WHILE CERTAIN FACTIONS of the Boston City Council appear to be coming around in support of Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposed middle-of-the road rent control home rule, stakeholders outside the chamber may not so easily come together. On The Codcast, Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, and freshman Boston Rep. Sam Montaño […]
Housing
Posted inOpinion
We don’t just need housing, we need affordable housing
WHILE ECONOMIC RECOVERY takes hold across many Massachusetts communities, residents of the city of Chelsea, the epicenter of the pandemic in the state, continue to experience acute housing and economic instability, exacerbated by structural racism and the lack of affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities. In order to help residents remain stably housed, communities like […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Administration not waiting for a ‘housing hero,’ says LG
FILED ALONGSIDE HER inaugural budget on Wednesday, Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed cabinet reconfiguration legislation offers the first concrete look at the responsibilities of a new standalone housing secretariat. Housing programs currently operate under the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Within the governor’s $55.5 billion budget blueprint, some $992 million is recommended under a proposed […]
Posted inGovernment, Housing
Team Wu pushes back on rent control alarms
NO, THE SKY is not falling. That was the message on Wednesday from Wu administration officials who sought to counter the alarms being sounded by Boston’s real estate industry, which has launched a pricey ad campaign opposing Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent control proposal. “People who are suggesting that growth will stop are misleading,” city housing […]
Posted inHousing, News Analysis, State Government
Can a housing secretary make a difference?
THERE’S NO silver bullet to fix the dire housing shortage in Massachusetts, but Gov. Maura Healey is banking on a cabinet shuffle to set the state on the right track. Healey vowed during her campaign to create a new cabinet post dedicated to housing issues, and on Tuesday Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll set high expectations […]
Posted inGovernment, Housing, News Analysis
Wu’s rent control plan takes hits from both sides
WITH YESTERDAY’S FILING of a home-rule petition with the City Council to impose rent restrictions in Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu followed through on a cornerstone promise of her 2021 campaign. Now comes the hard part. In her letter to city councilors accompanying the proposal, Wu said the plan would allow the city to “better protect families […]
Posted inOpinion
Healey should settle, not litigate, disability lawsuit
EVERY DAY, thousands of Massachusetts residents with disabilities are admitted to segregated nursing facilities, be it to recover from medical procedures, to receive respite and care because they’re homeless, or because of a lack supportive services that are needed to remain at home and in their communities. While many eventually leave, thousands do not, even […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawsuit alleges racial discrimination in tenant screening tool
Two Black women from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing […]
Posted inCourts, Housing
Lawsuit alleges racial discrimination in tenant screening tool
TWO BLACK WOMEN from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing […]
Posted inOpinion
Overcoming the restrictions on multi-family housing
Last in a series. CITIES AND TOWNS of Greater Boston have a long history of using zoning to restrict development of multi-family housing that might accommodate families with children. The systematic restrictions have disadvantaged multi-generational households seeking homes in condo or apartment buildings. The restrictions have also undermined the housing market’s dynamism and its ability to meet […]