meant to be beautiful. and satisfying. They're meant to give us bridges of understanding that give us human compassion and that help us to see the beauty of souls like ourselves. And when you build a tradition that is a half a century, you've really done something that's not a finger snap. Something that has, like life itself, had high points and low points, demanded lots but given back lots, and it belongs to you. So I would like to see you take the National Center for Afro-American Artists as another piece of the properties that you own. and that you foster in your work to make this the best city that it can be and to make our experience of it the most positive, fruitful and productive experience possible. Thank you very much for having given me the opportunity of playing a role in that perspective on what we've been doing together for the last half century.

Thank you, Dr. Gaither, for your wisdom. Yes, these are going to be yours. But can I ask my colleagues to come forward for a photo? And also the staff from the District 7 office as well. We're honoring you collectively. This is yours. Breadon.

Thank you.

Now, retirement and retirement, okay? I kept my word not to be too long. Now, you're a historian. It's your right, so.

I think Jesse can also.

Well, I'm training for the first time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Gaither, for your service to the Roxbury community, to the artist community, to black art, to everything. And we wish you well. As you leave NCAAM, we know that it's in really good hands with ACABA. Okay, we are now on to the first order of business, which is the approval of the minutes from the meeting of October 22nd, 2025. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. The ayes have it. The minutes of the October 22nd meeting are approved. We are now on to communications from our Honourable Mayor. Mr. Clerk, can you please read dockets number 1924 to 1927?

Docket number 1924, a message in honour for your approval in order to reduce the fiscal year 26 appropriation for the reserve for collective bargaining by $977,749 to provide funding for the Boston Public Schools for fiscal year 26 increases Contained within the collective bargaining greens between the Boston Public School Committee, between the Boston School Committee and the City of Boston and the Administrative Guild, SEIU Local 8885, filed in the Office of the City Clerk on October 27, 2025. Document number 1925, message in order for a supplemental appropriation order for the Boston School Department for fiscal year 26 in the amount of $977,749 to cover the cost items contained within the collective bargaining agreements between the Boston School Committee and the Administrative Guild SEIU Local 888. The terms of the contract are September 1st, 2024 through August 31st, 2027. The major provisions of the contracts include base wage increases of 2% and the flat amounts of $250, $250, $900, and $850 to be given in September of each fiscal year of the contract term. The contract also supports increased opportunities for professional development and mentoring. document number 1926, message in order for your approval in order authorizing the City of Boston to appropriate $11,100,000 for the purpose of paying costs for the window and door replacement projects at the following schools, the Gardner Pilot Academy School and the Linden Elementary School. This includes the payment of all costs incidental and related thereto and for which the City of Boston would be eligible for a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Set amount to be expended under the direction of the Public Facilities Department on behalf of the Boston Public Schools. In document number 1927, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount. of $2,607,000 in the form of a grant for the Community Mitigation Grant awarded by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to be administered by the Office of Budget Management. The grant will fund Offset costs related to the construction and operation of a gaming establishment.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Arrau, the chair of the Committee on Ways and Means. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Speaking to docket number 1924 and 1925, these are the collective bargaining agreement between the Boston Public Schools and the Administrative Guild of the Boston School System, SEIU, Local 888. As a reminder, the Council has already approved the FY25 funding related to this agreement earlier this year. The items before us today represent only the FY26 portion of the contract. The Administrative Guild SEIU Local 888 represents approximately 275 Boston Public Schools employees who serve as school secretaries and central off clerical and technical staff. These are the individuals who are often the first point of contact for families who support the administrative and operational work of our schools and who keep our educational environments running efficiently and safely every day. The parties reached a three-year agreement covering the period from September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2027, with an estimated total cost of $2,917,204 over the three years. As part of this agreement between Boston Public Schools is requesting supplemental appropriations of $394,901 for fiscal year 2025 and $977,775. $749 for fiscal year 2026 to fund the cost items contained in the contract. The financial provisions of the agreement include annual base wage increase of 2% each year, along with flat rate payments of $250 in the first year, $900 in the second year, and $850 in the third year. These adjustments will be applied retroactively where applicable. In addition to wage increases, the agreement introduces several important operational updates designed to improve staff development Thank you. Thank you. A mentorship program will be launched to pair experienced Guild members with new school secretaries to strengthen retention and onboarding practices. The contract also revises hiring and posting procedures to allow for a broader candidate pool for positions at grade 23 and below and to expand the window for filling Guild vacancies over the summer months, ensuring greater continuity in school operations. Further, the agreements update leave and holiday benefits to make the GILS benefits consistent with those of other Boston public schools and city of Boston unions. This agreement continues to the city's investments in the staff who make our schools work smoothly and support student success. And I'm going to ask to suspend and pass just because it only before us, again, because it was voted on after the mayor submitted a budget but before the new fiscal year began. and as Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, I respectfully recommend suspension of the rules and passes of docket number 1924 and 1925. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Orrell. Would anyone like to speak on either dockets? O'Reilly, suspension of the rules and passage of docket number 1924. Mr. Clerk, will you please conduct a roll call vote?

Roll call vote on docket number 1924. Councilor Breadon? Yes. Councilor Breadon, yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata? Coletta Zapata, yes. Councilor Durkan, yes. Councilor Durkan, yes. Councilor Fitzgerald, yes. Councilor Fitzgerald, yes. Councilor Flynn, yes. Councilor Flynn, yes. Councilor Louijeune, yes. Councilor Louijeune, yes. Councilor Mejia, yes. Mejia, yes. Councilor Murphy? Yes. Councilor Murphy, yes. Councilor Pepén? Yes. Councilor Pepén, yes. Councilor Santana? Yes. Councilor Santana, yes. Councilor Weber? Weber, yes, and Councilor Worrell, yes. Councilor Worrell, yes. Doctrine number 1924 has received 12 votes in the affirmative.

Thank you. Docket number 1924 has passed. Councilor Worrell, the chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, to suspension of the rules and passage of docket number 1925. Mr. Clerk, will you please conduct a roll call vote.

Both call vote on document number 1925. Councilor Breadon? Yes. Councilor Breadon, yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata?

Yes.

Councilor Coletta Zapata, yes. Councilor Durkan? Yes. Councilor Durkan, yes. Councilor Fitzgerald?

Yes.

Councilor Fitzgerald, yes. Councilor Flynn?

Yes.

Flynn, yes, Councilor Louijeune, yes, Councilor Louijeune, yes, Councilor Mejia, Councilor Mejia, yes, Councilor Murphy, yes, Councilor Murphy, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Santana, yes, Councilor Santana, yes, Weber? Yes. Councilor Weber, yes. And Councilor Worrell? Yes. Councilor Worrell, yes. Docket number 1925 has received 12 votes in the affirmative.

Thank you, docket number 1925 is passed. Dockets number 1926 and 1927 will be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1928?

Docky number 1928, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $40,685.01 in the form of a grant from the State Literacy Program grant awarded by the Mass. Department of Education to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund the infrastructure costs for the adult community learning services at the Masaya Career Centers.

Thank you, the Chair recognizes Councilor Weber, the Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I believe this is going to be assigned to my committee, Labor Committee. If so, I'd like to seek to suspend and pass without a hearing. We had another hearing this week on 11 other grants that are related. It's a relatively low dollar amount, and I would like to except these funds along with the others that I'll discuss when I discuss the committee report. So I'm asking to suspend and pass.

Thank you. Anyone would like to speak on this matter? Weber, suspension of the rules and passage of docket number 1928. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. The ayes have it. This docket is passed. We are now on to reports of public officers and others. Mr. Clerk, can you please read dockets number 1929 and 1930.

Docket number 1929, notice received from the city clerk in accordance with chapter six of the ordinances 1979 related to action taken by the mayor and papers acted upon by the city council at its meeting of October 8th, 2025 and document number 1930 communication. Flynn regarding a text amendment to the Boston Zoning Code relating to adult entertainment in Chinatown.

Thank you. Councilor Flynn, you're looking to speak on the communication? Okay, normally we don't speak on communications, but I will give two minutes for you to speak on this communication. Councilor Flynn, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm speaking on docket number 1930. which is an important issue for me and my constituents in Chinatown in the Bay Village in downtown Boston. We had a case in June with no public process for zoning. No community meeting, no public hearing at the ZBA, and no say for the impact of residents in Chinatown, communities of color, downtown Boston, Bay Village. In the weeks and months after, my office and I spoke to longtime community activists who felt ignored by this issue, especially after the history of Boston's entertainment district in Chinatown. I want to explain to my colleagues that prominent city officials even encouraged me to address this issue. Once and for all, for the people of Chinatown, downtown Boston, and Bay Village, do the residents of Chinatown have a say in what happens in their neighborhood? That's the question. They supported this amendment. They even suggested letters to Chief Chen, which I respectfully requested the planning department's assistant to get this right. Council has challenged me on this and said Chinatown should not have a voice. In a final analysis, too often it's not about the merits of an issue, it's about politics. I was criticized for sticking up for my constituents, about constituents that I respect. When we open up a restaurant, a coffee shop, we have a public meeting. There's a community process. How do we tell residents of downtown Boston, Bay Village, and Chinatown, no, you don't get a say. That's for other neighbourhoods, but not for you. This is about respect for my constituents in Chinatown. It's about respect for my constituents in the Bay Village in downtown Boston. And I'm going to keep fighting for them, even if this body doesn't believe that they should have a voice in city government or in the development process.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Doctrine number 0145, the Committee on Government Operations, to which it was referred on January 8th, 2025. Doctrine number 0145, Petition for a Special Law. to establish the Commission of Inspectors General on Financial Oversight submits a report recommending that the docket ought to pass in a new draft.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Coletta Zapata, chair of the Committee on Government Operations. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. This is going to be another long committee report, so I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding ahead of time. So this matter was sponsored by Councilors Julie Mejia and Brian Worrell and referred to the committee on January 8th. 2025. There has been a long timeline of legislative actions that this body has taken on this docket and in the one prior to this. So to provide some clarity for folks and just a refresh. So initially in May 2024, There was an initial hearing that was an ordinance that established the office of Inspector General. We held a working session on that docket last year in November. And then in that working session we had talked about folks wanting to modernize and expand and enumerate the powers of the Boston Finance Commission. We had collectively thought that that was a good idea, and then so Councilor Mejia had filed a home rule petition. Let's see. Why don't you write a home rule petition? She filed the homework petition earlier this year and then we held a working session on June 5th where we had many, many iterations and discussions about the contents of the proposal. So, the original filing, in summary, is a homework petition that seeks to amend the special acts that established and enabled the Boston Finance Commission in order to modernize and strengthen Its structure, powers, and oversight capacity. This petition creates a new position of Inspector General, appointed by and accountable to the Commission. So we are not getting rid of the Finance Commission. We are not. We are modernizing it and strengthening it. We are also creating a position of Inspector General, which is, by all accounts, the Director. So we're modernizing and strengthening its powers, creating a new position of Inspector General, appointed by and accountable to the Commission, to lead investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse, and mismanagement across all city departments and related agencies. Together, these changes are designed to transform the Boston Finance Commission into a more robust, well-supported, and empowered oversight body capable of providing sustained independent accountability in municipal operations. and so folks should have the committee report that was filed on Monday and so I have created a list of summary of the amendments for folks and then more than happy to pass it over to the lead sponsor, Councilor Mejia. So we are establishing, it used to be the Boston Finance Commission, it's now the Boston Inspector General Oversight Commission. It allows the commission, before I go into that, Excuse me. Oh, there we go. Sorry. It keeps the commission at five people who must be inhabitants of Boston for three years, It keeps that the commission is appointed by the governor with staggered terms and five-year terms after that and will serve without compensation. The Governor has the authority to remove members for cause and can appoint in the case of vacancies. So we're keeping that the same. Some changes is that the Commission is now allowed to appoint an IG It specifies that they must have experience in areas such as accounting, auditing, public administration, investigation, and criminal justice. It specifies that they have to hold or obtain a certification to be an IG within one year of appointment. It requires reports of the IG and commission and a quality assurance review every three years. It provides subpoena power, which is huge. Subpoena power to the commission by and through the IG. It specifies that the IG is authorized to conduct investigation on all matters to address inefficiencies Waste, Misconduct, Abuse, or Mismanagement. And it specifies the IG is charged with fostering efficient contract monitoring, which we saw earlier this year through Matt Cahill's work for an unfortunate event that happened in Jamaica Plain. It requires them to engage with constituents and build public awareness campaigns to let them know what they do so we can get the word out there that this is what their powers are and their duties. It creates safeguards and whistleblower protections to ensure confidentiality in investigations and prevents retaliation against anyone who files a complaint and it creates an appropriation for the support of this commission. So we're now requiring the IG to present their recommended budget to the City Council, so to the Commission first, and place on record with the City Clerk by February before the budget. So we had talked about this in some of the working sessions and hearings where this office, because of its very nature, has seen a lot of divestment away from the mayor's office. It's their job to investigate us, to investigate the mayor. And so this is requiring us to understand from the IG and the commission how much money they need to do their jobs effectively. And we'll know about it before we all go through our budget process. And so because of all of that, I'm very proud to put this forward with the recommendation that it ought to pass in a new draft. I just want to thank Councilor Mejia for her leadership, her team, Dulce, Ellie on my team for For her work, also the Massachusetts Inspector General, Jeff Sapiro, and of course, Matt Cahill, who does incredible work. And we're really looking forward to supplementing what he does and expanding what he does through this piece of legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Coletta Zapata. The chair recognizes Councilor Mejia. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. And I want to thank my co-sponsor, Councilor Worrell, and Chair Coletta. Zapata for her leadership and her team, Megan from Central Staff, and all of the Central Staff members who actually spent many, many, many, many, many hours with our team to get this to a place where everyone felt happy. The Inspector General who offered guidance, Shapiro, and who also helped us connect with the Office of National the Association of Inspector Generals for their collaboration. They were such an amazing thought partner with us and the countless Inspector Generals across the country who showed up at our hearings to help us understand what this meant and the role that they played in helping to support municipalities across the country. I also want to thank the residents who gathered signatures, not once but twice, who attended hearings and refused to let this work fade. This is your victory too. I rise as the original sponsor of docket 0145, a whole new petition to establish the Commission of Inspector Generals on financial oversight. An effort of more than two years in the making, it feels like. and previously led by City Councilor Andrea Campbell, who rooted in the belief that oversight, accountability and transparency should never depend on who holds office. Here's the path that brought us here. As the chair had already noted the timelines, we've been at this for a long time. And so I want to just acknowledge the The ebbs and flows of policymaking. This has definitely been a rollercoaster ride. We began an ordinance to create the inspector general's office in the city of Boston in response to concerns about duplication costs and Structure, and following recommendations from the Committee of Government Ops, we refined our approach to meet the moment, expanding and modernizing the existing financial commission through this home rule petition to meet the needs and expectations of residents today. Through this process, we've engaged the State Inspector General's Office, who I just spoke with again this morning, the National Association of Inspector General, the Executive Director of the Boston Finance Commission, our colleagues on this council alongside State Auditor D'Aziglio and together we built a proposal for a modern, independent, and professional oversight. This legislation updates a 1907 oversight body for the 21st Century. It renames the Boston Finance Commission as the Boston Finance and Oversight Commission and clarifies appointments in establishing the staggering terms and removal of costs to ensure independence. It creates a municipal inspector general appointed by and accountable to that commission, not to the mayor and not to the council. The inspector general must be professionally certified and experience in auditing and Law and Investigations with authority to investigate fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Receive complaints from residents and employees, issue annual public reports, and appear before this body each year. This legislation also strengthens the whistleblower protections, bans retaliation, and enforces strict conflict of interest rules to prevent revolving door politics. I want to acknowledge the Boston Municipal Research Bureau for its ongoing commitment to good government and fiscal integrity. We share the same goals, a strong, independent, and well-resourced oversight body. Many of the recommendations have already shaped this version, including ensuring subpoena power, a clear budget, authority, professional qualifications, independence from both the mayor and the council. To summarize, we are expanding the existing Finance Commission to establish a five-member commission of Inspector Generals responsible for appointing and supporting an Inspector General and their staff. While we have not set a minimum funding level, recognizing that the City's current Fiscal constraints, which may or may not reflect a fully financially reality, we have included language requiring that the city appropriate a sufficient amount to ensure the effective operation of this office. Colleagues, this is our opportunity to bring Boston's oversight framework into alignment with the scale and complexity of city government today. While final approval will require the mayor's signature before moving to the State House, I urge you to support the committee report and vote in favor of this docket that it ought to pass in a new draft. And I also want to acknowledge Beatrix Knight-Dulce Bernal, and Meg Kovanoff in particular for their relentless engagement. It has not been easy to get here. Policymaking is an arts. and it's an art that sometimes requires much more armor than what we've brought into this chamber. But I just want to thank you both for never giving up. And Megan, I don't know where you're at. You're probably inside there looking. But we really do appreciate all the leadership that Megan provided us. This is what central staff is supposed to do, is really have the back of the city councilors that they're here to serve and Megan you did that so I'm sure Michelle is really proud of the work and the integrity that you led us through this process and I encourage us to rise to the occasion. Thank you.

Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? The chair recognizes Councillor Breadon. You have the floor.

Thank you Madam President and I want to thank the lead sponsors Councillor Mejia and Councillor Worrell but also the leadership of Our incredible Chair of Government Relations. I'm very excited to modernise the legislation that empowers the municipal No, Fincom, that's it. The first person who came through the door to talk to me, I think when I was a newly elected city councillor, was Matt Cattle, and he sat down and explained the work And I thought, well, this is a guide that's a resource for all of us as city councillors. And in the ensuing years, we have worked very closely with the FinCom to try and address issues that are arising in our neighborhood, and it's always very accessible. I think part of the biggest story is that, as Contra and Mejia just referenced, It's really important that not only do we have a FinCom that's fully empowered with subpoena power, but we also need to budget. We need to fund FinCom. In 1907, when it was first established, they had a budget of $25,000. If that $25,000 had kept pace with inflation, their budget right now would be close to $800,000. In reality, their budget is more like $350,000, which is equivalent to a city council office salary for staff. So we need to ensure that going forward that the FinCom has the budget to do the job that they were created for, and it's particularly important. One area, as we had passed an ordinance this week that allowed us to Consider the disposal of public assets and ensure that the public assets are disposed for the public good, with a particular interest in identifying places where they could be made into affordable housing. But in the past, one of Fincom's most incredible successes in the last 20 years or so was the Winthrop Square Garage, City appraisals estimated that the worth of the garage was $28 to $29 million. On that site, as a garage it might have been worth $28 million. but that grossly underestimated the value of that site for development and it was being looked at to build the highest tower in the city of Boston at 725 feet and it ultimately became Ultimately, it was sold after Fincom intervened and says, hang on a minute, the development value of this is well above $29 million, and ultimately the city sold the site for $120 million. Fincom pays for itself. When it's allowed, given the resources and the ability to oversee city business and look at preventing waste, fraud and abuse. and I'm going to be wholeheartedly supporting this Home Rule petition that will modernize the FinCom to meet the moment. Thank you. Thank you.

The Chair recognizes Councillor Flynn and then Councillor Coletta Zapata. Councillor Flynn, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do want to acknowledge the hard work of Councilors Coletta and Council Mejia and respect the job that they have done. Although I will be voting no on this proposal for different reasons. The Boston Municipal Research Bureau noted that eliminating the Finance Commission, an independent fiscal watchdog for the city, that has existed for 100 years carry significant risk. And it is not evident how eliminating the existing body and creating a new office and commission will improve government transparency. will help more efficiently combat waste, fraud, and abuse that was discussed. I'm also uncertain how much this will cost, adding an Inspector General to the payroll. I also think as a body we need to acknowledge the, and especially over the last few years, the City Council has had a series of legal and ethical lapses. I advocated for a comprehensive ethics reform package, including releasing state and federal tax returns from the last five years. A statement of financial interest form and working closely with the Mass State Ethics Commission to provide enhanced training for counselors and staff. When I was told by my colleagues that an ethics committee cannot police itself, I advocated for establishing a city council oversight commission made up of outside and relevant experts, a stand-alone ethics committee hiring an attorney to ensure compliance, transparency. Now is the time for positive and ethical leadership from the City Council At this time, we have not taken the necessary steps to regain our credibility with the public. The longer we wait, the more we lose credibility and signal to the people that ethics in city government is not a priority. And I'm here to say that we have to refocus on transparency, accountability, and ethics. And this body has lost a lot of credibility over the last several years. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Councilor Coletta Zapata, you have the floor.

Thank you so much, Madam President. Just a few edits. Well, first of all, I forgot to thank Megan Kavanaugh, who, of course, is amazing and wonderful, and we're very lucky to have her on staff. Just one edit. It was mentioned that this is a commission made up of inspector generals. It's actually a commission, the same commission that we're not eliminating, the same commission that has now the authority to appoint NIG, which is by all accounts, a director. So it's not a new position either. Granted, that person's going to have to be qualified, certain certifications and all of that. But I just wanted to say that the commission itself will not have inspector generals, but they will have the authority to appoint one and then also their deputies to help them with this work. And this is the ethical avenue. This is the avenue. This is the commission that if there is any unethical behavior happening, Residents, business owners, colleagues, City of Boston employees could utilize this tool. This is that. And so we're talking about a duplication of efforts and trying to avoid that. This is exactly what we're trying to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Coletta Zapata. Is anyone else looking to speak on this docket? Okay. Thank you. The chair of the committee on government operations seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 0145 in a new draft. All in favor say aye. Aye. Mr. Clerk, could you please conduct a roll call vote?

Roll call vote on docket number 0145, Councilor Breadon. Breadon, yes, Councilor Coletta Zapata, yes, Councilor Durkan, no, Councilor Fitzgerald, yes, Councilor Flynn, no. Flynn, No, Councilor Louijeune, Yes, Councilor Louijeune, Yes, Councilor Mejia, Councilor Mejia, Yes, Councilor Murphy, Yes, Councilor Murphy, Yes, Councilor Pepén, Yes, Councilor Pepén, Yes, Councilor Santana, Yes, Councilor Santana, yes. Councilor Weber?

Yes.

Councilor Weber, yes. And Councilor Worrell?

Yes.

Councilor Worrell, yes. Docket number 0145 has received ten votes in the affirmative and two in the negative.

Thank you. This docket has passed in a new draft. Mr. Clerk, okay, you have a bit of, you got some reading here to do, Mr. Clerk. Would you please read dockets number 1-3-5-3, 1-3-5-4, Oh, actually, the reading comes later. Well, there's some reading here too. And 1412, can you read those three dockets together? I think we have some other ones that are coming.

Docket number 1353, the Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation. to which was referred on July 9th, 2025, docket number 1353. Message in order for the confirmation of the reappointment of Norm Stembridge as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeal. for a term expiring May 1st, 2028 submits a report recommending that the order ought to pass. Docket number 1354, the Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation, to which was referred, on July 9th, 2025, docket number 1354. Message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Rob Steinberg as a member of the St. Badoff Architectural Conservation District Commission for a term expiring June 20, 2026 submits a report recommending that the order ought to pass. In document number one, 412, the Committee on Planning, Development, Transportation, to which was referred on August 6, 2025. Talking number 1412, message in order for the confirmation of the appointment of Selena Barrios-Mildner. as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeal for a term expiring May 1st, 2028, submits a report recommending that the order ought to pass.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Durkan, the chair of Planning, Development, and Transportation. You have the floor.

Thank you, Chair. Last week I presided over nomination hearing on these three dockets, the reappointment of Norm Stembridge to the Zoning Board of Appeal, the appointment of Selena Berrios-Milner to the Zoning Board of Appeal, and the appointment of Rob Steinberg to the St. Patel Architectural District Commission. All the three nominees are highly qualified and I was joined by my colleagues, Councilor Flynn and Murphy for productive virtual discussion. As noted during the hearing, the ZBA is one of the most consequential appointed bodies in Boston. It plays a vital role in ensuring our zoning laws are applied thoughtfully, balancing the needs of our city with the character that makes Boston unique. Both Mr. Stembridge and Ms. Berrios-Milner bring deep expertise and perspective to the ZVA. They spoke thoughtfully about how zoning decisions impact issues of equity, resource distribution, and gentrification. and emphasize their commitment to advancing zoning reform and promoting housing affordability across our neighborhoods. Mr. Steinberg is also well qualified, a graduate of MIT with a background in construction management He brings valuable technical and architectural expertise to the St. Patel Architectural District Commission. He expressed an appreciation for the opportunity to serve the city of Boston and enhancing the livability of his neighborhood. As chair of the Planning, Development and Transportation Committee, and based on testimony and information presented at the hearing, I recommend that this committee report be accepted and that all three appointments ought to pass. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Durkan. The chair recognizes Councillor Flynn. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to Councillor Durkan for conducting an informative hearing on three people who are well qualified and will do exceptional work. I believe whether we agree with them or disagree with them, they're certainly highly qualified people. And I know that they have the interest of the city is what's important to them as well. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk to them and learn about their background, their experiences, their vision, their view on so many difficult issues, development issues facing the city. I say that because the City Council has the ability to ask questions to these potential candidates, to ask about their background. Any question is relevant to learn about their background. But we didn't take that opportunity. We decided that we just want to suspend, just vote on these people. without knowing their backgrounds, which is fine. But I would encourage my colleagues to attend the meetings because you'll learn a lot about city issues. You'll learn about people's backgrounds and what their vision are. that if the city council has the power to ask questions to these candidates, we should take advantage of that so we can learn about what their plans are, but not to show up for an important meeting is not providing the leadership the city and the residents deserve. Thank you.

Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? Thank you, Councillor Durkan, for hosting this hearing. These are three incredible leaders in our city, and I'm so excited to see how they will lead on these respective commissions. Oh, the chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. Councilor Durkan, you have the floor. Is there something that?

Yeah. Sorry, I just forgot to say I had a letter of absence from Councilor Pepén.

Okay. Thank you. Is anyone else looking to speak on these matters? Okay. The Chair of the Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1353. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Docket number 1353 is passed and the appointment is confirmed. The chair of the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1354. All those in favour say aye. I, all those opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1354 has passed. The appointment is confirmed. The chair of the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1412. All those in favour say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1412 is passed. The appointment is confirmed. Okay, now Mr. Clerk is your marathon reading, so here we go. Mr. Clerk, would you please read dockets number 1625, 1658 through 1660, 1691, through 1695 and 1697. Pace yourself. Take your time. Oh, and there's one that I'm missing. And 1832. Do we have that one, Mr. Clerk? and 1832.

All right. Docket number 1625, message not authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $1 million $45,187.20 in the form of a grant for the YouthWorks fiscal year 25-26. awarded by the Mass Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development passed through the Economic Development Industrial Corporation of Boston to be administered by the Office of Youth Employment The grant will fund support, youth, employment, and development in accordance with the required requirement outlined in YouthWorks Program Administration and Management Guide. Talking number 1658. Message not authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $222,041.20 in the form of a grant for the WIOA Youth Activities Administration Grant. awarded by the United States Department of Labor, passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund a program that focuses primarily on out-of-school youth between the ages of 14 to 24 who face barriers to education, training and employment. Dock number 1659, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept an expended amount of $173,229.50 in the form of a grant. for the WIOA Adult Activities Administration Grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund the creation of a seamless system of adult education, workforce preparation, and training services. Document number 1660, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount. of $89,593.02 in the form of a grant for the Wagner-Peyser Administration Grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor passed through the Mass I had Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. Document number 1691, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept an expending amount of $1,998,000 $370.80 in the form of a grant from the WIOA Youth Program grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor, passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services. to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund the Comprehensive Youth Employment Program to serve eligible youth ages 14 to 24 who face barriers to Education, Training, and Employment. Docket number 1692, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend an amount of $1,559,065.50 In the form of a grant for the WIOA Adult Activities Grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor, passed through the Mass High Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund services to help job seekers access employment, education, skills training, apprenticeships, and support services. Message not authorizing the City of Boston to accept an expanded amount of $1,040,435.67 in the form of a grant. for the Wagner-Pazer Program awarded by the United States Department of Labor passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund the individual re-employment needs of unemployment insurance claimants, as well as prevent and detect improper benefit payments and application assistance for training and education resources and programs. Document number 1694. Message in order authorizing the City of Boston to accept an expanded amount of $966,000. $6 in the form of a grant for the WIOA Dislocated Workers Grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund a program to help dislocated workers get back to work as quickly as possible and overcome barriers to employment. Docket number 1695. Message in order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $884,111 in the form of a grant for the One-Stop Career Center grant awarded by the Mass. Higher Department of Career Services. to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund comprehensive career services and resources to unemployed job seekers, such as reviewing job postings, career counseling, and job coaching. Education, Skills Training, and Job Placement Assistance. Docket number 1697, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $107,000. $334 in a form of a grant for the WIOA Dislocation Workers Administration Grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services. to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund individualized career services and training services for dislocated workers to rejoin the workforce As early as possible to overcome barriers to employment. And document number 1832, message and order authorizing the city of Boston to accept and expend the amount. of $895,657.87 in the form of a grant for the RESEA program for field Calendar Year 25 grant awarded by the United States Department of Labor passed through the Mass Hire Department of Career Services to be administered by the Office of Workforce Development. The grant will fund individual re-employment needs of Unemployment Insurance Claimants, as well as prevent and detect improper benefit payments and application assistance for training and education resources and programs.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The chair recognizes Councilor Weber, the chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development. Councilor Weber, you have the floor.

Okay, thank you very much. I think I've said this before, but Clerk, I'm sorry, my pen died. Can you just go back? Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam President. On Monday, October 27, the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development held a hearing on 11 labor workforce and economic development grants. primarily for our career centers and for our youth employment. At the hearing, we were joined by Joseph Lay, the Chief of Staff for the Worker Empowerment Cabinet, Director of Grants in the Worker Empowerment Cabinet, Katie Gall, Neal Sullivan and Angela McCabe from the Private Industry Council and Anna Scher from the Office of Workforce Development. I want to thank my colleagues who attended the hearing, Councilor Flynn, Madam President Louijeune, Councilor Breadon and Councilor Murphy. The committee also received a letter of absence from Councillor Pepén. I'd also like to thank Ethan and Karishma from Central Staff for their assistance with the hearing on Monday. At the hearing, we were given an overview of the 11 grants, nine of which are being awarded by the US Department of Labor. one being awarded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and one coming from the MASSHIRE Department of Career Services. As Director Gall stated in her presentation, these grants are focused on getting people back on their feet by providing them with the services that are being offered by the Boston Private Industry Council through our career centers, ABCD Boston and Jewish Vocational Services, YouthWorks funding helps both year-round and summer employment opportunities are available through SuccessLink for low-income and at-risk youth between the ages of 14 and 25. Many of these grants are similar to those this body has already passed, and that its primary funding that the Office of Workforce Development receives from the state's Department of Career Services. Our career centers in fiscal year 25 served almost 16,000 job seekers, including over 14,400 unemployed individuals, and over 1,200 individuals with disabilities. The career centers also served over 9,000 unemployed veterans. who are prioritized for services at both career centers. Neil Sullivan, who we all know as the executive director at Boston Pick, joined us, complimented the mayor's office for doing a great job at braiding and bundling the various revenue streams that come from various directions to fund all these training vouchers and career service opportunities. that become available to the residents of Boston. He reassured the committee that there are two citizen committees, the Workforce Development Committee and the Youth Council, who are able to make community interest known and weigh in on the distribution of funds and competitive grants. and Executive Director Neil Sullivan. also reiterated that the youth employment in particular serves an important public safety policy interest as one way we can Keep Our City as a safe place where kids can thrive and that accepting and using these grants is one way to support that. As Chair of the Committee on Labor Workforce and Economic Development, my recommendation is that these matters ought to pass. Thank you.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilor Flynn. You have the floor.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to acknowledge the professional work Council Weber did on these hearings. They were informative, learned a great deal from Neil Sullivan and from the others Mr. Lee, who does an exceptional job as well working for the city, and the entire administration, I think, does a great job on workforce development-related issues. It's also important to learn about The funding, where it's going to, how it impacts people out of work, looking for work, looking for training. We're going to vote on about, I added it up, we're going to vote on about $10 million of funding for job training programs. It's a lot of money. I do encourage, I'll be respectful, I do want to encourage fellow city councillors Learn more about these job training programs. The attendance at this hearing, it was only two or three, four city councilors there, but it's important for all of us to learn about job training programs in the city Because when people ask us about job training programs, we need to be knowledgeable and tell them what programs are effective, how they can contact people, how they can get into the program, what the criteria is. You learn about those issues at the hearing so you can ask questions. You ask follow-up questions, but you don't learn anything by not going to the hearing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? I want to thank the administration. Councilor Weber, I want to thank you for diligently holding these hearings on these routine grants that are so important for our city. and I look forward to passing them every year because they're so important to our city. All right, so we will take each docket one by one and we will take a vote. So just so that I'm clear, the first vote will be on docket number 1625, sorry, go right. 1658. Okay, sorry, 1658, okay. No, 1625, it's 1625, yes, yep. Okay, the Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1625. All those in favor say aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1625 is passed. The chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1658. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1658 has passed. The Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1659. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1659 is passed. The Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1660. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1660 has passed. The Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1691. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1691 is passed. The Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1692. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1692 is passed. The Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the Committee Report and passage of docket number 1693. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The Committee Report has been accepted and docket number 1693 is passed. The chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1694. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1694 is passed. The Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the Committee Report and passes through docket number 1695. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The Committee Report has been accepted and docket number 1695 is passed. the Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development to the acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1697. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it. This docket has passed. and the Chair of the Committee on Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development seeks acceptance of the committee report and passage of docket number 1832. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Thank you. The committee report has been accepted and docket number 1832 has passed. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1434?

Dock number 1434, ordinance codifying the Office of Youth Engagement and Advancement.

Thank you. The chair recognizes the chair of the Committee on Government Operations, Councilor Coletta Zapata. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Madam President. The committee held a hearing on Docket 1434, an ordinance to codify the Office of Youth Engagement on Monday within Boston City Code under the Human Services Cabinet. The measure aims to make OEI a permanent part of city government, ensuring consistent investment in youth leadership, civic participation, and equitable access to opportunities for residents ages 14 through 25. Attending counselors included Santana, Flynn, Fitzgerald, Brady, Breadon, and Murphy. Letters of absence came from Council Weber and Council President Louijeune. We heard from Chief Jose Masseau and the Executive Director of OEA, Pedro Cruz, They both stressed that codifying OYEAH will institutionalize youth voice in City Hall, strengthen cross-departmental collaboration, and provide lasting infrastructure to support the next generation of Boston leaders. The ordinance ensures that youth engagement remains a core municipal function, not a temporary initiative. Additionally, the committee heard from a number of Youth, and it really was just so inspiring and wonderful to see Boston's future leadership on display here, who spoke about the impact of this office on their lives and supported this ordinance and its codification. We received red lines from the administration that I am currently reviewing a partnership with Council Santana's office at this time because of that and just the additional work that's going to need to be done on the language. I recommend that this docket remain in committee. I just want to commend Councilor Santana for his leadership on this issue and pass it to him if he has any remarks.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Santana. Councilor Santana, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Chair Coletta Zapata, for convening us and having this hearing. This was by far one of my favorite hearings just because of the youth representation that we had. You know, I want to give a shout out to my citywide youth council, Santana's youth force for taking on this policy identified that they wanted to codify this office and they started from scratch, started researching how to codify an office, how to develop the policy. And I was just very proud of the steps that they've been able to take. and was very proud to see them testify. I think we often refer to youth as future leaders, but what we're seeing, at least when in my office, is that the future is now and they're taking action right now and they're involved in city government and I just love to see it. I'm looking forward to reviewing the language of the redlining and then seeing how we can get it up to the finish line. We really want to thank the chair for your leadership Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Flynn. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to I acknowledge the important work the Chair did and the sponsor on this issue. It was an informative hearing. I learned a lot from the young people that testified in talking about their experiences living in Boston and what's important to them. as they discussed job training, they discussed education, access to training programs. So I just want to acknowledge all the young people that were here and the great testimony they provided. And as Councilor Santana mentioned, they are the future of Boston and we need to support them and provide them with the tools necessary for them. to be successful in life. Thank you Madam Chair.

The Chair recognizes Councillor Murphy on the floor.

Thank you Madam Chair and thank you for hosting this hearing. It was great to talk directly with Director Pedro Cruz who just does an amazing job so any opportunity I have to speak directly to him and uplift the work he's doing but I do want to highlight one initiative that they're really leaning in on which I think is so important is our 19 to 25 year old age group which oftentimes falls between the cracks. So looking forward to having this body support if needed, any additional resources for that age group We know oftentimes it misses out on some of the great opportunities we have across the city. So thank you for the hearing and looking forward to continuing supporting this order.

Thank you. Okay, the chair recognizes Councilor Ciarotti on the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I thought one cool thing from this hearing to note is that when we all looked around at the councilors who attended it and we realized how we were civically engaged as youth and where we are today and the different programs that we were all involved in, that got us to the point where we are and so I thought it was just a pretty cool thing to go around because I think we all had a pretty different Youth programs that got us involved in the city, but that stayed with us and brought us to today. So it was cool to see what it can produce currently and great to see it for our youth today.

Thank you. This docket, docket number 1434, will remain in committee. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 0176?

Docket number 0176, order for a hearing on government accountability, transparency, and accessibility of decisions. Making Protocols, and City Government.

Thank you, Chair.

I recognize Councilor Mejia.

You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. On Tuesday, October the 28th, the Committee on Government Accountability and Transparency and Accessibility held a hearing on docket 0176 on government accountability, transparency, and accessibility on the decision-making protocols in city government as it relates specifically to White Stadium. The hearing was attended by District 2 Councilor Ed Flynn, at-large, Councilor Aaron Murphy, and District 6 Councilor Ben Weber. The purpose of the hearing was to examine how decisions were made, who was included in those decisions, and whether the city met its obligations around transparency, civil rights, and environmental review. We heard from an expert panel that included a retired Judge Shannon Fristlund, architect Dan Adams, economist Andrew Symbolist, and Ed Burley from the NAACP Boston branch. each offered their own perspective fields. And we also heard from Stacy Renee Welch and Brianna from Mattapan who also provided some context. Judge Friesen reminded us that procedurally and substantively, which we've been saying this word here on the council lately, due process must be respected. She highlighted that the legal and civil rights Implications of Moving Forward Without a Fully Environmental Justice Review. Architect Dan Adams presented a fully public renovation proposal aligned with the Franklin Park Action Plan One that restores community access, returns the field back to BPS students sooner and comes at a significantly lower cost. His plan estimated at roughly 64 million with an initial 12 million phase ready for implementation shows that the public alternatives do exist and should have been part of the city's evaluation process. Economist Andrew Cimbalas raised concerns about the financial structure of the current proposal noting Rising Cost Estimates, Lack of Line Item Breakdown, and the Need for Clear Separation between the Stadium's Capital Budget and the Boston Public Schools Budget. He questioned whether the public is receiving full value for its investment and how ongoing maintenance and operations will be funded in the long term. Ed Burley representing the NAACP Boston branch emphasized that Franklin Park is a public land and should remain accessible to the public. He called for a process that centers equity and ensures that BPS athletes are not displaced or restricted from using facilities their families have supported for generations. Public testimony included remarks from BPS students and residents across Boston, including Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, who expressed deep frustration with what they described as a closed process with limited public input. Many question whether the proposed public-private partnership truly serves the community or primarily Benefits Private Interest. Throughout the discussion, one theme stood out. While there is no widespread support, while there is Widespread support for a renovated White Stadium. There is also widespread concern about how this project has been handled. Questions remain about access for BPS students, environmental review, long-term financial oversight, and whether a fully public option has been given a fair hearing. I also recognize that some wish I would stop uplifting these concerns and allow the process to just move forward as is, but my responsibility is to make sure that residents especially those who have been historically left out are heard respected and including in shaping what happens on public land. Our committee will continue to monitor this process and ensure that future decisions are guided by transparency, accountability, and the public good. I hope to continue to do this work. This docket will remain on file, and I want to again We emphasize that no one is against renovations. We do believe that our BPS students deserve a state-of-the-art stadium. What our big concern is is how we get there. and whether or not we are really leaning into the discomfort around some of the things that have continued to be brought up. And I just wanna thank again, retired judge, Shannon Fritzen for her leadership and some of the things that she shared during her testimony.

Thank you. The chair organizes. Councilor Flynn, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to acknowledge Councilor Mejia. The important hearing she held and the way she conducted herself as chair was a very informative hearing, excellent testimony, feedback from the panelists and from residents, especially in residents calling or testifying in person about really the lack of process. That's what was the top concern residents expressed. Many or most people of color didn't feel like that they were heard or respected. That's what I got out of it. There was, as Councilor Mejia mentioned, there was a well-respected retired Superior Court judge. She's also a United States Marine Corps Officer as well. Incredible integrity as far as I'm concerned. But that was her main message is why isn't Why isn't there an opportunity for people of color to weigh in and to be heard, to be respected on such a controversial issue or an important issue? And I agree with her. She felt like it was a civil rights issue. I don't think we can pick and choose what issues we want to work on. I think we have to work on the issues that are before us. And yes, it might be... Are there any cell phones in the silence?

I don't know if that's coming from here or is that coming from... Oh, it's coming from outside. Okay, sorry, continue.

Yes, it might be easier for us to ignore an issue and hope it goes away, but that's not leadership. Leadership is tackling issues that you feel are wrong. And that issue about transparency and not allowing or respecting voices of people of color is wrong as far as I'm concerned. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. This docket will remain in committee. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1432?

Docket number 1432, ordinance regarding the safety... and efficacy of the commercial autonomous vehicle operations relative to workers, emergency first responders, and residents in the City of Boston.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes the Chair of the Committee on Government Operations. Councilor Coletta Zapata, you have the floor.

Thank you so much. The Committee on Government Operations held a hearing yesterday on Docket 1432. We were joined by Councilor Santana, Breadon Mejia, President Louijeune, Flynn, Pepén, Fitzgerald, Weber, and Murphy. We received an absence letter from Councilor Durkan. We had three panels testify representing labor unions and rideshare drivers. and then advocates and representatives of autonomous vehicle technology. The first panel featured unionized drivers who described how their livelihoods depend on rideshare work and the flexibility it provides. They warned that driverless vehicles would eliminate jobs, erode the human element of ridesharing, and weaken their new union. Several shared stories. showed the value of human presence, such as a driver who stopped to help somebody during an overdose, and emphasized drivers' economic contributions to local neighborhoods. Union representatives on the next panel underscored that technological progress could not come at the expense of workers and families. Councilors affirmed Boston's long tradition of supporting labour unions and noted that the city's approach could serve as a national model for balancing innovation and workers' rights. During public testimony some speakers, mainly drivers, called for strong protections against AVs due to job loss and safety risks. Others, including residents with disabilities, expressed support for AVs as a path to greater independence and equitable access to transportation. The final panel included representatives from Waymo, the Carroll Center for the Blind, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. who highlighted AV's potential to improve safety and mobility for people with disabilities. Councillors emphasized the need for inclusive dialogue as Boston considers AV regulations. After additional testimony, we concluded that further work is needed, and I recommend at this time that the docket remain in committee, but just want to thank the lead sponsor, Councilor Santana, and co-sponsors Murphy and Flynn for their work. and really driving out the turnout for this hearing yesterday. The chamber was packed and it was great to see and just great to hear from all of different perspectives about this very important issue.

Thank you. Okay, thank you. Docket number 1432 will remain in committee. We are now on to motions, orders, and resolutions. Reminder that pursuant to rule 39, from March to the time a petition order or resolution has been admitted and assigned to committee for review shall be limited to three minutes for the sponsor and two minutes for any other councillor at the appropriate time for questioning and debate. It's at public hearings and working sessions. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1931?

Docket number 1931. Councillor Louis-Jean offer the following. An ordinance regarding living wage for city employees.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Council President Louijeune. Councilor, you have the floor.

Thank you. May I first add Councilor Pepén as a second original co-sponsor?

Hearing and seeing no objections, Councilor Pepén is so added.

And Councilor, can I suspend the rules to add yourself as a third original co-sponsor?

hearing and seeing no objections, I am so added. Councilor, the agenda floor is now yours.

Thank you. This ordinance builds on the work that my office has been doing Previously, we directed a wage study on the lowest paid employees in City Hall. I want to thank Chief Lawrence and the City's People, Operations, Finance, and Equity and Inclusion Cabinet for producing that report. and for their collaboration on this effort. We as a body here on the City Council have time and time again stated how much we think it's important that we pay our workers and that we pay our lowest paid workers a living wage. So this will help us get there. That study found about 135 employees who earn below our own living wage for vendors and contractors, and almost 200 if you include seasonal workers, primarily in parks, public works, and facilities. Many of these workers are residents who keep the city running, yet they struggle to afford the very city they serve. These are people who have lived in Boston forever, these are our black and brown residents, people who want to work for the city, but and who are working for the city but who aren't able to really live based on that salary. More than 25 years ago, Boston established a living wage ordinance requiring contractors who do business with the city to pay fair wages. But that same guarantee has never applied to the city's own workforce. I want to thank city councilors who came before, like Mickey Roach and Chuck Turner, as advocates with the Boston Jobs Coalition and the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston, who pushed for workers to earn and Hourly Living Wage. This ordinance would ensure that every city employee earns at least the Boston living wage with appropriate exemptions for boards, commissions, internships and stipends. It would also require the Office of Human Resources submit an implementation plan that aligns with collective bargaining and fiscal responsibility. So we know that a lot of this advocacy comes through our collective bargaining process. But this will help be a catch-all and a foundation for those collective bargaining agreements. This is about fairness and about consistency. It's about ensuring that public service doesn't mean financial hardship. Paying a living wage will help Boston recruit and retain talent, reduce turnover, and strengthen the quality of public service. The fiscal impact is modest, but the human impact would be profound. Boston would not be the first to do this. We'd be joining a growing number of cities that have living wage ordinances to cover municipal employees, including Cambridge, Bloomington, Indiana, Santa Cruz, California, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Madison, Wisconsin, and Philadelphia. This ordinance simply aligns our values with our practice. Boston has long been a leader on economic justice. Now we have the opportunity to lead by example again. City workers have to depend on SNAP benefits that are trying to be cut to be able to feed their families. And so I think there's work that we can do here, and I think there's energy on this body to stand up for our city workers. And I'm encouraging, thank you for all of my colleagues, who have worked with me on this so far. I want to thank Jesse in my office who has also centered this as an important item in our office. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Pepén. Councilor, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you, Madam President. For your leadership and for welcoming me as a co-sponsor on this very important docket. One of the greatest things about our municipal workforce is that so many of them are Bostonians. Whether they are born here and are raised here or moved here for work, city workers call Boston their home. It's important that city workers feel more than a professional connection to the city that they serve so that everything our city does is driven by community. One of the biggest challenges I hear from city workers, many of whom have made District 5 their home, is the increasing cost of living in the city compared to the pay they receive. I have met many city employees who unfortunately are eagerly awaiting the end of their residency requirements so that they may be able to relocate somewhere more affordable. I don't want that to be the case. While I do not agree with this sentiment, I do think that these concerns are valid. are something that we need to address in city government by matching employee pay with the cost to live in a city like Boston. And that's why I'm happy to be included as a co-sponsor and proud to support Madam President on this and hopefully also have the back of our city employees to make sure they have a livable wage. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam President, and thank you for having me as a co-sponsor. Also just want to uplift the work of Action for Equity. Weezy, every time I talk to her about the BRJP, she constantly pushes for more work around the living wage and focusing on workforce development. I'm glad that we are refocusing on this crucial matter by updating this ordinance and making sure all our city employees are paid a living wage. It's definitely a battle worth fighting for and I know the city and this administration have made great strides with base wage increases in union contracts that are targeted to help our lowest wage workers. This ordinance is needed because it again will help lift those lowest wage workers. I also want to note that the Living Wage Advisory Committee was out of commission for some time. The Office of Labor Compliance and Worker Protections has confirmed that they have now been reinstated, the committee, but this kind of gap in oversight should never happen here. The city has to make that committee an ongoing priority to assess wages and ensure that the living wage is actually a living wage and not just an arbitrary title. One of the tools we have to do so So is the City Wage Study Report, which was last released in 2023 and showed us that about a little over 2% of our workforce was making below the established living wage, which at the time was $17.55 per hour. Following this study, the Office of Labor Compliance has now updated the living wage to $18.78 per hour, which we all know is still not enough. And I also would like to see the People's Operations, Finance, and Equity and Inclusion cabinets performed this wage study regularly as economic and financial trends change over time. This is an important step forward to move from simply our contracted vendors To our city employees, but we can't lose sight that this wage isn't really enough to live in Boston and hope we continue to progress forward because when we left the lowest wage employees in the city, it only creates a stronger local economy. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Oh, sorry, I didn't see that. The chair now recognizes Councilor Murphy. Councilor, you have the floor.

Thank you. Just wanted to rise to say during our contract hearings that You are at everyone, Councilor Flynn. I'll just repeat what you said every time to Jim. Is 1%, 2%, 1% enough we can do? And they always came back and said, well, it's I guess yes, and we'd always rubber stamp it. But I asked for us to pause and look at the new hires that we've hired. We've had over 300 new positions added to this workforce in the city. many middle and upper class positions not our lowest paid wages and I was one of other councillors joined me but in Champy and our municipal police many who we've heard personal stories where They're living in cars and others. Their wage is just so low that to expect them to show up to work and live in the city is just to me unacceptable. So I think we need to continue to do the work we've done championing that our city workers get not just the respect they deserve but we need to match their pay and not keep adding jobs that if we come into a situation which we know we probably will be in the next cycle with the budget if we're having to make cuts I'm hoping that we're not cutting our Lowest paid workers that we're really looking at protecting them and supporting them and they deserve that from us. So thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? The chair recognizes Council President Louijeune. Councilor, you have the floor.

Just one thing, I just wanted to say thank you to Darlene Lombosa, the Greater Boston Labor Council, who's been a thought partner in helping us put this together. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, please add Councilor Brayden, Councilor Durkan, Councilor Fitzgerald, Councilor Flynn, Councilor Mejia, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Santana, and Councilor Weber. Docket number 1931 will refer to the Committee on Government Operations. Mr. Clerk, can you please read Docket number 1932?

Dock number 1932, Councilor Worrell, offer the following, petition for a special law, an act relative to redefining commercial and residential definitions and creating further exemptions.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Worrell. Councilor Worrell, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Before I dive into my remarks, I just want to give a big shout out to my team, Stasi, Anushree, and Matt. Also, a big shout out to Our central staff, Megan and Karishma, they put in a lot of work and a lot of research and outreach into this legislation or this home rule petition. We've had a lot of tough conversations. Bostonians are about to get their tax bills. And this is exactly the moment to explore what's working and what's not. Here's the reality. Homeowners and small landlords are carrying a heavier load while large apartment owners often pay less taxes per unit, sometimes far less. Same city, same services, but the people with less are paying more. That's exactly what this proposal sets out to fix, a tax code that's become unbalanced. We've had a lot of tax debates this past year. Under Proposition 2 1⁄2, the total levy is capped. The real question is who pays what share. Right now, the scales are tilted. And if Prop 2 1⁄2 changes in the other direction, we will need even stronger protections for homeowners and small landlords. Let's look at that in balance. A seaport high-rise assessed value at about $124 million breaks down to roughly $400,000 per unit. That's in the seaport. It follows the law, but that number is low because it's treated as a commercial property. That unit should pay a higher commercial rate. Now take 1 Dalton, the tower on the Herald's front page last week. It pays about $15 million in taxes as a hotel and condominium. Meanwhile, the Avalon at North Station, nearly the same size and age building, pays only $3 million. $15 million for one. Three million for the other. That's not equity. Last year, this body passed a short-term measure raising the commercial shift to 181% for three years. It still hasn't cleared the statehouse, another reason why we need long-term solutions. This legislation tackles that imbalance head on. Redefining property classes so the biggest income producing buildings pay their fair share while protecting small landlords and homeowners. Here's what this proposal would do. Homeowners will save nearly $1,000 a year on average. Small landlords will finally get a real relief. Large affordable housing owners will see meaningful breaks for keeping rents low. The office sector property tax rates will stabilize helping struggling buildings find predictability. And developers will get a lower tax rate in the short term so they could keep building at the pace bosses set last decade. This isn't about punishing anyone. It's about aligning the code with how properties actually work. Delivering relief where people feel it most and keeping our housing pipeline moving. And to anyone asking about rent, cities like Providence, Philadelphia, and Chicago all have higher property tax rates than Boston, yet lower rent. Rents follow supply and demand, not aligned on a tax bill. This pan simply rebalances who pays. The majority of this city's rental units will see property taxes go down. I want to take a moment and thank the community partners who have supported this work in this Home Rule Petition, MAHA, DSNI, and Senior Action Council of Massachusetts. for lending their expertise and helping shape this homeless petition. I'm looking forward to continue this discussion and to making sure that we have a fair, long-term solution that protects homeowners, respects small landlords, and Keats Boston, Affordable and Building. Thank you. Thank you.

The chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Council President, and thank you, Councilor Worrell, for thinking about homeowners. I know we've all on the City Council been thinking about homeowners. I want to begin by saying I share this growing concern about the burden on homeowners and small landlords. But I am deeply concerned about the potential impacts of this proposal on District 8 and the future of housing in our city. I debated whether I should speak, but the two buildings described in the councilor's statements are in my district. We all know that Boston is facing a housing crisis rooted in lack of housing supply. Rents continue to rise, pushing residents out of our city, while construction and permitting are at historic lows. We urgently need to build more housing, not create barriers that will make it harder to do so. That's why I have serious reservations about any measure that could further disincentivize housing constructions and especially in times in the buildings and neighborhoods that need it most. It feels like this proposal is a gut punch at the wrong time. And I do believe you can be pro-growth and progressive. That is the line that I'm trying to walk every single day. Housing abundance and density are the way out of this crisis. Increasing the housing supply, particularly in downtown and downtown neighborhoods, transit accessible areas is exactly how we can improve affordability, equity, and sustainability. and ensure that Boston remains accessible for everyone. In District 8, I represent many buildings with over 30 units. And we have requested from the planning department Every building over 30 units, through GIS, they have not gotten us that data yet. And while some of these are luxury developments, many are not. Some of my most vulnerable tenants live in buildings that are classified as new commercial residential category but would not come close to meeting 80% AMI affordability thresholds. I'm concerned that the tax raise for commercial property owners will end up being passed directly on to tenants. In fact, a recent MIT dissertation found that when municipalities raise commercial Property tax rates, renters absorb 80 to 90% of that increase. I understand that property taxes have risen significantly and that this is putting pressure on homeowners and renters in smaller buildings. I would like to find a ways to relieve that burden but increasing commercial property taxes by up to 33% risk making new housing production financially impossible. And I'll just say, I know I'm out of time, But oftentimes when developments are being proposed, developers are working with banks to secure loans. Their tax percentage is factored into those loans. So there are a lot of unintended potential impacts in even having this conversation at the city at this moment. And given how slowly construction and permitting move, in seven years we could find ourselves in housing.

Councilor Durkan, if you could wrap.

Respectfully, this impacts my district more than... I know, I know, but... No, I think we let people go on about things. Like, this is...

I believe... Councilor Durkan, I'm asking you to just wrap it up.

Okay. Just wrap it up. The fact that we haven't had a hearing on this, and this is just directly... And there will be a hearing, yeah. I'm trying to finish the fact that this is being directly proposed without a hearing on this particular subject I think is a gut punch to my district it's a gut punch to the business community and we do need to We do need to have this conversation in a setting that makes sense, so thank you.

Thank you. I did not hear Councilor Earl ask for suspension in passage, so this will be assigned to a committee, and my understanding is that there will be a hearing. Okay, thank you. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? The chair recognizes Councillor Breadon. You have the floor.

Councillor Breadon. Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Councillor Worrell, for bringing this forward. I do fully appreciate the stresses that our residential homeowners are under when it comes to real estate taxes given That only 53% of our real property in the City of Boston is tax-exempt, and about 12% to 15% is tax-exempt because they're of our Eds and Meds, and the other are exempt because they're government buildings, either city, state, or federal buildings in the city of Boston. So we are sort of I'm really desperate to find other revenue streams in the city. I really feel, I share Councillor Durkan's concerns Given the nature of our district in Alston Brighton, 56% of Alston Brighton has four plus units apartment buildings. And I'm just trying to figure out how this is going to work. and I think that's why we need a deep dive into getting into the nitty-gritty and getting into the details of all this and then further creating a supplemental affordable exemption for corporate landlords who offer 80% of units had rents lower than the set of 80% of the AMI. Individuals would incentivize landlords to keep rents lower than market might otherwise dictate. We also have the question of we have been working really hard to get a mix of mixed income and preservation projects. to try and grow the number of affordable units in the city. And I'm just trying to figure out just the implementation of this, how we get to relieve the pressure on our residential O'Neill. Definitely worth looking at, but I think it deserves a really thorough review. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Mejia. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. And I want to thank my colleague, Councilor Worrell, for courageous leadership. You know, what we're trying to do is trying to figure out how we help support our most vulnerable residents. And I think that sometimes thinking outside the box and presenting proposals that this chamber can deliberate is what our job is, right? Nobody's coming here to be the end all and be all. We're not, none of us are. So to think that none of us got the answers, our job really is to try to Thank you. Thank you. and by modeling that myself, is learning how to show up for each other, even when it's difficult. And I think that people are looking to us to restore trust in government, but that has to start with how we treat each other in this chamber. And I have worked really hard in my award-winning personality and my award-winning personality, and Alex, you've seen it, and Ellen, you've been here longer than anyone else. Listen, it is not easy to be anybody these days, but just for the sake of the exercise, We just have to learn how to just show up because people are looking to us to deliver. They're looking to us to resolve their problems. They're looking to us to figure out how they're going to put food on their table. They're looking to us to figure things out for them. and we can't figure things out if we don't allow ourselves to let things play out. So I'm just going to encourage everyone as we continue to shepherd things through this chamber that we try to have a little bit of humility and humanity for each other because times are tough and they're just gonna get harder. And so people are looking to us to be the adults in the room and I think I'm utilizing my political capital and speaking when I need to. And so I reserve the right to speak when I have to and this is one of those moments.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Weber. You have the floor.

Thank you very much. In District 6, we've been having several conversations with developments that had been approved and developers find that given the The economy and tariffs and costs of labor that they can't provide the affordability that they had promised when the project was approved. Just trying to figure out a way where we can not only build housing but build affordable housing Here in the city is just something I think we all care about. And I feel like we are at this sort of inflection point. And I compliment or my hats off goes to Councilor Worrell for for filing this and starting a conversation that's going to get us to try to come up with innovative ways to get the affordable housing built in Boston that we need. I think I have a lot to learn about How this would work and what the impacts it would have and whether it would increase rents or lower rents or increase affordable housing or lower affordable housing. But really, I just want to thank Councilor Whale for bringing this conversation to the Council today. Thanks.

Thank you. And Councilor Worrell, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam. Thank you, Madam President. And again, this is You know, a framework. This is the first start of a conversation. So I welcome everyone to join in on the conversation. And I will say that we have done a little bit of research around how many units in the city in 30 The majority of our housing inventory is in 30 units and less. The other thing that I just want to mention is this is not a new idea. There are other cities that have this tariff system approach. So when we have that conversation, we'll definitely bring those other cities to talk about their tariff system. So looking forward to the conversation. This is just the beginning and these numbers and everything could be tweaked based on what leverage they pull. Thank you.

Thank you. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Would anyone like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, please let Councillors Breadon, Mejia, Weber, please have the chair. This docket, docket number 1932, will be referred to the Committee on Government Operations. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1933?

Dr. 1933, Councilors Murphy and Flynn offer the following. Order for a hearing regarding parking access for traveling Boston Public Schools employees.

Thank you, Chair. I recognize this. Councilor Murphy, you have the floor.

Thank you. I'd like to suspend the rules and add Councilor Fitzgerald.

Councilor Murphy seeks to suspend the rules. I add Councilor Fitzgerald as the third original co-sponsor, seeing and hearing no objections. Councilor Fitzgerald is so added. Councilor Murphy, you have the floor.

Thank you. I filed this order for a hearing on parking access for our traveling BPS Edge employees, an issue I've heard about for years from dedicated BPS teachers and staff. As a former teacher for over 20 years, I would see it firsthand when itinerant special ed and service providers or teachers like Music and others who were split between different buildings would have to travel back and forth between schools during the day, that it's unfair that they face tickets and tows just for trying to do their job and get to their next building on time. and secure a parking spot. It's time to find system-wide solutions that respect their service and make their days a little bit easier. Before I kind of highlight some of what this hearing order is about, I do just want to shout out Liz and the Transportation Department because I know that I have for years now been getting calls from individual educators looking for some support. and I know that their office has for many years been supporting some of our educators working alongside the BTU to try to find solutions and I know that they're expanding what they can do but I think it's time that we as a body really look at How we can expand this and have full capacity for our educators. Many of them, like I mentioned, are special ed teachers, service providers, specialists, and support staff. And the traveling employees, they play, as we know, a vital role and the equitable access of education, ensuring that our students across all neighborhoods received the specialized instruction and services that they need. Currently, BPS provides a limited number of parking passes, but I do believe that we on this body can find solutions and work alongside different departments to expand it. Some employees, many I should say, have incurred significant parking fines, and personal costs while performing their official duties. We're not asking or expecting city employees to always get parking. That's not it at all. All my years working as a teacher, you don't get parking, but this is those who have to travel between different schools. If it's the vision teacher, the speech therapist, the music teacher, before former, our former colleague, Councilor, Anissa Asabi-George worked hard to make sure that every school building had a school nurse. Before that, I know many school nurses had to travel between two, sometimes three schools a day just to make sure they were providing and many more. Traveling educators deserve the equitable access to Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Flynn. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have one issue, and I know Councilor Pepén was working with me on this as well, but just as an example, In Chinatown at the Josiah Quincy School, there's an issue that's happening where teachers, many, many traveling great lengths to get to school to teach in the morning, don't really have an opportunity to park their vehicle near the school. They have to be in at maybe 7 o'clock or 7.30, the public transportation system, just doesn't work for them, so they do need their automobile to get to school. On the other hand, residents are asking and demanding from us more parking in Chinatown. They need parking to take their kids to school or to take their kids to an after-school program or to see their elderly parents or to work. They might work outside of Boston, and they do need it. We don't have enough parking in the city of Boston. When we support projects that call for zero parking on a new development. These are the issues that we're going to deal with. The teachers at Josiah Quincy are upset. They're upset about Not being able to have an opportunity to get to school on time to park their vehicle, but they were also upset about oftentimes getting a ticket. And residents also were driving around the neighborhood late at night trying to look for a parking spot. One resident told me the other day they drove around for about 50 minutes wasting gasoline. The environmental impact, the economic impact it has but we just can't vote for Projects with no parking and expect that there's no consequences because there's great consequences as we're seeing it play out throughout the city. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, the Chair recognizes Councilor Fitzgerald. The other floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I have a constituent that is a traveling BPS employee that is constantly banging the drum on this, and I'm sure Councilor Murphy is well aware of who that is as well, and so I thank her. for allowing me to be a co-sponsor on this. Parking can be difficult. Even just last night, going to the Josiah Quincy, I beat out a fellow colleague for a parking spot. And we all know that we have to fight for these things. And that's just us going to an event. These folks are teaching the youth of our city, and typically if they're a traveling BPS employee, they are teaching those that need the most concentration and help. and so we should make their lives a little easier because their job is that important and every minute that they get to spend with the child that needs that help is one more minute that the child will get the help that they need and so I think we can all relate to them in that. and certainly I know myself been ticketed and towed a couple of times so far in this job and it is not fun and it is an added cost and you know I expect it to happen more but I would much prefer to put BPS employees over myself and our colleagues in the jobs we do.

And so look forward to the hearing. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. The chair recognizes Councillor Durkan. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, and I just want to thank the sponsors of this. As you all know, I famously do not have a car, but I do think this is a really important issue. I mean, what's more important than making teachers' lives easier? I do think we have a hearing scheduled for eliminating or parking minimums and I really want to invite anyone who cares about parking to that particular hearing which is coming up in December. I think the companion to that policy is really having a conversation about district parking in every single neighborhood. How can the city make sure that There are places for people to park. Other cities have led on district parking, which is potentially creating Parking structures in every neighborhood. So you might not be able to park right outside of your house, but you will have sort of the option of We have probably the greatest example for district parking. in the entire country in the Boston Common Garage, which is underneath the Boston Common. So I am excited and I had written a hearing order on that particular subject And now I'm hearing maybe this is something that the City Council could really get united on. So I just want to thank the lead sponsors, Councilor Murphy and Flynn. And I just want to add my voice to making the lives easier of teachers. So thank you.

Thank you. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Councillor Breadon is. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. And thank you, Councillor Murphy and Councillor Flynn, for bringing this one forward. We have two schools in particular that this is a big problem. The Gardiner Pilot Academy is one. And we did work out an elegant solution that teachers were able to park in resident parking spaces between certain hours. and they weren't getting ticketed but that seems to have gone into abeyance at the moment. The other school that we have difficulty with is the Baldwin and it's very, very close to the line, the boundary with Brookline. And if teachers park in Brookline, they do not get any breaks for being teachers. We have dealt with many, many parking tickets. I don't know if anyone else, other offices do this as well. But bring in, appeal the parking tickets if they're teachers, educators who are getting ticketed close to schools. I think the big challenge is that as we grow as a city, the cost of building parking infrastructure is incredibly expensive. Thank you very much. I really do look forward to this hearing. I hope that we can come up with some creative solutions. Thank you.

Thank you. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, please add Councillors Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell, please have the chair. This docket, docket number 1933, will be referred to the Committee on Education. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1934?

Docket number 1934, Councilors Pepen and Weber offer the following. Resolution recognizing October as Pedestrian Safety Month in the City of Boston.

Thank you, the Chair recognizes Councilor Pepen. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I don't want to be repetitive. I technically already gave my speech at the beginning of the meeting. But I just want to say that pedestrian safety isn't just about cars on the roads or what we think about crosswalks. It's also about the conditions of our sidewalks, its conditions, our intersections, people not respecting the stop signs of a school bus, the stop signs on the streets, the red lights, Anything that you can think about that can make our streets safer, that is what this month is about. I also just wanted to bring up that the reason why October is also highlighted as our pedestrian safety month Halloween is actually one of the deadliest days in the entire year for pedestrians. Unfortunately, it's correlated to children crossing the street while trick-or-treating and cars not seeing them at night. So there's a really sad correlation to that. So I always like to put out that message out there is that when you see a stop sign, you stop. When you see a red light, you stop. When you see someone on a crosswalk trying to cross the street, you stop. That is what the intention of today's Resolution is about to make sure we have safer streets for everyone. So I also don't want to forget, I would like to suspend the rules and add Councillor Brian Worrell as a third co-sponsor. I meant to do that earlier. Sorry, Councillor. But I'm very happy to be doing this with my colleagues, Councilor Weber and Councilor Worrell.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Weber. You have the floor.

Thank you very much. And I think pedestrian safety is something that is an issue all across the city and all of us deal with as councillors. I want to thank Councilor Pepén and Councilor Worrell for joining me in supporting a redesign of the Hyde Park Avenue in front of the Forest Hills T Station that will prioritize pedestrian safety. You know, over cars and I look forward to working with them and the administration on that. You know, it's been just over a year. since Glenn Ingram, who we honored here in the council, was killed by an MBTA bus. And just a few weeks ago on the other end of Jamaica Plain, a 77-year-old woman killed while crossing South Huntington. And so I just think this is something that We need to work on, and it's worthwhile for us to find a way to prioritize pedestrians and their safety. So thank you to Councilor Pepén for including me as a co-sponsor.

Okay, thank you. O'Reilly. Councilor O'Reilly, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I just want to thank Councilor Pepén and Councilor Weber for working together on this. I also wanted to shout out, as Councilor Pepén has noted, that pedestrian safety is not solely about the built environment, it's about the condition of those sidewalks. I just want to shout out Councilor Jackson and Councilor Bach who have advocated for increased snow removal on our streets. and expanded those services here in the city of Boston. One of the other things that I have identified and recognized through Our conversations with family daycare centers is that our daycare centers are not designated as school zones or slow zones and those are our youngest residents who often are walking I think that is something that we should look at at the city of Boston to make sure that those areas, our smallest residents who oftentimes move rather quickly, we should make sure that Enough signage is around those areas. Thank you. Thank you.

The chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Chair. And I want to thank Councilors Pepén, Weber, and Worrell for introducing this resolution to recognize October as Pedestrian Safety Month. As the chair of planning, development, and transportation, and representing what I think to be the most walkable district in the city, home to some of the most densely populated neighborhoods, this issue is so important to me. Boston takes great pride in being a walkable city and every single resident deserves to feel safe and protected on our streets. Pedestrian safety isn't about just preventing crashes or injuries. It's about creating a sustainable and connected city for everyone. So for me, this issue is so personal. There have been multiple pedestrians hit in my district since I started, and there was at least one pedestrian fatality. This issue is not just about your experience of experiencing close calls. It's also about honoring those that we've lost. It's essential that we reach our Vision Zero goals, and we also need to think about the bigger picture. We have to be working towards a city where walkability and pedestrian safety are built into every part of our planning process, from zoning and land use decisions to how we design new developments and how we prioritize investments in multimodal transportation. The city has made huge progress, but I have places in my district that are waiting on speed humps and we have places in my district where people have been hit multiple times and and we are still awaiting an answer on whether Speed Humps will go there. We need to empower the streets cabinet on but as the council to build speed humps in our neighborhoods where people are speeding. Ultimately, this is about building a Boston that supports all ways of getting around and that's walkability, that's bikeability, and I'm so happy that we're recognizing pedestrians this month but we need to Understand that the urgency of this moment isn't about a couple people who are in our email inbox opposing a speed hump It's about not about making life easier for drivers. It's about making sure that that the next person is not hit in our districts. And I just, I think that urgency, I take that urgency into this building with me every day.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Flynn. You have the floor.

Thank you. For over eight years following a tragedy on L Street in my neighborhood, I recommended a 12-point pedestrian plan. I advocated for traffic calming infrastructure such as raised crosswalks, speed humps, pedestrian crossing islands with rapid flash beacons, curb extensions and more. I also advocated for reduction of the speed limit. Going from 30 to 25 miles an hour. Want to acknowledge former City Councilor Frank Baker as well. He played a key role in that. We have had so much growth, so many Communities cutting through neighborhoods, so many Ubers and Lyfts that are unfamiliar with our street. We have mopeds, dirt bikes, scooters, electric bikes going through stop signs, red lights the wrong way. maneuvering through cars in and out of red lights and going through them. We see that every day. We need traffic enforcement. Food delivery is not an emergency. Someone was killed recently. That is why I filed an ordinance. We did not deliver food this way before 2022. We need to come together to disregard the fearmongering of large corporations and do what's best for the residents of Boston, public safety. This body passed an unanimous resolution against concurrent phasing signals where cars and pedestrians have the right of way at the same time. That's unacceptable. But the Chief of Streets, as Councilor Durkan, is refusing to work with us. He's refusing to take action on this at intersections across the city. He even acknowledged that. Even after our 13 to nothing vote, he said to us in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, I should say, that the city council was wrong.

I think Councillor Flynn, did you mean Chief Yash for Franklin Hodge? Yes. Okay. I think you said Councilor Durkan, so I just wanted to...

I'm sorry. Okay. We cannot continue to implement a one-size-fits-all combination of road diets and bike lanes across the city on main streets and commercial corridors. In the final analysis as strategic spots of high interest pedestrian foot traffic, we need raised crosswalks, traffic calming, infrastructure on our main streets. I don't want to continue because I know I'm running out of time. Pedestrian safety must be our top priority. There's no one that's done more on pedestrian safety in the last eight years than I have. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. The chair is Councilor Coletta Zapata. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Madam President. I would be remiss if I didn't say anything because I also don't have a car and I walk everywhere. I've probably said a million times that I try to get 10,000 steps. and every day. And I would argue that I have the most walkable and accessible district, but that's fine. We can take a walk together and maybe find that out. Yep, yep, and we'll get some more speed humps. But this really and truly is a core function of city government. This is a core function of our job and it has been These are the small wins that build up to make a big impact. There have been so many instances in my district, especially in the North End. We actually reached out to North End Waterfront Health to find out how many people had tripped or attributed their injuries to a trip or fall because of our sidewalks. And we reached out. They provided numbers for us. And once you see those numbers, you cannot unsee them and you cannot unhear that data. And that's something that we gave to the chief of streets. And I do appreciate our chief because he's been always so responsive and accessible to Our needs in in District 1 and we've gotten a lot of sidewalks fixed and a lot of streets fixed so this is really important I think crosswalks fixed sidewalks or fixed sidewalks and repaired sidewalks, accessible ramps, stop signs, flashing beacons, maybe not flex posts, I'm not a big fan of the flex posts because they typically get broken and they don't really do the job that they're supposed to, but things like this, these are all innovative ways that we can keep our pedestrians safe and that's what essentially our job is. We need to utilize the tools and resources we have to create a built environment that is that is safe for everyone but especially our pedestrians and I love the fact that we could use this conversation to help inform other policy discussions. So there's a lot of conversation about green infrastructure and how we can plant more trees, plant more More just grass and green space in the public to also keep pedestrians safe so I love that the nexus of both of these conversations both from A city services approach and an environmental approach. So thank you so much for putting this forward to the sponsors and appreciate everything you do every day to make our city safer. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, the chair recognizes Councilor Fitzgerald, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Just want to plug. I still think that every district councilor and really every councilor should get 10 or 15 streets a year that are prioritized because we're most familiar with each of our neighborhoods and know where the next accident is most likely to happen. And so I think if we can get those out of the way first, we are protecting our residents first and foremost, and we should get those 10 to 15 streets a year. Thanks.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Breadon.

Thank you, Madam President. And pedestrian safety has always been a huge issue in Austin-Brighton. We've had several fatalities. and a lot of near misses. We recently got our first speed bumps in Alston Brighton two or three weeks ago on Faneuil Street near the public housing over there. where the BHA housing, between the BHA housing and the McKinney Park and along that stretch of Faneuil, we have seven speed bumps, grand total seven speed bumps. I really share Councillor Fitzgerald's appeal that we move along smartly and see if we can increase the availability of speed bumps to try and do some traffic calming. There's a huge amount of cut-through traffic through Alston Brighton, and I'm sure other neighbourhoods are experiencing this as well. People that don't necessarily know the neighbourhood, they don't know where the schools are, the daycares are, the parks necessarily. but they drive through our streets at 40, 35, 40 miles an hour and it's really a ticking time bomb in terms of pedestrian safety. We also, we're steadily moving through the repair of our sidewalks and I do applaud Thank you very much. Just keep it going and we want to keep all of our world users safe. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councillor Pepén. You have the floor.

Thank you for allowing me to speak twice. I just wanted to publicly thank the Public Works Department, especially Julia Campbell, Norman Parks, and their team, just because I always look at this as a collaboration as well when My team has reached out for them to repair a sidewalk. Recently there was a case on Washington Street where we brought them out, Disability Commission, the Parks Department as well, and we had folks from Disability Commission, as well, actually walking with us on wheelchairs. And they got the sidewalks fixed in a matter of no time. So I just wanted to publicly thank them for being proactive and just Thank everyone that's part of making our city safer. Thank you.

Thank you. Chair recognizes Councilor Durkan for briefly.

Thank you so much, Chair. I just wanted to say that I know that I had a very dark testimony in terms of this. I just want to thank The Mayor's Administration for the first ever citywide brick contract. That has made a huge difference in District 8. And to the man on Marlboro Street, who I spent 15 minutes on the phone with, demanding that the thing outside of his place be fixed. That got fixed within two weeks. And we have other things that have been fixed within a day. I just want to say this matters to everyone because the Blackstone Apartments, which is in the West End, which is majority, minority, and disabled, I remember speaking through a translator to someone that I didn't know would use Charles Street. And we have done two audits of Charles Street and gotten every single brick fixed on Charles Street, although they continue to break with the winter and with different weather. I just want to thank the administration particularly for prioritizing the bricks. I know those counselors Flynn and Coletta Zapata that also have a lot of bricks are grateful for those fixes as well. So thank you.

Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak? I want to thank my colleagues for introducing this and for everyone in their work. I'll add myself as among the colleagues who doesn't own a car, but shout out to my mom who lets me drive her car often. But I think making the city a safer city for everyone, a multimodal city, is really important. I want to elevate the importance of making sure that our sidewalks are Safe, especially for those with limited mobility, was hearing about it from residents in Dorchester at Keystone Apartments. It's so hard for people when they are in wheelchairs to be able to get from point A to point B. We can make it easier the more that we're doing to ensure their safety. So I just want to thank all of my colleagues for our collective work in uplifting The importance of pedestrian safety. As an at-large counselor, I hear about it everywhere I go. And as district councilors, I know this is something that you hear about in your districts and matters to all of us because we want personally to be safe. We want our kids to be safe. Our parents, our elderly. So hopefully we can continue to work with the administration to underline how important this is. Not only for our districts, but for the entire city. Would anyone like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, please add Councilors Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Santana, please add the chair. Councillors Pepén, Weber, and Worrell, suspension of the rules and adoption of docket number 1934. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it. This docket is passed. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket number 1935?

Docket number 1935. Councilor Santana offered the following. Resolution recognizing November 2025 as Youth and Young Adult Homelessness Awareness Month.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Santana. Councilor Santana, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to add you as an original co-sponsor. I'm so added. Councilor Santana, you have the floor. I would also like to suspend Rule 12 and add Councilor Fitzgerald as an original co-sponsor.

Councilor Santana seeks to suspend the rule to add Councilor Fitzgerald as the third original co-sponsor. Seeing and hearing no objections, Councilor Fitzgerald is so added. Councilor Santana, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I'm proud to put forth this resolution to recognize Youth and Young Adult Homelessness Awareness Month in the City of Boston. Housing is a human right, and when we fail to safeguard that right, our residents, especially our youth, Suffer the consequences. 1 in 30 youth ages between ages 13 to 17 will experience some form of homelessness this year. And so will 1 in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25. Each of these youth have a story, whether it be a story of transitioning out of foster care system, experiencing abuse, being kicked out because of their gender or sexuality, or being born into intergenerational poverty. Regardless of the reason, when youth become homeless, it's increasingly difficult for them to become stably housed. Each day that a youth experience homelessness, their likelihood of future homelessness increases by 2%. Ensuring that all youth have access to stable housing is a deeply intersectional issue. In Massachusetts, 65% of homeless or unstably housed youth are BIPOC and 26% identify as LGBTQIA2+. We need to address these disparities while also recognizing that these struggles are interlinked The fight for housing access, the fight against racism, the fight against homophobia and transphobia. Youth homelessness is an issue which requires us to recognize the way in which all systems of injustice are connected and calls upon us to address them all. Not only do we have to recognize November as National Youth and Young Adult Homelessness Awareness Month, but we have to take steps as a city to address the systematic reasons for homelessness. uplift the organizations preventing youth homelessness and continue raising awareness year round. I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing November as Youth and Young Adult Homelessness Awareness Month. Thank you.

Thank you. And thank you, Councilor Santana, for fabulous and for adding me. I think you said a lot of why this is important. But I just want to say, The City has made a lot of progress in this area and I just want to give a big shout out to the Mayor's Office of Housing that they've been really diligent in trying to eradicate young adult homelessness and we've had meetings with their office where they've presented us with their work that they've been doing and I just want to give them a big a big shout out and appreciation for the target you know whenever we're trying to do the work of prevention I think investing in people and in providing them with a place to call home is an important part of that strategy. And I just want to uplift also some organizations doing this work. Councilor Santana, you and I were recently Ribbon Cutting for the Hub at break time right here in downtown, Covenant House, Y2Y Project, the Haven Project, Bridge Over Troubled Waters. We have so many great organizations here in the city of Boston. who are doing that targeted work to try to eradicate young and young adult homelessness to make them feel really safe and to help them along their journey. Of course, we're not at zero, but zero is the goal, and we work backwards from there. So thank you for adding me. And the chair recognizes Councilor DeGirold. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. As chair of the Public Health, Homelessness, and Recovery, I've had the opportunity to oversee the hearings on many of the homelessness issues, especially youth homelessness issues. Thanks to the leadership of Councilor Santana as you've dutifully brought those forward. It also gave me insight onto the different demographics within youth homelessness and how it affects those people. I also think about this relationship to Mass and Cass and how there are many different reasons people end up down there and it is not always first. It can be that being a youth homeless will lead them to use drugs and become addicted as a crutch. and as we try and clean up that area it's most important to stop the bleeding where it starts and find these folks these youth homes so they don't have to go down that path so thank you for adding me as a third co-sponsor Councilor Santana and I appreciate your leadership on this.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Mejia. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank Councilor Santana for his leadership, always uplifting and supporting young people. Just wanted to rise and just acknowledge Several organizations who have really been thinking about how they support young people specifically who are aging out of Foster Care. A lot of young people who don't have family members who can say, I got you. So Treehouse, Tree Life, they have this whole program out in Western Mass, and we've been trying to figure out How we do that here in the city of Boston where it's mixed housing for elders and young people who are aging out of foster care so that they can have space together and they take care of one another. So they've built a community. out in Western Mass. And I think that that's a really great example of what it looks like when nonprofit organizations are thinking outside the box. And so I just wanted to uplift them for their work. I know Jerry Robinson, who is the chair of education, has been very involved in that effort. So I think there's something that we can learn from that. And then I also just want to acknowledge More Than Words as an organization that I know we all have really good relationships with. that have been sounding the alarm and how difficult it is for young people who are over 18 and have difficult relationships with their parents and once they turn 18 they have to find their own way home which is one of the reasons why our office One of the first things that we did here when then Mayor Walsh was still in office, we established a line item in the budget specifically for 19 to 24 year olds because the housing issue is part of their stability. and having a line item in the budget dedicated specifically for workforce development initiatives is also a part of that conversation for housing. So just want to uplift all the efforts that have been done Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Flynn.

You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I also want to say thank you to Santana for his work on supporting youth in their ability and their opportunities to get supportive housing. It's a critical issue and some councilors also mentioned Bridge Over Troubled Waters. I've been proud to work with them for eight years. It's located in my district. I've had an opportunity to visit with them. maybe about a month ago and want to highlight Bridge Over Troubled Waters. And also the important work they do, especially with young people and young people from the LGBTQ plus community that are homeless. And they provide compassionate services and support to them. So I want to say thank you to the Bridge Over Troubled Waters I know also the hub is in my district, in district two I should say, and although I wasn't at the ribbon cutting, I did support them relocating into the downtown area. It's about working together, respecting each other, and ensuring young people and people that are homeless have an opportunity to be treated with dignity and respect. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, the Chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. You have the floor.

Thank you so much. I just want to thank the lead sponsor for your work on this. Recently, I went on a homeless outreach walk with Mary Ann Ponte from St. Francis House. Flens, through the Boston Common and downtown Boston. We stepped into Councilor Coletta Zapata's district and Councilor Flynn's district because we know that homelessness doesn't know our district boundaries. I met a veteran. We spoke directly with him. He was addicted to K2 and I found out the next day that he went into detox and I was really proud that we had that conversation. We met a woman who was recently the victim of sexual assault. We met an entrepreneur from New York who was so ambitious and he just didn't have anywhere to stay for the night. When I came, we met a woman who was dealing with delusions and mental health issues. And I came out of this experience with such a profound understanding of what mental outreach workers are dealing with, what homeless outreach workers are dealing with, and we absolutely need to pay them more. The idea that We have folks going out into the community, oftentimes putting themselves in risky situations, I don't know who would do that job other than someone who truly, absolutely cares and it's part of their life mission for the amount of money that we are spending. on each of these individuals. So I would like to just preemptively say that in next year's budget I will be advocating for these outreach workers to make more money. I think that the Boston Public Health Commission is doing what they can, but they absolutely need our support in the budget process. So I just want to thank the sponsors, and I just want to thank Mary Ann Ponte and every outreach worker that goes out every single day in order to get that man into detox, in order to do that really hard work that's important. So thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor O'Reilly. You have the floor. Thank you, Madam President. I also want to thank the sponsor and also just uplift again and shout out more than words. But yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Tech Boston Academy, 27 seniors who were focused on this specific issue. and they had kind of like the same initiative or idea to push forward what they're calling Quality Home for Humankind, this workforce development supportive housing for their peers that they have seen that have left school or graduated are now facing homelessness. So I just want to uplift Principal Cleary, Dr. P, but also these young people who are putting forward a campaign that is centered around this same initiative. And their campaign slogan is, we give a future. So I just want to just shout them out and looking forward to partnering with them and connecting them to other partnerships to make a real dent in this issue. Thank you. Thank you.

Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, could you please add Councilors Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Weber, Worrell? Santana, Louijeune, and Fitzgerald seek suspension of the rules and adoption of docket number 1935. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it. This docket is passed. We are now moving on to personnel orders, but before we do that, would anyone like to add their name or put forward a motion to reconsider on anything when they were outside of chambers? No. Okay. We are now moving on to personnel orders. Mr. Clerk. Would you please read the personnel order? Oh, we do the green sheets. For some reason, it's reversed here. Okay, we are now moving on to green sheets. Would anyone like to pull anything from the green sheets? The chair recognizes Councilor Breadon. Councilor Breadon, you have the floor.

Madam President, I'd like to take docket 0102 from the green sheets.

0102.

It's on page 16.

Page 16. Mr. Clerk, do you have that in front of you? Mr. Clerk, could you please read the docket into the record?

From the Committee on Housing and Community Development, docket number 0102. Message in order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $25 million in the form of a grant for the Harvard-Alston-Brighton Fund Grant awarded by the Harvard Business School to be administered by the Mayor's Office of Housing. The grant will fund the creation of affordable home ownership, affordable rental housing in the Alston Bright neighborhoods.

Okay, thank you. Absent objection, the motion of the committee chair is accepted and the docket is properly before the body. Councillor Breadon, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. This docket was first referred to the committee on March 27th, 2024. That was last year. And part of the issue was that we would like to Take this out of committee and place it on file and then we intend to refile this docket again in 2026 in an amended form. The current DOC at 0102 has more than one error in it in terms of the amount of money that is in the grant and also the source of the money and we would like to refile it again in the new year. After the new session with an amended document. Thank you.

Thank you. Just concentrating so that I'm clear, is it a DACA that you filed or a DACA that the administration filed?

The administration filed it.

And they're asking for what?

We've been trying to correct the language, but we haven't done it yet. And also, we cannot withdraw any money from it until next year anyway.

Okay. So the ask is to just place it on file.

Place it on file. We'll bring it back out again in the new year.

Okay. All right, this docket will be placed on file. Is anyone else looking to pull anything from the green sheets? Okay. We are now moving on to personnel orders. Mr. Clerk. Would you please read the personnel order? The personnel orders, plural.

First late-file personnel order, Councilor.

Oh, are these, I'm sorry, are these late-file personnel orders? We're just on personnel orders, not late-files. There aren't any on the agenda? There aren't any? No. All right, so no personnel orders. Okay, and then we did green sheets. Okay, we are now moving on to late files. I've been informed by the clerk that there are Five late file matters. Three personnel. Three personnel late file matters and two.

And two, one emergency resolution.

Okay, we will take a vote to add the three late file personnel orders onto the agenda. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. The ayes have it. They have been added onto the record. Mr. Clerk, could you please read them into the record?

Three late personnel orders. First one, Councilor Louijeune for Councilor Mejia. Second personnel late order, Councilor Louijeune for Councilor Mejia. And the third late personnel order for Councilor Louijeune.

Thank you. We'll now take a vote on these late file personnel orders. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it. This docket has, these personnel orders have passed. Mr. Clerk, could you please read the first late file resolution into the record?

Offered by Councilors Coletta Zapata and Councilor Louijeune. Resolution condemning the Trump administration's failure to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.

Thank you. Absent objection, this late-file resolution matter is added onto the record. The chair recognizes Councilor Coletta Zapata. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to suspend Rule 12 and add Councilor Durkan as the third original co-sponsor.

Councilor Coletta Zapata seeks to suspend the rules, add Councilor Durkan as the third original co-sponsor. Seeing and hearing no objections, Councilor Durkan is so added. Councilor Coletta Zapata, you have the floor.

Thank you so much, Madam President. Today I rise in outrage and in solidarity with the 1.1 million of our neighbors who live in Massachusetts who are staring down the barrel of hunger because of the cruelty of this presidential administration. These are working people. They're working two or three jobs. They're seniors on fixed income. They're people with disabilities. They're veterans. There are single parents trying to stretch every dollar, and they are not failing. The system is failing them. The problem is not a kid who receives $6 a day for SNAP. Let's name the problem. It's billionaires. like the Walton family who are worth $470 billion or Jeff Bezos, who is worth $247 billion. They employ millions of people across this country and pay their workers so low that their workers need food stamps. One of my final projects in college was to review and study the welfare debate of the 1990s. And there was a lot of talk in the public discourse about welfare queens. And so in this day and age, The real welfare queens are these billionaires who pay starvation wages. Never in our history is a president actively choosing to cancel SNAP. And even before the shutdown, he canceled $186 billion in SNAP coverage. All the while, he's spending billions of dollars to terrorize our communities and our beloved immigrants, neighbors, and brothers and sisters. He's bailing out his billionaire buddies. He's sending $20 billion to Argentina for whatever reason, we still don't know. And he's spending $300 million to build a tacky, gilded ballroom while Americans go starving right before Thanksgiving. This is not a natural disaster. It's a man-made crisis. And the problem is that it's 100% preventable. Come to Reverend First, millions of people, including 16 million children and 1 million veterans, will lose access to food assistance. Here in Massachusetts, it will devastate families and overwhelm food pantries. Project Bread has said that they anticipate four times as many people going to your local food pantry. Think about these volunteers who do this work every single day and how they're just trying to keep things together. Food is not a privilege, it is a human right. No one in America should go to bed hungry while billionaires build their ballrooms. This is not about a deficit of resources. As our Congresswoman has said, it's about a deficit of empathy. And so we condemn these cuts. And I also just want to uplift people and organizations doing this work every day. People can call the Project Bread's food source hotline at 1-800-645-8333. It's available in multiple languages. Also, school meals with benefits. and state funded programs like the Healthy Incentives Program and cash assistance remain available. Please go to mass.gov forward slash snap updates to get the latest information. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Coletta Zapata, for that forceful condemnation. And I also just want to say thank you to the governor for her leadership in really pushing back against these cuts. These are deliberate. They are intended to cause harm, and they will cause harm for our residents. The governor has been forceful in saying that there is no way that we can make up this gap for the amount of money that we get Every month, around $240 million to feed the neediest among us. And so this is... This is an unfortunate, preventable, violent act against our neediest communities. I don't think that we are prepared for the phone calls that we are gonna get to our offices. from our neighbors, our residents who are struggling to find food. We are already seeing so many problems with food insecurity and this is just further aggravating it. And so there's still time to act, but if there is no action, then November 1st, a lot of our residents here in the city of Boston will be struggling even more than they're already struggling. Many of our working class residents who are working jobs and still not making enough money employees at Amazon, at different places around our city who are just trying to make ends meet to feed their families and can't do so. Meanwhile, we're subsidizing corporations and corporate greed forces people to to have to go to food banks and food pantries and rely on food assistance. So we're doing everything we can, sharing information, advocating, but want people to know that we strongly, as our governor does, condemns the actions of this administration. The first president to allow SNAP benefits to terminate during a shutdown. It's inhumane. I want residents to know that the Greater Boston Food Bank has an agency partner locator for our residents around the city. who will need food. I want to shout out the incredible food pantries in Mattapin, Ms. Shirley's Food Pantry, Roslindale, East Boston, Soup Kitchen, everywhere around our city there are so many people, our churches, that are trying to stand in the gap, but there's no way that they're going to be able to account for the loss that we're going to experience. The chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Chair. Yesterday I stood with the Attorney General and with the coalition, the Make Hunger History Coalition, with Project Bread, with the Greater Boston Food Bank on the steps of the State House. And what I told this coalition was thank you because a lot of my constituents feel absolutely no hope right now. I have I've known the faces of those that are on SNAP because they've reached out when there has been SNAP fraud and this has really kept me up a lot of nights because I've had family members who have relied on SNAP and I've stood in the line handing out food to Fenway Cares recipients in the Fenway. I've gone to Woman's Lunch Place. We recently permitted ABCD is now at the West End Neighborhood Center. We know that those that are needy are among us every single day. and back when the big beautiful bill passed I put forward a hearing order about the impacts on our residents. I had no clue that this would happen so soon but In a place where we have world-class health care, nobody should be going hungry. In a place where we have world-class institutions, nobody should go hungry. So the past day we've been on the phone trying to figure out how we can help our constituents. And I know every single one of you has been doing the same. I just want to thank my council colleagues. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. but within all of the institutions, within all of the colleges, within all of these institutions, there are small buildings of elderly and disabled people that live throughout my district who get forgotten about. And I want to make sure that they don't get forgotten about and that they don't go to sleep hungry. So thank you so much.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Flynn on the floor.

Thank you Madam Chair. I want to say thank you to Councilor Coletta Zapata for bringing this forward. Councilor Zapata, Coletta Zapata also mentioned the millions of veterans that will soon To be without food after they served our country, maybe injured or disabled, and after their service to our country, now without food. Unconscionable. So I want to acknowledge Councilor Zapata, Coletta Zapata for bringing that forward and acknowledging the veterans and so many elderly and working families. I also wanted to acknowledge Councilor Murphy had invited a friend of mine, really. Her name was Cheryl Eitry from the South Boston neighborhood house. We met with her today before the start of the city council meeting. and the South Boston neighborhood house where she works for 50 years is already working on this issue. And they gave us a briefing about what they're doing because South Boston has probably the most residents living in public housing and in poverty probably more so than any neighborhood. But I want to acknowledge the role South Boston Neighborhood House is playing in support of families and elderly for people in need. And Councilor Murphy, you brought that issue forward and want to acknowledge that. Also in my neighborhood in South Boston, ABCD plays a critical role. And throughout Chinatown and throughout the city of Boston, really, Women's Lunchplace that my wife Kristen and I support, among other organizations. They do an incredible, incredible role as well, especially supporting women. and women of color as well throughout the city. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, the Chair organizes. Councillor Pepén, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you to Councillor Coletta Zapata and yourself for bringing this resolution here to the Chamber. This is really disheartening to just be speaking about this here today. I don't know how many people are going to be impacted by this. There's a graphic going on that one in five children eat because of SNAP benefits. It's a very high number. It's a very high number of our people that depend on these resources to simply put food on their table. But unfortunately, here we are again as municipal leaders trying to clean up the mess and distress calls Thank you. Thank you. I think that this is a call to all of us though, to really stand up and not just as city councilors, but even as neighbors to knock on your neighbor's door and check I want to give a shout out to the residents that have already reached out to me saying, where can I donate? Is there a food pantry that I can take food to? Is there someone fundraising? Is there somewhere that I can help? I know that the city of Boston as always we always stand up and we look out for one another so I also just want to elevate as you mentioned Madam President the amount of food pantry that exists in my district there's quite a bit that do a lot of great work but I know that they're going to be burdened in the next month or two moving forward with how much demand they're going to have but again I'm very disheartened that we're having this conversation and looking forward to partnering with every single one in this chamber to make sure that no one goes unfed in the city of Boston. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Mejia. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you to Coletta Zapata and yourself and Councilor Durkan for filing this. I too stand in complete Thank you. Thank you. I know people thought I was crazy for saying it, but I do believe that these are opportunities for us to choose to experience them from a place of and what can we do and standing in the gap. Yes, calling out our federal leaders, but I think that this is where innovation comes from. During COVID, we saw mutual aid groups. We saw people come together. We saw people taking care of each other. And I think while yes, we're gonna call everybody out, I also think that this is where the opportunity lies for us to help support how do we stand in that gap. How do we create opportunities to build infrastructure for some of our mutual aid groups who are already tapped out? How do we tap into our own personal networks to motivate people to action? How do we tap into You know, higher ed institutions, right? Big corporate fat cats who are living off of the backs of the very same people they're just placing every day. So I just think, where does the opportunity lie for us locally to really galvanize and to really see what it looks like to build upon our collective power. I would really love to see that in the face of what we are experiencing because that would be the best clap back to that administration. that we as a people are going to take care of each other while we're also holding them accountable to this situation. So yes, all of this. and I believe that we can do better and I believe we have an opportunity to demonstrate what humanity is all about. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Breadon. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I think everyone has spoken very eloquently about the extent of the problem. It is sort of a double whammy in the sense that our federal workers, many of them are going without pay. Some of them are expected to continue to work without pay. So we're not only seeing the usual folks that turn up to the food pantry to find food, but federal workers are also turning up to food pantries to look for food. It's a very, very extreme and intolerable situation. I do want to give a shout out to the Austin Brighton Food Pantry and the Community Fringe, which is at 404 Washington Street, Brighton. So if we have neighbors who would like to donate some food, To the Community Fridge, it's at that location at the Congregational Church in Brighton Centre, and they always welcome donations. So I think to Councillor Mejia's point, this is an opportunity, like during COVID, we did Thank you very much. Thank you very much. decides to come back to the table and negotiate and end this shutdown of the federal government. Thank you. Thank you.

The chair recognizes Councillor Murphy of the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to go off of what Councilor Mejia mentioned about how we did come together as a city during COVID. We can do hard things. And one of the things Kathy Lafferty said earlier is, you know, they've been for days now working together with all of the South Boston nonprofits, and I know that's happening in every single neighborhood across the city. that those people who always show up those organizations are working together and one thing they're working on that they're sharing out with us is the database of all the different places and organizations that you can go to for a Thank you very much. Those who step up and give back and will be helping fill these food pantries that we know will continue to have even longer lines. We need to also use our platforms to inform people. Because one of the things she said is the calls she's getting and her staff are getting, and we all probably are getting also, Where do we turn and what do we do? And there are things that we can support and do, so let's make sure that we're sharing out all that information for our residents.

Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, please add Councillors Breadon, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell. Councilors Coletta Zapata, Louijeune, and Durkan seek suspension of the rules and adoption of this late file resolution. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it, this resolution is passed. Mr. Clerk, could you please do the next late file emergency hearing order into the record.

Offered by Councilor Aaron Murphy, an emergency order for a hearing regarding the increase and spread of needle-related public health and safety hazards in Boston.

Okay. Absent objection, the hearing order, the late-file hearing order is allowed. And Councilor Murphy, you have the floor.

Council of Flynn.

Flynn is so added. Councilor Murphy, you have the floor.

I'd like to suspend the rules and add Councilor Fitzgerald.

Councilor Murphy seeks to suspend the rules to add Councilor Fitzgerald as the third original co-sponsor. Seeing and hearing no objections, Councilor Fitzgerald is so added. Councilor Murphy, you have the floor.

Thank you. So I prepared this emergency hearing order on the alarming rise in discarded needles across our city. The recent study by James Piccarilli found that needle reports are up more than 75% since 2022. and 20% just in the past year. What once was concentrated around the Mass and Cass area has now spread to neighbourhoods across Boston, with parts of the South End, Roxbury and Dorchester seeing This is a public health and safety emergency that affects every neighborhood. Families, seniors, and even pets are being exposed to hazardous wastes on sidewalks, playgrounds, and in our parks. This hearing order calls for answers and action, including restoring and funding the Community Syringe Redemption Program or other options that will make sure that the needles do not get discarded where our children and seniors and residents walk and play. This program is just one that helped keep our streets cleaner and safer. So, Councilor Flynn and Fitzgerald and I, we've stood together with the South End and Roxbury Dorchester residents for many years now about their concerns, but this Report and this data is just highlighting the work that we're already doing, but we need to, I think, really focus in on the needle specifically and see what we can do as a city to clean this up. So thank you.

Thank you, the Chair recognizes Councilor Flynn of the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Last night I was at a virtual meeting with the Worcester Square Neighborhood Association Residents were extremely concerned, residents of the south end in Roxbury, extremely concerned about the number of needles that are being found in the south end in Roxbury and Dorchester. South Boston, but really across the city in many neighborhoods in Back Bay and Beacon Hill. It's having a devastating impact on public safety and the quality of life, public health as well, as far as I'm concerned. I had a little boy in my district. His name was Mason. He lived in public housing right across from the locally park. His mother was taking him to the park after school and he got pricked by a needle. And his mother had to take him for about two months to the hospital every day We get various vaccinations. Thank God he's fine. He's a healthy boy. I visit him often, and he's a wonderful, wonderful boy. If this doesn't alarm us as residents, then nothing will. We just can't sit here and agree that we have a major problem without taking any action. Residents are crying for help across the city. They're begging for help from city councilors looking for us to come up with some solutions and answers about how we're going to solve this. But we just can't allow someone to use drugs on someone's stairs and leave discarded needles as you take your little kid to school or you or you have to walk over someone. People are sleeping in other people's cars, breaking in at night, and then when you drive to work, the person's in your car and there's needles scattered throughout your car. This is a public health issue, it's a public safety issue, and the Boston City Council needs to get off the sidelines and get involved in this issue. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair recognizes Councilor Fitzgerald, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. So I have a little good news, bad news on this topic. And I thank Councilor Murphy and Councilor Flynn in supporting their efforts here. Of course, with the breakup of Mass and Cass on Atkinson Street and Topeka, we've seen sort of the activity spread into the surrounding neighborhoods, as we know, Edward Everett Square, Andrew Square, Nubian Square, Upham's Corner and beyond. Hence why we have the increase in the 311 reports on safety hazards. So this impact is now affecting more people because of the spread into the neighborhoods. However, due to the advocacy from the constituents in the neighborhood as well as folks here on the council that are behind this and everyone else on this body, There is some good news. However, there is a lot more work to be done. This is not a victory parade. I just want to have some updated stats because I always get these through my office. We are now giving out about 10,000 less needles per week. The fact that 10,000 needles less per week is even given out is an insane number, and we want to work on that. But there is less needles being given out. We have worked to improve. We do proactive sweeps of the schools and parks first. So they're prioritizing that for our residents. and we're improving the quality of the Mobile Sharps team as best we can and we've also responded the extended the outreach hours to respond to 311 calls from 5 a.m. to midnight. So the outreach is getting out there, but we are not keeping pace with the fact that the The people who are feeling the impact and even one needle in any park is one needle too many, as Councilor Flynn has pointed out with Mason. and so we really are trying to look to do that but we need to do more but I do want to just give one shining example of sort of how we're making an effort but we still have a long long way to go to the impact on this order of needles so Thank you very much again to Councilor Flynn and Councilor Murphy. Appreciate it.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. You have the floor.

Thank you so much. I want to thank the sponsors. This is absolutely an issue that matters for my district. I do also want to just shout out to the Sharps team my gratefulness that they are Now picking up needles in state-owned land. That has been a huge issue in my district because obviously jurisdictional nonsense. Sometimes you're in your neighborhood, but We do still have an issue with potentially DCR encampments in District 8. and many more. We absolutely have work to do in coordination. So I just wanted to ask the lead sponsors if there could be at least a little bit of a lens in this Just in coordination with the state because it's something that I deal with in my district on the Esplanade and in Charles Gate and other places but I Thank you. I absolutely hear from constituents about this particular issue. I am supportive of harm reduction strategies, and I think there's a lot of nuance that needs to go into these conversations. The quality of life is my top issue and I want my constituents to know that I'm fighting for them and that if there are delays in needle pickups, I am absolutely on the phone and advocating for them. because it's incredibly important to make sure that kids can play, that seniors and dogs and everyone in between can travel through our neighborhood safely. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Weber. You have the floor.

Thank you very much and thank you to the filers. I think this is an incredibly important issue. I myself have come across needles in Jamaica Plain just walking my dog. I will say filing 301 complaints has resulted in those needles being quickly picked up, but that doesn't, Excuse their appearance. This is around schools and playgrounds. But I do think that if we're talking about needles, and that is the primary concern of this hearing, We've talked about this before on the Council. Safe Injection Sites has a proven track record of reducing needles on the streets. I hope that'll be part of the conversation. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councilor Weber. Is anyone else looking to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Mr. Clerk, please add Councilors Breadon, Coletta Zapata, Durkan, Mejia, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell. Please add the chair. This docket will be referred to the committee on public health, homelessness, and recovery. Mr. Clerk, okay, that's it for late files. Okay, we are now moving on to the consent agenda. I've been informed by the clerk that there are no additions to the consent agenda. The question now comes on approval of the various matters contained within the consent agenda. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Thank you. The consent agenda has been adopted. We are now on to announcements. Please remember that these are for upcoming dates and events. Michael, it's good to see you here, our 14th member of the council. Thanks for being here. Claire Brooks has a birthday coming up. Happy birthday. We have our chamber trick or treat this Friday around 11. Want to make sure all my colleagues come, bring candy. We'll also be having some special guest appearances that you won't want to miss for our little kiddos, so make sure you're here on Friday. On Sunday is JP Open Streets. And also, next Tuesday is the election. So I hope everyone goes out and votes. There's early voting happening today, tomorrow, and Friday at City Hall. and then there's early voting happening tomorrow at the BCYF Tobin in Mission Hill. Florian Hall, and St. Nectarios, Florian Hall in Dorchester, and St. Nectarios in Rosendale, all of that happening from noon to 8 p.m., and on election day itself, it will be, which is next Tuesday, November 4th, it will be from 7 a.m. until polls close at 8 p.m. Happy voting, everyone. And if any of my colleagues have any announcements, now is the time. I'll go around the horseshoe. The chair recognizes Councilor Breadon. You have the floor.

I'd like to invite you all to our lunch and learn immediately when we adjourn. In the Curley Room, we have the Common Room. It's a nonprofit organization that provides A space for young adults on the autism spectrum to meet and gather and socialise and learn new skills. So you're all very welcome and we have lunch provided by Swiss Bakers. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Durkan. Councilor Durkan, you have the floor. Now you have the floor.

Thank you. Happy early Halloween to everyone. I just wanted to shout out some of the more iconic things happening in District 8 for Halloween. particularly Friday from 5 30 to 8 Marlboro Street has their annual um it's not just Marlboro Street it's NAB has their annual um Hallowen celebration with kids. I just wanted to make sure that all my colleagues, especially the Outlarge colleagues, know about this on Friday. There's a lot happening in District 8, to Knight, there's the NAB Mobility Forum from 6.30 to 8 p.m. I know it's on their website, but Chief Yasha Franklin-Hodge will be there and just wanted to make sure that everyone knew about that particular event. And I just want to say congratulations to the new Berkeley president, Jim Lucchese, who will be taking office through his inauguration tomorrow. Congratulations to Berkeley's new president. Thank you.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Weber.

Councilor Weber, you have the floor. Okay, thank you very much. I think, so Open Streets, Sunday, did you say Saturday?

Oh, I'm sorry, let's say Saturday.

Maybe you said Sunday. I just want to make sure. Sunday, 9 o'clock, Open Streets during the day. I hope to see people out there. I just in the past, but Monday, I'd like to just congratulate my daughter, Hannah. She turned 14. Great, great job. Getting that far. Allendale Farm, for folks who lose SNAP benefits, is going to have farmers markets at the Lorraine Greenau House. on Thursdays from 11 to 1, starting November 6th, so the 6th, 13th, and 20th. If you've lost SNAP benefits, head down to Lauren Greenau House, and Allendale Farm will Be able to provide some relief. Also, I think tomorrow, Trader Joe's is opening in West Roxbury. you're in the neighborhood stop by and I know other people do work with Trader Joe's to provide food to folks I think you know there's I know former Boston Police Sergeant, Larry Allison, Nam-Leo Head, and Jamal Crawford do that program using food from Trader Joe's, so hopefully we'll be able to use that as a resource for folks in the community also. Thank you.

Thank you. Chair recognizes Councilor Worrell. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. And this is more of a fundraising call or donation call. As many of you may know that Jamaica is experienced in a category five. Hurricane right now and there's a lot of efforts to fundraise and make sure that after the Hurricane Melissa goes through Jamaica that they are supported. You have organizations like Jamaican Association of Massachusetts, which is led by Jennifer James, that's doing a fundraiser. Then you also have the Jamaican government that put up a website and a way for people to donate. and that website is supportjamaica.gov and on that website you'll be able to see a list of things that the country will need after the storm. Batteries, mattresses, clothes, So please, if you are able and willing, I just want to point you to those efforts for the island of Jamaica. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Rowland. We are praying for the people of Jamaica. and others in the Caribbean, like Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, who have also been in the eye of the storm, but really praying for the people of Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa makes its way through. Okay, we are now moving on to memorials. Would anyone like to end the council meeting on behalf of anyone who has passed? Now is the time. I uplifted him last week but yesterday was the viewing and today is a funeral for the late Judge Honorable Leslie Earl Harris and just want to again continue to give his family my best and I hope he's resting in peace and power. Okay. I see no lights, so today we will adjourn our meeting on behalf of myself, Gregory Andre, and two Pyle Driver Local 56 members who died after an Everett Crane collapse on Mystic River, Lariston Lake of Rosendale, and Paul Ledwell, 37, of Middleborough. A moment of silence. The chair moves that when the council adjourns today, it does so in memory of the aforementioned individuals. The council is scheduled to meet again in the Ayanala Chamber next Wednesday, November 5th, 2025 at 12 noon. Thank you to my colleagues, central staff, the clerk in the clerk's office, and the council stenographer. All in favor of adjournment, please say aye. Aye. The council is adjourned.