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From YouTube: Winter Preparedness Press Conference 11-20-20
Description
Mayor Walsh hosts a media availability to discuss preparing the city for winter weather.
To view with Sign Language interpretation, please visit https://youtu.be/35TKDDygDXo
A
Good
morning,
everyone
I'm
chris
osgood,
I
have
the
honor
of
serving
as
mayor
walsh's
chief
of
streets
and
the
pleasure
of
welcoming
you
to
our
winter
preparedness
press
conference
before
we
grant.
I
just
want
to
let
folks
know
that
we
are
recording
this
event.
We
will
be
posting
it
on
boston.gov,
with
translations
available
there,
where
we're
standing
is
the
heart
of
the
city's
snow
operations.
A
It's
simply
one
part
of
mayor
walsh's,
administration-wide
winter
preparedness
effort,
an
effort
which
includes
coordination
of
all
the
snow
operations
by
our
superintendent
of
street
operations,
mike
brawl,
making
sure
that
all
of
our
residents
have
safe
shelter,
coordinated
by
our
chief
of
housing,
sheila
dillon,
making
sure
that
all
of
our
residents
are
well
supported,
coordinated
by
our
chief
of
civic
engagement,
jerome
smith,
making
sure
there's
great
coordination
across
our
emergency
preparedness
organizations
by
our
chief
of
emergency
preparedness,
shoe
benford
and,
of
course,
the
person
who
leads
us.
And
all
that
is
our
mayor.
B
Thank
you
very
much
chris,
and
I
want
to
thank
everyone
for
being
here
today.
I
want
to
particularly
thank
all
the
the
team
here
at
public
works
and
transportation.
I
know
this
year
is
very
different.
In
the
years
past,
we'd
have
a
lot
of
people
up
here
at
the
at
the
podium,
but
I
just
want
to
say
how
grateful
I
am
for
the
work
that
each
of
you
have
done
during
this
difficult
time
during
covert
19.
I
know
that
it's
a
hard
time
for
a
lot
of
us.
B
It's
a
hard
time
for
our
families.
It's
a
hard
time
for
our
city,
but
throughout
this
entire
pandemic,
our
public
works
department
and
our
transportation
department
haven't
stopped
one
day,
and
I
want
to
give
a
special
shout
out
to
all
the
folks
that
are
out
every
single
day
doing
the
work.
We
talk
a
lot
about
essential
personnel
and
we've
talked
a
lot
about
grocery
store
workers
and
nurses
and
doctors
and
police
and
fire
ems.
Our
public
works
team
here
in
the
city
of
boston
is
not
stopped
either.
B
Throughout
this
pandemic,
people
going
to
work
every
day
doing
important
work
of
the
city
on
behalf
of
the
residents,
so
I
truly
want
to
acknowledge
all
of
you.
I
want
to
thank
chris
osgood
and
we're
going
to
hear
from,
as
chris
mentioned,
sheila
dillon's
going
to
be
here
and
talk
in
a
few
minutes
and
we're
going
to
have
some
other
speakers
jerome
smith,
and
we
also
have
available
public
works
superintendent
mike
bro
transportation,
commissioner
greg
rooney
emergency
management,
director,
shermaine
benfit.
I
want
to
thank
shu
and
his
team
civic
engagement,
chief
jerome
smith.
B
I
want
to
thank
them
all
for
their
work
as
well
here
in
the
city.
I
want
to
wish
a
special
happy
birthday
today
is
for
president-elect
joe
biden,
so
happy
birthday,
mr
president-elect,
we're
excited
about
you
signing
I'm
excited
about
you,
starting.
I
want
to
thank
the
media,
who
always
play
a
big
role
in
in
the
in
the
talk
of
a
conversation
about
winter
preparedness,
and
that's
what
we're
here
to
talk
about
today.
B
This
this
piece
of
winter
preparedness
is
about
being
prepared.
It's
about
caring
for
our
most
vulnerable
folks,
here
in
the
city,
it's
about
helping
neighbors
working
together
and
making
sure
that
we
continue
to
check
on
each
other.
When
storms
come
it's
about
all
of
us
doing
our
job
and
doing
our
part.
B
I've
stood
here
at
this
podium
now.
This
is
my,
I
believe,
my
eighth
time
talking
about
winter
preparedness,
and
sometimes
when
I
talk
it's
usually
a
nice
day
like
this
and
within
a
matter
of
weeks
and
months,
we
either
have
106.4
inches
of
snow,
or
we
have
very
little
snow
like
we
did
last
year,
but
we
still
are
making
sure
that
the
city
of
boston
is
prepared
for
this.
B
In
this
year's
budget.
We
allocated
20
million
dollars
for
winter
preparedness.
We
had
major
new
investments
in
recent
years
to
upgrade
or
replace
our
fleet
of
snow
vehicles
for
the
folks
that
that
do
this
work
every
day,
we've
added
24
pieces
of
new
equipment.
Here
in
this
yard,
for
cleaning
snow
and
snow
removal,
we
have
150
pieces
in
total
for
for
ice
equipment
and
snow
equipment
in
the
city.
B
B
Our
public
public's
works
has
in
place
new
operation
procedures
to
ensure
that
everyone
remains
safe
and
workers
can
comply
with
social
distancing
guidelines.
It's
not
just
about
making
sure
that
we
clear
the
streets,
but
it's
also
about
making
sure
that
we
keep
our
workers
safe
here
that
work
here
in
this
yard
and
throughout
the
city
of
boston.
B
That
includes
allowing
both
employees
and
contractors
to
start
their
shifts
in
the
field
rather
than
gathering
in
one
spot.
Believe
it
or
not.
We
have
already
had
a
record-setting
snow
this
year
october,
30th
halloween
storm
was
the
biggest
october
storm
on
record.
We
had
four
plus
inches
of
snow
superintendent
brawl
that
reported
that
it
was
a
good
test
of
our
ability
to
meet
the
unexpected
challenges
of
the
covet
safety
operations.
So
we
kind
of
got
a
chance
to.
B
We
also
need
residents,
businesses
and
property
owners
to
do
their
part.
I
know
that
there's
no
snow
out
the
window,
but
we
want
you
to
understand
that
when
snow
does
come
the
sidewalk
in
front
of
your
property
is
your
responsibility
to
shovel
and
de-ice
we're
asking
to
do
that.
Those
are
the
num.
That's
probably
the
number
one
call
that
we
get
often
times
when
snow
happens,
businesses
being
people
calling
on
businesses
or
hormones.
B
Quite
honest,
saying
that
shovels,
the
sidewalks
aren't
shoveled
we're
asking
everyone
who
is
able
to
shovel
out
the
fire
hydrants
in
front
of
their
homes
or
on
the
streets.
We're
asking
you
to
make
sure
the
storm
drains
in
your
streets
shovel
out
as
well,
so
that
when
the
snow
begins
to
melt
and
the
ice
begins
to
melt,
the
water
has
some
place
to
go.
So
it
just
doesn't
cause
more
danger,
we're
asking
people
to
check
out
and
make
sure
you
stay
in
contact
with
neighbors
that
might
be
elderly
or
neighbors
that
might
meet
neighbors.
B
B
We're
also
asking
people
to
check
on
those
who
may
be
housebound,
family
members
or
residents
that
may
be
housebound
to
make
sure
to
see
if
they
need
anything
see
if
they
need
something
at
the
store.
If
they
need
milk
bread,
if
they
need
the
supplies
that
they
need
to
to
be
living
on.
So
if
you
could
help
that
would
be
that'd
be
incredible.
B
We
need
everyone
to
continue
to
work
together.
We've
seen
that
this
entire
time
here
in
the
city
during
the
covert
crisis,
neighbor
helping
neighbor
and
just
helping
everyone
get
through
this
time
for
our
seniors
that
are
watching
and
that
that
that
we
come
in
contact
with,
we
have
resources
to
help
you
as
well.
I
know
this
been
a
difficult
year
because
of
covid
and
a
lot
of
concerns
about
financial
concerns.
We
have
fuel
assistance,
we
have
home
repairs.
We
can
also
help
you
provide
help
you
access
food
and
medication
delivery.
B
If
you
need
that,
so
we
need
you
to
reach
out
to
the
city
of
boston.
We
are
currently
running
a
benefit
awareness
campaign
to
make
sure
that
people
understand
that
they
are
available
for
all
of
them.
I
encourage
any
senior.
If
you
have
questions
about
anything
I
just
said
or
or
concerns
about
how
you're
going
to
get
through
the
winter.
We'll
ask
you
to
call
3-1-1
our
age.
Strong
commission
is
ready
to
help
you
with
any
concerns
you
might
have.
B
We
have
an
extensive
system
for
getting
information
out
to
residents
both
before
and
during
emergencies.
We
are
finalizing
this
year's
winter
weather
guide
that
will
will
distribute
across
the
city
of
boston.
You
should
be
receiving
in
a
mail
within
the
next
two
weeks.
We
also
have
it
translated
in
10
different
languages.
B
You
can
also
get
any
current
information
on
emergency
updates
at
boston,
dot,
gov,
slash,
snow
boston.gov
snow,
and
I
also
want
to
thank
the
media
because,
anytime
that
we
have
a
winter
weather
advisory.
The
media
has
been
very
helpful.
Getting
information
out
to
the
residents
of
our
city,
we're
going
to
be
updating
sites
as
storms
come
to.
Let
people
know
what
the
latest
in
storm
activity
is.
I
also
encourage
people.
If
you
haven't
signed
up
for
the
alert
boston
system,
you
can
get
text
emails
and
phone
calls.
B
We
offer
alerts
in
several
different
languages,
so
we're
asking
people
if
you
want
to
do
that.
You
go
to
boston.gov
alert
boston
to
sign
up
or
you
can
text
the
word
alert
boston.
All
one
word
to
88877:
that's
alert,
boston.
One
word
to
888
777,
the
same
system
that
we're
using
for
covet
19
is
alerts.
That's
what
we're
doing
as
well.
You
can
go
to
you
text
the
word
boss,
covid
to
888,
777
and
it'll,
give
you
information
almost
on
a
daily
basis
about
what's
happening
in
the
city
of
boston.
B
When
it
comes
to
covid
and
also
on
winter
winter
information.
You
can
also
call
311
anyone
that
wants
to
access
the
city
of
boston.
You
can
call
3-1
anytime,
we
put
on
extra
call
takers
during
the
snow
storms,
our
cheapest
civic
engagement,
general
smith,
will
talk
a
little
more
about
that
people
experiencing
homelessness.
B
Winter
gives
them
an
extra
danger.
Every
year
we
work
hard
on
our
shelters
and
street
outreach
teams
to
make
sure
that
our
shelter
is
available
for
anyone
in
need
during
extreme
weather
emergencies
like
snow
or
extreme
cold.
We
do
extensive
coordination,
outreach,
it's
important
thing
for
the
public
to
know.
If
you
see
someone
homeless,
you
see
someone
vulnerable
out
on
the
streets
whose
cold
looks
disorientated,
undressed
or
in
distress.
Call
three
9-1-1.
B
Anyone
that
you
think
is
an
emergency
call
9-1-1,
so
we
can
get
immediate
help
to
that
person
or
persons
that
are
out
there
that
are
struggling.
Our
first
responders
are
trained
and
equipped
to
provide
the
help.
They
need
the
people
that
people
need,
whether
it's
mental
health
services
or
whatever
it
might
be.
We
want
to
be
able
to
make
sure
we
keep
people
safe.
B
B
In
the
winter
we
see
more
people
taking
advantage
of
the
shelter
system,
so
we're
continuing
to
work
on
making
sure
that
our
shelters
do
not
compromise
covert
safety.
Sheila
dillon,
our
chief
of
housing,
will
talk
a
little
more
about
that
in
a
minute.
We've
also
made
significant
improvements
and
advances
in
preventing
and
reducing
homelessness
in
boston.
B
Since
may,
we've
placed
over
200
homeless
individuals
into
permanent
housing.
We
issued
permanent
rental
vouchers
for
nearly
a
thousand
families
of
boston,
public
school
students
who
were
at
risk
of
homelessness.
We
provided
1226
rental
relief
vouchers
to
households.
We
create
over
800
units
of
income,
restricted,
affordable
housing
in
the
city.
We
pass
an
eviction,
eviction,
notification,
ordinance
to
make
sure
people
know
their
rights
and
can
access
can
access
resources
before
they're
facing
eviction
proceedings.
B
B
The
last
thing
I
just
want
to
say
is
to
everyone.
I
want
everyone
to
have
a
safe
and
happy
thanksgiving
with
your
households.
I'm
asking
you
to
have
no,
no,
no
one
other
than
your
immediate
household.
Together.
This
thanksgiving
is
going
to
be
very
different.
Obviously
it's
important
and
I've
asked
the
media
to
continue
to
put
this
message
out
with
the
cases
going
up.
The
last
thing
we
need
to
see
is
continue
to
see
these
cases
in
coming
from
indoor
gatherings.
B
B
B
I
want
to
ask
just
say:
we
need
to
focus
on
being
thankful
in
many
ways,
and
I
certainly
am
let's
be
thankful
for
our
older
relatives
and
keep
them
safe.
Let's
be
thankful
for
those
of
that
there's
a
vaccine
coming
on
the
horizon
and
a
promise
that
a
new
administration
will
tackle
this
culver
19
in
a
hole
with
a
national
plan,
unlike
the
way
it's
being
handled
today.
B
We
can't
do
traditional
tree
lightings
this
year
with
the
crowds,
but
we'll
see
we'll.
We
will
be
lighting
these
trees
and
many
of
the
folks
that
are
here
that
you
don't
see
on
camera
right
now
are
putting
those
trees
up,
and
I
want
to
thank
you
for
the
work
that
you
do
every
day
before
I
turn
over
to
sheila
dillon.
B
B
I
know
many
of
the
people
on
here,
so
the
folks
that
are
here,
I
want
you
to
make
sure
you
go
out
and
tell
everyone
you
see
today
how
grateful
the
mayor
of
the
city
of
boston
is
for
the
incredible
work
you
do.
I
truly
appreciate
it.
I
know
when
it's
cold
out,
I
know
you're
out
in
the
streets.
I
know
when
it's
hot
out,
I
know
you're
on
the
streets.
I
know
you're
fixing
and
building
and
cleaning
and
doing
everything.
That's
really
important.
B
You
are
the
most
important
part
of
our
city,
all
of
us
up
here.
I
appreciate
all
the
chiefs
and
they're
great
people.
They
do
great
work,
but
the
folks
that
go
out
and
get
their
hands
dirty
every
day
and
do
that
work
without
you,
we
don't
have
the
city
of
boston
that
we
enjoy.
So
thank
you
on
behalf
of
all
the
resident
city.
I
want
to
thank
you
for
your
incredible
work.
Now,
I'm
going
to
turn
over
to
sheila
dillon
who's,
going
to
talk
and
then
chill
will
bring
up
chief
smith.
C
C
Now
we
have
about
twelve
capacity
for
about
twelve
hundred
individuals
throughout
the
city
of
boston,
as
we
head
into
winter,
we've
been
working
very
closely
with
the
public
health
commission,
saint
francis
house,
the
boston
rescue
mission,
pine
street
bridge
over
troubled
waters
and
the
new
england
center
for
homeless
vets
to
bring
on
additional
beds
with
their
extra
capacity,
we'll
have
an
additional
200
beds,
and
this
is
really
important.
They're
going
to
be
beds
for
women,
men
and
more
intently
this
year
for
young
adults
that
are
experiencing
homelessness.
C
So
I
really
want
to
thank
the
state
they're
bringing
on
the
additional
beds
and
that
will
help
help
us
a
great
deal.
So
I
also
want
to
say
that,
for
our
unsheltered
homeless
and
very
in
bad
weather
every
day,
but
especially
in
bad
weather,
pine
street
will
bring
on
additional
vans.
They'll
be
going
around
the
city
to
make
sure
that
homeless.
Individuals
that
don't
want
to
come
into
shelter
are
safe
and
really
encourage
them
to
come
in.
C
It's
it's
more
important
than
ever
this
year,
because
a
lot
of
our
homeless
are
fearful
of
coming
into
crowded
conditions,
and
while
we've
done
a
good
job
to
de-densify,
the
shelters,
there's
still
a
lot
of
fear.
So
I
can't
stress
enough
what
the
mayor
said:
there
will
be
people
on
the
street
that
do
not
want
to
come
in.
So
if
the
public
sees
anyone
that
looks
vulnerable,
they
should
call
3-1-1,
always
err
on
the
side
of
caution
and
we
have
wonderful
trained
first
responders
that
will
respond
quickly
and
effectively.
C
We
will
respond
within
24
hours,
make
sure
that
they've
got
the
heat
and
the
services
that
they
need
so
for
seniors
that
are
watching
if
you
you'll
find
yourself
and
it's
bad
weather
and
you
have
ice
blocks
or
or
your
heating
system
has
gone
down
or
you
just
have
general
questions
about
your
home.
Please
call
3-1-1
and
you
will
get
a
quick
response
and
the
help
that
you
need
and
then
finally,
we've
been
promoting
since
this
summer,
but
I
need
to
keep
promoting
that
mayor.
C
Walsh
has
a
wonderful
program
that
will
help
seniors
replace
their
heating
systems.
This
is
an
eight
thousand
dollar
grant,
and
not
only
do
you
get
close
to
a
free
heating
system,
but
you
also
get
help
to
make
sure
it's
installed
properly.
It's
high
efficiency,
it's
there
they're
very
high
quality,
and
so,
if
you've
got
an
old
heating
system
and
you're
worried
about
it,
please
call
311
or
635
home
and
we
will
respond
immediately
and
try
to
get
your
heating
system
before
the
cold
weather
arrives.
C
So
there's
a
lot
of
systems
in
place
a
lot
of
safeguards
in
place,
but
you
are
our
eyes
and
ears
and
please
reach
out
to
us.
If
you
see
anything
that
is
troubling
or
anyone
that
is
vulnerable
and
we
will
do
our
best
to
respond
very
very
quickly
with
that,
I'm
going
to
hand
this
over
to
jerome
smith,
chief
of
civic
engagement.
Thank
you.
D
Good
afternoon
everybody
and
thank
you
chief
dylan
and
mayor
walsh,
my
name
is
jerome
smith.
I
am
the
chief
of
civic
engagement
and
the
director
of
neighborhood
services
for
the
city
of
boston
and,
as
you
heard
from
my
colleagues,
there
are
many
city
services
that
we
provide
and
3-1-1
and
the
neighborhood
liaisons
are
here
to
actually
help
the
residents
get
those
delivery
of
services
as
efficiently
as
possible.
So
you
heard
a
number
of
times
from
my
colleagues
about
calling
3-1-1.
D
D
We
have
now
provided
more
lines
to
be
able
to
be
covered,
the
city
of
boston
and
their
mobile.
With
this
new
work
from
home
setup
that
we
have,
we
actually
have
more
call
takers
that
are
actually
on
the
phones
that
will
be
able
to
answer
your
calls
and
direct
city
services
to
you.
So
we
encourage
residents
to
report
non-emergency
issues
to
3-1-1
where
they
are
there.
24
hours
a
day,
7
days
a
week,
the
ways
that
you
can
contact
3-1-1
is
you
can
just
dial
3-1-1
on
any
mobile
device
or
on
our
rotary
phone.
D
If
you
have
one,
you
can
visit
the
city's
website
at
boston.gov
311
or
you
can
download
the
boston
311
app
on
your
phone.
So
those
are
some
of
the
basic
ways
of
which
you
can
request
city
services.
You
can
also
tweet
at
boston
to
request
city
services,
so
we
hope
that
residents
will
avail
themselves
to
this
service
that
has
been
enhanced
over
the
past
couple
of
months.
D
Every
every
neighborhood
in
city,
boston
has
a
neighborhood
liaison,
and
each
of
the
liaisons
are
here
to
help
you
and
assist
you
and
guide
you
through
city
processes,
whether
it's
filling
out
applications
for
some
of
the
needs
that
we
have
across
the
city,
some
of
the
funds
that
we
have
to
help
small
businesses
and
residents
as
we
get
through
the
pandemic,
but
also
into
the
snow
season.
You
can
go
onto
the
city's
website,
boston.gov
neighborhood
services
and
you
can
see
listed
at
the
bottom
of
all
the
neighborhood
services
liaisons
with
our
contact
information.
D
So
please
feel
free
to
take
some
time
to
view
the
website
and
to
connect
with
your
neighborhood
liaison
and
ask
them
what
type
of
services
that
they
can
provide
you
there.
They
are
also
there
24
hours
a
day
and
will
respond
to
your
emails.
They
respond
to
fires
and
other
things
that
you've
seen
in
the
neighborhood
and
attend
community
meetings.
So
they're
well
versed
in
the
neighborhood
specific
programs
that
we
have
going
on.
D
So
we
ask
all
residents
to
get
to
know
their
neighbor
liaisons
and
another
thing
that
the
mayor
said-
and
I
just
can't
stress
this
enough-
it
is
extremely
important.
Boston
is
a
is
a
city
of
neighborhoods.
We
all
know
our
particular
sections
of
the
city.
We've
lived
there,
many
years
of
our
lives,
you
know
who
are
your
neighbors,
who
are
might
be
elderly
or
might
be
disabled,
who
might
be
homebound
for
particular
reasons.
It's
very
important
that
you
check
on
your
neighbors
to
do
it
in
a
safe
way.
D
Wear
your
masks,
but
just
to
check
on
them
see
how
they're
doing
help
them
with
snow
help
them
with
ice.
We
have
a
number
of
city
services
and
programs
to
actually
help
people
through
covey,
but
also
through
snow.
If
you
know
of
someone
in
your
neighborhood
who
needs
help,
who
needs
rental
assistance
who
needs
trouble
for
food
and
food
assistance,
please
call
311
and
we
will
be
able
to
provide
information
and
direct
you
to
the
appropriate
places
and
get
those
services
out
to
your
residence.
D
It's
very
important
that
we
have
all
eyes
and
ears
on
our
streets
covering
the
city
of
boston
and
to
be
helpful
because
we
are
in
this
together
in
311,
like
I
said,
is
the
nerve
center
for
all
these
requests
and
services.
So
I
can't
stress
enough
about
calling
the
311
system
and
then,
finally,
just
to
close
on
our
favorite
thing.
D
If
the
city
does
not
declare
a
snow
emergency
space,
savers
will
not
be
used
and
will
be
collected
during
our
regular
trash
collection,
except
for
in
the
neighborhood
one
neighborhood,
the
south
end
where
the
community
came
together
and
decided
that
they
will
no
longer
support
space
savers.
So
space
savers
are
not
used
in
the
south
end
of
boston
but
every
other
neighborhood.
It's
48
hours
after
the
declaration
of
a
snow
emergency
with
that
I'll
turn
it
back
over
to
the.
B
Hearing
none
this
press
conference
is
adjourned.
Well.
Thank
you
very
much
for
covering
thank
the
press
is
here
today.
I
know
that
there's
a
pool
camera
that
other
stations
are
covering
this
today,
so
I
want
to
thank
you
for
being
here
today
and
to
all
the
workers
again.
Thank
you.
Happy
thanksgiving
to.