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From YouTube: Committee on City, Neighborhood Services and Veterans & Military Affairs on June 12, 2018
Description
Docket #0536 - Hearing regarding vacant properties in the City of Boston
A
Services
and
military
veterans
affairs
I
am
joined
with
my
colleagues,
city,
councilor,
andrea
campbell
city
council,
president
and
city
councilor.
Madame
le
a
city
councilor
kim
Janey
I
want
to
remind
you
that
this
public
hearing
is
being
recorded
and
will
be
broadcast
on
Comcast
8,
our
CN
82
Verizon
1
964
in
online.
At
this
time,
please
silence
your
cell
phones
in
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
A
This
is
an
important
hearing
today
and
I'd
like
to
thank
City
Council
is
on
Maui
city,
councillor
Campbell,
for
sponsoring
this
hearing.
The
current
Boston
real
estate
market
has
left
residents
and
businesses
facing
higher
rents
in
deeply
and
displaced
communities.
At
times
this
hearing
is
to
discuss
the
recent
issues
regarding
high-end
blight.
Intellectual
units
purchased
for
investments
that
are
then
left
empty.
Our
city
has
a
housing
crisis.
Intellectual
units
left
empty
only
to
make
this
problem
worse.
A
Many
of
these
vacant
luxury
condos
in
apartments
in
our
homes,
but
wealth
storage
units.
In
addition,
prior
census,
data
has
shown
that
more
housing
units
in
Boston
are
being
held
for
seasonal
or
occasional
use,
I'm
glad
to
join
my
fellow
city
counselors
at
this
hearing
today
and
hope
we
can
work
forward
addressing
this.
This
issue
I
look
forward
to
hearing
from
the
city
departments,
small
business
owners
in
residence
in
today's
hearing.
At
this
time,
I
would
like
to
invite
my
colleague
city
councilor
meadow
Maui.
If
he
has
any
opening
statement,
Thank.
B
You,
mr.
chairman
and
good
afternoon,
ladies
and
gentlemen,
I
just
want
to
begin
by
thanking
my
dear
friend
and
co-sponsor
of
this
important
hearing
order.
City
council
president
drea
Campbell
from
her
partnership
in
this,
as
well
as
you,
mr.
chairman,
for
hosting
this
expedited
hearing
today.
We're
dealing
with
this
somewhat
counterintuitive
notion
in
the
city
of
Boston,
where
we
have
the
strongest
real
estate
market
in
our
nearly
400
year
history.
Yet
we
are
seeing
many
mostly
commercial
spaces
that
are
staying
vacant
for
long
and
longer
periods
of
time.
B
We
also
have
some
of
the
newer
higher-end
high
rent
residential
units
that
are
also
staying
local
as
well.
The
third
issue
has
been
which
I
know
we're
gonna
get
to
in
a
minute
is
sort
of
these
empty
lots
that
you'll
often
see
around
some
of
the
cities,
and
it
doesn't
seem
to
make
sense
with
given
the
fact
that
this
is
such
an
unprecedented
building.
Boom
vacant
properties
have
many
causes.
B
Sometimes
it
can
be
that
a
rent
is
too
high
to
keep
a
tenant
or
not
offering
a
property
for
rent
at
all,
while
waiting
for
its
value
to
rise
or
even
the
city
terminating
process.
We're
not
blameless
in
this
conversation.
What
is
clear
is
that,
no
matter
what
the
cause
is
or
where
the
vacant
property
is
located,
vacancy
causes
holes
in
the
fabric
of
our
neighborhoods.
The
conversation
we're
going
to
have
this
afternoon
is
inspired
by
a
problem.
Many
of
my
constituents
have
noticed
in
our
neighborhoods
some
buildings
on
our
Main
streets
remain
vacant.
B
For
year
after
year
after
year,
I
can
cite
several
in
West
Roxbury
Jamaica
Plain
that
have
been
vacant
for
five
six,
sometimes
even
ten
years
of
vacancy
I
understand
that
the
real
estate
market
is
cyclical.
I,
understand
that
things
take
time,
but
there
seems
to
be
a
real
problem
here,
which
is
having
reverberations
on
other
businesses
as
well.
The
hearing
is
to
encourage
especially
small
businesses,
and
their
surrounding
and
neighborhoods
have
the
opportunity
to
thrive
in
some
areas
with
an
empty
storefront.
B
You
will
see
businesses
having
a
twenty-five
and
a
revenue
drop
by
up
to
twenty
five
percent
according
to
a
study
by
the
Boston
Globe
foot
traffic
declines,
when
there's
a
vacant
store
front
near
by.
Moreover,
data
from
the
census
of
the
metropolitan
area,
Planning
Council
has
shown
that
more
of
our
housing
units
are
also
sitting
vacant
in
high-end
apartment
buildings,
as
we
build
more
we're.
B
Also
seeing
the
number
of
vacant
units
increase,
leaving
these
apartments
vacant
put
pressures
on
our
scarce
housing
stock
in
the
same
way
that
more
units
given
over
the
Airbnb
can
increase
rents.
We
want
our
storefronts
and
apartment
buildings
to
be
filled
with
people
who
can
contribute
to
the
vibrancy
of
our
city.
That's
why
I'm
hoping
we'll
tackle
the
problem
of
vacancies,
starting
by
coming
together
today,
to
gather
information
on
this
problem
and
explore
a
whole
range
of
solutions.
B
Now
this
is
a
problem
it's
facing
New
York,
San
Francisco
and
the
cities
around
the
globe
as
well
and
they're
exploring
different
concepts
such
as
the
vacancy
fee,
I
particularly
excited
to
hear
the
successful
model
that
has
been
used
in
Boston's,
close
neighbor
of
our
the
town
of
Arlington,
which
we
will
hear
from
during
the
second
panel.
We
cannot
allow
Boston's,
neighborhood
just
have
long
term
vacancies
on
our
streets,
because
landlords
are
simply
holding
out
for
higher
rent.
B
We
have
to
tackle
this
issue
along
slowly,
alongside
all
forms
of
blight
to
make
every
Street
in
our
neighborhood
vibrant.
Another
experience
in
my
district
is
a
long
stint
is
that
there
was
a
long-standing
work
place
for
20
artists
that
were
evicted
earlier
this
year
to
make
way
for
condo
development.
The
neighborhood
spoke
out
against
evicting
the
arts
from
their
community
and
artists,
practicing
their
craft
or
small
businesses
as
well.
B
Unfortunately,
now
what
we
have
is
an
empty
building,
where
the
the
new
landlord
has
already
alienated
most
of
the
community
by
kicking
out
some
vibrant
local
businesses,
and
it's
going
to
sit
empty
for
years
to
come.
That's
why
this
is
about
affordability
as
much
as
it
is
about
activating
our
streets
as
more
people
in
businesses
move
to
our
city.
We
should
use
make
sure
that
we're
using
every
available
tool
in
our
policy
tool
box
and
every
to
keep
every
property
activated
and
used
in
a
growing
Boston
2018.
B
We
should
not
have
empty
storefronts
when
we
have
entrepreneurs
ready
to
fill
them
simply
put
Boston
should
not
have
people
without
homes
when
we
currently
have
some
homes
without
people
I'm.
Looking
forward
to
beginning
this
conversation
with
all
of
you,
thank
you
to
my
colleagues
for
their
engagement
as
well.
Thank.
A
C
You
councillor,
Flynn
and
I
want
to
thank
you
as
well
as
councillor
Malley,
for
being
partners
in
this,
and
specifically
council
O'malley
for
partnering
in
this
work.
I
know
it's
something
you
cared
deeply
about.
So
thank
you
for
the
partnership.
I
want
to
thank
all
the
department
heads
who
are
here
and
acknowledge
the
hard
work
you
do
every
single
day
to
address
these
very
issues
and
I.
C
Look
forward
to
the
discussion
today,
but
I
want
at
least
start
with
a
thank
you
to
you
and
your
teams,
who,
frankly
aren't
represented
here,
who
help
us
deal
with
these
vacant,
abandoned
Lots
every
single
day,
I,
counsel,
O'malley
and
I
are
coming
at
this
I
think
with
some
shared
goals
and
expectations.
But
when
we
first
were
having
a
conversation,
he
was
focusing
on
largely
the
businesses
that
live
vacant
or
that
are
abandoned
and
aren't
doing
anything
with
those
spaces.
C
I
think
what
we'll
probably
focus
on
today
is
the
city-owned
parcels,
but
the
conversation
has
to
also
address
the
we
owned
parcels,
because
that
is
a
big
big
part
of
the
problem.
Some
of
the
Lots
that
are
in
district
4,
I'm,
largely
Dorchester,
Mattapan,
Jamaica
Plain
and
rot
in
Roslindale,
our
city
owned.
C
Some
of
them
are
privately
owned
and
I
want
to
make
sure
that
we
in
talking
about
this
issue,
make
that
distinction,
because
that
means
we
have
different
tools
in
our
toolkit
to
address
these
properties,
but
also,
if
we
don't
have
enough
tools
in
the
toolkit.
What
can
we
do
to
make
sure
that
we
do
I
think
this
is
timely,
given
the
fact
that
we're
having
a
conversation
right
now
on
short-term
rentals
and
the
short-term
rentals
conversation
is
clearly
regulating
privately
owned
properties
for
a
particular
need
and
purpose.
C
Well,
when
they
talk
about
what
these
properties
do
to
a
community,
not
only
do
they
create
eyesores,
they
create
public
safety
hazards,
they
are
crime.
Magnets
abandoned
houses
represent
a
real
financial
drain
on
both
the
neighbors
and
the
city
at
large.
It
creates
neighborhood
fragmentation
in
community
isolation,
and
this
idea
and
I
thought
this
was
really
critical.
The
sense
no
one
cares
and
things
are
getting
better,
and
these
are
powerful
side
effects.
C
We
were
served
as
a
blight
on
the
neighborhood
or
there
were
problem
properties,
and
we
were
talking
to
Chris
English
who's
here,
representing
the
problem
properties
task
force
about
cases
where
ten
had
been
complaining
or
residents
and
homeowners
on
that
street
had
been
complaining
about
the
same
property
for
years
and
saying
there
are
tenants
in
that
building.
There
are
tenants
in
that
location
that
are
a
real
problem
for
this
community
and
us
working
with
problem
properties
to
try
to
do
something
and
sometimes
finding
that
challenging.
C
C
What
are
some
policy
changes
or
something
else
that
we
can
do
to
incentivize
owners
who
are
privately
owned,
these
properties
to
do
something
to
also
look
at
the
city
itself
and
look
at
our
own
parcels
that
might
fall
into
some
of
these
categories
and
figure
out
what
we
can
do
with
respect
to
these
properties
as
well.
How
can,
as
councillor
Malley
said,
we
activate
these
spaces
and
they
may
be
activated
for
different
reasons:
people
all
around
the
world
or
do
our
finding
that
they
can
activate
these
spaces
for
community
gardens
or
for
something
else
obvious.
C
It's
a
lot
easier
to
do
that
if
there
are
city-owned
parcels,
it's
much
more
difficult
if
they
are
privately
owned,
but
I
think
we
also
still
need
to
have
a
conversation
about
what
that
might
look
like.
Lastly,
it
might
be
leveraging
fees,
it
might
be,
requiring
some
sort
of
registration-
I
don't
know,
but
this
is
a
conversation.
I
hope,
the
first
to
establish
what
tools
might
exist
and
to
rely
on
your
expertise
to
see
what
don't
you
have
that
we
could
help
you
get
in
your
toolkit
and
data
collection.
C
I
got
some
data
and
I
look
forward
to
going
through
it
with
from
D&D
related
to
the
parcels
that
we're
talking
about
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
what's
happening
with
those
parcels,
but
when
it
comes
to
the
privately
owned
parcels
that
might
be
more
challenging.
But
what
can
we
do
to
get
a
better
sense
of
the
scope
of
the
problem
in
our
district
and
also
where
it
is
happening?
The
most
and
one
of
the
information
documents
that
we
received
earlier
today
about
the
inactive
city
parcels?
C
If
you
do
a
cursory
glance
through
that
list,
it
largely
looks
like
Dorchester
Matapan
in
Roxbury,
and
that
bothers
me
and
so
I
think.
How
can
we
make
sure
that,
when
we're
addressing
this
issue,
we
also
are
honest
about
where
this
has
taken
place
and
the
importance
of
addressing
it
for
those
residents?
Thank
you
for
your
partnership
in
this
and
I.
Thank
you
in
advance
for
that.
Thank
you
for
your
work
so
far
in
this
and
councillor
Malley.
C
E
E
If
you
will
so
and
then
engaging
one
another
after
we,
we
get
the
data
or
they
engaging
the
community
as
to
what
they
see,
which
is
appropriate,
whether
it's
residential,
whether
it's
commercial
or
in
areas
that
feel
that
they're
over
developed
a
conversation
around
parking
with
respect
to
those
vacant
city
owned
parcels
and
that
are
either
developable
or
undeveloped
abut.
It
all
again
starts
with
that
data
collection.
If
we
have
the
data,
we
have
the
evidence.
E
A
A
F
Mr.
chair
members
of
the
council,
we
we
appreciate
the
invitation
to
come
and
talk
to
you
about
a
very
important
matter,
and
the
administration
looks
forward
to
continuing
to
work
with
you
to
learn
more
to
continue
a
dialogue
about
how
we
can
continue
to
improve
our
city
and
our
neighborhoods
and
identify
problem
problem
parts
of
our
city
and
really
be
in
the
tackled
issue.
Today,
I'm
joined
here
by
number
of
folks
for
the
record.
My
name
is
John
barrels,
chief
of
economic
development
for
the
city
of
Boston
and
I
want
to
focus
on
a
couple.
F
Different
parts
of
the
questions
that
have
been
put
in
front
of
us
in
this
hearing.
I
want
to
recognize
that
we
look
forward
to
digging
into
the
data
with
more
time
and
getting
back
to
you
on
specifics.
As
we
hear
questions
today
and
sort
of
really
understand
what
you
guys
want
to
want
to
discuss.
But
overall
Boston
has
seen
in
the
last
few
years
of
real
economic
boom,
and
that
has
affected
our
vacancy
rates
on
the
commercial
side.
On
the
office
side,
we've
seen
a
decline
in
in
vacancy.
F
Overall,
we
do
see
more
vacancy,
though
in
different
parts
of
the
city
than
we
see
in
others.
The
overall
office
vacancy
rate
for
the
city
of
Boston
is
at
6.7%
at
this
moment
and
that's
declined
from
2014
when
it
was
right
under
11%
and
in
some
neighborhoods
we
see
a
higher
rate
than
in
other
neighborhoods.
F
The
specifics
when
you
start
to
look
at
our
Main
Street,
which
is
a
place
that
I
typically
have
these
conversations
and
I
feel
like
the
impact,
is
felt
differently
and
feels
there's
an
overburdened.
Even
the
numbers.
There
are
fairly
good
everything
in
the
single
digits,
the
highest
Main
Street
vacancy
rate
that
we
have
right
now
is
in
growth.
All
that
one
is
is
well
above
everything
else.
It's
double
everything
else:
it's
double
the
next
highest.
It's
at
fifteen
percent.
The
next
highest
is
Matapan
at
eight
point
nine
percent,
and
then
it
follows
from
that.
F
F
I
have
them
here
and
I
can
share
you
these
numbers,
but
but
and
that's
from
a
percentage
standpoint
and
the
numbers
speak
for
itself,
but
but
the
reality
is
that
there
are
buildings
that
have
sat
there
for
for
long
periods
of
time
and
that
they
impact
our
local
economies.
They
impact
quality
of
life,
they
impact
many
businesses
and
some
businesses
more
than
others
rely
on
clusters
of
businesses
like
their
businesses
to
bring
customers
to
have
foot
traffic
and
create
the
kind
of
vibrancy
that
they
need
to
continue
to
to
be
to
be
vibrant
businesses.
F
And
so
we
we
do
work
with
our
small
businesses,
particularly
in
the
Main
Street
area.
On
this
issue
we
meet
with
landlords.
Often
we
have
conversations
with
building
owners
so
that
we
understand
what's
going
on,
and
there
are
a
variety
of
reasons
why
these
storefronts
are
vacant.
We,
as
you
know,
offer
assistance
to
business
to
building
owners
on
storefront
improvements,
restore
that
specifically
improves
their
their
assets.
To
make
sure
that
it's
it's
it's
an
incentive
for
them
to
to
bring
in
a
business.
F
We
will
then
work
with
businesses
that
want
to
go
into
these
locations
and
provide
on-site
assistance.
Business
planning
will
provide
everything
from
cost
management
on
energy
efficiency.
Sustainability
will
provide
loans,
we're
needed
to
small
businesses
that
are
trying
to
occupy
these
spaces,
and
so
we
we've
been
trying
really
hard
to
a
stay.
On
top
of
it,
be
understand
the
local
and
individual
situations
of
business
owners
and
then
try
to
assist
with
the
tools
that
we
do
have
to
make
sure
that
these
vacant
properties
are
occupied
and
have
vibrant
businesses
in
them.
F
G
Chief
barrows
and
Thank
You
councillor
Flynn
for
for
holding
this
important
hearing.
It's
a
it's
a
topic
that
we
are
think
about
quite
a
lot
and
we're
thinking
about
it
more
and
more,
given
the
tightness
of
our
real
estate
market
I
do
have
some
data
that
I
could
share
with
you.
I,
don't
think
it's
it's
a
complete
set
and
I
think
we
should
think
about
how
to
make
it
complete,
but
I
just
wanted
to
share
with
you
what
we
do
have
so
since
1997
going
way
back.
G
The
city
has
every
year
conducted
a
survey
of
vacant
and
distressed
properties,
both
residential
and
commercial,
and
it's
and
so
in
1997.
When
this
started
there
were
1200
vacant
and
distressed
properties
in
the
city,
we're
just
completing
the
2017
data
collection
and
analysis
and
based
on
preliminary
results.
G
There's
405
properties
that
were
identified
as
both
vacant
and
distressed
and
but
I
want
to
say
that
owners
of
265
of
these,
so
the
vast
majority
provided
evidence
that
they
were
renovating
them
or
taking
some
action
in
the
very
near
future.
They
were
going
to
court
to
clean
up
title
renovation,
like
I
said
so
they
were
going
to
put
them
back
in
productive
use.
Owners
of
a
hundred
and
forty
properties
that
were
either
that
were
vacant
and
distressed
have
not
responded
to
our
letters,
and
so
those
are
the
ones
that
will
go
on
our
website.
G
We're
just
completing
that
list
and
that'll
be
available
very
soon,
and
we
do
this
every
year.
So
for
a
cities
are
the
size
it's.
That
is
a
very
it's
a
good
number.
It's
it's
a
reasonable
number,
but
if
you're
living
next
to
that
building,
it's
it's.
It
doesn't
feel
good
if
you're
living
on
that
street.
So
we
do
reach
out
to
all
the
owners.
G
We,
you
know,
give
our
numbers
and
our
cell
phone
numbers
call
us
you
know,
and
and
let's
see
if
we
can
help
you,
but
that's
the
number
that
we
have
in
2017.
We
have
about
it
by
breakout
by
commercial/residential
and
we
have
it
by
neighborhood.
So
I
can
certainly
make
that
available.
What
we
don't
have
good
data
on
and
we
do
use
the
American
Community
Survey.
We
don't
have
data
on
non-distressed
vacant
properties,
the
the
ghost
the
ghost
units,
the
condominium
developments
that
are
seemed
to
be.
You
know
not
necessarily
a
hundred
percent
full.
G
They
do
a
survey
every
year,
but
it
is
just
that
it
is
a
survey
with
a
very,
very
high
margin
of
error.
They
say
that
there's
twenty
one
and
two
thousand
sixteen
there
were
21,000
vacant
units,
although
many
of
those
are
on
the
market
to
be
rented
on
the
market
to
be
sold
rented,
but
people
haven't
moved
in
yet
etc.
G
There
is
one
category
that
does
you
know,
give
us
a
wee
bit
of
pause
and
it's
for
seasonal
recreation
or
occasional
use
and
I
would
think
that
would
be
part
of
part
of
the
Airbnb
story
and
that's
3,700,
and
then
they
have
an
other
vacant
category
for
4500.
So
I
think
is
this
discussion
moves
forward.
We
do
need
to
figure
out
how
to
get
at
understanding.
Are
there
really
viable
properties
that
we
know
there
are
some
commercial
because
we
can
see
them
residential,
it's
harder
to
determine.
G
So
how
do
we
collect
residential
data
on
residential
units
that
are
that
are
not
being
offered
that
may
be
vacant
and
are
not
being
offered
I
just
want
to
say
one
thing
for
the
for
the
City
Council
that
has
not
received
we
distributed
I,
think
to
council
Campbell
a
few
hours
ago
and
I
apologize
for
the
lateness
of
that
information
on
our
vacant
lots,
and
currently
we
have
1251
Lots
in
the
city
of
Boston.
Many
of
those
who
can
are
you
know,
10
10
square
feet,
and
some
of
them
are
certainly
buildable.
G
The
good
news
here
is
the
Walsh
administration,
as
you
know,
because
you're
attending
many
of
the
meetings
we've
worked
very
very
hard
to
get
this
number
down.
Our
goal
is
not
to
own
anything,
and
it
should
all
be
in
the
right
hands.
You
know
with
their
with
the
right
community
process
and
to
date
we
have
875
of
those
Lots
either
an
active
disposition,
meaning
community
meetings
are
ongoing.
G
We've
designated
developer
we're
trying
to
figure
out
the
financing
or
they're
under
review
like
the
Grove,
we're
trying
to
figure
out
how
to
widen
the
streets
and
do
eminent
domain
takings
and
encroachment.
Some
of
them
are
very
complicated,
but
there
are
875
Lots
that
we
are
working
very
hard
on
every
day.
There's
another
108
of
that
1200
that
our
urban
wilds
that
we
own
them,
because
there's
not
another
good
ownership
structure
right
now,
as
a
Conservation
Commission
gets,
you
know,
frees
up
some
of
their
capacity.
G
We
we
and
they
have
been
very
good
about
taking
some
of
these,
but
they
can't
manage
all
of
them.
We
do
own
many
urban
wilds
and
then
there's
268,
inactive
and
typically
inactive
we've.
We
know
what
they
are:
they're,
not
our
first
choice
Lots,
because
they've
got
ledge
outcroppings
or
things
so
we're
gonna
get
to
those
after
we
put
out
all
the
more
the
lots
that
are
more
developable
or
eat
more
easy
to
develop,
they're
contaminated.
G
So
until
we
get
state
money
or
we
are
always
applying
for
federal
cleanup
money
until
it's
completely
clean,
we
don't
want
to
offer
it
to
the
public
or
oftentimes
neighborhoods,
because
they're
feeling
like
we're
before
them
too
much
they've
asked
us
to
hold
back
on
things
until
they
can
really.
You
know,
spend
the
time
and
think
through
with
us
what
they
want
to
see
happen
on
those
sites.
G
So
we
I
will
say
with
confidence
our
staff
know
each
and
every
lot,
which
I,
don't
think
has
always
been
the
case
in
the
vast
majority,
are,
are
in
process
and
where
we
look
forward
to
the
day,
where
we're
only
we
have
a
handful
of
lots
and
that
we're
working
with
tax
tight
title
to
get
more
inventory
to
put
those
back
into
productive
use,
so
I'll
close
there.
So
those
the
data
points
that
I
do
have.
Thank
you.
Thank.
H
I
B
You,
mr.
chairman,
thank
you
all
for
being
here.
I
wanted
to
also
acknowledge
from
my
team
will
Plouffe
Webster,
Jeanette,
Evers
and
Matt
Donovan
have
done
extraordinary
research.
Thank
you
all
for
this.
Clearly
we're
talking
about
a
whole
host
of
issues
here,
specifically
commercial
vacancies
high-end
residential
than
vacant,
lots
for
this
first
round
of
questioning,
which
I
know
the
chair
is
gonna,
keep
me
to
a
strict
time
limit.
I
want
to
focus
on
the
commercial
vacancy
and
in
all
honesty,
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you.
B
You
guys
are
doing
great
work,
specifically
chief
barrows
and
chief
Dillon,
so
I'm
not
trying
to
be
critical
here,
because
I
recognize
that
the
number
of
vacancies
has
grown
down
in
some
cases
dramatically.
Yet
as
it
relates
to
certain
commercial
districts,
we
do
seem
to
be
seeing
I,
don't
know
if
it's
anecdotally,
I
think
some
studies
have
proven
it
longer
stays.
There
are
two
particularly
large-scale
ones
in
my
district
that
have
been
vacant
really
anchored,
businesses
that
have
been
vacant
for
close
to
ten
years,
one
in
West
Roxbury,
one
in
Jamaica
Plain.
B
Other
cities
are
dealing
with
this.
You
know
I'm
not
picking
on
Detroit,
but
this
sort
of
the
that
has
been
an
issue
is
getting
better
but
Detroit
saw
vacancy
because
of
lack
of
interest.
I,
don't
think
that's
the
case
here.
I
think
we
have
some
not
all,
but
some
landlords
who
are
purposefully
making
the
decision
that,
by
keeping
something
empty,
they
will
be
able
to
command
a
higher
rent
down
the
road.
J
B
F
F
So
we're
not
talking
about
someone
trying
to
turn
over
a
space
yeah
right,
we're
talking
about
speculation,
yeah
in
our
neighborhoods
and
so
I
want
to
acknowledge
that
that
comes
at
a
cost
comes
at
a
cost
to
the
city
to
the
neighborhood.
It
comes
at
a
cost
and
typically
brings
blight
and
increases
crime
and
a
number
of
other
issues
so
recognize
the
issue
I
want
to
say
our
our
best
tool
right
now
is
to
incentivize
investment
yeah.
Now
it
doesn't
mean
that
we
I
think
this
is
a
good
conversation.
F
We
should
continue
it,
but
our
best
to
right
now
is
to
incentivize
investment
and
to
have
conversations
to
understand
the
end
goal
of
owners.
I
think
the
I
think
on
some
of
the
chronically
vacant
buildings.
We
have
not
seen
a
lot
of
success
and
on
the
other
ones,
where
we
have
building
owners
who
are
responsive,
trying
to
work
with
us.
We
have
yeah
and
we
can
get
creative
and
we
can
help
figure
out
and
and
they've
pushed
us
to
become
more
creative
and
I.
F
Think
the
administration
is
willing
to
to
work
with
them
and
really
think
about
how
to
do
that.
I
am
at
a
loss,
however,
to
really
give
you
a
answer
to
how
right
now
we
are
able
to
get
a
land
owner
a
building
owner
who
pays
their
taxes
and
keeps
a
modest
level
of
activity
and
cleanliness
on
their
site
to
do
anything
with
their
property.
What's.
B
The
administration's
position
on
a
potential
vacancy
fee,
so
I
want
to
be
clear.
This
isn't
about
being
overly
onerous.
This
isn't
about
being.
You
know,
sticking
it
to
the
landlord
who's
vacant
after
a
long
tenant
moves
out
and
is
actively
seeking
I'm
talking
about
something
four
or
five
six
ten
years
empty,
assessing
some
fee
based
on
square
footage
based
on
length
of
vacancy.
F
We
are
we're
happy
to
be
invited
and
be
part
of
the
conversation.
We
think
this
is
a
really
important
conversation
to
have
with
the
council.
We
very
admittedly
need
to
know
more
about
what's
out
there
and
really
look
at
this
and
look
at
data.
We
think.
However,
we
share
your
frustration.
Yeah,
the
mayor
shares
your
calls
from
people
to
to
be
able
to
do
something,
and
so,
let's
continue
the
conversation,
we're
going
to
be
very
active
with
you
in
responsiveness
in.
B
B
There
are
much
smaller
town,
but
still
it's
a
good
sample
size
nearly
cut
in
half
about
45%
they've
seen
other
cities
are
doing
it
at
a
much
higher
rates,
and
it's
it's
a
good
tool
to
have
another
person
from
whom
we'll
be
hearing
in
the
second
panel
is
the
executive
director
of
Roseville
Village
Main
streets,
who
can
talk
about
and
I
think
through
some
work
with
all
of
you,
there
was
an
empty
space.
It's
supposed
to
be
a
new
restaurant
fell
through
activated
it
as
a
pop-up
beer
garden
for
a
number
of
months
tremendously
successful.
B
B
F
B
Okay
and
then
the
other
question-
and
this
we'll
get
to
because
my
times
up
before
this
round,
there's
an
issue
in
West
Roxbury,
where
you
had
a
vacant
building,
went
through
a
very
difficult
neighborhood
process
was
able
to
secure
approval
in
in
several
variances,
and
it's
now
for
sale.
So
some
would
argue
that.
Well,
this
is
unfair,
because
things
can
take
time.
This
has
already
gone
through
the
process.
The
owner
has
made
the
determination
to
sell
it
after
it's
gone
through
the
permitting
process.
F
Be
speak
to
trends
yeah,
but
it
is
something
that
we
do
see
in
the
marketplace.
So
there
are
developers
or
those
who
come
in
and
permit
a
site,
yeah
and
then
sell
it.
I
can
try
to
figure
out
numbers
or
trends
and
what
whether
it's
increasing
decreasing,
but
my
you
know
sort
of
my
gut
tells
me
in
a
in
a
very
hot
market
that
we
continue
to
see
people
who
permit
and
then
sell
their
asset.
B
And
I
would
just
say
it.
This
is
where
you
know
I'm
as
free
market
of
economists
as
the
next
guy
or
there's
many
of
the
next
people.
But
this
is
where
it
affects
others.
A
landlord
it
has
every
right
to.
You
know,
determine
what
his
or
her
bottom
line
is
in
terms
of
raising
money
in
terms
of
making
money.
It's
a
free
market,
it's
a
free
economy,
but
this
is
where
it
starts
to
affect
the
neighborhoods
where
businesses
see
up
to
a
25%
decrease
because
of
these
vacancies,
where
we're
seeing
more
residential
units
built.
B
H
We're
starting
to
see
over
the
past
two
years,
a
lot
of
prospecting
on
buildings.
People
will
come
to
us,
they
have
a
business
model.
They
want
to
implement.
The
first
question
they
usually
ask
us
is:
where
is
the
best
place
to
put
this,
and
we
can't
really
assist
them
with
that
and
it's
more
from
our
point
of
views,
give
us
a
selection
of
a
place,
and
we
can
tell
you
what
the
procedure
is
to
go
through
with
it.
H
We've
worked
very
hard,
and
you
know:
I've
worked
with
John
on
some
of
the
buildings
that
were
problems
to
see
if
there
was
something
that
we
could
do
to
incentivize
the
owner
to
take
that
next
step
to
turn
into
a
more
more
of
a
viable
business.
But
we
we
don't
see
a
lot
of
flipping
on
the
business
end
of
getting
a
permit
in
place
and
then
flipping
it
over
because
in
our
world,
when
the
owner
changes,
the
regulations
have
to
be
revisited.
Yeah.
C
Thank
You
councillor,
Flynn
and
I
sort
of
see
this
as
a
three
buckets
that
I'll
focus
on
and
because
I
want
to
sure
that
my
colleagues
have
time.
I
won't
go
into
all
three
buckets.
A1
is
a
data
collection
piece.
The
second
is
these
incentives
to
do
something,
and
then
the
third
is
what
other
possible
solutions
might
be
out
there.
C
So,
first
focusing
on
the
data
collection
piece
and
before
we
get
to
the
residential
numbers
chief,
that
you
shared
chief
barrows.
So
it
is
disturbing
when
you
look
at
the
vacancy
rates,
particularly
for
Grove
Hall
Mattapan,
in
contrast
to
some
of
the
downtown
neighborhoods,
including
Chinatown,
I,
think
this
is
what
people
see
and
what
frustrates
them
and
why
they
say
nothing
happens
in
these
neighborhoods
and
I
put
that
in
quotes
it's
because
they
look
at
these
numbers
or
they
see
the
visible
properties
that
are
vacant
and
that
are
disturbing,
so
I.
C
Think
as
we
talk
about
and
get
to
these
incentives
in
terms
of
resolving
vacancies.
As
we
talk
about
possible
solutions,
I
understand
that
some
of
this
will
be
testing
out
new
ideas
or
testing
out
ideas
from
other
municipalities
or
the
communities.
I
always
believe
in
the
idea
of
testing
things
out
and
running
a
pilot
or
whatever
else,
and
maybe
you
tried
in
these
neighborhoods,
you
start
with
those
places
that
have
the
highest
vacancy
rates
and
I.
C
Imagine
what
these
properties
that
are
vacant,
the
numbers
that
you
just
shared
or
these
offices
that
are
vacant
they've
been
vacant
for
up,
maybe
for
a
long
time.
So
one
of
the
questions
I
have
on
just
the
data
pieces
is,
is
the
only
data
available?
Is
it
from
the
brokerage
firms
and,
and
is
it
Gus
calling
them
do
they
send
it
to
us
on
a
regular
basis?
Is
there
some
relationship
and
are
they?
Are
they
the
only
ones
that
we
can
get
this
data
from?
C
F
Thank
you.
Thank
you
very
much,
madam
president.
So
I
just
want
to
I've
got
two
sets
of
information
here
from
different
sources
and
I
just
want
to
call
them
out
a
little
bit.
Oh
I
share
I
share
your
your
quest
to
improve
our
data
and
get
more
data
for
what
I
have
now
the
office.
The
office
occupancy
docket
office.
F
As
you
know,
we
do
not
own
a
lot
in
our
Main
streets
outside
of
City
public
buildings.
Libraries
are
typically
will
be
owned
in
the
Main
Street
areas.
We
are,
however,
the
mayor
has
asked
us
and
we
launched
after
imagine,
Boston
2030,
when
residents
were
telling
us
that
we
needed
to
be
more
active
in
the
Main
streets
and
be
more
active
in
the
real
estate
space.
F
We
did
launch
a
pilot
in
the
homes
corner,
and
so
the
city
then
assembled
some
property
and
up
in
this
corner
and
we
owned
some
buildings
and
up
from
scorner
that
we
are
going
to
activate
and
for
the
first
time-
and
we
look
forward
to
working
with
you
on
this,
because
if
it
won't
be
easy,
we
following
the
council's
lead,
in
fact
the
mayor's
responding
to
the
call
by
the
council
to
look
at
mixed-use
libraries
and
so
we're
gonna.
Look
at
the
mix.
F
C
Baker
he's
not
here
some
of
the
credit
cuz
he's
always
talking
about
fields
called
the
library
housing
on
top
and
I
can
go
for
that.
Frank
and
I
agree.
I
share
fields
corner
with
him,
but
going
back
to
the
data
piece.
So
some
of
these,
so
some
of
these
numbers,
whether
it's
from
Main
streets
to
brokerage
firms,
are
privately
owned
in
some
include
some
city
owned
commercial
lots
that
are
currently
vacant.
So.
F
I,
just
I
we
own
I,
can
I
can
probably
by
hand
talk
to
you
about
the
buildings
that
we
own,
that
have
vacant
commercial,
retail,
space
and
typically
they're
vacant,
because
the
neighborhood
has
asked
us
to
work
with
them
to
get
a
certain
type
of
business.
So,
for
instance,
the
bowling
building
the
bowling
building
right
now
has
two
vacant
spots
and
one
the
lease
is
being
negotiated
and
we'll
have
hopefully
a
live.
F
Jazz
restaurant
on
the
front
corner
of
the
seven
seven
thousand
eight
hundred
square
feet,
retail
space
in
the
bowling
building
and
the
other
one
is
a
much
smaller
location
that
was
vacated
by
Haley
house.
We,
we
are
very
active
in
talking
to
the
neighbors
about
what
they
want
to
see
there
and
they've
asked
us
to
hold
that
second
location,
and
so
we
can
have
more
liquor
license
allocation
to
the
neighborhood.
So.
C
I
think
what
would
be
helpful
is
for
everyone,
including
people
who
aren't
here.
Some
colleagues
are
here,
is
where
do
we
get
the
information
to
determine
our
vacant
commercial
properties?
How
they
give
that
information
to
us?
Is
it
and
then
timing
in
which
we
receive
that
is
it
required?
Is
it
weekly?
Is
it
monthly?
C
C
G
Staff
go
out
and
they
drive
up
and
down
streets
and
they
also
get
information
from
water
and
sewer.
What
has
been
turned
off?
Who
owns
back
taxes?
There's
a
there's,
a
whole
methodology
on
where
they
really
focus,
and
then
they
look
at
last
year's
survey
to
sort
of
track
progress.
But
really
it
is
a
building
by
building
Street
survey
that
we
do
every
year
to
get
a
list
of
vacant
and
distressed
properties
and.
C
G
Well,
we
in
what
I've
said
and
earlier
and
I
think
this
is
another
problem
that
but
I
don't
know
how
to
count.
It
is
what's
not
distressed
and
vacant
who
has
residential
units
or
commercial
units
that
look
good
they're.
You
know
they're,
there's
no
distress,
you
know
that's
their.
You
know
we
all
know
a
building
with
when
we
see
in
distress
building
we
know
what
it
is.
We
don't
count
vacant
buildings
so
in
the
residential
be
very
very
hard
to
determine
what
is
vacant,
I,
guess,
I'm,
a
retail.
G
D
You
so
much
mr.
chair
and
certainly
want
to
say
thank
you
to
the
sponsors
of
this
important
hearing
order.
This
is
a
huge
issue,
certainly
in
my
district
I
share
a
lot
of
the
concerns
that
councilor
Campbell
already
raised
around
the
vacancy
rates
in
certain
neighborhoods,
whether
we're
talking
about
commercial,
whether
we're
talking
about
housing,
whether
we're
talking
about
empty
lot,
so
I
think
this
is
a
very
timely,
important
discussion,
very
interested
in
how
we
collect
data.
D
What
data
we
currently
have
I'm
very,
very
interested
in
pursuing
some
sort
of
fee
or
tax
structure
that
could
help
address
this.
You
know
I've
heard
from
people
who
have
an
empty
lot,
who
say
that
it's
cheaper
to
just
pay
the
fine
than
to
actually
maintain
the
lot
and
and
and
that
I
think
is
quite
disrespectful
for
the
residents
and
our
neighborhoods
that
they
would
have
to
put
up
with
such
blight
and
and
deal
with
deal
with
that,
because
we
have
bad
players
who
want
to
be
bad
neighbors.
So
thank
you.
D
I
want
to
come
back
to
some
of
the
properties
in
my
district,
so
there
are
some
properties
like
the
hotel
Alexandra,
which
has
a
storefront
on
the
ground-floor,
but
has
been
vacant
for
as
long
as
I
can
remember.
I'm
not
sure
I
ever
remember
the
hotel
in
my
lifetime,
and
so
is
that
on
your
radar
and
in
what
is
happening
with
that
I've
heard
over
time
that
you
know
perhaps
someone's
interested
in
buying.
Then
then
the
deal
falls
through
what
is
happening
there
and
even
the
commercial.
D
You
know
the
commercial
space
on
the
ground-floor
could
use
some
sort
of
a
facelift,
but
I'm
not
sure
that
it.
You
know
that
it
is
considered
part
of
either
the
Dudley
Main
Street
or
the
Washington
gateway
mains.
Just
kind
of
lost
there
in
the
middle
doesn't
do
either
of
you
have
any
dates
on
that
piece
of
property.
F
Consta,
thank
you
for
for
the
question.
Yes,
I
am
NOT
old
enough
to
remember
a
hotel
there.
It
is
a
beautiful
building.
It's,
however,
with
great
architectural
features
and
I
can
we
could
only
wish
to
see
it
may
be
activated
again
in
our
lifetime.
However,
it
is
one
of
those
properties
that
they
pay
their
taxes,
their
active
businesses
on
that
front
floor,
the
first
floor
and
run
a
street
front,
and
we,
you
know,
we've
engaged
them
in
conversations.
In
fact,
very
recently
we
hosted
a
development
team
that
had
approached
them
to
buy
the
property.
F
At
this
point,
counselor
the
city
feels
that
what
we
were
presented
was
out
of
scale
for
what
the
neighborhood
has
said
to
us,
that
they
would
be
willing
to
support,
and
part
of
that
is,
the
development
team
felt
the
acquisition
price
had
to
be
sustained
by
a
pretty
massive
development.
So
without
rendering
an
official
city
decision,
we
often
meet
with
development
teams
and
give
them
a
feel
for
location
for
the
type
of
thing
that
they're
trying
to
present
and
we
and
will
say
to
them.
D
Right
and
I
appreciate
you
bringing
it
up,
because
that
brings
me
to
my
next
point:
what
I
have
found,
certainly
in
Roxbury
and
I'm
sure
in
other
parts
of
the
city
that
people
are
holding
on
to
properties
hoping
for
some
big
payday,
whether
it's
higher
rents
that
they
can
charge
or
to
sell
the
property
outright
and
in
the
interim
people
are
forced
to
deal
with
the
blight
and
so
I
can
just
hold
on
to
this.
There
is
an
empty
lot
on
the
corner
of
Warren
Street
and
st.
James.
D
None
of
the
neighbors
liked
it,
but
then
they're
saying
the
only
way
we
can
do
it
and
make
the
numbers
work
is
to
do
this
big
building
and
so
neighbors
are
being
forced
to
live
with
the
blight
of
the
empty
lot
for
another
couple
of
decades
or
to
have
some
monstrosity
of
a
building
that
nobody
wants,
and
it's
because
people
are
allowed
to
sit
on
these
vacant.
Lots
on
these
vacant
buildings
and
I
just
find
it
very
problematic.
D
You
know,
Washington
Street,
and
do
you
have
a
sense
of
is
the
issue
hi?
Are
we
collecting
data
to
know
if
it's
the
issue
as
high
rent?
Are
people
just
holding
out
for
that
payday?
What
I
hear
is
that
people
are
waiting
for
whatever
this
new
day
is
going
to
look
like
in
terms
of
you
know,
people
thought
that
the
bowling
building
Ferdinand's
getting
done,
that's
going
to
be
the
savior
of
deadly
square
and
in
Roxbury
and
I,
don't
necessarily
look
for
outsiders
to
come
in
and
save
our
communities.
D
I
think
we've
got
a
lot
of
talent,
a
lot
of
good
strong
businesses,
but
it
is
very
concerning
to
see
that
the
number
of
empty
storefronts
and
Dudley
I
was
surprised
that
I
don't
know
where
it
fits
on
your
your
main
streets
numbers.
You
didn't
mention
it,
but
I
was
just
wondering
if
you
had
a
sense
of.
Is
it
too
high
rents
for
businesses
that
want
to
come?
Is
it
that
people
are
just
sitting
on
it
waiting
for
the
day
when
they
think
it
will
be
profitable
to
either
rent
it
out
or
to
sell
it?
F
Question
cause
I
do
want
to
it's
there.
There
are
some
complexities
and
we
look
at
this.
All
the
time
and
part
of
the
complexity
is
in
ownership,
so
the
the
the
the
formal
hotel
you
just
mentioned
on
Washington
Street
is
in
fact
is
in
is
owned
by
an
institution
and
they
can
sit
right.
It's
a
pretty
wealthy
Church.
F
D
F
There
are
a
couple
of
families
who
own
and
have
owned
for
a
long
time
in
Dudley
that
we're
talking
to
to
see
if
they
can
use
more
financing
to
help
them
invest
in
their
current
buildings,
and
we
had
to
meetings
now
with
current
local
ownership
owners
in
that
owned
buildings
and
Dudley
to
see
how
the
city
can
help
match
capital
needs
with
their
investment
sort
of
goals.
So
there's
a
series
of
different
types
of
ownership
models.
Some
of
them
are
generational
owners
and
Dudley.
D
D
F
The
neighborhood
ones,
so
you
know
you
can't
get
that
in
Mattapan.
You
can't
get
that
in
and
up
what's
corner
down
the
street.
You
can't
even
you
can't
get
that
in
a
lot
of
places,
but
in
fact,
in
another
places,
that's
that's
that's
good
right!
It's!
It's
not
bad!
All
right!
In
other
places,
you're
seeing
30
to
40
I'd.
F
E
Thank
You
mr.
chairman,
probably
best
to
Sheila,
because
I
have
the
report
here.
The
the
REMS
inventory
study.
Can
you
just
take
me
through
this?
Basically,
four
categories
for
planning
research
under
consideration,
active
disposition
on
hold
inactive
and
there's
a
total
of
1251
properties.
Sure
can
you
just
kind
of
take
me
through
each
one
of
those
categories?
What
does.
L
E
Mean
to
be
inactive,
what
does
it
mean
to
be
on
hold
and
and
I
guess
what
I'm
looking
for
is
we
want
to
make
sure
that
we
we're
as
fully
transparent
as
possible,
so
we
want
notice
to
abutters
and
making
sure
that
the
process
is
fair
and
open.
We
also
want
a
degree
of
predictability
for
the
community,
there's
also
for
those
that
have
the
opportunity,
maybe
to
acquire
these
properties
as
to
what
they
can
and
what
they
cannot
do.
E
Probably
to
counsel
a
Jeanne's
point
that
there
might
be
some
folks
that
are
just
out
there
sitting
on
things,
holding
back
thinking
that
you
know
it's
just
sitting
on
a
gold
mine
and,
quite
frankly,
that's
the
point
or
not
how
it
works
but
and
also
defined
stat
and
a
defined
finish
to
the
process
so
that
we
can
try
to
transition
these
parcels
as
quickly
in
kind
of
I.
Guess
put
them
to
work.
If
you
will
or
put
them
to
good
use
in
the
community
again
it
could
be
a
residential
unit.
E
G
My
pleasure
counselor
so
first
is
planning
research
under
consideration,
and
that
number
is
large,
but
it's
really
mainly
made
up
of
two
three
areas
of
the
city:
it's
some
where
we
so
the
first
thing
we
do
when
we
decide
to.
We
want
to
dispose
of
these
parcels
or
we
start
looking
at
the
environmental
conditions.
We
start
understanding
the
neighborhood
zoning.
G
G
Some
of
that
and
you
in
for
for
some
of
you,
know
we're
building
a
lot
of
new
homes
in
the
city
on
smaller
Lots
and
so
part
of
that
work
is
looking
at
the
architectural
features
of
a
neighborhood
and
the
affordability,
and
all
that,
so
that's
where
we
were
doing,
and
so
that
category
is
where
we're
doing
a
lot
of
research.
Much
of
that
458
is
made
up
of
the
Grove
which
we've
owned
for
decades
and
so
I
said
we're
gonna
dispose
of
the
Grove
we're
gonna.
Do
it.
G
G
Active
disobey
me
net,
we've
done
our
homework
and
we
are
now
working
with
the
community
and
we
are
going
out
and
we're
saying
this.
These
are
the
sites
would
like
to
dispose
of
you've
all
been
to
these
meetings.
We.
This
is
our
best
thinking
on
this
we'd
like
to
hear
from
you
and
it's
it's
I
will
say:
there's
there's
very
few
process.
Well,
there's
a
few,
but
there's
very
few
processes
right
now
that
are
contentious,
we're
talking
to
neighborhoods
about
design
density,
affordability,
levels,
informing
them.
What
we
know
about
the
the
parcels
are
they
contaminated?
G
What
would
it
take
to
clean
them
up
that
kind
of
thing,
and
so
we
we
track
them
very
closely.
We
meet
every
two
week
internally,
every
two
weeks
staff
have
got
to
make
progress
on
those
parcels
or
they're
in
the
hot
seat,
and
so
I
I
know
exactly
using
data
where
they
all
are
128
are
in
community
process.
18
are
and
rfp's
right
now,
43
rfp's
issue
and
so
on,
and
so
on.
G
Some
of
these
some
of
the
delay
in
this
category
is
if
a
community
and
many
do
really
want
to
see
our
our
sites
used
to
create
affordable
housing.
Then
they
have
to
go
around
and
get
the
resources
to
do
that
so
they're
coming
to
us,
they're,
coming
to
the
state
they're
coming
to
the
federal
government,
they're
going
to
foundations,
and
that
can
take
a
couple
of
years
but
we're
patient.
G
We
work
with
the
community,
we
designate
a
developer
and
then
it
is
their
responsibility
within
a
certain
amount
of
time
to
line
up
the
resources
to
get
to
get
in
construction.
So
we
have
four
hundred
and
seventeen
parcels
right
now
in
that
category
that
are
actively
being
worked
on
with
the
community
or
developers
on
hold,
as
I
mentioned
earlier.
A
lot
of
those
are
urban
wilds
and
we
just
don't
have
a
good
home
for
those.
Those
are
sites
that
we
would
never
build
on
they're
part
of
our
tree.
Canopy
communities
love
them.
G
We
maintain
them
because
they're
there
never
get
free
of
trash
or
anything,
but
those
are
ones.
We've
probably
never
developed.
So
the
vast
majority
are
urban
wilds,
and
then
we
have
an
inactive
category.
We
either
haven't
gotten
to
it.
Yet,
just
because
we're
trying
to
move
the
eight
hundred
that
I
mentioned
or
neighborhoods
neighborhoods
have
asked
us
to
put
them
on,
hold
they've
got
ledge
or
they're
very
contaminated
and
we're
trying
to
get
the
federal
funds
and
state
funds
to
clean
them
up
and.
E
Then,
from
the
notice
to
a
better
perspective,
I
assume
that
if
you
living
next
door
or
across
the
street
or
around
the
corner,
folks
may
have
an
interest
and
they
probably
inquire
pretty
regularly
as
to
hey.
What's
going
on
with
this
place,
what's
going
on
this
past
weekend
on
this
parcel,
what's
going
on
as
far
as
what's
going
on
as
well,
what's
happening
with
that,
Boswell's
going
on
this
Plaza
so
goes
on
for
a
long
time.
E
So
I
don't
know
what
that
line
of
communication
is
when
they
reach
out
to
your
department
and
who's,
communicating
back
to
the
sources
saying
it's
inactive.
It's
a
whole
detective
distribution,
but,
more
importantly,
when
we're
ready
to
go
we're
notifying
the
director
butters
and
folks
in
that
neighborhood,
then
it's
open
and
available
anyone.
G
Who
could
anyone
who
calls
or
express
an
interest
and,
and
sometimes
it's
not
our
priority,
but
it
is
theirs
and
we
we
do.
If
we
hear
from
a
lot
of
people,
we
do
try
to
elevate
those
parcels
and
get
them
into
the
active
disposition
category
we
do
take.
Really.
We
take
very
good
information
on
who's
calling.
G
We
have
a
couple
of
people
that
do
you
know
that
really
is
their
task
and
then,
when
there's
any
movement
they
have
their
email
addresses
or
phone
numbers
and
reach
out
to
them
directly.
It's
it's.
It's
good,
it's
good
once
in
a
while
something
will
set
in
here,
you
know,
but
they
may
have
moved,
etc.
I
think
one
of
our
biggest
challenges
is
that
years
ago
the
city
used
to
make
a
lot
of
land
available
for
open
space
side
yards
and
they
were
big
lots.
G
They
were
big
sites
and
you
know
six
seven
thousand
square
feet
and
people
still
would
like
to
see
that
happen.
But
if
we
have
very
beautiful
flat
Lots
right
now,
we
may
be
able
to
give
them
a
piece
of
it,
but
we
really
need
our
lives
to
develop
new
housing,
contextual
tasteful,
nice
architecture,
good
affordability
levels,
but
we
we
no
longer
can
sell
very
large
parcels.
The
city
is
just
not
big
enough.
M
G
M
There
were
two
very
prominent
parcel
properties,
commercial
retail
properties,
one
rate
on
market
Chestnut,
Hill
used
to
be
warkz.
Pharmacy
kind
of
a
you
know
landmark
recently
has
a
tenant.
What
happened
was
kaboom
was
in
their
national
retail.
They
went
out
of
business
and
a
couple
years,
but
they
had
like
a
10-year
lease,
so
the
property
owner
is
getting
ranked.
M
How
many
of
the
potential
405
are
actually
leased
that
you
know
the
landlord
is
getting
the
best
of
both
worlds,
no
tenants
but
getting
rent
every
month,
4/10,
possibly
10
years,
and
that
not
just
that
space,
but
next
to
Winship
spa.
Also,
a
prominent
location
across
from
the
police
station
recently
got
cafe
narrow.
So
it's
kind
of
ironic
that
I
came
here
with
those
two
places
in
mind
and
now
they're
they're
actually
tentative.
So.
J
F
M
Just
paper
bag,
stuff,
material,
yeah,
decals
and,
and
so
it
didn't
look
vacant
or
as
vacant
as
it
could,
and
it
didn't
certainly
look
blighted
and
I
think
you
know
this
should
be
a
distinction.
I'm
also
thinking
a
child's
view,
charles
view,
chief
dillon,
you
know
great
housing
development
that
we
open
to
low
income
folks,
just
three
four
years
ago,
now,
there's
still
vacant
retail
space
there.
I
don't
know
if
they're,
just
asking
too
much
range,
but
literally
it's
been
vacant
on
western
ave
for
four
years
again.
M
K
G
M
G
And
sometimes
I
and
I'm,
not
gonna
speak
for
the
VPD,
a
certainly
a
chief
barrows
can,
but
you
know
sometimes
neighborhoods
will
say
we
want.
We
want
commercial
on
the
first
floor
and
residential
above
and
sometimes
I
think
we
we
create
too
much
commercial,
especially
if
there's
not
enough
foot
traffic,
so
I
think
we
have
to
be
mindful
of
that.
But
I
will
check
on
Charles
P.
B
Three
minutes
three
minutes:
I
like
it:
okay,
very
briefly,
because
I
do
want
to
get
to
our
second
panel
in
2008,
which
I
don't
know.
Maybe
we
you
were
here
in
2008,
consurtio
mo
and
I
think
Sheila
may
have
been.
There
was
the
vacant
property
in
foreclosure,
ordinance
that
this
is
it
Mayor,
Menino
I
believe
sponsored
the
council
passed
yeah
I
wasn't
either
this
so
in
2008
there
was
I'm,
not
a
lawyer,
but
I.
Don't
always
ask
the
questions.
B
B
Can
we
add
commercial
just
just
to
have
the
purpose
that
I'm
asking
here
is
that
I
feel
like
we
have?
We
may
have
some
tools
on
the
books
and
rather
than
reinventing
the
wheel,
although
there
are
other
things
I'd
like
to
do,
but
at
a
minimum
I
think
that
we
need
to
see
about
including-
and
it
may
take
an
act
of
this
body-
commercial
units
for
the
vacant
property
foreclosure
ordinance.
Now
that
was
done
a
little
bit
differently.
It
was
the
foreclosure
crisis.
B
It
was
to
sort
of
get
ahead
of
things
which
you
guys
have
done
so
well
Sheila.
But
this
is
again
is
a
little
bit
differently,
so
we
can
have
a
master
list
because
I
would
argue
as
we
talk
about
data
collection.
While
this
is
all
helpful,
you
have
a
certain
list,
D
and
E.
As
a
list
b.
Fd
has
a
list
is
d
as
a
list
I'd
rather
have
a
more
comprehensive
way
to
address
it.
B
So
I
guess
that
would
be
the
first
one
and
then,
secondly,
in
to
you,
commissioner,
as
it
relates
to
assessing
when
we've
got
so.
Basically,
there
are
two
property
tax
raised.
Do
you
correct
me
if
I'm
wrong
as
I
understand
it
not
excluding
different
circumstances,
but
you
pay
property
taxes
on
your
home?
B
If
you
live
there
and
claim
the
residential
exemption
it's
three
to
forty
percent
less
than
if
you
didn't
have
that,
and
those
are
basically
the
two
main
categories
now:
chief
Dylan
and
what
an
earlier
budget
hearing
I
believe
you,
you
had
a
statistic
which
floored
me
that
I
think
it's
millennium
tower
3/4
or
two-thirds
of
the
residences.
There
don't
employ
the
residential
exemption.
I
didn't.
B
Overwhelming
majority,
so
is
there
any
way?
So
obviously
these
are
investments.
This
is
a
very
safe
investment.
If
you
can
afford
it,
the
property
value
will
appreciate
it's
less
volatile
than
the
stock
market.
There's
a
lot
of
foreign
investors
and
again
that's
everyone's
god-given
right,
but
I
wonder.
If
has
there
been
any
conversation
about
exerting
an
additional
fee?
On
top
of
that
because
we
are
paying
for
it
with
a
paucity
of
housing
stock
we
are
paying
for
it
in
the
business
sense,
with
other
local
businesses
which
are
hindered
for
growth.
B
K
No,
we
have
it.
I
mean
we're
mainly
focused
on
value
anything
beyond
what
would
be
a
market
value
is
something
that
we
couldn't
add
on
to
the
tax
bill.
I
think
the
other
thing
is,
although
you
have
these
foreign
investors
they're,
also
not
pulling
any
city
services,
so
they're,
not
putting
kids
in
school
they're,
not
putting
trash
out
they're,
not
using
any
city
services,
so
I,
don't
think
it's
a
total
loss
on
not
having
people
living
in
these
units
either.
Well,.
B
I
appreciate
that
I
would
say
it,
and
this
is
less
about
those
units,
but
you
know
the
vacant
there.
There
was
a
fire
at
a
vacant
unit
in
in
West
Roxbury,
where
you
know
kids
were
going,
so
there
is
a
cost
that
it
did
even
inaction
and
lack
of
people.
There
is
a
cost
there
and
if
we
don't
dictate
tax
policy
based
on
you
know,
children
going
to
school
or
not
or
other
things,
how
much
trash
you
throw
out.
So
I
appreciate
the
point,
but
I
do
think
that
it's
a
conversation.
B
M
H
C
C
About
that
subsequently,
Thank
You,
commissioner
and
then
in
terms
of
data
collection,
have
we
thought
about
partnering
with
some
of
the
local
universities
so
I
know?
For
example,
there
are
some
MIT
students
here
somewhere
who
they're
back
there,
hello
who
are
working
on
this
very
issue
and
are
focused
on
this
and
wanting
to
look
at
different
districts.
I
am
talking
with
some
Whitworth
students
who
are
interested
in
this,
so
just
curious.
C
G
C
And
I
think
would
be
great
because
even
if
we
it's
gonna
take
more
time,
obviously
with
the
privately
owned
properties
might
be
easier
with
more
commercial
spaces
because
of
what
the
commercial
spaces
need
to
operate
to
open,
but
for
the
city
owned
lists
that
we
currently
are
the
city
owned
parcels,
particularly
those
that
are
inactive,
but
we
could
be
doing
something
with
right.
This
list,
I.
G
Think
the
inactive
ones
I
yeah
I
do
think
we
have
a
handle
on
pretty
much
every
par,
so
I
mean
I.
Think
if
you,
if
you,
if
we
had
staff
here
they'd,
say
oh
that
has
now
cropping
that
has
you
know
whatever
contamination
I
feel
like.
We
know
our
property
better,
but
we've
been
using
univer
colleges
and
universities
every
summer
to
start
doing.
Build-Out
scenarios
I
mean
a
lot
of
the
architectural
schools.
So
we
do.
We
do
use
colleges
and
universities
to
help
us
but
know.
C
It
could
be
so
where
was
going
with,
that
was
yeah
they
for
the
city
owned
parcels
yeah.
Obviously
we
have
data
I'd
like
to
see
its
centralized
in
some
place
and
sort
of
more
information
attached
to
it.
So,
for
example,
all
of
this
data
is
very
useful
people
when
you
pull
out
the
inactive
information.
G
C
G
G
C
Friendly
and
I
think
there's
some
information
that
isn't
there
and
I
know
that,
because
we
were
emailing
to
find
it,
but
we
know
it
exists.
So
how
do
we
create
a
site
or
scenario?
That's
user-friendly!
That's
welcoming
that
people
say
okay
and
then,
where
we
are
with
respect
to
what
we're
doing
for
those
parcels
right
and
then.
C
Lastly,
just
focusing
on
and
obviously
we're
gonna
have
another
conversation
about
this,
but
just
focusing
on
the
problem
properties
and
in
Chris
I
want
to
pull
you
in,
because
this
is
sometimes
just
a
headache,
and
these
are
properties
where
I
can
go
on
a
neighborhood
and
I'll
bring
up
Philbrook,
for
example,
in
the
Rossdale
section
of
my
district,
and
it
gets
really
frustrating
to
tell
those
residents
I'm.
So
sorry,
but
there's
little,
we
can
do
so,
I
think
one.
C
How
often
does
the
problem
properties
task
force
me?
Do
you
do
quarterly
reporting,
there's
a
there's,
an
expectation
in
the
ordinance
and
policy
that
there's
a
quarterly
report
that
comes
out
I,
don't
know
if
we've
seen
it
and
then
how
do
we
maintain
better
records
at
a
more
public
facing
so
that,
for
example,
at
the
Codman
square
meeting,
the
other
night
we've
been
trying
to
get
a
property
on
the
problem
properties
task
force
list.
C
You
know
I
email,
you,
but
no
one
could
go
on
anywhere
to
say:
oh,
it
actually
is
listed
as
problem
properties,
but
then
what's
the
next
step,
what
does
listing
it
mean?
Are
we
assessing
what
what
pieces
of
the
problem
property
task
force?
Are
we
actually
implementing
with
respect
to
that
property?
Now
that
it's
listed
so
I'd
love
for
you
to
answer
a
few
of
those
questions.
I
C
I
We
do
discuss
information
about
certain
properties
and
that
would
not
necessarily
be
public
information.
You
know,
based
on
ownership
or
or
details
of
criminal
activity
that
that's
happening
there.
So
there
is
some
sensitivity
to
it,
but
as
far
as
is
creating
sort
of
more
public
facing
repository
for,
we
are
working
on
getting
our
list
uploaded
to
the
city's
website,
with
details
on
what's
designated,
what's
been
removed
and
how
long
it's
been
on
the
way.
So
that's
a
ongoing
work,
hopefully
we'll
have
that
done
shortly
and.
C
I'd
love
to
know
that
and
I
think
we
got
to
get
back
to
reporting
in
some
way.
So
even
if
the
meetings
for
example,
it's
not
it's
not
the
best
way,
the
best
way
is
not
to
have
it
public.
Okay,
I
think
we
want
to
maybe
talk
to
what
might
be
able
to
be
public,
but
I.
Think
a
report
out
in
some
way
is
very
helpful
because
one
of
the
biggest
things
I
find
that's
really
difficult
is
when
we
do
advocate
with
our
residents
and
some
of
whom
come
forward.
C
Not
happily
I
mean
you're,
sort
of
reporting,
you're
the
person
down
the
street,
and
and
sometimes
it
can
be
ugly
for
those
constituents,
but
they
come
forward
because
they
care
about
their
community
and
want
to
make
a
difference,
and
by
that
point,
I've
already
worked
with
ISD,
who
sent
out
inspectors
and
they're
trying
to
do
the
same
thing.
So
the
next
step
is
to
look
at
the
problem
properties
task
force.
D
You
mr.
chair,
before
I
begin
I
just
want
to
also
highlight
the
the
residential
pieces
and
say
thank
you
to
you,
commissioner.
There
are
several
problem
properties
as
councillor
Campbell
has
already
noted.
I
had
a
call
recently
about
a
property
on
Kenilworth,
Street,
22
kind
of
worth
the
door
being
ajar.
What
we
know
is
that
problem
properties
can
be
overrun
with
animals
with
with
squatters
who
are
using
drugs
and
other
things.
It
was
one
on
on
Burton,
Avenue
and
Roxbury
and
immediate
response
to
secure
the
building.
D
I
D
G
Can
get
that
T?
It's
not
in
the
it's,
not
in
the
data
that
I
provided
to
council
Campbell,
but
we
we
have.
They
are
throughout
the
city,
the
ones
that
we
own
and
I'd
be
glad
to
give
you
a
list
now
most
Lots
would
have
some
contamination.
If
a
house
was
there
and
had
lead
paint,
but
that's
you
know,
that's
superficial.
We
can
get
take
care
of
that
during
construction.
It's
the
I,
think
you're
interested
in
the
large
or
contaminated.
D
And
I'm
wondering
what
is
happening
and
not
because
I
want
to
see
them
then
disposed
and
develops,
but
because
I'm
sure
that
residents,
children,
you
know,
are
singers.
No
one
wants
to
live
near
a
lot
that
is
contaminated
and
I'm
sure
many
of
our
residents
don't
even
know
if
they're
living
near
as
a
public
safety
issue
right.
G
D
G
G
D
D
F
Okay
and
I
think
the
the
one
that
eludes
us
councillor,
co-moh
raised,
which
is
the
property
that
is
leased
except
a
business.
So
the
business
has
a
10-year
lease
year.
Three,
they
go
out
of
business,
they
leave
the
property,
property
stays
vacant,
but
it's
still
under
lease,
and
so
they
want
to
decide.
They're
just
gonna
come
to
keep
it
empty
and
they're
gonna
collect
the
rent
anyway.
So.
D
P
H
P
But
when
you
know,
if
we
see
consistently
every
single
year,
this
person
is
not
renting
out.
That
might
be
something
that
we
could
start
to
collect
and
then
I
just
wanted
to
also
follow
up
on.
So
so
in
East
Boston.
We
have
a
particular
property
that
all
of
us
have
to
look
at
the
loft
L,
which
is,
if
you've
seen
it
it
is.
It
is
an
empty
building
that
has
pieces
of
plastic
hanging
down
where
windows
are
supposed
to
be.
P
It
wasn't
intended
to
be
something
than
a
recession
happened
that
it's
been
switched
and
now
there's
a
bunch
of
antennas
on
they
claim
they
can't
do
a
lot
due
to
permitting
issues.
At
the
end
of
the
day,
it
is
an
eyesore
and
in
another
wise
neighborhood
that
it's
growing
in
exponentially,
and
so
here
we
are
stuck
literally
with
I
think
not
only
high-end
blight,
but
also
a
huge,
huge,
huge
project
that
we
have
to
see
every
day,
and
so
how
do
we
incentivize
and
push?
That's
the
question.
P
O
F
That's
a
great
question
counselor
and
it's
a
building
that
I
think
I
agree
with
you.
We
would
love
to
see
developed,
we
I,
don't
know
the
details
of
current
ownership
and
where
they
are,
and
why
not
they'll
be
willing
to
approach
them
and
try
to
understand
their
goals
and
see
if,
in
fact,
the
city
can't
incentivize
something
there
so.
P
If
you
can't,
you
know
whatever
legal
issues
in
battle,
someone
had,
how
does
the
city
get
them
to
do
more
with
what
they
have?
We
would
just
like
them
to
put
in
windows
and
and
they
can
paint
happy
people
in
the
thing
at
this
point
it
is
but
it's
horrible
right
now,
when,
when
you
walk
by,
you
will
get
debris
blown
on
you
in
some
cases,
I.
H
Don't
honestly
know
how
to
incentivize
the
businesses,
but
they
are
responsible
to
maintain
the
building
in
good
order,
and
we
do
take
them
through
the
violation
process.
If
they
don't
react
well
to
us,
our
mandate
is
to
block
the
building
from
8
feet
above
the
ground
to
minimize
access
of
you
know,
people
and
and
pets.
If
there
is
a
public
nuisance
being
created
by
the
building,
if
people
are
actually
getting
it
with
debris
that
are
coming
out
of
the
building,
we
can
act
on
that.
Okay,.
P
And
then
so,
just
since
we're
talking
about
properties
and
how
and
how,
when
they
are
becoming
the
nuisance
issue
and
I,
remember
reading
an
article
where
you
talked
a
little
bit
about
our
receivership
program
and
and
that's
something
I
find
very
interesting
and
I.
Think
it's
an
opportunity
that
I'd
love
to
see
increased
participation
and
increase
partnership
with
your
office
on,
particularly
as
I
see
that
as
a
building
is
coming
into
helping
I,
guess
neighbors
to
step
up
and
put
the
money
and
time
into
caretaking
or
stewarding
this
building
and
that
they
could
receive
it.
P
Ultimately,
you
know
if
it
goes
into
foreclosure
and
so
on
and
so
forth,
but
I'd
love
to
hear
about
how
that
system
works
and
how
we
can
only
increase
the
partnership
and
stewardship
of
communities.
I'm
thinking
of
Noah
I'm
thinking
of
some
CDC's
I'm
thinking,
I,
know
community
groups
that
would
happily
help
out
with
with
love,
tell
right
now.
If
we,
if
there's
a
way
to
push
that
in
and
talk.
P
H
It
usually
takes
us
a
while
to
get
to
that
point.
I
personally,
think
receivership
is
an
excellent
way
of
resolving
some
of
these
issues,
because
you
know,
as
I've
explained
in
this
council
before
you
can
take
a
building
that
may
be
in
such
a
state
that
it
cannot
get
a
mortgage.
So
the
the
owner
of
the
building
is
a
huge
disadvantage.
The
court
appoints
a
receiver.
The
receiver
goes
through
the
revitalization
of
the
building.
H
The
owner
is
given
the
opportunity
by
the
judge,
to
pay
the
bills
for
the
repairs
and
then
ownership
or
control
of
the
building.
They
don't
ownership
until
the
judge
determines
that
is
returned
back
to
the
person
in
when
we
these
buildings
are
revitalized.
They
are
now
livable,
so
the
chances
of
getting
a
mortgage
are
very
good.
A
lot
of
people
fight
us
on
a
receivership,
a
lot.
H
It
was
a
win-win
for
everybody.
None
of
the
tenants
would
his
faith
displaced.
The
building's
now
have
stewardship,
that's
real
positive
in
its
all
community
based.
So
we
were
very
happy.
We
don't
have
as
many
of
those
as
we'd
like,
but
we
really
when
we
seize
the
opportunity
we
really
go
after
it.
Yeah.
P
And
I
would
love
to
sit
down
with
you
all
to
talk
about
how
we
can
increase
or
support
that
process.
You
know
we're
gonna
use
legal
services,
whether
we're
gonna
do
something
but
I
think
as
much
as
neighbors
are
ready
to
step
up
instead
of
just
complaining
to
the
city,
to
do
something,
I'd
love
for
them
to
be
at
the
table
to
also
get
it
done.
So.
Thank
you.
Thank.
A
You
thank
you
Council
Edwards,
I
know,
for
we
have
a
second
panel.
I
would
like
to
invite
the
first
panel
if
they
would
like
to
stay,
you
could,
but
I
would
also
like
to
invite
down
the
second
panel.
Now
that
would
include
Allison
Carter
in
and
I'd
like
to
say
thank
you
to
the
first
panel
for
Rob
being
here
for
I'm,
taking
all
questions
for
being
responsive
and
for
all
you
do
across
the
city.
We
appreciate
everything
you
do
so.
The
second
panel
would
be
Alison
Carter,
Illya
hamara
forest
in
shackles.
N
S
My
name
is
Alison
Carter
I'm,
the
economic
development
coordinator
for
town
of
Arlington,
as
councillor
siamo
mentioned
I'm,
a
former
Director
of
Brighton
main
street's.
It's
nice
to
be
back
here
in
Boston,
and
thank
you
for
this
opportunity,
I'm
here
to
speak
about
our
towns,
registration
of
maintenance,
registration
and
maintenance
of
vacant,
commercial
and
industrial
buildings
by
law.
It's
a
mouthful
so
in
June
of
2015
Arlington
Arlington
Center
had
17
vacant
commercial
properties,
many
of
which
had
been
vacant
for
a
year
or
more
by
September
of
2017.
That
number
had
dropped
to
five.
S
Excuse
me:
the
bylaw
aims
to
reduce
the
number
of
vacant
storefronts
by
requiring
property
owners
to
register
their
vacancies
with
the
Department
of
Planning
and
Community.
Development
owners
pay
an
annual
registration
fee
of
$400
per
vacant
storefront
and
that's
defined
as
a
property
that
has
not
been
occupied
for
90
days
or
more.
S
S
And
the
registration
fee
is
$400,
because
they're
required
to
get
quarterly
billed
inspections
to
assure
that
the
property
is
safe,
so
those
cost
of
the
town
$100
a
month
$100
for
inspections,
so
for
inspections
a
year.
That's
how
we
arrived
at
that
registration
fee.
We
wanted
it
to
again
be
something
that
moved
people
along,
but
not
so
onerous
a
fee
that
it
was
thought
to
be
punitive.
S
R
This
is
not
sort
of
our
parents
or
grandparents
vacancy
issues,
so
so
one
of
the
challenges,
I
think,
is
that
where
cities
are
trying
to
catch
up
in
terms
of
public
policy,
just
to
understand,
what's
happening
and
that's
why
I
commend
the
council
for
just
having
this
discussion
trying
to
grapple
with
these
these
forces,
as
as
chairman
Flint
said,
there
are
both
commercial
and
residential
properties
that
are
really
wealth,
storage
units.
They
are
not
homes,
they
are
not
commercial
units
that
are
being
used
for
businesses.
R
They
are
ways
to
preserve
an
asset,
and
that
is
its
main
purpose,
and
the
reason
we
should
be
concerned
is
that
they
are
disrupting
local
markets,
that
they're
disrupting
the
real
estate
market.
The
the
sort
of
gentrification
forces
downtown
with
these
luxury
buildings
sort
of
pushes
out
and
affects
our
neighborhoods
we're
building
new
energy
infrastructure
to
support
these
new
luxury
buildings,
an
interesting
side
dimension,
one
Doulton
place
which
is
now
being
built.
If
you
look
at
the
Prudential
Center
you'll
see
it's
it's
catching
up
quickly
to
the
Prudential.
R
Center
gives
its
investors
an
eb-5
visa
for
investing
a
million
dollars
in
their
units.
So
it's
actually
contributing
to
inequities
and
in
our
immigration
system,
people
are
buying
their
citizenship
or
buying
a
green
card
by
virtue
of
of
investing
in
those
properties.
Some
of
them
are
so
self
contained
that
architect,
Architectural
Digest
recently
wrote
an
article
saying
who
needs
a
neighborhood
when
you
have
wild
amenities
like
these
and
so
again,
Walter
Dalton
place
is
building
its
own
Park.
R
It's
going
to
be
a
sort
of
self-contained
universe
for
the
very,
very
wealthy
we
do
know
a
little
bit.
You
are
asking
councillor
O'malley
about
the
sort
of
the
occupancy
issues
and
Sheila
Dillon
is
right.
We
don't
know
among
these
large
luxury
properties,
how
many
are
actually
vacant,
but
we
do
know
a
couple
things.
R
We
know
something
about
how
many
are
owned
by
shell
corporations
trusts
LLC's,
where
they
mask
the
actual
beneficial
owners
who
owns
it,
and
we
do
know
something
about
how
many
of
those
units
take
the
residential
exemption
and
will
we
have
a
study
coming
out
in
a
couple
of
weeks,
but
here's
a
preview
of
that
of
the
1,500
most
recently
constructed
luxury
units
so
that
millennium
tower
millennium
place,
the
ritz-carlton,
the
harbor
view
and
22
Liberty
Place
those
properties
about
1500
units.
Roughly
a
third
of
them
are
owned
by
shell
corporations.
R
Half
of
them
do
not
take
the
residential
exemption.
Sixty
seventy
percent
in
some
cases
in
the
case
of
millennium
tower,
which
I
think
the
shadow
will
be
coming
our
way
shortly,
that
443
unit
building
thirty
six
percent
of
those
units
are
shell
corporations.
79
percent
do
not
take
the
residential
exemption
when
I
talk
about
shell
corporations.
That's
important,
because
when
we
have
this,
we've
heard
a
couple
of
people
on
the
panel
to
talk
about
how
we
don't
know
who
owns
these
properties.
R
It
is
actually
harder
to
get
a
Boston
Public
Library
card
than
it
is
to
create
a
shell
corporation
to
own
some
of
these
units
because
to
get
a
boston,
public
library
card,
you
have
to
say
who
you
are
and
where
you
live,
and
that's
not
the
case
with
these
corporations.
So
what
can
we
do
about
that?
I?
Think.
Looking
at
the
vacancy
issues,
one
issue:
some
cities
are
looking
at
high-end:
real
estate
transfer
taxes
as
another
way
to
address
the
the
cost
to
the
community
of
these
high-end
properties.
R
Some
cities
globally
are
looking
at
requiring
a
disclosure
of
a
beneficial
owner.
Who
are
you
who
really
owns
this
property?
If
you
want
to
participate
in
legal
remedies,
you
need
to
say
who
you
are.
You
need
to
be
as
bold
as
a
library
card
say
who
you
are
and
where
you
live,
so
that
those
are
things
that
we
could
talk
about.
R
In
another
context,
my
colleague
Emma
to
goad
and
I
did
a
policy
brief,
which
we
will
share
with
you
that
looks
at
what
other
cities
are
doing
specifically
on
this
vacancy
issue,
both
commercial
and
residential
and
just
free.
A
few
brief
occupations,
one
observations,
one:
is
they
all
define
vacant
as
properties?
That's
it
empty
at
least
six
months
of
the
year.
That
seems
to
be
sort
of
almost
a
uniform
standard.
R
There
is
this
concern
both
about
blight
and
just
empty
buildings,
and
and
even
in
this
discussion,
I
think
President
Campbell's
talking
about
vacant
buildings
that
are
sort
of
festering
in
the
neighborhood,
but
we
also
have
empty
units
in
an
acute,
affordable
housing
crisis
along
with
empty
commercial
spaces.
Those
are
three
sort
of
issues.
Some
of
these
ordinances
address.
All
of
those.
They
provide
lots
of
exemptions
for
people
who
are
renovating
their
property.
R
You
are
when
there's
a
change
in
ownership,
other
their
circumstances,
most
of
them
levy
a
tax
or
a
fine,
that's
tied
to
the
square
footage,
so
in
the
case
of
Washington
DC,
which
has
actually
had
an
ordinance
in
place
since
2010
Washington
DC
charges
$5
per
$100
of
assessed
value.
If
the
property
is
blighted,
they
charge
double
ten
dollars
for
every
hundred
dollars
of
assessed
value.
R
Washington
DC
may
be
the
the
the
city
that
we
want
to
look
the
closest
at
in
terms
of
what
they've
done,
because
I
think
they
were
both
concerned
about
the
in
the
the
the
the
sort
of
vacant
blight,
but
also
high-end,
blight
and
and
so
I
think,
and
they
recently
their
city
auditor
did
a
blistering
hundred
page
assessment
of
how
they
haven't
really
managed
that
program
very
well.
So
we
could,
we
could
learn
from
from
their
mistakes,
perhaps
the
other
one.
That's
interesting
and
I
should
say
almost
all
these
ordinances
are
new.
R
We
don't
have
years
of
track
record.
We
don't
you
know.
Some
of
them
are
just
in
the
last
two
years.
Responding
to
these
conditions.
Vancouver
Canada
at
Vancouver,
British
Columbia,
has
an
empty
homes.
Tax
that's
been
in
place
just
for
a
year,
but
they
were
experiencing
high-end
empty
homes,
what
they
described
as
sort
of
almost
ghost
town
community
conditions
in
some
neighborhoods
because
of
international
capital
international
investments,
so
that
tax
ism
is
a
1%
tax
on
the
assessed
value
each
year.
R
If
a
unit
is
kept
vacant
and
they
require
kind
of
like
Arlington,
they
require
the
owners
to
proactively
register
whether
the
property
certified
that
the
property
is
vacant,
and
then
they
have
a
very
stiff
penalty
in
the
event
that
they
find
that
the
the
unit
is
indeed
vacant
and
they've
registered
as
an
occupied
unit,
almost
like
a
hundred
percent
surcharge
on
assessed
value.
So
they
they
have
this
this
empty
homes
tax,
but
they
have
a
very
high
penalty
for
for
basically
fabricating.
R
T
T
We've
had
larger
term
ones
like
the
one
we
brokered
with
Trillium
at
Trillium
Garden
at
the
substation
we've
had
shorter
term
ones
like
our
indoor
drum
circle
and
open
house
and
another
store
front,
some
facts
about
Rosendale
village.
We
have
147
store
fronts
about
a
5.4
percent
vacancy
rate.
Five
of
our
vacancies
have
been
vacant
for
at
least
one
to
four
years
and
unfortunately
the
vacancies
are
in
close
proximity
to
each
other,
so
it
looks
worse
than
it
is,
and
the
same
neighboring
businesses
continue
to
be
frustrated
with
that.
T
The
vacancies
issue
has
been
to
create
a
vacancies
map,
that's
public
on
our
website,
so
it
connects
property
owners
and
potential
tenants
with
who
to
contact
if
they're
interested
in
learning
more
about
that
vacancy
we've
also
had
a
design
committee
project
empty,
storefront
signage.
So,
instead
of
an
empty
space,
you
see
a
sign
that
directs
you
to
that
vacancies
website.
Some
successes,
we've
seen
with
the
prop
up
program,
has
been
an
increase
of
foot
traffic.
T
It
pop
ups
have
brought
people
into
the
business
district
for
something
temporary
and
exciting
the
trillium
beer
garden
brought
at
the
most.
The
count
was
about
nineteen
point.
Five
thousand
people
came
to
Roslindale
over
the
course
of
three
months
that
might
have
been
repeated
people,
but
there
was
a
lot
of
people
in
the
neighborhood
who
have
never
heard
of
Roslindale.
Before
ever,
people
from
New
Hampshire
came
to
Roslindale.
It
brought
pop-ups,
bring
community
members
who
may
have
never
been
inside
or
not
a
long
time
into
a
space
to
dream.
T
Some
of
these
people
ended
up
being
potential
tenants,
so
we
had
a
pop
up
in
a
vacant
storefront
that
brought
in
families
in
particular.
It
was
a
build
zone.
It
was
targeted
at
young
children
to
build
these
contractions
in
a
vacant.
Storefronts
and
a
couple
of
parents
ended
up
renting
that
space
and
it
will
soon
be
Rosalynn
Dale's,
first
brewery
distraction,
brewery
owned
by
parents
of
Roslindale
and
West
Roxbury
kids,
who
came
to
the
build
zone.
Pop-Up
I
would
echo
what
Ali
said.
T
It
also
opened
lines
of
communication
with
property
owners
who
we
may
have
not
spoken
with
beforehand,
specifically
because
we
had
a
project
we
wanted
to
talk
about.
It
engaged
property
owners.
We
always
invited
property
owners
to
the
pop
ups
and
it
inspired
property
owners
to
think
more
about
their
neighbors,
wants
and
needs,
and
what
would
be
successful
in
the
space
thanks.
B
You,
mr.
chairman,
thank
you
all
and
thank
you
guys
for
your
patience.
I
know
we
got
you
on
a
little
bit
later
than
we
had
hoped,
but
I
specifically
wanted
to
bring
this
panel
together.
You
know
Ali
to
talk
about
sort
of
your
perspective
as
a
former
Boston
main
street's
head
and
now
in
Arlington.
What
you've
done.
Chuck
you've
done.
B
Such
amazing
work
on
so
many
so
important
social
justice
issues,
economic
issues
and
I
appreciate
sort
of
giving
us
the
fifty
thousand
foot
view
display
on
what
we
ought
we
can
do
and
when
what
we
ought
to
be
doing,
in
alia
my
god.
You've
done
such
a
remarkable
job
at
Rossdale,
village,
Main
streets,
the
first
main
streets
district
in
the
city
of
Boston,
that
is
just
thriving
and
I.
B
Specifically
I
was
one
of
those
tens
of
thousands
of
people
at
the
Trillium
brewery,
perhaps
more
than
once,
and
it
was
just
such
a
great
thing
to
show
we're
not
looking
at
being
punitive.
You
know,
there's
been
a
little
negative
feedback
to
this
or
to
this
hearing
order,
but
we
want
to
help
these
businesses.
The
city
can
absolutely
play
a
role
and
should
play
a
role,
but
we
also
need
to
use
every
arrow
in
our
quiver.
So
my
first
question
is
I
was
talking
to
my
co-sponsor
accounts.
President
Campbell
on
this
I
think
we're
gonna.
B
Ask
the
chair
not
to
adjourn
this
hearing,
but
to
suspend
this
hearing
and
then
transition
into
a
series
of
working
sessions
and
I'd
love
it.
If
you
three
could
join
us
just
to
continue
to
offer
your
perspective
and
I,
it
was
how
I
assumed
the
answers
you
guys
would
be
willing
to
do
that
and
I
also
want
to
acknowledge
Danielle
Joseph,
who
does
amazing
work
at
West,
Roxbury
main
streets.
Thank
you
for
your
great
work
as
well.
So
very,
very
briefly.
Allie
we'll
start
with
you.
I
S
Part
of
the
commercial
climate,
but
it
was
that
there
was
a
concentration
of
long
term
vacancies
in
the
central
business
district
and
when
you
looked
at
the
properties,
you
could
basically
identify
three
property
owners,
and
so
we
called
them
all
in
and
meetings
with
them.
And
again
we
got
a
better
picture
of
what
was
going
on,
but
it
became
clear
that
some
might
need
more
motivation,
yeah
to
actually
do
their
due
diligence
to
try
and
rent
their
properties.
And
so
that's
when
we
decided
it
rose
to
the
level
of
meaning
of
Iowa
and.
B
S
S
They
were
afraid
it
was
going
to
decrease
their
property
values,
and
so
the
the
first
paragraph
of
the
bylaw,
as
it
ended
up
being
written,
is
essentially
states
that
you
know
the
commercial
property
owners
have
a
responsibility
to
maintain
their
properties
in
the
their
private
properties
but
they're
in
public
space,
and
that
that
lays
the
foundation
for
kind
of
the
philosophy
behind
it
and
yeah.
So
it
was
some
citizen
involvement
and
then
they
got
the
town
officials
involved.
It.
S
B
S
J
T
So
I
have
a
list
in
my
office
of
people
who
have
called
and
I
connect
them
with
the
landlord
we
broker
that
relationship
or
we
connect
them
with
a
realtor
broker.
Who
is
representing
the
landlord?
The
way
the
city
could
be
helpful
is
if
there
are
and
Boston
Main
Street
directors
also
have
like
a
Google
Group
and.
K
T
Maybe
the
city
has
a
similar
list.
I
wouldn't
be
surprised
if
business
owners
contacted
the
Office
of
Economic
Development
directly
and
sometimes
we'll
get
a
little
like
hey
flatbread
pizza
company
is
looking
for
space
in
Roslindale.
Is
your
district?
Does
your
district
have
a
space
good
enough,
and
that
happens
very
rarely,
but
I
would
love
to
see
it
more
and
get
contacted
more
by
the
city,
I
think
by
business
contacts
yeah.
B
No
I
agree,
we
invent
finally
the
so
there
are
five
vacant
stores
in
our
VMs
that
have
been
vacant
for
more
than
four
years.
Have
you
gone
to
the
landlords
and
I'm
not
looking
for
you
to
betray
any
confidence,
but
I
would
venture
a
guess
that
at
least
with
some
of
them
you've
gone
to
the
landlord
and
said
hey
I
have
someone
who's
interested
and
has
the
issue
been
that
they're
holding
out
for
more
money?
It.
T
Varies,
some
of
it
is
holding
out
for
more
money,
some
of
it's
a
landlord
who
wants
something
very,
very
specific
in
their
space
and
that
tenant
just
hasn't
come
around
yet
and
it's
a
preference
and
sometimes
the
landlord,
isn't
in
town
or
lives
in
Los
Angeles
or
is
traveling
abroad.
Frequently,
and
is
you
can't
even
get,
and
that
happens
a
lot
yeah.
B
Okay
and
then
Chuck
briefly,
you
know
we're
talking
about
vacant.
Storefronts
were
talking
about
vacant
apartments,
particularly
as
sort
of
investment
units.
We're
talking
about
vacant
lots
as
well.
Do
you
see
something,
that's
sort
of
a
tool
or
a
policy
we
could
put
in
place
that
could
address
all
three
or
should
we
be
focused
on
these
sort
of
individually
I?
Think
just.
R
Raising
the
cost
of
vacancy,
you
know
disincentivizing
keeping
units
vacant
for
long
periods
of
time.
So
if,
if
in
a
case
like
the
Roslindale
property,
where,
if
a
property
stays
vacant
for
four
years,
you're
starting
to
it's
starting
to
you
know,
cost
you
six,
the
real
cost
to
the
community
are
being
assessed
on.
Usually,
then,
you
may
think
about
it
differently.
So
I
think
that
would
be
the
case.
It's
hard
to
know
on
high-end,
real
estate.
What
that
cost
point
would
be
where
it
would
matter.
Yeah.
That's
that's!
That's
a
new
heart!
R
C
C
There
are
maybe
some
vacancies,
maybe
not,
but
maybe
there's
businesses
that
people
are
like
what
is
this,
but
there
is
one
particular
space.
That's
been
vacant
for
a
long
time,
so
I
I
just
flagged
that
for
the
audience,
that's
viewing
this
that
that's
probably
a
real
challenge
and,
frankly,
look
forward
to
working
with
councillor
Malian
councillor
Flynn
on
addressing
the
issue
of
how
do
we
compile
data
for
those
neighborhoods
in
the
city
of
Boston,
who
are
highly
recommended?
Sorry,
who
are
listed
in
the
data
that
we
got
for
vacant
lots
from
Dede?
C
No
so
I
think
it's.
How
do
we
think
outside
the
box
and
say
how
do
we
go
to
private
institutions
or
the
1%
in
the
city
of
Boston
or
whomever
to
say
we
as
a
city?
Don't
want
our
process
to
be
vacant?
We
want
to
activate
them
in
some
way
and
don't
get
me
wrong.
Sometimes
it
is
community
residents
saying
we
don't
want
that.
We
want
something
else,
but
I
frankly
find
that
very
rare
I
think
it's
more
about
what
are
people
going
to
do,
and
ours
is
their
the
willpower
to
do
something.
R
You
know:
I
I
was
talking
about
a
real
estate
transfer
tax,
the
city
of
San
Francisco
levied
a
very
high-end
real
estate
transfer
tax
on
both
commercial
and
residential
properties.
Over
5
million
last
year,
I
raised
an
estimated
44
million,
which
they've
the
city
has
deployed
in
particular
way,
but
that's
an
interesting
idea.
You
know,
let's,
let's
look
at
both
the
disruption
caused
and
directing
funds
in
a
way
that
can
strengthen
the
community.
R
So
if
it's
strengthening
enforcement,
you
know
making
a
linkage
between
those
revenue
sources
a
high
end
vacancy
tax,
maybe
that
each
year
you
know
that's
sort
of
like
each
year
properties
vacant.
The
rate
goes
up,
you
know,
so
it
really
does
create
an
incentive
to
rent
or
move
that
property
that
could
that
revenue
could
be
tied
to
enforcement
or
could
be
tied
to
supporting
activities
on
public
property.
So,
looking
for
those
links
to
the
disruption
caused
by
high-end,
real
estate
and
solving
our
problems
could
be
way
to
go
and.
C
It
may
not
be
as
friendly
to
look
at
on
the
website
and
I've
been
on
the
website,
so
I
think
I'm
gonna
follow
what
chief
doing
about
presenting
it
differently
and
also
so
people
know
what's
happening
with
the
vacant
lot.
That's
been
sitting
vacant
for
10
years,
so
I'd
love
for
us
to
just
continue
to
think
about
that,
and
if
it
is
resources,
then
who
the
heck
in
this
city
is
willing
to
do
something?
Thank
you
guys.
Thank.
A
You
thank
you.
Council
president
Campbell
I
just
said
one
question.
Mr.
Collins
I
know
you've
highlighted
talked
about
shell
corporations.
Can
you
explain
that
just
so,
we
have
a
better
understanding.
Are
we
talking
about
overseas
money
coming
into
Boston,
or
is
they
used
as
a
way
to
hide
taxes
or
or
what
is
that?
What
is
the
definition
on?
What
are
we
seeing
in
Boston,
as
it
relates
to
a
shell
corporation
yeah?
Well,.
R
Maybe
starting
at
the
highest
level,
the
global
force
is
basically
there's
trillions
of
dollars
moving
around
the
globe,
pretty
much
trying
to
hide
from
accountability,
reporting
taxation.
So
we
don't
know
necessarily
who
owns
that
who
owns
those
properties,
because
they're
the
the
shell
corporation
doesn't
require
any
disclosure
who
actually
benefits
from
the
ownership
it
may
be
registered.
R
It
could
be
registered
in
Delaware
or
Wyoming
or
be
registered
in
the
Cayman
Islands
or
Bermuda,
so
it
could
be
offshore
could
be
linked
to
bank
accounts.
So
basically,
money
is
moving
around
with.
What's
interesting.
Is
that
it?
Actually,
though,
touches
down
it?
You
know
you
can't
all
stay
in
the
investment
market
as
as
counselor
malleus.
It
doesn't
all
want
to
stay
in
the
stock
market.
R
Chinese
multimillionaires
worried
about
state
appropriation
in
their
host
country.
Moving
their
money
out
could
be
money
laundering
from
illegal
purposes
or
legal
purposes.
We
don't
really
know
because
that's
the
whole
hidden
nature
of
it,
but
it
is
parking.
Some
of
it
is
parking
here
in
Boston
and
it's
parking
in
buildings
that
we
walk
by
every
day.
So
we
don't.
We
don't
know
the
answer
to
that
and
that's
a
global
problem
in
a
way.
But
but
there
are
cities
in
London
is
really
interesting
in
this
way
that
are
starting
to
say.
R
Well,
actually,
we
want
to
know
who
owns
these
properties
from
a
from
a
money
laundering
point
of
view
from
a
criminal.
You
know,
activity
cracking
down
on
that
and
we
real
estate
is.
It
is
a
different
type
of
ownership
and
you
can
actually
require
disclosure
of
a
real
estate
asset.
You
know
you
can
say
who
really
is
the
beneficiary
here
and
so
London
and
several
other
cities
are
saying
yeah
you
wanted
to
you
want
to
own
property
in
London
you
have
to
who
you
are.
R
If
you
want
to
have
legal
standing
to
sue
your
neighbor
or
or
evict
a
tenant
or
whatever
you
need
to
say
who
you
are,
and
we
could
be
one
of
the
leading
you
and
I
would
say
that
all
these
policies,
we
should
look
at
what
New
York
is
doing,
Miami
and
actually
sort
of
looking
and
moving
in
tandem
with
other
cities.
To
the
extent
it's
ever
possible
to
coordinate
to
at
least
keep
track
of
what
other
cities
are
doing,
because
I
think
we're
all
kind
of
grappling
with
these
same
issues.
Thank.
P
You
so
I
had
a
couple
suggestions
or
questions
as
well.
First
of
all
and
my
compliments
to
the
panel
incredibly
well-informed,
I
thought,
I
thought
your
ideas
and
what
you've
been
already
working
on
is
extremely
helpful.
So
thank
you
so
much,
and
also
thank
you
to
my
colleague,
councillor
O'malley,
for
for
your
leadership
on
getting
this.
This
hearing
done
I'm
personally
very
excited
about
what
I
think
Boston
can
do
a
couple
things
that
I'd
love
to
see
or
hear
your
thoughts
about
may
be
that
we
would
continue
the
conversation
in
a
working
session.
P
One
is
while
we're
talking
about
you
know,
causing
folks
or
businesses
to
pay
I
guess
their
their
their
their
fair
share
and
the
blight
that
they're
bringing
to
the
community
and
D
incentivizing.
You
know
vacancy.
Is
there
any
thought,
or
has
there
been
any
movement
bump
cities
and
and
I
do
support
some
form
of
that,
but
is
there
any
thought
or
any
research
that
you've
done?
That
shows
cities
that
might
be
providing
tax
relief
to
someone
to
get
them
to
do
something?
Maybe
a
pop
up
or
something
like
that
is
there?
Is
there?
P
Has
it
been
any
push
to
say,
okay,
so
your
local
property
taxes
are
due.
We've
received
several
complaints
about
this
being
a
vacant
spot
since
you're.
Already
current
on
your
taxes
and
again
that
was
one
of
their
biggest
issues.
Is
that
people
who
are
paying
their
taxes
and
there's
no
real
problem
with
the
property
that
that
they're
not
going
to
get
under
the
city's
attention?
But
the
problem
is
that
nothing's
happening
for
us,
so
is
there?
Has
there
been
an
incentive
or
have
you
seen
in
any
other
City?
P
P
So
maybe
something
we
could
talk
about
in
the
working
session,
another
thought
for
and
I
really
love
the
the
pop
up
idea.
I
am
part
of
a
you
know:
martial
arts
group.
That's
always
looking
for
her
storefront
to
be
able
to
house
ourselves
and
part
of
my
curiosity
about
you
know
the
business
that
you're
finding
and
the
storefronts
that
that
might
be
available
is.
Do
we
have
a
meet-up
online?
P
Is
there
a
place
where
someone
could
list
list
their
vacant
property
and
a
place
where
local,
nonprofits
or
arts
or
kids
or
organizations
can
also
be
there
almost
like
a
match
or
a
tinder,
or
something
that
we
can
like
match?
These
two
together
is
that
do
you
think
the
city
could
support
that
or
maybe
Main
streets
could
be
part
of
initiating
that
so
that
you
know
we're
getting
those
storefronts
again
that
are
current
on
property
are
not
quite
in
the
blight
level,
but
are
available
and
not
being
used.
T
P
P
You
know
some
something's
calling
out
for
and
then
there's
but
maintained
by
Main
streets,
I
kind
of
wanted
to
follow
up
a
little
bit
on
my
last
question
on
councillor
Flynn's
questioning
about
the
global
market
and
what's
happening
and
I
know,
New
York
has
actually,
when
it
comes
to
some
of
the
vacancy
or
the
unoccupied
units,
they've
followed
their
criminal
statutes
right
and
looking
at
and
began
investigating.
Who
owns
some
of
that
property
because
of
the
fact
that
it
was
used
as
money
laundering
by
some
some
Russian
oligarchs?
P
And
the
fact
is
it's
it's
a
wonderful
way
to
hide
your
money
and
also
inflate
the
housing
prices,
because
you
are
incentivized
to
pump
as
much
money
into
it
right.
So
you
want
to
buy
it
for
as
much
as
possible,
even
if
it's
inflated
amount,
because
you
want
your
money
to
be
kept
safe
and
then
the
building
or
whatever
and
so
I'm
curious
in
your
research
about
Massachusetts
criminals.
P
A
Well,
I'd
like
to
say
thank
you
to
the
panel
for
being
here
for
your
testimony.
It
was
very
informative
and
very
helpful.
We're
gonna
take
public
comments.
Now
we
would
like
to
invite
you
to
stay
for
the
public
comment
period,
but
I
just
want
to,
on
behalf
of
my
colleagues
say.
Thank
you
for
being
you
thank.
K
A
Q
Hello:
everyone
I'm
Danielle
Joseph
from
West
Roxbury
main
streets.
Thank
you
for
holding
this
hearing.
We
are
just
happy
to
be
part
of
this
conversation.
West
Roxbury
main
streets
finds
it
important
to
address
the
commercial
vacancy
issue
in
our
district
and
throughout
Boston.
We
agree
that
long
term
vacancies
damage
the
ability
for
our
business
district
to
thrive.
West,
Roxbury
and
Main
streets
is
committed
to
working
with
the
city
landlords
existing
and
prospective
businesses,
West
Roxbury
residents
and
other
stakeholders
to
promote
the
vibrancy
of
our
Main
Street.
Q
We
appreciate
the
council
for
looking
into
this
issue
and
finding
ways
to
collect
data
and
then
incentivize
our
local
landlords
we'd,
like
would
love
to
be
part
of
the
continued
conversation
and
the
working
groups
in
the
future,
and
we
think
the
other
main
street's
directors
for
being
here
today.
Thank.
Q
U
Name
is
Anthony
Giordano
board,
president
of
Harvey
Mass
I
work
with
the
Lea
very
closely
I'm,
also
a
relatively
new
landlord
in
Rosedale,
Village,
myself
and
I'm,
really
looking
forward
to
all
the
ideas
that
are
coming
forth
here.
The
only
thing
I
want
to
say
is
that
finding
a
good
tenant
is
difficult
and
making
that
match
is
extremely
difficult.
Then
there's
a
lot
of
work
that
goes
on
to
actually
get
to
that
point.
U
A
O
I'm
Brian
Wilson
and
at
43
Lords
Ave
so
I'm
here
because
of
some
of
the
great
work
that
councilman
O'malley
helped
us
with
I
was
one
of
the
tenants
at
128
Brookside,
which
was
the
last
freestanding
artists,
building
in
Jamaica
Plain
that
housed
work
only
spaces
most
of
the
artists
in
that
building.
There
was
22
of
us
that
have
been
displaced
by
a
landlord
and
came
in
to
basically
leave
the
property
vacant.
He
hasn't
submitted
any
plans
to
my
knowledge
for
to
the
city
for
building,
and
this
is
an
issue.
O
It's
an
issue
for
artists,
where
the
new
space
that
I'm
in
is
in
Dorchester,
and
recently
investors
came
to
look
at
that
property
as
well.
Arts
in
this
city
is
is
important
to
the
vitalization
and
the
revitalization
of
certain
neighborhoods
and
there's
no
buildings
left
to
do
that.
To
speak
to
councilman,
Edwards
Philadelphia
did
actually
have
a
revitalization
program
where
they
invited
artists
to
set
up
studios
sort
of
like
a
pop
up,
but
artist
studios.
In
that
space
there
was
tax
breaks
to
the
property
owner
for
allowing
artists
to
work
in
that
space.
O
A
V
Thank
you.
My
name
is
Martin
rut,
I'm
chair
of
the
Neighborhood
Association
of
the
Back
Bay,
but
I'm
not
presenting
an
official
NAB
position
here,
merely
a
number
of
observations
and
comments
based
upon
conversations
that
we've
had
among
our
members.
The
first
point
I'd
like
to
make
is
that
we
make
a
clear
distinction
between
residential
and
commercial
and
in
terms
of
residential.
Well,
one
Daulton
place
is
in
the
Back
Bay,
and
that's
an
illustration
of
one
of
the
challenges
that
we
face.
V
One
of
the
things
I
would
like
to
be
able
to
do
is
to
figure
out
how,
when
somebody
who
owns
a
place
in
one
dalton
place
is
actually
there
and
then
if
we
can
sneak
past
security
and
persuade
them
to
become
members
of
the
neighborhood
association
of
the
Back
Bay
and
join
in
all
our
fun
activities
like
cleaning
up
the
alleys
removing
graffiti
and
so
forth.
We
would,
of
course,
promised
them
the
most
expensive
champagne
if
they
come
along
and
assist
us
in
in
those
activities.
V
The
other
aspect
of
this
and
the
residential
sense
is,
of
course,
the
future
of
short-term
rentals,
on
which
I
know
a
vote.
Is
supposedly
to
be
taken
tomorrow
in
the
city
in
the
City
Council
meeting
and
I'd
like
to
draw
here
upon
experiences
in
Berlin:
that's
Berlin
Germany,
not
Berlin,
New
Hampshire,
because
in
this
endeavor
we
have
done
our
best
with
other
neighborhood
associations
in
Boston
to
draw
upon
experiences
and
attempts
by
cities
not
only
throughout
North
America,
but
also
around
the
world.
V
As
to
what
to
do
and
one
of
the
observations
in
Berlin
was
they
passed
one
set
of
regulations
that
were
pretty
strict
and
then
realized
that
that
wasn't
working?
They
took
a
significant
number
of
units
back
into
the
market
and
then
the
same
number
of
units
popped
up
because
people
were
holding
them
for
hopes
of
a
future
profit.
So
one
of
the
things
that
they
then
decided
was
to
introduce
some
very,
very
harsh
fines.
V
In
fact,
the
maximum
fine,
now,
if
you're
vacant
for
too
long,
which
is
actually
I,
think
the
three
months
rather
than
six
months
is
500,000
euros,
which
is
about
six
hundred
and
seventy
thousand
dollars.
I
think
at
the
current
exchange
rate.
So
that's
one
set
of
issues.
The
other
one
is
commercial
properties,
and
there
are
major
concern
in
the
Back.
V
Bay
is
with
Newbury
Street,
which,
as
you
know,
is
suffering
not
only
from
you
know
local
issues,
because
in
fact
it
turns
out
that
a
number
of
businesses
have
moved
to
other
parts
of
the
city
which
is
not
a
city
bad
for
Boston,
like
the
South
End,
a
number
of
galleries.
Some
people
are
more
interested
in
in
going
to
the
Seaport
or
even
Downtown
Crossing,
but
also,
in
fact,
the
the
global
forces
that
are
affecting
brick-and-mortar
retail
stores
everywhere.
V
Now,
what
our
concern
there
would
be,
what
would
be
the
impact
if
our
vacancy
finds-
and
we
simply
don't
know
so?
We
hope,
for
example,
at
one
of
the
aspects
of
the
short-term
rental
ordinance,
even
though
their
supply
to
residential
is
that
one
will
take
account
and
go
back
regularly
after
six
months
or
a
year
and
see
what
and
see
what
is
going
on.
V
J
Name
is
John
Buxton
I'm,
a
I
live
at
185
Mass
Ave
across
from
Berkley
and
Christian
Science
church
I'm,
a
member
of
the
board
of
the
Fenway
Civic
Association,
but
I'm,
not
speaking
on
behalf
of
the
Association
here.
The
bottom
line
in
this
issue
is
exactly
the
same
as
with
Airbnb
and
other
short-term
rentals.
We
are
destroying
our
neighborhoods
by
allowing
people
to
come
in
build
one
dalton.
J
If
you
wish
takeover
buildings
in
chinatown
and
rent
them
out
by
the
day,
whatever
it
is
they're
doing,
they
are
ruined
our
neighborhoods
people
can
no
longer
who
work
in
the
city
and
who
have
a
requirement
to
live
in
the
city.
They
can't
afford
to
live
in
the
city,
anymore,
I'm
a
little
dismayed,
but
the
other
councillors
are
in
here.
Please
pass
on
these
serious
concerns.
It's
been
going
on
for
a
long
time
to
the
other
councillors,
and
the
city
has
disappeared.
J
N
Thank
you.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
speak
the
meeting.
My
name
is
Mike
jamon
I'm,
a
resident
of
the
Back
Bay
at
Commonwealth,
Avenue
and
I'm,
a
principal
of
urban
Meritage,
a
real
estate
investment
and
development
company.
Over
the
past
12
years,
urban
area
charge
has
invested
on
its
own
and
on
behalf
of
its
clients,
over
five
hundred
million
dollars
on
Newbury
Street
and
has
been
involved
with
the
ownership
of
over
40
buildings.
N
My
comments
related
specifically
to
Newbury
Street
and
should
not
be
construed
as
applying
to
other
neighborhoods
or
neighborhood
retail
in
general,
I'm
gonna
list
some
names
for
everyone
now
true
religion,
jeans,
kitten,
ace
clips
of
saint
bath,
scoop,
NYC,
Jack,
wells,
ibex,
Steven,
Allen,
Jonathan,
Adler,
Bibi,
Nanette,
Lepore,
American,
Apparel
agent,
provocateur.
All
of
these
retailers
left
Newbury
Street
over
the
last
two
years.
None
of
them
left
because
the
rent
was
too
high.
The
attempt
to
provide
a
correlation
between
rent
levels
and
vacancy
is
simply
not
valid.
N
On
Newbury
Street
rents
are
simply
a
function
of
supply
and
demand
these
retailers
left
because
they
were
closing
all
or
most
of
the
stores.
Nationally.
Many
of
these
retailers
actually
performed
well
on
the
very
street,
but
they
were
not
going
to
continue
to
operate
a
single
store.
This
was,
for
the
most
part,
self
inflicted
by
retailers
as
they
over
expanded.
It
was
a
global
market
correction
and
Newbury.
N
Street
was
part
of
the
collateral
damage,
not
the
causative
and
another
wave
will
be
happening
this
year
and
next
year
as
another
example
of
the
effect
of
supply
and
demand
the
Newbury
Street
when
the
retail
market
last
collapse
in
2008-2009
is
a
part
of
the
Great
Recession.
There
were
no
I
repeat,
no
new
retail
is
seeking
space,
rent
levels
could
have
dropped
by
50%
and
it
wouldn't
have
made
a
difference,
as
there
was
no
demand
for
space.
Fortunately,
this
time
is
different.
N
It
is
the
first
time
when
retail
is
facing
a
correction,
yet
the
economy
is
strong.
This
will
result
in
vacancy
being
filled
more
quickly,
but
the
recovery
will
take
some
time.
It
will
not
happen
overnight.
Retail
is
now
more
than
ever
are
extremely
particular
when
it
comes
to
choosing
a
space.
We
have
space
at
344
in
Newbury
Street,
where
we
have
five
retail
is
competing
to
lease
the
space.
Unfortunately,
we
will
be
able
to
choose
only
one
to
fill
the
space.
N
This
doesn't
mean,
however,
that
the
four
other
retailers
will
end
up
on
other
spaces
on
Newbury.
This
particular
space
works
well
for
these
users
and
is
about
the
right
size,
location
and
the
right
Co
tendency
for
the
retailer.
Other
vacancies
on
Newbury
do
not
fulfil
the
requirements
for
this
retailer
I
like
a
mall.
We
simply
can't
move
a
demising
wall
to
make
a
1400
square
foot
space,
2,000
square
feet,
2,400
square
feet,
or
vice
versa.
We
have
stripped
it.
N
We
are
restricted
by
the
dimensions
of
the
buildings
suits
up
I
recently
opened
a
248
in
Newbury
Street.
They
had
been
in
the
market
for
a
new
Bri
Street
location
for
almost
10
years.
They
signed
a
lease
in
December
of
2015
and
it
took
almost
30
months
of
construction
between
the
base
building
and
tenant
improvements
before
they
were
ready
to
open.
This
is
an
example
of
the
new
face
of
retail
and
one
of
the
most
exciting
additions
to
Newbury
Street.
In
years,
it
is
a
brand
that
has
successfully
go
over
globally.
N
N
Some
more
names
for
everyone
now
suits
apply
all
birds,
tea,
Forte,
credo
beauty,
jean
clothes,
cafe,
c
bags,
ferret
e,
alison
Olivia,
the
Tai
ba
la
la
Bow
routes
cafe
Nero
champion
these
would
retail,
is
our
own
new
to
Newbury
Street
and
have
opened
or
will
be
opening
between
now
and
mid-2000
19.
Some
of
these
concepts
didn't
exist
five
years
ago.
All
of
these
retailers
take
significant
time
in
choosing
locations
and
building
their
stores.
There
is
a
light
at
the
end
of
the
tunnel
and
it
isn't
a
freight
train.
N
Newbury
Street
is
successful
because
of
the
retailers
it
is
able
to
attract
retailers
who
share
a
similar
customer
base
like
to
congregate
together.
An
example
of
this
is
Patagonia
Tarek's,
The,
North
Face,
all
on
the
heritage'
Massachusetts
Avenue
block
of
Newberry
title
boxing,
Boston
sports
clubs,
SLT
motion,
fish,
Fitness
Lululemon,
are
also
on
this
block.
Chanel
Tiffany
Valentino
Burberry
law,
piana
Cartier
Bulgari
cost
on
the
fresh
block
of
Newbury.
None
of
these
brands
would
ever
dream
of
moving
to
another
block.
N
When
vacant
spaces
are
filled
haphazardly,
the
damage
can
take
years
to
repair
as
undesirable,
used
to
sign
5
the
Chania
leases.
Some
landlords
have
leased
vacant
space
to
smoke
shops.
There
were
now
four
of
them
on
Newbury
Street
and
we
receive
a
call
of
two
on
almost
a
weekly
basis
from
other
seeking
space.
None
of
the
retailer's
I
am
aware
of
actually
want
to
be
next
to
a
smoke
shop.
That's
part
of
their
coach
Allen,
see
nail.
Salons
are
the
other
low
hanging
fruit
to
fill
vacant
vacant
spaces.
N
This
use
does
not
help
attract
other
retailers
to
come
to
Newbury
as
a
property
owner.
We
make
the
choice
not
to
take
the
quick,
dawa
and
lease
to
these
uses
should
we
are
any
other
landlord
be
penalized
for
this
decision.
Let's
briefly
talk
about
some
numbers:
Newbury
Street
consists
of
342
storefronts
and
it's
now
91%
occupied.
That
is
an
improvement
from
87%
occupied
in
January.
It
still
means
that
there
are
approximately
30
vacancies
on
the
street,
though,
which
into
compare
with
the
actual
size
of
Newbury.
Street
looks
like
a
lot.
N
Most
of
this
vacancy
is
concentrated
on
two
blocks,
one
of
which
has
a
high
concentration
of
smoke,
shops
and
nail
salons,
if
not,
coincidentally,
historically
Newbury
Street
vacancy
increases
in
January
through
March,
and
it
is
the
low
point
in
the
shopping
season
for
consumers
and
whether,
as
a
least
hospitable
to
outdoor
shopping,
lease
is
the
time
this
way
and
is
the
ideal
time
for
new
retailers
to
fill
out
their
space.
Without
this
context,
a
walk
along
Newbury
Street
during
this
time
to
identify
vacancy
or
point
out
market
weakness
is
simply
misleading
for
reference
purposes.
N
They
are
approximately
50
storefronts
in
the
Prudential
Center
and
65
storefronts
in
Copley
Place.
That
makes
the
number
of
storefronts
on
Newbury
Street
approximately
three
times
the
number
of
storefronts
on
the
Prudential
mall
and
Copley
combined
newbie
street
consists
of
eight
blocks
for
comparison.
Rodeo
Drive
in
Beverly,
Hills
and
Worth,
Avenue
and
Palm
Beach
are
three
blocks.
Each.
Our
vision
of
Newbury
Street
is
to
provide
something
for
everyone,
whether
that
is
a
hundred
thousand
dollar
piece
of
jewelry
from
Tiffany
or
Bulgari,
or
a
five
dollar
item
for
TJ,
Maxx,
H&M
or
Nordstrom
Rack.
N
Everyone
can
enjoy
the
atmosphere,
the
people
watching
the
architecture
or
experience
Open
Newbury
at
no
costs
our
ideal
retailers
will
locate
their
only
area
stores
on
Newbury.
This
differentially
experience
the
experience
on
Newbury
from
the
urban
or
suburban
mall.
We
also
experimented
with
different
pop-up
concepts
to
fill
vacant
spaces
and
energize
the
street
and
have
converted
some
of
these
temporary
retailers
to
long
term
leases.
N
If
the
city
is
looking
to
fill
the
vacant
spaces
with
the
right
retailers
and
wants
to
provide
incentives
to
encourage
landlords,
why
not
provide
a
credit
to
the
real
estate
taxes
for
a
year
or
two
when
a
space
gets
filled?
This
directly
benefits
the
retailers
during
the
critical
stabilization
period
for
a
new
location.
The
idea
of
penalizing
landlords
for
vacant
space
can
only
lead
to
poor
or
rash
decisions
in
leasing
spaces
to
the
retail
is
not
appropriate
for
the
location.
Thank
you
again
for
your
time
and
consideration.
W
Playing
at
190,
Green
Street,
so
I'm
around
the
I'm
around
the
corner
from
128
Brookside,
which
the
artist
who
spoke
earlier
spoke
of
also
across
the
street,
from
197
Green
Street,
which
is
currently
vacant
in
3350,
Washington
Street,
which
is
also
vacant
and
I.
Guess
I
want
to
focus
a
little
bit
on
197
green
I.
Think
it's
a
it's
a
story
that
you
folks
should
hear
and
considering
vacancy.
W
So
it's
been
vacant
for
two
years
since
2016,
presumably
due
to
the
current
purchaser
requiring
it
to
be
vacant
to
purchase
it
and
as
a
result
of
of
what
I,
what
I
would
say
is
a
sort
of
speculative
transaction.
My
neighbors
aren't
my
neighbors
anymore.
There's
a
couple.
It
was
I
think
five
flow
income,
people
of
color
live
there
at
barbecues
were
a
really
important
part
of
the
neighborhood.
W
I
still
see
them
on
the
street,
sometimes
when
they
come
by
to
talk
to
folks
on
the
street,
but
they
live
far
out,
probably
and
I
believe
in
Mattapan
or
further
out
and
the
the
sad
thing
is
they
could
have
been
living
there
for
the
past
two
years.
Right
like
they
could
still
be
there
right
now,
if
it
weren't
for
the
sort
of
the
speculative
impetus
sort
of
forcing
them
out
so
I
guess
kind
of
to
echo
what
what
chuck
was
saying
and
some
others
are
saying.
W
Actually,
there
are
more
vacancies
now
than
there
were
during
the
financial
crisis.
In
my
specific
block-
and
that's
that's
sad
to
me
so
I
guess
just
to
close
I-
would
really
urge
you
to
consider
the
the
cost
to
our
neighborhood
and
in
our
social
fabric
that
that
these
vacancies
are
having
and
I
think
the
incentives
or
the
fines
should
be
substantial
and
in
line
with
those
costs.
So
you
know,
with
all
due
respect
to
the
four
hundred
dollar
vacancy
registration
fee
in
Arlington.
I.
Don't
think
that's
really
gonna
do
the
trick
in
Boston.
W
I
feel
like
it
needs
to
be
a
much
more
substantial,
fine
that
that
actually
incentivizes
people
to
do
the
right
thing
with
the
property
and
turn
it
over
or
sell
it
or
whatever.
They
need
to
do
to
to
make
that
sort
of
make
that
that
vacant
space
do
something
for
neighbors
in
the
neighborhood
and
and
or
maybe
use
some
of
those
the
other.
W
The
other
piece
that
I
would
say
is
if
there
are
funds
that
are
levied
from
some
kind
of
tax
or
whatever,
that
those
be
used
to
directly
address
the
vacancy
issue
and
directly
address
the
issue
of
affordable
housing
in
our
communities,
because
it's
folks
are
just
getting
getting
slammed
right
now.
Thank
you.
Thank.
X
My
name
is
Krista
Lane
Ian
I'm,
a
resident
of
one
Huntington
have
in
the
Back
Bay.
It's
been
a
long
afternoon.
I'll
try
to
keep
this
brief,
but
I'm
a
third
generation
property
owner
operator
in
in
Boston.
At
present,
my
company
manages
22
buildings
owns
and
manages
22
buildings
in
the
Back
Bay
for
in
the
south
end
and
to
on
Beacon
Hill,
even
as
resale
leasing
has
seen
an
uptick
in
recent
months,
we're
still
in
the
midst
of
an
industry
transformation.
X
While
my
company
has
comparatively
few
vacancies,
we
still
had
problem
spaces
that
have
sat
vacant
for
longer
than
anyone
has
really
anticipated
before
a
tenant
leaves
I
do
my
best
to
negotiate
terms
to
stay,
and
that
includes
in
many
cases
reducing
their
current
rent.
If
a
property
does
go,
vacant,
I
first
put
money
back
into
the
property
to
turn
it
over
and
make
it
presentable
for
a
new
tenant.
I
have
a
broker
who
works
in
my
office
full-time
whose
only
responsibility
is
to
lease
space.
X
I
pay
monthly
memberships
to
leasing
web
sites
and
I
distribute
all
of
our
listings
on
a
twice
monthly
basis
to
cooperating
brokers
and
even
now,
I'm
offering
cooperating
brokers,
cash
bonuses
in
addition
to
the
half
Commission's
they
would
normally
be
receiving.
In
so
many
words
I'm
doing
everything
in
my
power
to
try
and
get
space
leased.
X
We're
also
not
looking
for
large
increases
in
rent
from
one
tenant
to
the
next.
In
many
cases,
we're
relisting
space
for
what
the
previous
tenant
was
paying
and
in
some
cases
less
than
what
the
previous
tenants
were
paying
the
retail
landscape
is
changing,
simply
put
brick-and-mortar.
Retail
is
deciding
what
it
wants
to
look
like
in
the
next
10
or
15
years.
Couple
that,
with
the
city's
very
disjointed
and
burdensome
zoning
and
permitting
process
and
potential
tenants,
are
going
to
sit
on
the
sidelines
longer
than
they
normally
would
when
deciding.
X
If
and
when
they
want
to
expand
attacks
on
landlords
for
retail
vacancy.
At
a
time
when
most
of
us
are
working
harder
than
ever
to
get
Spacely
feels
like
it's
adding
insult
to
injury.
Newbury
Street
and
Boylston
Street
landlords
have
already
suffered
a
huge
financial
hit
at
the
hands
of
the
city
at
the
2015
spot
tax
assessment
on
commercial
real
estate
tax,
which
resulted
in
some
cases
a
40
percent
tax
increase
on
our
buildings.
Attacks
on
vacancy
won't
help
to
get
space
leased
any
faster,
it'll,
just
frustrate
landlords
and
ultimately
drive
down
property
values.
X
Y
J
Y
Name
is
Eric
Herot
I
am
a
resident
of
Jamaica
Plain,
don't
have
a
direct
interest
in
any
of
the
vacant
properties
in
our
area,
but
obviously,
as
a
resident
I
have
a
lot
of
concerns.
A
couple
of
my
predecessors
brought
up
the
vacancy
of,
or
potential
vacancy
I
should
say
of
the
128
Brookside
artists,
establishment
in
in
Jamaica
Plain,
and
it
is
currently
vacant.
Y
However,
we
don't
know
what
the
plans
going
forward
for
it
are,
but
I
personally
believe
that
there
is
a
strong
possibility
that
the
owner
of
the
property
will
use
its
vacancy
as
a
method
to
try
to
convince
the
neighbors
or
the
city
to
change
the
zoning
plans
for
that
property.
Through
the
Jaypee
rocks
process.
Y
We
sort
of
carefully
considered
exactly
how
we
could
design
the
zoning
for
that
property
so
that
it
was
likely
to
stay
artists,
artists
for
artists
use
and
unfortunately,
that
did
not
succeed
so
I
wanted
I
do
want
to
make
sure
whatever
policy
is
designed
is
designed
careful
carefully
so
as
to
make
sure
to
target
that
particular
form
of
vacancy
I
sympathize
with
commercial
property
owners.
Here
saying
that,
in
fact,
it
is
quite
difficult
to
rent
out
commercial
property.
Y
We
often
as
neighbors
request
that
new
developments
include
commercial
property,
with
the
knowledge
that
there
isn't
necessarily
a
vibrant
commercial
scene
in
the
area
that
the
property
is
being
built,
but
in
the
hope
that
one
day
there
might
be
and
I
think
we
need
to
be
sensitive
to
that
when
designing
a
vacancy
tax.
There
are
properties.
Y
Y
I
personally
know
a
few
people
who
are
owners
of
restaurants
who
have
bought
property
and
sat
on
it
for
two
or
three
years,
while
they
simply
wait
for
their
licensing
to
go
through,
and
that's
just
like
a
completely
normal
part
of
opening
a
restaurant
in
Boston.
If
you're
next
to
one
of
those
properties,
though
you
probably
think
of
it
as
being
blighted,
I,
think
and
I
think
restaurants
are
only
the
tip
of
the
iceberg.
Y
Businesses
are
just
never
going
to
be
able
to
exist
in
the
city
and
a
lot
of
these
small
thousand
square
foot
properties
are
perfect
for
those
kinds
of
businesses,
so
if
we
make
it
impossible
to
start
one
and
in
a
sinking
retail
market,
that
is
a
recipe
for
for
vacancy
anyway.
Thank
you
very
much.
Thank.
Z
L
Z
L
Bringing
diverse
groups
of
people
together
and
they
make
space
to
question
the
status
quo.
We
think
that
these
elements
are
integral
to
maintaining
and
preserving
a
city's
local
character
and
we're
excited
about
ways
that
our
stores
can
be
spaces
for
people
to
come
together.
Around
art
we've
just
completed
a
successful
first
pilot
at
Faneuil,
Hall
Marketplace
right
down
the
road
which
gave
artists
space
to
exhibit
and
brought
together
a
diverse
group
of
people,
many
of
whom
were
locals,
who
hadn't
visited
Fanueil
Hall
in
years
and.
Z
L
First
is
was
brought
up
today.
Already
is
a
forum
for
people
to
flag
vacancies
and
our
experience.
Everybody
has
at
least
one
empty
storefront
that
drives
them
crazy
in
their
neighborhood.
Putting
all
of
this
on
a
map
would
help
crowdsource
a
singular
database
of
the
most
persistent
vacancies,
and
the
data
points
perhaps
could
even
be
collected
using
the
existing
SeeClickFix
interface
and.
Z
I
think
with
that,
what
we're
seeing
as
we
see
as
we
see
as
we
try
to
find
what
is
vacant
is
that
there
are
so
many
technique
of
what
vacancy
means
and
that
compared
to
just
the
lived
experience
of
walking
down
the
street
is
totally
different.
And
then,
beyond
that,
we
are
interested
and
excited
for
a
registry
to
exist
of
vacancies.
We
are
you
know.
We
saw
the
example
in
Arlington
and
we
thought
that
was
great,
that
they
were
able
to
reduce
vacancies
very
successfully
and
I.
Z
Think
that
one
thing
we're
excited
about,
particularly
within
the
city
of
Boston,
is
ways
that
we
could
actually
match
the
problems
of
vacant
storefronts
with
the
strain
that
a
lot
of
artists
are
experiencing
as
they're
being
pushed
to
the
outskirts
of
cities
and
sort
of
beyond.
We
think
that
there's
a
way
to
sort
of
really
bring
these
problems
together
and
also
actively
work
towards
finding
a
straightforward
solution
to
the
Boston
creates
plan
created
by
Mayor
Walsh.
Thank
you
thanks.
Thank.
A
AA
Like
my
friend
Benjy
Benjy
commented
earlier,
the
example
of
the
197
Green
Street
is
a
clear
example
of
displacement,
speculation
and
vacancy
all
in
one
where
family
was
displaced
in
the
transaction
between
one
owner
to
a
corporate
corporate
landlord,
City,
Realty
and
yeah.
It's
really
hurting
the
community
and
the
adjacent
property
is
also
on
the
market
for
almost
three
million
dollars.
Wild
speculation
there
and
all
these
issues
are
being
done
in
this
case.
By
the
same
bad
actor
said
you
Realty
and
I
just
feel
like.
AA
There
has
to
be
a
way
that
we
can
pump
the
brakes
on
these
bad
actors
and
get
them
to
work
with
community
members
to
see
to
see
things
that
will
benefit
the
community
there
and
not
just
be
the
maximum
profit
for
these
corporations.
That,
in
my
opinion,
are
just
a
little
too
greedy,
because
I
mean
even
in
the
case
where
of
the
of
the
property
owner
on
Washington
Street,
where
Le
mojado
is
right
now,
I
know
for
a
fact
that
affordable
housing
can
be
built
there.
AA
A
lot
of
a
good
amount
of
units
can
be
built
there
and
at
a
reasonable
price
if
they
sold
at
a
reasonable
price,
and
they
can
still
make
the
profit
that
would
be
expected
for
somebody
that
owned
the
property
for
as
long
as
they
have,
but
they
don't
want.
What's
expected,
they
want
more
than
that
and
I
feel
like.
We
can
think
of
creative
ways
to
get
bad
actors
to
work
with
the
community
and
I
just
wanted
to
thank
councillor
O'malley
and
councillor
Flynn
for
hosting
this
meeting
and
I
know.
AA
A
You,
sir,
and
does
anybody
else
when
anyone
else
he'd
like
to
testify
hearing
none
before
I,
give
it
a
bit
over
to
my
colleague
I
just
like
to
first
say
thank
you
to
Mayor
Walsh's
staff
for
being
here,
providing
excellent
input,
suggestions
in
the
second
piano
as
well,
but,
most
importantly,
I
want
to
thank
the
public
for
coming
out
for
listening
to
all
the
testimony
for
being
here
for
several
hours.
We've
learned
a
lot
from
your
testimony.
A
I
learned
a
lot
about
the
subject
and
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
for
being
here,
and
you
know
spending
your
time
with
us
and
your
insight
in
knowledge
about
this
subject
was
exceptional,
so
I'm
looking
to
continue
to
work
with
you
and
with
councillor
O'malley
was
doing
great
work
along
with
councilor
city
council
president
as
well,
andrea
campbell.
So
it's
an
honor
to
work
with
you
guys
on
this
issue,
but
that
I'd
like
to
turn
it
over
to
my
colleague,
council
o'malley.
A
B
You
for
holding
this,
thank
you
to
those
that
stuck
around
it's
been
nearly
three
hours
and
I.
Think
that
underscores
the
importance
of
this
issue
and
the
fact
that
it
really
hits
multiple
planes
here.
You
know
we
talk
a
lot
about
intersection
at
its
the
intersection,
intersectionality
and
I.
Think
the
same
can
be
true
as
we're
talking
about
vacancy.
As
we
talk
about
you
know:
business
commercial
vacancy,
as
we
talked
about
residential
high-end
vacancy,
how
that
can
have
an
effect
on
the
overall
housing
stock
as
we
talk
about
vacant
lands
in
the
city's
role.
B
So
there's
a
lot
of
work
that
we
need
to
do
here
as
I
mentioned
earlier.
My
request
to
you,
mr.
chairman,
is
that
rather
than
gavel
gavel
in
this
hearing
to
a
close,
we
recess
the
hearing
meet
again
in
a
working
session.
Many
of
you
have
worked
there,
but
for
those
who
haven't
I
can
explain
a
working
session
is
a
less
formalized
version.
We
will
be
literally
sitting
around
a
table.
I'd
invite
everyone
here
and
others
that
were
here
earlier
you're.
B
All
welcome
I
obviously
want
to
include
those
in
the
business
community
as
well
and
landlords
to
have
a
seat
at
the
table
because,
as
I
said,
my
opening
remarks,
it's
just
not
about
being
punitive.
It's
about
seeing
ways
the
city
can
better
work
on
our
timely,
costly
and
at
times
ineffective,
permitting
process.
So
that's
something
that
we
can
be
having
a
conversation,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day,
as
we
talk
about
what
other
cities
have
done,
I
think
there's
a
real
opportunity
here
to
explore
that
there'll
be
a
whole
host
of
concerns.
B
I
would
think
that
would
go
into
length
of
vacancy
type
of
vacancy,
whether
or
not
there's
been
a
good-faith
effort
of
the
landlord
to
try
to
bring
some
businesses,
as
well
as
some
opportunities
to
look
at
pop
ups,
whether
it's
with
artists,
whether
it's
with
other
businesses,
whether
it's
with
restaurants
or
or
beer
garden,
type
thing
ways
to
really
activate
that
space.
So
I'm
excited
about
this
issue.
It's
a
complicated
issue.
It's
a
tough
issue
but
I
do
think,
there's
an
opportunity
for
a
win-win-win
all
around.