►
Description
Docket #0762 - Message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of Thirty Million Ninety Two Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety One Dollars and Thirty Cents ($30,092,991.30) in the form of a grant, Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2), awarded by the United States Department of Treasury to be administered by the Department of Neighborhood Development. The grant will fund direct financial assistance, including rent, rental arrears, utilities and home energy costs, utilities and home energy costs in arrears and other expenses related to housing
A
A
A
A
I'm
gonna
go
ahead
and
get
started.
I
can't
see
myself.
Oh
here
we
go
okay,
so
good
afternoon
my
name
is
lydia
edwards,
I'm
the
chair
of
the
committee
on
housing
and
community
development
in
accordance
with
chapter
20,
the
acts
of
2021
modifying
certain
requirements
of
the
open
meeting
law
and
relieving
public
bodies
of
certain
requirements,
including
the
requirement
that
public
bodies
conduct
meetings
in
a
public
place
that
is
open
and
physically
accessible.
The
city
council
is
conducting
this
hearing.
A
A
A
Today's
hearing
is
on
docket
0762
message
and
order
authorized
in
the
city
of
boston
to
accept
and
expend
the
amount
of
30
million,
92
991
dollars
and
30
cents,
and
the
former
grant
of
emergency
rental
assistance
awarded
by
the
us
department
of
treasury
to
be
administrated
by
the
department
of
neighborhood
development.
The
grant
will
fund
direct
financial
assistance,
including
rent
rental
rears
utilities
and
home
energy
costs,
utilities
and
home
energy
costs
and
arrears
and
other
expenses
related
to
housing.
I
am
joined
today
by
my
colleagues,
counselors
ed
flynn
and
counselors
counselor,
michael
flaherty.
A
A
We've
had
many
hearings
specifically
about
these
kinds
of
grants
and
and
what
we
often
do
is
turn
it
over
to
the
administration,
who
will
then
go
through
a
deck
or
a
powerpoint
slide
to
give
us
updates
on
the
funding
where
it's
gone
so
far.
What
this
proposed
money
will
go
to
and
then
we
open
it
up
for
counselors
for
any
questions.
B
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Council
edwards.
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
for
your
exceptional
leadership
on
housing
related
issues,
especially
during
the
pandemic.
I
also
want
to
say
thank
you
to
sheila
dylan's
team
shelby
dylan's
team
at
the
department
of
neighborhood
development
working
closely
with
so
many
residents
in
need
throughout
the
city,
helping
them
navigate
the
system.
So
I
just
want
to
acknowledge
the
exceptional
work
of
the
dnd
team.
I'm
here
to
learn
about
the
grant.
B
C
There
are
charges
related
to
the
pandemic,
so
continuing
to
fund
this
program
will
remain
a
priority
of
mine
as
long
as
there
are
still
those
in
need
of
assistance
in
order
to
protect
every
bostonian's
right
to
housing.
I
look
forward
to
this
hearing
today
in
order
to
turn
these
funds
around
and
get
them
released
to
to
the
city
as
quickly
as
possible,
so
they
can
be
distributed
to
those
in
need.
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
look
forward
to
listening
to
the
testimonies.
A
D
A
D
A
D
A
E
No,
I'm
not
gonna
hold
things
up
any
longer.
I
really
appreciate
all
the
great
work
that's
been
done
with
regard
to
rent
relief
and
especially
in
the
covent
crisis,
and
eager
to
learn
more
and
know
that
this
this
this
support
will
need
to
be
continued
for
some
time
going
forward.
So,
let's,
let's
hear
all
about
it.
Thank
you.
E
D
D
In
early
march,
congress
passed
the
american
rescue
plan
or
arp,
which
provided
for
over
20
billion
dollars
in
emergency
rental
assistance,
commonly
known
as
era
2
to
be
distributed
to
states
and
localities.
Boston
was
eligible
for
and
has
received,
30
million
93
991
dollars
and
30
cents
from
the
eert
era
ii
funds.
This
follows
on
the
20
million
the
city
received
previously
now
known
as
era
1..
D
These
new
funds
have
similar
requirements
to
era
1
and
that
households
who
are
eligible
are
those
with
incomes
of
less
than
eighty
percent
of
area
needed
income.
As
with
era,
one
funds
may
be
used
for
rent
and
utilities.
Due
since
march
13th
prospective
rent,
which
is
reviewed,
ongoing
utilities,
including
internet
service,
it
can
assist
bha
tenants
for
their
rent
portion
and
utilities
and
housing
stability
services
in
a
change
from
era.
1
era
2
allows
assistance
for
up
to
18
months,
which
it
had
been
12
to
15
months
previously.
D
It
has
also
eased
some
requirements
around
paying
tenants
directly
and
in
income
documentation
in
order
to
make
it
easier
to
help
those
needs.
These
funds
will
be
used
to
further
expand
our
rental
relief
fund.
I'll
now
turn
it
over
to
taylor
kane
to
provide
an
update
on
those
funds.
Thank
you
and
did
we
lose?
F
F
For
our
program,
there
is
a
preference
for
households
who
have
been
unemployed
for
90
consecutive
days
or
more
and
for
households
that
are
at
50
of
their
median
income
or
below
and
in
terms
of
the
key
programmatic
features.
Households
are
able
to
receive
up
to
15
000
in
rental
assistance
that
can
be
used
for
past
due
current
or
future
rent,
as
well
as
moving
costs
within
the
city
of
boston
and
utility
assistance,
for
which
we
have
a
1500
max.
F
This
has
gone
to
over
2
900
households
across
the
city
of
boston
and
we've
distributed
over
172
000
in
utility
assistance
and
and
with
these
resources,
we've
also
supported
294,
tenant
and
landlord
application
sessions
and
to
the
graphic
on
the
side
and
just
gives
a
bit
of
a
higher
level.
Reclap
around
the
number
of
households
served.
What
we
see
in
terms
of
the
average
amount
of
assistance
that
folks
are
receiving
around
the
seven
thousand
dollar
number
and
that
we
distributed
assistance
to
every
neighborhood
in
boston.
F
When
we
look
at
the
funding
over
time,
we
thought
it
would
just
be
helpful
to
share
what
we're
seeing
in
terms
of
some
of
the
changes
in
the
average
amount
of
unpaid
rent
and
how
that
corresponds
to
changes.
We've
seen
specifically
increases
in
the
average
award
amount.
So
in
april
of
2020
to
october
of
2020
that
time
period,
the
average
amount
of
unpaid
rent
that
households
applying
to
the
fund
had
was
around
3
500
and
our
award
amounts
were
around
3
300.
F
At
this
moment
in
time
is
around
seven
thousand
five
hundred
dollars
and
this
kind
of
tabulates
into
the
full
fifteen
million
point.
15.5
million
that's
been
distributed
to
date,
so
this
slide
has
a
lot
of
text
on
it,
but
was
really
just
meant
to
recap,
some
of
the
modifications
that
we've
made
today
to
really
streamline
the
application
process
for
tenants
and
landlords
and
really
respond
to
the
need
that
we're
seeing
in
different
boston
neighborhoods.
F
F
You
ensure
that
all
of
our
materials
applications
as
well
as
flyers
and
outreach
materials
are
available
in
11,
different
language
languages
and
we've
also
hired
part-time
program
assistants
to
support
tenants
who
need
assistance,
completing
applications
via
phone
we've
also
made
a
number
of
modifications
that
relate
to
eligibility,
the
award
amount
and
the
types
of
assistance
that
are
able
to
be
covered
by
this
fund.
So
we
have
recently
updated
our
eligibility
to
allow
for
households
with
housing
vouchers
to
be
eligible
for
assistance.
F
So
when
we
look
at
our
rental
refund
expansion,
what
we've
seen
is,
over
the
past
couple
of
months,
we've
received
about
1
400
new
applications
around
300
of
them
have
been
deemed
ineligible
I'll
share
a
bit
about
some
of
those
reasons
for
an
eligibility.
Next,
you
have
about
190
applications
that
are
pending,
and
what
that
means
is
that
they're
either
awaiting
tenant
or
landlord
documentation,
and
between
march
of
this
year
to
the
end
of
june,
we
distributed
assistance
to
854
households
for
a
total
of
about
7.5
million
in
assistance.
D
F
F
F
And
then
we've
also
started
to
try
to
understand
where
folks
are
completing
applications
and
what
types
of
technology
folks
are
utilizing
to
complete
the
application.
So
most
applicants
are
completing
an
application
at
home
and
in
the
next
slide,
we'll
see
that
primarily
most
folks
are
using
a
desktop
or
laptop
container
application.
F
But
we
also
continue
to
see
that
there
are
folks
who
are
reporting
that
they
do
not
have
internet
access
and
completed
an
application
via
phone.
There
is
a
segment
of
folks
that
are
utilizing
connections
with
non-profit,
religious
or
cultural
centers
to
access
the
application
unit
completed
as
well
as
public
internet
locations
and
public
library
branches.
F
And
then
this
is
just
what
I
was
referencing
in
terms
of
the
technology
that
applicants
are
using
to
apply
so
primarily
folks
are
using
a
desktop
computer
or
laptop
computer,
but
we
also
have
those
who
are
completing
via
smartphone
or
mobile
phone,
as
well
as
tablets,
which
include
internet,
enable
speed
readers
and
then
this
is.
We
just
wanted
to
add
a
slide
about
the
pha
rental
warriors
program,
because
this
was
a
new
addition
to
to
the
rental
refund
over
the
past
few
months.
F
So,
with
this
program,
we
have
assisted
175
households
who
are
residents
of
the
boston
housing
authority
to
date
and
distributed
around
800
and
that
800,
oh,
my
goodness,
words
are
so
hard
today,
8
900
dollars
in
assistance
through
the
pha
rental
readers
program,
and
then.
Lastly,
this
is
the
last
sec
section,
as
we
think
about
future
need
and
programming.
The
additional
50
million
in
funding
this
again
will
be
very
familiar
to
folks.
When
we
look
at
our
more
recent
applicants.
F
We
have
a
smaller
percentage
of
folks
around
12
that
report
being
self-employed
and
their
income
has
been
reduced
and
then
around
nine
percent
of
applicants
report
they've
experienced
a
loss
of
income
due
to
child
care
or
school
cultures,
and
then,
when
we
look
at
the
industries
where
applicants
work
again,
this
has
been
pretty
consistent
over
the
course
of
the
past
15
months
that
predominantly
applicants
for
the
rental
refund
are
working
in
food
services.
These
are
in
hospitality
industries.
Around
23
percent
of
our
applicants
fall
into
that
category
with.
F
F
And
then
we
have
this
separate
bucket
of
work
that
involves
doing
outreach
through
the
house,
support,
docket
and
again
proactively,
reaching
out
to
households
and
housing
court
and
then
starting
in
later
this
month.
Actually
next
week
the
office
of
housing
stabilities,
you
know
office
spaces
and
very
close
proximity
to
housing
court
which
will
allow
for
more
in-person
assistance
and
services.
A
E
F
So
I'm
happy
to
get
us
started
and
then
I
might
turn
it
over
to
keyboard,
which
I
think
is
on
here
as
well.
But
in
terms
of
that
qualitative
dimension,
I
think
what
we.
The
changes
that
we've
seen
in
terms
of
the
increase
in
applicants
who've
heard
about
the
fund
from
their
property
owner
or
landlord,
is
an
indication
in
some
ways
of
what
we're
seeing
on
the
ground
in
terms
of
a
willingness
to
work
together,
certainly
first
for
some
landlords
to
really
partner
closely
with
their
tenants
to
get
completed
applications.
F
I
think
we've
also
benefited
from
the
work
of
the
landlord
communicator
and
that
innovation
component
that
we
have
can
really
help
repair
some
of
those
those
relationships
and
we'll
start
to
have
better
tracking
for
some
of
the
differences
between
the
number
of
households
that
are
receiving
payments
directly
attendance
receiving
payments
directly,
which
will
be,
I
think,
a
helpful
indicator
for
us
in
terms
of.
Are
there
roadblocks
that
we're
experiencing
with
landlords
that
are
either
non-responsive
or
refusing
to
accept
payment?.
G
Yeah,
I
can.
I
can
answer
that
we
have
a
very
high
counselor.
Thank
you
for
the
question,
so
we
we
actually
have
a
very
robust
court
strategy
again
from
this
lovely
room
here.
I'm
actually
steps
away
from
the
housing
court,
but
we
actually
have
been
since
the
moratorium
lifted.
We've
been
searching
the
docket
every
single
day.
We
have
a
contract
with
homestart
they
log
on
to
mass
courts.
They
enter
it
into
a
spreadsheet.
G
We
call
the
tenants,
we
email
tenants
and
then
we
mail
postcards
out
to
tenants
that
have
been
impacted
by
eviction.
We
connect
them
with
resources
attorneys.
We
tell
them
about
their
rights
under
the
eviction
moratorium
and
then
we
definitely
want
them
signing
up
for
rental
assistance.
In
addition
to
that,
we
use
our
landlord
portal,
which
is
the
notice
to
quit.
So
we
have
pre-court
intervention
process
where
we
asked
the
landlord.
Would
you
accept
rental
assistance
whenever
they
upload
the
notice
to
quit
to
the
portal
and
a
lot
of
them
say?
G
Yes,
but
even
if
they
say
no,
we
still
connect
the
tenant
with
the
resources
to
apply
for
rental
assistance
and
we're
going
to
start
actually
tabling
fiscally
right
outside
of
the
housing
court.
And
I
think
that
will
also
help
with
landlord
interaction
as
well,
because
a
lot
of
small
landlords
do
not
know
about
this
funding
source,
and
that
is
actually
a
more
expedient
process
than
dealing
with
the
state's
rental
relief
fund.
G
H
H
Somehow,
oh
sorry,
in
terms
of
where
you're
projecting
the
need
to
be,
let's
say
a
month,
two
months,
six
months
from
now,
you
know
as
you're,
seeing
the
size
of
the
your
average
request
change
over
time
and
as
you're
as
you're
seeing
different
pieces
changes.
You
know
whether
it's
people
coming
back
or
or
telling
others
or
concentration
in
different
buildings
or
places
across
the
city.
Are
there
any
trends
that
you
can
talk
about,
that
might
kind
of
help
with
this
sense
of
projection.
F
Coming
for
additional
assistance
is
something
that
we're
paying
really
close
attention
to
katie's
point
around
being
really
proactive
and
looking
at
the
notice
circuit
data,
as
well
as
the
housing
core
data.
That
also
tells
a
story
about
where
some
of
the
future
need
will
be,
because
we
know
that
sometimes
these
things
are
concentrated
in
particular
neighborhoods,
so
paying
attention
to.
That
is
something
that
we
will.
We
will
continue
to
do
and
then
this
industries
piece
has
been
one
that
we've
been
paying
attention
to
throughout
the
process.
F
We
haven't
seen
much
change
in
terms
of
food
services,
leisure
and
hospitality
continue
to
be
the
industries
that
are
most
impacted
by
covenant
and
in
turn,
the
the
industries
that
we
see
most
reflected
in
our
data,
but
there
could
be
shifts
in
that.
So
this
is
very
much
a
data
informed,
even
data-driven
process
and
that's
how
we're
thinking
about
understanding
what
the
future
need
will
be.
H
Thank
you
and
my
my
only
other
question
was
on
the
representation
in
terms
of
language
access.
Just
the
one
slide
it's
you
know
it
seemed
that
a
lot
of
the
communities
and
just
having
a
sense
of
what
percentage
of
the
population
our
speakers
of
those
languages,
were
underrepresented,
any
thoughts
or
strategy.
You
know
does
that
match
what
you're
seeing
or
any
strategies
to
kind
of
keep
getting
the
word
out
or-
or
you
know
you
know,
especially
on
that
front,
taking
down
barriers.
F
Yes,
it's
a
great
question.
I
think
that's
one
of
the
reasons
why
we're
really
excited
about
the
community
partner
program
and
really
prioritizing
communities
that
speak
languages
other
than
english
as
part
of
how
we're
thinking
about
awarding
those
funds
to
different
non-profit
organizations,
because
we
know
that
that
will
can
we
can
make
all
of
the
materials
available
in
all
of
the
different
languages.
But
there's
also
that,
like
outreach
component,
that
has
to
happen
alongside
of
it.
A
I
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
thank
you
everyone
for
the
presentation
I
missed
some
of
it.
So
I'm
sorry
if
I
might
be
asking
something
that
was
represented
in
the
in
the
slides
that
were
presented.
I
am
very
much
curious
about
our
capacity
as
a
city
and
certainly
through
dnd
and
ohs,
to
fulfill
the
needs
of
our
residents,
and
you
know
fulfill
the
commitment
that
this
money
offers.
F
F
So
it's
really
truthful
that
we're
thinking
about
what
can
we
do
in
terms
of
staffing
to
help
respond
to
the
need
to
help
get
folks
to
as
much
of
a
complete
application
as
possible
as
possible
so
that
by
the
time
it
gets
to
one
of
the
partner
agencies?
It's
a
much
more
streamlined
process
and
we're
trying
to
minimize
the
back
and
forth.
That
can
sometimes
happen
when
we're
trying
to
collect
all
of
the
documentation
that
we
need.
G
And
then
sorry,
counselor,
just
to
add
on
to
what
taylor
was
saying.
One
of
the
good
things
about
the
use
of
this
funding
and
tim
could
probably
add
on
to
it
as
well,
is
that
we
have
the
ability
to
use
some
of
it
for
administrative
costs
such
as
technology,
so
we're
desperately
trying
to
update
you,
know
our
application
and
our
I.t
process.
I
Yeah
there
again,
this
could
have
been
in
the
earlier
part
of
the
presentation
that
I
missed.
Are
there
goals
around
timelines,
and
you
know
response
time
so
obviously
making
sure
that
we
have
the
capacity
to
do
this.
Work
helps
speed
that
along,
but
imagine
if
we've
got
families
and
residents
trying
to
access
your
efforts
that
they're
in
a
desperate
situation.
G
Sure
so
one
of
the
questions
that
we
do
ask
on
the
application
is
what
their
housing
situation
is.
We
definitely
want
someone
who
has
a
current
court
case
to
be
assigned
to
a
specific
vendor,
so
those
are
going
to
noaa
right
now,
they're
very
expedient
and
they're,
very
just
they're,
just
so
professional,
getting
the
the
money
out
to
landlords
or
to
tenants
specifically
and
so
having
them
on
board
and
doing
the
great
work
that
they're
doing
has
been
spectacular.
F
Yeah,
so
we
have
some
language
in
the
initial
communication
that
goes
to
folks
after
they
complete
an
application.
That
sets
an
expectation
that
we
will
review
this
application
and
assign
it
to
a
partner
agency
within
seven
days
after
submission,
and
then
the
target
that
we're
really
aiming
for
in
terms
of
that
processing
time
is
getting
between
two
to
three
weeks.
From,
like
time
of
application
is
submitted
to
time,
funding
is
distributed.
F
I
And
then
my
last
question
just
again
around
capacity,
I
appreciate
the
work
that
you're
all
doing
and
that
there
is
an
opportunity
to
use
some
of
these
dollars.
For
that
administrative
help.
Are
we
able
to
turn
that
around
quickly
enough
to
onboard
any
of
the
help
that
we
need,
or
are
we
using
that
money
mostly
to
support
partner
organizations
to
do
the
onboarding
off-site.
F
Yes,
so
with
the
funds
that
we
have
we're
able,
it
is
both
in
some
ways,
so
we
have
increased
the
part-time
program.
Assistance
are
through
the
city
of
boston
through
the
department
of
neighborhood
development,
and
then
we
have
the
funding,
that's
allocated
for
the
partner
agencies
and
their
staffing
needs,
and
then
the
community
partner
program
that
we
referenced
is
also
a
way
of
thinking
about
increasing
capacity
in
terms
of
increasing
the
number
of
folks
that
are
able
to
help
a
tenant
and
a
landlord
complete,
put
together
a
completed
application
packet.
I
B
Yeah,
thank
you,
council,
edwards
and
apologize.
I
had
a
computer
glitch
on
my
end,
I
heard
the
entire
presentation
so
want
to
say
thank
you
to
the
again
say
thank
you
to
the
dnd
team
for
excellent
work.
I
know
katie
and
sheila
have
helped
me
on
many
cases,
so,
as
has
the
entire
team,
so
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you,
so
I
just
wanted
to
ask.
B
We
had
a
discussion
earlier
on
access
digital
access
for
for
various
people,
including
our
seniors
and
persons
with
disabilities
in
the
immigrant
community,
but
how
difficult
katie
is
it
for
us
to
reach
members
persons
with
disabilities
that
might
be
struggling
during
the
pandemic
in?
Are
we
certain
that
our
message
is
getting
getting
to
them
and
what
type
of
extra
assistance
can
we
provide
persons
with
disabilities?
That
might
know
might
not
know
about
this
important
service.
G
Thank
you
for
the
question.
To
be
honest,
we
probably
are
not
doing
enough
to
reach
that
community
and
we
should
be
doing
more
to
reach
that
community
absolutely
so.
What
we're
doing
now
again
is
we're
really
focused
on
preventing
evictions
with
the
funding,
and
what
taylor
is
talking
about
is
expanding,
that
into
the
communities
that
are
hardest
hit.
G
So
one
of
the
things
that
we
will
do
with
that
program
to
go
into
those
underserved
communities
is
to
absolutely
focus
on
people
with
disabilities,
so
they
they
can
receive
information
about
the
application
and
how
to
receive
services
being
at
the
libraries
is
one
thing,
but
that
just
happens
to
be,
if
you're
lucky
enough
to
have
someone
with
a
disability,
you
know
go
by
the
table
at
the
library.
So
that's
not
going
to
be
enough,
so
we're
really
really
going
to
rely
on
these
partner
agencies
to
reach
out
to
folks
with
disabilities.
G
We've
also
been
working
with
the
disability
commission.
Once
a
month
we
have
a
housing
and
disability
commission
meeting.
So
we
talk
through
all
these
issues
so
that
that
is
one
other
way
of
reaching
out
to
them
and
letting
them
know
about
all
the
resources
that
are
available.
But
it's
it's
not
enough.
What
we're
doing
so!
We
are
I'm
trying
to
expand
upon
that.
B
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
katie
for
the
answer
and
then
my
final
question
relates
to
I.
I
represent
a
a
large
community,
a
large
immigrant
community,
and
over
the
years
one
of
the
one
of
the
challenges
has
been
wage
theft
that
I've
seen
in
my
in
my
community,
but
I
also
many
of
them
are
in
the
hospitality
industry.
F
Yes,
this
is
such
an
important
question
and
I
think
we
have
a
bit
of
a
twofold
response,
because
one
piece
is
about
trying
to
minimize
the
document:
the
amount
of
documentation
that
we're
asking
for
folks
that
we're
getting
what
we
need,
but
we're
not
asking
for
something
overly
burdensome.
So
we
have
created
a
form
for
households
that
receive
cash
income
or
who
aren't
able
to
provide
kind
of
consecutive
pay
stubs
to
show
proof
of
income
or
their
documented
income
sources.
F
F
Where
we
really
see
the
importance
of
working
with
other
city
departments,
as
well
as
other
non-profit
organizations
and
community
groups,
of
really
being
those
trusted,
partners,
trusted
voices
and
communities
so
that
the
message
is
coming
from
multiple
different
spaces
and
venues
that
this
is
assistance
that
is
available
for
undocumented
households
for
folks
that
are
working
in
leisure
or
hospitality.
Industries
that
this
is
a
resource
that
is
available
for
them.
B
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
taylor
and
I
guess
my
final
question
or
comment.
I
represent
also
a
large
community
that
lives
in
bha
developments,
especially
in
south
boston,
mary
ellen
mccomic,
west
broadway,
old
colony,
west
9th
street
and
then
going
into
the
south
end.
Certainly
villa
victoria,
which
is
not
public
housing
per
se,
but
west
denham
street
is
the
cathedral
castle
square
is
not
traditional
public
housing.
But
what
are
we
doing
to
make
sure
that
we
we
we're
reaching
bha
residents
as
well.
F
So
we
have
created
a
rental
arrears
program
with
the
boston
housing
authority
and
so
we're
encouraging
residents
of
the
boston
housing
authority
to
be
in
communication
with
their
property
managers
to
complete
an
application
form.
So
assistance
is
available
through
that
route
if
they,
if
folks
end
up
applying
for
the
rental
relief
fund,
they'll
get
a
message
that
outlines
that
process
for
being
in
touch
with
their
property
manager
to
to
apply
for
that
program.
G
So
just
want
clever:
that's
for
the
public
housing
tenants
at
bha,
counselor,
so
old
colony,
all
those
places
you
just
mentioned
they
they
can
apply
directly
with
their
property
manager
and
most
of
their
managers
have
reached
out
to
them.
I'm
sure
I
know
that
joel
and
others
at
bha
have
been
reaching
out
to
them.
Probably
personally,
he's
probably
knocked
on
their
doors
to
ask
them
to
sign
up
for
rental
relief.
B
C
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
I
lost
some
audio
for
a
little
bit
there.
So
hopefully
I'm
not
repeating
a
question,
but
I
was
curious
to
see
what
the
total
amount
what's
the
total
amount
that
has
been
distributed
through
the
program
so
far
and
what
has
been
the
average
disbursement.
That's
my
first
question
two
parts.
Second
question
is
what
percentage
of
the
requests
are
approved
and
what
is
the
most
common
reason
for
denial?
C
It's
question
number
two,
which
is
two
parts
and
lastly,
you
just
want
to
know
which
neighborhood
into
which
demographic
is
has
been
under-represented
in
the
application
process,
and
what
efforts
are
we
making
to
ensure
that
these
communities
are
including
and
being
able
to
benefit
from
the
program?
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
A
F
F
The
more
recently
what
we've
seen
in
terms
of
the
difference
between
applications
that
are
submitted
but
then
not
approved.
We've
received
over
1400
applications
between
march
of
this
year
to
today
and
313
of
those
have
been
marked
as
ineligible
or
who
have
not
been
approved.
So
we
have
a
pretty
low
denial
rate.
F
Data
one
of
the
the
pieces
that
I
think
that
we
ended
with.
Was
this
community
partner
program
and
and
that's
really
a
space
where
we're
thinking
about?
How
can
we
continue
or
really
amplify
outreach
to
communities
that
speak
languages
other
than
english?
Because
I
think
one
of
the
things
that
we
see
in
our
data
is
that
there's
there's
room
for
improvement
in
terms
of
connecting
with
our
households
that
speak
languages
other
than
english.
A
You're
welcome
and
then
it's
just
me
some
quick
follow-up
questions.
I
did
receive
a
question
from
a
constituent
asking
about
whether
you're
still
using
the
third
party
payment
provider
bill.com,
and
there
has
certainly
been
some
customer
service
issues
that
have
been
relayed
to
me,
my
office
and
there
seems
to
be
a
back
and
forth
of
who's
whose
results
or
issues
there
are
with
that.
So
I'm
just
curious
if
you're
aware
of
those
issues
and
if
you
could
speak
to
how
we're
going
to
get
through
those
issues,
that's
number
one.
A
I
do
have
an
interesting
dynamic
where
there's
some
landlords
that
own
several
properties
and
then
have
different
ones
on
metro,
one's
on
project
hope,
one's
on
and
so
one
landlord
but
different
avenues
of
relief.
So
tell
me
how
that
is
we're
going
to
smooth
out
some
of
that
coordination
and
then,
finally,
I
can't
remember
if,
if
counselor
wu
or
counselor
george
asked
this,
so
I
apologize
if
I'm
repeating
that
what
are
you
seeing
in
terms
of?
Is
there
a
flattening
of
the
requests
amount?
A
A
A
Are
we
going
to
reduce
the
qualifications
for
what
gets
you
aid?
So
you
know
I
know
you've
done
an
excellent
job,
for
example,
weeding
out
students,
for
example,
but
are
you
going
to
so?
That's
that's
a
real
concern
about.
You
know
the
long-term
ability
to
maintain
this
so
again,
three
questions,
bill.com
landlords
with
multiple
properties,
and
then
I
mean,
maybe
you
are
seeing
a
reduction
in
the
amount
of
amount.
G
Thank
you
for
the
questions.
I
am
painfully
aware
of
some
of
the
customer
service
issues
that
have
gone
on
with
the
account,
especially
bill.com,
that
is
one
of
our
third-party
vendors.
That's
been
using
build.com.
We
instructed
them
to
stop
doing
that.
So
hopefully
that
issue
has
subsided,
the
landlords
that
have
multiple
properties
that
have
been
assigned
to
various
vendors.
G
That
is
a
glitch
in
the
system
that
will
be
fixed
as
we
integrate
our
platform
onto
salesforce
right
now,
we're
using
a
system
called
agile
point
which
is
kind
of
antiquated
and
so
we're
hoping
that
when
we
move
into
salesforce
we
can
see
who's
applied,
who
owns
properties
and
that
we
can
assign
people
to
the
right
vendor,
especially
they've
already
been
assigned
to
a
vendor,
because
that
makes
the
most
sense.
So
we've
had
some
growing
pains
in
that
respect
again.
G
This
was
originally,
as
we
all
know,
is
fun
that
we
thought
was
going
to
last
a
few
months,
and
then
you
know
be
done.
You
know
we
did
an
rsvp
to
this
pandemic,
so
right,
so
we're
actually
having
a
training
with
the
vendors
on
the
14th
to
integrate
into
salesforce.
So
we're
really
hoping
that
that
will
clear
up
some
of
those
glitches
and
then,
as
far
as
the
trends
we
are,
we
are
seeing
people
asking
for
more
money.
The
trend,
that's
more
alarming.
G
To
me
outside
of
the
rent,
is
the
utility
assistance
that's
being
requested,
and
that
is
also
a
big
housing
stability
issue
with
utility
shut-offs,
the
moratorium.
That
just
ended,
I
mean
the
amounts
of
utility
assistance.
That's
being
requested
is
just
it's
really.
People
have
two
three
thousand
dollar
bills.
We
can
only
cover
1500
right
now.
At
this
time
the
state
only
covers
1500,
so
people
are
having
to
go
to
multiple
sources,
we're
helping
them.
G
As
taylor
mentioned
with
the
environment
department,
get
on
payment
plans
and
everything
I
mean
that's
a
big
concern
to
me-
are
the
utility
bills.
That's
kind
of
I
feel
like
the
next
big
problem,
that's
going
to
happen,
but
the
step
down
plan
is,
you
know,
prioritizing
50
ami
people
which
we're,
which
we're
already
doing
and
making
sure
that
we
have
upstream
services
available,
as
we
always
have
at
the
office
of
housing
stability
for
these
folks.
We
want
to
meet
this
moment
just
as
you
mentioned.
G
We
want
to
make
sure
that
while
we
have
all
this
money,
we're
not
just
paying
people's
rent
off
and
then
a
year
from
now
they're
getting
evicted
so
we're
desperately
every
day
trying
to
come
up
with
a
plan
to
make
sure
that
that
doesn't
happen.
I
know
that's
not
as
specific
as
she
was
playing,
but
that
is.
G
They
they
have
to
they're,
not
evicting
if
they
if
they
get
paid,
but
we
also
pay
the
tenant
directly,
but
they're
not
required
to
not
evict,
but
they
they
have
to
drop.
The
eviction
case
if
they're
paid
for
those
arrears,
okay,
yeah
paying
the
tenant
directly,
has
actually
been
really
helpful.
With
the
court
cases.
G
A
It-
and
I
mean
your
work-
has
been
phenomenal.
I
mean
that
collectively
the
you
for
all
of
what
you've
done,
but
I,
I
think
every
single
one
of
us
we're
in
a
transition
as
a
city
we're
going
to
have
a
new
late
new
leader.
This
fall
we're
going
to
have
a
lot
of
different
things
hitting
us
up,
and
this
is
something
that
I
am
genuinely
concerned
about,
how
how
sustainable
this
is.
I
mean
we
have
federal
government
now
giving
us
some
money
at
some
point.
A
A
G
A
We
me
we
not
you
us,
the
city,
we'll
still
have
the
request,
we're
still
going
to
have
the
need,
and
I
don't
think
that
all
of
us
are
going
to
be
able
to
say
that
we
bounce
back
from
this
pandemic
by
2022
or
by
whenever
you
know.
2023.
Even
I
mean
a
lot
of
people
are
city
coppers
and
our
property
rates
will
bounce
back,
but
we
already
had
income
inequality.
A
You
know
we
already
had
people
not
being
able
to
pay
rent.
So
that's
my
concern,
but
I
I
won't
delay
this
conversation
anymore.
I
do
appreciate
everyone
coming
and
unless
any
counselors
want
to
raise
their
hands
with
some
burning
questions,
I'll
tell
you
no.
My
intent
has
always
been
the
same
to
move
this
money
as
soon
as
possible
out
to
dnd
so
that
they
can
proceed
to
to
get
it
out
to
the
people
of
boston.
A
B
G
Yeah,
absolutely
we
are
partnered
with
the
office
of
food
access.
We
we
put
flyers
in
all
the
food
bags
we
plan.
You
know
when
we're
back
with
the
public
on
the
12th
we
plan
on
having
a
presence
at
these
food
locations
and
yeah
100
all
in
with
food
access.
We
we
knew
before
the
pandemic,
that
that
is
where
people
start
not
paying
rent.
It's
because
they're
also
having
trouble
not
paying
other
bills,
and
so
food
is
one
of
those
things
and
when
anyone
calls
our
hotline,
we
also
ask
them.