►
Description
Joint Committee on City, Neighborhood Services & Military & Veterans Affairs
Docket #0583 - Hearing regarding vacant properties in the City of Boston
Docket #0316 - Hearing to discuss strategies to reduce and activate vacant residential properties in the City of Boston
A
It's
all
district:
oh
I'm,
the
chair
of
this
committee,
I'm
joined
by
my
colleague,
City
Council
and
Matt
O'malley
in
City,
Council,
President,
Andrea,
Campbell
I
want
to
remind
you
that
this
is
a
public
hearing.
It
is
being
recorded.
It
will
be
broadcast
on
Comcast
8
hour,
CN
80
to
Horizon,
1,
964
and
online.
At
this
time,
please
silence
your
cell
phone
and
other
devices.
We
will
also
take
public
testimony
and
would
appreciate
it
if
you
would
sign
in
and
check
off
the
box
to
testify.
A
Please
state
your
name
in
affiliation,
residence
and
limit
your
comments
to
a
few
minutes
to
ensure
all
comments
and
concerns
can
be
heard.
Today's
hearing
is
on
docket
number
zero.
Five,
eight
three
in
order
for
a
hearing
regarding
vacant
properties
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
docket
number
zero.
Three
one:
six
order
for
a
hearing
to
discuss
strategies
to
reduce
inactivate
vacant
residential
properties
in
the
city
of
Boston,
and
this
is
the
City
Council
Committee
on
city
neighborhood,
services
in
veterans
in
military
affairs.
A
B
B
In
this
discussion
we
continued
or
started
this
conversation
last
year,
I
believe
in
April
of
last
year,
and
it
continues
as
we
focus
on
ways
in
which
to
reduce
the
number
of
blighted
properties
or
vacant,
lots
that
are
both
city
or
private,
publicly
owned,
as
well
as
those
that
are
privately
owned,
both
from
the
residential
parcels
as
well
as
commercial
I've,
taken
to
lead
more
on
the
residential
parcels
and
council
Mally
on
the
commercial.
But
both
are
equally,
of
course,
important.
B
It
was
Wentworth
in
the
Kingdom
of
Netherlands,
based
on
some
work
in
Amsterdam
and
activating
spaces
that
put
up
the
resources
for
this
event,
and
it
was
a
group
of
students
and
alum
and
professors
along
with
residents
who
live
near
these
vacant.
Lots
who
live
in
my
district,
who
came
together
to
brainstorm
ways
in
which
to
activate
these
spaces,
and
out
of
that,
we
produce
some
incredible
ideas
for
some
lots
that
were
city
owned.
Some
that
were
privately
owned.
B
You
know:
I
want
to
thank
chief
Dillon,
in
particular
her
team,
as
we've
rolled
up
our
sleeves,
to
really
find
ways
to
make
sure
that
all
of
these
lots
are
brightening
up
a
community
adding
value
to
a
community
and
making
sure
that
the
the
lots
are
all
going
to
be
activated
with
community
driven
ideas
and
purpose,
which
is
really
important.
It
doesn't
happen
in
and
without
partnership.
So
I
want
to
thank
the
administration
and
chief
Jill
and
her
team
for
the
partnership.
B
I
also
want
to
thank
Wentworth,
of
course,
who
will
speak
on
our
second
panel
for
the
partnership,
as
well
as
all
of
our
residents,
who
continue
to
show
up
to
be
a
part
of
this
conversation
engaged.
It
is
a
hot
topic
for
a
while.
It
wasn't
getting
any
attention
whatsoever,
but
now
people
are
recognizing
that
with
the
housing
crisis
or
just
the
fact
that
we
want
the
city
to
be
feel
prosperous
and
beautiful
to
everyone
that
there's
a
lot
of
great
things
we
can
do
in
this
regard.
B
So
thank
you
very
much
for
the
partnership,
looking
forward
to
the
conversation
around
further
ways
to
activate
these
Lots,
but
also
on
the
privately
owned,
which
are
much
more
challenging
to
deal
with
looking
at
possible
tools
that
we
could
be
thinking
about
to
incentivize,
privately
owned
parcels
among
landowners
to
do
something
with
properties.
I
continue
to
either
be
a
problem
property
for
the
city
of
Boston
or
property
that
is
not
showing
up
in
a
way
in
which
community
or
neighbors
with
to
see.
So.
Thank
you
and
again
thank
you
to
councillor
Malley
for
the
partnership.
A
You
council
president
and
before
I
introduce
councillor
O'malley
I
would
like
to
thank
the
administration
for
being
here
for
testifying
for
Sheila
Dillon,
chief
of
housing,
Andrew
grace,
director
of
economic
and
strategic
planning,
Chris
English
problem
properties,
task
force
in
chief
Jerome
Smith
from
Neighborhood
Services.
At
this
time,
I
would
like
to
ask
Council
O'malley
for
an
opening
statement.
Thank.
C
You,
mr.
chairman,
thank
you
for
holding
this
expedited
hearing.
Thank
you,
of
course,
to
the
council
president
for
her
incredible
leadership
and
partnership
in
this.
Thank
you
to
the
Mayor
Walsh's
administration.
I
know
this
is
these
are
issues
that
the
mayor
takes
very
seriously
and
is
looking
to
address
it
in
many
ways
this
seems
somewhat
counterintuitive.
The
real
estate
mark
in
Boston
has
never
been
hotter
as
it
relates
to
residential.
You
know
we
need
to
build
more
housing,
there's
no
doubt
about
it
as
it
relates
to
commercial.
C
Admittedly,
many
people
are
using
bricks
and
mortar
stores
less
frequently
they
did
because
of
online
commerce,
but
still
the
the
economy
is
thriving.
It
seems
odd
that
we
are
seeing
vacant
storefronts.
Vacant
property
is
vacant
high-end,
as
the
so
called
high-end
blight
bacon
condos,
but
it
really
sort
of
underscores
two
things
one,
because
the
real
estate
market
is
so
strong.
C
Foreign
investment
certainly
plays
a
role
in
it.
Secondly-
and
we
have
all
seen
this-
and
the
chief
and
I
have
had
to
deal
with
this-
there
are
sandbulte
you
both
chiefs
know
this.
There
are
certain
developers
and
neighborhoods
who
let
a
place,
remain
vacant
and
empty
and
overgrown
so
that
they
can
then
use
that
as
a
bargaining
chip
with
the
neighbors
to
get
more
variances
to
build
more,
which
is
not
a
good
practice
and
something
we
all
frown
upon
and
then,
as
it
relates
to
commercial.
C
You
know
there
are
owners
of
businesses
that
leave
it
vacant
because
they
know
there
are
certain
businesses,
particularly
certain
emerging
industries,
that
will
command
higher
rents
for
for
the
owner
for
the
the
landlord
and
also
can
serve
as
a
tax
incentive
to
keep
it
vacant.
So
what
can
we
do?
Working
with
the
council
president?
We
first
had
our
hearing
last
summer.
It
was
a
three-hour
hearing.
All
of
you
participated.
C
C
I'm
not
looking
to
be
overly
onerous,
but
certainly
it's
a
tool
that
we
ought
to
look
at
other
things
we
can
get
hopefully
from
this
hearing,
is
having
a
better
registry
working
with
folks,
looking
at
some
best
practices
at
other
cities,
and
not
only
throughout
New
England
or
throughout
the
country,
but
even
internationally.
A
lot
of
major
cities
such
as
Boston,
are
dealing
with
this.
So
look
forward
to
the
continued
working
partnership.
Thank
you
all
for
your
great
work
in
this
space
and
thank
you
for
your
partnership.
Mr.
chairman
and
madam.
C
A
D
Think
you
Thank
You
councillor
Flynn
and
other
members
that
are
here
and
I.
I
share
your
interest
in
activating
all
storefronts
and
all
vacant
land
in
the
city
of
Boston.
I
do
want
to
give
some
stats
that
I
put
together
this
morning
to
tell
the
committee
and
also
tell
the
general
public,
where
we
are
with
the
disposition
of
properties.
So
when
the
Walsh
administration
came
into
office,
it
was
a
very
clear
mandate
that
we
were
sitting
on
too
much
property.
D
We
couldn't
agree
more,
so
we
started
working
in
earnest
to
dispose
of
city-owned
property
and
since
2014
we
have
sold
or
a
designated
developer
for
over
three
million
square
feet
of
land,
which
is
fabulous
in
37
vacant
buildings.
We
don't
get
vacant
buildings
as
much
in
the
hot
market
because
they
can
be
sold
for
the
back
taxes.
But
this
the
three
million
square
feet
have
allowed
us
to
create
1600
new
units
of
housing,
70%
of
which
are
below
market,
indeed
restricted,
so
3
million
square
feet
1,600
new
units
of
housing.
D
In
addition,
we've
been
able
to
create
17
new
parks,
general
passive
parks
in
72,
new
community
gardens.
So
where
that
is
a
great
down
payment
on
the
work
that
needs
to
continue,
but
I
thought
those.
Those
numbers
made
me
feel
very
good.
This
morning,
when
I
looked
at
them,
I
said
wow.
You
know
we
have
been
busy
working
with
you,
while
working
with
your
offices,
and
we
have
accomplished
a
lot
together.
The
work
certainly
does
continue.
As
I
mentioned,
we
currently
own
1176
parcels
of
land.
D
Many
of
those
parcels
of
land,
because
we're
down
to
what's
not
as
desirable,
are
remnants
but
of
these
434
of
these
parcels
are
in
a
disposition.
Process
means
that
we've
started
conversations
with
the
community
or
we've
drafted
an
RFP,
and
that
is
out
or
we've
selected
a
developer
and
they're
lining
up
their
financing.
So
434
of
those
are
in
a
disposition
process.
D
412
are
unavailable
or
not
because
of
their
urban
wilds.
We
would
never
build
on
them.
They
are
part
of
our
tree
canopy
and
our
wildlife,
or
they
are
located
in
the
grove
encounter
O'malley
would
certainly
understand
the
Grove
it's
it's.
We
don't
know
what
to
do
with
the
Grove.
It's
270
parcels
of
land.
It
doesn't
have
the
right
infrastructure
to
build
in
order
to
get
the
right
infrastructure.
D
We'd
have
to
take
a
lot
of
land
by
eminent
domain,
but
we're
continuing
to
work
and
and
with
the
community
and
others
to
think
about
solutions,
but
four
hundred
and
twelve
are
unavailable,
and
that
leaves
249
that
are.
We
are
starting
to
research.
Look
at
understand
better
in
81
that
we
have
put
out
in
the
past
and
haven't
had
any
takers,
so
I
do
feel
like
we've
got
a
good
handle
on
the
inventory.
D
Now
we
just
need
to
continue
the
work
and
expedite
our
goal,
certainly
is
not
to
own
any
land
or
once
we
get
land
through
surpluses
or
tax,
taking
that
it
goes
right
back
out
on
the
street
and
that's
where
we
hope
to
be
in
a
matter
of
years.
I
also
just
want
to
mention
very
quickly
that
every
year
we
do
a
distressed
building
report,
I
think
I
mentioned
it
at
the
last
City
Council
hearing
as
well,
and
we
started
surveying
empty
buildings,
vacant
buildings
that
were
distressed
and
this
work
started
in
1997
people
drive
around.
D
They
really
get
water
and
sewer
shutoff
notices,
they've
got
a
methodology
and
they
look
at
each
building
and
in
2018
the
last
year
that
we
have
information
for
there
were
381
distressed
buildings,
that's
less
than
1%
of
our
total
number
of
properties,
but
still
and
of
the
381
213
were
residential.
So
when
we,
after
the
surveys
done,
we
mail
to
the
owner,
we
make
ourselves
available.
Sometimes
people
call
and
they
they're
stuck
and
they
they
need
work
at
ISD
or
they're.
D
Looking
for
financing
or
the
building
wasn't
vacant,
but
someone
is
living
there
and
needs
a
lot
of
help
with
their
home.
We
also
notify
ISD.
If
we
think
we
see
something
that's
unsafe
and
we
list
the
report
on
the
website
in
case
developers
want
to
avail
themselves
of
this
list,
hopefully
not
taking
advantage
of
anyone.
So
we
we
do
have
a
pretty
good
sense
of
vacant
and
distressed
properties
in
the
neighborhood
and
then
finally
and
I'm
I'm.
Not
the
expert
and
many
of
you
worked
on
this.
D
We
do
feel
like
a
lot
of
the
vacant
units
that
were
taken
off
through
the
Airbnb
process
because
of
the
passed
ordinance
because
of
the
great
work
the
City,
Council
and
staff
Chris
English
is
to
my
right
have
done.
We
are
going
to
see
a
lot
of
vacant
units
that
were
being
rented
out
as
whole
units
come
back
on
the
market
in
December,
I
am
NOT.
The
expert
chris
is
here
to
answer
any
questions,
so
in
summary,
city-owned
property,
land
and
buildings.
We're
working
really
hard
to
dispose
of
them,
we're
having
good
some
success.
D
E
Councillors
I
appreciate
the
the
fact
of
being
invited
down
here
again.
My
name
is
Jerome
Smith
I'm,
the
mayor's
I'm
here
with
the
hat
of
being
a
director
of
Neighborhood
Services,
and
also
the
chair
of
the
mayor's
problem,
property
task
force,
so
I
appreciate
being
down
here,
because
I
believe
that
the
two
orders
sum
up
a
lot
of
concern
that
I
see
day-to-day
and
my
job
on
the
communities.
When
you
talk
to
the
ribbons,
both
with
the
residential
lots,
there
are
a
lot
of
residential
that
are
not
city-owned
properties
and
I
think
Madam
President.
E
You
know
that
we've
worked
very
closely
with
you
on
a
couple
problem
properties
in
your
district
that
have
been
problems
for
a
long
time
and
they
get
off
the
list
and
they
go
back
on
less
and
get
off,
and
so
you
know
the
difficulty
that
we
have
dealing
with
the
problem
properties
that
are
a
private
nature.
I
think
that
we've
we've
talked
about
working
on
to
get
better
tools
to
make
sure
that
we
can
get
at
what
we
currently
do
with
the
problem
property
task
force.
E
But
the
positive
thing
that
we
have
is
is
that
the
council
supported
the
administration
and
accreting
of
the
make
Boston
shine,
trust,
and
so
what
we
do
is
we
have
a
great
partner
and
the
Department
of
neighbor
development
with
Donald
Wright,
where
we
sit
and
we
look
at
available.
Lots
and
chief
from
housing
had
mentioned
about
the
public,
gardens
and
community
gardens
that
we
have
been
able
to
turn
some
of
these
Lots
over.
So
we
give
stipends
to
communities
to
kind
of
retake
and
reposition
lots
of
land
that
we
identify
through
our
Department.
E
Some
I've
already
been
out
an
RFP
and
the
community
says
we
want
economic
development.
We
want
housing
on
that
lot.
That's
set
over
there
parcels
that
have
not
been
deemed
that
by
the
community.
Yet
we
work
with
Donal
and
they
identify
those
and
we
go
out
to
the
community
say
what
would
you
think
about
us
working
with
kaboom
and
building
a
playground
in
this
area?
We've
done
it
too
twice
now
in
Roxbury
at
once
in
Dorchester.
So
we
find
that
this.
E
The
opportunity
for
us
to
think
of
new
things
to
do
with
our
land
is
very
important
and
we
have
a
great
partner
in
D&D
and
getting
some
of
those
things
accomplished,
but
I
think
that
it's
great
the
work
that
you
did
with
Wentworth
I
was
aware
of
that
work.
We
are
also
currently
speaking
with
Northeastern,
to
kind
of
talk
about
problem
properties
and
what
is
the
genesis
of
a
problem
property?
How
does
a
property
become
a
problem?
E
And
so
so
Madam
President
I
think
that
it's
timely
that
you,
the
work
that
you've
done
with
Wentworth
and
and
tying
into
the
work
that
Chris
and
I
are
going
to
be
doing
with
Northeastern
I
think
that
we're
gonna
have
some
valuable
information.
Hopefully
it
comes
from
all
this
about
how
we
can
move
forward,
and
then
the
council
met
for
the
commercial
vacancies.
E
E
There's
individuals
who
are
just
sitting
on
their
properties
and
are
charging
enormous
amounts
of
money,
and
nobody
can
ever
actually
go
into
that
property,
but
they're
not
realizing
the
broken
tooth
thing
that
they're
doing
down
to
Center
Street
in
West,
Roxbury,
Center,
Street
and
JP,
with
the
vacancies
where
the
vacancies
on
and
neighborhoods
like
that,
can
actually
decay
a
Main
Street
district.
And
you
know
we
have
to
talk
about
the
challenges
of
our
main
streets
programs,
encouraging
businesses
to
come
into
the
area.
We
have
to
talk
to
residents
about
what
they
will
actually
support.
E
You
know
a
lot
of
people
want
to
open
a
coffee
shop
or
a
restaurant,
or
maybe
the
rest
of
the
neighbor
doesn't
want
to
or
does
the
neighborhood
doesn't
invest
in
that
business
and
the
business
goes
up
and
then
now
that
once
vacant
spot
was
full
with
the
business
that
was
vacant
again
because
it
didn't
have
that
kind
of
community
buy-in.
You
know
Madam
President
I
know
you
have
the
issue
with
Popeyes
in
common
Square.
F
It's
good,
madam
chairman,
councillor
Flynn
and
council
million
good
afternoon,
I'm
Andrew,
grace
I'm,
the
director
of
economic
and
strategic
planning
in
the
mayor's
office
of
economic
development.
Chief
barrows
sends
his
regrets
that
he's
not
able
to
be
here
as
well
as
Natalia
our
tibay
who's.
Our
director
of
small
business
is
unable
to
be
here
today.
First
and
foremost,
we
D
the
office
of
economic
development
appreciates
the
council's
focus
on
this
important
community
economic
development
issue
facing
the
city,
we're
continuing.
F
We
are
committed
to
continuing
to
work
with
the
council
and
the
city
departments
to
develop
policies
and
solutions
to
this
issue.
Oh
Edie
is
working
closely
with
our
partners
here
today,
DND
and
the
problem
properties
task
force,
as
well
as
the
BPD,
a
the
mayor's
office
and
other
departments.
There
are
confluence
of
factors
that
have
created
the
situation
we're
in
today.
This
isn't
just
a
Boston
problem.
It's
also
a
national
problem,
vacant
storefronts
with
many
layers
to
it.
F
I'll
also
address
some
of
the
challenges
that
exist
in
each
of
the
four
categories.
The
four
commercial
space
vacancy
categories
are,
as
we've
organized
them
new
development
or
new
inventory,
which
is
about
to
come
on
board.
Second,
one
is
storefronts
that
are
empty
now,
leases
that
have
recently
expired,
tenants
decided
not
to
renew
or
businesses
have
closed,
as
Jerome
was
referencing.
Third
category
retail
space
with
a
landlord
is
actively
displacing
tenants
for
a
whole
host
of
reasons
and
fourth,
category
is
empty.
Buildings
blighted
properties.
F
Category
number
one
new
development,
Oh
Edie
is
working
closely
with
the
Boston
Planning
and
Development
Agency
to
intervene
at
the
article
80
stage
to
collect
accurate
data
around
what's
coming
online
and
align
that
with
what
the
needs
are
in
their
respective
community.
B
PDA
and
OED
staff
have
been
developing
relationships
with
commercial,
real
estate
brokers,
and
this
is
where
the
geography
comes
in,
because
not
all
commercial
real
estate
brokers,
work
in
all
the
neighborhoods
brokers
represent
the
downtown
markets
pretty
adequately
but
they're,
not
as
as
present
are
available
in
the
neighborhoods.
F
We
do
have
very
good
data
when
it
comes
to
the
inventory
that's
coming
online.
Next
in
this
category,
OED
is
working
with
PvdA
to
create
opportunities
for
small
businesses
to
connect
with
under
construction
and
recently
completed
commercial
retail
space
in
mixed-use
developments.
So
we're
chipping
away
at
that
category
number
two
storefronts
and
buildings
that
are
empty.
Now
we're
doing
a
bunch
of
things
in
this
category
as
part
of
the
Economic
Development
Center.
F
We
have
a
seven
week
series
in
April
to
May
of
2019
called
business
101
commercial
space,
we're
gonna,
repeat
this
series
in
February
of
2020.
The
topics
for
this
series
included
lease
negotiations,
finding
the
right
space
permitting
and
licensing
business
operations,
how
to
market
your
business
access
to
capital
and
in
culminated
in
a
vacant
space
fair
that
was
held
at
Perkins,
Community
Center
in
Codman
Square.
At
this
event,
over
80
small
business
attendees
were
present
and
14
property
owners
displayed
vacancies
and
properties.
It
was
a
matchmaking
event
and
we
plan
on
doing
more
of
those.
F
We
are
also
working
on
getting
better
data
in
this
category,
see
a
theme
here,
there's
a
clear
need
for
this
better
data,
a
lot
of
what's
out.
There
is
anecdotal
and
narrative
which
isn't
enough
to
create
the
policy.
I
think
that
we
all
are
very
interested
in
working
on.
To
this
extent,
both
OAD
small
business
unit
and
the
BPD.
A
research
teams
are
collaborating
with
Boston
University's
SPARC
program
on
two
related
projects:
the
data
that's
out
there
now
the
dun,
&,
bradstreet
or
the
coast.
Our
data
is
imperfect,
it's
incomplete.
F
It
focuses
on
those
downtown
properties
and
not
so
much
the
the
neighborhoods
with
spark
BPD
a
is
piloting
a
scrubbing
of
different
datasets,
not
the
dun
and
bradstreet,
so
the
co-stars,
but
really
working
with
Google
and
Yelp
api's
to
kind
of
scrub
that
data
develop
some
algorithms
around
code
and
identify
and
eliminate
redundancies
in
that
data,
so
that
we
have
a
better
data
set
around
what
those
neighborhood
businesses
are
from
there.
We
can
extrapolate
and
do
more
with
it.
F
F
The
OED
small
business
unit
is
also
working
with
spark
in
using
mapping
technology
to
detect
vacancies
in
real-time
and
collect
this
data
in
low
and
moderate
income
neighborhoods,
and
this
is
in
addition
to
the
data
that
we've
been
collecting
in
Main
streets.
This
is
the
stuff-
that's
not
in
the
main
streets,
where
we're
working
on
collecting
that
stuff.
We're
still
fine-tuning
it.
Cole
with
this
is
to
understand
where
businesses
are
closing
and
storefronts
are
vacant
and
to
seek
to
understand
patterns
that
may
help
the
city
predict
and
prevent,
hopefully,
businesses
from
closing
in
the
future.
F
The
third
category
retail
space,
where
landlord
is
actively
displacing
tenants
over
the
past
couple
months,
Oh
Edie
and
other
city
departments
have
been
working
with
one
Dudley
square
property
owner
in
particular,
who
was
evicting,
say
between
13
and
18
businesses
from
a
property.
We
brought
to
the
table
technical
assistance
and
who
working
closely
now
seven
leases
have
been
signed
as
a
result
of
that
technical
assistance
resource
and
more
in
the
works
as
an
ongoing
I'm
not
going
to
get
into
all
the
details.
F
There
certainly
are
other
folks
in
the
room
who
can
speak
to
the
specifics
of
that.
We
continue
to
engage
and
work
with
those
businesses
and
that
property
owner
in
the
last
category,
empty
buildings,
blighted
properties
believe
was
referenced
previously
work
in
albums
corner.
If
you
aren't
familiar
with
our
work
around
activating
empty
buildings,
we've
been
we
D,
Arts
and
Culture
D
and
E
and
B
PDA
have
been
working
closely
with
a
couple
different
entities.
F
One
is
now
in
their
a
non-profit
and
a
artist
called
Nick
Cave
to
bring
the
joy
project
to
that
former
Bank
of
America
branch.
It's
an
empty
building
of
the
city,
owns
we
needed
to
step
up
the
plate
and
do
something
there.
It's
a
terrific
project,
it's
a
parade
that
went
from
South
End,
all
the
way
to
Hopkins
corner.
It
is
an
installation,
that's
in
place
for
the
next
six
months,
leave
through
April
of
2020,
it's
wrapped
in
a
collage
that
the
community
made
and
there's
inflatable
balloons
that
come
out
of
it.
It's
creative,
inventive.
F
You
know
kind
of
fun
ideas,
trying
to
activate
this
empty
asset
and
a
smaller
example
in
Downtown
Crossing.
The
PPTA
has
created
a
storefront
in
an
empty
storefront
that
promotes
the
work
and
tries
to
get
people
to
engage
in
the
work.
Regarding
the
downtown
planning
study,
small
sample
of
things
we
recognize.
This
is
a
serious
and
complex
issue
and
are
continuing
to
approach.
This
from
a
number
of
different
angles
with
external
and
internal
stakeholders,
including
the
council.
Thank
you
thank.
G
A
Chief
Dylan
I
know
we
worked
on
an
issue
where
a
while
back
a
hairstylist
in
Chinatown
was
potentially
being
evicted
due
to
the
rent
increase
in
his
small
small
business
and
I
know.
Your
office
in
the
mayor's
office
was
very
helpful
in
in
working
with
working
with
this
hairstylist,
so
we
could
stay
in
there.
I'm
just
thinking
chief
with
all
the
development
taking
place
in
various
neighborhoods.
A
D
Can
certainly
start-
and
then
maybe
andrew
has
more
to
add,
but
yeah
I
do
remember
that
that,
in
that
case
well
and
your
office
was
very
helpful
and
instrumental
in
making
sure
that
the
owner
kept
the
hairdresser
in
place.
But
that
was
a
situation
where
someone
came
in
bought
the
building
the
tenant
did.
The
commercial
tenant
did
have
a
lease.
D
We
just
had
to
all
put
some
pressure
on
for
the
owner
to
honor
that
lease
and
they
were
trying
to
evict
for
a
very
small,
infraction
I
think
that
speaks
to
it's
so
important
that
when
commercial
businesses
take
a
new
lease
that
they
that
take
a
new
space
that
they
have
very
long
term
leases
with
the
option
to
renew
but
you're
right
to
raise
it
as
an
issue.
A
lot
of
buildings
are
being
bought
and
sold
in
a
hot
commune,
Oh,
a
hot
economy
and
oftentimes.
A
And
then
my
final
question
before
I
open
it
up
to
my
colleagues.
Can
you
talk
about
some
of
the
vacant
properties
that
we
see
in
the
city?
What
is
the
impact
that
some
of
these
owners
might
not
be
maybe
behind
in
their
taxes
on
their
property
taxes
and
what
type
of
programs
are
available
to
work
with
them?
Maybe
to
get
them
back
on
track
so
that
they
can
hopefully
open
up
a
business
again,
but
also
to
address
the
around
outstanding
tax
liability.
D
So
there
I
know
that
the
Aged
strong
office
is-
and
you
probably
refer
people
with
back
taxes
as
taxes
increase
and
it's
no
fault
in
the
city.
The
tax
rate
is
set
by
the
state,
and
so
there
there.
There
is
a
lot
of
programs
and
a
lot
of
angst
around
making
sure
that
elderly
people
never
lose
their
home
to
back
taxes.
D
In
addition
to
that,
it's
it
is
hard
when
taxes
are
owed,
because
you
know
we
have
to
follow
state
law
about
about
getting
back
taxes.
If
it's
an
affordable
housing
project
or
something
that
we
have
financed.
We
can
certainly
work
with
the
owner
to
restructure
the
deal,
allowing
them
to
get
more
cash
flow,
allowing
them
to
get
more
income.
So
they
can
pay
back
taxes.
But
if
it's
a
straight
market
rate,
commercial
property
or
residential
property,
the
owner
does
need
to
pay
their
taxes
certainly
has
been
very,
very
good,
I.
D
B
Thank
You
councillor
Flynn
and
thank
you
to
the
panelists
for
the
updates,
which
are
updates
from,
of
course,
what
we've
learned
in
the
first
hearing.
So
thank
you
all
for
the
work
you're
doing
I
want
to
I
think
it's
been
there.
Some
time
and
I'll
take
a
few
minutes
before
turning
it
over
to
councillor
Malley,
and
then
we
can
sort
of
go
back
and
forth
to
really
focus
on.
B
What
do
we
currently
have
in
our
toolbox
that
particularly
I
guess
were
privately
owned
because
the
other
obviously
is
within
our
control,
but
that
incentivizes
bad
players,
bad
actors
to
sort
of
step
it
up
and
I'll
sort
of
a
name,
a
few
so
I
that
came
up
in
in
in
the
conversation
since
last
year.
One
was
the
clean
and
and
lean
it
program.
B
I've
talked
to
various
folks,
including
in
Public
Works,
about
that
I
think
was
a
program
that
was
partially
state-funded
and
partially
D
and
defunded
would
love
to
hear
sort
of
an
update
on
where
that
is.
If
there's
data
even
available
from
that
program,
on
its
effectiveness
or
not,
and
then
the
second
and
then
it
can
go
to
some
of
the
other
ideas.
Is
the
task
force
the
problem
property
task
force
itself.
B
We
have,
of
course,
with
both
you
Jerome
and
Chris
gone
back
and
forth
on
specific
properties
that
are
problematic.
We've
talked
about
the
challenge
in
getting
those
properties
listed
as
a
problem
property.
All
that
you
have
to
do.
We've
had
conversations
offline
about
some
changes.
We
could
possibly
make
to
the
ordinance
which
I'd
love
to
hear
more
about
today,
just
to
make
it
easier
for
folks
to
complain
about
something
and
get
that
property
immediately
listed
in
a
shorter
time
frame.
B
Then
then
currently
happens
and
then
once
a
property
is
actually
listed,
then
what
happens
and
I
use
one
example:
the
Philbrick
famous
Philbrick
example
in
the
rosin
deal
section
of
my
district
that
I've
known
about
since
a
candidate
for
office.
I
know
everyone
on
that
street.
They
are
amazing
people,
but
a
property
that
is
troublesome
for
so
many
reasons,
but
a
follow-up
meeting
after
it
was
actually
listed.
Then
the
question
became.
What
now
happens?
B
E
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
madam
president,
the
so
to
grabbed
into
topics
that
are
actually
things
that
I've
spoken
about
repeatedly
and
I
know
that
I've
worked
with
Chief
Dillon
on
chief
Dylan's
on
the
prompt
rallies
actually,
but
we
and
she
and
I
have
spoken
about
cleaner
lean.
It
cleaner
Alena
was
a
program
that
had
previously
had
been
in
place.
E
There
was
a
time
period
and
I'm,
not
sure
when,
where
the
previous
administration,
we
kind
of
stopped
doing
that
so
much
and
we
went
to
like
a
different
route
and
we
just
this
administration,
we
just
haven't
gotten
back
to
clean
early
in
it.
We
do
send,
is
do
they
do
shore
up
buildings
as
far
as
an
official
policy
of
cleaner,
Alena,
I
think,
Sheila
and
I
have
talked
about.
How
do
we
bring
it
back
because
of
the
fact
that
there
was
some
value
in
it,
and
residents
have
actually
you'll?
E
You
hear
any
resident
basic
earlene
it
like
it's
lay
off
the
top
of
their
head,
and
so
Sheila
and
I
have
talked
repeatedly
about.
How
do
we
get
that
program
back,
but
not
just
the
way
that
was
done
in
the
past,
but
look
at
how
we
are
actually
handling
things
currently
and
how
we
can
actually
do
it
better,
so
that
we
would
be
more
than
happy
I
think
to
sit
down
and
talk
to
you
about
cuz,
there's
something
that
we
actually
want
to
do
for
problem
properties.
It's
a
little
different.
E
E
And
so
what
what
happens
is
what
the
police
department
is
residents
know
their
csos
a
resident
knows
the
officer,
and
so
the
resident
will
call
the
officer
that
they
know
and
you
offer
to
send
the
car
out
like
a
code
19
that
doesn't
count
code.
Nine
teams
don't
count
as
to
be
a
9-1-1
call.
So
it's
hard
for
me
as
an
administrator
to
call
it
talk
to
that
poor
resin
on
the
phone
who
has
just
had
their
wit's
end
with
the
property,
and
I
have
to
say
to
them.
E
You
have
to
call
9-1-1
it's
just
a
frustrating
point
and
I
think
that
that's
an
education
tool
that
we
just
have
to
do
a
better
job
of
educating
the
public
about
what
the
requirements
offer
a
problem.
Property
I
truly
believe
that
there
are
more
problem
properties
in
the
city
of
Boston
than
there
are
currently
on
the
mayor's
problem.
Properly
task
force
list
we
have
spent
I,
would
say
the
past
year
having
a
discussion
about
what
is
the
true
feeder
system
of
the
problem
property
task
force.
E
We
have
now
identified
it
between
the
work
that
Sheila
Dillon
and
her
team
does,
with
the
distressed
properties
with
ISD
and
the
work
that
they
do
with
the
police
department,
with
the
work
that
they
do.
We
have
been
BHA
who
has
a
lot
of
tenants
who
are
in
some
of
these
buildings.
So
what
we've
done
now
is
I
have
sat
with
them
to
discuss
how
we
feed
that
to
the
task
force,
and
now
it's
becoming
a
little
bit
more
fluid.
E
We
also
counselor
I,
think
that
you
were
the
one
that
other
counsel
avail
yourself
to
this.
The
mo
of
the
task
force,
but
we've
actually
now
are
grateful
that
more
councillors
are
stepping
up
in
identifying
problem
properties,
and
so
I
think
that
the
more
that
we
create
opportunities
for
individuals
to
feed
to
the
task
force.
E
A
tenant
next
door
called
so
providing
them
an
opportunity,
maybe
to
put
a
property
on
the
task
force
through
the
website,
because,
regardless
of
what's
going
on
in
it,
if
it
hits
the
three
or
hits
the
forecourt
important,
it
hits
two
four
nine
and
one
calls
we
can
daemon.
Once
it's
deemed
to
your
question,
there's
a
there's
a
couple
difficulties
as
I
explained
to
you
about
getting
something
onto
the
task
force.
The
way
the
ordinance
is
written.
They
have
to
be
served
by
certified
mail,
and
so
what
happens?
More
often
is.
E
Madam
president,
like
you
would
give
us
an
address,
we
would
to
certified
mail
that
person
lives
in
Florida
I.
Keep
getting
the
returned
letters
from
the
address
that
we
have
on
file
in
Florida
that
property.
Well,
we
have
identified
it
as
a
prompt
property
is
not
deemed
legally
a
problem
property
because
that
person
has
not
been
officially
been
served.
E
So
what
we've
done
to
take
a
step
to
that
is
that
we
now
have
ISD
constables,
go
out
and
hand-deliver
problem
property
letters
to
building
owners
in
Massachusetts,
so
we've
actually
have
gone
to
other
towns
and
served
people
at
their
door.
It's
just
another
layer
because
it
was
to
get
up
that
backlog
of
us
repeatedly
sending
a
notice
to
somebody
and
then
the
resident
or
the
counselors
all
the
same
Durham.
Where
is
this
problem
property?
Why
is
it
taking
so
long?
E
It
literally
is
the
serving
of
the
document
and
the
problem
at
and
the
problem
nature
that
we
have,
but
actually
getting
that
into
somebody's
hands,
and
so
that
is
one
thing
that
I
think
that
we
would
look
to
work
with
the
council
on
and
try
to
address
the
ability
of
notifying
the
property
owner
that
they
have
been
deemed
the
problem
property.
We
should
look
at
the
ordinance
and
figure
out
a
way
to
to
make
it
a
little
easier.
E
So
once
it's
on
the
prom
property
task
force
and
say
for
an
example,
one
two
three
Washington's
trees
I've
been
labeled
on
the
problem
property
task
force.
They
have
three
open
code
violations.
After
a
certain
grace
period
of
the
code
violations,
we
can
then
hit
the
building
up
to
300
dollars
a
day
per
violation.
Up
to
so
that's
not
automatically
300
hours
a
day.
I
think
that
that
is,
you
guys
can
seek
and
ratchet
up
a
number
pretty
quickly.
So
we
have
technically
done
smaller
increments
of
twenty
five
to
fifty
dollars
a
day.
E
We
had
one
property
in
Roxbury
that
quickly
went
up
to
978
thousand
dollars
that
we
assessed
on
to
the
property.
It's
worth
much
more
than
the
property
itself
has
worth
I
caught
the
attention
of
the
bank.
The
building
had
fallen
into
foreclosure
and
the
bank
had
it
once
we
deemed
that
large
number
and
send
it
to
the
bank.
The
bank
then
reached
out
to
us
and
said
we
want
to
rectify
this,
we're
selling
the
building.
Here's
a
new
building
owners.
E
We
went
through
a
process
to
check
in
with
the
new
building
owners,
explain
to
them
the
problems
that
the
previous
tenant
had
with
the
previous
owner
had
with
the
building
they've
rectified
that
situation,
and
then
we
work
with
them
to
resolve
that
number,
and
so
that
in
the
essence,
is
the
way
that
a
nice
project
goes
from
a
problem
property
all
the
way
through.
If
it
is
a
police
action,
9-1-1
calls
is
the
reason
why
it's
another
thing.
E
It's
at
the
discretion
of
the
commissioner
I
think
that
we
should
have
a
conversation
about
that
about
assessing
the
cost
of
having
responses
go
to
the
building.
So
we
could.
We
have
done
instances
where
we
have
parked
and
stationed
a
vehicle
with
flashing
lights
off
side
of
a
problem
property
to
I,
guess
that
would
be
more
of
a
like
a
public
shaming,
but
it's
also
a
security
measure.
E
Since
there's
constant
partying's,
we
have
some
drug
houses,
we
have
some
prostitution
houses,
so
we'll
park
a
police
car
in
front
of
the
building,
and
we
will
charge
that
property
owner
the
cost
of
having
whether
it's
a
sergeant
or
a
captain
or
whoever
is
sitting
in
that
car,
the
costs
associated
with
them
being
at
that
site.
We
then
will
assess
that
cost
and
put
a
lien
on
to
the
property.
So
those
are
the
two
tools
that
we
have
as
the
task
force
that
we
can
leverage
against
a
property.
E
E
How
can
we
make
it
easier
for
us
to
notice
an
individual
because
certified
mail
I
think
when
the
ordinance
was
passed
was
probably
smart
back
then
it's
not
smart.
Now,
because
there's
ways
for
property
owners
around
certified
mail,
knowing
that,
if
they
don't
accept
that
letter,
they're
not
doing
the
problem
property
and
then
just
thinking
about
afterwards
how
we
are
assessing
the
fines
and
fees
on
the
problem,
property,
I.
E
Think
of
to
conversations
that
we
could
have
afterwards
once
you
have,
we
just
had
a
meeting
today
with
a
problem
property
they,
the
new
owner,
came
in
showed
us
all.
The
code
violations
are
being
clear
if
they
pulled
permits.
All
the
other
issues
have
been
addressed,
they
pay
it
all
it
back
fines.
We
will
then
issue
them
a
letter
saying
thank
you
very
much
for
taking
care
of
your
property
and
bringing
it
back
up
the
standard.
You
are
now
on
probation
for
six
months.
E
So
if
that
property
should
get
any
9-1-1
calls
or
other
violations
within
that
six
months,
they
automatically
go
back
onto
the
problem,
probably
task
force.
We
will
summon
them
and
start
it
all
over
again
with
the
leveraging
of
the
fines,
but
by
the
time
that
an
individual
has
come
and
sat
with
us
and
work
through
all
the
issues.
I
think
we've
had
one
property,
maybe
in
like
four
year
span,
go
back
on
the
list.
It's
not
a
regular
occurrence,
but
again
we
would
be
open
to
any
sort
of
recommendations
about
that
process.
This.
B
Is
helpful,
I
mean
clean
and
Lena
I
would
love
to
revisit
that
conversations.
I've
heard
good
things,
and
particularly
there's
any
data
around
what
vacancy
looked
like
before
versus.
After
with
the
intervention
of
this
program,
how
else
it
might
be
used,
what
funding
would
be
needed
to
sort
of
bring
it
back?
Online
I
mean
chief
general
we're
talking
about
so
much,
but
of
course
it
requires
resources.
B
D
I
think
it
is
a
good
program.
We
have
talked
about
bringing
it
back
and
and
I
I'm
I'm
sort
of
making
this
supple
that
I
think
but
I
think
then
didn't
the
amount
we
would
need
to
start.
The
program
isn't
isn't
huge
right.
Some
often
times
it's
cleaning
up
a
front
yard
and
or
boarding
an
unsafe
front
door,
or
you
know
that
kind
of
thing
which
isn't
we
do
have
the
infrastructure,
because
we
have
a
property
management
unit.
So
we
do
have
the
infrastructure
for
it.
D
E
B
And
then,
lastly,
and
I'll
turn
over
to
back
to
the
chair
on
the
problem
property
task
force.
Is
it
possible
to
change
some
certified
mail
in
the
ordinance
to
some
other
techniques,
or
does
it
get
a
little
bit
more
complicated?
So
is
it
a
matter
of
us
just
saying
certified
mail
or
some
some
form
of
mail
to
these
folks
who
are,
namely
outside
of
Massachusetts
and
there're
I?
Think
a
lot
of
them
is
adequate
if
it
is
received
tour,
if
we
send
it
three
times
or.
F
G
We
rely
on
the
certified
mail
because
it's
a
legal
notice
and
we're
gonna
use
that
potentially
to
attach
liens
onto
a
property,
so
we
have
to
work
within
that.
You
know
what's
considered
appropriate
in
in
court.
As
far
as
legal
notice
goes,
we
can
certainly
try
additional
methods
of
notice,
in
addition
to
certified
mail
like
we're
using
constables
to
serve
notices,
but
we
operate
as
if
an
appeal
made
may
be
rendered
for
the
court
process,
and
so
we
have
to
be
sure
that
we've
notified
them
appropriately
and
up
to
the
standards
of
court.
So
so.
G
E
B
If
we
have
to
require
someone
in
other
states,
for
example
your
serve
process,
how
might
we
put
the
cost
of
doing
that
on
the
owner
once
they
receive
it
on
the
property
or
something
but
happy
to
to
work
in
figuring?
That
out,
I
mean
obviously
there's
a
legal
question
in
there
to
you
about:
what's:
what's
adequate
and
sufficient?
B
What
isn't
and
of
course
it's
going
to
cost
us
money,
but
we
shouldn't
have
to
bear
that
in
trying
to
track
someone
down
to
do
the
right
thing
and
then
the
post
listing
piece
I
do
think
we
need
to
continue
to
brainstorm.
I.
Don't
have
all
the
answers
on
that
enforcement
piece
because
for
some
of
these
properties,
I'm
like
300
dollars
a
go
max,
go
all
the
way,
because
it's
ridiculous.
B
What
we
hear
in
terms
of
the
stories
related
to
some
of
these
problems
properties
once
they
get
on
the
list-
and
you
know
the
last
thing
we
want
to
do
is
just
be
obviously
assessing
fines,
but
then
nothing
actually
changes
for
the
residents
on
the
ground.
So
what
else
might
we
be
able
to
do
to
strengthen
in
the
enforcement
piece
or
the
impact
that
this
has
so
that
folks
on
the
ground
can
feel
something
shift
and
I?
Don't
have
all
the
answers
to
that,
but
really
would
love
to?
B
E
There's
one
property
that
I
think
the
task
force
was
very
happy
about
us
using
all
the
tools
available
to
us
and
that
was
Waldeck.
Street
I.
Think
that
might
be
your
district
right.
We
had
an
individual
who
had
the
building
was
predominantly
individuals
who
were
mentally
disabled
BPH,
Boston,
Public,
Health,
Commission
individuals,
plus
PHA
housing.
The
landlord
was
going
in
removing
windows
and
putting
a
plastic
in
the
middle
of
winter,
telling
that
he
was
gonna,
repair,
the
windows
and
never
coming
back.
E
We
always
view
that,
as
the
last
resort
to
take
property
from
a
property,
but
I
forgot
to
mention
that
that
we
can
avail
ourselves
to
going
after
a
property
to
put
in
receivership.
We
did
do
that
out
in
wall
deck.
We
got
a
good
operator
in
there.
They
clean
up
the
building
and
the
building
is
a
much
better
space
than
it
was
so
we
do
have
some
good
success
stories.
E
Another
thing
that
I
want
to
know
for
you,
Madam
President,
as
you're
thinking
through
these
is
our
ability
to
look
at
who
owns
the
property
and
I
think
that
every
councillor
probably
has
the
same.
Frustration
when
we
have
we
go
to
assessing,
but
assessing
by
its
own
processes,
is
not
always
up-to-date
as
as
of
right
now
who
owns
that
property.
So
the
problem
probably
task
force
will
deem
a
problem
property
and
then
we
will
mail,
the
current
owner
that
we
have
on
the
assessing
list.
E
Now
there
are
other
agencies
who
have
different
lists,
such
as
the
Boston
Water
and
Sewer,
with
the
water
pillows
in
other
places.
But
if
you
look
at
the
ordinance
I'm
not
allowed
to
use
that
information,
I
am
by
ordinance
focused
on
the
assessing
list
and
so
I
think
that,
should
you
have
any
conversations
about
any
sort
of
changes.
B
E
E
Is
I
think
one
time
your
chief
of
staff
was
great,
we
sent
a
letter
out
and
she
called
back
right.
I
said
Jerome,
that's
not
the
owner
of
the
building,
and
if
we
didn't
get
that
information
back
from
your
office,
because
then
we
sent
to
L
it
out
to
the
right
owner,
but
we
didn't
know
we
just
went
to
assessing
it.
B
Is
small
changes
that
we
can
make
in
a
receivership?
You
know
I'm
like
take
the
property,
do
what
you
need
to
do,
because
it
really
is
extreme
cases
when
we're
actually
pushing
for
the
property
beyond
the
problem
properties
task
force
in
the
first
place,
and
it's
it's
a
property
that
we
know
at
some
point
in
time.
We'll
end
up
with
some
horrific
Public
Safety
incident
happening.
We've
seen
that
so
it's
good
to
know
that
to
be
reminded
actually
because
Waldeck,
we
follow
that.
Yes,.
E
That
can
Park
Street
in
your
district
was
a
little
different
because
the
federal
the
feds
came
in,
and
that's
that
point
we
get
pushed
to
the
back
because
they're
like
no
we're
taking
the
property,
but
we
I
think
that
the
counselor
should
be
should
should
use
the
ability
of
receivership
when
they
have
a
significant
problem
in
their
district.
They
should
be
pressing
us
to
to
go
down
that
Avenue.
Well,.
B
B
C
The
city
of
Cambridge
did
is,
or
Ivy
I,
don't
know
if
it's
yet
been
adopted
or
enacted,
but
they
worked
on
a
vacancy
ordinance
and
came
up
typical
cambridge
fashion
at
this
very
extensive
org
chart.
But
it's
actually
helpful
one
and
I'll
make
sure
we
get
a
copy
to
the
to
the
chair
and
it
asks
the
question:
why
is
the
space
vacant?
How
will
the
ordinance
to
find
vacancy
how
long
before
registration
is
required
penalty
structure
for
violations?
How
must
be
maintained?
What
is
activation?
Look
like
and
I
think
that's
something
that
we've
talked
about.
C
I
know.
There
was
a
great
example
of
a
wonderful
substation,
not
in
my
district
in
Council
McCarthy's
district
district
5
in
Roslindale
square
I
know
that
all
of
you
know
well.
We
had
hoped
that
it
was
going
to
be
a
restaurant,
as
we
all
know
it's
one
of
the
most
precarious
business
models.
It
didn't
work
out,
but
it
was
temporary
beer
hall
and
it's
now
a
local
Brewer
is
moving
in
from
Jamaica
Plain
and
it's
been
a
terrific
addition
to
the
neighborhood
and
we
should.
It
was
actually
a
great
example
in
the
Ilia.
C
C
Do
we
what's
what
sort
of
the
general
thoughts
on
a
vacancy
fee
or
some
cudgel
to
try
to
bring
some
of
these
folks
into
sort
of
compliance
and
again
I'm
not
looking
to
be
overly
onerous
to
business
owners?
Market
demand
is
going
to
play
a
role
in
certain
neighborhoods
and
in
certain
areas,
but
you
know
you
look
at
it
Hall
or
Quincy
Market.
The
number
of
vacancies
there
Newbury
Street.
These
places
that
have
really
active,
successful,
expensive,
valuable
real
estate
seem
to
have
a
longer
period.
C
F
C
So
I
can
tell
you:
I
have
talked
to
chief
barrows
about
it,
I
think
it's
something
that
we
ought
to
consider
and
again.
We
can
use
it
any
way
we
want
to
use
it.
Arlington
has
used
it
to
great
success,
I
think
they
look
at
about
three
or
four
hundred
dollars
a
year
and
they've
seen
their
big.
It's
six.
C
Okay,
yeah,
which
is
a
lot
of
money,
but
not
it's,
not
gonna
bankrupt.
Somebody
and
again
they've
seen
vacancies
commercial
vacancies
dropped
by
60%,
and
it's
not
to
suggest
that
you
can
compare
the
town
of
Arlington
with
the
city
of
Boston,
but
you
could
compare
the
town
of
Arlington
with
the
neighborhood
to
make
a
plane
or
West
Roxbury.
It's
about
forty
thousand
people
or
so
so.
I
think
that
as
we
go
forward,
I'd
love
to
continue
this
conversation
because
I
don't
think
we
should
take
it
off
the
table
again.
C
C
Also,
can
you
talk
a
little
units
are
vacant
not
necessarily
sort
of
the
problem
properties
or
the
overgrown,
which
is
obviously
concern
but
I'm
talking
about
you
know
there
seems
to
there
been
media
articles
about
you,
know,
high-end
residences,
that
that
are
tax
shelters
do
do
we
know.
Do
we
I
guess
the
only
way
you'd
know
that
is
to
sort
of
make
a
guess
with
the
property
tax
exemption
resolution.
D
We
don't
have
good
data
on
what's
vacant,
we
we
sometimes
can
glean
a
vacancy
rate
from
surveys,
an
overall
vacancy
rate,
but
we
don't
have
good
data
on
vacancies.
I
wish
we
did
yeah.
We
know
that
you
know
earlier
in
the
Airbnb
process,
how
many
were
units
were
listed
on
Airbnb
that
kind
of
thing
Vancouver?
That
is
a
city.
As
you
know,
that
is
looking
at
a
vacancy
fee
or
tax.
They.
They
worked
married
four
years
trying
to
figure
out
okay,
who
is
it?
D
We
know
you're
out
there,
but
who
are
you
and
in
the
end
they
kind
of
threw
up
their
hands,
and
now
they
have
people
sign
these
affidavits,
which
seems
you
know
I,
yes,
I
am
you
know
pert
against
penalties
and
perjury
I'm.
Not
you
know,
I
don't
have
a
vacant
unit,
so
it
seems
odd
to
so
short
answer.
No
there's!
No
data
out
there
that
says
I
am
living
in
as
an
owner-occupant
or
I
am
renting.
Doesn't.
C
Exist,
I
actually
spent
some
time
in
Vancouver
last
fall
with
several
colleagues
happened
to
meet
with
the
CFO
asked
her
about
this
very
issue
and
she
said
that
mean
as
red
hot
as
the
Boston
real
estate
market.
As
we've
talked
about
this
chief
in
Vancouver,
the
average
house
price
is
1.3
million
dollars,
that's
the
average,
that's
well
more
than
doubled.
At
Boston.
C
She
mentioned
that
there
are
a
lot
of
single-family
homes
that
fell
into
this,
so
they
literally
doing
drive-by
see
if
there
were
no
lights
on
so
so
it's
not
a
perfect
science,
but
she
did
mention
ways
to
work
with.
Look
at
I
mean
utilities
would
all
be
activated,
but
rotor
registration,
obviously
property
tax
exemptions.
So
it's
a
hard
thing.
We're
never
gonna
get
a
great
answer,
but
I
wonder:
could
we
could
we
start
with
like
a
voluntary
registration
program?
I
can.
D
G
D
Can
certainly
look
into
that
yeah,
but
even
when
I,
my
understanding
is
even
Vancouver
started
to
look
at.
You
tried
to
work
with
the
utility
companies
to
say:
okay,
are
you
showing
any
electricity?
You
know
tricity
usage
or
that
utility
companies
were
not
cooperating
so
I,
don't
mind.
Looking
at
what
other
cities
are
doing,
I
can
do
that
with
your
office
and
see
if
there's
a
good
way
of
determining
this
and
I
walk
around
at
night
with
the
dog
and
I'm
sort
of
peering
into
bill
trying
to
figure
out.
You
are
thing
sitting
vacant
its.
D
H
D
E
Because
it's
it's
tough,
like
we
hear
a
lot
from
like
being
block
area
in
the
south
end
like
we
just
hear
from
residents
in
the
building
talking
about
lonely
hallways
where
they
don't
even
know
if
they
have
another
neighbor
on
their
floor,
and
so
it's
all
anecdotal
that
stuff
that
we
hear
and
then
we
do
the
Inspector
Clouseau
stuff
that
she
was
doing
where
she's
out
with
a
flashlight,
but
I
think
that
it
does
cause
for
a
greater
conversation,
because
now
we're
in
this
whole
executive
suites
conversation.
It
seems
like
this.
E
This
whole
carbon
sharing
industry
is
finding
new
ways
to
get
this
in
there
and
we're
finding
like
15
units
being
rented
out
in
buildings,
and
so
I
think
that
we
do
need
to
put
our
hats
on,
because
the
residents
are
asking
this
from
us.
Yeah
yeah.
We
haven't,
found
a
sound
strategy
about
how
we
actually
know
what's
open.
What's
not
well.
C
I
think
it
sort
of
underscores
the
the
the
size
and
the
scope
of
this
problem,
the
difficulty
in
trying
to
solve
it.
The
fact
that
you've
got
folks
that
both
will
let
a
property
fall
into
utter
disrepair
in
West
Roxbury
and
then
have
a
beautiful,
expensive,
penthouse
condo
and
the
South
Huntington
corridor
that
they
jet
that
is
remains
empty,
not
even
not
even
a
Airbnb
or
a
home
share
just
because
it's
whatever
they
pay
for
it.
The
property
value
is
going
to
go
up.
C
It's
it's
less
volatile
than
the
stock
market,
the
real
estate
market,
certainly
in
Boston.
So
there's
a
lot
of
good
things.
I
think
we
can
do
and
I
think
that
this
has
been
a
great
partnership,
really
appreciate
the
leadership.
You
all
have
shown
hope
that
we
can
continue.
I
mean
it
would
probably
be
unlikely.
C
I
would
be
my
desire
to
have
some
sort
of
a
better
codified
ordinance,
but
I
certainly
think
we
have
a
lot
of
work
to
do
before
we
even
get
there,
but
I
think
a
registration
component
has
to
be
key,
and
this
is
both
for
commercial
and
residential
I.
Think
a
fee
is
something
that
that
ought
to
be
part
of
this
with
the
discretion
and
it
could
be
the
chief
it
could
be.
C
You
know
anyone
would
have
that
discretion
to
offer
a
waiver
for
someone
and
have
a
very
low
threshold
of
what
it
would
take
to
show
that
you
were
trying
to
there's
a
you
know,
person
many
of
us
know.
A
very
successful
landlord
and
Jamaica
plaintiff
tells
me
how
how
he
markets
his
his
properties
and
yet
they've
been
empty
for
decades
in
many
cases.
So
it's
it's.
It's
a
huge
issue,
but
I
cut
you
off.
Oh
no.
D
G
C
C
And
then
the
final
thing-
and
this
wouldn't
necessarily
be
part
of
an
ordinance,
but
as
we
talked
about
the
temporary
activation,
what
does
that
look
like?
Is
it
difficult?
In
other
words,
if
I,
if
councillor
Flynn
owned
a
beautiful
spot-
and
you
know
Center
Street
in
West,
Roxbury
and
I
had
a
bunch
of
kids
from
all
the
schools
that
wanted
to
do
a
temporary
art
gallery
that
would,
you
know,
raise
money
for
the
school?
Would
it
be
difficult
for
us
to
go
through
that?
Would
there
be
some
some
permitting
that
we
need
to
get?
C
The
answer
is
yes,
of
course,
and
there
should
be
I'm
not
saying
if
it
is
a
free-for-all,
but
could
we
make
it
easier
for
a
landlord
to
work
with
a
neighborhood
group
or
nonprofit
to
sort
of
activate
that,
even
if
it's,
even
if
it's
for
a
night
in
okay,
that
is
all
I
have
for
this
round?
Thank
you
all.
Thank
you.
Mr.
chairman.
B
B
Why
the
privately
owned
landowners
get
it
together?
So
I
think
that
absolutely
needs
to
I
think
be
a
part
of
the
conversation
and
when
we
were
in
my
office
looking
at
you
know,
Washington
DC,
Philly
and
some
other
places.
The
scale,
of
course,
is
different,
but
there
is
still
some
financial
incentives
to
get
folks
to
activate
their
spaces.
Some
do
tax
abatements
or
you
know,
there's
different
ways
of
doing
it,
but
it's
getting
at
the
money
which
we
all
know
suddenly.
B
Sometimes
that
helps
and
then
of
course,
receivership.
You
know
the
Attorney
General
has
a
similar
program
at
the
state
level
for
abandoned
property
sort
of
taking
those
and
doing
something
with
them.
We
have
our
own
here,
but
how
might
we
actually
use
that
tool
not
just
for
problem
properties
for
other
properties
that
are
just
staying
that
are
online/offline,
I
should
say
for
a
really
long
time?
B
What
might
we
be
able
to
do
for
those
properties
as
well,
because
there
is
a
lot
of
them
and
we
don't
have
quite
the
data
just
yet
to
capture
it,
but
I
do
think
they
should
be
on
the
table
and
it
should
be
a
part
of
any
sort
of
package
or
ordinance
even
what
some
of
the
changes
were
thinking
about
with
the
problem
properties
existing
ordinance
as
we
move
forward,
so
we'll
look
forward
to
continuing
the
conversation.
Thank
you
guys.
You
know
in
a
few
have
time
you
know,
there's
panelists
or
no
panel
level.
A
You
council
president
tonight
I
just
wanted
to
follow
up
with
one
comment
or
question:
I
I
have
a
piece
of
property
and
in
in
South
Boston
on
the
corner
of
F
straight
in
and
straight,
and
it's
as
as
we
referenced
earlier,
join
the
question
of
the
answer
and
it's
an
EF
BnB
and
there's
an
elderly
woman,
mrs.
rush
who
lives
next
to
it
next
to
the
property,
and
it's
not
on
the
problem
property
list.
But
it's
a
huge
problem
in
my
neighborhood
with
ongoing
parties
and
quality
of
life
issues
noise.
A
What
are
we
going
to
do
as
it
relates
to
short
term
and
long
term
on
problems
that
we
have
in
with
Airbnb
right?
Now?
It's
it's!
It's
a
it's!
A
major
problem
in
my
district
I
know
it
is
throughout
the
city,
we're
getting
a
lot
of
calls
about
it.
What
will
the
city
do
on
problem
properties?
We
have
with
a
B&B.
D
G
A
I
will
Thank
You,
chief
and
I
have
been
working
with
ISD
on
this
it's.
It
is
a
huge
problem
for
one
of
my
constituents
that
has
to
deal
with
this
piece
of
property
every
weekend
where
we
have
in
loud
parties
and
noise
and
quality
of
life
issues
trash,
but
I
will
I
will
get
that
to
you
at
this
time.
Council.
B
You
know
speaking
of
registration,
and
so
we
have
obviously
the
foreclosure
which
came
up
reg
or
des
nents
that
came
online
and
there's
a
registration
right
now,
where
you
can
go
online
and
have
properties
that
are
foreclosed
and
not
even
and
even
vacant.
Some
so
I
have
a
couple
in
Codman
square.
There's
a
fire
one
location.
It's
now
sitting
there
for
two
years,
but
it's
on
there,
even
though
it's
not
foreclosed.
B
So
there
clearly
is
this
tool
of
registration
that
already
exists
meets
an
ordinance
file
before
I
got
here,
and
so
the
question
is:
how
might
we
expand
the
value
of
that
to
be
used
for
some
enforcement
purposes
right
now,
it's
more
as
an
inventory
right,
but
I,
don't
know
that
we'd
go
back
in
to
say,
okay.
What
are
we
doing
in
terms
of
enforcement
to
get
these
folks
off
that
inventory
and
activated
for
some
community
purpose
right,
I
wanted
to
flag
that
to
use
it's
another
tool
in
the
toolbox
right.
B
And
it
seems
like
there
are
I've
put
in
some
random
addresses
from
my
district
that
aren't
for
for
clothes,
I,
don't
think
they
are
and
they're
listed
so
I
don't
know
how
they
got
on
there.
They
might
just
I,
think
they're
just
still
vacant,
but
they're
not
necessary
of
foreclosed
property,
so
clearly
we're
using
it
to
gather
some
I
think
non
foreclosed
properties,
even
they
were
required
to.
We
expand
that
and
how
does
it
show?
B
How
does
this
database
that
we
currently
have
show
up
beyond
just
as
an
inventory
but
allow
us
to
go
in
and
to
track
or
to
enforce
or
to
incentivize
folks
on
this
list
to
actually
do
something,
so
one
of
the
properties,
for
example,
that
I
don't
think
is
in
foreclosure.
That's
in
my
district
two
years,
it's
just
been
sitting
there
and
what
kind
of
like?
What
are
you
doing?
B
B
A
Well,
on
behalf
of
my
colleagues,
I
want
to
say
thank
you
to
the
administration
staff
that
testified
this
afternoon,
Sheila
doing
Andrew
grace
Chris,
English
and
Jerome
Smith
I'd
like
to
conclude
this
part
of
the
hearing
and
we'll
go
on
to
our
second
piano
again.
Thank
you
for
your
leadership
on
this
issue.
A
A
A
I
Great
similarly
I
feel
humbled
to
be
presenting
here.
I
was
just
I,
was
part
of
the
audience
last
year,
very
excited
to
be
in
the
conversation
about
vacancy
and
to
hear
how
we
can
help
cities
and
neighborhoods
feel
more
vibrant.
So
thank
you
so
much
for
the
opportunity
to
share
what
we've
been
working
on
this
I
guess
this
past
year
and
a
half
since
the
last
hearing.
Well.
B
I'll,
just
have
you
guys
share.
You
know,
since
that
first
hearing
lots
have
happened
from
your
space,
but
we
thought
it's
important
that
you
know
when
we
have
a
public
hearing
like
this,
that
people
should
know
about
the
work
you're
doing
in
ways
in
which
you're
thinking
about
what
the
city
could
be
doing
going
forward
as
well.
So
I'm
gonna
just
turn
it
over
to
you
guys
and
Monique.
J
As
you
know,
focusing
on
competencies,
like
risk-taking
and
resiliency
and
adaptability,
but
also
at
the
core,
is
really
pushing
interdisciplinary
interactions,
and
that
means
you
know
going
out
into
the
community-
is
talking
with
industry
and
trying
to
get
outside
of
their
discipline
of
study,
really
recognizing
that
ideas
can
come
from
anywhere.
We
are
focused
a
lot
on
external
engagement
and
internal
engagement.
J
We
have
been
establishing
think-tank
formats,
which
is
like
a
one-day
event
where
we
are
curating
typically
about
50
to
60
participants,
come
together
from
all
sorts
of
different
disciplines,
industry,
community
and
academia,
and
tackle
any
of
the
challenges.
So
when
we
partnered
with
Andrea's
office,
as
well
as
with
the
Dutch
consulate
and
our
architecture
offices
at
mint
for
us,
you
know
we
really
wanted
to
figure
out.
How
can
we
create
ideas
around
abandoned
properties
and
about
event
lots?
J
And
so
when
we
started
the
collaboration,
it
was
a
quite
energetic
endeavor,
because
many
of
the
community
leaders
that
were
actually
present
provided
so
much
more
insight
into
the
neighborhood's.
It
was
very
impactful
for
the
students
to
see
you
know
what
ideas
could
be
generated
and
would
actually
impact
the
day
to
day
life.
So
I
think
that
was
really
critical
and
that
created
a
lot
of
excitement.
J
And
so,
while
those
ideas
generated
out
of
the
day
were
really
vibrant
and
valuable,
we
wanted
to
take
it
a
step
further,
and
so
what
we
did
is
we
created
one
of
those
booklets,
that's
kind
of
like
a
working
book.
It
lists,
like
all
the
properties
that
were
identified
and
not
all
of
them
were
taken
by
teams,
so
we
wanted
to
give
this
opportunity,
for
you,
know
the
community
to
take
this
field
book
and
actually
take
it
with
them
and
continue
the
ideation.
J
So
I
think
it
was
useful.
From
that
perspective,
what
is
also
impactful
when
these
immersions
are
coming
together,
even
if
it
is
just
for
one
day,
it's
really
the
fact
that
there's
a
lot
of
by-product
created
out
of
it
as
well.
So
when
we
were
starting
the
conversations,
we
realized
that
we
have
a
summer
fab
program
in
architecture
which
usually
happens
over
the
summer.
J
High
school
students
are
coming
together
and
creating
building
structures
and
folks
in
the
thinked
in
the
think,
tank
in
the
city
lab
Dean,
Hotchkiss,
CJ,
Belarus
and
Dave
Moreira
got
together
and
took
some
of
those
structures
that
were
built
and
actually
planted.
Then
on
the
Neponset
River
Way,
which
is
a
fantastic
opportunity
to
activate
the
community
and
start
conversations
around.
How
do
you?
How
do
you
change
the
way
how
the
community
is
starting
to
engage
some
of
those
new
pop-ups?
J
What
actually
just
recently
happened
as
well?
One
of
the
faculty
members,
John
Ellis
from
architecture,
was
part
of
the
city
lab,
and
actually
they
created
this
idea
about
the
design
collective
in
the
neighborhoods,
where
you
would
run
an
urban
studio
actually
in
the
community,
and
we
didn't
advance
that
idea
over
the
summer.
J
I
I
My
name
is
Stephanie,
as
mentioned,
and
I
am
one
of
the
founders
of
spaces,
which
is
a
social
enterprise
that
activates
and
and
keeps
exciting
vacant
and
underutilized
spaces.
We
basically
turned
them
into
places
for
people
to
come
together
to
to
really
gather
outside
of
the
institutions.
The
corporate
campuses,
the
neighborhood
groups
that
seem
to
keep
us
within
a
specific
area,
and
we
create
this
third
space
for
people
to
come
together
throughout
the
city
to
collaborate
and
yeah.
I
So
we
essentially
transform
these
spaces
into
sites
for
pop-up
retail
experiences,
cultural
programming
and
more
freeing
up
the
landlords
to
also
search
for
long
term
tenants.
So
we
keep
these
spaces
active
in
the
in
the
meanwhile.
My
co-founder
and
I
started
space
us
during
graduate
school
when
you
were
both
studying
architecture,
and
she
was
studying,
also
City
Planning
at
MIT,
and
we
were
really
frustrated
by
the
vacant
storefronts
that
we
saw
sort
of
appearing
every
day
on
our
walks
to
school.
We
would
see
these
signs
of
life
disappear.
I
Stores
that
were
anchors
in
our
community
would
be
replaced
with
for
lease
signs,
which
would
linger
for
a
few
days
than
weeks
months
and
sort
of
the
three
and
a
half
years
we
were
in
graduate
school,
so
starting
spaceless
was
incredibly
personal
for
us
because
we
felt
the
impact
of
vacant
spaces
on
our
neighborhood.
We
believed
we
lived
in
a
neighborhood
that
was
vibrant.
That
was
thriving
and
if
you
look
at
our
homes
like
geographically,
all
signs
would
indicate
to
that.
But
these
four
lease
signs
for
us
whether
or
not
this
was
true.
I
They
were
active
indicators
of
neglect,
and
so
we
thought
we
were
in
just
like
a
freakin,
a
forgotten
part
of
Cambridge.
So,
since
creating
space
us
and
starting
our
operations
in
summer,
2018
we've
organized
five
pop-ups,
transforming
these
vacant
spaces
in
high-traffic
areas,
as
well
as
medium
traffic
areas
and
essentially
turning
them
into
something
else.
We've
also
organized
two
activations
of
underutilized
common
space.
So,
most
recently,
we
were
at
hub
hub
week
where
we
activated-
or
we
were
part
of
this
larger
activation
of
a
vacant
lot
in
the
Seaport.
I
That
I
think
the
developer
is
actively
seeking
to
program
and
through
our
efforts,
we've
brought
together.
Various
neighborhoods
like
Harvard
Square,
the
Seaport
Roslindale,
bringing
bringing
together
people
all
around
the
mission
of
nurturing
local
creativity
and
the
entrepreneurial
spirit.
We've
brought
to
life
over
200,
separate
programs,
everything
from
events,
workshops,
exhibitions,
retail,
pop-ups
and
more
realized
dozens
of
ambitious
cultural
projects
and
brought
together
tens
of
thousands
of
people
using
these
vacant
storefronts
as
a
starting
place
to
begin
together.
I
would
say
we
work
at
the
intersection
of
many
interests.
I
We
collaborate
with
the
cities,
organizations
and
are
grateful
to
bids
and
Main
streets
who
have
helped
us
navigate
the
confusing
process
of
licensing
and
permitting.
We
we
daily
collaborate
with
residents,
neighbors
creatives,
new
entrepreneurs,
landlords
developers.
We
engage
all
the
voices
because
we
want
to
create
us,
create
and
believe
we
are
creating
a
win-win
scenario
where
everyone
benefits
from
interim
use.
I
There
are
some
obstacles
that
we've
run
into
during
our
year-and-a-half
of
operating
and
just
as
a
beginning
point,
we
have
some
initial
recommendations
that
we
thought
could
be
helpful
in
making
activity
and
interim
use
more
or
less
challenging.
The
first
is
I
think
defining
vacancy
is
like
the
thing
we
are
always
pointing
to
we
mentioned
Vancouver
Vancouver
defines
fake
a
vacant.
Property
is
one,
that's
been
unoccupied
for
180
days
here.
I
Vacancy
data
is
self-reported
by
landlords
and
collected
by
a
company
that
is
incentivized
to
paint
a
more
optimistic
picture,
I
think
during
our
attempts
to
activate
vacant
properties,
we
saw
that
there
were
many
ways
of
evading
the
designation
of
vacant.
Perhaps
construction,
perhaps
llis.
There
are
lots
of
ways
to
get
around
having
a
space,
that's
vacant
and
getting
or
getting
away
from
that
designation
and
so
just
defining.
It
would
be
incredibly
helpful
as
a
starting
point.
I
The
two
other
recommendations
are
more
about
how
to
make
temporary
use
easier,
so
that
more
and
more
new
entrepreneurs
can
begin
using
them
as
spaces
to
really
build
what
they
aspire
to
build.
So
the
first
is
to
create
a
one-stop
shop
on
a
license
on
the
licensing
commission
website,
to
streamline
licensing
and
permitting.
This
was
actually
a
solution
that
we
recommended.
While
we
were
members
on
the
Cambridge
arts
task
force,
and
it's
one
that
we
believe
would
alleviate
a
lot
of
the
confusion
around
the
paperwork
required
to
open
an
operator
pop-up.
I
I
would
say
another
thing
that
would
be
incredibly
helpful,
are
temporary
but
longer
than
one
day
event
and
liquor
licenses.
These
are
things
that
we've
seen
our
friends
get
around
by
having
I
guess
like
pulling
30
consecutive
separate
licenses
for
things
to
facilitate
a
one-month
pop-up,
but
having
something
that
could
that
could
speak
to
the
way
that
business
is
actually
being
done
would
be
incredibly
helpful.
H
C
Monique,
you
know
Wentworth's
done
some
great
work
with
city
lab
with
on
studies.
What
sort
of
what
could
you
point
to
through
your
research,
a
city
that
really
is
sort
of
doing
this?
The
right
way
that
Boston
should
emulate?
As
we
sort
of
talk
about
next
steps
in
working
sessions
and
potential
ordinances
down
the
road
I
think.
K
J
Create
a
focus
and
just
create
you
know,
goals
and
then
just
go
after
it.
I
think
there
is
a
lot
of
opportunity
and
just
simply
having
the
dialogue
and
being
able
to
identify
what
should
happen
within
the
next
year.
For
example,
we
had
a
follow-up
Hui
event
with
the
Dutch
consulate
around
climate
resiliency,
and
that
was
interesting
because
we
brought
him
many
of
our
thought
leaders
in
Boston
together,
and
these
are
things
that
we
could
tackle.
You
know
going
forward
and
bringing
academia
and
as
partners-
and
you
mentioned
before-
was
Northeastern
and
bu.
J
G
C
You
through
your
research,
noticed
if,
if
a
fee
has
been
a
better
tool,
is
the
threat
of
financial
harm
for
lack
of
a
better
word,
a
useful
way
to
sort
of
activate
some
of
these
spaces
is
it
is
the
amount
not
enough
to
make
it
work?
Just
curious
of
your
take
on
the
question.
I
asked
the
earlier
panel
I
know
assessing
a
fee
for
a
long
term.
Vacancies
yeah.
L
J
I
think
that's
more
the
piece
we
have
actually
done
a
college
think-tank
years
ago
with
the
former
administration
and
2013
or
so,
and
it
was
about
vacant
storefronts
as
well
in
the
city,
and
you
know
one
app
came
out
of
that
as
a
communication
tool
among
the
different
stakeholders
like
landlords
residents,
the
community
at
large
and
I
do
think.
If
I
look
in
my
neighborhood
I
do
think
there
is
just
simply
a
lack
of
communication
and
what
what
the
community
envisions
the
community
to
be
and.
C
J
C
Organic,
it's
another
reason
why
I
think
that
the
council
can
continue
to
play
a
role
as
we
go
forward,
because
we've
got
sort
of
the
inherent
understanding
and
and
can
be
as
ecumenical
to
use
your
word
as
possible.
Thank
you
for
that.
Stephanie
you
talked
a
little
bit
about
sort
of
I
will
put
words
in
your
mouth,
but
the
the
frustration.
Many
particularly
the
artists
community
have
with
navigating
City
Hall,
even
if
indeed
there
is
a
place
to
fight,
you
know
showcase
some
work
you
still
have
to
go
through.
I
I
would
say
like
first
having
the
information
available
in
one
location
would
be
an
incredible
resource
and
I
think
I
mean
we
do
get
a
lot
of
emails,
but
we
are
just
two
people
responding
to
emails,
and
so
having
that
information
available
would
be
a
tremendous
resource.
I
also
think
that
well
I
mean,
in
addition
to
I.
Guess
like
these.
I
C
C
I
I
would
say,
like
ones
where
everyone
is
very
aligned
with
what
is
going
to
happen
with
the
space
are
ones
where
I
find
that
there
is
the
most
success,
which
is
to
say.
Sometimes
we
talked
to
landlords,
and
they
do.
They
do
not
want
to
work
with
an
organization
like
us
because
they
don't
want
that
picture
to
be
painted
where
they
look
bad,
because
an
artist
is
like
kicked
out
of
a
space,
despite
the
fact
that,
maybe,
prior
to
that
final
day
of
a
pop-up,
there
was
conversation
about
this
being
like
a
finite
pop-up
period.
I
I
Run
is
very
mission.
Aligned
I
find
those
to
be
the
most
effective
pop-ups,
which
is
to
say
a
holiday
pop-up.
That
is
like
centered
around
a
specific
thing.
There's
like
a
finite
and
there's
a
finite
sort
of
start
period.
I
would
say
like,
as
as
this
like
ending
period
becomes
nebulous
as,
like
conversations
begin
to
neglect
details.
I
We
find
that
there's
a
lot
of
failure
in
the
pop-up
and
as
not
only
in
like
actually
being
able
to
execute
upon
the
mission,
but
it
also
ends
up
being
like
this
larger
difficulty
where
people
feel
overall
disappointed
by
by
the
pop-up
altogether,
because
they
find
that
it.
It
further
exacerbates
the
appearance
of
neglect.
Sure
that's.
C
G
J
Because
in
my
hometown,
University
I'm
from
Germany,
originally
they
use
student
work
to
actually
pop
up
over
the
holidays
in
an
empty
space,
and
it
was
so
successful.
It
was
totally
radical
at
the
time
it
was
maybe
now
10
years
or
so
ago.
It
was
so
radical
at
the
time
that
the
land,
what
landlord
was
willing
to
just
make
it
a
thing,
and
so
now
you
have
regular
pop-ups
every
month.
There
is
a
different
pop
up
in
that
space,
and
it's
just
very
intentional.
J
It's
like
thematically
driven
and
I
think
it's
really
it's
just
cool
to
have
that
outlet
for
the
creative
and
the
makeup
make
a
community
to
be
able
to
have
a
platform
where
they
can
sell
their
things,
and
it's
it's
curated,
and
it's
because
it
is
thematic
you
can
actually
prepare
for
it.
It's
almost
like
going
to
an
exhibition
for
a
museum
and
that's
been
pretty
powerful.
That's.
A
H
A
A
But
are
we
preparing
small
business
owners
with
the
right?
Are
we
giving
them
the
right
tools,
knowing
that
to
open
up
a
business
that
may
take
it
may
take
8
months
and
you
may
not
have
the
capital
to
last
that
long
and
when
you
finally
open
your
store
up
and
within
a
year,
you
might
already
be
behind
the
8-ball
in
terms
of
your
finances
but
and
then
I
wonder
about
what
impact
that
has
on
you
know:
women-owned
businesses,
communities
of
color
and
they
don't
have
the
right
capital
at
the
right
time.
J
Wondering
if
there
is
an
opportunity
for
the
districts,
you
know
to
actually
facilitate
communications
with
the
community
to
figure
out
what
is
the
vision
for
the
district
and
who
would
they
like
to
be
in
every
district
has
a
different
flavor.
It's
just
every
city
in
this
country
has
a
different
flavor
and
could
stand
for
something
it
could
become
a
pride
point,
but
it
also
could
drive.
I
Say
a
lot
of
our
work
is
really
bridging
that
gap
between
idea
to
execution
I
think,
particularly
as
we
do
the
build-out
we
sort
of
take
I
mean
we.
We
take
one
sentence,
submissions
on
something
someone
wants
to
see
in
their
community
and
sort
of
see
it
from
that
one
one
sentence
to
like
an
actual
event
in
actual
pop
up
an
event
or
an
actual
activation
and
I
would
say
like
for
us.
I
We've
actually
done
some
work
with
the
mayor's
office
of
arts
and
culture
to
get
the
fact
that
they
have
an
arts
resource
manager
out
there
to
a
bunch
of
artists
who
need
help
in
Boston,
but
have
no
idea
who
they
can
turn
to
and
I
would
say
like
as
incredible
as
these
resource
are.
There
need
to
be
there.
There
should
be
additional
avenues
of
reaching
diverse
audiences
and
in
ways
that
might
not
seem
very
traditional,
but
are
just
so
integrated
into
life.
B
But
where
we
do
see,
opportunity
is,
at
least
with
some
of
the
vacant
lot
says.
Everyone
is
excited
about
the
possibility
of
informing
what
can
go
in
that
lot,
because
we
want
it
to
be
grassroots
up,
not
saying
this
is
what
we
think
we
should
go
there,
it's
frankly
hearing
from
you
as
a
community.
What
should
go
there,
and
so
it
gives
us
an
opportunity
to
do
that.
B
Visioning
work
with
community
and
residents
to
generate
ideas,
we're
actually
in
the
process
of
thinking
about
how
we
design
a
process
to
get
ideas
for
Lots
that
currently
don't
have
a
community
idea.
We
have
some
through
the
winter
worth
process,
which
is
great,
but
there's
still
so
many
lots
and
our
phase
one
set
up
parcels
that
don't
have
any
community
ideas.
B
So
how
do
we
engage
existing
civic
associations?
New
based
organizations
with
folks
are
volunteering
their
time,
and
then
how
do
we
pull
them?
Us
folks
that
normally
do
not
show
up
for
anything
government
related
to
say
it
is
really
important
that
you
show
up
as
Anna
butter
to
this
parcel
of
land
as
a
member
of
the
community,
but
you're
exactly
right.
It
can
be
very
challenging,
but
it's
a
it's
a
wonderful
opportunity
and
a
good
problem
I
think
to
have
so.
Thank
you
both
for
the
work
you're
doing
thanks
for
being
here
today.
Thank
you.
B
A
A
A
K
Name
is
Alexis
Smith
I've
been
a
resident
of
the
city
of
Boston
for
37
years
and
I've
had
some
challenges.
Some
difficulties
with
progression
surrounding
education,
sustainable,
a
sustainable
job
in
support
with
my
son,
as
well
as
knowing
how
to
maintain
my
housing
without
falling
behind
in
any
area
as
well,
as
you
know,
taking
care
of
utilities,
and
you
know
just
trying
to
make
sure
that
everything
is
taken
care
of
due
to
lack
of
skills
in
support
in
areas
of
my
life
as
well
as
my
mom
I
would
like
to
speak
a
brief
about
her.
K
She
migrated
here
from
South
Carolina
and
what
I've
learned
about
her
she's,
an
amazing
artist.
She
knows
how
to
crochet
and
she
loves
art
and
poetry,
and
the
reason
I
mentioned
that,
because
I
have
come
to
realize,
live
in
the
city.
There
aren't
too
many
places
is
that
have
poetry,
studios,
art,
studios,
skateboarding
parks
for
the
kids,
cooking
schools
where
families
could
go.
The
youth
could
go
to
utilize
a
way
to
interact
with
each
other,
learn
how
to
cook
and
be
able
to
do
that
back
at
home
with
their
families.
K
I've
also
learned
that
a
lot
of
families
don't
have
structure
in
their
homes,
meaning
what
they
will
eat
for
the
week
written
down
on
a
schedule
what
their
bills
will
be
for
the
month.
What
their
bills
would
be
for
six
months
with
their
bills
would
be
for
the
end
of
the
year
as
far
as
car
insurance,
food
utilities,
rent
and
just
really
knowing
how
to
manage
their
their
bank
account
their
funds
to
have
sustainable
living
to
where
they
wouldn't
have
to
worry
about.
Where
they're
going
to
move
to.
K
You
know
in
a
lot
of
properties
being
vacant,
because
they
can't
afford
to
pay
the
first
month,
first
and
last
in
a
security
deposit,
because
they
don't
know
how
to
manage
their
funds,
not
because
they
don't
want
to
so
I
been
working
on
a
system
with
myself
and
my
son
I
had
lost
him
to
gun
violence
from
2017
and
I.
Believe
it's
because
of
lack
of
support
in
these
areas
that
I'm
mentioning
as
well
as
consistency.
K
I
did
we
weren't
a
crisis
and
we
needed
some
support
and
I
needed
some
support
as
a
single
mom,
a
woman
who
grew
up
with
a
single
mother
that
lacked
these
skills
and
couldn't
teach
me
these
skills
because
she
didn't
know
how
to
do
them
herself.
So
that
way,
I
could
sustain
my
living
pay
for
my
expenses
and
be
able
to
move
my
son
away
before
I
lost
him
to
gun
violence.
K
K
I
just
think
they
don't
have
the
skills
to
do
so
as
much
as
they
really
want
to,
because
there
are
a
lot
of
open
spaces
that
would
be
nice
to
see
some.
You
know
green
houses
where
people
can
go
and
plant
my
mom
loves
the
plant.
She
loves
growing
plants
like
right
now,
she's
trying
to
grow
a
pineapple
in
her
apartment.
So
you
know
it
would
be
nice
if
there
was
a
space
where
you
can
go,
grow
plants
and
fruits
and
there's
a
lot
of
people
who
come
from
different
countries.
K
It's
very
hard
when
you
don't
have
those
tools
to
maintain
something
that
you
worked
so
hard
for
for
so
many
years
and
I
feel
again,
like
a
lot
of
people
are
losing
what
they
worked
hard
for
and
put
their
heart
into,
because
they
lack
skills.
I
believe
I
could
be
further
down
the
road
in
my
life
and
I
believe
my
son
would
be
here
with
me
and
walking
together
and
be
in
a
further
position
in
a
better
position.
Our
lives
if
there
was
consistency,
more
places,
to
go
more
things
to
do
as
a
family.
K
That's
very
productive
and
positive.
Besides
the
Boys
&
Girls
Club,
besides
the
YMCA,
you
know
the
events
that
are
held.
You
know
a
few
times
a
month
within
through
the
year,
they're
amazing
I
enjoy
the
time
that
I
got
to
expend
going,
but
I
really
didn't
learn
about
a
lot
of
them
too.
After
his
passing
so
I
feel,
like
you
know,
putting
places
that
would
help
us
to
come
together
more
so
we
can
support
each
other
more
so
that
we
are
able
to
sustain
our
living.
K
You
know,
pay
our
bills,
take
care
of
our
utilities.
In
keep
these
storefronts
in
our
communities
that
people
work
so
hard
for
whether
if
they
lived
here
for
all
their
life
or
where
they
moved
here
either
one
it
doesn't
matter
to
me,
I
would
like
to
see
them
be
able
to
say
they're,
sustained
their
space
versus
losing
after
working
so
hard
to
obtain
a
place
to
start
a
business
or
open
up
a
pharmacy
or
a
dance
studio
or
yoga
studio.
K
A
L
Council,
president
and
gentlemen,
thank
you
very
much
for
having
me
have
this
opportunity.
I
want
to
state
that
I.
You
know
as
I'm,
taking
some
time
to
come
down
to
testify,
because
I
also
wanted
to
exercise
my
civic
duty
to
demonstrate
my
support
for
the
use
of
these
types
of
public
spaces,
so
I'm
using
some
personal
time
to
be
able
to
speak
on
the
record
regarding
this
at
the
city
level
and
then
we'll
be
heading
back
to
work.
I
had
the
fortunate
opportunity
to
participate
in
many
of
Wentworth's
think
tanks.
L
Just
this
past
weekend
was
the
other,
and
it
reminds
me
of
an
African
proverb
that
states
that
you
know
every
individual
has
a
genius
in
them
and
when
you
allow
that
genius
to
work,
many
things
can
come
into
fruition,
and
this
is
just
what
I
observed
with
Wentworth
think-tanks
and
to
councillor
O'malley's
question
of
examples
of
where
this
has
worked
best.
I
I
think
that
Boston
can
be
the
example
instead
of
looking
to
emulate
what
may
already
exist
that
I
think
we
can
be
the
example
for
other
places.
L
We
are
ready
to
Mecca
for
education
and
for
health
care
and
I
think
it's
an
opportunity
for
us
to
become
a
mecca
and
in
creativity
when
we're
looking
at
economic
entrepreneurship
opportunities.
The
other
thing
I'm
reminded
of
is
the
Boston
Globe
article
that
had
reported
that
the
value
or
the
personal
wealth
of
the
median
wealth
of
the
black
community
is
at
$8
an
individual.
L
This
is
a
perfect
opportunity
for
the
city
of
Boston
to
catalyze
hyper
catalyze,
the
creation
of
wealth
by
bringing
all
sorts
of
people
in
sectors
aged
experience
together
to
create
new
opportunities
and
a
way
to
even
include
that
slumlord.
If
you
will,
who
is
never
present,
looking
at
opportunities
for
the
triple
win
or
even
the
quadruple
and
profit
sharing.
Even
how
do
you
engage
someone
who's,
not
responsive,
if
not
to
invite
them
an
opportunity
to
make
wealth,
which
is
what
they're
in
there,
but
making
wealth
with
the
community?
L
Well,
that
is
solving
issues
that
the
community
identifies
it
and
the
other
key
point
I
want
to
to
point
out
the
ability
to
do
this
requires
a
great
talent
in
facilitation.
I
attend
enough
meetings.
Where
I
see
it's
a
repeated
cycle
of
deficit,
narratives
and
legacy
personalities,
legacy
entities
that
seemed
to
drive
the
narrative
and
when
new
voices
come
up,
they
often
squash
down
and
in
the
way
that
Wentworth
facilitates.
This
conversation
makes
the
space
for
all
voices
to
be
heard
and
in
that
process
creates
something
radical
something
incredible
as
well.
A
M
Thank
you,
Thank
You
council
for
hearing
me.
My
name
is
joy.
Gary
I,
a
resident
of
Matapan
and
a
lifelong
resident
of
Boston
grew
up
in
Dorchester,
have
lived
and
worked
in
the
community
for
a
number
of
years,
and
and
I'm
really
excited
to
see
that
the
city
is
dedicated
to
making
use
of
the
vacant
spaces
that
have
been
blinding
the
community
for
a
number
of
decades
and
and
I.
M
Just
think
that
this
is
a
unique
opportunity
for
the
rebuilding
of
the
Dorchester
Roxbury
Mattapan
neighborhoods,
and
to
build
it
in
a
way,
and
that
is
more
regenerative,
sustainable
and
equitable,
and
instead
of
looking
at
filling
the
vacancies
with
single-use
properties
or
single-use
projects
coming
together
and
utilizing.
The
property
properties
in
a
multi
multi-use
fashion
is
mainly
what
I
came
here
to
suggest.
I
think
a
lot
of
times
there's
competing.
M
Think
I
also
just
want
to
challenge
the
the
city
to
tell
allow
community
groups
and
residents
and
business
leaders
to
be
a
part
of
development
process.
I
was
really
excited
to
hear
about
the
work
that
you
were
doing
with
Wentworth.
It
seems
like
it's
right
along
the
lines
of
really
what
I
was
hoping
would
be
happening
with
the
city
and
in
and
just
like.
M
M
M
At
the
same
time,
instead
of
just
one
business
trying
to
struggle
on
their
own
I
think
that
there
is
that
we
need
to
change
the
narrative
and
language
around
how
businesses
can
work
together
and
function
together
like
there's,
none
there's
a
number
of
restaurants,
for
instance
that
are
struggling.
They
may
be
there
for
10
years,
but
they're
struggling
and
reducing
their
hours
and
having
hours
of
space
during
the
day
that
is
being
underutilized
or
unutilized
at
all,
and
so
it
becomes
a
waste
of
space
when
we're
not
actually
utilizing
property
to
expand.
M
A
B
Just
thank
you
to
the
folks
who
offered
public
testimony
and
pulled
out
various
ideas
of
how
we
can
use
these
spaces
for
physical
purposes,
financial
planning,
youth,
all
the
other
pieces
as
well,
really
appreciate
it
and
you
guys
taking
the
time
to
show
up
today
in
the
middle
of
the
afternoon.
Thank
you
guys
very
much
and
thank
you.
Councilor
flame
and
Thank
You
councillor
Edwards
for
co-chairing
and
Thank
You,
councillor
O'malley
for
the
partnership
council.
C
You
mr.
chairman,
and
thank
you
council
president
for
your
great
leadership
and
partnership
on
this,
we've
been
working
on
it
for
a
number
of
years,
but
I
think
the
really
worthwhile
testimony
we
heard
today
from
the
experts
from
the
administration
from
members
of
the
public
showed
how
important
and
complex
an
issue
this
is,
but
there's
also
a
real
opportunity
for
this
city
to
lead
and
I
appreciate
it,
particularly
the
comments
raised
by
several
during
public
testimony
about
the
intersectionality
between
vacancy
activation
housing,
business
and
sustainability
in
the
environment.
C
There's
a
lot
of
good
that
we
can
do,
there's
a
lot
of
space
to
lead
on
this
and
I.
You
know
again
for
folks
watching
or
those
here.
Our
legislative
calendar
ends
in
a
number
of
months,
but
look
forward
to
working
with
you
in
this
next
year
and
all
of
our
colleagues
and
maybe
looking
at
a
in
ordinance
down
the
line
to
address
not
only
data
collection
and
strategies
to
solve
this
issues,
but
also
incentives,
both
a
carrot,
mystic
approach,
so
continued
partnership
shall
commence
and
just
grateful
for
everyone.
In
their
time.
A
It
thank
you
Thank
You,
council,
Malley,
councilor,
Edwards
I
want
to
say
thank
you
to
council
president
Campbell
councilor
O'malley
in
co-chair
accounts
Edwards
for
your
tremendous
leadership
on
this
important
issue.
I'd
like
to
thank
the
administration
for
working
closely
with
our
colleagues
in
the
City
Council
for
testifying
today,
I'd
like
to
thank
our
experts
that
participated
in
in
this
hearing
and
I'd
like
to
thank
especially
the
testimony
from
the
public.
You
provided
excellent
testimony
in
input
on
this
important
hearing,
so
we
want
to
say
thank
you.
Thank
you
to
you.