►
Description
City of Boston Human Rights Commission Public Meeting 2-24-21
A
Access
this
call
through
telephone
or
video
conferencing
and
members
of
the
public
will
have
an
opportunity
to
provide
comments
at
the
end,
and
we
are
recording
this
meeting.
So
first
order
of
businesses
approval
of
the
december
16th
meeting,
can
I
have
a
motion
to
approve?
Are
there
any
first?
Are
there
any
admissions
or
corrections.
A
C
A
C
Yes,
yes,
thank
you,
madam
chair.
As
always,
I
want
to
say
welcome
to
the
members
to
the
commissioners.
In
fact,
I
know
we're
in
february,
but
this
is
the
first
meeting
of
the
year
of
the
commission,
so
I
want
to
say
happy
new
year,
I
want
to
say
happy
new
year
and
welcome
to
all
of
the
all
the
our
guests
as
well
as
members
of
the
public
who
are
in
attendance
with
us
today.
C
First
and
foremost,
I
want
to
say
thank
you
for
all
of
you
that
attended
our
event
last
last
month.
I
know
all
the
commissioners
were
able
to
attend.
We
had
an
event
for
those
that
were
not
able
to
attend
on
the
black
males
in
america,
in
healing,
in
our
marginalization
that
was
attended
by
at
least
around
50
people
via
zoom.
It
was
a
great
panel
discussion.
C
I
want
to
give
kudos
certainly
to
to
commissioner
lee,
who,
unfortunately,
I
don't
think
he's
able
to
attend
the
meeting
today
as
well
as
judge
leslie,
commissioner
leslie
harris
who
were
instrumental
in
putting
that
event
together.
Also,
I
want
to
flag
a
couple
other
things
again
that
happened
over
the
last
couple.
I
guess
several
weeks
I
should
say,
including
the
fact
that,
as
you
know,
chairwoman,
you
and
I
and
susan
are
our
main
key
staff.
C
Unfortunately,
I
wasn't
able
to
we
weren't
able
to
meet
with
incoming
acting
mayor
kim
janey,
but
we
did
meet
with
our
staff
as
well,
and
so
these
discussions
were
really
just
updating
updating
them
in
terms
of
what
the
commission
has
been
up
to
and
here
their
ideas
about.
You
know
how
we
can
work
together.
C
I
received
those
letter
that
letter
earlier
in
the
year
last
month
and
I'll
be
sure
to
forward
it
to
you
all
for
your
review,
and
I
did
ask
him
for
a
meeting
as
well,
because
I
know
he's
very
interested
on
the
issues
that
we're
working
on
the
other
couple.
Things
that
I
wanted
to
mention
is
in
relationship
to
the
the
police
task
force
to
be
exact.
The
police
reform
task
force.
C
As
you
remember
last
meeting
that
we
had
in
december,
the
commission
decided
that
we
should
send
a
letter
to
the
commissioner
of
bpd
to
ask
for
an
update
on
the
implementation
status
of
the
task
force
recommendations.
I
you
saw
the
letter
and
we
sent
a
letter
on
january
19th
and
that
letter
went
to
commissioner
grass.
Obviously
you
know
excuse
me
unfortunately.
Fortunately,
for
him
I
should
say:
he's
retired,
since
I
also
cc
dennis
white,
who
was
then
the
chief
of
staff
for
commissioner
grass
and
since
became
commissioner.
C
I
know
all
of
you
aware
of
some
of
the
dynamics.
Unfortunately,
that's
been
going
on
at
bbd,
but
I
wanted
to
update
you
on
that
regard
and,
in
that
same
note,
subsequently
to
to
send
in
the
letter
I
had
a
meeting
with
our
chief
crockett
who,
as
you
know,
the
commission,
this
commission,
the
boston
remarks.
Commission
is
part
of
chief
crockett's.
C
She
also
mentioned
that
she
had
was.
She
was
in
contact
with
bpd
about
starting
up
the
diversity
and
inclusion
unit,
which
is
another
recommendation
made,
and
finally,
the
the
issue
of
police
use
of
test.
Excuse
me
use
of
force,
which
was
also
a
major
topic
in
the
recommendations
by
the
members
of
the
task
force
it
and-
and
she
also
actually
mentioned
that
she
was
still
in
touch
with
members
of
the
task
force.
C
You
know
in
terms
of
the
recommendations
of
the
task
force,
that's
more
or
less
what
I
had,
except
that
I
did
want
the
flag
that,
particularly
for
members
of
the
public,
that
we
are
in
the
final
stages
of
approval
for
these
several
staff,
hirings
that
we've
certainly
discussed
several
times
in
the
past,
which
are
in
no
particular
order
policy
and
research,
analyst,
education
and
outreach
coordinator,
program
manager
and
investigator.
Those
are
four
positions
that
we're
hoping
to
open
the
higher
by
the
end
of
this
fiscal
year
by
june.
C
Hopefully-
and
on
that
note
actually-
and
I
know
commissioner
reyes
is
present
with
us
and
can
fill
us
more
on
this
we've-
we
have
two
interns
from
umass
that
have
come
on
board
to
help
us
umass
phd
grad
students
to
work
with
us,
particularly
on
the
age,
on
this
space
of
figuring
out
in
in
fleshing
out.
I
should
say
more
in
fact,
the
topic
topic
that
we're
here
for
today,
the
digital
divide
and
and
another
in
turn,
I
think-
actually
I
saw
I
may
even
see-
saw
them
in
attendees.
C
They
wanted
the
attendance
present
here
today.
So
the
other
excuse
me,
the
last
person,
the
other
intern
will
focus
on
helping
us
look
at
other
human
rights
commission
throughout
the
country
and
seeing
what
they're
doing
particularly
under
under
covet,
particularly
you
know,
partner,
partnering
with
city
agencies
and
other
non-profits
and
other
agencies
throughout
their
space,
to
see
how
we
can
continue
to
do
the
work
that
we've
started
now
a
year,
in
fact
kudos
to
all
of
you.
D
A
So
you
know
we
now
will
have
to
wait
until
the
situation
settles
down
before
we
can
really
follow
up
in
regard
to
that,
but
we
will
follow
up
as
soon
as
we.
You
know
that
situation
is
firmed
up,
whether
or
not
dennis
white
becomes
the
commissioner
of
police
or
what
happens,
but
that
is
we
intend
to
follow
up
ben.
You
had
a
question.
A
E
Is
today
so
does
it
make
sense
to
just
sit,
or
should
we
send
it
to
chief
wong,
and
I
don't
know
if
it
makes
sense
to
so,
but
by
way
of
background
evandro
and
I
used
to
work
together
at
the
at
the
suffolk
da's
office,
a
lot
right
and
the
person
who's,
the
legal
adviser
to
the
boston
police
department
worked.
I
don't
know
if
you
knew
dave
for
that.
E
C
A
D
A
Those
things
that
they
could
just
answer,
in
fact,
if
they
have
created
a
unit
on
diversity
and
inclusion,
you
know
they
could
tell
us,
I
don't
think
they
have
yet,
but
I
I'm
particularly
interested
to
tell
you
the
truth
on
the
population
in
the
new
cadet
program,
who
who
is
in
that
cadet
program?
How
many
of
them
are
people
of
color?
How
many
of
them
are
women
and
have
they
been
recruited?
A
A
Let's
ask
him
when
the
next
cadet
class
is
coming
in
and
then
you
know
when
we
know
that
we
can
we
can
find.
I
think
we
should
keep
our
eye
on
the
composition
so
find
out
when
okay
and
and
we,
while
we're
doing
that-
why
don't
we
find
out
when
the
first
cadet
class
at
the
fire
department
is
starting
susan?
Why
don't
you
find
that
out?
Maybe
we
can
have
you
apply.
B
A
A
Looking
at
other
human
rights
commission-
and
I
will
just
tell
you
now
that
I'm
in
discussion
with
the
compliance
clinic
at
bu
law
school
to
do
work
and
some
help
with
the
police
department
in
terms
of
what
other
police
departments
have
done
in
terms
of
reform,
how
it's
been
done
at
what
pace
and
that
sort
of
stuff,
so
they've
agreed
to
help
us.
So
that's
another
university,
that's
involved,
but
so
by
the
next
meeting.
I
should
that
should
be
underway
as
well.
So
I
want
to
welcome
our
guest.
A
Thank
you
for
joining
us.
We've
been
talking
about
broadband,
I
think.
Almost
from
the
first
meeting
we
had
or
second
meeting,
we
had
we've
been
very
concerned.
As
I
know,
all
of
you
have
been
a
mark.
I
know
in
terms
of
education
and
since
we've
been
been
in
remote
learning,
that
every
child
had
access
to
high
quality
broadband
and
had
the
equipment
to
go
with
it.
A
A
F
A
F
Are
and
what
your
job
is
yeah
mark
racine,
I'm
the
chief
information
officer
for
the
boss,
public
schools,
resident
of
jamaica
plain,
and
I
have
over
the
last
year,
worked
all
hours
of
the
day
to
to
see
if
we
can
solve
this
problem
without
any
advance
notice,
as
our
our
students
went
home.
So
it's
been
a
it's
been
a
long
year,
but
at
the
same
time
it's
been
extremely
rewarding
in
that
we
have
made
enormous
progress
to
closing
the
digital
divide.
F
I
will,
I
will
say
it
is
never
closed,
but
we've
made
a
lot
of
progress
over
the
last
year
due
in
part
to
a
huge
commitment
from
the
city
before
we
made
the
decision
to
close
the
right
from
the
top
from
the
mayor
saying
we're
not
going
to
let
any
student
fall
behind,
and
so
you
know
I
I
could
characterize
our
efforts
in
two-fold.
The
first
was
devices
and
the
first
was
was
internet
access,
the
device
problem,
while
it
was
not
as
significant
as
we
originally
thought.
F
At
this
point
it
is
really
around
maintenance
and-
and
just
as
an
example,
we
repaired
about
a
thousand
chromebooks
over
the
february
break.
So
it
is.
It
is
still
a
quite
an
immense
effort
to
keep
those
that
fleet
up
and
running,
but
I'm
very
satisfied
that
that
our
students,
our
families,
have
access
to
a
device.
Whether
that
is
a
personal
device
which
is
about
20
of
our
families
are
using
a
personal
device
or
a
district
device,
which
is,
as
you
can
imagine,
70
to
80
percent.
F
F
F
Since
then
we
have
adopted
a
program
called
the
the
sponsorship
program
where,
through
a
grant
from
the
department
of
education,
we
can
pick
up
the
tab
as
soon
as
that
that
60
days
expires.
So
if
a
family
jumps
onto
internet
essentials,
they
get
the
service
for
free
for
60
days,
and
then
we
provide
them
with
a
voucher.
F
Getting
them
to
get
through
the
the
subscription
services
is
easier
said
than
done
at
the
other
side
of
things,
though,
if
that
is
not
an
option,
if
you
are
not
in
a
stable
housing
environment,
we
have
a
lot
of
families
that
are
moving
back
and
forth.
We
also
have
a
grant
to
provide
any
student
that
they
need
with
a
hot
spot.
F
The
hot
spots
we've
done
a
couple
of
different
providers
over
the
the
course
of
the
last
year,
but
the
hospital
right
now
is
through
a
grant
program
called
the
one
million
project
which
has
grown
to
the
10
million
project.
That
is
a
fancy
name
of
basically
just
saying
that
they
they
want
to
provide
10
million
students
with
with
access
to
to
internet.
F
I'm
always
going
to
put
the
caveat
down
to
say
that
a
hot
spot
is
not
sufficient.
It
doesn't
matter
what
the
provider
is.
It
doesn't
matter
what
service
or
plan
you
have.
If
you
are
in
a
concrete
metal
masonry
building
you,
you
are
not
going
to
get
the
same
cell
signal
as
somebody
who
is
in
wood
or
or
outside
for
all
that
matters.
So
we
try
to
say
you
know
the
hot
spot.
B
B
Finally,
I
completely
understand
that,
but
bps
is
overwhelmed,
we
are
all
overwhelmed
and
that
the
system
was
not
created
to
be
run
online
remotely.
Neither
was
umass
boston.
So
I
I
completely
appreciate
your
work,
I'm
just
stating
that,
for
the
record,
comcast
seems
to
be
being
not
only
convoluted,
but
also
a
kind
of
a
predator-ish.
A
F
There's
a
lot
to
a
lot
to
respond
to
so
and
in
for
in
terms
of
the
sign
up
process,
that
is
by
far
the
biggest
barrier
that
we
see
not
just
with
internet,
but
with
any
service
where
you
do
have
to
sign
up
and
pay
an
ongoing
bill
that
that
signup
processes
can
be
challenging.
We,
we
definitely
have
heard
the
challenges
from
our
families.
We
have
worked
very
very
closely
with
comcast.
F
We
have
a
representative
who,
when
we
run
into
difficult
situations-
and
we
run
into
these
situations
at
least
once
a
day-
we
are
able
to
get
a
family
to
the
representative,
who's
able
to
work
with
the
family
and
get
them
through
paperwork,
the
bureaucracy
or
whatever
challenges
in
every
circumstance
other
than
one.
She
has
been
able
to
to
work
through
any
sort
of
challenges
that
the
family
has.
D
F
There
may
be
a
chance
that
certain
forms
or
certain
parts
of
the
sign-up
process
are
are
required
by
the
fcc
who
does
govern
these
kinds
of
things,
but
at
the
same
time,
there's
no
paperwork
from
bossbook
schools,
we
hand
a
family,
a
voucher,
there's
nothing
that
they
sign,
there's
nothing
that
that
we
ask
of
them.
I
just
give
them
a
voucher
and
say
I
I
you
know,
I
want
to
pay
your
bill,
but
you
know
by
the
time
a
family
comes
to
us
and
says
I
tried
and
it
really
it's
really
not
working.
F
They
don't
want
to
call
back,
and
so
you
know
we
have
had.
I
would
say
it's
been
a
rough
time
with
the
families
that
need
the
most
help.
Getting
them
through,
that
sign
up
process,
comcast,
starry,
rcn
and
verizon
are
the
four
major
providers
within
the
city
of
austin.
I
I
I
think
the
sign
up
process
is
equally
difficult
for,
for
all
of
the
four
of
the
vendors
with
the
the
internet
essentials
program
with
the
voucher.
F
But
it
has
been
a
back
and
forth
comcast
to
say
hey.
This
is
the
experience
that
a
family
had.
You
know
the
comcast
has
said
that
they've
done
debt
forgiveness,
where
they
will
forgive
any
pre-existing
debt
that
a
family
has
we've
had
mixed
results
with
families
calling
and
getting.
You
know,
one
person
who
kind
of
works
them
through
that
process
and
then
there's
more
of
a
roadblock,
and
that
was
you
know
even
today,
where
here
we
are
four
or
five
months
after
we've
started
this
program.
F
I've
got
a
family
who
has
a
pre-existing
debt
and
they
could
not
get
through
through
the
the
call
center.
So
you
know
we
are.
We
are
very
lucky
that
we've
got
a
fantastic
representative
on
the
back
end
comcast,
but
I
do
share
your
frustrations.
I
do
share
your
concerns
that
I
wish
that
we
didn't
have
to
get
to
that
point.
I
wish
that
the
customer
service
was
such
that
that
anybody
could
call-
and
it
was
you
know
as
easy
as
signing
up
for
for
hulu
or
netflix,
but
you
know
that
is.
F
F
This
has
gone
through
a
number
of
iterations,
but
it
is
a.
It
is
15
off
of
your
your
internet
bill
if
you're
a
low-income
family,
but
it
is
now
there
is
another
sign-up
process.
There
is
a
government
form
so
the
lifeline
program.
While
it
is
another
financial
assistance
to
a
family,
it
is
another
form,
and
every
time
you
have
a
form
you're
going
to
have
families
back
off
or
they're,
going
to
be
concerned
about
the
information
or
where
it
is
going.
F
Even
that
alone,
the
fear
of
writing
down
sensitive
information
and
sending
it
to
a
company
is,
is
concerning
to
folks
and
and
even
the
first
few
months
there
is
the
rumor
going
around
was
that
you
needed
to
have
a
social
security
number
to
sign
up
to
comcast,
which
is
not
true
and
has
never
been
true,
but
that
rumor
was
out
there
and
that
has
prevented
a
number
of
families
from
signing
up
as
well.
So
these
barriers
to
sign
up
the
rumors,
the
the
challenges,
the
pre-existing
debt
that
you
might
have.
A
F
F
When
I
compare
where
it
is
now
to
where
it
was
five
years
ago,
it
is
night
and
day
and
and
most
recently
they
just
announced
that
they're
doubling
the
internet
speeds
they've
pushed
off
that
internet
cap
that
that
charge
that
they're
going
to
do,
but
there's
still
barriers
and,
and
it
is
very
challenging-
and
it
is.
It
is
something
where,
as
fantastic
as
our
rep
is,
it
is
a
national
issue,
and
it
is
something
that
all
of
all
my
counterparts
and
other
large
districts
are
still
struggling
with.
F
Yeah,
you
know
there
are
definitely
there
are
pros
and
cons
to
the
model
that
they're
having,
but
it
is
something
that
we've
expressed
some
some
concerns
around,
especially
because
we
are
seeing
that
barrier.
You
know
when
we
go
back
to
our
our
vouchers
that
we
have.
We
have
a
grant
from
the
department
of
education
for
four
hundred
thousand
dollars
to
pay
for
for
home
internet.
I
cannot
give
these
things
away.
I
cannot
get
them
to
be
used,
and
you
know
I.
F
I
have
not
seen
the
latest
bill
in
in
a
few
months.
We
do
get
a
bill
of
which
ones
are
used.
You
know
we
get
about.
I
think
we've
gotten
around
3
000
vouchers,
maybe
a
1500
or
so
or
2
000
have
been
given
out
to
families
a
fraction
of
that
have
been
actually
used
and
so
of
this
four
hundred
thousand
dollar
bill.
I
think
you
know
over
the
first
couple
of
months.
The
program
I
think
we're
looking
at
ten
or
ten
ten
to
fifteen
thousand
dollars
has
actually
been
been
been
utilized.
F
Yeah
techo's
home
has
been
very
helpful,
but
you
know
some
of
the
challenges
that
we're
hearing
from
families
are
they're
they're
having
a
tough
time
getting
through
the
call
center,
even
when
they
have
a
an
employee
as
a
vps
staff,
member
helping
them
through
being
on
the
call
with
them.
The
pre-existing
debt
thing
is
something
that
you
know
it
gets
it
we
can
get
through
that.
But
it
is
a
is
a
barrier
when
you
first
call
the
other
thing
too,
which
is
harder
to
calculate,
and
I
I've
heard
rumors.
F
F
F
D
F
The
internet
central's
program
is
not
the
right
one
you're
going
to
need
a
higher
tier,
so
that
upselling
thing
is
another
challenge
that
we
have.
That
we
have
heard
from
some
families
is
that
you
know
that
internet
essentials
we're
very
excited
that
they
just
doubled
their
speeds,
but
how
many
families
have
gone
to
sign
up
with
a
voucher
to
get
intersexuals
only
to
be
sold
a
higher
level
package
that
they
may
they
may
need,
or
they
may
not.
F
It's
it's
a
really
good
question.
So
what
we've
we've
done?
Over
the
last
few
months,
we
used
to
rely
on
survey
data
now,
with
everybody
being
home
and
they're
logging
in
through
zoom
they're
logging
in
through
our
systems,
we're
actually
able
to
calculate
that
speed.
We're
able
to
see
what
a
student's
internet
speed
is
without
having
to
ask
them.
We
can
see
who's
on
comcast
or
verizon.
F
We
can
see
what
their
internet
speed
is
for
the
most
part,
if
you're
on
comcast
across
the
city
of
boston,
the
difference
between
east
boston,
mattapan
and
west
roxbury,
jamaica
plain
is
insignificant,
we're
not
seeing
any
disparities
or
differences
by
the
neighborhood
that
you
live
in.
We
do
see
differences
by
the
internet
service
provider
that
you're
on,
and
that
is
where
there
are
disparities
between.
You
know,
verizon
fios
we're
seeing
much
much
faster
upload
speeds
compared
to
comcast
verizon's
only
available
in
certain
neighborhoods.
F
At
the
moment
it
is
growing
or
if
we
do
see
a
student
logging
in
through
a
mobile
access
point,
you
are
definitely
going
to
see
a
difference
in
the
the
quality
of
speed
that
they
have
so
provider
between.
You
know
families
that
live
in
a
neighborhood
who
have
comcast.
We
don't
see
that
much
of
a
difference,
but
we
do
see
a
difference
from
from
internet
service
provider
to
provider.
A
A
G
Yeah
good
evening,
madam
chair
and
commissioners
and
director
carvalho,
my
name
is
joel
wollam
special
advisor
for
policy
at
the
bha,
I'm
joined
by
lydia
agro
who's,
our
chief
of
staff
and
administrator
bennett
is
not
available,
but
she
sends
her
regards,
and
this
is
the
topic-
that's
very
important
to
her.
So
we're
glad
for
the
opportunity
to
chat.
I
did
prepare
some
slides.
I
can
share
them.
If
we
want
a
more
interactive
form,
I
can
I've
sent
them
to
this.
G
G
G
G
Great,
so
I
will
move
through
the
intro
pieces
pretty
quickly,
but
we
at
the
bha.
We
have
done
a
lot
of
mission,
envisioning,
rebranding
and
whatnot,
so
I
did
want
to
just
present
our
updated
or
updated
mission
that
the
housing
authority
has
and
you'll
have
the
slides.
So
you
can
enjoy
this
statement
here.
G
Bha
is
the
largest
public
housing
authority
in
new
england.
We
have
about
60
developments,
we
house
about
9
of
the
city's
residents
and
we're
also
a
major
employer
and
in
terms
of
who
we're
housing.
It's
about
10
000.
You
know
roughly
units
of
public
housing
and
then
another
14
000,
some
people
who
have
either
mobile
vouchers,
for
example,
section
8
or
project
based
vouchers.
Today,
we're
going
to
be
mostly
talking
about
digital
equity
initiatives
that
relate
to
public
housing.
G
C
G
We
are
partnering
with
the
city
of
boston,
on
several
initiatives
and
the
city
is
contributing
resources
in
a
way
that
are
helpful
to
us
and
where
bha
is
also
deploying
its
own
resources.
To
address
this
issue,
we
have
a
range
of
initiatives
that
affect
community
spaces,
individual
households,
our
operations
and
a
new
housing
service
center.
So
I'm
not
going
to
go
too
much
into
our
operations,
but
what
I'll
say
briefly
is
just
that.
G
We
are
modernizing
a
lot
of
bha
things
so
that
they
are
electronic
faster
and
that
are
where
people
will,
with
cobit
out
physically
apply
for
vouchers
if
they're
doing
some
person
or
fiber
housing.
Excuse
me
if
they're
doing
so
in
person,
is
a
much
more
consumer
friendly
space,
so
we're
looking
at
this
a
crop
in
multiple
ways.
G
G
The
survey
that
we
conducted
last
summer
was
sent
to
all
public
housing
residents
in
english,
spanish
and
chinese,
which
is
the
three
most
common
languages
we
had
close
to.
700
respondents
and
majority
in
english,
significant
about
over
100,
came
in
in
spanish,
more
from
family
sites,
but
we
also
got
several
hundred
from
our
elderly
disabled
buildings
as
well.
G
C
D
C
G
Among
spanish
language
surveys-
and
we
did
get
more
than
100,
so
we
didn't
get
a
real
significant
amount
of
chinese
language
surveys,
but
in
the
spanish
it
was
also
one
in
three,
so
both
in
the
elderly
population
generally
and
in
spanish
language
speakers.
We,
our
survey,
did
indicate
at
least
that
we
had
significantly
lower
internet
access
and
even
in
the
general
population,
I
think
you
know
one
in
one
in
five,
even
for
the
family
sites.
It's
you
know.
E
G
G
G
G
G
So
we're
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
in
a
minute,
but
you
know
we're
working
to
to
expand
that
substantially
and
then
finally,
we
do
know
that
you
know
a
lot.
You
know
the
burden
would
be
a
lot
greater
or
the
disparity
would
be
a
lot
greater,
but
bps's
efforts
have
been
really
huge,
so
that
is
helping
a
lot
of
public
housing
families.
G
H
And
I
mean
just
to
to
some
of
mark's
points.
We
do
find
the
the
we've
reached
out
to
all
the
residents
that
we
received
received,
survey
responses
back.
That
said,
either
they
didn't
have
a
connection
or
needed
help
in
some
way,
because
the
connection
they
had
was
too
expensive
and
did
talk
to
them
about
the
internet.
Essentials
option
helped
some
of
them
sign
up,
but
I
would
agree
with
what
marks
with
mark's
comments
around
that
that
it's
it's
difficult
and
within
the
bha
population.
H
I
feel,
generally
speaking,
that
you
know
the
folks
that
have
connections
have
been
either
able
to
they've
been
able
to
figure
it
out
and
the
folks
that
don't
need
more
help
right.
It's
not
either
with
the
form
or
using
a
device
or
understanding.
It's
not
good
enough
to
get
somebody
connected
if
they
don't
know
how
to
use
a
device
or
don't
know
how
to
log
on
to
something.
H
But
I
think
one
of
the
things
we
really
need
to
be
mindful
of
is
sustainability,
and
there
have
been
past
attempts
where
things
have
happened
that
have
improved
the
situation
at
bha
for
a
certain
period
of
time,
but
because
of
the
grants
that
those
were
done
under
and
the
lifetime
of
those
grants,
then
they
went
away
for
example,
so
we
really
wanna
put
something
in
place.
That's
gonna
be
long
term
and
not
just
like
a
year
or
two
providing
free
common
area.
H
H
Throughout
the
bha
portfolio,
the
option
both
for
residents
to
subscribe
to
their
15
a
month
service
so
right
now,
bha
residents
do
not
have
access
to
that
because
start
star
is
not
an
internet
service
provider.
That's
connected
into
bha
developments.
For
the
most
part,
the
only
subscriber
that
bha
residents
have
access
to
across
the
board
is
comcast,
and
that
is
one
of
the
challenges.
There's
just
not
enough
internet
service
provider
options
out
there
for
people
that
are
affordable
and
easy
to
connect
to.
H
H
H
Desktop
computers
to
put
in
common
area
spaces
and
some
computers
also
for
our
resident
leaders,
there's
a
lot
going
on
with
our
resident
leaders,
so
they
they
need.
We
need
to
make
sure
they
have
access,
and
then
we
also
need
to
make
sure
that
there's
some
public
ability
within
the
common
area,
spaces
for
residents
who
live
in
the
buildings
to
have
access
and
those
computers
are,
are
we
have
them?
H
G
G
H
G
H
F
E
F
City
has
been
able
to
benefit
from
leasing
what
they
call
dark
for.
What's
called
dark
fiber,
the
fiber
that
was
laid
down
in
the
street
has
been
unused
so
that
that
dark
fiber
is
what
has
been
run
to
schools.
It's
been
run
to
bha
programs
and
it's
been
provided
to
the
city
through
the
leasing
agreements
with
both
comcast
and
now
verizon.
A
F
So
very
few
parts
of
the
city
have
fiber
optics
to
the
to
houses
because
it
has
been,
it's
been
comcast
that
has
been
the
main
provider
and
so
now
verizon
through
their
new
franchising
agreement,
have
been
running
fiber
optics.
So
you
know
that
is.
That
is
one
of
the
challenges
of
boston.
Is
that
with
comcast
being
the
only
provider
there
hasn't
been
as
much?
However,
I
guess
you
could
say
enterprise
level
of
fiber
going
to
schools
going
to
housing
right
there.
F
There
is
actually
an
enormous
amount
of
fiber
in
the
city
for
that
it
has
been
for
years
as
this
as
the
city
was
looking
to
expand
bone
at
we're.
Looking
at
maps
of
where
all
the
fiber
is
in
the
city.
It's
you've
got
all
these
companies
that
you've
never
heard
of
since
crown
castle
that
have
just
fiber
optics
laying
in
the
streets
that
we've
been
able
to
lease
and
utilize.
So.
B
G
Well,
I
think,
as
far
as
I
think,
their
service
is
universal
and
they
had
offered
that
internet
essential
program
earlier.
I
think
you
know
that
we're
happy
for
multiple
providers,
which
is
one
reason
why,
as
lydia
noted,
we're
happy
with
this
new
partnership
with
starry
we're
happy
to
see
other
options,
we're
really
thrilled.
F
G
H
At
one
point
we
did
try
to
roll
out
with
rcn
and
had-
and
this
goes
back
like
quite
a
while-
had-
I
think,
a
contract
with
them
or
almost
had
a
contract
with
them,
and
then
they
pulled
out
so
and
comcast
you
know
was
the
cable
provider
that
came
in
and-
and
you
know
they
work
with
the
city
to
get
their
cable
franchise
license
and
all
of
that
kind
of
thing
quite
much
much
earlier.
Verizon
wasn't
in
the
picture
for
that
use
at
that
time.
Right
and
starry
wasn't
even
formed
at
that
time.
H
F
Yeah
the
the
licensing
agreements
are-
and
this
is
where
I
I
want
to
speak
out
of
turn
in
terms
of
what
my
knowledge
of
this,
but
it
is
something
that
comcast
has
had
an
exclusive
contract
to
be
the
cable
provider
within
boston
for
a
number
of
years.
So
this
year,
when
we
in
the
boss,
public
schools-
and
we
look
to
support
the
internet
essentials
program,
the
primary
reason
was
because
we
knew
that
comcast
was
available
in
all
parts
of
the
city.
F
A
D
A
A
The
recording
go
in
class,
yeah,
yeah,
okay,
all
right
so
does
anybody,
so
the
question
I
have
is:
how
do
we
make
this
better?
One
thing
I'm
hearing
is
the
form
itself,
the
comcast
complicated
process.
It's
not
just
the
form,
it's
the
process,
you
think
mark.
If
you
gave
someone
a
voucher
that
should
be
enough
right.
F
Yeah
I
the
sign
up
process
is,
as
we
know
is,
is
one
of
the
main
barriers
for
families,
and
you
know
oftentimes.
Their
families
are
going
through
very
difficult
situations
or
or
moving
locations,
and
you
know
the
common
theme
that
I've
heard
is
is
outstanding
debt,
so
even
if
they
are
able
to
get
through
the
form,
even
if
the
form
isn't
a
barrier,
pre
challenges
that
a
family
has
had
with
comcast
services
again
in
getting
reconnected.
F
D
A
H
I
think
it's
for
everybody,
but
we
have
the
same
experience.
You
know
so
so
we
refer
somebody
over
to
comcast,
but
it's
hard.
You
know,
there's
the
staff
person
and
the
resident
and
then
the
isp
right.
You
send
the
resident
off
to
go,
call
the
isp
and
stuff
happens,
and
then
they
may
or
may
not
come
back
and
tell
you
what
happened,
but
they
get
tangled
up
right.
Then
they
come
back
and
tell
you
and
they
got
tangled
up
and
then
you
have
to
go
back
and
you
have
to
try
to.
E
A
I
F
D
F
And
then
we
also
have
a
rep,
and
I
I
can't
say
I
can't
say
enough
about
our
rep
that
she
is
able
to
get
through
everything.
The
only
case
that
she
has
not
been
able
to
get
through
is
when
the
student
was
under
the
age
of
18
and
wanted
to
sign
up
on
their
own,
and
I
understand
due
to
you,
know
different
situations.
F
H
H
D
D
A
H
I
mean
I
can
I
can
give
you
an
example.
So
the
bha
did
a
pilot
with
starry,
which
is
not
something
we
can
necessarily
repeat,
because
it
will
cost
money,
and
you
know
they
are
at
the
end
of
the
day,
a
for-profit
company,
and
we
don't
have
the
money,
but
we
did
do
a
pilot
with
them
at
our
estonia
development,
which
is
an
elderly
disabled
development
in
the
north
end,
where
they
put
access
points
throughout
the
building.
H
It's
just
there
and
we
have
some
very
tech
savvy
residents
in
that
building,
and
we
also
have
residents
who
want
absolutely
nothing
to
do
with
internet
and
never
want
to
connect
to
wi-fi
whatever.
But
it's
there
and
it
is.
I
mean
that,
in
my
opinion,
is
what
people
really
need.
They
just
need
something
in
place:
that's
easy
to
connect
to
and
that
doesn't
cost
any
money.
Getting
that
done
is
a
whole
nother
ball
of
wax.
H
Like
broadly-
and
you
know,
I
can't
answer
that
question
like
for
the
whole
city
or
even
for
the
bha,
because
right
now
we
have
no
mechanism.
I
do
feel
like
the
partnership
we
have
with
starry.
Will
you
know
at
least
get
us
to
some
free
common
area
wi-fi
within
the
developments
that
they're
rolling
out
a
better
another
option,
in
addition
to
the
comcast
internet
essentials
option
for
for
a
monthly,
you
know
it's
a
fifteen
dollar
monthly
fee.
H
It
is
a
different
download
and
upload
speed,
so
the
connection
might
be
useful
for
people
and
then,
as
we
can
roll
out
on
the
other
on
the
on
the
city's
cyber
bonet
piece
for
other
sites
for
common
area,
wi-fi
that's
kind
of
what
we're
trying
to
get
to
some.
So
even
if
you
can't
afford
your
own
connection
in
your
own
unit,
you
can
go
down
to
a
community
room
and
sit
at
a
desk
and
a
computer
and
connect
if
you
need
to.
A
B
G
G
G
To
mention
is
that
this
is
not.
You
know,
we
don't
we're,
not
involved
this
directly,
but
the
agreements
with
internet
service
providers
that
the
municipalities
have
that
do
come
up
or
they're
amended
from
time
to
time.
So
it's
always
worth
paying
attention
that
process.
Yes,
yeah.
The
other
thing
I
want
to
mention
really
briefly.
G
I
think
it's
amazing
actually
that
boss,
public
schools
has
been
able
to
get
this
voucher.
I
think
first
was
sponsored
service,
but
it's
it's
where
they,
where
they
can
really
when
they
can
get
people
signed
up
and
many
people
have
been
right.
We
looked
bj
has
looked
into
doing
the
same
thing,
particularly
with
our
recent
federal
relief.
Until
until
recently,
we
have
not
been
allowed
to
do
that
because
hud
has
prohibited
it.
So
it's
changed
a
bit
very
recently,
but
when,
as
particularly
at
the
beginning
of
the
pandemic,
we
looked
into.
G
Could
we
sponsor
service
for
residents
and
there
were
so
many
different
barriers
to
us
functionally
doing
that
that
it
just
wasn't.
We
just
shifted
course
from
our
survey,
though
we
looked
at
cost
of
internet
and
cost
of
devices
as
being
the
two
top
barriers.
So
we
started,
we've
looked
at
again,
the
free.
E
G
Wi-Fi
and
then
can
we
just
buy
devices
for
people
similarly
to
and
not
on
the
scale
that
bps
has
but
other
sets
of
folks
who
may
not
be
public
school
students.
So,
as
lydia
noted
like
are
highly
our
resident
leaders,
we
absolutely
need
them
to
be.
You
know
able
to
engage,
provide
input
on
how
we
operate.
You
know
tenant
organizers
and
tenant
leaders,
so
we
are
I'm
getting
them
online.
They
help
other
residents
as
well.
A
A
I
know
that
and
I
I
know
people
appreciate
all
you've
been
able
to
do,
which
is
you
know
like
climbing
everest,
three
or
four
times
to
get
get
and
all
you've
heard
is
a
lot
of
complaints
about
how
it
didn't
work
when
it
didn't
work.
But
it's
amazing
that
it
it's
gotten
done
as
well
as
it's
gotten
done.
So
thank
you
and
thank
all
of
you
for
coming
and
sharing
with
us
and
we're
going
to
try
to
find
out
figure
out
how
we
can
be
more
helpful.
A
I'm
not
quite
sure
what
the
answer
is
yet,
but
where
we
we
know
it's
more
difficult
than
it
should
be,
and
we're
looking
at
ways
that
that
you
know
it
clearly
has
an
impact
on
black
and
brown
disabled
people.
Elderly
people
in
a
disparate
way,
so
we're
trying
to
figure
out
their
ways
that
we
can
be
more
helpful
and
streamline
the
process
as
well.
So
I
appreciate
it.
Thank
you
for
joining
us.
You're,
welcome
to
stay
or
go
we're
going
to
be
done
shortly
anyway.
So.
Thank
you,
though,
appreciate
it.
Thank.
A
A
I
have
talked
to
one
of
the
plaintiffs
in
the
case
the
latinx
group,
and
so
it's
just
started.
I'm
gonna,
I'm
gonna
get
some
information
on
it,
but
you
saw
the
numbers.
They
were
startlingly
low
of
both
latinx
and
black
and
women
you,
you
know
it
looks
like
you
had
to
work
at
it
to
get
them
that
low
I
mean
they
were
really
really
low,
and
so,
as
you
saw,
the
mayor
has
done
an
executive
order
and
putting
some
goals
in
and
created
an
advisory
committee.
A
A
That's
a
problem,
so
you
know
we
ought
to
look
at
it.
Sort
of
quarterly
and
see.
What's
happened,
or
at
least
at
the
end
of
six
months,
see
what's
happened
and
has
anything
changed,
because
it's
so
easy
to
make
goals
and
then,
at
the
end
of
the
year
you
look
at
it.
Nothing
happened
just
like
these
cadet
programs.
You
know
done
for
a
reason.
Then
people
forget
the
reason
they
were
done.
A
Here,
yeah
john
barrows:
actually
they
act.
I
talked
to
him
too.
They
actually
commissioned
the
study
and
paid
for
it.
It
got
leaked
before
they
were
ready
to
talk
about.
It
is
what
happened
and
the
plan
was
to
you
know,
release
the
study
and
have
a
plan
ready.
But
what
happened?
Is
it
got
released
early
and
then
they
didn't
have
a
plan
ready,
but
the
the
mayor
did
an
executive
order
which
then
set
these
goals
and
put
an
advisory
group
together.
A
H
H
E
A
A
E
E
A
A
B
A
A
Let's
find
out
and
ask
them
to
come.
I
think
that's
great
okay,
public
comment,
so
members
of
the
public
will
now
have
an
opportunity
to
comment.
You
can
raise
your
hand
or
type
your
questions
in
the
chat
via
the
zoom
meeting
platform.
If
you
are
calling
in
and
cannot
use
the
platform,
you
can
press
nine
to
raise
your
hand
or
you
can
send
your
questions
to
the
staff
via
email
at
susan.hemly
boston.gov.