City Council

• Councilor Pepén presented a City Council citation to Alexa Gumberg, organizer of the Boston chapter of Ride for Your Life, and welcomed crash survivor Sherry Arrington.
• The presentation recognized the upcoming annual Ride for Your Life walk and memorial ride on Sunday, October 25, honoring Louisa Gag and the 255 people killed in traffic violence across Massachusetts in 2026.

• Message and order for the confirmation of the appointment of Burton Malkofsky as a renewal constable authorized to serve civil process upon filing bond for a term ending April 30, 2029.
• Committee Chair Santana reported that the appointee has served for over a decade with regular reappointments.
• Rules were suspended, and the appointment was confirmed by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

The Council placed the following communications on file:

• Communication from Councilor Flynn transmitting the FY26 Annual Report of the Office of the Veteran Advocate (Docket 1955).
• Communication from Councilor Flynn regarding Boston police officers assaulted in Blackstone Park (Docket 1956).
• Communication from Councilors Culpepper and Worrell regarding civil rights concerns regarding the Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan (Docket 1957).

The Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation recommended confirmation of ten appointments and reappointments to the Zoning Board of Appeal:

• Reappointment of Giovanny Valencia, term expiring May 1, 2027 (Docket 1515). Passed 13-0.
• Reappointment of Katie Whewell, term expiring May 1, 2027 (Docket 1516). Passed 13-0.
• Reappointment of Alan E. Langham, term expiring May 1, 2028 (Docket 1517). Passed 13-0.
• Reappointment of Sherry Dong, term expiring May 1, 2029 (Docket 1518). Passed 13-0.
• Appointment of Shamaiah Turner, term expiring May 1, 2029 (Docket 1519). Passed 13-0.
• Reappointment of Jeanne Pinado as an alternate member, term expiring May 1, 2027 (Docket 1520). Passed 13-0.
• Reappointment of David Collins as an alternate member, term expiring May 1, 2028 (Docket 1521). Passed 12-0 (Councilor Mejia absent for the vote).
• Appointment of Carla Montero as an alternate member, term expiring May 1, 2028 (Docket 1522). Passed 12-0 (Councilor Mejia absent for the vote).
• Appointment of Patrick Walsh as an alternate member, term expiring November 1, 2028 (Docket 1523). Passed 13-0.
• Appointment of William Masterson as an alternate member, term expiring May 1, 2029 (Docket 1524). Passed 13-0.

• Order authorizing the acceptance and expenditure of a $3,250,220 Boston MPO Surplus FY26 Community Connections Grant awarded by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to the Boston Transportation Department.
• Committee Chair Durkan explained that the funds will purchase 887 e-bikes and 434 spare batteries, allowing Boston to expand its fleet to 33% e-bikes to meet surging transit demand, especially in outer neighborhoods like Mattapan and southern Dorchester where over 50% of trips utilize e-bikes.
• Councilor Flynn voiced caution regarding e-bike safety regulations and battery fire hazards.
• Passed 13-0.

• Order authorizing the acceptance and expenditure of a $500,000 grant from the Mayor's Migration Council Global Cities Fund, awarded by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement.
• Councilor Culpepper reported the funding will establish Boston's first immigrant-led worker-owned home care cooperative, creating cooperative membership pathways for approximately 60 immigrant workers while providing home care services to more than 100 residents.
• Passed 12-0 (Councilor Murphy absent for the vote).

• Committee Chair Durkan summarized an October 19 hearing on a proposed zoning text amendment to prohibit data centers across all zoning districts.
• Administration officials from the Planning Department and DoIT testified that there is no imminent threat of hyperscale data centers in Boston given land and energy costs, and that data centers currently undergo conditional use review under Article 80.
• Sponsors and committee members agreed to collaborate with the Planning Department to craft modernized, targeted zoning definitions and frameworks rather than an outright citywide ban.
• Docket 1718 was retained in the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation.

• Councilor Pepén reported on an October 20 hearing regarding increasing the percentage of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds dedicated to affordable housing.
• Lead sponsor Councilor Worrell advocated directing the flexible 10% CPA allocation toward affordable homeownership projects to curb gentrification and displacement, noting that no new affordable homeownership construction units were funded in the last CPA round.
• Docket 1601 was retained in the Committee on the Community Preservation Act.

• Education Committee Chair Mejia summarized an October 20 hearing regarding BPS prevention, investigation, and reporting protocols for bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct.
• Witnesses and community coalitions noted over 2,000 underreported incidents and criticized inconsistent responses, investigation delays, lack of trauma-informed care, and fears of retaliation among families.
• Recommendations included independent oversight, publicly accessible anonymized data dashboards, and standardized reporting timelines.
• Docket 0407 was retained in the Committee on Education.

• An ordinance establishing a "Worst Landlords List" and strengthening enforcement against chronic offenders and scofflaws, sponsored by Councilors Breadon and Worrell.
• The ordinance establishes a points-based system for serious housing infractions, publishing a biannual list of repeat offenders who will face heightened inspections, maximum statutory fines, and disqualification from city contracts, grants, zoning relief, and Article 80 approvals.
• Referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

• An ordinance establishing the Displacement Impact Mitigation Initiative and Trust Fund, sponsored by Councilors Mejia, Worrell, and Louijeune.
• The measure requires proactive displacement impact assessments and developer mitigation plans, financed through a trust fund that may capture future linkage fees to assist vulnerable tenants and small businesses.
• Referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

• An ordinance establishing neighborhood-based affordability standards, sponsored by Councilors Mejia, Worrell, and Culpepper.
• The ordinance directs city housing programs to calculate affordability according to neighborhood-specific Area Median Income (AMI) rather than regional federal figures that inflate rent thresholds beyond local working-class wages in neighborhoods like Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.
• Referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

• Petition for a special law directing the Boston Fire Department to waive the maximum age limit for applicant Steve McGuire, an Emergency Management employee and longtime city worker who completed testing after passing the age ceiling of 36.
• Passed 11-0 (Councilors Durkan and Louijeune absent for the vote).

• Petition for a special law directing the Boston Police Department to waive the maximum age limit for police recruit Haji Mohamed Beyo, a 23-year Mission Hill resident, healthcare worker, and Liberian immigrant who recently completed civil service testing.
• Passed by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

• Order for a hearing to explore increasing the 3% cost-of-living adjustment base for retirees within the Boston Retirement System, sponsored by Councilors Flynn, Mejia, and Murphy.
• Proponents highlighted that the annual COLA base has remained frozen since 2021, capping yearly increases at $450 despite substantial post-pandemic inflation.
• Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

• Order for a hearing regarding a recent $1.4 million civil jury verdict against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, involving $1 million in damages and $400,000 in punitive damages awarded to a former employee alleging racial discrimination and severe workplace retaliation.
• Sponsored by Councilors Flynn, Worrell, and Mejia.
• Referred to the Committee on City Services.

• Order for a hearing to review the October 2023 memorandum of understanding between the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department regarding pre-arraignment detention at the Nashua Street Jail and South Bay House of Correction.
• Sponsored by Councilors Culpepper, Flynn, and Santana, citing tracking difficulties for families and counsel, inadequate medical evaluations, and custodial deaths including the December 2025 homicide of Shakobi Kenny.
• Referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

• Order for a hearing to review the restructuring and transition of SuccessLink into the Boston City Youth Corps, sponsored by Councilors Santana, Mejia, and Worrell.
• Sponsors criticized an abrupt transition that delivered only 400 school-year placements compared to the 2,000 positions originally anticipated, while disrupting funding to grassroots youth mentorship nonprofits.
• Referred to the Committee on Labor and Economic Development.

• Order for a hearing to review findings and recommendations in the FY26 Annual Report issued by the Massachusetts Office of the Veteran Advocate, sponsored by Councilor Flynn.
• Referred to the Committee on Veterans, Military Families and Military Affairs.

• Order to issue an official summons requiring Phillip Eng, General Manager of the MBTA and Interim Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation, to appear before the Committee on Civil Rights, Racial Equity and Immigrant Advancement.
• Lead sponsor Councilor Culpepper stated that Eng failed to attend or provide written testimony at an October 14 off-site committee hearing in Dorchester examining long-standing rail transit inequities and crash data concerning the Blue Hill Avenue corridor.
• Councilor Durkan opposed the summons, asserting that council subpoena authority under state law does not clearly extend to state agency leadership and warning against setting counterproductive precedents.
• Councilor Pepén opposed the summons because the General Manager had attended three previous community meetings in the corridor.
• Passed 8-1 (Councilor Durkan voting in the negative; Councilors Fitzgerald, Pepén, and Weber voting present; Councilor Coletta Zapata absent for the vote). The chair announced: "Eight votes in the affirmative."

• Order filed under City Charter Section 17F by Councilor Murphy requesting documentation from the administration regarding overdue responses to three previously filed 17F orders that went unanswered past the statutory seven-day deadline.
• Passed 12-0 (Councilor Flynn absent for the vote).

• Resolution urging the United States Postal Service to secure an immediate, permanent replacement site for the Fields Corner Post Office in Dorchester prior to its pending closure.
• Councilors cited the prolonged seven-year closure of the Allston branch as evidence of USPS operational disinvestment affecting seniors, non-English-speaking residents, and veterans relying on prescription mailings.
• Adopted by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

• Resolution recognizing the Ride for Your Life memorial event and reaffirming Boston's policy commitment to Vision Zero, comprehensive traffic calming, pedestrian infrastructure, and strict vehicular speed enforcement.
• Adopted by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

• Resolution endorsing federal bill H.R. 210, the Dental Care for Veterans Act, introduced by Representative Julia Brownley to expand comprehensive VA dental benefits to all enrolled veterans.
• Passed by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

• Resolution urging Congress and the federal administration to reverse an estimated $18 million reduction to the Boston Housing Authority's operating budget, lift the federal voucher issuance freeze in place since February 2024, and reject regulatory rollbacks impacting mixed-status immigrant families.
• Adopted by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

• Resolution endorsing state House Bill 5116 to name the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court in honor of the late Suffolk Juvenile Court Judge Leslie E. Harris, recognizing his pioneering judicial service, legal mentorship, and civil rights leadership.
• Adopted by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."

• Resolution designating Election Day as a civic holiday for Boston City Council staff and calling upon the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to declare it an official statutory holiday.
• Councilors Flynn, Murphy, and Fitzgerald opposed the measure, arguing it confers an unfair incumbent campaign advantage by freeing municipal council aides, creates disparate treatment across municipal departments, and is unnecessary in light of widespread early voting and mail-in ballots.
• Passed 10-3 (Councilors Fitzgerald, Flynn, and Murphy voting in the negative).

• Resolution designating November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Boston, emphasizing screening access, health disparities among Black men and military veterans, and promoting the Breath Deep Boston Walk.
• Adopted by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it."