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From YouTube: Community Forum on Disability Issues 2023
Description
Mayor Wu, Disability Commissioner Kristen Mccosh, and members of the Disability Commission Advisory Advisory Board discussed questions and concerns from the community regarding disability issues in the City of Boston at this annual Disability Community Forum.
A
A
Okay,
hi
everyone.
My
name
is
Andrea
Patton
and
I'm,
the
chief
of
staff
for
the
city
of
Boston's
disabilities.
Commission
I,
want
to
welcome
you
to
our
disability,
Community
Forum,
we're
going
to
start
with
a
few
access
notes
to
get
started
and
then
we'll
kick
it
into
the
meat
of.
Why
we're
here,
Colleen
I
know
you
have
a
few
announcements
for
access.
B
Thank
you,
everybody
and
welcome
to
the
disability.
Community
Forum.
This
event
is
being
recorded
and
will
be
posted
on
YouTube
closed
captioning
is
available
on
zoom
and
in
the
room.
If
you
want
to
access
closed
captioning,
please
click
the
CC
button
at
the
bottom
of
your
Zoom
screen.
Asl
interpretation
is
also
available.
B
If
you
would
like
to
have
the
ability
to
multi-pin
the
interpreters,
please
chat.
Disability
staff
such
as
myself
for
any
assistance.
Simultaneous
interpretation
in
Spanish
is
also
available
by
clicking
the
Zoe
globe
on
the
zoom
screen
and
I'm,
going
to
invite
the
Spanish
interpreter
to
give
those
instructions.
Now.
C
B
Thank
you
and
one
more
housekeeping
rule.
Please
refrain
from,
inter
interrupting
interpreters
and
allow
time
for
them
to
finish
translating
before
speaking,
there
will
be
time
for
participants
on
Zoom
to
ask
questions.
Please
use
the
zoom
raise
hand
function
to
indicate.
You
would
like
to
speak
and
please
keep
questions
and
comments
to
under
one
minute
and
mute
yourself
when
you
are
not
speaking.
Finally,
please
identify
yourself
before
speaking
to
increase
accessibility,
I'm
gonna,
kick
it
off
to
Andrea.
A
Thank
you.
If
you
are
in
the
room-
and
you
would
like
to
make
a
comment
or
question-
please
sign
up
at
the
back
or
grab
myself
in
the
blue
polo
and
we
can.
We
will
switch
between
in
person
and
zoom
questions.
There
are
mics
around
the
room.
They
will
need
to
be
turned
on
when
you're
ready
to
use
them
they're
off
right
now,
so
I
can
assist
with
that.
A
If
you
need
to
turn
it
on
to
make
your
questions,
we
are
going
to
try
and
take
as
many
questions
as
we
can
today.
A
D
D
E
E
F
G
Can
you
hear
me?
Okay,
my
name
is
Richard
glovesky
I
live
in
Back
Bay
and
my
priority
being
on
the
commission
is
to
do
whatever
I
can
to
help
those
who
have
disabilities,
whether
they're
physical
or
mental,
to
live
the
complete
life
that
they
want
to
live
in
this
city
and
anything
that
we
can
do
in
that
regard.
I'm
sure
everybody
who's
on
the
commission
would
be
most
interested
in
hearing
from
you.
If
it's
not
something
we're
doing
right
now,.
H
Good
afternoon
everybody,
my
name
is
Lucia
lebowskaya
and
I
am
from
Boston.
I
live
in
Mission
Hills
specifically,
and
my
priority
is
the
autism
advocacy
specifically
is
access
for
education
and
job
opportunities
and
I'm,
the
vice
chair
and
in
specifics
to
our
general
advocacy.
It's
it's
a
work
in
progress,
but
there
has
been
some
accomplishments,
but
it's
it's.
Maybe
it's
one
step
at
a
time,
but
I'm
staying
optimistic.
Thank
you.
I
Good
afternoon
my
name
is
Paul.
Karen
I
serve
as
the
board's
secretary
and
as
an
advocate
for
mental
illness.
This
being
mental
illness,
aware
awareness
month
of
May,
my
line
is
always
open
to
whoever
needs
help
with
anything.
As
an
advocate
can
help
put
you
in
the
right
direction,
hopefully
with
education,
housing,
medication
and
if
I
can't
help,
then
I
gladly
would
try
to
get
someone
that
will
help.
J
J
One
is
information,
act
that,
whether
that
be
cheap
and
affordable
internet
because
access
the
information
is
access
to
knowledge
and
access
to
power
and
equal
access,
so
information
access
and
that
could
be
cheap
and
affordable
internet
Wi-Fi
captioning
that
wet
mentioned
on
television
audio
description,
just
access
to
accessible
website,
just
access
to
information
in
general,
because
without
that
we
can't
be
on
equal
footing
in
terms
of
Transportation
medical,
although
I
think
the
other
thing
is
physical
access
to
public
places.
J
So
that
means
you
know
not
just
the
public
places
themselves,
but
sidewalks,
audible,
pedestrian
signals,
because
you
know
tactile
warning
strip.
You
know
acceptable
lamp
for
those
with
who
use
Wheelchairs
and
and
people
like
myself,
who
don't
want
to
trip
over
curbs,
so
it
it
it
just
for
those
who
can't
do
Drive
access
to
public
transportation
and
and
work
roads
and
sidewalks
and
traffic
is
also
important.
Thank
you.
K
Hi,
my
name
is
Jerry
Boyd
I
live
in
West,
Roxbury
and
I'm,
a
proud
member
of
The
Advisory
Board
and
have
been
for
seven
or
so
years
priorities
for
me,
I
Echo,
pretty
much
all
that
everyone
else
has
has
stated
on
the
board
and
and
also
in
addition
to
me,
transportation
and
access
to
public
transportation
is
extremely
important
to
me,
as
well
as
as
well
as
housing
and
access
to
housing,
because
without
without
those
two
things,
people
with
disabilities
cannot
be
seen
as
full
as
full
members
of
society.
K
So
we
look
forward
to
hearing
from
you
today.
L
I
have
my
two
particular
areas
of
priority
are
accessible
transportation
and
access
for
inclusion
for
people
with
disabilities
hidden
or
not
hidden
in
all
walks
of
daily
life,
but
particularly
in
them
in
medical
settings
to
make
sure
that
people
have
access,
whether
it's
to
their
Clinic,
their
Hospital
encounter.
M
Good
afternoon
my
name
is
zarya,
Amir,
hussaini
and
I
live
in
South,
Boston
and
I
work
at
Mass,
General
I
represent
an
advocate
for
patients
with
disabilities
and
I
guess.
My
priority
is
to
really
add
a
to
our
diversity,
equity
and
inclusion
efforts.
So,
instead
of
just
saying
Dei,
we
should
say
d-e-I-a
diversity,
Equity
inclusion
and
accessibility
in
healthcare,
because
without
it
we
don't
have
our
basic
needs
met,
and
we
should
actually
make
sure
that
our
patients
have
full
access
to
health
care.
N
D
All
right,
thank
you.
Everybody,
thanks
to
all
the
board
members,
and
for
those
of
you
who
don't
know
our
Advisory
Board
holds.
Excuse
me
holds
monthly
public
meetings.
We
encourage
you
all
to
attend.
They
are
held
on
Zoom.
You
can
find
more
information
at
our
website.
Boston.Gov
disability.
They
do
a
wonderful
job
advocating
for
you,
so
I'd
like
to
give
them
a
round
of
applause.
Thank
you.
D
And
really
briefly,
my
role
in
the
city
is
the
disability
commissioner,
as
well
as
the
Ada
Title
II
coordinator.
So
we
work
on
ensuring
that
everything
overseen
by
the
city
of
Boston
is
accessible
and
inclusive.
This
is
everything
from
streets
and
sidewalks
to
programs
and
policies
to
meetings
to
public
events.
So
we
are
here
today
really
to
listen
to
you.
D
D
D
And
I'm
thrilled
to
see
such
a
great
turnout
in
person
and
on
Zoom,
so
we
did
ask
people
to
pre-submit
a
number
of
questions
and
we're
not
going
to
go
over
all
of
those,
but
I
do
want
to
just
mention
two
themes
that
we
saw.
The
first
one
is
housing,
so
our
efforts
towards
housing
are
really
systemic.
We
don't
do
placement
in
our
office,
but
we
work
very
closely
with
the
office
of
housing
stability.
That's
a
separate
City
Department
that
helps
people
find
housing.
We
also
work
with
The
Fair
Housing
Commission.
D
They
work
on
people
who
have
housing
discrimination
issues.
Then
we
also
work
on
reviewing
new
building
developments
to
make
sure
that
they're
accessible
and
inclusive.
So
if
anyone
has
questions
about
any
of
these
housing
issues,
we
will
refer
you
to
those
departments,
but
just
know
that
we
do
work
on
housing.
We
just
work
on
it
in
a
systemic
manner.
The
other
theme
that
we
heard
a
lot
of
in
questions
was
the
MBTA.
D
D
The
head
of
system-wide
access,
I
believe
she's
joining
us
on
Zoom
today,
and
if
we
have
any
MBTA
questions,
we
will
ask
Laura
to
respond
if
she's
able
so
I
just
want
to
wrap
up
by
saying
we
won't
be
able
to
answer
all
the
questions
today,
but,
as
Andrea
said
earlier,
we
will
get
back
to
people
and
we're
going
to
publish
a
question
and
answer
guide
after
the
event
today.
So
with
that
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
to
Andrea
to
kick
off
the
questions.
A
Great,
thank
you,
commissioner,
and
so
we
will
be
going
back
and
forth
between
questions
in
the
room
and
questions
from
Zoom.
So
I'll
start
with
an
in-room
question:
Don
Summerfield
that
microphone
work
for
you
done.
D
F
O
All
right,
thank
you
and
Bill
Henning
with
Boston
Center
for
Independent
Living
I'll.
Try
to
be
really
brief.
You
just
mentioned
you
handle
lots
of
or
had
lots
of
inquiries
on
housing,
and
certainly
we
would
say
that's
the
biggest
issue.
I
think
facing
people
in
the
city
are
the
most
disruptive.
O
It's
dangerous,
of
course,
ranking
things,
because
if
you
have
housing
and
say
have
an
issue
with
the
tea
which
you
mentioned,
then
that's
the
biggest
issue,
but
I
I
applaud
you
for
working
on
things
systemically
and
I.
Think
I'll
repeat
what
I
said
last
year.
It
was
a
very
deep
and
very
very
well
stated
phrase.
So
that's
why
I'll
bring
it
up.
We
need
units
units,
units
and
units
units,
units
units
and
units.
O
We
need
more
housing,
it
wasn't
too
profound,
but
it's
very
obvious
and
we
need
to
look
at
accessibility
as
well
expanding
how
we
think
of
accessibility,
Beyond,
just
the
vital
physical
access
we
know
about,
but
also
for
things
such
as
open,
shelving
lighting,
Acoustics,
etc
for
people
with
neurodeiversities
and
other
matters
and
appreciate
the
collaboration
with
the
commission.
Thank
you.
D
I'll
just
give
a
brief
response
to
that.
The
way
we
work
systemically,
we
have
three
members
of
my
staff
are
our
what
we
call
our
architectural
access
team.
They
are
Architects
and
engineers
and
they
review
building
plans
for
new
large
developments
in
Boston
and
they
look
at
things
like
a
redundant
elevator
in
case
one
elevator
goes
down.
They
make
sure
that
doorways
are
wide
enough
and-
and
then
things
like
you
mentioned
too
build
lighting
and
other
issues
that
we
really
need
to
pay
attention
to.
D
We
also
have
an
internal
working
group
called
the
disability
housing
task
force
that
works
on
pushing
the
envelope.
Once
we
get
more
units
approved.
What
can
we
do
to
really
make
them
not
only
meeting
the
bare
minimum
code
but
to
make
them
fully
accessible
and
inclusive,
and
one
thing
I
forgot
to
mention
at
the
beginning
is
that
we
do
produce
an
annual
report,
and
that
is
here
live.
D
A
P
Thank
you
Andrea,
and
this
question
is
from
Maryland
and
it's
about
the
MBTA
and
the
ride.
The
question
is:
is
it
true
that
the
right
drivers
and
right
passengers
do
not
have
to
wear
masks.
L
Could
I
have
the
floor
please
for
a
moment:
I
guess:
I'm
Elizabeth
Dean
Clower
I'd
like
to
acknowledge
that
Michelle
stealer
and
her
staff
are
in
the
room
Michelle.
If
you
could
just
you
and
your
staff
could
raise
your
hands
that
they
work
actually
separately.
There's
a
writer's
Transportation
access
group,
our
tag
who
works
in
an
an
ad
and.
K
L
You
advisory
and
proactively
working
with
her
office,
so
her
office
is
on
those
specific
questions
to
do
with
that
part
of
Paratransit
Michelle
is
here
in
the
room:
I,
don't
know
for
the
purposes
of
today's
format.
Q
That
is
true.
We
lifted
it
based
on
the
lifting
of
the
state
of
emergency,
but
we
do
continue
to
encourage
both
our
employees
and
our
customers
to
wear
masks,
and
we've
noted
that
on
our
website
as
well
and
I
suspect,
there
may
be
more
ride.
Questions
and
I
would
defer
to
the
board
here
on
how
you'd
like
me
to
address
them.
You
could
take
notes
and
attempt
to
address
them
at
the
end,
but
again
whatever
your
preference
is
thank.
A
L
Yeah,
oh
and
ironically,
the
word
I
was
looking
for
was
advocacy
that,
whether
as
board
members
or
on
through
our
tag,
it's
advocacy
on
behalf
of
the
disability
community.
That
is
our
goal
and
hearing
the
updates
I'm
working
with
Michelle
on
the
policies
as
they
exist
and
we'd
like
to
see
them
change.
Q
I,
don't
want
to
hijack
your
meeting
here,
but
I
just
want
to
say.
Thank
you.
It's
a
pleasure
to
deal
with
our
attack
and
I
think
that
we've
made
great
strides
in
the
just
over
a
year
that
I've
been
here
a
great
Approach
collaboratively
at
addressing
systemic
issues
and
I.
Think
things
are
only
going
to
get
better
for
those
of
you
that
have
concerns,
but
we're
moving
in
a
great
Direction.
K
Yes
and
work
closely
with
Elizabeth
and
Michelle
and
her
her
team
on
the
art
tag,
there's
a
subcommittee
that
deals
specifically
with
the
ride
and
and
I'm
happy
to
to
participate
and
sit
on
that
and
a
former
chair
of
that
committee
so
happy
to
work
with
Michelle
and
her
team
and
again
Echo.
What
Michelle
says:
I
think
we
we
do
have
a
good
collaborative
relationship.
Although
there's
there's
many
miles
to
go
to
to
fix
some
of
the
issues,
but
we're
we're
determined
to
work
together
to
to
hopefully
come
up
with
Solutions.
A
R
What's
up
y'all,
my
name
is
Jay,
my
pronouns.
Are
he
him
his
I'm
here
to
celebrate
a
win
and
look
for
a
partnership
with
y'all
I'm,
a
person
who
lives
with
a
mental
health
disability
I
am
also
a
social
worker
and
I
work
in
peer
support
and
most
recently
work
with
nami
Massachusetts
I'm.
Also
a
comedian
and
musician.
In
next
march
for
disability
awareness
month,
I'm
partnering
with
a
Comedy
Festival
from
Seattle
to
come
to
Boston
and
do
the
festival
here.
R
I,
just
yeah
I'm
really
excited
for
it.
I'm
looking
for
partnership
for
support
the
venues
that
are
interested
so
far,
the
House
of
Blues
Brighton,
Music,
Hall
and
Paradise
Rock
Club.
So
it
should
be
like
a
we're
trying
to
make
it
like
a
big
deal
and
would
love
as
much
support
as
we
can
get,
but
yeah.
That's
just
I
just
want
to
share
that
win
and
see
how
we
can
work
together.
Thank
you.
D
Thank
you
so
much
for
coming,
and
thank
you
for
speaking
up
this
really.
What
this
forum
is
about
is
that
we
want
to
hear
from
the
community
so
all
kinds
of
issues,
and
that's
that's
great
to
to
know
your
work
with
nami
my
office
also
Partners
closely
with
disability
non-profits.
We
work
very
closely
with
Bill
Henning
at
bcil.
We
work
with
partners
for
youth
with
disability,
I,
see
Mary
Mahan
here
from
the
mass
office
on
disability
and
Michelle
I'm.
D
A
B
Yes,
Melita.
We
are
going
to
call
on
you
next,
please
unmute!
If
you
can,
if
you
need
help
I'm
getting
there.
B
S
S
S
Okay,
I
live
in
Roslindale
and
there's
there's
a
big
bike
initiative.
That's
going
on
along
Poplar,
Street
and
Poplar.
Street
is
one
of
the
places
near
my
house
that
I
tend
to
walk
or
wheel
down
just
to
get
from
my
house
to
the
center
of
town
or
to
get
to
a
bus,
and
the
the
street
is
the
the
wheelchair
Cuts
need
repair
and
because
it
makes
it
very
difficult
if
I'm
on
crutches,
I'm
gonna
flop
on
my
face
and
they're,
what
do
you
call
it?
S
The
this
the
slabs
on
the
sidewalk
are
not
even
so
one
might
be
a
little
lower
and
this
one
might
be
up
right
next
to
it
there
there
are
cracks
and
all
sorts
of
things
along
the
sidewalk.
Now
the
Poplar
Street
begins
at
Washington
and
Poplar.
Okay,
which
is
CL,
is
the
middle
of
Roslindale
Square,
and
it
goes
all
the
way
up
and
around
and
I
know
that
other
people
who
use
wheelchair
all
the
time
have
problems.
S
A
lot
of
people
have
stopped
coming
into
town
because
of
these
issues
or
they're
in
the
streets
they're
in
the
streets,
so
I've
gone
to
other
parts
of
town,
including
Boylston
Street,
and
the
issues
very
similar
and
the
cuts
in
the
road
are
just
you
know
it's
supposed
to
be
wheelchair
and
disability
accessible,
but
if
they're,
some
of
them
slide
off,
okay
and
they're,
just
not
being
no
one's
being
accountable
for
them,
and
I'd
really
like
to
see
something
change:
okay,.
D
Thank
you
so
much
yeah.
Thank
you
for
the
question.
We
really
appreciate
it.
So
one
thing
I
like
to
tell
people
it's
not
an
excuse,
but
just
to
keep
in
mind
that
Boston
is
a
very
unique
City,
we're
an
old
city
where
a
historical
City,
where
a
very
densely
packed
City
we're
a
vertical
City
and
we're
a
winter
city.
So
we
already
have
a
bunch
of
baked
in
challenges
with
that
being
said,
we
also
have
political
will
to
get
things
done
right.
D
We
have
laws
and
other
building
requirements
that
we
have
to
adhere
to,
and
we
also
have
a
really
dedicated
City
staff
who
pay
attention
to
these
things.
So
with
that,
I
would
like
to
turn
it
over
to
our
director
of
architectural
access,
Patricia
Mendez
and
some
of
her
staff
also
work
very
closely
on
streets
and
sidewalks,
but
Patricia
you
can
take
it.
Thank
you.
P
Yeah
Malita,
thank
you
so
much
for
your
question.
I
know
exactly
where
Poplar
Street
is
and
I'm
taking
note
of
from
your
your
report
and
we'll
take
a
look
at
the
corpcats
and
this
sidewalk
and
we
communicate
with
Public
Works
to
make
sure
that
they
know
of
the
the
condition.
So,
thank
you
very
much
for
your
questions
and
we're
taking
notes
and.
D
I
will
also
add
that
oftentimes
when
we
get
a
complaint
about
a
sidewalk
or
a
curb
cut,
we
put
the
request
in
the
system,
but
it
doesn't
always
mean
it's
going
to
get
fixed
overnight,
because
the
public
works
department
will
have
to
make
plans.
They
have
to
put
the
job
out
to
bid.
So
sometimes
it
can
be
a
year
or
two
process,
but
that
doesn't
mean
that
we're
not
paying
attention
to
it
so
I
would
encourage
people
to
call
3-1-1
or
do
the
app
so
that
they
can
report
it.
D
Because
then
you
get
a
ticket
and
you
can
check
in
on
the
system
to
see
where
it
is
in
the
system
and
that's
something
that
you
can
follow
along.
The
public
works
department
will
come
to
make
an
area
safe
with
a
an
asphalt
patch.
If
that's
something
that
would
be
helpful
but
reconstructing
a
whole
sidewalk
is
a
process
that
takes
time
and
I'd
also
like
to
note
that
our
senior
architectural
access
specialist,
Sarah
Leung
sits
on
the
public
Improvement
commission,
which
is
a
city
body
that
oversees
all
work
done
on
public
rights
of
way.
D
B
T
Sure
I
just
love
to
hear
more
about
services
for
people
with
mental
health
and
addictions,
challenges
in
the
city
of
Boston
I,
put
into
the
chat
my
website,
an
email
and
phone
number.
We
operate
for
Recovery
centers
in
Boston,
they're,
all
free
open
to
anybody,
and
we
have
a
peer
support
line.
People
can
call
and
we
really
help
people
look
for
work
and
employment
and
build
hope
and
Community.
What
other
resources
is
the
city
of
Boston
doing
to
serve
people
with
mental
health
issues.
A
Let
me
put
this
down.
This
is
Andrea
with
the
disabilities
commission,
so
the
Boston
Public
Health
commission
about
a
year
ago
now
hired
a
new
director
of
Behavioral
Health,
an
MD
from
one
of
the
local
hospitals
and
apologies
I,
don't
remember
which
one
from
children's
thank
you
Patricia
to
lead
a
new
dedicated
Bureau
of
Behavioral
Health
initiatives.
So
a
lot
of
the
work
that
the
city
does
does
come
through
the
Health
commission
or
bphc.
D
Yeah
and
on
that
note,
I'll
also
mention
that
may
is
mental
health
month
and
as
Paul
Karen
mentioned,
he
is
really
our
strong
Advocate
on
the
board
for
mental
health
issues.
So
we
don't
really
do
any
Direct
Services
for
mental
health
in
our
office,
but
my
constituent,
Services
specialist,
is
a
licensed
social
worker,
a
master's
level,
social
worker
and
he's
the
person
who
handles
our
constituent
inquiries,
and
he
also
sits
on
a
committee
with
the
Boston
Police
Department,
which
is
the
co-responder
committee.
D
This
program
embeds
a
mental
health
clinician
with
the
police
when
they
respond
to
mental
health.
Calls
so
Chris
sits
on
this
committee
and
gets
all
the
information
about
what
the
latest
programs
are
with
the
police,
because
we
know
that
there
are
interactions
between
the
police
and
people
with
disabilities.
That
really
could
use
help
from
a
clinician
we
also
partner
with
non-profits
in
this
world,
but
because
we
have
such
a
small
staff,
we
don't
work
directly
on
mental
health
issues.
D
A
Great,
this
is
Andrea
again
we
have
one
final
pre-signed
up
question
asker,
Lynn
lindan.
Would
you
like
to
come
grab
a
mic
or
I
can
bring
one
to
you.
U
Okay,
I,
actually
don't
have
a
question
either
I'm
here
representing
the
commission.
I'm
sorry
I
want
to
make
sure
the
center
for
Working
Families,
which
is
a
new
division
within
the
city
of
Boston
and
my
role:
I'm,
the
disability
ambassador
and
the
Outreach
to
the
disability
world
for
the
taxes
and
the
different
circumstances.
I've
got
a
lot
of
material.
I
won't
waste
your
time,
but
it's
just
to
say,
hi
and
I'm.
Here.
D
Thank
you
so
I
know
the
mayor
will
be
here
in
just
a
few
more
minutes,
but
if
we
have
no
other
questions,
no
questions
right
now,
Andrew,
okay,
I
would
like
to
ask
on
Lee
to
it.
Would
you
stand
up
and
introduce
yourself
on
is
part
of
our
Equity
cabinet?
I.
Don't
know,
I
didn't
mention
this
at
the
time,
but
our
office
falls
under
the
department
of
equity
and
inclusion.
It's
a
new
role
for
us.
D
V
Is
Chief
coming
hi
everyone?
My
name
is
Andre
I'm,
the
director
of
policy
research
for
the
equity
inclusion
cabinet,
our
team.
V
We
have
a
core
team
of
around
10
people
who
support
the
work
of
our
eight
departments,
which
includes
the
commission
on
personal
disabilities
and
seven
other
departments.
Our
team
also
covers
a
few
topic
areas:
racial
Justice,
city-wide,
supporting
indigenous
communities
fellowship
and
economic
Mobility,
which
we're
sort
of
bringing
back
as
a
sort
of
focus,
City
function
for
communities
that
have
been
historically
excluded,
and
so
that's
sort
of
the
framing
that
we
want
to.
V
You
know
lead
with
and
go
with
in
that,
it's
not
that
members
of
these
communities,
members
of
our
communities,
have
excluded
themselves,
but
that
they
have
been
excluded
by
the
structures
that
we've
put
into
place
and
so
we're
working
to
try
to
embed
equity
and
inclusion
in
all
of
the
services
and
programs
and
policies
the
city
has.
V
And
so
we
just
love
being
there
together
with
leaders
like
commissioner
makash
and
her
team,
as
well
as
other
seven
teams,
to
sort
of
work
at
these
intersections
and
advise
all
of
our
sister
city
departments
to
improve
their
work
so
that
it's
more
Equitable
and
inclusive.
D
Thank
you
on
and
just
to
let
everybody
know
we
are
posting
a
position
for
a
training
specialist.
So
if
anyone's
interested
in
applying
this
person
will
help
to
train,
develop
trainings
about
disability,
not
only
interacting
with
people
with
disabilities,
but
different
topics
like
we
have
a
meeting,
an
accessibilities
checklist
to
ensure
that
all
meetings,
the
city
does
are
accessible
and
Outreach
engagement
to
ensure
that
we're
paying
attention
to
communication,
and
so
look
for
that
position.
If
you're
interested
and
can
I
call
in
another
staff
person
to
introduce
themselves
John
Romano
I'm.
W
Hello,
my
name
is
John
Romano
I'm,
the
chief
of
staff
of
the
community
engagement
cabinet
in
our
cabinet.
We
cover
the
office
and
Neighborhood
Services,
the
301
Department
Civic
organizing
department
and
then
spark
Boston,
which
is
our
young,
adult
Council
kind
of
you
know,
he's
the
next
version
up
of
the
Mary's
youth
Council,
so
happy
to
be
here
with
you
all
seen
some
of
your
faces
before
and
glad
to
be
a
resource.
D
Thank
you
John,
and
while
we
wait
for
the
mayor,
do
we
have
any
other
questions.
A
I
was
going
to
ask
the
office
of
fair
housing
if
they're
willing
to
introduce
themselves
because
I
know
we
get
a
lot
of
calls
about
housing
issues
and
folks
may
not
know
that
housing
discrimination
is
not
covered
under
the
Americans,
with
Disabilities
Act,
it's
a
different
law,
and
that's
why
we
have
a
different
office.
We've
got
two
excellent
colleagues
here
today.
If
you
wouldn't
mind
introducing
yourselves.
X
Hi
everybody,
my
name
whoa
I'm,
not
used
to
using
one
of
these.
My
name
is
Maggie
Callahan
I
am
one
of
our
senior
investigators
with
the
office
of
fair
housing
and
Equity.
We
work
a
lot
together.
We
also
sit
right
next
to
each
other,
which
is
really
useful
when
we
have
housing.
Complaints
regarding
disability
access,
modifications,
reasonable
accommodations,
and
so
we
are
a
resource.
X
If
you
believe
that
you
are
being
discriminated
against,
whether
that
is
during
the
application,
finding
housing
or
that's
while
you
are
a
tenant
or
you're
buying
or
you
have
already
bought
a
home,
so
please
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
us.
I
have
cards
if
you
can
stop
by
afterwards
with
my
phone
number
and
email.
Thank
you.
So
much.
D
D
Great
thank
you,
and
while
we
do
have
another
minute
or
two
before
May
Wu
arrives
I'd
like
to
turn
to
my
Advisory
board
and
see
if
anyone
wants
to
talk
about
any
initiatives
that
we've
worked
on,
that
they
feel
are
important
or
anything
that
they're
looking
forward
to.
If
you
want
to
talk
in
more
detail
about
anything,
please
do
so.
This
meeting
is
really
to
introduce
you
to
the
community.
J
I
I
will
just
mention
one
thing
briefly
because
of
the
this
is
Carl
Richardson
because
of
the
thick,
that
of
this
commission
and
the
mayor's
office
on
persons
with
the
disabilities
and
the
help
of
the
city,
conflict
path
and
the
caption
and
ordinance
for
the
city
of
Boston.
The
legislature
at
the
State
House
did
look
at
that
and
have
introduced
two
bills.
J
One
in
the
Senate
one
in
the
house
recommended
to
do
something
similar
Statewide
saying
all
places
of
a
public
accommodation
will
have
to
display
captions
when
requested
to
do
so
so
hopefully,
Boston's
initiative
will
be
ordinance,
will
become
a
template,
Statewide
and
and
that
that's
good
today,
at
the
State
Health
is
a
wheelchair
warranty
bill
being
heard
for
those
to
to
get
wheelchairs,
fixed
and
maintained
in
the
more
timely
manner
and
there's
a
lot
of
things.
J
Ethnicity
does
work
very
closely
with
the
state
on
a
lot
of
initiatives
and
things
and
I
also
had
the
honor
of
visiting
the
the
new
Memorial
in
the
mountain,
Luther,
King,
memorial
and
I
know
they
did
some
access
features
there.
So
that
was
nice
to
be
able
to
take
a
part
of
that
and
be
a
part
of
that
as
the
citizen
of
the
city
of
Boston.
D
Thank
you,
Kyle
I
think
we
have
a
couple
questions
on
Zoom.
We
can
take
another
one.
B
Or
I
am
going
to
ask
John
Kelly
to
and
mute.
Please
ask
your
question
in
one
minute.
Y
Yeah.
Thank
you.
My
big
supporter
of
the
board
I'm
a
former
member
now
I
am
director
of
second
thoughts.
Y
Massachusetts,
disability
rights,
Advocates
against
assisted
suicide
and
I
hope
that
the
board
will
continue
to
oppose
assisted
suicide
laws
like
the
bills
before
the
legislature
and
also
to
let
the
community
know
that
a
United
spinal
and
not
dead
yet
has
filed
a
federal
lawsuit
in
California
calling
for
the
law
to
be
invalidated
because
it
discriminates
against
disabled
people,
because
it
doesn't
give
us
the
same
suicide
protection
as
a
non-disabled
people
and
that
assisted
suicide
is
a
form
of
deadly
discrimination
against
disabled
people.
So
thank
you.
D
Thank
you,
John
and
John
is
being
extremely
modest.
John
is
one
of
the
strongest
Disability
Advocates
in
Boston.
He
actually
founded
the
he
reinstated.
The
disability
commission
Advisory
Board
back
in
2009.
He
was
outboard
chair
for
several
years.
He
does
incredible
work.
D
He
used
to
have
a
neighborhood
advocacy
group,
I,
can't
think
of
the
name
of
it
now,
but
I
know
you
did
a
lot
of
work
on
streets
and
sidewalks,
he's
personally
responsible
for
a
lot
of
the
big
projects
that
you've
seen
in
Boston,
including
the
accessible
path
on
City
Hall
Plaza,
which
we
were
able
to
have
Mayor
Menino
give
the
okay
on.
It
was
a
really
big
deal
because
City
Hall
Plaza
is
historic
and
with
all
the
bricks
on
it
it
was
traditionally
very
inaccessible.
D
So
John,
through
his
advocacy
work,
was
able
to
work
with
the
city
to
get
an
accessible
path
of
travel
in
Asphalt
put
on
the
Plaza
over
10
years
ago,
and
following
that,
the
success
of
that
we
just
had
the
whole
renovation
of
City
Hall
Plaza
to
match
the
accessible
path.
So
thank
you
John
for
those
comments
and
I
know.
The
board
has
supported
this
initiative
in
the
past
and
will
consider
in
the
future
what
they
want
to
do
about
it.
But
thank
you
very
much.
Z
D
Thanks
John
and
then
one
other
note
about
access
in
City
Hall.
We
are
right
now
in
the
process
of
installing
a
vertical
lift
on
the
mezzanine.
If
you
can
picture
City
Hall
when
you
enter
on
the
third
floor,
there
is
an
area
right
in
front
of
you.
That
is
a
a
tall
area
of
brick,
steps
that
lead
to
a
little
area
where
people
have
press
conferences.
There
are
tables
where
you
can
eat.
D
We
have
events
there
and
the
only
way
to
access
it
now
is
with
an
inclined
stairlift
which
someone
in
a
wheelchair
can
roll
onto
the
left
and
the
lift
goes
up
the
stairs
vertically
I'm.
Sorry,
it
goes
along
the
stair
rail,
but
we
got
a
grant
from
the
mass
office
on
disability.
Thank
you
Mary
to
install
a
vertical
lift,
which
is
much
more
dignified
and
much
more
accessible.
So
we
are
currently
under
construction
right
now
and
it
will
be
finished
at
the
end
of
May.
D
AA
Sure
thank
you
for
having
me
here,
not
really
a
question
I'm.
Just
my
name
is
Jay
candle
I
developed
the
Ahoy
app
I'm
the
founder.
AA
D
AB
Is
it
afternoon?
Oh,
it's
already
way
afternoon
good
afternoon,
everyone,
it's
been
a
busy
time
in
Boston
and
I
hope
everyone
is
getting
a
some
chance
to
enjoy
the
gorgeous
weather
outside
I
think
it
always
brings
a
smile
to
everyone's
face
when
we
finally
arrive
at
this
point
in
the
calendar
year
when
it
warms
up.
Thank
you
so
much
to
commissioner
Kosh
and
her
entire
team
to
everyone
who
is
on
the
commission
leading
the
charge
in
Boston
to
ensure
that
we
can
be
a
city
for
everyone
in
every
sense
of
that
word.
AB
I'm
excited
to
see
so
many
friends
here
and
to
see
Advocates
and
Community
leaders
who
really
embody
our
commitment
to
ensuring
that
we
are
a
leading
City
when
it
comes
to
full
accessibility
and
opportunity
for
each
community
I
remember
last
year.
It
doesn't
seem
like
that
long
ago
that
we
were
just
here
and
I'm
getting
a
chance
to
meet
so
many
then,
and
hello,
oh
and
now
I'm,
seeing
hello
and
welcome
to
our
Zoom
participants
as
well.
AB
So
many
who
are
are
joining
in
multiple
ways:
I'm
going
to
try
to
keep
my
remarks
short
I.
Actually,
really
don't
like
giving
speeches
I
much
prefer
to
listen
and
hear
what
is
on
everyone's
minds
and
and
to
be
here
in
community
and
and
see
what
we
should
be
working
on
in
City
Hall.
Even
more
I
will
just
wanted
to
reflect
a
little
bit
on
a
really
great
visit.
AB
We
know
that
Transportation
has
been
a
big
issue
and
we
even
just
in
observing
a
small
stretch
of
the
roadway
in
the
downtown
area
on
Temple
Street,
seeing
the
challenges
of
different
property
owners
and
the
bumpiness
of
the
sidewalk,
the
barriers
that
it
creates
when
City
infrastructure
can
be
Complicated
by
the
layers
of
history
that
our
city
has
in
the
and
the
many
different
carve
outs
in
that
legal
system.
That
happened.
AB
Long
before
the
Ada,
we
are
now
working
to
go
above
and
beyond
and
ensure
that
we
can
provide
the
Partnerships
and
coordination
so
that,
no
matter
what
part
of
the
city,
no
matter
who
the
property
owners
are,
we
can
ensure
accessibility
for
all
and
I
want
to
thank
the
disabilities
commission
for
their
collaboration
with
our
streets
cabinet
on
the
Boston
brakes
project
to
create
opportunities
for
the
cycling
Community
to
better
understand
the
disability.
Community's
needs,
as
we
continue
to
to
work
on
all
of
our
sidewalks
and
intersections
to
be
safe
for
all.
AB
I
also
wanted
just
to
highlight
the
work
of
the
commission
on
Partnerships
for
the
Next
Generation.
There's
a
financial
empowerment
program
that
I've
been
so
excited
about
with
the
Boston
Public
Schools
special
education,
leadership
and
Department,
as
students
are
reaching
that
age
of
transition.
There's
been
a
partnership
for
sports
and
with
the
Special
Olympics
to
ensure
that
everybody
can
participate
in
this
in
this
in
our
youth
sports
programs,
construction
on
the
Carter
school
has
begun.
AB
There
is
no
way
to
tackle
any
of
our
important
challenges
in
isolation.
We
know
that
disability
Equity
is
connected
to
and
integrated
with
our
work
on,
Transportation
on
climate,
on
housing,
on
racial
Justice,
on
the
economy
and
jobs
and
creating
a
more
just
City
for
all
of
us
is
really
about
creating
a
city
that
works
for
all
of
us.
AB
D
AC
Okay,
I
did
not
time
it
this
way
on
purpose
hi,
my
name
is
Caitlin
I
am
the
admin
assistant
for
disability,
Law,
Center
and
I
live
in
Mattapan
in
Olmstead,
green
and
I
have
noticed
the
tactile
strips
are
disintegrating
or
completely
missing
from
sidewalks
that
are
maybe
10
years
old.
AB
Thank
you
so
much
Caitlin.
Can
you?
Can
you
hear
my
answer?
I
want
to
make
sure
we're
getting
all
the
muting,
and
can
you
hear
me?
Okay,
great
so
I
will
say
overall
any
issues
related
to
accessibility,
especially
on
our
roadways
and
sidewalks
you
can
submit
through
3-1-1
and
that
will
get
right
into
the
constituent,
Services
queue.
AB
I
want
to
make
sure
to
note,
though,
that
I
know
the
commissioner
and
her
team
are
also
always
there
as
a
resource,
as
are
our
neighborhood
Liaisons,
and
so
this
particular
I'll
I'll
make
sure
we
go
get
out
to
Olmsted
green
and
take
a
look
there.
So
we
can
identify
the
specific
intersections
that
you're
talking
about
if
I
remember
correctly,
and
sometimes
a
lot
of
information
passes
in
front
of
me
and
commissioner
and
others
in
the
room.
AB
Let
me
know
if
I
have
this
wrong,
but
if
I
remember
correctly,
there
had
been
talk
about
the
city
recognizing
how
quickly
some
of
our
accessibility
infrastructure
was
wearing
away
and
shifting
towards
more
durable
materials
in
in
situations
exactly
like
this,
and
so
I
don't
want
to
is.
AB
D
D
That's
everywhere
on
sidewalks
that
the
city
owns,
as
we
mentioned
earlier.
Jurisdiction
is
always
an
issue.
There
are
private
ways
there
are.
There
are
sidewalks
owned
by
massdot
and
massport
and
the
MBTA,
so
we
will
certainly
partner
with
our
fellow
agencies
to
talk
about
cast
iron,
but
the
city
owned
sidewalks
will
all
be
used
in
cast
iron.
AB
So
I
guess
what
I'm
saying
Caitlyn
is:
there
are
multiple
Avenues
to
report
issues.
I,
don't
want
you
to
feel
like
the
burden
is
on
our
residence
that
you
have
to
only
use
3-1-1
and
because
sometimes
it
can
feel
like
you're,
not
sure
if
it
gets
into
the
queue,
how
long
it
might
take
and
and
who's
actually
seeing
it.
I
will
guarantee
everything
that
gets
into
3-1-1
is
processed
and
reviewed
in
the
most
efficient
way
by
our
Public
Works
teams
and
streets
teams.
AB
Some
things
sometimes
I've
reported
potholes
or
seen
other
people
report,
potholes
and
they'll
be
out
in
10
minutes
if
they
happen
to
be
in
the
area.
Some
of
these
changes
that
might
require
a
little
bit
more
planning
and
ordering
materials
or
getting
the
the
design
right
will
be
a
little
bit
longer,
and
so
you
can
always,
if
there's
some
more
of
a
systemic
issue
in
that
way,
flagging
it
for
either
the
neighborhood
liaison
or
disability
commission
can
help
make
sure.
AB
Someone
is
also
monitoring
this
as
an
issue
that
might
affect
other
areas
besides
just
what
you're
pointing
out
in
in
one
part
of
the
city.
As
you
hear
here,
this
is
a
systemic
issue
that
the
the
team
is
already
on
top
of
and
looking
to
change
Citywide.
But
it's
really
helpful
to
get
the
individual
Flags
because
then
we
can
start
to
see
when
patterns
like
this
emerge
and
we
need
to
make
a
larger
change.
A
Thank
you,
mayor
Wu.
This
is
Andrea
I.
Believe
Mike
Sinclair
may
have
also
dropped
a
link
in
the
chat
on
Zoom
to
our
curb
ramp,
specific
form,
which
goes
to
curb
ramps
at
boston.gov.
So
if
it's
a
curb,
Ram
specific
issue,
we
have
our
own
form
and
I
see
another
question
in
the
chat.
Colleen.
Are
you
able
to
ask
Giuseppe
to
unmute?
A
AD
Yeah
hi
good
afternoon,
I'm
sorry
I
joined
the
meeting.
Late
I
have
ALS
and
I
make
frequent
trips
to
MGH,
taking
the
tea
and
I
apologize
if
this
was
discussed
earlier,
but
my
concern
is
about
the
escalators
that
are
really
chronically
not
working
on
the
t
to
be
specific
in
the
blue
line.
A
boat
and
the
escalator
is,
has
really
been
disabled
for
a
long
time.
AD
AD
AD
But
you
know
if
if
the
escalator
is
chronically
not
working,
then
either
we
should
maybe
shut
the
state.
The
the
you
know
the
station
down
or
we
should
address
it.
But
it
appears
to
me
that
there
is
no
plan
in
action
to
address
this.
So
I
was
wondering
if,
if
someone
can
do
anything
about
it,
great.
AB
A
AB
To
her
or
the
rest,
wonderful
I
was
going
to
say
we'll
make
sure
we
follow
up
with
the
team
Laura.
Is
there
anything
you
would?
That
would
be
helpful
to
know.
AD
AE
Right
great
good
afternoon,
everybody
I'm
Laura,
brunsford
and
I
serve
as
the
assistant
general
manager.
System-Wide
accessibility
at
the
T
and
I
can
provide
some
background
on
the
the
escalator
at
Bowden
station.
AE
So
we
are
dealing
with
an
extremely
unique
situation
at
this
particular
station.
AE
The
only
solution
was
to
these
two
completely
rebuild
the
escalator.
The
existing
the
original
escalator
was
so
holds
that
a
new
escalator
which
will
need
to
meet
modernized
later
standards,
isn't
significant
significantly
longer
in
in
the
in
shape
and
size,
meaning
this
will
actually
drive
wholesale
changes
to
the
design
of
the
station.
AE
So
we
have
a
team
looking
at
that
set
of
design
opportunities
now,
but
it
certainly
means
that,
as
glitter
is
going
to
be
out
of
service
for
a
significant
period
of
time,
it's
a
unique
situation
at
booting
in
that
booting
is
our
only
subway
station
that
has
an
escalator
without
an
elevator,
so
individuals
who
had
been
really
benefiting
from
that
as
Slater
relying
on
that
escalator
really
do
not
have
any
any
backups
application
that
having
been
said,
Government
Center
Station,
which
was
recently
renovated
easy
a
quarter
of
a
mile
down
the
down
the
road
with
a
very
exciting
accessible
path
of
travel,
conducting
the
stations
so
much
so
that
when
we
looked
up
on
the
feasibility
of
establishing
a
shuttle
to
mitigate
the
escalator
outage,
it
really
was
not
much
different
of
a
path
than
using
Government
Center
station.
AE
So
although
this
is
certainly
not
the
experience,
we
want
our
Riders
to
be
encountering
at
Bowden.
We
do
have
a
decent
alternative,
our
government
center
or
for
those
traveling
to
MGH.
AE
As
you
mentioned,
the
the
Charles
mjh
station
so
I
will
absolutely
keep
this
group
updated
on
the
status
of
the
commission,
updated
on
the
status
of
the
escalator
at
Bowden.
But
that
is
what
we
know
as
of
right
now.
D
P
D
D
About
I
know
exactly
mayor:
did
you
want
to
comment
on
that.
U
D
We're
working
closely
with
the
public
facilities
Department
to
again
they're
so
old,
that
they
cannot
be
repaired
and
they
need
to
be
replaced,
but
they
will
be
replaced
with
an
elevator.
It's
going
to
be
a
longer
term
situation
as
well,
but
we
do
have
way
finding
signage
trying
to
reroute
people
who
need
access
to
through
those
escalators
can.
M
I
just
add
something
for
MGH:
we
have
a
lot
of
patients
that
use
the
subway
system
to
come
to
MGH,
so
I
like
to
propose
that
we
look
at
shuttles,
accessible
shuttles,
whether
it's
true
MGH
or
through
the
city.
So
if
we
can
do
that,
that
would
be
great
because
majority
of
our
patients
other
than
using
the
rider
using
the
team.
D
Thank
you,
sorry,
we'll
definitely
keep
in
touch
with
Lara
and
see
what
we
can
figure
out.
Thank
you,
Giuseppe
for
your
question.
I
know
that
the
mayor
has
a
very
busy
schedule,
so
I
want
to
ask.
Does
anybody
have
a
final
question
for
mayor
Wu
or
comment
anyone
I.
A
See
one
on
Zoom,
oh
yep,
I'm.
Z
Well,
this
is
actually
for
Laura.
I
was
just
going
to
ask
about.
If
how
you
how
you
could
improve,
stop
announcements
on
the
T,
the
buses,
don't
always
make
them.
They'll
say
that
the
GPS
breaks
down,
and
they
you
know
the
drivers
don't
want
to
do
it.
Okay,.
AE
Sure
so,
Kevin
with
respect
to
stop
announcements
specifically
on
our
on
our
buses,
although
this
applies
to
all
of
our
modes
of
Transportation
at
the
T.
This
is
something
we
monitor
very
very
closely
for
those
those
that
don't
know
my
team
Within,
the
echo
within
the
MBTA.
We
oversee
what
we
call
our
internal
accessibility
monitoring
program,
which
is
a
very,
very
cool,
very
extensive
secret
shopper
program
who
are
riders
with
disabilities.
AE
What
we,
what
we
have
been
seeing
on
our
buses
with
respect
to
stop
announcements,
is
that
about
97
to
98
of
the
time.
The
automated
announcements
of
the
visual
and
audio
announcements
are
working
properly,
utter
Subway,
Lines,
there's
a
big
difference
between
the
branches.
Some
perform
absolutely
very,
very
well.
Our
Blue
Line,
our
Blue
Line
subway
cars
are
reported
to
make
announcements.
A
hundred
percent
of
the
time
are
newer
and
shine.
Cars
are
now
we're
thrilled
to
report
her
right
there.
AE
AE
We
can
get
that
information
immediately
over
to
our
vehicle
maintenance
teams
and
they
will
inspect
the
vehicle
and,
at
the
end
of
the
night,
at
the
end
of
the
trip
to
determine,
if
there's
an
issue
there
and
that's
something
we
do
on
a
regular
basis.
So
again,
all
the
word
data
on
bus
compliance
is
very
good.
AE
It
certainly
does
not
mean
that
you
are
always
gonna
that
you're
never
gonna
run
into
it
and
shoot.
So
it
was
just
that
gas
that
weapon
when
you
do
soon,
please
let
us
know-
and
you
can
do
that
Kevin
by
either
filing
a
common
form
on
our
website,
which
is
mbta.com
and
go
to
a
tab
at
the
top
that
says,
contact
us
you'll
have
an
opportunity
right
there
to
identify
the
comment
as
accessibility
related
or
you
can
always
call
us
at
617-222.
D
Thank
you
Laura,
and
thank
you
Kevin
for
that
question
so
I
and
realize
that
one
of
our
board
members
has
a
final
comment
for
mayor
Wu,
Elizabeth.
L
Yes
again
mayor,
thank
you
so
much
for
coming
today
could.
L
Yes,
I'm
Elizabeth,
Jean
Clower
and
some
of
us
had
an
opportunity
to
attend
your
inaugural
event
out
on
City
Hall
Plaza
last
year,
which
it
was
not
quite
fully
done
with
construction,
but
certainly
gave
people.
It
was
a.
It
was
a
very
welcoming,
inclusive
event,
and
we
know
subsequently
that
it
then
officially
opened-
and
one
of
the
commissioner
commissioner
makash
and
the
Commission
on
disability
were
involved
in
making
that
accessible.
L
What
our
Advisory
board
has
wanted
is
that
the
one
year
mark
from
its
official
opening
to
have
a
post-evaluation
one
year
opportunity
for
an
evaluation
for
people
who
have
disabilities
of
various
kinds
to
be
able
to
give
feedback
on
how
it's
working
what's
working
well,
if
there's
any
further
improvements
or
adjustments
that
need
to
be
made.
So
we
welcome
that
opportunity
to
do
so,
but
it's
certainly
already.
AB
Thank
you
that
sounds
great
I
would
I'm
going
to
think
back
to
when
the
sometime
in
the
fall
so
November.
Okay,
thank
you
Jerry.
So
that
would
be
great
to
work
together
on
and
and
thank
you
so
much
for
being
part
of
that
and
helping
us
to
make
sure
that
we're
not
just
moving
on
once
a
ribbon
is
cut
but
really
continuing
to
try
to
make
improvements.
AB
So
thank
you
so
much
everyone
for
having
me
I
want
to
say
a
special
thank
you
to
Laura
I'm
gonna.
Just
try
to
go
to
whatever
meeting
Laura
is
that
in
the
future.
She
has
such
expertise
and
I
appreciate
her,
sharing
that
and
and
sharing
the
hot
seat
with
me
a
bit
as
we
as,
as
we
know,
the
MBTA
is
such
an
important
partner
for
us.
AB
I've
had
the
joy
of
already
just
casually
running
into
the
new
general
manager,
general
manager
Eng
has
been
out
and
about
at
community
events
and
I've
seen
him
in
the
audience
here
and
there.
So
it's
exciting
to
see
leadership
there.
That's
really
committed
to
being
on
the
ground
and
and
seeing
the
issues
firsthand
and
retaining
the
incredible
leaders
and
expertise
that
are
there
like,
like
Laura.
D
A
AF
I'm,
deputy
chief
Jim
Hall
at
Blossom
fire.
This
isn't
so
much
a
question,
but
it's
an
opportunity
to
share
some
information,
so
I
think
I'll.
Take
it
the
but
I'm
the
Boston
fire
alarm
office
and
an
underutilized
tool.
AF
Is
the
fire
alarm
boxes,
so
anybody
that
has
a
language
issue
or
any
kind
of
a
communication
issue
if
they
pull
that
file
on
box
that
still
works,
the
red
boxes,
the
1600
of
them
throughout
the
streets,
they're
they're
in
hospitals
and
hotels
and
with
very
few
exceptions,
you're
going
to
get
eight
firefighters,
two
pieces
of
apparatus,
medical
equipment
tools,
radios
on
scene
within
three
minutes,
so
you
may
get
hung
up
and
911
call
or
a
cure.
AF
You
may
have
a
language
disability,
a
language
issue,
and
this
is
a
an
excellent
way
to
to
get
help
quickly.
So
just
pull
the
fight
boxing
you'll
get
it,
and
if
you
permit
me,
I'm
going
to
make
a
comment
that
occurred
to
me.
While
I
was
here
years
ago,
I
drove
a
bit
like
around
the
city
of
Boston
and
pre-ada,
and
so
we
had
to
take
the
barrels
of
beer
and
lug
them
up.
AF
The
curbs
on
a
two-wheeler
and
we
rejoice
when
the
curb
Cuts
came
right
so
and
so
that
just
underscores
something
that
you
don't
realize
what
the
ancillary
benefit
of
something
could
be.
It
could
be
something
much
down
the
road,
so
the
the
progress
that
you
make
today
can
impact
other
people.
That
may
not
be
your
target
group
and
so
I
applaud
you
for
that
and
I
think
it's
a
good
idea
that
we
continue
these
type
of
things.
So
thank
you
for
your
time.
D
Yeah,
thank
you
for
both
of
those
comments.
I
I
didn't
know
that
myself
I
never
think
to
notice
that
the
fireboxes
are
there
and
it's
good
to
know
that
they
do
still
work
because
they
seem
kind
of
old
for
some
reason.
160
years,
wow,
okay,
accredited
to
maintenance,
as
the
mayor
mentioned.
Not
only
do
we
install
things,
but
we
maintain
them.
So
that's
excellent
and
then
also
your
comments
about
the
curb
ramps
being
have
more
uses
than
just
for
people
in
wheelchairs.
We
know
people
with
strollers.
D
The
mayor
has
two
children,
people
who
are
carrying
rolling
suitcases
along.
We
always
say
that
we
strive
for
Access
for
heels
and
wheels,
because
we
know
that
people
trip
on
brick.
You
know
it's,
it's
not
a
great
service
for
anybody.
So
thank
you
so
much
for
those
comments.
Okay,
we
have
about
10
minutes
left.
Are
there
any
other
comments.
B
AG
Yes,
hi.
My
comment
is
for
mayor
Wu
and
everyone
in
the
room.
I
just
wanted
to
address
a
situation
that
I
recently
became
aware
of.
I
am
an
advocate
here
in
Massachusetts
I'm,
outside
Boston,
but
I
advocate
in
general
for
everyone
with
disabilities.
AG
I
wanted
to
know
if
meru
or
other
individuals
who
are
affiliated
with
Mass
health
and
hospitals.
Association
are
aware
of
how
their
new
policy
directive
is
impacting,
specifically
individuals
with
disabilities.
There
was
an
update
recently
to
the
code
of
conduct
for
anyone
who
is
a
patient,
or
you
know,
with
patients
receiving
Care
at
Mass
hospitals
in
health
care
facilities.
AG
AG
People
with
disabilities,
especially
including
individuals
with
mental
health
issues
and
I,
had
done
a
survey
myself
of
security
details
that
are
contracted
with
the
hospitals
and
noticed
that
each
security
team
had
concerns
and
issues
about
this
well
and
I
personally
observed
an
incident
where
there
was
a
hospital
safety
issue
going
on
and
the
security
staff
were
not
able
to
respond
due
to
staff
abusing
the
ability
to
call
security
for
things
that
were
not
of
a
you
know,
pressing
or
emergency
nature.
AB
Thank
you,
Mia
for
bringing
this
up.
I
had
not
heard
about
this,
and
it
would
be
great
if
we
could
follow
up
with
you
just
to
get
some
more
information
on
which
code
or
policy
which
entity
was
in
charge
of
that.
If
that
was
a
city
situation
or
or
kind
of
a
collective
that
the
association
agreed
on,
so
that
we
can
get
into
the
details
of
that.
Thank
you
for
raising
it.
Absolutely.
AG
I'll
send
over
my
email,
information
and
reach
out
to
your
office
Mayor.
M
I
believe
that
each
hospital
has
a
code
of
conduct,
patient
code
of
conduct
and
so,
for
example,
at
MGH.
We've
done
a
lot
of
training
with
our
security
staff
and
I've
also
included
some
language
around
mental
health
and
how
to
interact
with
patients
when
they're
going
through
certain
episodes.
So
I
think
that
perhaps
that's
what
she's
referring
to,
and
that
would
be
something
that
perhaps
mha
would
have
access
to
for
all
the
hospitals.
But
it's
definitely
an
important
point.
D
Great,
so
we
have
a
lot
of
expertise
on
our
board,
as
you
can
see,
and
I
will
also
mention
that
the
the
mayor
has
a
wonderful
Public,
Health
commission,
the
Boston
Public
Health
commission
has
experts
in
every
area
from
Behavioral
Health
to
mental
health,
to
health
policy
and
health
care.
So
we
work
very
closely
with
the
Boston
Public
Health
commission,
and
we
can
raise
this
issue
with
them
as
well.
A
Sounds
like
Zary
scheduled
herself
for
a
few
meetings
today,
great
any
other
questions
in
the
room.
A
D
Just
really
briefly,
I
will
give
some
highlights
from
our
annual
report
as
part
of
our
ordinance.
We
are
charged
with
producing
an
annual
report
every
year.
It's
on
the
table.
If
anyone
in
person,
we
dropped
the
link
in
the
chat
which
we
can
do
again
for
people
to
read,
but
some
highlights
that
I
will
mention.
The
first
thing
that
we
worked
very
closely
with
last
year
was
outdoor
dining.
The
city
moved
from
a
temporary
policy
under
covid
to
a
permanent
policy,
which
was
a
huge
change.
D
So
we
wanted
to
make
sure
that
all
the
layouts
were
accessible
and
inclusive
for
people
with
disabilities,
because
once
they're
approved,
that's
it
they're
going
to
be
approved
forever.
So
our
architectural
access
staff
actually
created
four
schemes
to
make
it
easier
for
small
restaurants,
so
these
schemes
had
four
different
layouts.
If
you
were
a
small
restaurant
and
you
had
one
parking
space,
there
was
a
certain
layout
you
could
use.
If
you
had
2
parking
spaces,
it
was
a
different
setup.
D
You
could
use-
and
this
took
the
burden
off
small
restaurants-
to
actually
have
to
hire
an
architect
and
pay
the
money
to
develop
an
individual
scheme.
So
it
was
super
helpful
and
very
help
with
systemic
access,
so
Bravo
to
my
architectural
access
staff,
because
we
review
hundreds
of
Sarah
read
500
applications
one
year,
so
it
was
a
ton
of
work
but
we're
moving
forward
with
the
outdoor
dining
program,
accessibility
upgrades
in
City
Hall,
we
mentioned
the
City
Hall
Plaza
Elizabeth
mentioned.
We
do
have
the
follow-up
meeting
schedule
for
November.
D
So
we'll
look
forward
to
that
and
I
mentioned
the
new
lift
going
in
on
the
mezzanine
excited
about
that
communication.
Access
I
want
to
give
a
shout
out
to
our
office
of
language
and
communication
access.
We
work
very
closely
with
them,
and
new
city
policy
is
to
translate
all
of
our
Vital
documents
into
the
top
10
languages
spoken
in
the
city.
We
also
are
required
to
for
any
neighborhood
meetings.
D
We
are
required
to
look
at
the
languages
spoken
in
that
neighborhood
and
ensure
that
we
have
translation
for
the
top
three
languages
that
have
spoken
in
those
neighborhoods.
So
a
lot
of
work
done
on
that
I
know.
Lynn
is
here
she
spoke
earlier.
She
works
on
the
deaf
tax
days
and
this
year
we
piloted
a
visually
impaired
tax
day,
so
that's
free
tax,
preparation
for
anyone,
who's,
deaf
or
visually
impaired
with
specific
services
for
those
needs
covered.
So
that's
a
great
program
that
the
city
runs.
D
U
It
went
really
well
from
the
perspective
that
we
have
the
three
Mass
commission
for
the
blind
folks
on
our
board,
assisting
the
subcommittee
assisting
and
officially
there
were
a
potential
for
five
to
six
people
this
year
for
the
blind,
who
would
respond
and
be
active
because
of
the
accessibility,
the
Viewpoint,
the
things,
but
there
were
14
and
the
view
of
the
board
I'm.
Sorry,
the
commission,
for
the
blind.
We
apparently
have
been
talked
about
in
different
ways
at
different
events.
U
Q
D
Great,
thank
you
Lynn
and
again
it's
another
example
of
systemic
access
that
we
can
help
push
for
residents
to
get
the
services
they
need
without
barriers
and
I
know.
Colleen
serves
on
the
committee
for
Access
for
taxes
and
she
also
works
with
language
access.
So
Colleen
has
been
on
this
monitoring
the
zoom
she's
Outreach,
an
engagement
specialist
and
she
does
a
great
job.
D
The
last
few
things
I'll
mention
under
programs
and
services.
We
work
really
closely
with
the
elections
Department
a
few
years
ago,
we
implemented
an
accessible
vote
by
mail
program
so
that
accessible
voting
by
mail
electronically.
So
if
you
have
a
visual
disability
or
a
print
disability,
we
call
it
someone
who
doesn't
have
dexterity
to
fill
out
an
application
by
hand.
They
can
do
it
now
online
and
email
it
in.
So
it's
it's
also
an
Innovative
program
that
Boston
implemented
and
we're
working
closely
with
the
elections.
D
Commission
on
that,
as
well
as
to
ensure
that
all
the
polling
places
in
person
are
accessible.
Kylie
is
also
here.
Kylie
Potter
is
our
staff
person
who
runs
the
accessible
parking
program,
the
parking
program,
installs
spaces
for
residents
throughout
the
city,
residents
with
disabilities
and
also
in
the
commercial
areas
of
Boston.
So
that's
a
very
important
program
that
we
run
in
collaboration
with
the
Boston
transportation
department
and
what
else
will
I
mention?
D
Oh
just
I'll
wrap
up
with
our
annual
events.
Last
year
we
hosted
our
community
Forum,
as
the
mayor
mentioned,
I
can't
believe
it's
been
a
year
and
that
the
mayor
was
newly
elected
and
I
was
able
to
come
and
we're
thrilled
that
she
was
here
today
on
next
celebration
will
be
Ada
day.
It's
going
to
be
on
Tuesday
July
18th
on
the
newly
renovated
City
Hall
Plaza.
So
we
welcome
you
all
to
attend.
We'll
have
information
tables
from
our
collaborating
agencies.
We'll
have
music
food.
D
We
have
great
t-shirts
and
we'll
be
launching
a
great
initiative
that
the
mentor
mayor
alluded
to
the
Boston
brakes
initiative,
we'll
be
celebrating
them
and
then
finally,
a
Civic
engagement
day
is
every
fall.
We
welcome
people
with
disabilities
into
City
Hall
to
see
all
the
access
mayor.
Wu
was
city
council
president
when
she
championed
the
renovation
of
the
city
council
chamber
and
we'll
also
have
people
that
to
meet
their
neighborhood
Liaisons
meet
city
council
staff
register
to
vote,
learn
how
to
testify
at
a
hearing.
D
A
Is
Andrea
thanks,
commissioner?
My
only
final
comment
is
to
think
the
board,
always
for
their
advocacy.
Wes
mentioned
the
new
captions
ordinance.
If
you
are
in
a
restaurant
or
bar
in
Boston,
and
they
don't
have
their
captions
turned
on,
we
have
directions
on
our
website.
You
can
let
us
know
and
we
can
educate
them
about
the
new
requirements.
So
that's
that's
the
biggest
thing
that
I'll
let
everyone
in
the
room
know,
but
that
is
all
that
we
have
today
and.