WEBVTT FILE

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Is it an emergency situation
that you would need

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an oncall animal control officer
to go there?

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Do you by any chance know if your parents
were married at the time of your birth?

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She wants to speak about food tax.

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Is the control box or open or missing?

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So we just got a call from Boston Fire reporting a one alarm fire at 33

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Browning Ave. in Dorchester,

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and there’s no displacements
at this time.

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Just wait one moment while I do
some research for you.

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I’m going to open up a case for
the Parks Department. They deal with trees.

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I got a call from Boston Police. The intersection of the VFW Parkway and LaGrange Street in West Roxbury.

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The traffic signal is out.
I just want to confirm that you had it.

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I have a constituent that’s asking about
road maintenance.  Is it OK if I put him through?

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Is it a stray dog?

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She said she couldn’t see a visible cause.
Like there was no down wires or anything.

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But the whole block appears to be out.

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Is it blocking both the roadway
and the sidewalk?

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Constituent’s saying her landlord turned off
her electricity to her apartment.

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She said that she’s going back and forth
with him. They’re in court

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with something and she thinks
she turned it off on him.

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I had a meeting with some community activists.

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One of the biggest pushbacks I got was

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not on the police.
It’s after the police do their thing,

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after an incident happens,
what’s the follow up on trauma?

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We have the counselors obviously
and police have their counselors too I explained

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in the police walks, works with the family
through I think the burial.

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And then what happens after that.

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And what happens to the greater community.
Like what happens to the group of friends and...

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And I know we’re taking, I’m taking criticism
for Carlos Henriquez.

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Part of the role for Carlos Henriquez was going to be

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to coordinate services to make sure
that there’s follow up. So, for example...

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Kind of like Operation and Support.

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When there’s something going on in the community,
whether it’s a development or street cleaning,

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or whatever, Jerome’s shop O&S goes in and does their thing

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and they’re working with Planning and Development
and they’re working with the Housing.

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With all the different departments
and they’re kind of the constant in the neighborhood.

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And I thought
- and it hasn’t fully vetted yet - but

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I thought of doing something like that
around the streets.

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When the police, when your work
is done, what happens then?

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And we’re not going in and and we have
public safety doing their thing for a while

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working to keep areas calm and combat violence
and the street workers are out there doing their thing.

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But there’s not coordination necessarily
of services.

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So when a person gets killed and there’s a lot
of indirect concern and, wreckage of that,

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we don’t have a coordinated effort per se
to coordinate that.

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I thought of Carlos’s work in returning citizens
and working different areas

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could slowly build up capacity
and bring on individuals, like O&S,

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that will be actually
the intake coordinators in the community

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and work with everyone
that needs to work with.

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Because I think what happens now is
when we have, like we did few months ago

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we had 8 people killed in 10 days,

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everyone’s looking for a blame.

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Police get blamed because the violence is up.
Street workers get blamed because they’re not there.

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Trauma councilors get blamed
because they’re not there.

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City gets blamed because it’s happened
in the city. Everyone’s blaming.

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Our thing is: can we coordinate services
so there’s a better coordination of services

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to follow these families through

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and maybe get into a family
and see that: Wow,

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there’s really some difficult situations here and can we help them

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individually to connect them
to services as things move on.

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That’s the intention behind Carlos’s role.

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And that’s... whether it's Carlos,
whoever it is...

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He was the person that I thought of
because he understands the streets

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and he understands the community,
and he’s done the work

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both as prior to being elected
and after elected.

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He’s done a lot of difference at work,

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that’s kind of why I think the missing link here.

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I think we have a lot of great things going on,

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the police department
does some great programing.

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It does some great programming.

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I think that there’s an opportunity now through,
not necessarily through Nora’s office,

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but what Nora’s doing
and how do we tie it in?

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Because you can’t do it, and Nora needs
to have a contact. "Who should I call?"

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Instead of me calling Marty

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and Will and Chris and Mark and

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Danny and Conan and Jerome
and Laurie and me,

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is there one person she can contact
that can actually help pull all this stuff together

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and that will be a liaison
in the neighborhood.

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- I like that.
- That’s what I’d look at.

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That came out of a conversation with...

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Danny put a meeting together and the room
was a very honest meeting.

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It was a very honest... people in the community
were very... it wasn’t a bad meeting.

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It was one of those direct meetings and people
didn’t understand all the work that we’re doing.

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And I don’t think we do

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a good enough job of telling that story,
what we actually do in the city

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We also don’t do a good job
of tying it all in together.

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That’s where I think
we want to go with that.

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So, I’m just letting you know
that I’ve got a list of people.

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So, you guys, if anyone wants to come in
you may just want to let me know so I can

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give the Mayor the list of people

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that need to see him before the weekend.

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What is the budget? The budget is a set
of financial documents. It’s how we spend money,

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how we raise money, how we decide
how to pay everyone’s salary.

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But it’s also a statement of priorities.

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It's one annual time a year that the city
can take a pause and take stock of what’s going on,

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what are the decisions we’ve made,
the decisions we need to make,

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how is the city changing
and how do we make investments to do that.

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The budget refers to both the day to day
operational side of things,

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so that’s everyone’s salaries, that’s what you pay
for utilities, that’s what you pay for heat.

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It also means the capital plan
which is what we do for five years,

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big projects, like roads and bridges
and schools and all the big stuff that you see.

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Boston’s budget parameters.
By that we mean,

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we can’t do everything that
everybody wants all at the same time.

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The reason that is, is because we live in a really

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kind of constrained fiscally

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tight structure. What I mean by that is
we can’t run a deficit like the Federal government.

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The State law requires us
to have a balanced budget every year

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and we are capped in what we can raise
in our own revenues.

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We’re capped
by our property tax at 2,5 %,

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we also don’t have the ability
to say raise an income tax

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like other cities across the country
or the State.

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So we’re living within a pretty tight
fiscally constrained world.

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Which means we have to make
strategic investments. We have to make priorities,

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to make tradeoffs
²between what those things are.

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The reason that that is a good thing
at the end of the day

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is because when there is an economic
downturn like there was in 2010,

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we do a lot better than the State, a lot better
than other cities and towns across the country.

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A lot of other seasoned towns had massive layoffs
in 2010 when the economy tanked.

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The State obviously
ran a billion dollar budget deficit.

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This city, because of the way it’s run

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and because of the way the history
of financial management has gone,

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actually came out on the other side pretty unscathed.

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And frankly we avoided a lot of the pitfalls and a lot of the

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negative consequences that came
with the economic recession in 2010.

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What do we have for revenue
at the end of the day?

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We collect money in different buckets
as you can see here.

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The FY19 budget is about 3.3 billion.

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70 % of that comes from property taxes.
State aide makes up of about

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13 % and then we have other revenue,
excises, local permits, all these other types of things

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that are out there in the world.

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Property tax is vital. Property tax is not only 2,5 %
we grow every year on our existing property,

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but also what we call new growth which is the new buildings, new residential

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all the new construction that comes
into the city every year,

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which is a little bit harder to predict,
but at the end of the day

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is a lot of what we build our bread and butter on.
That’s how we’ve been able to make

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strategic investments over the last few years
and continue to kind of push the city forward.

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State aid is on there at 13 %.

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Ten years ago,
that used to be about 20 %.

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And 20 years ago, it used to be 30 %.

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So that means that the State
used to represent a much bigger

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portion of our budget: that’s both a decrease
in what we call State aid at the end of the day,

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and property taxes has been so strong in the last few years.

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That actually helped increase
our reliance as well.

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So overall we’re in a growing environment.

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We grow about 4 or 5 % every year.

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both from the property tax and other strategic revenue initiatives

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that we push forward in the last year.

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Moving onto how we spend
the $3.3 billion dollars.

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It’s in basically 5 big buckets right now.

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There’s obviously a lot of complexity
that goes into each of those.

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The first one should be
familiar for everyone.

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Education represents about 40 % of the budget.
That’s both BPS and Charter Schools.

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Obviously both of those have been
increasing since the Mayor’s been in office.

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$200 million more per year for public schools
as a part of the last budget

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and our charter assessment is up
another $100 million dollars in that time.

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So since the Mayor’s been in office,

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education spending has increased by about
$300 million which is something to be proud of.

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Public safety, that’s Police and Fire.
They make up about 20 % of the budget.

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City departments. That’s things like streets,
Public Health, Parks and everyone in this room.

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We make up the smallest portion of this budget,
but it’s an important part of it.

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And  it’s something that we tried to grow
a lot more, but there are a lot of demands

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on many different parts of the City budget.

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Fixed costs like pensions and debt service

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and then finally Healthcare that support
all the other city departments

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are basically how we spend the majority
of that 3.3 billion on the operating budget side.

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The other big piece of the budget that we have
is the capital plan.

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Right here is a map of what we have
from a top down view ofl the different types

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of projects that we have out there.

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It’s a 2.4 billion dollar plan over 5 years
to invest in roads and bridges

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and schools and libraries
and all the great things that you have.

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A lot of folks, especially in the rating agency world

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and people who buy our debt
want to see that we’re making

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investments in places that we planned for.

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That’s why the Mayor committed 10 %
of all new capital funding

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towards climate resiliency.
We have the billion dollar Public School plan

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and a whole host of other things
that we’re investing in. The annual capital plan

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is over a 5 year period because
these projects are typically bigger in scope.

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We borrow money for them and we pay for it
on the operating budget side for debt service.

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So they’re companion piece
to the operating budget,

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but something that goes
through the very similar process to

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what we do on the operating side.

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We have come to join Becka and Molly in marriage,

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a wedding is a joyful celebration of the promises you make today.

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Learning to love each other
and live together in harmony

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is one of the greatest challenges
of a marriage.

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But know that love, trust and loyalty
are the foundation of a happy enduring marriage.

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Remember to listen, respect, encourage
and inspire one another.

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Support each other dreams
as you build your lives together.

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Comfort one another during times of struggle.
Laugh together during times of joy.

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Now if you want to face each other
we’ll do vows.

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I Becka.

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Take thee Molly.

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To be my wedded wife.

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And I promise to be.

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A loving and faithful wife.

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Through joy and sorrow.

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Sickness and health

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To love and to cherish.

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From this day forward.

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Now do you Becka take thee Molly
here present to be your wife?

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Excellent. All right Molly’s turn.
I, Molly.

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Now, do you Molly take thee Becka
here present to be your wife?

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Excellent. Now we’re going
to go on to the rings.

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These rings are a symbol of eternity
and made by your friend.

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The unbroken circle, it represents
the unbroken circle of love.

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Today you’ve chosen to exchange rings

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as a sign of your love for one another
and the seal of the promises you make today.

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You’re going to repeat these vows after me

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and then the last line

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you’re going to put the ring on Molly’s finger when you say "with this ring".

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This is my favorite part.

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Just as this ring.

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Encircles your finger.

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So does my love.

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Encircle your heart.

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Now you can place it on her finger
and say/: "With this ring

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I thee wed.

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Molly’s turn.  "Just as this ring.

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Now, with this ring.

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I thee wed.

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Perfect.

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In as much as Becka and Molly
have exchanged rings,

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have consented to matrimony and vows,

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by the authority vested in me
by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

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I now pronounce you hus...

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00:14:15.060 --> 00:14:16.060
married.

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00:14:17.060 --> 00:14:18.390
Here we go. Stand together.

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00:14:20.140 --> 00:14:21.020
Smile.

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00:14:22.890 --> 00:14:24.180
Let me show you what we got.

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00:14:24.630 --> 00:14:26.560
I want to congratulate

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00:14:26.680 --> 00:14:28.520
Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox

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00:14:28.930 --> 00:14:34.850
and the entire organization for an incredible run.
119 wins from start to finish

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I didn’t realize until last night that they had won the Spring Training Leagues

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00:14:38.890 --> 00:14:41.930
and the regular leagues and then obviously
the World Series last night,

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it’s exciting here in the City of Boston.

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00:14:43.810 --> 00:14:48.600
I want to congratulate Red Sox Nation
for our 9th World Championship in Boston.

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00:14:50.180 --> 00:14:54.810
This is an all-time great team that we had.
I think a lot of people enjoyed watching this team.

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Everybody contributed.

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00:14:56.810 --> 00:14:59.720
I was talking to people
on the way to work this morning

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00:14:59.780 --> 00:15:04.430
and thinking about everybody in this whole team.
Everyone had a special play in this World Series.

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00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.220
Congratulations to the entire team
for your resilience

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00:15:07.390 --> 00:15:11.270
and your positivity, and the way you carried
yourself on the field and off the field.

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00:15:11.640 --> 00:15:13.430
And even last night
during the interview session.

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Thank you to all the players
for the great work they did.

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00:15:16.040 --> 00:15:19.680
These players are role models
and we want to celebrate them in Boston style.

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00:15:20.170 --> 00:15:23.060
A championship duck boat parade will take place on Wednesday,

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00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:26.270
starting at 11:00 on Boylston Street
by Fenway Park.

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00:15:26.560 --> 00:15:28.020
We hope to see a big crowd out there,

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00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:30.560
but we do have a few messages out there.

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00:15:31.020 --> 00:15:34.770
Do not try to drive to the parade.
Take public transportation.

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00:15:35.170 --> 00:15:38.350
They’ll be traffic and parking restrictions
surrounding the route.

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00:15:38.850 --> 00:15:40.520
We’re working on a web page.

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00:15:40.680 --> 00:15:44.470
It will be up in a little bit.
It will be Boston.gov/Redsoxparade.

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00:15:44.570 --> 00:15:47.020
As far as safety goes,
be respectful of the City.

254
00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:51.770
Be respectful of the property, of the people,
of the businesses, be respectful

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00:15:53.060 --> 00:15:56.520
of the Red Sox.  We are a City of champions
so let’s celebrate like champions.

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00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:59.720
I’m going to turn the microphone over
to Commissioner Gross.

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00:15:59.890 --> 00:16:01.720
And then we’re going to turn it over
to Chief Green

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00:16:02.020 --> 00:16:04.310
and then I’ll open it up for questions
that people might have.

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00:16:04.930 --> 00:16:05.930
Thank you Your Honor.

260
00:16:06.930 --> 00:16:08.100
Good morning everyone.

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00:16:10.270 --> 00:16:13.520
Well, I'll say congratulations
not only to the Red Sox,

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00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:16.470
but the City of Boston.
We would ask everyone to act

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00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:18.720
responsibly
and be respectful

264
00:16:19.590 --> 00:16:22.060
of the other revelers in the parade.

265
00:16:22.530 --> 00:16:25.560
Also we will have full coverage
in our neighborhoods.

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00:16:26.350 --> 00:16:30.970
But for those attending the parade,
no public drinking.

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00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.640
Alcohol will not be tolerated.

268
00:16:34.790 --> 00:16:40.520
And you should know this. This should be
common sense, but no weapons at all either.

269
00:16:41.390 --> 00:16:42.390
So we fully expect

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00:16:42.640 --> 00:16:45.600
to have a great parade.
It’s time to celebrate.

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00:16:46.150 --> 00:16:48.720
Well now I’ll turn it over to Chief Green.

272
00:16:50.070 --> 00:16:51.220
Thank you Commissioner.

273
00:16:53.180 --> 00:16:59.180
You know this doesn’t get old.  I think this is
my 11th Championship in the last 16 years?

274
00:17:00.400 --> 00:17:01.810
It just doesn’t get old.

275
00:17:02.620 --> 00:17:04.810
That being said, the transit police
are well experienced

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00:17:04.970 --> 00:17:08.100
and prepared for special events
such as Wednesday’s parade.

277
00:17:08.780 --> 00:17:10.850
We encourage everyone
as the Mayor says, to

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00:17:11.020 --> 00:17:14.720
come in the City of Boston,
utilizing the MBTA transit system.

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00:17:15.310 --> 00:17:19.100
We will have increased coverage,
both uniformed and in plain clothes

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00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:23.020
throughout the system
to ensure a safe and travel by all.

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00:17:24.070 --> 00:17:27.270
We ask our riders
to be respectful to one another

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00:17:27.450 --> 00:17:30.100
and especially mindful of those with young children,

283
00:17:30.270 --> 00:17:35.470
the elderly and people with disabilities
as you utilize the MBTA transit system.

284
00:17:35.800 --> 00:17:37.810
And as the Commissioner stated, alcohol

285
00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:43.020
consumption and or unruly behavior
will not be tolerated at all on the MBTA.

286
00:17:44.280 --> 00:17:47.390
Currently we got updates from the brick.

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00:17:47.560 --> 00:17:50.310
There are no known credible threats to this event.

288
00:17:50.770 --> 00:17:55.140
With that being said,
we also ask our riders to

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00:17:55.230 --> 00:17:58.100
please if you see something, say something.

290
00:17:58.270 --> 00:18:01.970
Nothing’s too small.
We need you to be our extra eyes out there.

291
00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:06.850
Contact us immediately and we will send
an officer out to investigate.

292
00:18:08.020 --> 00:18:08.850
With your help

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00:18:08.970 --> 00:18:11.850
we can have a safe
and enjoyable celebration.

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00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:31.560
So, the goal of the taskforce
is really to focus

295
00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:33.270
on eviction prevention.

296
00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:37.520
We would like to meet 4 times.
This is the second meeting.

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00:18:37.890 --> 00:18:40.680
And ultimately to put together a list of

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00:18:40.890 --> 00:18:44.390
recommendations for public comment
by Spring of 2019.

299
00:18:45.020 --> 00:18:47.680
And then to present those recommendations
to the Mayor

300
00:18:47.850 --> 00:18:49.470
and to the City Council.

301
00:18:49.990 --> 00:18:52.770
With some sort of legislation
to come out of it.

302
00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:55.350
What’s the total amount for the awards, roughly?

303
00:18:56.730 --> 00:19:00.720
2.5 million dollars.
So put two and a half million dollars out

304
00:19:01.600 --> 00:19:06.930
for tenancy stability and eviction prevention,
it’s a sizable commitment.

305
00:19:07.430 --> 00:19:09.810
Our office has also been working
in conjunction

306
00:19:09.970 --> 00:19:13.180
with the Neighborhood Housing Department
here in DND.

307
00:19:13.770 --> 00:19:19.180
And to put together an eviction prevention
policy that is required for all landlords,

308
00:19:19.530 --> 00:19:21.020
or all property

309
00:19:22.270 --> 00:19:27.770
prospectors who are looking to purchase
property or bid on property here in Boston.

310
00:19:28.300 --> 00:19:33.220
That policy was implemented
and it went out in the Request for proposals for

311
00:19:33.390 --> 00:19:35.930
September of this year.

312
00:19:38.550 --> 00:19:43.060
The proposals that we’ve received
are now under review

313
00:19:43.760 --> 00:19:45.560
and we’ll try to figure out exactly

314
00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.680
how effective that was
during the first implementation of it.

315
00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:55.640
The same policy was out
under our Dudley Square RFP,

316
00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:59.770
and that I believe is wrapping up today.

317
00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.520
Those proposals, the Dudley proposals
are due today.

318
00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:07.060
Which is very exciting
and like Dominique said,

319
00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:11.810
there was a very clear requirement
that anyone submitting for land,

320
00:20:12.890 --> 00:20:17.220
submitting proposals
for the four sites in Dudley,

321
00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:22.810
had to provide a proposal
on how they were going to...

322
00:20:23.170 --> 00:20:26.770
how their development was going to
not contribute to displacement

323
00:20:26.970 --> 00:20:31.220
and including, if they were going to develop
housing, an eviction prevention plan.

324
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.560
So it was very, very, specific language

325
00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.680
and before you leave,
I’ll make sure you have a copy.

326
00:20:37.770 --> 00:20:40.640
The Neighbourghood Housing proposals:
if you want money from us,

327
00:20:40.810 --> 00:20:47.060
you’re going to tell us how you’re going...
what’s your eviction prevention plan,

328
00:20:47.310 --> 00:20:50.810
and Dominique’s shop is reviewing them
right now with NHD.

329
00:20:51.190 --> 00:20:52.770
And if they’re not adequate

330
00:20:52.970 --> 00:20:55.850
we’re going to have to make it a deficiency
if we really love the proposal,

331
00:20:56.020 --> 00:20:58.100
or not fund the proposal altogether.

332
00:20:58.550 --> 00:21:02.430
Really asking new developers
of new developments

333
00:21:02.560 --> 00:21:05.180
to tell us how they’re really going
to reduce evictions.

334
00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:07.640
We cannot just scratch things
on the surface

335
00:21:07.850 --> 00:21:13.310
because they usually come back
a few years later, stronger, deeper, uglier.

336
00:21:14.320 --> 00:21:18.140
In the meantime
those folks who are facing eviction,

337
00:21:18.270 --> 00:21:22.140
they keep facing eviction all of their lives.
I know someone

338
00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:25.850
from the age of 12, she faced eviction.

339
00:21:26.020 --> 00:21:31.020
And now she’s 39 and
she’s facing eviction again. So it’s a cycle.

340
00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:34.770
If we really want to fix it
we should think about

341
00:21:35.390 --> 00:21:38.770
community land trust also,
have a site for it.

342
00:21:39.080 --> 00:21:43.810
What we need is more, in my opinion,
we need more housing.

343
00:21:44.390 --> 00:21:46.720
More and more housing.
You can’t have enough.

344
00:21:47.140 --> 00:21:49.180
And everything you do short of that

345
00:21:49.350 --> 00:21:53.560
and that’s just one way of thinking about it,
but everything you do short of that,

346
00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:57.600
is gap filling kind of thing.

347
00:21:57.770 --> 00:22:01.270
Not that it’s not necessary,
but I guess what I’m wondering

348
00:22:01.520 --> 00:22:04.810
based on what I’ve heard so far is,
it sounds like we’re...

349
00:22:05.840 --> 00:22:12.680
It’s so easy to move broader than simply
what are we doing about evictions.

350
00:22:12.930 --> 00:22:19.470
I’m asking the question: are we focused
on the eviction question or are we

351
00:22:20.350 --> 00:22:23.220
morphing into, or is it part of the mandate here?

352
00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:26.100
How are we going to fix the big problem?

353
00:22:26.350 --> 00:22:29.060
Until we have enough
of affordable housing for everyone,

354
00:22:29.250 --> 00:22:32.140
we need the office of housing stability
and to work on evictions

355
00:22:32.310 --> 00:22:33.930
because not everybody’s safe.

356
00:22:34.110 --> 00:22:37.770
But we do have a housing plan.
It’s pretty robust in the City,

357
00:22:38.060 --> 00:22:42.930
I can share it with you about increasing housing
overall. Increasing affordable housing,

358
00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:45.970
preservation, getting people to buy homes.

359
00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:51.560
So, we’ve done a lot of work
on more of the systemic issues.

360
00:22:52.780 --> 00:22:57.430
But we still get 100 calls a week
from people that are

361
00:22:58.020 --> 00:23:01.470
in market rate housing
that are getting their rents increased.

362
00:23:01.750 --> 00:23:03.560
Or, are in subsidized housing,

363
00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:06.770
but have fallen behind in their rents,
et cetera.

364
00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:10.520
There’s a special sort of work
that we’re all doing that is not

365
00:23:11.890 --> 00:23:16.180
fixing our larger housing issues.
Does that make some sense?

366
00:23:16.350 --> 00:23:22.310
Say there’s 30,000 notices to quit
served in Boston every year.

367
00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:25.890
It’s what we are estimating.

368
00:23:26.040 --> 00:23:30.970
I think the challenge
with early intervention

369
00:23:31.030 --> 00:23:37.350
is that it’s super valuable, super necessary,
probably more effective and opens up

370
00:23:37.790 --> 00:23:43.430
the target population that you could serve
to be large enough

371
00:23:43.560 --> 00:23:45.930
that it’s impossible to even conceive
of how to serve them.

372
00:23:46.810 --> 00:23:49.640
1,100 households
who were in subsidized housing

373
00:23:49.770 --> 00:23:52.810
actually went to court,
somehow didn’t get raft,

374
00:23:53.120 --> 00:23:56.390
didn’t get anything else,
did get evicted. In a year.

375
00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:02.560
The thing that we also know is that
subsidized household who were evicted

376
00:24:02.930 --> 00:24:05.310
are not eligible for Emergency Assistance.

377
00:24:05.600 --> 00:24:10.470
Which to me just makes them
the red alarm population.

378
00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:15.060
And so to some extent there is a benefit to...

379
00:24:15.260 --> 00:24:19.970
I think that there is a benefit
to focusing on that population

380
00:24:20.100 --> 00:24:22.180
above all else if only for that reason.

381
00:24:23.100 --> 00:24:24.720
If you get evicted from subsidized housing,

382
00:24:24.890 --> 00:24:27.140
or you have a housing voucher
and you get evicted,

383
00:24:28.270 --> 00:24:31.680
you can’t access family shelter at the State.
You have no safeguard.

384
00:24:31.850 --> 00:24:33.850
You make the lowest income

385
00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:38.600
and you’ve been evicted probably
for rent arrearage, small amounts.

386
00:24:38.810 --> 00:24:42.390
And you have absolutely nowhere to go
because you can’t access the shelter system.

387
00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:44.100
For three years.

388
00:24:45.520 --> 00:24:47.430
What could we do to intervene sooner?

389
00:24:49.610 --> 00:24:52.560
And what I thought was...

390
00:24:53.030 --> 00:24:56.350
I guess it’s reinventing the wheel,
except we haven’t invented it yet.

391
00:24:56.560 --> 00:25:02.770
I think we do a particularly bad job
of informing and persuading.

392
00:25:03.350 --> 00:25:08.520
Maybe the small landlords in particular
are informed that there are resources,

393
00:25:08.810 --> 00:25:11.180
but persuading them to actually use them?

394
00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:17.720
The small landlord groups seem to feel
like they’re battled

395
00:25:17.890 --> 00:25:20.890
and they approach everything
from that point of view.

396
00:25:21.350 --> 00:25:23.430
And it’s just economics.

397
00:25:23.600 --> 00:25:27.350
It would make so much more sense
to be able to say,

398
00:25:28.290 --> 00:25:31.100
We’re not going to hit you over the head.
You don’t have to do this.

399
00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:36.180
But if you know somebody’s chronically late,
or somebody’s not budgeting,

400
00:25:36.350 --> 00:25:40.970
or somebody is falling behind,
catching up every 4 to 6 months,

401
00:25:41.290 --> 00:25:43.560
clearly that’s not a good business model.

402
00:25:44.130 --> 00:25:47.890
Bring them to us, we’ll help them budget.
You bring them to us early.

403
00:25:48.060 --> 00:25:52.390
We’ll do this
and it’s so much more cost efficient.

404
00:25:52.520 --> 00:25:55.180
But we don’t do anything.

405
00:25:55.470 --> 00:25:58.520
Because I was talking to the Citylife Group,
I said,

406
00:25:59.850 --> 00:26:05.720
could Citylife see its way to holding itself
out to that.  I’m not sure because...

407
00:26:06.020 --> 00:26:08.720
But somebody should be able to say,

408
00:26:09.350 --> 00:26:13.970
on a more intimate basis than simply
"we’ve got a website":

409
00:26:14.390 --> 00:26:15.770
Here’s what we can use.

410
00:26:15.970 --> 00:26:19.640
Here’s how to do it and I think
that’s the only way you’re going to get to them.

411
00:26:20.020 --> 00:26:22.890
If we're really concerned about
what we’re doing,

412
00:26:23.060 --> 00:26:26.220
we need to also think about
community land trust.

413
00:26:27.070 --> 00:26:31.680
For those folks who really can’t do anything,
they could go there and it will be a safe zone.

414
00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:36.640
And it could go from generation to generation.
Why can’t we do that?  Other places have done it.

415
00:26:38.220 --> 00:26:39.140
That’s good.

416
00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:19.810
Everybody gets the first round.
But you can only get one.

417
00:27:24.150 --> 00:27:25.930
What do you want? You want pie now?

418
00:27:29.110 --> 00:27:32.520
Apple, cherry...
What kind do you want, sir?

419
00:27:39.570 --> 00:27:43.680
Not right now. You have to come back
the second time. Let everybody go through.

420
00:27:46.470 --> 00:27:51.100
Let some more people get to have some.
That’s all I got. Thank you.

421
00:27:53.310 --> 00:27:54.680
M'am, no problem.

422
00:27:57.710 --> 00:28:01.310
I don’t mean for nobody to get mad
but I gotta get enough for everybody.

423
00:28:01.900 --> 00:28:06.060
Please don’t take the ice.
No, go on with that, go.

424
00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:08.100
If you take it, the rest won’t be cold.

425
00:28:08.350 --> 00:28:09.470
Any questions?

426
00:28:10.600 --> 00:28:11.890
I’m a victim of PC scam.

427
00:28:12.390 --> 00:28:14.680
I thought it was Microsoft and it wasn’t,

428
00:28:14.810 --> 00:28:17.180
it turned out to be some scammers.

429
00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:23.640
I actually gave them my name,
my card. I need help.

430
00:28:23.850 --> 00:28:26.020
Don’t give any information out
over the phone.

431
00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:29.220
If somebody says it’s your doctor:
"send me a letter".

432
00:28:29.450 --> 00:28:33.680
If somebody says, you’re going to shut
your cable off tomorrow: send me a letter.

433
00:28:34.310 --> 00:28:37.220
Don’t give them your email.
Tell them to send you a letter.

434
00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:40.890
Serve it. If they say you owe money,
send a constable.

435
00:28:41.970 --> 00:28:46.060
"Send somebody down, petition me".
Don’t even bother.

436
00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:49.100
You’re going to get letters in your house.
If you own your home.

437
00:28:49.560 --> 00:28:53.270
My mother gets them. Because I go to her house
and do her bills and I get the mail

438
00:28:53.430 --> 00:28:56.890
There’s always: oh, you can earn
a lot of money on your home.

439
00:28:57.390 --> 00:29:00.430
Or we can give you a mortgage
a low interest mortgage.

440
00:29:00.840 --> 00:29:02.810
Just don’t believe any of this stuff.

441
00:29:03.090 --> 00:29:08.520
Unless it comes from the City,
from the Counselor’s office or our office,

442
00:29:09.810 --> 00:29:14.060
or something that your civic association
might have talked about.

443
00:29:14.890 --> 00:29:18.180
Do not give anybody any information.

444
00:29:18.850 --> 00:29:22.470
The Counsel was talking about scams.
Somebody might call and say to you:

445
00:29:22.860 --> 00:29:24.390
we have your grandson.

446
00:29:25.020 --> 00:29:27.560
We’re not going to give him back
until you give us money.

447
00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:31.850
Your instant reaction is:
"Is it Billy or Bob?"

448
00:29:32.120 --> 00:29:33.810
I got Billy.

449
00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:35.140
That’s all they need

450
00:29:35.310 --> 00:29:38.060
and they will frighten you into
you will think that they’re kidnapped.

451
00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:42.850
There are literally people
that do this from other parts of the world.

452
00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:46.350
They scam people and people
will give them money, they’ll run around,

453
00:29:46.520 --> 00:29:50.680
get money and they’ll give it to somebody.
So do not, do not do that.

454
00:29:50.710 --> 00:29:52.560
If Eversource calls you for a deal:

455
00:29:53.520 --> 00:29:55.060
"Can I have your name and number?".

456
00:29:55.270 --> 00:29:58.970
Call your City counselor, call the Mayor’s office
and say does Eversource have a deal?

457
00:29:59.210 --> 00:30:02.140
Does Comcast have a deal?  Does RNC Cable have a deal?

458
00:30:02.310 --> 00:30:04.770
Does whatever it is, make sure you follow up.

459
00:30:04.970 --> 00:30:07.060
I’m going to follow up with you.
Emily’s going to get your information.

460
00:30:07.310 --> 00:30:11.180
And we’ll get on it today and we’ll find out,
we’ll contact the authorities.

461
00:30:11.350 --> 00:30:14.310
We also have a couple police officers,
so if we need to take the next step we will.

462
00:30:14.320 --> 00:30:16.140
From my area in Lower Mills,

463
00:30:16.350 --> 00:30:19.720
those calls and those phone numbers
and those people knock on the door.

464
00:30:20.040 --> 00:30:21.390
They come into the station.

465
00:30:21.970 --> 00:30:26.310
And they report it to the police department
and they take it over to the detective department.

466
00:30:26.850 --> 00:30:32.310
But the thing about it is
nothing never get back to me or anybody else.

467
00:30:32.470 --> 00:30:36.270
What has taken place since we reported this?

468
00:30:36.390 --> 00:30:39.640
And the calls and the number thing,
you could have them right there.

469
00:30:39.810 --> 00:30:44.850
So how do we handle that to get some response
to what we’re trying to stop?

470
00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:48.220
One thing I would suggest, maybe what we’ll do
is at one of the meetings coming up,

471
00:30:48.430 --> 00:30:50.220
I’ll ask Nora Bastian to come in.

472
00:30:50.410 --> 00:30:52.350
Nora is the new Superintendent.

473
00:30:52.470 --> 00:30:55.970
Her role is community policing.
Her role is, under community policing,

474
00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:59.680
to follow the Elderly Department.
As far as going out to districts.

475
00:30:59.970 --> 00:31:03.140
So we’ll ask Nora to come to
your next meeting and she can explain

476
00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:05.890
and come up with a process.
There might not have been a process.

477
00:31:06.100 --> 00:31:08.560
My experience has been
that the information flows back and forth.

478
00:31:08.770 --> 00:31:12.640
But we’re going to make sure
that it really does flow back and forth.

479
00:31:12.930 --> 00:31:17.390
If you make a complaint at a civic association,
you should get a call back

480
00:31:17.560 --> 00:31:20.810
because it's reporting it into a black hole,
if you’re not getting information back.

481
00:31:20.970 --> 00:31:22.850
And then you can share the information
with other people.

482
00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:25.060
We’ll have Nora come to the next meeting.

483
00:31:26.270 --> 00:31:29.140
If you live in a BHA Housing Development
and you’re not getting a response,

484
00:31:30.130 --> 00:31:31.850
my advice are two things.

485
00:31:32.260 --> 00:31:37.310
Number one is call your complaint into 311.
Because 311 is the City hotline.

486
00:31:37.620 --> 00:31:40.390
And it’s a public information
and it’s in my office.

487
00:31:40.850 --> 00:31:42.140
I see it up on the wall.

488
00:31:42.850 --> 00:31:44.640
I will follow up
and say what’s going on with that?

489
00:31:44.870 --> 00:31:47.350
Number two, reach out
to the Elderly Commission.

490
00:31:47.810 --> 00:31:50.270
There’s been times where I’ve gone
to different events.

491
00:31:50.470 --> 00:31:52.560
Some of you have grabbed me
about situations

492
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:54.560
that might not be related
to the Elderly Commission,

493
00:31:54.970 --> 00:31:59.100
but the advocacy there, they will call over.
And when they call over, I’m calling over.

494
00:31:59.310 --> 00:32:03.060
It’s important to you to use those different steps.
If you’re not getting somewhere,

495
00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:05.890
and you live somewhere, you call 311 and make a public,

496
00:32:06.060 --> 00:32:08.180
and when they ask you why’d you do that?
The man told me to.

497
00:32:09.330 --> 00:32:12.060
And if you see me in the street grab me
and tell me what the problem is.

498
00:32:12.230 --> 00:32:16.310
Because I guarantee you by the time
I get in the car and to the next stop after this,

499
00:32:16.520 --> 00:32:19.140
somebody at the BHA
will be talking to me. All right?

500
00:32:19.990 --> 00:32:21.310
Questions over here
then I’ll come back this way.

501
00:32:21.600 --> 00:32:24.680
Now I had medicine that I actually need

502
00:32:25.190 --> 00:32:27.270
and they want me to pay

503
00:32:27.520 --> 00:32:30.890
a co-pay of 65 dollars that I can’t afford.

504
00:32:31.060 --> 00:32:33.810
And I need that medicine
and I don’t know what to do about it.

505
00:32:34.060 --> 00:32:35.810
We have to really think about here,

506
00:32:36.350 --> 00:32:41.270
in Massachusetts, at the Legislative level
and in Congress at the congressional level

507
00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:44.220
to do something about
pharmaceutical costs.

508
00:32:45.890 --> 00:32:47.560
They’re out of control.

509
00:32:49.760 --> 00:32:53.470
My father passed away in 2008,
but before he passed away...

510
00:32:54.100 --> 00:32:56.680
and I didn’t know
what a "donut hole" was until then.

511
00:32:59.100 --> 00:33:03.350
He was on a pill, once a day for prostate.

512
00:33:04.600 --> 00:33:07.100
It was $500 a month, the prescription.

513
00:33:07.810 --> 00:33:10.100
So for the first five months of the year,

514
00:33:10.270 --> 00:33:12.930
it was covered a 100 %
by his health insurance.

515
00:33:14.310 --> 00:33:16.930
The next $2500 dollars as you know,
the Donut Hole,

516
00:33:17.560 --> 00:33:19.810
the next 5 months was out of pocket.

517
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:23.890
And then the last 2 months of the year
were covered by insurance again.

518
00:33:24.980 --> 00:33:28.560
What Obamacare did, what the Affordable
Care Act did was close the Donut hole.

519
00:33:29.510 --> 00:33:32.220
And that Donut hole now is there,
but what they’ve done is...

520
00:33:32.390 --> 00:33:35.600
I don’t know what the right answer is,
but they’ve done something with prescriptions

521
00:33:37.020 --> 00:33:39.270
that you end up paying more out of pocket.

522
00:33:41.020 --> 00:33:46.310
I haven’t seen it in any of my prescriptions,
but it happens to seniors all the time.

523
00:33:46.890 --> 00:33:51.180
So we do have to think about legislatively
how do we file something

524
00:33:51.350 --> 00:33:54.140
that closes that gap for you.
Because many of you,

525
00:33:54.890 --> 00:33:59.680
all of us, as you get older you take
prescriptions for high blood pressure,

526
00:33:59.850 --> 00:34:01.810
for cholesterol, whatever it is you have.

527
00:34:03.970 --> 00:34:07.060
It’s important that we understand
there’s more health risk as you get older.

528
00:34:07.750 --> 00:34:09.310
Because the body breaks down a little bit.

529
00:34:09.600 --> 00:34:12.270
There’s more chance that you’re going
to be on a prescription as you get older.

530
00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:15.140
And we need to make sure that that’s covered.

531
00:34:15.640 --> 00:34:18.680
The answer is we have to look legislatively
fixing that.

532
00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:22.310
One of the reasons why
we have the Elderly Commission

533
00:34:22.600 --> 00:34:26.270
is to advocate on your behalf.
The people that work for the City work for you.

534
00:34:26.560 --> 00:34:29.850
They’re there to service you.  So take advantage

535
00:34:30.140 --> 00:34:31.350
of that opportunity.

536
00:34:31.520 --> 00:34:35.350
Take advantage of that office. Ask questions.
They’ll get the answers.

537
00:34:36.020 --> 00:34:39.140
And if we got to a point where,
what I’d like to do,

538
00:34:39.310 --> 00:34:45.310
I’ll have to double the size of the Elderly Commission
because the amount of calls they get.

539
00:34:45.640 --> 00:34:48.520
Believe it or not, we don’t get
that many calls. We get a lot of calls,

540
00:34:48.680 --> 00:34:53.220
but not as many as there are people
in Boston that are over 60 years old.

541
00:34:53.520 --> 00:34:54.680
We need a bigger budget.

542
00:34:54.850 --> 00:34:58.390
We’ll get the budget there,
but we need you to use the office

543
00:34:58.600 --> 00:35:02.020
because I’d rather you talk to
one of the specialists we have

544
00:35:02.600 --> 00:35:05.100
and get a benefit
than be taken advantage of.

545
00:35:05.640 --> 00:35:09.060
That’s why they’re there. They’re there for you.
They work for you.

546
00:35:09.220 --> 00:35:11.810
Our primary purpose is to help people

547
00:35:11.970 --> 00:35:14.600
with the situations you might have.
So, please, call them.

548
00:36:24.510 --> 00:36:26.720
As usual, it was busy night
last night on Halloween

549
00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:31.890
and just be aware of any kind of violence
that might extend from it.

550
00:36:32.070 --> 00:36:35.520
Townsend and Warren: there was a firearm
recovered at 7 p.m. with an arrest.

551
00:36:35.680 --> 00:36:39.470
There was a person shot and stabbed
at 137 Center Street.

552
00:36:39.640 --> 00:36:41.430
There was a large party,
a couple hundred people.

553
00:36:41.600 --> 00:36:44.312
Full notes on the person shot,
but they’re probably going to survive.

554
00:36:44.720 --> 00:36:49.187
The gang unit then had a car chase through H block
of Bailey Associates, so be aware of that.

555
00:36:49.430 --> 00:36:53.396
And around 3 a.m. this morning,

556
00:36:54.160 --> 00:36:57.220
the K-car got a firearm arrest
in Upham’s Corner.

557
00:36:58.040 --> 00:36:59.720
And that was,

558
00:37:00.710 --> 00:37:03.604
I don’t know if it’s related, but there was a violent assault up there.

559
00:37:03.854 --> 00:37:07.021
That was the reason why people were up there and led to a firearm arrest.

560
00:37:14.040 --> 00:37:14.937
Any issues?

561
00:37:15.250 --> 00:37:17.437
Concerns? Check your assignments.

562
00:37:17.600 --> 00:37:18.810
Let’s have a good day. Fall out.

563
00:38:15.180 --> 00:38:16.270
I had a chance,

564
00:38:16.510 --> 00:38:19.810
over the last 5 years to get to know
almost every single person in this room.

565
00:38:21.120 --> 00:38:25.390
And what’s amazing is that we have
developers in this room

566
00:38:25.740 --> 00:38:29.890
and housing developers in this room,
that believe in resiliency.

567
00:38:30.430 --> 00:38:33.930
And that are here month after month
after month after month,

568
00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:35.890
after meeting after meeting
I should say.

569
00:38:36.310 --> 00:38:41.437
We have developers developing buildings
in town? that believe in resiliency.

570
00:38:41.590 --> 00:38:46.470
We have folks that work in the area of
whatever it is and you come back here.

571
00:38:46.720 --> 00:38:49.396
We have Universities. We have Universities.

572
00:38:49.562 --> 00:38:53.310
Boston University is one of our great partners,
and we have construction companies.

573
00:38:53.970 --> 00:38:56.720
And to me it’s special.
This room’s a special room

574
00:38:57.720 --> 00:39:00.390
in the sense of the commitment
by the people in this room.

575
00:39:03.200 --> 00:39:08.600
Since I’ve been Mayor, a lot of natural disasters
have happened in different cities across America.

576
00:39:10.100 --> 00:39:13.430
Houston kind of...

577
00:39:15.180 --> 00:39:16.560
hit me a little different.

578
00:39:16.970 --> 00:39:19.729
I was talking to Mayor Turner
as it was going on and...

579
00:39:19.984 --> 00:39:22.970
when he was talking about his City,
he was a brand new Mayor,

580
00:39:23.146 --> 00:39:25.312
literally brand new Mayor in his first term.

581
00:39:26.270 --> 00:39:29.687
The people of Boston wanted to send things out to Houston,

582
00:39:29.854 --> 00:39:34.104
we were going to send one tractor trailer down,
we ended up sending 18 tractor trailers of stuff down.

583
00:39:34.670 --> 00:39:37.187
And I thought to myself:
what if that was Boston?

584
00:39:38.290 --> 00:39:42.600
And it wasn’t the giving to Houston
that struck me,

585
00:39:42.970 --> 00:39:45.562
it was the need in Houston
that struck me.

586
00:39:46.310 --> 00:39:49.604
It was the 18 trucks going down there
and that wasn’t enough.

587
00:39:50.040 --> 00:39:53.271
When you think about 18 tractor trailers
from Boston and other places around the country,

588
00:39:53.437 --> 00:39:55.437
that wasn’t enough and I thought to myself:

589
00:39:55.590 --> 00:40:00.890
where are we in our city?  Where are we in the City?
Not in the Green Ribbon Commission,

590
00:40:01.120 --> 00:40:05.720
not on the global plans, not working
with the State. Where are we in the City?

591
00:40:05.930 --> 00:40:08.680
So we have, I don’t have it here
with us today...

592
00:40:10.260 --> 00:40:13.560
We have a plan that literally protects

593
00:40:14.580 --> 00:40:21.430
the harbor, protects the shoreline,
creates 47 miles of shoreline.

594
00:40:22.460 --> 00:40:25.770
We talk a lot about bringing people
back to the water.

595
00:40:25.937 --> 00:40:28.310
This plan brings people back to the water.

596
00:40:29.140 --> 00:40:37.890
This plan allows people access to the water where we
have 67 acres of new open space on Boston Harbor.

597
00:40:38.850 --> 00:40:42.687
It creates 122 acres of
revitalized open space in the waterfront.

598
00:40:43.960 --> 00:40:46.312
It’s about protections and connections.

599
00:40:46.730 --> 00:40:51.020
So when people like you in this room
look at what’s happening,

600
00:40:51.170 --> 00:40:52.937
you know that we’re protecting

601
00:40:53.100 --> 00:40:55.354
what we have to protect in our neighborhoods.

602
00:40:55.521 --> 00:40:58.021
We’re protecting Charlestown and East Boston
and South Boston.

603
00:40:58.146 --> 00:41:01.146
We’re protecting downtown, North End,
the Dorchester coastline.

604
00:41:01.450 --> 00:41:02.680
We’re protecting Roxbury.

605
00:41:02.810 --> 00:41:06.970
We’re protecting the South End. We’re protecting
all of those different neighborhoods in our city

606
00:41:07.350 --> 00:41:09.100
that it’s important for us to do.

607
00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:13.770
What we’re doing here is
I think important for the future.

608
00:41:14.070 --> 00:41:17.479
I think it’s time for us to take this conversation
beyond our walls.

609
00:41:18.830 --> 00:41:21.687
I think it’s time to take this conversation
to the editorial boards.

610
00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:24.687
And let them understand fully
what’s happening here.

611
00:41:25.540 --> 00:41:27.562
Because the first editorial that came out...

612
00:41:27.729 --> 00:41:31.771
in all due respect, a nice editorial, but it was:
how to pay for it? Who’s going to pay for it?

613
00:41:31.790 --> 00:41:34.520
The question’s not Who’s going to pay for it?
How’s this going to happen?

614
00:41:34.687 --> 00:41:37.521
It’s not about who’s going to pay for it.
It needs to happen.

615
00:41:37.940 --> 00:41:42.600
The editorial needs to say, and the press needs
to start and other people need to start saying:

616
00:41:42.760 --> 00:41:45.104
'This has to happen'. It’s not about the costs.

617
00:41:46.910 --> 00:41:49.812
It’s not about whose going put up
he biggest chunk of money,

618
00:41:50.560 --> 00:41:53.771
its how do we get everyone together
to put this plan together?

619
00:41:54.180 --> 00:41:57.020
The Green Ribbon Commission
is vital in this work.

620
00:41:57.770 --> 00:41:59.850
As we continue to move forward
in this work,

621
00:42:00.930 --> 00:42:05.890
we need to help convey the urgency
and bring diverse partners into our strategy.

622
00:42:06.140 --> 00:42:09.062
We need to talk to all of our schools,
not some of our schools.

623
00:42:09.229 --> 00:42:12.187
We need to talk to all of our museums,
not some of our museums.

624
00:42:12.180 --> 00:42:16.604
We need to make sure all of our hospitals understand
the importance of this, not some of the hospitals.

625
00:42:16.810 --> 00:42:20.270
And more importantly we need to make
business people know that this is really

626
00:42:20.437 --> 00:42:22.979
important for them as well.
It’s important for us,

627
00:42:23.430 --> 00:42:25.979
for the health and safety of our residents
are at stake.

628
00:42:27.180 --> 00:42:29.060
Making sure that Houston,

629
00:42:31.060 --> 00:42:35.390
Puerto Rico, Florida, New Orleans,

630
00:42:35.390 --> 00:42:39.020
Louisiana, Florida again,.

631
00:42:39.380 --> 00:42:44.850
New York, all of those different cities
and areas had a storm.

632
00:42:44.930 --> 00:42:49.646
If you talk to Mitch Landrieu the former Mayor of New Orleans
who wasn’t the mayor when Katrina happened,

633
00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:53.062
he said if they addressed this
20 years earlier

634
00:42:54.600 --> 00:42:57.729
the outcome might have been different.
It still would have been bad

635
00:42:58.770 --> 00:43:02.271
because Katrina was a bad storm,
but it would have been not as detrimental.

636
00:43:02.437 --> 00:43:06.060
We have to think about that now and think about,
how do we prevent that from happening?

637
00:43:06.770 --> 00:43:11.270
We need to work with other leaders, with other
elected officials. We need to let the legislature

638
00:43:11.390 --> 00:43:13.770
know and the city council know
the importance

639
00:43:13.850 --> 00:43:16.104
of focusing on the work
that we’re doing here today.

640
00:43:16.650 --> 00:43:19.396
We know that mitigation is resilience.

641
00:43:20.390 --> 00:43:24.896
It’s about the impacts here in Boston and it’s about
the example we set for the nation and the world,

642
00:43:25.680 --> 00:43:30.140
By showing that it can be done
we can improve public health, create jobs

643
00:43:30.560 --> 00:43:33.350
and also help people in our neighborhoods.

644
00:43:34.100 --> 00:43:35.770
We can also show the way

645
00:43:36.180 --> 00:43:38.687
and help rally the global community
to do their part.

646
00:43:38.854 --> 00:43:41.680
I know that what we wanted to do here
is be a leader in the country

647
00:43:41.970 --> 00:43:44.271
and a leader in the world here in Boston
as far as resiliency.

648
00:43:44.441 --> 00:43:47.060
And now that we have the plan it’s about,
what’s the next steps

649
00:43:47.430 --> 00:43:50.810
and what’s the actions?  We know
we don’t have a national government, at least

650
00:43:51.180 --> 00:43:55.850
a leader down in Washington, a president that
does understand the importance of resiliency.

651
00:43:57.470 --> 00:44:01.021
We know that we don’t have the commitments
right now in the EPA down in Washington

652
00:44:01.187 --> 00:44:04.354
that understands the importance of resiliency
and what we’re doing here.

653
00:44:05.210 --> 00:44:10.521
Even if we had the greatest champion in Washington,
it’s still incumbent upon cities and towns

654
00:44:10.680 --> 00:44:12.180
across America to carry out the plan.

655
00:44:12.390 --> 00:44:14.310
I do think it’s important first
that we start

656
00:44:14.479 --> 00:44:17.812
to take this conversation outside this room
and have real conversations.

657
00:44:18.220 --> 00:44:19.479
I would suggest that we go

658
00:44:19.680 --> 00:44:21.812
to editorial boards of the news outlets.

659
00:44:22.200 --> 00:44:24.979
I would suggest that we start talking
to more business leaders.

660
00:44:25.220 --> 00:44:28.562
I would suggest that we start thinking
about how do we amp up this plan

661
00:44:28.729 --> 00:44:31.229
so it’s not just the people on the inside crowd,

662
00:44:31.430 --> 00:44:35.146
whether it’s the Chamber of Commerce or here at the Commission.

663
00:44:35.312 --> 00:44:37.312
We need to take this conversation beyond this.

664
00:45:12.100 --> 00:45:13.430
So what are we here for today?

665
00:45:14.510 --> 00:45:17.060
- Fire blocking.
- OK, so the rough inspection?

666
00:45:17.890 --> 00:45:19.562
When are you guys looking to insulate?

667
00:45:20.370 --> 00:45:22.180
Insulate next week.

668
00:45:22.340 --> 00:45:23.850
Next week you have on schedule.

669
00:45:24.021 --> 00:45:25.560
On schedule for Monday.

670
00:45:26.680 --> 00:45:29.354
So you’re thinking Monday.

671
00:45:29.530 --> 00:45:32.430
Monday, Tuesday.  He said two, two and a half days
he’d have it all wiped out.

672
00:45:32.646 --> 00:45:35.312
- What are you doing, spray foam?
- Spray foam, closed cell.

673
00:45:35.480 --> 00:45:36.770
Closed cell on the exterior.

674
00:45:37.040 --> 00:45:41.390
So you’re thinking that if all goes well today,
you have them scheduled for Monday.

675
00:45:41.562 --> 00:45:45.979
For Monday. I spoke with him earlier, he said two,
two and a half days to wrap it all.

676
00:45:46.770 --> 00:45:48.430
He’ll send two crews.

677
00:45:48.590 --> 00:45:50.640
I’m going to be off on Thursday.

678
00:45:52.850 --> 00:45:56.270
If we could get you may be, well provided
he sends two crews Monday.

679
00:45:57.180 --> 00:45:59.270
All right. So then you’ll just email me.

680
00:46:00.040 --> 00:46:01.646
And let me know how that goes.

681
00:46:01.812 --> 00:46:06.396
And if Wednesday comes around and I have time
I’ll squeeze you in to keep it going.

682
00:46:07.310 --> 00:46:10.100
So all the fire blocking’s done.
All the penetration.

683
00:46:11.230 --> 00:46:14.680
- Fire caulking.
- Use the caulk and the 3M caulking?

684
00:46:14.890 --> 00:46:17.220
- No foam, right?
- No foam.

685
00:46:24.020 --> 00:46:28.810
Now what do we do down the basement is
extended living spaces as a part of this unit?

686
00:46:28.937 --> 00:46:33.060
Extended living space for the first floor
master suite, master bath, master shower --

687
00:46:33.520 --> 00:46:36.062
- And this is fully sprinkled, right?
- Fully sprinkled.

688
00:46:38.940 --> 00:46:41.020
This was new underground plumbing.

689
00:46:42.230 --> 00:46:44.890
We had our plumbing inspection yesterday,
so we can close out.

690
00:46:45.060 --> 00:46:46.310
So he got a look at it?

691
00:46:46.479 --> 00:46:48.770
This is a master bedroom.

692
00:46:49.020 --> 00:46:52.470
Master bedroom, master closet,
master bath, laundry.

693
00:46:52.687 --> 00:46:54.771
- Extended from that unit up above.
- Correct.

694
00:46:56.020 --> 00:46:59.100
And then you have this door here
for your egress?

695
00:46:59.930 --> 00:47:02.310
What are we going to do with this here?
How are you going...

696
00:47:03.310 --> 00:47:05.562
It’s going to be a drain here
with a wet bell on the bottom.

697
00:47:05.729 --> 00:47:07.560
And it’s going to be two steps up.

698
00:47:09.330 --> 00:47:12.604
We’re going to get all that stuff
and some flagstones or something.

699
00:47:12.930 --> 00:47:14.187
Are you going to patio this?

700
00:47:14.720 --> 00:47:15.896
All the way out to the back.

701
00:47:21.130 --> 00:47:24.310
Fire caulking is done. All the penetrations.

702
00:47:27.780 --> 00:47:29.729
And then this is all getting closed cell.

703
00:47:32.860 --> 00:47:35.430
And then as I said they’ll be
all batts in between.

704
00:47:35.850 --> 00:47:39.520
Where’s your sprinkler head down here?

705
00:47:41.460 --> 00:47:46.310
One there, there’s one over here.
This is to go outside underneath the deck.

706
00:47:46.700 --> 00:47:48.310
So that’s going to go out.

707
00:47:48.810 --> 00:47:49.896
There’s one on each floor.

708
00:47:50.900 --> 00:47:52.312
- Exterior, right?
- Exterior.

709
00:47:55.180 --> 00:47:56.396
Low temperature.

710
00:48:06.810 --> 00:48:08.479
What are you doing for railings here?

711
00:48:08.720 --> 00:48:10.970
The railings are all on the second floor.

712
00:48:12.250 --> 00:48:14.600
- Iron?
- It’s iron railings, the wire.

713
00:48:17.560 --> 00:48:21.930
That’s not a bad view.
Are these going to be sold or rentals?

714
00:48:22.104 --> 00:48:23.146
These are condos.

715
00:48:23.312 --> 00:48:26.271
So you’re going to put them
on the market when you’re done.

716
00:48:27.180 --> 00:48:29.271
- No roof deck?
- There is a roof deck.

717
00:48:31.180 --> 00:48:34.810
- How’s the access?
- There’s going to be a spiral.

718
00:48:35.440 --> 00:48:36.600
That’s on the plans?

719
00:48:39.710 --> 00:48:41.854
Then this is all being spray foamed, right?

720
00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:43.312
This is what you’re using, right?

721
00:49:03.720 --> 00:49:05.062
Let’s get on the second floor.

722
00:49:13.470 --> 00:49:16.396
And then with this over here Brendan,
you’re going to box this all out.

723
00:49:18.250 --> 00:49:21.810
So you’re going to come off,
box out that sprinkler, right.

724
00:49:22.770 --> 00:49:24.062
It will all be boxed in.

725
00:49:24.560 --> 00:49:27.229
And then you have all your heads here.
And then that.

726
00:49:30.130 --> 00:49:32.604
You’re going to need
some ledger lock on that right?

727
00:49:38.020 --> 00:49:40.271
It’s not a bad view
until that building gets built.

728
00:49:43.680 --> 00:49:45.562
Have you seen any plans for that one yet?

729
00:49:45.750 --> 00:49:47.104
It’ll probably go up just as high.

730
00:49:47.390 --> 00:49:51.850
Take a picture of this, Brendan.
Someone’s going to throw this out.

731
00:49:52.850 --> 00:49:55.396
Take a picture
and make a copy for the record.

732
00:49:58.750 --> 00:49:59.604
Hold onto that.

733
00:50:02.290 --> 00:50:06.350
So you’re all set Brendan. Give me a shout
early next week. It’s a short week.

734
00:50:46.140 --> 00:50:48.100
If 16 year old

735
00:50:48.720 --> 00:50:51.220
have services at Bridge, and they’re
connected to the services at Bridge,

736
00:50:51.430 --> 00:50:55.146
if they’re no longer served by Bridge they don’t have
a relationship with Bridge anymore.

737
00:50:55.330 --> 00:50:58.810
So it’s like how do we...
and I’m not sure how we do this.

738
00:50:58.930 --> 00:51:01.220
This is why we need the RFP,
the definition is like

739
00:51:01.680 --> 00:51:04.354
it has to be not connected to the services
that they’re getting.

740
00:51:04.560 --> 00:51:06.979
Because once the services go away
the relationship goes away,

741
00:51:07.270 --> 00:51:10.520
Which is what keeps young people in the cycle
because they don’t have long term relationships.

742
00:51:10.970 --> 00:51:13.430
So the challenge

743
00:51:13.890 --> 00:51:17.390
that the RFP’s addressing,
the first one is that unfortunately,

744
00:51:17.680 --> 00:51:24.310
the scope of services for youth or young adults
experiencing homelessness is limited.

745
00:51:24.510 --> 00:51:26.680
Not only in Boston,
but across the country.

746
00:51:26.854 --> 00:51:31.562
And most services around people experiencing
homelessness are services for adults.

747
00:51:31.820 --> 00:51:33.937
And so the adult shelter system,

748
00:51:34.120 --> 00:51:36.770
unfortunately sometimes is the place where

749
00:51:36.937 --> 00:51:41.770
18, 19, 20 year old find themselves
if they’re homeless on the street,

750
00:51:41.890 --> 00:51:44.970
dealing with behavioral health challenges,
end up finding themselves in a shelter.

751
00:51:45.170 --> 00:51:47.937
What we’re trying to do is to tell these shelters:

752
00:51:48.104 --> 00:51:52.430
the services, the environment
and the culture are created for adults

753
00:51:52.604 --> 00:51:55.890
who may experience chronic homelessness,
who are 40.

754
00:51:56.140 --> 00:51:58.140
It's different for a 19 year old

755
00:51:58.430 --> 00:52:01.521
who we know statistically - and I think this would be in the RFP -

756
00:52:01.687 --> 00:52:05.312
is more likely to be LGBTQ,
more likely to be people of color,

757
00:52:05.687 --> 00:52:08.021
experiencing other issues.

758
00:52:08.470 --> 00:52:12.180
What we want to say is the challenge here
is that the gap of services

759
00:52:12.470 --> 00:52:16.430
to meet the specific needs of youth and young adults
experiencing homelessness is great

760
00:52:16.890 --> 00:52:19.810
and multiple parts.
Mayor Walsh’s plan is working on that.

761
00:52:20.020 --> 00:52:24.640
However, in the meantime we know youth and young
adults already find themselves in the adult shelters.

762
00:52:24.930 --> 00:52:28.646
We’re trying to say is that in an ideal world
we want youth and young adult shelters.

763
00:52:28.896 --> 00:52:34.350
But in the meantime, the city’s plan is to not just wait until we have those shelters, or have those services.

764
00:52:34.560 --> 00:52:37.146
We’re going to meet the needs
of youth and young adults today.

765
00:52:37.312 --> 00:52:39.271
We want these shelters to do that.

766
00:52:39.437 --> 00:52:42.562
That’s the challenge or the need
we’re trying to meet in that first one.

767
00:52:42.812 --> 00:52:46.521
And to be fair we want the shelters
to think about how they’re doing this

768
00:52:46.870 --> 00:52:50.729
in a way that what do they need to do
to do better?  You know what I mean?

769
00:52:51.020 --> 00:52:54.890
You know this better than I. Some types of shelters
will say, well we have a separate space.

770
00:52:55.270 --> 00:53:00.396
Like upstairs in the corner these 10 beds
are meant for 18 to 24 year olds.

771
00:53:01.430 --> 00:53:03.680
OK, I guess a separate space is important.

772
00:53:03.860 --> 00:53:08.771
But when I have to get through all the chaos
of the shelter to get to the separate space,

773
00:53:08.937 --> 00:53:10.812
I still have to go downstairs
to the kitchen to eat.

774
00:53:11.062 --> 00:53:13.930
To go to the shared bathroom.

775
00:53:14.120 --> 00:53:17.430
And at night there’s only one person upstairs,
or one staff person.

776
00:53:17.720 --> 00:53:22.354
How are they thinking about the fact that youth
and young adults are vulnerable in these spaces?

777
00:53:22.521 --> 00:53:24.604
So we want them to say we know it’s a gap.

778
00:53:25.180 --> 00:53:29.187
We have to say this because we know our funders
don’t agree with us. It’s not a long term solution.

779
00:53:29.350 --> 00:53:33.430
But that’s where they find themselves today
so we’re going to meet them where they’re at.

780
00:53:33.590 --> 00:53:36.729
So this solution that you would envision...

781
00:53:38.430 --> 00:53:43.060
We’re talking about physical space.
We’re talking about policies and practices.

782
00:53:43.229 --> 00:53:45.937
We’re talking about competencies of staff.

783
00:53:46.270 --> 00:53:47.812
We’re talking about

784
00:53:50.100 --> 00:53:53.187
how we do outreach
and engagement and connection.

785
00:53:53.680 --> 00:53:57.146
All the stuff we know about. How do you make
a space youth friendly? Same thing.

786
00:53:57.312 --> 00:54:01.146
How do we think about all those things that we
already know? I think that’s how you would bucket it.

787
00:54:01.479 --> 00:54:04.270
We’re talking about space,
about policies and practices.

788
00:54:04.437 --> 00:54:06.479
They're concerned about
the onetime funding? I get it.

789
00:54:06.646 --> 00:54:09.687
There’s a lot you can do with onetime funding
in all of those buckets.

790
00:54:09.854 --> 00:54:12.520
That then they have to sustain post that.

791
00:54:12.680 --> 00:54:14.271
So I think that’s what that is.

792
00:54:14.680 --> 00:54:16.354
And would you like for me to stay

793
00:54:16.521 --> 00:54:21.062
a little bit away from programing
because it’s not multiyear funding?

794
00:54:22.550 --> 00:54:25.771
On the challenge that RFP’s trying to address

795
00:54:26.062 --> 00:54:31.146
is that we know that young adults
experiencing homelessness lack

796
00:54:31.312 --> 00:54:35.604
the social capital and the personal connections
with caring adults in their lives

797
00:54:35.770 --> 00:54:38.390
to help them navigate
the challenges that exist.

798
00:54:39.020 --> 00:54:44.350
So to help them access opportunity,
but avoid the challenges that are in front of them.

799
00:54:44.640 --> 00:54:48.187
And that too many of the relationships
and this comes from youth and young adult voices,

800
00:54:48.354 --> 00:54:51.771
too many of those relationships are relationships
based on the provision of service.

801
00:54:52.180 --> 00:54:57.021
And what young people have told us through this process
is they need more permanent connections

802
00:54:57.210 --> 00:55:01.970
that are not tied to a service,
not a case manager, not a clinician,

803
00:55:02.146 --> 00:55:06.020
not a behavioral health specialist
at the community center, whatever,

804
00:55:06.100 --> 00:55:10.020
but people who just care about me
and my wellbeing, separate from that.

805
00:55:10.229 --> 00:55:11.104
Permanent connections,

806
00:55:11.271 --> 00:55:15.104
the more relationships young adults have,
the more likely they are to be successful

807
00:55:15.271 --> 00:55:18.930
and overcome these challenges.
And so that’s what we’re trying to address.

808
00:55:19.130 --> 00:55:22.600
That youth and young adults need this
especially LGBTQ

809
00:55:22.720 --> 00:55:25.140
and youth of color who are more likely
to experience homelessness.

810
00:58:45.520 --> 00:58:47.470
Program folks, five dollars here.

811
00:58:48.090 --> 00:58:52.090
Get a program for the World Series champions,
folks. Five dollars here.

812
00:58:54.200 --> 00:58:59.420
Program folks. Get a program for the World Series
champions folks. Five dollars here.

813
00:58:59.700 --> 00:59:02.800
Comes with your free bumper sticker.
Best team ever.

814
00:59:03.540 --> 00:59:05.170
Red Sox parade folks,

815
00:59:05.300 --> 00:59:07.590
get a program, 5 dollars
for the World Series champions.

816
00:59:23.300 --> 00:59:29.130
119 wins, 108 during the regular season, 11 more
in the post season to bring the championship home.

817
00:59:32.470 --> 00:59:36.510
Thank everyone for coming herein today.
I wanna thank the Red Sox, an incredible organization

818
00:59:36.760 --> 00:59:40.340
starting with the ownership down to
our general manager. I had the chance

819
00:59:40.470 --> 00:59:46.720
to go to Puerto Rico with Alex Cora in the very beginning
of the season and I saw what type of person he was.

820
00:59:46.840 --> 00:59:51.470
He’s an amazing man, an amazing team, with the best fans in the world. Go Red Sox!

821
00:59:55.190 --> 00:59:58.220
- Mayor Walsh, how you doing?
- This is great.  I’m doing good.  I can’t complain.

822
00:59:58.380 --> 01:00:02.300
It’s the World Series, Red Sox parade, people
are happy, what else can you ask for?

823
01:00:02.470 --> 01:00:07.010
This isn’t our first rodeo.  As a friend of mine in LA
said, didn’t you guys invent the rodeo?

824
01:00:07.170 --> 01:00:12.300
I think we did. I was saying that earlier today
in the car, driving to the police roll call,

825
01:00:12.470 --> 01:00:18.470
Other cities are dying for one and we’ve had 11
in the last 14 years or 15 years.  It’s amazing.

826
01:00:18.780 --> 01:00:22.090
- Everyone’s won one too which is incredible.
- So much goes into this.

827
01:00:23.170 --> 01:00:25.090
What does it do for the city?

828
01:00:25.170 --> 01:00:27.300
Sports is so engrained in the City of Boston.

829
01:00:27.470 --> 01:00:29.760
When there’s a parade in the city,
what does it do for the City,

830
01:00:29.920 --> 01:00:32.840
despite all the logistics
and all the issues that go into it?

831
01:00:33.010 --> 01:00:35.300
When our teams are doing well,
it’s good for the city,

832
01:00:35.470 --> 01:00:39.130
for the restaurants, the bars,
all the different venues. The excitement in the city.

833
01:00:39.300 --> 01:00:42.720
The team's being part of the community,
so that’s another important part of these teams.

834
01:00:43.040 --> 01:00:45.130
They’re part of our neighborhoods
and community.

835
01:00:45.340 --> 01:00:47.800
It’s great for the city,
and the parade keeps the spirit up

836
01:00:47.920 --> 01:00:52.260
and I think today in the world of politics and what’s going on in the world,

837
01:00:52.290 --> 01:00:56.050
the horrible incident that happened
in Pittsburgh, I think something like this

838
01:00:56.150 --> 01:00:59.800
makes you realize
to be positive and move forward.

839
01:03:01.050 --> 01:03:03.590
Thank you for being proud of who you are
and where you’re from.

840
01:03:03.800 --> 01:03:06.510
And as I look around the room,
a lot of you are the future leaders

841
01:03:06.550 --> 01:03:11.130
of the City. You might not see that, you might not
understand where your pathway’s going to take you,

842
01:03:11.720 --> 01:03:14.470
but it’s going to take you
to amazing places.

843
01:03:14.590 --> 01:03:18.550
So when you think about advancement,
when you think about moving forward,

844
01:03:18.670 --> 01:03:23.010
it’s about who you are as a person and the commitment
you have to your own professional career

845
01:03:23.300 --> 01:03:27.220
in being recognized and realized and involved
and engaged and moving forward.

846
01:03:27.490 --> 01:03:29.800
Whatever you do there are opportunities.

847
01:03:29.970 --> 01:03:31.800
When you think about the Latino community,

848
01:03:32.620 --> 01:03:36.630
when I first became the Mayor, I spent a lot of time,
I still do, but I spent a lot of time

849
01:03:36.710 --> 01:03:39.760
with organizations particularly
Latino community organizations

850
01:03:39.920 --> 01:03:44.840
that felt that they were underrepresented
or not represented in a lot of different places.

851
01:03:45.010 --> 01:03:47.260
And we sat down
and we really started to look at

852
01:03:47.420 --> 01:03:51.050
Boards and Commissions and staff and who’s around
and how we’re doing, what’s going on.

853
01:03:51.260 --> 01:03:58.380
And making a real concerted effort
to change that reality. Not image, reality.

854
01:03:58.760 --> 01:04:03.380
To make sure our people have opportunities
within City government.

855
01:04:03.630 --> 01:04:07.130
And as I think about you,
all of you in this room,

856
01:04:07.580 --> 01:04:10.130
I think about being future leaders
in the business sector,

857
01:04:10.380 --> 01:04:12.300
future leaders in the nonprofit sector.

858
01:04:12.510 --> 01:04:16.630
This is a starting point. Some people are going to stay, come
from the City, work their whole career in the City

859
01:04:16.800 --> 01:04:19.090
and I commend you for that and love you for that.

860
01:04:19.260 --> 01:04:21.510
Some of you will say it’s time to move
to something else.

861
01:04:21.670 --> 01:04:23.050
and go into the business sector.

862
01:04:23.300 --> 01:04:26.840
And that's honestly what you have to start
thinking about how we do things.

863
01:04:27.100 --> 01:04:30.880
And how you advance yourself, number one.
First and foremost.

864
01:04:31.130 --> 01:04:35.010
Second piece is Latino pride.

865
01:04:35.670 --> 01:04:40.420
And I think that is really important.
These service projects are about education.

866
01:04:41.100 --> 01:04:42.340
They’re about pride.

867
01:04:42.510 --> 01:04:45.220
One of the thing that’s special
about Latino community

868
01:04:45.380 --> 01:04:48.470
is that you are a diverse community
within your community.

869
01:04:48.720 --> 01:04:52.470
Because as you we’re going around here
and everyone’s introducing themselves,

870
01:04:52.630 --> 01:04:54.800
every time Columbia was mentioned.

871
01:04:57.010 --> 01:05:01.550
There are some Venezuelan’s here that were excited.
The Mexicans seem really excited as well.

872
01:05:01.850 --> 01:05:04.090
So there is a sense of pride.

873
01:05:04.420 --> 01:05:08.630
And I think for us in the City,
doing these service projects,

874
01:05:08.730 --> 01:05:10.510
you’re doing it because you’re trying to help people,

875
01:05:10.510 --> 01:05:13.720
but what you’re also doing is
you’re teaching people about government.

876
01:05:14.220 --> 01:05:16.340
You’re also teaching people
about what can be possible.

877
01:05:17.000 --> 01:05:19.300
You’re also creating opportunities
to open doors.

878
01:05:19.470 --> 01:05:24.340
How do you take your expertise
and what you know as a person,

879
01:05:24.390 --> 01:05:27.510
as your heritage and your nationality

880
01:05:27.670 --> 01:05:30.970
and also what you’ve learned, whether it’s been
in school, if you were born here,

881
01:05:31.130 --> 01:05:33.590
if you weren’t born here,
what you learned at home and take it

882
01:05:33.720 --> 01:05:35.840
to the community
and give people opportunities.

883
01:05:36.010 --> 01:05:37.510
The day that Trump came down

884
01:05:37.590 --> 01:05:39.920
with the ban, I looked up at the screen,
I saw what was going on and I’m like

885
01:05:40.220 --> 01:05:43.420
what’s he doing today?  And Dan says:
you know he’s doing a Muslin ban

886
01:05:43.630 --> 01:05:45.760
and he’s banning against immigrants.

887
01:05:45.920 --> 01:05:48.880
I said let’s do a press conference.
When? I said in a half hour.

888
01:05:49.550 --> 01:05:53.800
I said I want every single immigrant
that works in the building standing behind me

889
01:05:54.050 --> 01:05:55.840
and I want every first generation person

890
01:05:56.010 --> 01:06:00.470
in there as well, because I didn’t think I had enough
immigrant community behind me to fill the room.

891
01:06:00.640 --> 01:06:03.630
We were out in the hall, out in the hallway,
it was packed.

892
01:06:03.880 --> 01:06:05.630
That was a proud moment

893
01:06:05.840 --> 01:06:07.970
because I was standing amongst my peers

894
01:06:08.920 --> 01:06:11.340
because I might be the Mayor,
but I’m a public employee.

895
01:06:11.510 --> 01:06:14.510
We’re no different.
And I was proud of that moment.

896
01:06:14.690 --> 01:06:18.670
And that has nothing to do ...
So I’m proud of where my heritage is.

897
01:06:20.260 --> 01:06:24.510
And I think back to comparing,
maybe doing a little history of the Irish.

898
01:06:25.420 --> 01:06:29.300
In the end of the 19th century
Irish were called dogs,

899
01:06:30.510 --> 01:06:35.840
servants, slaves, pigs, monkeys, animals.

900
01:06:36.040 --> 01:06:41.050
If you look at the portrayal of Irish people back then
it was completely racist.

901
01:06:42.340 --> 01:06:47.920
And a group of people got together
and started to think about being a power broker.

902
01:06:48.330 --> 01:06:53.090
And they slowly but surely started to go into cities
around America and they got elected to

903
01:06:53.330 --> 01:06:58.470
town councils, city councils
and then a couple legislatures.

904
01:06:58.840 --> 01:07:02.970
And eventually continued to build up
a brief of support and understood who they were,

905
01:07:03.160 --> 01:07:05.130
and next thing they’re Mayors.

906
01:07:05.300 --> 01:07:10.880
And that’s really what every community
that comes to this country has done over time.

907
01:07:11.630 --> 01:07:13.720
And you don’t settle at politics.

908
01:07:13.920 --> 01:07:20.050
Our job is to represent and support
the people of Boston.

909
01:07:21.090 --> 01:07:22.380
That’s our job.

910
01:07:23.010 --> 01:07:27.880
Whether it’s for, through somebody or directly
for somebody, that’s what our job is.

911
01:07:28.050 --> 01:07:30.970
And when you’re a public employee
you have responsibility for that.

912
01:07:31.130 --> 01:07:37.380
And I think that everyone in this room is
more motivated than the average person at City Hall

913
01:07:38.130 --> 01:07:40.720
in a lot of different ways, and take that motivation,

914
01:07:40.880 --> 01:07:45.170
take that desire and keep that moving forward.
Because that’s who we have to be.

915
01:07:53.060 --> 01:07:56.420
This car doesn’t have
an active registration.

916
01:07:58.220 --> 01:08:01.050
I should have brought my passport, but
that wouldn’t have been any good either.

917
01:08:07.420 --> 01:08:10.880
So to get married it costs $75 cash
on the date of the ceremony.

918
01:08:15.220 --> 01:08:19.470
So you can only park at the meter
between those times. 12 to eight.

919
01:08:23.640 --> 01:08:27.220
I’m looking to get an Allston Brighton
parking pass.

920
01:08:30.300 --> 01:08:32.260
It doesn’t have your Boston address.

921
01:08:54.970 --> 01:08:58.510
There are 3 fairly significant master plans
that are happening in

922
01:08:58.590 --> 01:09:01.470
city departments right now
that we’re going to be a part of.

923
01:09:01.720 --> 01:09:04.050
The first one
is the Boston Public Library.

924
01:09:04.340 --> 01:09:09.720
They’re starting a master planning process
in the spring to look at the McKim Building

925
01:09:10.080 --> 01:09:12.420
which is the old building of the library.

926
01:09:12.650 --> 01:09:17.920
Specifically for interest to our community
is looking at the front entrance.

927
01:09:18.090 --> 01:09:18.800
As we know,

928
01:09:18.920 --> 01:09:23.550
thanks to great advocacy of the Board
and an individual Boston resident

929
01:09:25.220 --> 01:09:28.920
they installed a semi-permanent ramp
earlier this year

930
01:09:29.170 --> 01:09:31.550
so that the front entrance
is now accessible.

931
01:09:31.760 --> 01:09:33.630
However, they want to build a permanent ramp,

932
01:09:33.800 --> 01:09:39.050
a very nice artistic structure so they don’t have
a temporary metal ramp up there for long.

933
01:09:39.220 --> 01:09:41.380
So that’s going to be worked
into the master plan.

934
01:09:41.630 --> 01:09:45.260
And also there are two meeting rooms
in the library

935
01:09:45.470 --> 01:09:52.510
in the old McKim Building, that the only way you can
access them right now is with a lift, a vertical lift.

936
01:09:52.720 --> 01:09:55.880
That is the Map Room
and the Commonwealth Salon.

937
01:09:56.100 --> 01:10:01.800
We’re going to be looking at those areas
to see if there’s a way to improve accessibility.

938
01:10:02.010 --> 01:10:04.300
Unfortunately there was a meeting scheduled

939
01:10:04.510 --> 01:10:07.630
a few weeks ago to give updates
on the PCA Program,

940
01:10:08.090 --> 01:10:11.130
scheduled by Mass Health
and there was some communication

941
01:10:11.460 --> 01:10:14.670
where the Library staff
told the people at Mass Health

942
01:10:14.760 --> 01:10:18.550
the room was accessible and it was one of
these rooms which is technically accessible

943
01:10:18.720 --> 01:10:22.170
but when you have 20 and 30 people
coming in wheelchairs, trying to go up

944
01:10:22.300 --> 01:10:25.260
that lift,
it was not very accessible, so...

945
01:10:25.420 --> 01:10:28.090
I’m working on communication with the library
and looking at

946
01:10:28.260 --> 01:10:31.590
different strategies
to try to improve accessibility.

947
01:10:32.090 --> 01:10:36.420
Another master plan that’s happening
is the Parks Department

948
01:10:36.790 --> 01:10:39.300
is working on a master plan
for Boston Common.

949
01:10:39.920 --> 01:10:41.970
There is a large barrier in the Common

950
01:10:42.050 --> 01:10:44.880
that we’ve been interested in working on
for a long time.

951
01:10:45.340 --> 01:10:48.130
And that is the set of steps
at the Shaw Memorial

952
01:10:48.300 --> 01:10:51.510
which go from the Common up to Beacon Street,
across from the State House.

953
01:10:52.050 --> 01:10:55.630
Right now if you’re in the Common
and you can’t use the steps,

954
01:10:55.720 --> 01:10:59.840
there’s no way to get to the State House
except to go back to Tremont Street

955
01:11:00.050 --> 01:11:03.220
and walk all around up Park Street
to Beacon Street.

956
01:11:03.420 --> 01:11:08.760
So it’s a really long path of travel
and even that path is not very accessible.

957
01:11:09.600 --> 01:11:13.010
So, we had worked with the Parks Department
for a few years

958
01:11:13.170 --> 01:11:15.800
to try to get some measurements of slopes

959
01:11:16.260 --> 01:11:22.380
and come up with some design concepts to either
do a ramp or an exterior elevator in the Common.

960
01:11:22.610 --> 01:11:25.220
So this will be included
in the Master planning.

961
01:11:25.460 --> 01:11:28.800
I heard you say on the Master Plan
regarding the Boston Common

962
01:11:28.970 --> 01:11:32.170
with the steps going up to the State House
that input would be valuable.

963
01:11:32.470 --> 01:11:37.670
I get complaints all the time as the ADA
Coordinator at the State House. Would it help if I

964
01:11:38.240 --> 01:11:43.130
got a letter from the State House
saying that we would appreciate

965
01:11:43.500 --> 01:11:44.970
those steps be made be accessible?

966
01:11:45.280 --> 01:11:49.010
Yes, I definitely think a collaboration
between the City and the State

967
01:11:49.170 --> 01:11:55.050
because it’s definitely the State House
which is part of the Freedom Trail.

968
01:11:55.270 --> 01:11:58.420
When they have people with disabilities
on the Freedom Trail they have to detour

969
01:11:58.590 --> 01:12:00.420
and they can’t go on the standard route.

970
01:12:00.610 --> 01:12:02.550
It happens almost every day.

971
01:12:02.900 --> 01:12:04.840
So I think we can definitely
collaborate on that.

972
01:12:04.970 --> 01:12:10.260
I’ll put together a letter and have it
signed by the Superintendent of the State House.

973
01:12:11.370 --> 01:12:12.090
Great.

974
01:12:50.380 --> 01:12:51.880
To me this is personal.

975
01:12:53.550 --> 01:12:57.010
When I was seven years old
I was diagnosed with cancer.

976
01:12:57.610 --> 01:13:02.470
For 4 years I was treated at the Children’s
Hospital in Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

977
01:13:02.760 --> 01:13:07.800
And the people that were in our corner
every single day, the doctors were there,

978
01:13:08.340 --> 01:13:10.470
but around the clock it was the nurses.

979
01:13:10.750 --> 01:13:14.630
It was the nurses who we got to know.
It was the nurses who comforted my parents.

980
01:13:14.800 --> 01:13:18.300
It was the nurses who helped everybody.  It was the nurses that held my hand.

981
01:13:18.470 --> 01:13:22.470
It was the nurses that did everything
in my life and I never forgot that.

982
01:13:22.670 --> 01:13:26.090
And it’s something that’s really important
for all of us never to forget.

983
01:13:26.260 --> 01:13:30.720
Because in a time of need in the hospital
it’s the nurses that show up at your bedside.

984
01:13:30.970 --> 01:13:34.420
It’s the nurses that comfort your families.
It’s the nurses that are there for you.

985
01:13:34.590 --> 01:13:39.630
And I want to thank you for that. And I want to
let you know that that’s why I’m here today.

986
01:13:39.790 --> 01:13:43.760
Because when I needed to be taken care of
and my family needed to be taken care of,

987
01:13:43.970 --> 01:13:45.920
it was the nurses that took care of my family.

988
01:13:46.090 --> 01:13:47.420
So thank you for that.

989
01:14:13.510 --> 01:14:16.380
Pedro and I have talked pretty extensively about

990
01:14:16.510 --> 01:14:22.130
some of the work that’s been being done
on the opioid crisis in Boston.

991
01:14:22.360 --> 01:14:25.880
Pedro expressed a particular interest in that work

992
01:14:26.350 --> 01:14:34.170
and in exploring how we might use public art
to inform or tell a story,

993
01:14:34.380 --> 01:14:37.760
or whatever it is we want to do
about that particular crisis.

994
01:14:37.800 --> 01:14:42.420
I told him the last time we met
about a couple things in particular.

995
01:14:43.100 --> 01:14:47.720
The Engagement Center and also the effort
to build a Recovery Campus on Long Island.

996
01:14:48.220 --> 01:14:54.630
And thought it would be a good idea to put
together this particular team who are working

997
01:14:54.930 --> 01:14:57.920
on arts and culture and the Recovery Campus
and the whole host of other things

998
01:14:58.870 --> 01:15:01.090
to have a conversation and see
if there’s something we might be

999
01:15:01.220 --> 01:15:04.720
thinking about doing in art and recovery.

1000
01:15:05.920 --> 01:15:10.550
Something small or something significant, I don’t know.
But it seems there’s a great opportunity if there are

1001
01:15:10.720 --> 01:15:13.970
patrons around who might like to help us

1002
01:15:14.220 --> 01:15:17.010
tell the story of the Recovery Campus or of the Engagement Center.

1003
01:15:17.170 --> 01:15:19.670
So I’d like to try and figure out how to,

1004
01:15:19.840 --> 01:15:24.720
if that’s something that you want to explore,
how to get you access to

1005
01:15:25.550 --> 01:15:27.010
these two places.

1006
01:15:27.320 --> 01:15:33.380
What’s interesting is that Long Island,
if you think about being the place that is the long term,

1007
01:15:33.730 --> 01:15:37.130
sort of recovery place for people,

1008
01:15:37.460 --> 01:15:40.840
kind of completing our continuum of care
that we offer as a city.

1009
01:15:41.010 --> 01:15:46.010
The Engagement Center is really the low end.
It is the thing that starts the continuum of care.

1010
01:15:48.090 --> 01:15:51.380
In bureaucratic speak called
a low threshold space because

1011
01:15:51.550 --> 01:15:54.510
even people who are kicked out of shelters, people kicked out of programs,

1012
01:15:54.760 --> 01:15:56.470
are allowed to be there.
You can be

1013
01:15:56.630 --> 01:16:00.470
in any state of mind
as long as you’re respecting the space.

1014
01:16:00.630 --> 01:16:03.380
You can come and sleep,
you can come and play games.

1015
01:16:03.630 --> 01:16:05.050
You’ll see some pictures.

1016
01:16:05.220 --> 01:16:10.010
What’s interesting is that we try
to make the best of what we had.

1017
01:16:10.300 --> 01:16:12.840
It was a storage tent basically.

1018
01:16:13.010 --> 01:16:16.920
Like with a structure.
Like it has air conditioning and it has

1019
01:16:16.920 --> 01:16:20.300
things you’d find in a building,
but it’s still canvas.

1020
01:16:20.420 --> 01:16:21.840
And so, very quickly

1021
01:16:22.340 --> 01:16:27.550
the most random assortment of ragtag gang
of people in the City from many departments

1022
01:16:27.720 --> 01:16:30.630
came together and figured out
what to do with this space

1023
01:16:30.970 --> 01:16:35.800
to make it habitable, but more importantly
to make it a place that people wanted to be.

1024
01:16:35.970 --> 01:16:37.670
Because we really wanted this
to be a place

1025
01:16:37.840 --> 01:16:43.340
where you’re not on the recovery spectrum yet.
You’re no necessarily wanting recovery.

1026
01:16:43.510 --> 01:16:46.800
Maybe you are, maybe you aren’t.
It’s just a place for people to go

1027
01:16:46.970 --> 01:16:48.590
so that they’re not on the streets,

1028
01:16:48.760 --> 01:16:53.470
so they’re not in danger of falling into the highway,
because that’s where this is located.

1029
01:16:53.910 --> 01:16:55.590
And just a place where people could

1030
01:16:56.090 --> 01:16:59.630
be their full selves. It’s important to people.
It’s home for a lot of people.

1031
01:17:00.010 --> 01:17:02.220
To follow up on what Sabrina said,

1032
01:17:02.380 --> 01:17:06.510
you were talking about your art in a way
that we’ve been talking about

1033
01:17:06.670 --> 01:17:11.380
some of the artistic approaches here
and we sort of discussed around a civic art.

1034
01:17:11.550 --> 01:17:17.170
It’s art that is not just public. It’s not just there
to see, but rather there’s some purpose,

1035
01:17:17.760 --> 01:17:20.840
or the artist or the community
can articulate

1036
01:17:21.010 --> 01:17:25.420
this is doing, this is this.
This is how we’re going to put it to use.

1037
01:17:25.720 --> 01:17:28.510
And here it’s not just because it looks nice.

1038
01:17:28.670 --> 01:17:32.380
It’s the little teeny things
that like push people into recovery.

1039
01:17:32.550 --> 01:17:38.220
The little breath of fresh air. Being able to talk
to somebody that gives some meaning to your day.

1040
01:17:39.010 --> 01:17:43.800
And that is totally what this space
could always use.

1041
01:17:44.220 --> 01:17:46.050
We’re year 2 into this.

1042
01:17:46.220 --> 01:17:49.260
We put some money in the capital budget
for a permanent space at some point,

1043
01:17:49.420 --> 01:17:51.920
but we have no idea how long it’s going to take to actually do that.

1044
01:17:52.090 --> 01:17:55.970
In the meantime, this space
is being very well utilized.

1045
01:17:56.130 --> 01:18:00.050
To the point where things are wearing out
faster than we would like them to.

1046
01:18:00.510 --> 01:18:03.590
So very cognizant of trying
to make sure that the place is

1047
01:18:04.130 --> 01:18:07.760
welcoming
and a good place for people to be.

1048
01:18:08.260 --> 01:18:10.720
But the administration is committed to

1049
01:18:10.880 --> 01:18:16.720
keeping an engagement center in some form
up and running pretty much permanently.

1050
01:18:17.700 --> 01:18:19.760
There are a number of people
who have found their way

1051
01:18:19.920 --> 01:18:21.760
to recovery
through the Engagement Center.

1052
01:18:23.010 --> 01:18:27.010
It’s like Steven said, it’s a low threshold space.
These are folks who

1053
01:18:27.130 --> 01:18:30.300
might not have even thought about that yet.

1054
01:18:30.380 --> 01:18:33.130
But at least having the ability
to ask for help,

1055
01:18:33.300 --> 01:18:37.220
makes it I think probably a little bit more likely
that you might actually ask for help.

1056
01:18:37.380 --> 01:18:39.840
A friendly space
allows you to take that first step.

1057
01:18:39.970 --> 01:18:41.470
- Springboard. Not even a step.
- Springboard.

1058
01:18:41.670 --> 01:18:44.590
Because there’s no
expectation of recovery.

1059
01:18:44.760 --> 01:18:49.170
it’s not like most other services, you don’t go there because you’re ready necessarily.

1060
01:18:49.380 --> 01:18:51.420
You can go there just to get your snack,

1061
01:18:51.590 --> 01:18:55.970
but then over enough time maybe
that will be the thing that springs you forward.

1062
01:18:56.130 --> 01:19:00.300
You got everything from 'hey I’m looking
for a coed space that I can be with my partner'

1063
01:19:00.510 --> 01:19:03.840
to 'I’ve been barred from all the other spaces
that the City provides,

1064
01:19:04.010 --> 01:19:07.630
but I definitely need to access

1065
01:19:07.880 --> 01:19:12.170
fruit cups in order to deal with
my low blood sugar.'

1066
01:19:12.340 --> 01:19:15.090
This space offered that opportunity
to provide that for them.

1067
01:19:15.300 --> 01:19:17.550
And then sort of ease them back
into being a part of

1068
01:19:18.510 --> 01:19:21.220
whatever they may have not been
a part of before.

1069
01:19:21.920 --> 01:19:26.920
It acted like an incredibly interesting mediation space for some, a social space for other,

1070
01:19:27.090 --> 01:19:28.760
a living room, a pit stop,

1071
01:19:29.010 --> 01:19:32.010
a sort of community
and again being in that meeting,

1072
01:19:32.170 --> 01:19:34.420
hearing everyone talk about this
is like a family.

1073
01:19:34.630 --> 01:19:36.590
So I think we’re in
a really interesting point where

1074
01:19:36.760 --> 01:19:39.300
yes, we’re trying to think about
how to refresh the space as a city,

1075
01:19:39.470 --> 01:19:43.090
trying to think about what does it mean to keep
the Engagement Center?  What does that look like?

1076
01:19:43.260 --> 01:19:47.050
Does that mean more of them? Does it mean
a better version of what we have right now?

1077
01:19:47.350 --> 01:19:51.260
All that aside, also thinking about how do we
tell the story about what’s happening here?

1078
01:19:51.470 --> 01:19:55.380
Both on the level of the humanizing folks
and meeting people where they are,

1079
01:19:55.430 --> 01:20:00.260
but also functionally we’ve done something here
that clearly is filling a gap and a need

1080
01:20:00.750 --> 01:20:04.260
and really what’s the story
that Boston’s trying to tell around recovery?

1081
01:20:04.450 --> 01:20:06.340
Being such an epicenter, regionally?

1082
01:20:06.510 --> 01:20:09.720
So I think there’s some interesting connections
to think about.

1083
01:20:09.920 --> 01:20:11.630
How do we talk about this?
How do we talk

1084
01:20:11.760 --> 01:20:13.010
about Long Island?

1085
01:20:13.010 --> 01:20:18.760
Obviously there’s a political side to all of this too
because this exists in a neighborhood.

1086
01:20:19.090 --> 01:20:22.130
The South End neighborhood has been very good

1087
01:20:22.300 --> 01:20:26.300
about accepting the amount of social services

1088
01:20:26.760 --> 01:20:29.130
that have to be absorbed by that community because

1089
01:20:29.380 --> 01:20:33.420
the shelter is in that a neighborhood.
There’s a methadone clinic in that neighborhood.

1090
01:20:33.720 --> 01:20:37.340
So this is the corner of
Melnea Cass and Mass Ave.

1091
01:20:37.630 --> 01:20:40.920
People call it methadone mile.
We call it Recovery Road.

1092
01:20:42.590 --> 01:20:45.340
We need to do a better job of telling the story,

1093
01:20:45.510 --> 01:20:49.130
also lifting up the neighbors in the South End
who’ve been good

1094
01:20:49.470 --> 01:20:56.220
about absorbing all of this activity that
not every neighborhood would be so open to receiving.

1095
01:20:56.420 --> 01:21:02.090
It goes a long way that most people have
substance use disorders somewhere in their family.

1096
01:21:02.970 --> 01:21:06.470
Most people probably have it
pretty close in their families, so that helps,

1097
01:21:06.630 --> 01:21:10.840
but we owe it to them to tell a story
about why this is needed.

1098
01:21:11.420 --> 01:21:18.090
This is sort of a short term, it’s big for us,
but it’s also small and short term when you...

1099
01:21:18.670 --> 01:21:21.760
in the context of the Recovery Campus
on Long Island.

1100
01:21:22.130 --> 01:21:24.470
Much longer term project.

1101
01:21:24.760 --> 01:21:28.470
It calls for the rebuilding of a bridge
and obviously there’s a

1102
01:21:29.470 --> 01:21:32.720
a court case
that’s going to go on about that,

1103
01:21:33.010 --> 01:21:36.510
an argument between two municipalities
about how that gets done.

1104
01:21:36.840 --> 01:21:42.300
But Long Island was a place where a lot of programs
like this existed for many years.

1105
01:21:42.800 --> 01:21:45.920
And the Mayor’s made it clear that he wants to build

1106
01:21:46.350 --> 01:21:52.170
this Recovery Campus which will serve
long term residential programs in recovery.

1107
01:21:53.220 --> 01:21:57.090
Where it used to be there was a homeless shelter,
at least one homeless shelter, maybe two.

1108
01:21:57.590 --> 01:21:59.340
There was 2 shelters out there.

1109
01:21:59.510 --> 01:22:03.630
So where it used to be
there would be a night shelter.

1110
01:22:03.800 --> 01:22:08.130
That’s not going to be the case anymore.
It’s going to be focused on long term recovery.

1111
01:22:08.340 --> 01:22:09.630
It’s residential as opposed to

1112
01:22:09.800 --> 01:22:14.260
shuttling homeless people out at night and
bringing them back into the City in the morning.

1113
01:22:14.840 --> 01:22:19.220
So there’s a whole, where I actually don’t know what the latest update is on

1114
01:22:19.590 --> 01:22:24.260
when we could even expect a bridge to be rebuilt,
but it’s at least 3 or 4 years out.

1115
01:22:24.420 --> 01:22:26.920
In the meantime we’re thinking
about programming,

1116
01:22:27.090 --> 01:22:29.970
assessing the viability
of all the buildings that are out there

1117
01:22:30.340 --> 01:22:33.340
and trying to figure out how
to tell the story of Long Island.

1118
01:22:33.880 --> 01:22:37.800
Because we definitely have a story that we need
to tell because we need to build

1119
01:22:38.010 --> 01:22:41.300
political will to actually
make the Recovery Campus happen.

1120
01:22:41.510 --> 01:22:43.590
So that it can serve not just Bostonians,

1121
01:22:43.760 --> 01:22:48.510
but people dealing with substance use disorders
from around the greater Boston area.

1122
01:22:48.670 --> 01:22:54.800
So there’s some great opportunity there for storytelling
and we’re very much in the beginning stages of that.

1123
01:22:55.050 --> 01:22:57.170
I think I’ve mentioned Swoon in the past.

1124
01:22:57.670 --> 01:23:01.340
Swoon she was actually,
I mean this is public.

1125
01:23:01.630 --> 01:23:05.300
She was raised by...
her parents were addicts.

1126
01:23:05.840 --> 01:23:07.800
Heroin if I remember correctly.

1127
01:23:09.760 --> 01:23:15.550
So it’s a topic that she’s very attuned to
and I think

1128
01:23:15.880 --> 01:23:18.760
she’s made it clear
that she wants to dedicate

1129
01:23:19.050 --> 01:23:25.010
maybe the rest of her career to
really looking at addiction and trauma.

1130
01:23:26.260 --> 01:23:29.090
And how you know,
trauma leads to addiction.

1131
01:23:31.550 --> 01:23:37.720
So the project I did with her in Philadelphia,
she worked with

1132
01:23:39.420 --> 01:23:41.340
men at Graterford State Prison

1133
01:23:41.720 --> 01:23:46.220
Inmates, of the largest state prison, maximum
security prison in the state of Pennsylvania.

1134
01:23:47.130 --> 01:23:49.840
Women in a re-entry program and...

1135
01:23:51.130 --> 01:23:51.800
I’m sorry.

1136
01:23:52.260 --> 01:23:54.840
Women in halfway house
and a re-entry program.

1137
01:23:55.510 --> 01:23:58.630
The most important thing
was the element of telling the story.

1138
01:23:59.420 --> 01:24:05.420
She worked with participants
to teach them how to tell their story.

1139
01:24:06.050 --> 01:24:09.420
And we were all crying. It was so...

1140
01:24:09.550 --> 01:24:12.090
you know, powerful.

1141
01:24:13.800 --> 01:24:16.470
I think that the oral histories

1142
01:24:17.090 --> 01:24:19.510
are very important.

1143
01:24:19.670 --> 01:24:24.670
The portrayal of people
who we often forget about,

1144
01:24:25.010 --> 01:24:31.340
disregard,
are really important tools for humanization.

1145
01:24:31.510 --> 01:24:32.970
So much of recovery

1146
01:24:33.300 --> 01:24:36.470
is about story telling anyway.
Who knows what tomorrow might bring

1147
01:24:36.760 --> 01:24:41.260
and so I think the more that
we can use these stories

1148
01:24:41.970 --> 01:24:47.260
to put them out there, but also to really put
at the center of all this work,

1149
01:24:47.380 --> 01:24:51.380
the idea of storytelling.
Or, the idea of like owning your story

1150
01:24:52.470 --> 01:24:53.470
and sharing it.

1151
01:26:21.760 --> 01:26:24.720
I think a fan belt inside the generator

1152
01:26:25.130 --> 01:26:26.380
caught fire.  So,

1153
01:26:26.880 --> 01:26:32.380
they extinguished it. I think they shut the power off.
They’re on their way down now.

1154
01:28:15.510 --> 01:28:19.220
I just want to give a brief background
of how this event came to be.

1155
01:28:20.300 --> 01:28:25.380
For those of you familiar with Sebastian Junger,
who’s a writer, his last book was called Tribe.

1156
01:28:26.300 --> 01:28:30.470
In this book he explores
the concept around homecoming

1157
01:28:30.630 --> 01:28:33.300
and belonging
within the Veterans community.

1158
01:28:33.970 --> 01:28:38.050
And he often talks about
how the best thing a community can do

1159
01:28:39.010 --> 01:28:46.130
for our Veterans is to listen to their stories
without judgment and with full support.

1160
01:28:47.550 --> 01:28:50.800
And this is what this Town Hall
is intended to do.

1161
01:28:51.300 --> 01:28:52.720
This is a community forum

1162
01:28:53.300 --> 01:28:57.470
aiming to establish greater understanding
between local Veterans

1163
01:28:57.720 --> 01:29:00.260
and the friends and neighbors
that they fought for.

1164
01:29:00.720 --> 01:29:06.800
We took care of English and American soldiers
when they came back from the front.

1165
01:29:07.130 --> 01:29:12.260
Some of the soldier’s wounds would heal
and they were able to get up,

1166
01:29:12.720 --> 01:29:15.880
but most of them were bed patients.

1167
01:29:16.380 --> 01:29:18.470
We helped the soldiers recuperate

1168
01:29:19.130 --> 01:29:22.090
from physical and mental injuries.

1169
01:29:22.840 --> 01:29:25.970
Back then we called it shell shock.

1170
01:29:26.880 --> 01:29:30.510
We tried to keep the soldier’s spirits up.

1171
01:29:31.050 --> 01:29:38.260
Many of the soldiers had lost a leg or an arm
or sometimes both legs and arms.

1172
01:29:41.050 --> 01:29:48.260
Those men were sent to Walter Reed to receive
artificial limbs and appendages.

1173
01:29:48.970 --> 01:29:52.340
I had a patient
who wrote a letter to his wife

1174
01:29:52.800 --> 01:29:54.510
to tell her that he had lost his leg.

1175
01:29:55.670 --> 01:29:58.170
He was worried that she wouldn’t want him

1176
01:29:58.630 --> 01:29:59.880
when he came home.

1177
01:30:00.550 --> 01:30:06.800
But his wife wrote to him and told him
that she was just so happy that he was alive.

1178
01:30:06.970 --> 01:30:09.050
He cried and I cried too.

1179
01:30:09.340 --> 01:30:13.550
The Street right down a few houses
away from me

1180
01:30:13.670 --> 01:30:18.720
was named Andrew Biggio Square and
as I was introduced, that’s my name.

1181
01:30:19.380 --> 01:30:23.510
Except that Square was not named after me.
It was named after my uncle

1182
01:30:23.720 --> 01:30:26.010
who was killed in action in World War II.

1183
01:30:26.920 --> 01:30:28.630
The first Andrew Biggio.

1184
01:30:30.300 --> 01:30:32.090
When I was a kid
I didn’t know anything about it.

1185
01:30:32.220 --> 01:30:36.130
I told the other kids just what my parents told me
that it was named after my uncle.

1186
01:30:36.590 --> 01:30:41.630
It wasn’t until I was getting ready
to go to my first tour in Iraq...

1187
01:30:42.130 --> 01:30:46.300
I was looking at that Street sign
saying Andrew Biggio Square

1188
01:30:47.630 --> 01:30:50.220
and it was a weird feeling knowing that

1189
01:30:50.840 --> 01:30:51.840
I was the...

1190
01:30:52.630 --> 01:30:54.510
I'm the next Andrew Biggio to go to war

1191
01:30:54.670 --> 01:30:57.970
and the first Andrew Biggio went to war and didn’t come back,so...

1192
01:30:58.670 --> 01:31:02.670
I survived Iraq.
I survived a tour in Afghanistan

1193
01:31:03.260 --> 01:31:06.970
and I came home and I was staring
at that Street sign again and I said

1194
01:31:07.130 --> 01:31:12.840
I got to find out what happened to that first
Andrew Biggio on that hill in Italy in 1944.

1195
01:31:13.300 --> 01:31:17.840
I went to my grandmother’s house. I asked her if she still
had Andrew’s letters that he wrote home from World War II.

1196
01:31:18.010 --> 01:31:22.840
She said she did. I went upstairs. I pulled the
shoebox out of letters and I started reading them.

1197
01:31:23.260 --> 01:31:26.670
I started to track down men
from his company that were with him.

1198
01:31:28.840 --> 01:31:31.130
It went from men from his company

1199
01:31:31.590 --> 01:31:36.010
to different types of Veterans and I ended up covering
almost the whole war on the rifle as far as

1200
01:31:36.130 --> 01:31:38.880
divisions, places, battles.

1201
01:31:40.800 --> 01:31:42.550
How did I get the rifle?

1202
01:31:42.840 --> 01:31:45.090
I go through Andrew’s letters and I read

1203
01:31:45.420 --> 01:31:47.760
on how much he enjoyed to shoot
the M1 Garand.

1204
01:31:48.670 --> 01:31:51.550
I said I’m going to buy an M1.
We should have this

1205
01:31:51.970 --> 01:31:56.300
in our family history, we should have it forever.
He died carrying this kind of a rifle.

1206
01:31:56.550 --> 01:31:58.550
I purchased the M1

1207
01:31:58.720 --> 01:32:01.800
and I’m in my house
and I’m aiming in at the wall and I’m

1208
01:32:02.300 --> 01:32:07.260
playing Army man again at 30 years old
in my living room.

1209
01:32:08.010 --> 01:32:10.090
But I said, who do I bring this to?

1210
01:32:10.260 --> 01:32:14.720
I can’t show my family. Would they
really understand? They’re not Veterans.

1211
01:32:15.010 --> 01:32:17.760
It’s great, but now what?
I bought the rifle, now what?

1212
01:32:17.920 --> 01:32:22.510
How do I fit the puzzle piece together
on what happened to that first Andrew Biggio?

1213
01:32:23.550 --> 01:32:26.920
So I thought about my neighbor.
My next door neighbor, Joe.

1214
01:32:27.260 --> 01:32:33.010
He had fought in the Battle of Okinawa
and was a grouchy prick to me my whole life.

1215
01:32:35.170 --> 01:32:39.920
Anytime a foul ball would land
in his backyard I’d hear an earful from,

1216
01:32:40.090 --> 01:32:45.010
he wouldn’t crack a smile to me
until I graduated Marine Corp Bootcamp.

1217
01:32:45.340 --> 01:32:48.720
Then I started to see him
wave to me from his yard.

1218
01:32:48.880 --> 01:32:54.130
The relationship became different.
So I said I’m going to go show this rifle to Joe.

1219
01:32:54.470 --> 01:32:59.300
I went to his house, opened the door and he’s sitting
in the wheelchair. He was 92 at the time.

1220
01:33:00.720 --> 01:33:02.920
And I said hey, check what I bought.

1221
01:33:03.090 --> 01:33:07.300
I placed the rifle which was empty,
not covered in signatures like it is now,

1222
01:33:07.590 --> 01:33:09.590
I put the rifle into his arms.

1223
01:33:10.260 --> 01:33:13.420
He was in his recliner.
His legs had atrophited

1224
01:33:13.590 --> 01:33:17.380
to nothing after years of not being able
to walk at his age and illness,

1225
01:33:17.880 --> 01:33:20.260
and he brightened up.

1226
01:33:20.590 --> 01:33:22.920
It was like a burst of energy
soared through his body.

1227
01:33:23.050 --> 01:33:27.170
He started waving the rifle around the room,
smiling like he was 18 years old again.

1228
01:33:27.300 --> 01:33:30.510
I said holy crap,
I am holding something special.

1229
01:33:31.670 --> 01:33:34.760
He said go into his top drawer.

1230
01:33:36.510 --> 01:33:38.340
I want you to have these now.

1231
01:33:38.760 --> 01:33:44.090
I went into his top drawer,
I pulled out a velvet Crown Royal bag.

1232
01:33:46.130 --> 01:33:48.920
Inside of it were Japanese gold teeth.

1233
01:33:49.470 --> 01:33:51.510
He said, I want you to have these now.

1234
01:33:52.380 --> 01:33:58.670
Now, I’m not sitting here justifying war
or what happened in the 1940s, but

1235
01:33:59.340 --> 01:34:02.550
I figured out this is why this man
was a grouch.

1236
01:34:02.920 --> 01:34:06.130
I finally understand what was
bothering this man my whole life

1237
01:34:06.300 --> 01:34:08.840
and what he had seen
and what he had went through.

1238
01:34:10.550 --> 01:34:15.800
I wanted to, this was more than just
oh my God, let me hear a war story.

1239
01:34:16.050 --> 01:34:18.510
He began to pass on the advice,

1240
01:34:18.720 --> 01:34:24.260
life advice and suggestions on how
to live a long successful life after combat.

1241
01:34:24.630 --> 01:34:27.170
I was 28

1242
01:34:28.220 --> 01:34:31.630
when I had this conversation with him
and he was 92.

1243
01:34:32.510 --> 01:34:36.510
I said, I want to remember this forever.
I said Joe sign the rifle.

1244
01:34:36.840 --> 01:34:38.550
He was the first signature on it.

1245
01:34:38.920 --> 01:34:41.010
I left his house and I said I’m going to go around

1246
01:34:41.130 --> 01:34:44.970
and get as many World War II
Veteran signatures as possible.

1247
01:34:45.130 --> 01:34:49.380
I want to be able to pass on to the younger Veterans
how to live a long successful life,

1248
01:34:49.630 --> 01:34:51.510
to have a career, have a job

1249
01:34:51.970 --> 01:34:56.590
If these men could do it, what they saw
in Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Normandy, Burma,

1250
01:34:57.010 --> 01:35:01.630
France, Belgium, Germany,
Saipan, Tarawa, Tinian,

1251
01:35:02.420 --> 01:35:04.760
that our generation could do it too.

1252
01:35:05.420 --> 01:35:07.260
And that is the story of the rifle.

1253
01:35:08.550 --> 01:35:09.380
We come out

1254
01:35:09.760 --> 01:35:11.800
of the factory,
and for you Ramadi vets,

1255
01:35:12.090 --> 01:35:13.800
we’re out on Route Michigan

1256
01:35:15.340 --> 01:35:18.050
and we stop two possible VBEDs.

1257
01:35:21.130 --> 01:35:26.920
They’re both coming down Michigan
to the point that we have

1258
01:35:27.340 --> 01:35:28.550
I believe two Humvees.

1259
01:35:28.840 --> 01:35:34.010
We stop. Everyone dismounts to get more guns
down range to back off the vehicles.

1260
01:35:36.420 --> 01:35:39.760
While that happened
about 450 to 600 meters out

1261
01:35:40.300 --> 01:35:45.260
I look at what would be known as the
White Apartments for anybody that served in Ramadi.

1262
01:35:47.260 --> 01:35:49.420
There’s three military aged males or...

1263
01:35:50.840 --> 01:35:54.300
At that time because I’m old in comparison
to these new kids, Al-Qaeda,

1264
01:35:54.550 --> 01:35:56.720
on a roof
and they’re tactically observing us.

1265
01:35:57.050 --> 01:35:58.800
So I go to take the shot

1266
01:35:59.720 --> 01:36:03.920
and then its Ramadi, it’s the middle of the day.
Everyone’s getting sniped, everyone’s getting killed.

1267
01:36:04.090 --> 01:36:08.170
I’m going to tell the Lieutenant I’m making the shot
so guys don’t think its incoming fire.

1268
01:36:08.720 --> 01:36:11.840
When I go to take the shot,
the whole thing was a setup.

1269
01:36:12.760 --> 01:36:14.760
It was a sniper from my three.

1270
01:36:14.880 --> 01:36:19.090
So I turned at the last second
before I took the shot to tell the Lieutenant.

1271
01:36:20.920 --> 01:36:23.800
The round actually blew
through my holographic sight

1272
01:36:24.010 --> 01:36:25.920
and into the side of my chest.

1273
01:36:26.380 --> 01:36:28.380
But I didn’t know that at the time.

1274
01:36:29.010 --> 01:36:31.090
So, I said I’m hit.

1275
01:36:31.920 --> 01:36:36.630
I get in the Humvee and then I said no,
I said I’m good.

1276
01:36:36.800 --> 01:36:41.380
I said it’s not being top. I said your adrenalin goes
through the roof. Anybody that’s been shot here,

1277
01:36:41.800 --> 01:36:46.010
my man over there knows to say the least.
And I said no, I’m good.

1278
01:36:46.170 --> 01:36:48.510
They stop the Humvee,
I go to get back out of it,

1279
01:36:48.720 --> 01:36:52.130
I open the door and my platoon sergeant
reaches over and grabs me

1280
01:36:52.380 --> 01:36:54.800
because blood's coming out
of the side of my chest.

1281
01:36:54.970 --> 01:36:56.300
And I know at that point

1282
01:36:57.840 --> 01:36:59.590
he hit me exactly where he wanted to hit me,

1283
01:36:59.760 --> 01:37:02.380
they were shooting through the side
of the pectoral into the heart.

1284
01:37:02.550 --> 01:37:05.880
We believe that same sniper killed
a couple of my friends the same exact way.

1285
01:37:06.170 --> 01:37:11.340
They rushed me into the forward operating base
and on the operating table.

1286
01:37:14.670 --> 01:37:20.880
I think OK, maybe a piece of plate got me.
I feel good. I’m feeling fine.

1287
01:37:25.380 --> 01:37:28.170
I get out of the Humvee and
that’s always a big thing. Everybody knows

1288
01:37:28.340 --> 01:37:31.590
if you can walk in the hospital,
even if you die on the floor,

1289
01:37:31.760 --> 01:37:35.220
if you walk into the hospital, that’s how it goes.
So I said don’t touch me.

1290
01:37:35.380 --> 01:37:36.670
Take my clothes off

1291
01:37:36.840 --> 01:37:40.300
and one of the baddest guys
I’ve ever met in my entire life

1292
01:37:40.470 --> 01:37:46.090
that had survived a battle over there
with a handful of our guys getting killed

1293
01:37:46.420 --> 01:37:48.220
and you know he was...

1294
01:37:53.170 --> 01:37:55.720
one of two survivors
out of like seven guys.

1295
01:37:56.300 --> 01:37:58.260
He looks at me and he’s mortified.

1296
01:37:58.470 --> 01:38:01.260
And I have a big gaping hole
on the side of my chest.

1297
01:38:01.420 --> 01:38:04.340
What happened was because it shot
through my holographic sight,

1298
01:38:04.550 --> 01:38:06.420
it created like buckshot.

1299
01:38:06.590 --> 01:38:10.840
So now at this point I’m like,
I know I’m going to die. It is what it is.

1300
01:38:11.260 --> 01:38:14.550
I believe in the cause, I feel good,
you know, in terms of like

1301
01:38:14.840 --> 01:38:18.170
hey this is what it’s going to be,
I’m a true believer.

1302
01:38:18.510 --> 01:38:20.590
They get me on the operating table

1303
01:38:22.300 --> 01:38:24.630
I’m saying, no but I, you know,
I feel good.

1304
01:38:24.970 --> 01:38:28.470
They tell me the bullet’s still inside so everyone’s
just waiting for me to bleed out on the table,

1305
01:38:28.790 --> 01:38:30.590
bleed out internally and die.

1306
01:38:31.470 --> 01:38:34.670
My Commanding Officer’s holding my hand
and he said,

1307
01:38:34.840 --> 01:38:40.510
hey you know Kurt, hang in there buddy.
Do you know what the date is?

1308
01:38:42.010 --> 01:38:44.970
Do you know what’s going on?
And I said I know what you’re doing.

1309
01:38:45.130 --> 01:38:46.970
I said today’s October 10th.

1310
01:38:48.590 --> 01:38:50.720
I said I’m a lifelong Patriot’s fan.

1311
01:38:50.880 --> 01:38:54.800
Adam Vinatieri just kicked the game winning
field goal. Best kicker in football.

1312
01:38:56.220 --> 01:38:59.300
I looked around the operating room
and everyone was mortified,

1313
01:38:59.900 --> 01:39:01.800
but they knew I was going to survive.

1314
01:39:04.670 --> 01:39:06.220
I make it through surgery

1315
01:39:06.420 --> 01:39:08.130
and they said you know son,

1316
01:39:08.340 --> 01:39:12.130
thank you for your service, you’re going to go
from Ramadi to Bagdad, Bagdad to Germany,

1317
01:39:12.300 --> 01:39:15.300
Germany back to the United States.

1318
01:39:15.470 --> 01:39:19.090
I said with all due respect, everyone’s dying,
I’m not going anywhere.

1319
01:39:19.260 --> 01:39:22.470
And they said, you’re stupid.
They said

1320
01:39:24.010 --> 01:39:28.300
the bullet’s still in there,
your chest isn’t going to close.

1321
01:39:28.510 --> 01:39:30.300
No granulation. You need skin grafts.

1322
01:39:30.500 --> 01:39:33.510
You’re going to get infected
and you’re going to die over here.

1323
01:39:33.670 --> 01:39:37.720
And I said like it is what it is.

1324
01:39:38.130 --> 01:39:41.220
I’m staying.
And I checked myself out of the hospital.

1325
01:39:41.510 --> 01:39:46.760
I talked to my father via Sat phone
and then always one of my biggest supporters,

1326
01:39:47.090 --> 01:39:50.970
I called my Aunt.
She’s a former nun who then went onto be

1327
01:39:51.130 --> 01:39:52.970
very successful on Wall Street,

1328
01:39:53.380 --> 01:39:57.300
a no nonsense kind of woman
who grew up here in the City of Boston.

1329
01:39:57.590 --> 01:40:01.550
And I said, you know, I need you
to grab my back in this. I said I got shot.

1330
01:40:01.760 --> 01:40:05.920
And I’m staying. And she said,
well I wouldn’t expect anything differently.

1331
01:40:08.260 --> 01:40:10.880
I continued to fight on the ground
for eight more months

1332
01:40:11.380 --> 01:40:15.470
and you know, it was heavy.
We lost guys

1333
01:40:17.010 --> 01:40:19.260
but I wouldn’t have done it any differently.

1334
01:40:19.420 --> 01:40:21.260
I’m an open book and I tell everyone:

1335
01:40:21.920 --> 01:40:27.090
listen, war is war and it's tough, but honestly
the hardest part was coming home.

1336
01:40:27.720 --> 01:40:31.590
I said I actually know Tommy because
I went through the home base program

1337
01:40:31.760 --> 01:40:34.510
and same thing,
not to get too organization specific.

1338
01:40:34.670 --> 01:40:37.130
But it was the best thing I ever did.

1339
01:40:39.340 --> 01:40:41.380
Because I said I wasn’t scared.

1340
01:40:41.670 --> 01:40:44.920
I wasn’t scared when I hit IEDs.
I wasn’t scared when I was shot

1341
01:40:45.090 --> 01:40:47.670
I knew I was going to die,
but I said when I came home

1342
01:40:48.090 --> 01:40:50.340
and I’m on the side of 93C and my family

1343
01:40:50.510 --> 01:40:56.300
and Local 103 has Welcome Home from Iraq,
Sergeant Kurt Power. I said it hit me.

1344
01:40:57.420 --> 01:41:00.130
What am I doing back here?
I don’t belong here anymore.

1345
01:41:00.260 --> 01:41:03.920
I had never thought I would have to prepare for it
because I never thought I was going to survive.

1346
01:41:04.090 --> 01:41:05.130
And there was a...

1347
01:41:05.920 --> 01:41:08.130
for guys and gals
that were over

1348
01:41:08.300 --> 01:41:10.170
there’s a certain comfort level to that.

1349
01:41:10.670 --> 01:41:12.840
Listen we’re all
going to die someday right?

1350
01:41:13.220 --> 01:41:16.170
You know it’s sooner than later over there,
well then why sweat it?

1351
01:41:16.510 --> 01:41:20.220
That’s the reality of it.
The best way to honor the guys

1352
01:41:20.380 --> 01:41:23.970
that didn’t make it home is to do what you can
to make the world a better place

1353
01:41:25.470 --> 01:41:29.840
That’s how I live my life every day
and I just want everyone to know

1354
01:41:30.420 --> 01:41:33.970
that our coming home and our going through things
that you’re not alone.

1355
01:41:34.260 --> 01:41:36.590
We’re all in this together. Because

1356
01:41:36.760 --> 01:41:38.800
we’re losing 22 Veterans a day

1357
01:41:38.970 --> 01:41:42.510
because everyone thinks they’re the only one
that ever went through anything.

1358
01:41:42.920 --> 01:41:48.880
Nightmares and cold sweats and anxiety,
that’s all part of the process.

1359
01:41:49.050 --> 01:41:52.300
The only way we’re going to get people to get help

1360
01:41:52.510 --> 01:41:55.380
and to continue to live another day

1361
01:41:56.090 --> 01:42:00.090
is by being open and talking about it.
So keep fighting.

1362
01:42:00.170 --> 01:42:04.670
Keep fighting for the guys that didn’t make it.
Keep fighting for the gals that didn’t make it.

1363
01:42:05.590 --> 01:42:10.220
We’re proud of all of you. Thank you so much
for your service and God bless America.

1364
01:42:11.760 --> 01:42:13.220
We went further north.
In Ai Quoc.

1365
01:42:13.550 --> 01:42:17.630
You can see it in Ken Burns’ documentary.
He focuses on Con Thien.

1366
01:42:18.010 --> 01:42:20.550
But we were at Con Thien. We were
at Geo Lin, at Camp Caroll

1367
01:42:20.720 --> 01:42:23.970
and almost every time we went to one
of those places we were under siege.

1368
01:42:24.340 --> 01:42:26.090
And they were shooting rockets.

1369
01:42:26.260 --> 01:42:31.470
We could literally look right into North Vietnam.
We could see the little sparks from the artillery guns.

1370
01:42:31.720 --> 01:42:34.880
And they’d usually fire three at a time.
They’d fire them every hour.

1371
01:42:35.260 --> 01:42:39.800
Some of you have seen
the Boston Marathon bombing.

1372
01:42:40.090 --> 01:42:43.550
Remember the panic when the first bomb went off
and folks started running one way

1373
01:42:43.720 --> 01:42:46.090
and another bomb went off
and folks didn’t know what to do?

1374
01:42:46.340 --> 01:42:48.840
That’s what was happening to us every hour.

1375
01:42:49.010 --> 01:42:53.470
Three artillery rounds would come in
and guys were literally getting blown to bits.

1376
01:42:55.090 --> 01:42:55.920
It was clear

1377
01:42:56.090 --> 01:43:00.340
that we were being sacrificed. We were at the most
northern outpost that the Marines had.

1378
01:43:02.470 --> 01:43:07.630
It was almost like we were a pawn
in somebody’s chess game.

1379
01:43:08.130 --> 01:43:10.090
And I had the opportunity to call home.

1380
01:43:10.470 --> 01:43:12.130
I called my mother

1381
01:43:12.300 --> 01:43:14.800
and the first thing I said to her was Ma,
I want to just

1382
01:43:14.970 --> 01:43:19.470
apologize to you for all the problems
I caused you when I was in high school.

1383
01:43:19.970 --> 01:43:21.590
She said why are you
talking to me like this?

1384
01:43:21.760 --> 01:43:24.380
I said because you’ll probably
never see me again.

1385
01:43:24.550 --> 01:43:27.380
She said what do you mean?
I said everybody in my unit’s dying.

1386
01:43:28.090 --> 01:43:32.220
We’re the most northern outpost
that the Marines have. We’re surrounded.

1387
01:43:32.510 --> 01:43:35.670
They’re bombarding us every day.
Sometimes they don’t even bring us water.

1388
01:43:35.800 --> 01:43:37.840
We have to drink mud and eat grass.

1389
01:43:38.010 --> 01:43:42.550
And my mother said, you’re not going to die.
I said Ma, I’m trying to tell you something.

1390
01:43:42.720 --> 01:43:48.300
She said, I talk to God every day.
And you’re special. You’re coming back.

1391
01:43:48.630 --> 01:43:51.670
I said Ma, everybody’s mother
thinks they’re special.

1392
01:43:52.260 --> 01:43:55.260
I’m putting pieces of special people in bags.
Listen to what I’m saying.

1393
01:43:55.420 --> 01:43:58.220
Don’t believe what you read in the Globe
or what you see on the 6:00 news.

1394
01:43:58.380 --> 01:44:01.130
We’re losing the war.
We’re being sacrificed.

1395
01:44:01.220 --> 01:44:03.170
You’re probably not going to see me again
and she kept saying,

1396
01:44:03.340 --> 01:44:07.760
you’re coming back. She tried to tell a joke.
She said besides, you got to come back.

1397
01:44:07.920 --> 01:44:09.550
I said what do you mean?
She said,

1398
01:44:09.880 --> 01:44:10.920
if you don’t come back
who’s going to pay

1399
01:44:11.170 --> 01:44:13.630
this telephone bill?
And everytime I see or hear

1400
01:44:13.970 --> 01:44:17.130
anything about Veterans
who lost their lives in Vietnam,

1401
01:44:17.300 --> 01:44:20.760
I pull up on the corner and I see guys with the cardboard placards

1402
01:44:21.010 --> 01:44:24.840
and their cups, I realize how blessed I am.
Having gone through all that

1403
01:44:26.010 --> 01:44:31.260
everything that I do I do it for them.
I do it for the guys that didn’t make it back.

1404
01:44:31.420 --> 01:44:34.510
I do it for the guys who lost their arms and legs
and guys who

1405
01:44:35.170 --> 01:44:36.550
even lost their minds.

1406
01:44:36.720 --> 01:44:41.840
I long for the day with all this technology, like
we walk around with computers in our pockets,

1407
01:44:42.340 --> 01:44:46.130
I long for the day
when we can evolve to a point where

1408
01:44:46.420 --> 01:44:49.880
we can resolve conflicts without sending
our sons and daughters to kill each other.

1409
01:44:50.380 --> 01:44:54.010
Let us not forget the total cost of war.

1410
01:44:54.380 --> 01:45:00.380
World War I was among the deadliest conflicts
in human history up to that time at least.

1411
01:45:01.010 --> 01:45:06.050
The total number of military
and civilian casualties in World War I

1412
01:45:06.550 --> 01:45:10.470
was around 40 million people.

1413
01:45:11.550 --> 01:45:14.010
40 million people

1414
01:45:15.760 --> 01:45:20.090
of which 9.7 military personnel

1415
01:45:20.090 --> 01:45:26.760
and approximately 10 million civilians lost
their lives as a direct result of this conflict.

1416
01:45:27.420 --> 01:45:33.340
About 23 million military personnel
were also wounded.

1417
01:45:35.050 --> 01:45:39.840
In the United States which was isolated
from the combat conflict in Europe,

1418
01:45:40.760 --> 01:45:48.970
321,000 military casualties was approximately 3 %
of the total military casualties of the Great War.

1419
01:45:50.010 --> 01:45:55.010
To put things in perspective,
and why this date is so important,

1420
01:45:55.840 --> 01:45:58.260
90 million casualties of

1421
01:45:58.420 --> 01:45:59.670
World War II

1422
01:46:00.840 --> 01:46:05.800
and later conflicts further signified
having a day each year

1423
01:46:05.970 --> 01:46:07.920
to honor and remember

1424
01:46:08.470 --> 01:46:10.800
all Veterans and their sacrifice

1425
01:46:11.300 --> 01:46:15.050
to protect our freedoms
and their way of life.

1426
01:46:16.050 --> 01:46:19.380
Thank you for your service
to our country.

1427
01:46:20.470 --> 01:46:22.590
Thank you for your sacrifice
to our country.

1428
01:46:23.260 --> 01:46:26.010
To your loved ones,
thank you to your loved ones as well.

1429
01:46:26.170 --> 01:46:28.970
Because oftentimes we don’t realize that

1430
01:46:30.420 --> 01:46:33.971
families are affected
by not having their loved ones here.

1431
01:46:34.486 --> 01:46:37.050
Any gold star families here?
We pray for you

1432
01:46:37.220 --> 01:46:41.260
and thank you as well.
I have a great uncle that fought in World War I.

1433
01:46:42.387 --> 01:46:44.550
My family and my father
didn’t talk about him much.

1434
01:46:45.340 --> 01:46:47.804
His name was Patrick and he left Ireland

1435
01:46:47.971 --> 01:46:52.470
to America and came to South Boston
and he enlisted in the Army.

1436
01:46:52.679 --> 01:46:55.637
He went over to France
and never came home.

1437
01:46:55.880 --> 01:46:58.762
I was at an event right after I got elected Mayor,

1438
01:46:59.262 --> 01:47:02.054
and I was talking to some
World War I guys about

1439
01:47:04.090 --> 01:47:08.470
about keeping the memory alive
of World War I service members.

1440
01:47:09.090 --> 01:47:13.012
And they sent me his draft, his card.
The day he signed up.

1441
01:47:13.420 --> 01:47:17.179
And they sent me the letter that they sent to his brother Jimmy when he died,

1442
01:47:17.387 --> 01:47:19.012
when he got killed in action.

1443
01:47:19.637 --> 01:47:21.721
We never talked about in the house
and never really

1444
01:47:22.012 --> 01:47:24.679
thought about it much.
And my father never talked about it.

1445
01:47:24.880 --> 01:47:26.346
I grew up in an Irish home,

1446
01:47:26.710 --> 01:47:29.596
you didn’t talk about your things
and I’m not a Veteran.

1447
01:47:30.090 --> 01:47:35.630
But I know the importance of telling
what’s on your heart sometimes.

1448
01:47:36.420 --> 01:47:39.800
I’m in recovery.
So my connection

1449
01:47:40.130 --> 01:47:42.137
to getting help is in recovery.

1450
01:47:43.380 --> 01:47:46.300
I grew up in Dorchester,

1451
01:47:46.470 --> 01:47:49.096
I went to work construction
and you didn’t tell your feelings back then

1452
01:47:49.262 --> 01:47:51.429
when you’re drinking and things like that.

1453
01:47:51.590 --> 01:47:53.590
My drinking got out of control

1454
01:47:54.840 --> 01:47:56.804
so much that I ended up in detox.

1455
01:47:57.760 --> 01:48:00.096
It was the last place that I wanted to be.

1456
01:48:00.590 --> 01:48:02.170
But when I was in there...

1457
01:48:03.050 --> 01:48:06.721
I didn’t go there to stop drinking.
went there to get the heat off me.

1458
01:48:07.510 --> 01:48:10.510
But while I was in there
the first night a meeting came in,

1459
01:48:10.800 --> 01:48:15.920
you know, an AA meeting came in and they talked
and whatever it was I was interested.

1460
01:48:16.220 --> 01:48:18.346
It kind of perked my interest
and the rest of that week,

1461
01:48:18.554 --> 01:48:22.679
I listened to talk of addiction.

1462
01:48:23.970 --> 01:48:26.346
And I learned about what alcoholism was.

1463
01:48:27.470 --> 01:48:30.346
And when you get out of there
you’re not cured.

1464
01:48:30.800 --> 01:48:33.637
The key for me is the aftercare.

1465
01:48:34.096 --> 01:48:36.596
And 23 years later
I’m still working on it.

1466
01:48:37.380 --> 01:48:41.137
And you think about every now and then about
situations you might have put yourself in.

1467
01:48:41.429 --> 01:48:44.804
And if you don’t deal with it
and you don’t talk to somebody else about it,

1468
01:48:44.971 --> 01:48:46.679
it’s going to stay inside of you.

1469
01:48:46.840 --> 01:48:51.170
Because whether you’re in the battlefield
and you come home

1470
01:48:51.800 --> 01:48:54.800
or you’re in the barroom
and you’re not talking about it,

1471
01:48:55.260 --> 01:48:59.679
or you’re in a dark room where they’re putting
a needle in your arm, and not talking about it,

1472
01:48:59.846 --> 01:49:01.846
there’s no way of helping.

1473
01:49:02.050 --> 01:49:06.887
And I equate, I connect the...
not the same way because it’s very different.

1474
01:49:08.010 --> 01:49:15.760
The fighting for your country and coming back
is different on the surface of alcoholism,

1475
01:49:16.050 --> 01:49:18.380
but inside it’s all the same.

1476
01:49:19.340 --> 01:49:22.387
It’s that feeling that hopeless, what I had,

1477
01:49:22.846 --> 01:49:26.010
helpless,
don’t know what to do about it feeling.

1478
01:49:26.010 --> 01:49:30.800
And like I said, everyone had suggested
that I go get help.

1479
01:49:31.010 --> 01:49:35.512
Many times I’m like yeah, yeah. I went to one AA
meeting one time and used that as an excuse.

1480
01:49:35.679 --> 01:49:39.596
Yeah I got help, I went to a meeting.
And I used that for about 5 years.

1481
01:49:40.050 --> 01:49:42.550
But it wasn’t until I hit my bottom.

1482
01:49:43.470 --> 01:49:47.554
And when I hit my bottom I didn’t realize
it was my bottom, but I knew, it was pretty low.

1483
01:49:47.760 --> 01:49:51.471
And a lot of other things happened
in my life that built up to that point.

1484
01:49:52.010 --> 01:49:56.179
Every time I drank I didn’t get in trouble,
but every time I got in trouble I was drinking.

1485
01:49:56.720 --> 01:49:59.137
So, you think about that and I think about

1486
01:49:59.637 --> 01:50:04.137
sharing experiences and I love, I go to,
I still go to my meetings.

1487
01:50:04.510 --> 01:50:06.762
Hearing people share their experience, strength and hope

1488
01:50:06.971 --> 01:50:11.012
about addiction, sometimes there’s
somebody talking that’s in so much pain

1489
01:50:11.220 --> 01:50:14.012
that they don’t see the benefit.

1490
01:50:14.179 --> 01:50:17.554
They don’t see the hope. They don’t see the help.
They don’t see the end game.

1491
01:50:17.721 --> 01:50:21.721
And if I get a chance to talk to them
I just say, it’s a day at a time.

1492
01:50:21.880 --> 01:50:24.429
When I first got sober I’d hear people
talk about they have a house,

1493
01:50:24.596 --> 01:50:28.596
a job and a car and they have this and that,
and I used to be like, I want that.

1494
01:50:28.880 --> 01:50:32.554
But I was in no way in the situation
that I could get that at that particular moment.

1495
01:50:32.721 --> 01:50:35.137
And seven years later I bought my house.

1496
01:50:35.880 --> 01:50:38.221
And I remember sitting
on my back porch of my house, even

1497
01:50:38.918 --> 01:50:41.804
10 years after I had it.
I looked up and I can’t believe it’s mine.

1498
01:50:41.971 --> 01:50:44.929
And it all goes back
to going for help and asking for help.

1499
01:50:45.510 --> 01:50:47.887
And I know many of you in this room

1500
01:50:48.054 --> 01:50:51.096
shared your story today
and I thank you for that.

1501
01:50:51.920 --> 01:50:54.012
And there’s probably
some people in this room

1502
01:50:54.221 --> 01:50:57.221
that might be listening and saying
I don’t know what I’m going to do.

1503
01:50:57.380 --> 01:51:00.679
Just reach out.
Put your hand out and ask for help.

1504
01:51:01.420 --> 01:51:05.346
That’s all you got to do. That’s the first step.
That’s the first step.

1505
01:51:06.800 --> 01:51:11.090
You fought for this country.
We owe it to you to help you.

1506
01:51:11.970 --> 01:51:15.300
That’s our job.
As a government that’s our job.

1507
01:51:16.050 --> 01:51:19.260
Our Veterans office, Veterans Affairs office,

1508
01:51:19.420 --> 01:51:23.554
I’m proud of the work we do
because we’re there for the veterans.

1509
01:51:23.760 --> 01:51:25.846
I said this earlier as we went out.

1510
01:51:26.420 --> 01:51:34.420
In my five years as Mayor, I have never once
had to suggest to the Commissioner of the Office,

1511
01:51:34.760 --> 01:51:38.554
you need to do this for the Veterans or do that
for the Veterans. They’re already doing it.

1512
01:51:39.130 --> 01:51:42.970
It’s setup for you.
If it weren’t for the Veterans

1513
01:51:43.550 --> 01:51:49.550
of the Revolutionary War,
of World War I, II, Korea, Vietnam,

1514
01:51:50.340 --> 01:51:53.762
Iraq, Afghanistan
fighting all over the world,

1515
01:51:53.971 --> 01:51:56.471
I wouldn’t have the opportunity
to be the Mayor.

1516
01:51:57.130 --> 01:51:59.554
We wouldn’t have
the opportunity of a democracy.

1517
01:51:59.920 --> 01:52:00.840
It’s because of you.

1518
01:52:01.596 --> 01:52:03.346
Because you fight for that democracy.

1519
01:52:04.340 --> 01:52:05.762
Thank you for being here.

1520
01:52:06.090 --> 01:52:10.346
Thank you for what you’ve done for our country.
For what you continue to do for our country.

1521
01:52:10.840 --> 01:52:15.721
For me, Veteran’s Day is a day on the calendar
just like Memorial Day’s a day on the calendar.

1522
01:52:16.260 --> 01:52:20.304
But Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day is every day.
It should be every day in our country.

1523
01:52:29.470 --> 01:52:32.300
Everybody go 45 degrees towards the center.

1524
01:53:28.670 --> 01:53:31.340
Tuesday after the election for the Congress
was complete,

1525
01:53:32.380 --> 01:53:36.970
I reached out to Richard Neal. Congratulated
Richard Neal.  He’s in line to be

1526
01:53:37.130 --> 01:53:40.170
the next Chairman of the Ways and Means
from Springfield.

1527
01:53:40.630 --> 01:53:43.554
I reached out to Jim McGovern.
Congratulated him.

1528
01:53:43.762 --> 01:53:47.762
He’s in line to be
the Rules Chair from Worcester County.

1529
01:53:48.670 --> 01:53:51.971
That’s the seat formerly held
by Joe Moakley who he worked for.

1530
01:53:53.800 --> 01:53:59.510
So we have some really good allies in there.
I mean obviously they can’t favor Boston

1531
01:54:00.380 --> 01:54:02.550
per se on Massachusetts,
but having them there

1532
01:54:02.720 --> 01:54:09.420
in their office, there’s a contact for a lot of
different issues. Education, climate, transportation,

1533
01:54:09.760 --> 01:54:12.846
fire stuff, police stuff.
That’s really important to have.

1534
01:54:13.090 --> 01:54:17.300
We’ll have staff in those offices
that we can call, reach out directly to.

1535
01:54:17.590 --> 01:54:19.880
On a national level
that will be important.

1536
01:54:20.170 --> 01:54:23.554
I also just reached out to the Governor
to say that I’d like to get together with him

1537
01:54:23.721 --> 01:54:27.346
to talk about education, transportation
and climate issues

1538
01:54:27.512 --> 01:54:30.970
and is there an opportunity for us
to go and lobby in Washington

1539
01:54:31.380 --> 01:54:33.260
for those funds
for the Commonwealth and the City.

1540
01:54:33.880 --> 01:54:36.221
I think we have decided
to take a different approach.

1541
01:54:36.550 --> 01:54:38.971
The last couple years we haven’t done
much of that because

1542
01:54:39.260 --> 01:54:41.971
we were used to going
right to the White House.

1543
01:54:42.515 --> 01:54:45.179
We could go right to the Secretary’s
when Obama was there.

1544
01:54:45.346 --> 01:54:49.512
We haven’t done that with this President.
But I think there’s an opportunity for us to go

1545
01:54:50.679 --> 01:54:54.471
to Washington and lobby for a whole lot
different pieces that we’re looking at here

1546
01:54:54.637 --> 01:54:58.220
through the Congressional folks right now.
That’s usually how it worked in the past.

1547
01:54:58.510 --> 01:55:01.550
It changed under Obama
the last couple years, they really made

1548
01:55:02.220 --> 01:55:05.012
a concerted effort to build a relationship
directly with mayors.

1549
01:55:05.179 --> 01:55:08.554
Usually you go through the Legislative leaders
like you at the State House.

1550
01:55:10.590 --> 01:55:12.420
So, I think that’s a really good thing for us.

1551
01:55:12.590 --> 01:55:16.471
Hopefully, I’m hoping good things
can happen out of Washington.

1552
01:56:07.120 --> 01:56:11.830
There’s an openness that John has.
If he opens it up we get a really

1553
01:56:12.000 --> 01:56:14.330
bad storm to 30 or 40 women.

1554
01:56:14.830 --> 01:56:16.710
It doesn’t go back down.  Right.

1555
01:56:18.370 --> 01:56:21.210
He was willing...
it worked well last winter,

1556
01:56:21.670 --> 01:56:26.370
to fill some beds between six and 8 p.m.,
but then leave a little room

1557
01:56:26.830 --> 01:56:29.080
for overflow from other places.

1558
01:56:29.330 --> 01:56:32.420
There needs to be some space
because if he’s going to step up

1559
01:56:32.580 --> 01:56:36.830
he needs to be able to know that there is space
that he's going to take these people to.

1560
01:56:37.210 --> 01:56:41.540
That we’re not going to be in a situation
where he’s showing up at Pine Street or somewhere

1561
01:56:41.750 --> 01:56:43.620
and say you can’t.

1562
01:56:44.080 --> 01:56:47.500
A group of women who are
sort of chronic...

1563
01:56:48.330 --> 01:56:51.960
they seem to be severely mentally ill
who don’t leave shelter at all.

1564
01:56:52.120 --> 01:56:55.870
I mean they’re in it because
we’re open 24/7 and they don’t leave.

1565
01:56:56.500 --> 01:56:59.210
I think we have a number of people also,

1566
01:57:00.420 --> 01:57:03.250
with sort of a combination of behavioral

1567
01:57:03.420 --> 01:57:06.790
and substance use disorders
that are a combination there.

1568
01:57:07.170 --> 01:57:10.290
There’s a host of women who just
desperately want to get housed,

1569
01:57:10.460 --> 01:57:13.080
who just don’t have the income you know.

1570
01:57:13.460 --> 01:57:15.210
Like we have a woman, an evacuee

1571
01:57:15.370 --> 01:57:16.750
from Puerto Rico

1572
01:57:17.250 --> 01:57:19.170
who just wants to get housing,

1573
01:57:19.330 --> 01:57:22.750
but has like a $535 Security Income check
and that about 50 %

1574
01:57:23.000 --> 01:57:26.670
of the women also had some sort of
domestic violence

1575
01:57:26.790 --> 01:57:30.750
or violence issue prior to coming, so we’re
trying to get more service providers in.

1576
01:57:31.290 --> 01:57:34.460
There does seem to be a group of women
who are like hiding.

1577
01:57:34.750 --> 01:57:39.080
Just trying to stay under the radar
for whatever reason.

1578
01:57:40.080 --> 01:57:42.790
In the cold weather transit stations
are places where people who are

1579
01:57:42.960 --> 01:57:47.670
sometimes less well-known or sometimes
kind of hanging out have aggregated

1580
01:57:48.170 --> 01:57:52.580
and we know last year
how the unintended consequence

1581
01:57:52.870 --> 01:57:55.000
of the compassion of the T at South Station

1582
01:57:55.250 --> 01:57:59.170
that really attracted people
who were not so vulnerable, but....

1583
01:58:00.710 --> 01:58:02.750
- Predatory.- Taking advantage.

1584
01:58:02.920 --> 01:58:04.790
There was some of that for sure.

1585
01:58:05.370 --> 01:58:07.620
So we just want to think about this year,

1586
01:58:07.790 --> 01:58:10.120
what the approach is working with the team
because I think

1587
01:58:10.290 --> 01:58:13.580
Superintendent, you want to talk a little
about what you pivoted to last year,

1588
01:58:13.710 --> 01:58:16.790
when it was clear the South Station
wasn’t working in January, February.

1589
01:58:18.000 --> 01:58:20.500
Unfortunately we had to just keep
muddling through it.

1590
01:58:20.750 --> 01:58:22.620
Unless we come up with something better,

1591
01:58:22.790 --> 01:58:27.330
I think we’re going to have it worse this year.
So at its peak we had 170 people in there.

1592
01:58:27.580 --> 01:58:29.120
There’s no vetting.

1593
01:58:29.290 --> 01:58:32.920
The place is not secure.
There’s no metal detectors.

1594
01:58:33.370 --> 01:58:37.210
There was all kinds of activity going on,
inappropriate, criminal.

1595
01:58:37.670 --> 01:58:40.830
A lot of people were telling me
just throw more cops in there.

1596
01:58:41.000 --> 01:58:44.750
That’s not the answer, that’s treating
the symptom and not the cause.

1597
01:58:45.710 --> 01:58:47.750
We’ve intelligence that suggests this year,

1598
01:58:47.960 --> 01:58:50.920
and everyone’s aware of what’s going on
at Mass and Melnea.

1599
01:58:51.290 --> 01:58:54.670
We’re right in the middle. That’s where
our headquarters are. There’s anywhere

1600
01:58:54.830 --> 01:58:58.750
as low as 50 to, as high as 200 people
that are gathering there,

1601
01:58:58.920 --> 01:59:02.580
using drugs, engaged in violence,
prostitution, you name it.

1602
01:59:03.370 --> 01:59:08.040
We’ve intelligence that’s already telling us
that core group which is in the dozens

1603
01:59:08.210 --> 01:59:13.580
are going to South Station when it gets cold
to do whatever they want to do.

1604
01:59:14.580 --> 01:59:18.580
So, it’s great. One or two nights,
we hit some extreme weather,

1605
01:59:18.790 --> 01:59:22.420
they come in there, but last year as you know,
it started November 10th.

1606
01:59:22.580 --> 01:59:25.460
Right away was the first day
we had to do shelter in place.

1607
01:59:26.250 --> 01:59:30.710
Two weeks after that we went on a stretch
that went 17 straight nights.

1608
01:59:30.870 --> 01:59:32.620
We just can’t do it.

1609
01:59:32.960 --> 01:59:35.460
I think we’re doing them more disservice,

1610
01:59:36.750 --> 01:59:41.290
we got killed in the media.
We got killed amongst homeless advocates

1611
01:59:41.460 --> 01:59:45.580
because when you think of a homeless shelter,
right away you think of showering facilities,

1612
01:59:46.040 --> 01:59:50.960
food, mental health, medical.
We have none of that.

1613
01:59:51.920 --> 01:59:54.750
And I can tell you that the folks that are paying

1614
01:59:54.920 --> 01:59:59.170
a lot of rent inside South Station
were beside themselves.

1615
01:59:59.370 --> 02:00:02.960
Commuters coming in, in the morning
were beside themselves.

1616
02:00:03.420 --> 02:00:07.170
This isn’t me getting it thirdhand,
and I personally would respond.

1617
02:00:07.460 --> 02:00:11.540
I would say a vast majority of,
probably weren’t even homeless.

1618
02:00:12.580 --> 02:00:14.210
And it’s impossible for us,

1619
02:00:14.330 --> 02:00:18.750
I wouldn’t ask my officers to subject themselves
to all kinds of accusations just to go around

1620
02:00:18.920 --> 02:00:23.210
and pick and choose who should stay in there
and who shouldn’t.

1621
02:00:24.370 --> 02:00:27.040
I think we need to come up
with a better solution.

1622
02:00:27.290 --> 02:00:30.710
I’m willing to hire people

1623
02:00:30.870 --> 02:00:33.960
and transport people all over the city,
all night long.

1624
02:00:34.370 --> 02:00:38.000
We want to be good and responsible neighbors
and we want to do our part.

1625
02:00:38.500 --> 02:00:44.750
But just from seeing that firsthand, I think
we were almost causing more harm than good.

1626
02:00:44.920 --> 02:00:49.830
None of the folks who left South Station
when the overnights ended,

1627
02:00:51.000 --> 02:00:55.170
very few of them ended up out in the street
in places we saw.

1628
02:00:55.330 --> 02:00:57.250
They migrated to other places.

1629
02:00:57.500 --> 02:01:01.210
We have to work together to make sure
that the transportation is offered,

1630
02:01:01.370 --> 02:01:04.000
that the shelter capacity we’ve added is available.

1631
02:01:04.670 --> 02:01:06.330
The most humane thing
that we can do for people

1632
02:01:06.500 --> 02:01:10.670
who find themselves in the middle
of a very bad weather situation

1633
02:01:10.830 --> 02:01:14.460
is to get them to the place where they can get
the support and the resources they need.

1634
02:01:14.620 --> 02:01:19.040
Get a meal, there’s a bathroom,
there’s a shower and there’s support there.

1635
02:01:19.210 --> 02:01:24.000
Leaving them at South Station
especially some of the more vulnerable folks...

1636
02:01:24.620 --> 02:01:27.040
I feel like the public position,

1637
02:01:27.210 --> 02:01:31.540
we’re in a strong position to say
that the T is stepping up doing what it does best.

1638
02:01:31.790 --> 02:01:32.830
Transportation.

1639
02:01:35.370 --> 02:01:37.250
The weekly outreach meetings on Tuesdays

1640
02:01:37.420 --> 02:01:40.540
we’re making sure that we have represent...
because the other first responders,

1641
02:01:40.710 --> 02:01:42.870
the Boston Police Department, District I,

1642
02:01:43.210 --> 02:01:46.290
the Boston EMS, the Squad 80 Group,

1643
02:01:46.580 --> 02:01:48.620
and the State Police are all at that meeting.

1644
02:01:48.790 --> 02:01:52.620
Making sure we have conversations in those meetings
about how the outreach networks can help.

1645
02:02:22.210 --> 02:02:23.710
Anything in your pockets?

1646
02:02:38.420 --> 02:02:40.330
Do you have anything in your pockets, ma’am?

1647
02:02:44.370 --> 02:02:48.210
- Any metal in your pockets?  Phone, keys?
- Belt?

1648
02:02:48.330 --> 02:02:50.170
No, belt's fine.  Just your pockets

1649
02:03:07.750 --> 02:03:08.960
Have a good one, sir.

1650
02:03:39.540 --> 02:03:42.960
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
pretty much eliminates

1651
02:03:43.120 --> 02:03:45.750
or it makes it illegal for anyone
to discriminate

1652
02:03:46.460 --> 02:03:49.170
when it comes to housing,
especially for certain classes of people

1653
02:03:49.420 --> 02:03:53.960
based on race, gender, color, sexual orientation
and a bunch of other things.

1654
02:03:54.370 --> 02:03:58.580
Currently, House and Urban Development
has proposed a new rule.

1655
02:03:59.040 --> 02:04:02.960
It’s proposing a new rule
under the Trump Administration.

1656
02:04:03.080 --> 02:04:04.120
And as you know,

1657
02:04:04.790 --> 02:04:10.620
the Fair Housing Act of 1968 has
for the last 50 years governed or guided

1658
02:04:11.420 --> 02:04:12.960
the laws of fair housing.

1659
02:04:13.250 --> 02:04:15.830
What’s happening is that with this new rule,

1660
02:04:16.000 --> 02:04:20.750
under the Fair Housing Act, let me start by saying
that there’s a portion they call Disparate Impact.

1661
02:04:21.000 --> 02:04:24.080
Under Disparate Impact what it does is
it allows a complainant,

1662
02:04:24.370 --> 02:04:29.790
meaning anybody that has a complaint
of discrimination happening in housing

1663
02:04:29.960 --> 02:04:35.330
against a policy or practices that are happening
to bring a complaint, formerly bring a complaint

1664
02:04:35.500 --> 02:04:42.460
against a bank, landlord, lender,
or any kind of housing provider.

1665
02:04:43.330 --> 02:04:45.620
So, currently what’s happening is

1666
02:04:45.960 --> 02:04:48.830
the HUD wants to propose a rule

1667
02:04:49.000 --> 02:04:53.710
that is going to make it basically
next to impossible for people

1668
02:04:54.790 --> 02:04:56.250
or anyone who is

1669
02:04:56.670 --> 02:04:59.920
experiencing any kind of discrimination
under the Disparate Impact Rule,

1670
02:05:00.080 --> 02:05:03.540
to be able to bring a complaint.
How this will work is:

1671
02:05:03.710 --> 02:05:07.960
currently there’s a very neutral task for it.
All that needs to be shown

1672
02:05:08.250 --> 02:05:09.830
is that there is a...

1673
02:05:11.870 --> 02:05:17.170
whatever the policy or practice is
has a wide reaching discriminatory effect.

1674
02:05:17.870 --> 02:05:20.210
But under this new rule
what’s going to happen is that

1675
02:05:20.370 --> 02:05:22.290
anyone that brings these complaints

1676
02:05:22.540 --> 02:05:26.870
will now have to show
not only that it’s doing this, but also intent.

1677
02:05:27.080 --> 02:05:30.790
That whomever the housing provider is,

1678
02:05:32.080 --> 02:05:34.420
has these policies or practices
that are happening

1679
02:05:34.870 --> 02:05:39.870
and not only do they have them,
but they intend to discriminate against

1680
02:05:40.370 --> 02:05:44.620
a person of color, race, gender,
sexual orientation, what have you.

1681
02:05:45.290 --> 02:05:46.750
The problem with this is that

1682
02:05:47.000 --> 02:05:50.960
it makes it next to impossible because people who
normally bring these complaints don’t have the time,

1683
02:05:51.170 --> 02:05:54.920
the money, the resources
under the current rule as it is to do this.

1684
02:05:55.120 --> 02:05:58.830
That’s why we’re able to investigate
if such a thing happens.

1685
02:05:59.000 --> 02:06:01.750
Under the current Disparate Impact Rule
we’re able to look into it.

1686
02:06:02.080 --> 02:06:06.040
Or HUD is able to look into it and investigate
and figure out if this is happening.

1687
02:06:06.210 --> 02:06:09.120
With this new rule
it makes it next to impossible.

1688
02:06:09.460 --> 02:06:14.870
And it shifts the burden onto the complainant.
The complainant will now have to show this

1689
02:06:15.040 --> 02:06:19.830
that it’s happening. So we have written a letter
along with the Mayor to challenge

1690
02:06:20.250 --> 02:06:23.460
the Federal government on it.
Challenge HUD on this new proposed rule.

1691
02:06:23.620 --> 02:06:26.710
Our department has linked up
with other city agencies

1692
02:06:26.920 --> 02:06:30.000
and we have been part of the comment period
that is currently open

1693
02:06:30.170 --> 02:06:33.960
and the Mayor has also written a letter to HUD

1694
02:06:34.370 --> 02:06:38.370
opposing this new rule because if it does in fact pass,

1695
02:06:38.560 --> 02:06:42.790
then this thing not only is it going to affect
how we currently

1696
02:06:43.080 --> 02:06:46.670
do fair housing
under the Disparate Impact Rule,

1697
02:06:46.830 --> 02:06:51.580
but it has far more wide reaching effects
which is an attack against civil rights.

1698
02:06:52.870 --> 02:06:57.830
Because the Fair Housing Act
was enacted under civil rights.

1699
02:06:58.080 --> 02:07:02.670
And if you can erode this rule
then you can erode civil rights,

1700
02:07:03.000 --> 02:07:07.370
when it comes to discrimination,
segregation, voting rights,

1701
02:07:07.710 --> 02:07:13.370
equal opportunity in employment because these
things we all follow the same thinking process.

1702
02:07:13.710 --> 02:07:17.460
And it’s under the civil rights umbrella.
So if HUD is able to do this

1703
02:07:17.620 --> 02:07:20.790
that means later they’re going to be able
to attack all these other civil rights

1704
02:07:20.960 --> 02:07:24.500
that the country has fought for
over the last 51 years to make sure

1705
02:07:24.670 --> 02:07:27.620
that people have or are being treated fairly.

1706
02:07:28.210 --> 02:07:31.080
So, this is a really huge thing at the moment.

1707
02:07:31.290 --> 02:07:33.420
We don’t know
what’s going to happen with it.

1708
02:07:34.790 --> 02:07:39.330
We’ve submitted a comment letter. We encouraged
all of the other FHIPs and FAPs,

1709
02:07:39.540 --> 02:07:42.960
fair housing providers and the agencies
that are involved in this work,

1710
02:07:43.460 --> 02:07:45.620
to submit comment letters as well too.

1711
02:07:46.420 --> 02:07:48.870
The mayor wrote a really good
comment letter

1712
02:07:49.210 --> 02:07:53.580
that hopefully we’re praying
we get some traction with HUD.

1713
02:07:54.040 --> 02:07:57.460
But in the event that it doesn’t pass, a

1714
02:07:57.870 --> 02:08:02.420
and the HUDs new proposal rule does pass,
then we are now in a situation where

1715
02:08:02.750 --> 02:08:07.420
basically we are watching the erosion
of civil rights in the country.

1716
02:08:18.330 --> 02:08:20.210
What do we have here in Boston

1717
02:08:20.610 --> 02:08:25.500
that highlights the strength of diversity
and of our immigrant population?

1718
02:08:25.670 --> 02:08:28.790
How can we celebrate
what unites us here in the City?

1719
02:08:29.170 --> 02:08:32.040
And having Boston be a city of immigrants

1720
02:08:32.710 --> 02:08:35.670
with a majority, minority population?

1721
02:08:36.080 --> 02:08:37.870
What do we have to say here

1722
02:08:38.040 --> 02:08:40.750
and what can we do to really communicate

1723
02:08:41.080 --> 02:08:44.370
and celebrate that our diversity
makes us stronger

1724
02:08:44.710 --> 02:08:48.170
and it actually leads us back to one another
and to a sense of unity

1725
02:08:48.330 --> 02:08:52.080
and solidarity with one another?
And that is that our diversity

1726
02:08:52.250 --> 02:08:55.120
and our strength really comes
from the immigrant population.

1727
02:08:55.290 --> 02:08:58.170
So that’s really where it came from.

1728
02:08:58.370 --> 02:09:01.920
Just really thinking about how can we
highlight these intersecting types

1729
02:09:02.080 --> 02:09:04.710
of issues around health
which have to do with food,

1730
02:09:05.040 --> 02:09:08.620
with the activity that we started with

1731
02:09:08.790 --> 02:09:13.330
at the Armenian Heritage Park starting with
walking and physical activity and meditation.

1732
02:09:13.500 --> 02:09:16.500
And then coming over here and being,

1733
02:09:16.870 --> 02:09:22.790
and having a cooking class to sort of
celebrate all of us being together,

1734
02:09:23.080 --> 02:09:26.460
healthy food and again,
all the ethnic cultures of Boston.

1735
02:09:27.290 --> 02:09:29.210
That was really the goal of this series,

1736
02:09:29.210 --> 02:09:33.960
to break down some of the barriers that have
historically existed here in Boston

1737
02:09:34.370 --> 02:09:41.620
and sort of, by being next to one another,
by being together sort of

1738
02:09:42.290 --> 02:09:44.540
create the sense of community

1739
02:09:44.670 --> 02:09:48.790
that really exists and breakdown
some of the separations that have historically

1740
02:09:49.000 --> 02:09:50.620
existed here in the City.

1741
02:09:51.580 --> 02:09:54.540
So the meal that we’re going
to demonstrate today

1742
02:09:54.710 --> 02:09:56.290
is Shrimp Lo Mien.

1743
02:09:56.460 --> 02:09:59.620
So Mien in Chinese means noodles.

1744
02:10:00.250 --> 02:10:05.370
And Lo in Cantonese means stirred.
So it’s a stir fried noodle.

1745
02:10:05.870 --> 02:10:10.670
And noodles in the Chinese cuisine
symbolizes longevity and prosperous life.

1746
02:10:10.830 --> 02:10:16.120
Traditionally, it’s served at celebrations
such as Chinese New Year or birthdays.

1747
02:10:16.460 --> 02:10:18.920
So, for the sauces
we are going to use today

1748
02:10:19.250 --> 02:10:24.460
is oyster sauce, low sodium soy sauce,
cooking wine and a little bit of sugar.

1749
02:10:24.620 --> 02:10:28.960
Some spices, either chili powder or the pepper, black pepper.

1750
02:10:29.210 --> 02:10:33.290
And it will also give it a flavor
without adding too much salt.

1751
02:10:33.290 --> 02:10:34.710
That’s what we call rice noodle.

1752
02:10:35.000 --> 02:10:38.750
So it has different flavor
and goes with different kind of sauces

1753
02:10:40.210 --> 02:10:46.460
and a lot of people from China, they go back
to their home town just to have that dish of

1754
02:10:46.790 --> 02:10:50.040
the noodles that were
in their childhood memory.

1755
02:10:51.370 --> 02:10:55.920
And we also put a tablespoon
of our cooking wine

1756
02:10:56.080 --> 02:11:00.710
and just to give it a little flavor\and also to reduce

1757
02:11:02.210 --> 02:11:07.290
the fishy smell in the shrimp as well.

1758
02:11:10.080 --> 02:11:11.790
Now we put into the shrimp.

1759
02:11:15.960 --> 02:11:17.540
So the shrimp is already cooked

1760
02:11:18.080 --> 02:11:20.920
for our demonstration,
but we do recommend

1761
02:11:21.080 --> 02:11:23.960
to prepare the protein separately
from our noodles

1762
02:11:24.210 --> 02:11:26.620
just to make sure that it’s cooked
all the way through

1763
02:11:27.000 --> 02:11:32.330
and then reach the internal temperature
that’s recommended.

1764
02:14:35.790 --> 02:14:38.080
55 % of Bostonians

1765
02:14:38.250 --> 02:14:41.580
are non-White, so in addition to be
a majority city of color, we are also

1766
02:14:41.750 --> 02:14:45.790
a city of immigrants.
And so 28 % of Bostonians are foreign born

1767
02:14:45.920 --> 02:14:48.870
and come from about
150 countries of origin.

1768
02:14:49.040 --> 02:14:51.960
Immigrants own 33 %
of incorporated businesses

1769
02:14:52.120 --> 02:14:56.580
And in 2014,
according to Brookings Institute,

1770
02:14:56.750 --> 02:14:59.960
Boston was ranked number one
in terms of income inequality.

1771
02:15:00.330 --> 02:15:04.040
By 2017, they ranked us number seven
and that was due primarily

1772
02:15:04.250 --> 02:15:08.170
to the increase of income
in the lower income brackets.

1773
02:15:08.420 --> 02:15:14.580
And the Federal Reserve Banks'
Boston’s Color of Wealth Report,

1774
02:15:15.540 --> 02:15:18.870
it listed different things.
First it was the first report to

1775
02:15:19.040 --> 02:15:22.040
break out net worth by ethnic groups.

1776
02:15:22.250 --> 02:15:24.870
It’s a fascinating report if you have
a chance to look at it,

1777
02:15:25.170 --> 02:15:28.790
but for Black Americans,
U.S. Blacks as it listed it,

1778
02:15:29.620 --> 02:15:35.330
the net worth, median net worth
for U.S. Black families was $8.00.

1779
02:15:36.040 --> 02:15:43.170
And the medium net worth for White families
in the same period of time $247,000.

1780
02:15:44.370 --> 02:15:46.330
This is not something we’re proud of.

1781
02:15:46.790 --> 02:15:48.620
Many Bostonians are

1782
02:15:48.870 --> 02:15:51.420
under employed, over credentialed,

1783
02:15:53.120 --> 02:15:56.790
so meeting with companies
and doing a comparison on their job postings,

1784
02:15:56.960 --> 02:16:00.170
in Boston versus job postings
around the country,

1785
02:16:01.920 --> 02:16:03.120
we’ve got some folks,

1786
02:16:03.960 --> 02:16:05.540
I won’t name them, but

1787
02:16:06.000 --> 02:16:09.790
we looked at one company and like 100 %
of their jobs you need a Bachelor's.

1788
02:16:10.040 --> 02:16:11.120
And it’s like really?

1789
02:16:11.290 --> 02:16:14.420
And then when you look at like jobs
around the country it’s just not true.

1790
02:16:14.620 --> 02:16:19.040
And so having conversations with employers
that allow us to access those jobs is important.

1791
02:16:20.250 --> 02:16:23.460
Jobs are a big part
of the work that we do.

1792
02:16:23.670 --> 02:16:28.580
So the Boston Resident’s Job Policy
which was a policy that was developed in 1983,

1793
02:16:28.790 --> 02:16:33.250
was recently updated by Mayor Walsh.
And this policy essentially

1794
02:16:33.330 --> 02:16:37.670
mandates that in the construction space

1795
02:16:37.920 --> 02:16:43.460
where there is any private development,
or public development that is looking for a private

1796
02:16:43.960 --> 02:16:47.710
variances or any kind of public approval,

1797
02:16:48.000 --> 02:16:49.790
we are mandating

1798
02:16:50.420 --> 02:16:54.370
51 % of those on a construction site
be Boston residents,

1799
02:16:54.540 --> 02:16:57.710
40 % people of color, and 12 % women.

1800
02:16:58.000 --> 02:17:00.330
And this is something that

1801
02:17:00.420 --> 02:17:05.210
is really important because the construction jobs
end up being pretty good jobs.

1802
02:17:05.500 --> 02:17:07.540
And so part of that is creating a pipeline

1803
02:17:07.790 --> 02:17:11.500
in working with the Unions and others to make sure
that we have a diverse workforce

1804
02:17:11.710 --> 02:17:13.620
so that we can hit those numbers.

1805
02:17:15.040 --> 02:17:17.210
The other one frankly though is the new

1806
02:17:17.370 --> 02:17:21.790
good jobs policy
that the City just announced on RFPs.

1807
02:17:22.290 --> 02:17:25.120
So any City land that is being disposed of,

1808
02:17:25.420 --> 02:17:31.210
the Mayor announced that we will be looking
for a good jobs analysis, or a good jobs program

1809
02:17:31.500 --> 02:17:35.670
for the permanent jobs
that will be built or attracted to

1810
02:17:35.920 --> 02:17:38.170
the developments built on City land.

1811
02:17:38.330 --> 02:17:43.460
We don’t have the necessary legal levers
to demand certain wages,

1812
02:17:43.710 --> 02:17:48.790
so we set criteria definition for what good jobs are
and certain wages and benefits and conditions.

1813
02:17:49.040 --> 02:17:51.250
And we want the developer
to respond to that.

1814
02:17:51.420 --> 02:17:54.830
Once the developer
responds to that program and says

1815
02:17:55.040 --> 02:17:56.870
here’s what we’re going to do
in front of the community and of the City,

1816
02:17:57.040 --> 02:18:02.250
we will then codify them in the City agreement
to what’s going to happen on that land.

1817
02:18:02.540 --> 02:18:05.370
We are leasing the land so we will have

1818
02:18:05.620 --> 02:18:10.420
serious legal levers on any lease, on what
they should be doing with permanent jobs.

1819
02:18:11.670 --> 02:18:15.290
On the small business side,
the other piece is following the

1820
02:18:15.540 --> 02:18:21.920
Federal Reserve Bank's Color of Wealth
Report, we do believe that there is

1821
02:18:22.040 --> 02:18:25.040
an ethnic strategy to wealth creation.

1822
02:18:25.330 --> 02:18:29.000
So the ethnic groups are very different in how
they approach wealth and wealth creation.

1823
02:18:29.580 --> 02:18:35.040
So, how do you have the conversation
with the immigrant communities?

1824
02:18:35.290 --> 02:18:38.670
And the different immigrant communities
look very different.

1825
02:18:38.790 --> 02:18:40.370
Some immigrant communities are

1826
02:18:40.620 --> 02:18:42.370
high unemployment so their employment rate
for some of the immigrant communities.

1827
02:18:44.620 --> 02:18:47.750
Cape Verdean’s, which is an immigrant group
here, from West Africa,

1828
02:18:49.290 --> 02:18:51.750
their employment numbers
are really high,

1829
02:18:51.870 --> 02:18:54.250
but their entrepreneur numbers
are really low.

1830
02:18:54.420 --> 02:18:58.170
It does something for income,
but does nothing for wealth.

1831
02:18:58.500 --> 02:19:00.250
How do you have that conversation
with that community;

1832
02:19:00.460 --> 02:19:02.920
When you look at the Black community
which is very diverse in Boston,

1833
02:19:03.210 --> 02:19:04.620
when you look at the U.S. Blacks,

1834
02:19:05.000 --> 02:19:07.080
it’s one picture.
When you look at Caribbeans,

1835
02:19:07.250 --> 02:19:09.870
the Blacks from the Caribbean,
it’s a different picture.

1836
02:19:10.170 --> 02:19:12.000
How do you help to think about

1837
02:19:12.170 --> 02:19:15.210
what’s happening there
and how we have different strategies.

1838
02:19:15.370 --> 02:19:18.250
So we’re rolling out
and we haven’t announced this publicly,

1839
02:19:18.540 --> 02:19:24.210
but we’re rolling out conversations
that are ethnic based. The BDPA has

1840
02:19:24.620 --> 02:19:27.370
set up some research around it.
We’ve got some numbers.

1841
02:19:27.670 --> 02:19:29.870
We did an internal presentation recently

1842
02:19:30.080 --> 02:19:34.370
and we’re going to roll out ethnic based conversations
to have a conversation about the difference

1843
02:19:34.580 --> 02:19:38.170
in approach in our ethnic communities,
not bad or good.

1844
02:19:38.420 --> 02:19:39.750
But we’re going to put out the number,

1845
02:19:39.920 --> 02:19:43.870
we’re going to set up panels of people
from the community to have the conversation

1846
02:19:44.040 --> 02:19:46.500
about what this might mean
and what might be new strategies

1847
02:19:46.670 --> 02:19:49.250
and how we can approach this
to make sure we’re having

1848
02:19:49.670 --> 02:19:53.710
a very responsive conversation
about the economy that people live in.

1849
02:19:54.010 --> 02:19:57.080
We’re now mandating that people tell us
how their team

1850
02:19:57.250 --> 02:20:02.040
is diverse and inclusive in all areas.
And then we will score them on that

1851
02:20:02.170 --> 02:20:04.670
diversity inclusion in a way obviously

1852
02:20:05.120 --> 02:20:06.920
that those who are more diverse

1853
02:20:07.170 --> 02:20:11.040
and inclusive of women and people of color
on their construction team,

1854
02:20:11.210 --> 02:20:13.120
on their design team,
on the development team,

1855
02:20:13.620 --> 02:20:16.210
on finance, on operation, on ownership.

1856
02:20:16.500 --> 02:20:22.000
And so we’re driving to use public assets for...

1857
02:20:22.290 --> 02:20:25.460
and align it to the Mayor’s agenda.

1858
02:20:26.620 --> 02:20:29.290
We’re also asking that people work with us

1859
02:20:29.830 --> 02:20:33.830
in terms of what the community has said
it wants to see in the neighborhood.

1860
02:20:34.040 --> 02:20:40.000
The recent RFP that we put out is actually
in response to what's called Plan Dudley Square.

1861
02:20:40.670 --> 02:20:45.830
And we’re making sure that there is clarity between
alignment on what the community has asked for

1862
02:20:46.170 --> 02:20:50.170
and what these developments are bringing.
The second innovation is we picked

1863
02:20:50.330 --> 02:20:52.170
a neighborhood, following

1864
02:20:53.290 --> 02:20:57.210
the first comprehensive citywide plan
that Boston’s done in 65 years,

1865
02:20:57.370 --> 02:21:01.500
or 50 depending on how you look at it,
alled Imagine Boston 2030,

1866
02:21:01.750 --> 02:21:06.250
to pilot an effort of trying
to develop a neighborhood

1867
02:21:06.420 --> 02:21:08.040
without displacing the neighborhood.

1868
02:21:08.210 --> 02:21:13.210
One of the strategies called for the City
being more aggressive in acquiring property.

1869
02:21:13.710 --> 02:21:17.580
It’s something we’re doing now
on the housing side as well.

1870
02:21:17.960 --> 02:21:20.710
We are out there acquiring existing property

1871
02:21:20.870 --> 02:21:25.120
and not trying to just create affordability
on new developments that are coming.

1872
02:21:25.420 --> 02:21:31.540
How do we go after the high risk property, buy them
and then make them permanently affordable,

1873
02:21:31.710 --> 02:21:35.080
hopefully making the tenants
the owners of those properties.

1874
02:21:35.250 --> 02:21:39.540
So now we’re doing that on a neighborhood wide scale in Upham’s Corner,

1875
02:21:40.170 --> 02:21:45.370
acquiring as much property as possible
before we launch any kind of public conversation

1876
02:21:45.670 --> 02:21:48.370
around the development of those properties.
The third one would be

1877
02:21:48.540 --> 02:21:52.040
working with corporations
that are coming to Boston

1878
02:21:53.060 --> 02:21:57.750
who are looking for tax incentives or any
kind of incentive to relocate to our city.

1879
02:21:58.250 --> 02:22:01.040
Or bring a headquarter to our city.
We have an agreement with Amazon

1880
02:22:01.210 --> 02:22:04.540
who is building about a million square feet
in the Seaport

1881
02:22:04.710 --> 02:22:07.250
which equates about 4,000 jobs
in two waves.

1882
02:22:07.540 --> 02:22:10.420
2,000 for the first wave,
another 2,000 for the second wave.

1883
02:22:10.500 --> 02:22:13.750
There’s an agreement with Amazon
that we will use a linkage fees

1884
02:22:14.040 --> 02:22:15.750
that that construction is producing

1885
02:22:16.040 --> 02:22:18.210
to create a workforce,

1886
02:22:18.460 --> 02:22:22.000
development and placement program
specifically for those 2,000.

1887
02:22:22.500 --> 02:22:26.790
We’re meeting with HR this December. We’re going
to look at the criteria’s, skills, what’s needed.

1888
02:22:27.080 --> 02:22:29.960
We’re then going to work
with Tren and her team

1889
02:22:30.120 --> 02:22:34.210
on an RFP that looks at the workforce
development in being specific

1890
02:22:34.500 --> 02:22:39.210
in designing that pipeline,
or that journey to those jobs.

1891
02:22:40.000 --> 02:22:42.250
This is something we’re doing
more and more of

1892
02:22:42.460 --> 02:22:47.500
is linking the employers or employment
opportunity to the development

1893
02:22:48.080 --> 02:22:51.830
and programs that are happening
all the way down to high schools.

1894
02:22:52.000 --> 02:22:55.290
Which is something we didn’t talk about here,
but Boston’s effort to map

1895
02:22:55.580 --> 02:23:00.500
the job development ecosystem and then link it
in a way that it’s more effective and evaluated.

1896
02:23:02.040 --> 02:23:04.210
The concept of resilience
is a powerful one.

1897
02:23:05.750 --> 02:23:08.710
It resonates
with every aspect of city life and planning

1898
02:23:08.870 --> 02:23:11.080
in our city and what we do
in our city every day.

1899
02:23:11.540 --> 02:23:13.120
And our decision to focus

1900
02:23:13.750 --> 02:23:18.040
on our racial equity work
was important to our city to move on.

1901
02:23:18.420 --> 02:23:21.460
And to move forward really.
Not move on, move forward.

1902
02:23:21.830 --> 02:23:23.710
It’s something that’s important.

1903
02:23:25.000 --> 02:23:31.040
I grew up in Boston in Dorchester during
the bussing, when bussing came in.

1904
02:23:31.540 --> 02:23:33.000
I was at grammar school

1905
02:23:33.170 --> 02:23:34.870
and I used to walk to...

1906
02:23:35.250 --> 02:23:37.370
my mother and father
are immigrants from Ireland.

1907
02:23:37.540 --> 02:23:41.830
And when they came here they sent me
to parochial school, Catholic school.

1908
02:23:42.000 --> 02:23:46.540
I used to walk by the William E. Russell
every day in the early 70s

1909
02:23:46.830 --> 02:23:51.120
and the kids would come up
in the school buses, but they were led

1910
02:23:51.370 --> 02:23:54.080
by motorcycle police officers.

1911
02:23:55.250 --> 02:23:58.210
And there was a motorcycle police officers
behind them, and one on each side.

1912
02:23:58.580 --> 02:24:02.250
And they were moving kids in and out of schools and I thought that was

1913
02:24:02.460 --> 02:24:06.210
a little hard when you think I’m walking
down to St. Margaret’s down the street.

1914
02:24:06.420 --> 02:24:10.670
We’re walking down to school and these kids are being
escorted by the police. Not understanding at that time

1915
02:24:11.040 --> 02:24:14.920
what was going on because
I was six and seven and eight years old.

1916
02:24:15.080 --> 02:24:18.170
I wasn’t really sure
what was happening and going on.

1917
02:24:19.370 --> 02:24:23.460
Since that time Boston has made
some progress.

1918
02:24:24.790 --> 02:24:27.420
And we’ve worked on that progress
with other elected officials

1919
02:24:27.670 --> 02:24:30.750
and talking about addressing the disparities,

1920
02:24:30.960 --> 02:24:35.420
addressing racism and addressing the past
that we’ve experienced in the City of Boston.

1921
02:24:36.620 --> 02:24:38.750
But the disparities remain deep

1922
02:24:38.920 --> 02:24:44.960
and there’s a real, the distrust we have
is real in a lot of areas of our society.

1923
02:24:46.040 --> 02:24:48.870
People wanted more open
and honest conversations

1924
02:24:49.210 --> 02:24:52.540
and I saw the duty as a Mayor
who’s a White Mayor,

1925
02:24:53.120 --> 02:24:55.580
Irish Catholic White Mayor of Boston,

1926
02:24:56.290 --> 02:25:00.170
to start by listening and learning.

1927
02:25:00.830 --> 02:25:03.540
And that’s something important
you have to do because

1928
02:25:03.710 --> 02:25:07.330
if you get somebody making conversation
and trying to make up answers,

1929
02:25:07.500 --> 02:25:12.120
like I did when I was a candidate, it’s not
the way to go. And I did that as a candidate.

1930
02:25:12.420 --> 02:25:14.420
Trying to see what I could do.

1931
02:25:15.580 --> 02:25:18.580
A city can’t thrive if we’re disconnected
from each other.

1932
02:25:19.710 --> 02:25:23.250
And that’s something also important as far as
the work that we do moving forward.

1933
02:25:23.500 --> 02:25:27.920
Racial disparities are our deepest form
of disconnection that we have in this country.

1934
02:25:28.290 --> 02:25:34.330
And I realize in Boston we can’t solve the problems
of the United States of America in here.

1935
02:25:34.830 --> 02:25:38.790
What we can do is work on the issues
that we’re dealing with here in Boston

1936
02:25:38.960 --> 02:25:41.500
and hopefully other cities will see
what we’re doing

1937
02:25:41.710 --> 02:25:45.000
and mistakes we might make,
they won’t have to make those mistakes.

1938
02:25:45.500 --> 02:25:47.250
And what is successful in our city,

1939
02:25:47.420 --> 02:25:50.040
they can say OK this is something
we can do and use in our cities.

1940
02:25:51.620 --> 02:25:54.250
We were just in Columbia, South Carolina

1941
02:25:54.580 --> 02:25:58.750
with Mayor Stephen Benjamin a couple weeks ago,
about 40 mayors I think there,

1942
02:25:59.370 --> 02:26:03.370
and inevitably this conversation comes up
about equity and race.  And we tie it into

1943
02:26:03.580 --> 02:26:08.710
what happens on a national level, but we also come
to saying that the impact can be made locally.

1944
02:26:09.080 --> 02:26:10.830
All it takes is one city.

1945
02:26:11.500 --> 02:26:16.870
One city to do something about it.
To be able to share best practices and ideas.

1946
02:26:17.000 --> 02:26:20.290
That’s what we do as Mayors, as cities, as city councils.

1947
02:26:20.460 --> 02:26:25.120
That’s what legislatures do: they take ideas
from each other and use best practices.

1948
02:26:25.290 --> 02:26:29.710
I just continue to have these dialogues,
continue to have these conversations

1949
02:26:29.960 --> 02:26:33.960
and hopefully we can continue to move forward
as a City of Boston, but also as a country.

1950
02:29:24.460 --> 02:29:26.960
The Food Bank is a great partner
to the City of Boston.

1951
02:29:27.620 --> 02:29:33.080
They work closely with our Office of Health and Human Services
and Office of Food Access as they do with the State.

1952
02:29:33.710 --> 02:29:36.620
They’re member of our
Boston Food Access Council

1953
02:29:36.790 --> 02:29:39.790
and we all know how important
this partnership is.

1954
02:29:40.250 --> 02:29:43.920
One out of every 6 Bostonians
struggle with food insecurity.

1955
02:29:44.460 --> 02:29:48.080
One out of every 6 Bostonians
struggle with food insecurity.

1956
02:29:49.420 --> 02:29:52.580
We’ve added 20,000 new jobs every year
for the last five years.

1957
02:29:52.920 --> 02:29:56.420
We have $9 billion dollars of new development
going on in the City of Boston.

1958
02:29:56.710 --> 02:29:59.120
We’ve built almost 28,000

1959
02:29:59.290 --> 02:30:01.580
new homes in the City of Boston
in the last five years.

1960
02:30:02.290 --> 02:30:05.370
We have great prosperity
in the City of Boston right now

1961
02:30:05.920 --> 02:30:09.460
and one out of every six Bostonians
are struggling with food insecurity.

1962
02:30:09.620 --> 02:30:11.000
That’s the message today.

1963
02:30:11.170 --> 02:30:14.370
That’s something that we need to work together
to tackle this issue

1964
02:30:14.540 --> 02:30:16.960
to get that number to zero.
No one should have

1965
02:30:17.120 --> 02:30:19.790
to worry about
where their next meal’s coming from.

1966
02:30:20.250 --> 02:30:24.000
Everyone deserves access to food
and that’s everyone’s basic human right.

1967
02:30:24.170 --> 02:30:28.210
In Boston, we need to know that that work
of fighting hunger is important

1968
02:30:28.370 --> 02:30:31.870
and the impact that we’re doing in fighting
has to go much further.

1969
02:31:17.880 --> 02:31:21.370
I don’t know what it’s going to take
the United States Congress and Senate

1970
02:31:21.620 --> 02:31:24.500
to recognize the need for gun legislation.

1971
02:31:24.670 --> 02:31:30.540
And also, we can look at Boston and see
when we have a homicide in Boston,

1972
02:31:31.160 --> 02:31:34.000
you can generally tie it back to poverty,

1973
02:31:34.080 --> 02:31:39.080
maybe dropping out of school, lack of education,
desperation, whatever it might be.

1974
02:31:39.290 --> 02:31:43.830
I don’t think anyone’s ever done a real study
on what’s going on with these mass shootings.

1975
02:31:44.000 --> 02:31:46.790
These mass shootings
don’t happen in other countries.

1976
02:31:47.080 --> 02:31:52.080
They happen in the United States of America.
They’re targeting seniors, religious groups, kids

1977
02:31:52.210 --> 02:31:54.120
and nightclubs.
It’s the second nightclub shooting

1978
02:31:54.290 --> 02:31:57.040
in the last couple of years here
and Pulse was the first.

1979
02:31:57.210 --> 02:31:59.120
Something has to give here.

1980
02:31:59.980 --> 02:32:02.960
You can only protect the NRA for so long.

1981
02:32:03.540 --> 02:32:07.370
They have an obligation,
the National Rifle Association,

1982
02:32:07.620 --> 02:32:09.710
if they don’t want to change the laws,

1983
02:32:09.870 --> 02:32:14.500
they have an obligation to the American people
to come up with some solutions.

1984
02:32:14.870 --> 02:32:19.040
When Purdue Pharma,
I’m not going to give him credit here,

1985
02:32:19.330 --> 02:32:24.830
had their back put up against a wall
on oxycodone, they tried to offer some solutions.

1986
02:32:25.170 --> 02:32:29.500
The Labor Movement, when their back's up against
the wall they have to come up with solutions.

1987
02:32:29.670 --> 02:32:35.080
The NRA needs to be held responsible
and accountable for coming up with solutions.

1988
02:32:35.620 --> 02:32:38.960
And if we can’t pass legislation
maybe that’s the route we have to take.

1989
02:32:39.120 --> 02:32:40.710
The NRA is allowing

1990
02:32:40.960 --> 02:32:46.460
mass shootings to happen by not letting
any action happen in the Congress and that’s a sin.

1991
02:34:26.960 --> 02:34:30.620
The ultimate goal of making this stuff usable,
at getting out here to West Roxbury

1992
02:34:30.830 --> 02:34:35.750
is one way to get to this data, but if we get it
all online you don’t have to travel all the way up here.

1993
02:34:35.920 --> 02:34:37.920
Let’s say somebody is looking at

1994
02:34:38.710 --> 02:34:42.710
a governor’s mansion in Virginia and wants
to compare it to the governor’s mansion in Massachusetts,

1995
02:34:42.870 --> 02:34:45.290
they may not even have to do
anything more than open a computer

1996
02:34:45.580 --> 02:34:47.000
to get all of our data.

1997
02:34:47.250 --> 02:34:49.330
They might have to email or call us to find out

1998
02:34:49.500 --> 02:34:52.330
what do we mean by this or that
or the other thing,

1999
02:34:52.500 --> 02:34:54.790
but the more accessible our data is
the more usable it is.

2000
02:34:54.960 --> 02:34:58.790
Frankly, the more usable it is even here.  So when I look for something,

2001
02:34:59.350 --> 02:35:03.710
I either have to know which box
of the 2000 boxes we have contains the artifact

2002
02:35:03.950 --> 02:35:08.370
or I can look it up on our searchable database
and open it up.

2003
02:35:08.750 --> 02:35:11.000
If a researcher comes in looking
for a certain type of artifact

2004
02:35:11.290 --> 02:35:14.250
I can actually search our entire database
to see if we have it or

2005
02:35:14.420 --> 02:35:16.710
how many do we have
and what sites it turns up in.

2006
02:35:16.920 --> 02:35:22.170
And within 20 minutes Sarah or I could
get out to the box and pull it for researcher.

2007
02:35:23.170 --> 02:35:26.460
Which is how it works. Usually when I get
research requests, somebody will say,

2008
02:35:26.610 --> 02:35:29.250
I want to look at
one particular type of ceramic.

2009
02:35:30.460 --> 02:35:33.710
If I don’t know where every piece of that ceramic
is in our two million artifacts,

2010
02:35:34.250 --> 02:35:39.080
I can’t make it accessible to them
even though I know we might have some of it.

2011
02:35:40.420 --> 02:35:43.250
It’s making them usable by people
who may not even know that

2012
02:35:43.420 --> 02:35:46.960
we have these collections. I, myself
am still learning what we have every day.

2013
02:35:47.170 --> 02:35:49.960
I haven’t seen most of this stuff,
even while we were digging,

2014
02:35:50.120 --> 02:35:53.830
because I was in the home most of the time, not seeing the actual artifacts, but...

2015
02:35:54.140 --> 02:35:56.000
there’s some really cool stuff here.

2016
02:35:56.950 --> 02:35:59.170
Can I talk about the clams real fast
because the clams are really cool.

2017
02:35:59.370 --> 02:36:00.580
I’ll take it all.

2018
02:36:00.950 --> 02:36:05.750
When we were digging we got down to the very
bottom of the site and we hit a layer of clay

2019
02:36:05.990 --> 02:36:09.250
which is this deposit here,
in the very bottom of our site.

2020
02:36:09.950 --> 02:36:12.120
It was manmade as far as

2021
02:36:12.290 --> 02:36:16.170
where it came from because there’s little bits
of brick in it, so we know it wasn’t natural clay deposit.

2022
02:36:16.370 --> 02:36:19.210
But it’s a blue clay.
We call it Boston blue clay.

2023
02:36:19.370 --> 02:36:22.330
And it’s a marine clay
that was deposited by the glacier

2024
02:36:22.720 --> 02:36:25.750
right after the glacier left.
It melted a lot of soil.

2025
02:36:26.590 --> 02:36:31.540
Basically the ground that Boston is
was pushed down by the glacier

2026
02:36:32.000 --> 02:36:34.620
and when the glacier melted
it was still down a little bit deep.

2027
02:36:34.790 --> 02:36:39.500
It’s almost like jumping off a dock.
The ground bounces up after the glacier leaves.

2028
02:36:39.670 --> 02:36:42.330
But before that happened
the ocean flooded Boston.

2029
02:36:42.540 --> 02:36:46.330
So we have a couple thousand years
around 10,000, 15,000 years ago

2030
02:36:46.500 --> 02:36:50.420
where Boston was under water completely.
And then it bounced back up above water.

2031
02:36:50.580 --> 02:36:53.210
But during that time it laid
a huge deposit of clay

2032
02:36:53.370 --> 02:36:57.500
and that’s the Boston blue clay. And you see it
in construction sites all over the place.

2033
02:36:57.960 --> 02:37:01.620
We found clay that was then dug up
by somebody probably in the

2034
02:37:01.790 --> 02:37:04.830
late 1800s, early 1900s
and they used it to line something,

2035
02:37:05.000 --> 02:37:08.580
we’re not even sure what it is.
A cistern, a water collection, something like that.

2036
02:37:09.290 --> 02:37:13.790
And they dug up the clay and they
pulled out all of these shells in the clay still.

2037
02:37:14.900 --> 02:37:20.540
These were stuck in the clay from where they dug it out.
So these are actually clams that were living in Boston

2038
02:37:20.900 --> 02:37:24.460
when it was flooded that are
between 11,000 and 15,000 years old.

2039
02:37:24.620 --> 02:37:29.370
So these are like prehistoric clams.
They’re really thick. They’re huge.

2040
02:37:29.920 --> 02:37:35.330
And it’s just really kind of fun to see them
from 11,000 years ago stuck in the clay,

2041
02:37:35.590 --> 02:37:37.210
scallop in two soft shell clams.

2042
02:37:38.080 --> 02:37:40.790
I just think they’re really cool to find.
Basically they’re fossils.

2043
02:37:41.250 --> 02:37:44.790
We don’t get to find a lot of fossils
in archeology so we don’t do dinosaurs,

2044
02:37:45.010 --> 02:37:46.620
but it’s nice to happen
every once in a while.

2045
02:37:46.750 --> 02:37:50.250
In that deposit we also have artifacts
from the 1700s, like this

2046
02:37:51.080 --> 02:37:55.420
1800s, like this glass.
And 15,000 year old clams.

2047
02:37:56.120 --> 02:37:58.580
Not very typical, but it’s interesting.

2048
02:40:58.930 --> 02:41:01.870
Do minority and women owned businesses
face any barriers

2049
02:41:02.170 --> 02:41:04.420
when it comes to city contracting?

2050
02:41:04.620 --> 02:41:09.580
The disparity study is designed to assess
that question in a number of different ways.

2051
02:41:10.230 --> 02:41:14.920
So first, we’ll look at the degree
to which minority and women owned businesses

2052
02:41:15.080 --> 02:41:19.250
participate in city contracts
relative to their availability for that work.

2053
02:41:19.420 --> 02:41:22.210
I’ll unpack those terms in just a few minutes.

2054
02:41:23.330 --> 02:41:28.670
We’ll also provide a comprehensive analysis
of the local marketplace to help understand

2055
02:41:28.830 --> 02:41:32.290
whether minorities, women and minority and women own businesses

2056
02:41:32.460 --> 02:41:39.580
face any barriers working in the Boston region,
and whether any of those barriers lead to

2057
02:41:39.750 --> 02:41:43.330
less success with city contracting
in particular.

2058
02:41:44.540 --> 02:41:48.170
We’ll also provide a comprehensive review
of the contracting policies

2059
02:41:48.330 --> 02:41:51.750
and program measures
that the city uses to help identify

2060
02:41:51.990 --> 02:41:54.420
any policies or practices
that might be inadvertently

2061
02:41:54.710 --> 02:41:58.170
making it more difficult for small businesses
and minority and women owned businesses

2062
02:41:58.460 --> 02:42:01.670
to compete successfully for city contracts.

2063
02:42:03.210 --> 02:42:06.250
Then we’ll also provide a great deal
of insight and recommendations

2064
02:42:06.420 --> 02:42:09.830
around how the City can refine

2065
02:42:09.960 --> 02:42:12.830
the programs it uses to encourage minority
and women owned businesses' participation

2066
02:42:13.000 --> 02:42:16.000
and what programs it can consider using
in the future.

2067
02:42:16.290 --> 02:42:18.500
Educate me a little bit about this.

2068
02:42:19.420 --> 02:42:25.080
Disparity studies. I’ve been in this business
in my industry for the past 30 years.

2069
02:42:25.540 --> 02:42:32.080
I have encountered all kind of difficulties and I’m
still a small contractor after 30 years in business.

2070
02:42:33.120 --> 02:42:39.580
When you say disparity study,
meaning a study that is a doubt.

2071
02:42:41.250 --> 02:42:43.830
Is there a doubt that this exists?

2072
02:42:44.000 --> 02:42:48.870
Because I find it in this 30 years
the difficulty in contracts

2073
02:42:49.170 --> 02:42:55.040
for me to achieve all years in the study.
I don’t think there should be a kind of a doubt.

2074
02:42:55.400 --> 02:42:58.290
Maybe we're looking for proof.

2075
02:42:59.000 --> 02:43:02.540
But I been part of it
and not too long ago,

2076
02:43:03.470 --> 02:43:08.920
I was a minority in a contract,
a State contract with housing.

2077
02:43:09.290 --> 02:43:12.460
I was a third tier subcontract

2078
02:43:13.000 --> 02:43:16.580
just so I can fill the minority quorums,

2079
02:43:16.820 --> 02:43:22.580
but there is a major company, let’s say White
right in front of me to hire me just for that.

2080
02:43:22.930 --> 02:43:28.290
Is that something why
wouldn’t I be directly to the GC?

2081
02:43:28.420 --> 02:43:31.500
Why do I have to be
second and third tier?

2082
02:43:31.710 --> 02:43:37.790
So we know that thing happens where connections
are made to just use us for the particular.

2083
02:43:38.000 --> 02:43:42.120
I’m sorry if I’m out of the equation

2084
02:43:42.750 --> 02:43:45.750
or I’m getting out of the point
that we’re talking.

2085
02:43:46.580 --> 02:43:48.540
But for the past 30 years,

2086
02:43:50.540 --> 02:43:56.080
I can feel it...
If the dollar is taken green,

2087
02:43:56.290 --> 02:44:00.210
I’m suddenly all the qualifications...
I can’t meet them.

2088
02:44:00.370 --> 02:44:03.330
Usually like I was speaking here to Greg,

2089
02:44:03.960 --> 02:44:10.540
I cannot do a 20 or let’s say $10 million,
let’s say $2 million project.

2090
02:44:11.690 --> 02:44:18.870
But I have 10, 12, sometimes 15,
$200,000 projects.

2091
02:44:19.250 --> 02:44:22.960
I can do 20, as many as 200, but at one

2092
02:44:23.180 --> 02:44:25.460
then so really you'll see that

2093
02:44:25.920 --> 02:44:32.040
what is there that is something to keep us
or keep me still on that $200-300,000,

2094
02:44:32.250 --> 02:44:36.540
but where the dollar is greener.
So the disparity is there.

2095
02:44:36.780 --> 02:44:42.750
If it’s proof you’re looking, you come to me.
I’ve been a victim of it for the past years.

2096
02:44:42.920 --> 02:44:47.870
It’s been very hard for a small company
like myself to grow.

2097
02:44:47.950 --> 02:44:52.040
And usually I find let’s say
major stream what do you call it,

2098
02:44:52.210 --> 02:44:54.000
not by using the color of the skin,

2099
02:44:54.170 --> 02:44:57.670
but the mainstream companies
in five years in construction,

2100
02:44:57.870 --> 02:45:01.120
they do it in 20 or 30 million
and they speeding up there.

2101
02:45:01.370 --> 02:45:04.370
And what we say
if you really want to help this,

2102
02:45:04.670 --> 02:45:09.000
I don’t understand that
in bigger companies, bigger projects.

2103
02:45:09.150 --> 02:45:15.290
Like I heard Honeywell has so many million dollars,
negotiated contract with the city.

2104
02:45:16.520 --> 02:45:18.460
The casino was negotiated.

2105
02:45:18.580 --> 02:45:22.670
Why with a small contractor
so we can’t negotiate with the city

2106
02:45:22.870 --> 02:45:25.620
to get that has to be
different ways of doing it

2107
02:45:25.870 --> 02:45:30.870
that we can sit down and negotiate contracts
and make sure we eliminate that gap.

2108
02:45:31.080 --> 02:45:36.750
Suddenly with us it’s illegal. With major companies
it’s not illegal. That’s my point.

2109
02:45:37.000 --> 02:45:39.830
Question is there.
I think essentially it was

2110
02:45:40.030 --> 02:45:46.500
why do the disparity studies?
So there’s a belief on the ground that

2111
02:45:46.900 --> 02:45:49.080
these barriers exist.

2112
02:45:50.420 --> 02:45:54.290
So there’s a few reasons
why we have to go through this process.

2113
02:45:54.460 --> 02:46:01.580
One is as researchers we,
as strong as though, as strong as

2114
02:46:01.830 --> 02:46:04.620
our feeling is
that these barriers might exist or not,

2115
02:46:04.920 --> 02:46:08.460
we’ve got to do the work
and understand and look for evidence,

2116
02:46:08.830 --> 02:46:12.750
objective evidence that this exists.
The reason why is because

2117
02:46:12.870 --> 02:46:15.250
in order for the city
to develop its program

2118
02:46:15.780 --> 02:46:19.620
and for the city to develop a program
that can stand up to legal scrutiny,

2119
02:46:20.670 --> 02:46:23.370
there has to be
objective evidence in place

2120
02:46:23.620 --> 02:46:29.710
that they can point to that informs what programs
they use and why they’re using those programs.

2121
02:46:30.004 --> 02:46:31.460
That’s really the reason.

2122
02:46:31.580 --> 02:46:34.170
I wouldn’t use the word doubt necessarily,

2123
02:46:34.290 --> 02:46:37.460
but it’s really an exercise
in making sure that we’re gathering

2124
02:46:37.670 --> 02:46:42.629
the evidence that the city needs to make sure
that it’s tailoring its program appropriately.

2125
02:46:42.796 --> 02:46:44.087
That’s really what it comes down to.

2126
02:46:44.350 --> 02:46:49.460
There is no doubt that there are disparities
that exist in doing business.

2127
02:46:50.040 --> 02:46:53.046
There’s no doubt that there are disparities
in our economy.

2128
02:46:53.420 --> 02:46:56.754
In fact, the Mayor would be very clear
and has been very clear,

2129
02:46:56.921 --> 02:46:59.921
his number one priority right now
is addressing

2130
02:47:01.000 --> 02:47:04.796
inequities that exist
in the participation of our economy.

2131
02:47:05.330 --> 02:47:06.879
All over the City.

2132
02:47:07.290 --> 02:47:12.212
Now we think the inequities that exist in the
participation in doing business with the City

2133
02:47:12.380 --> 02:47:16.370
is where we need to put real effort
and try to lead.

2134
02:47:16.580 --> 02:47:18.337
And so there’s been historic

2135
02:47:18.754 --> 02:47:23.629
challenges doing business with women owned
and minority owned businesses here in the City

2136
02:47:24.290 --> 02:47:25.830
way before we got in,

2137
02:47:26.220 --> 02:47:29.290
and there are systemic barriers
and policy barriers.

2138
02:47:29.462 --> 02:47:31.171
And we want to address them.

2139
02:47:31.421 --> 02:47:33.080
We’ve been doing things

2140
02:47:33.600 --> 02:47:36.790
and there also have been challenges,

2141
02:47:36.920 --> 02:47:39.920
legal challenges to policies that the City

2142
02:47:40.080 --> 02:47:42.629
before we got into office,
but all over the country,

2143
02:47:42.870 --> 02:47:46.004
whenever a City adopts a policy

2144
02:47:46.171 --> 02:47:49.587
that begins to work with one group
or another, people will challenge it.

2145
02:47:49.793 --> 02:47:52.421
And say hey, is that fair?
Is that not fair?

2146
02:47:55.000 --> 02:48:00.750
BBC, Sameer, is representing the city’s effort
to make sure that we are well informed

2147
02:48:01.330 --> 02:48:04.920
when we introduce
any of these policies.

2148
02:48:05.790 --> 02:48:08.080
And more importantly,
that they can stand up in court.

2149
02:48:52.250 --> 02:48:53.212
Good boy.

2150
02:48:54.060 --> 02:48:58.500
So the good news is to take his temperature
I don’t have to put a thermometer in him.

2151
02:48:58.880 --> 02:49:01.170
I have a scanning thermometer
I can just put on his skin.

2152
02:49:01.460 --> 02:49:03.504
And it’s going to scan for his temperature.

2153
02:49:07.500 --> 02:49:10.710
- Perfect. He doesn’t have a fever.
- He’s neutered correct?

2154
02:49:15.120 --> 02:49:18.000
So the plan for today because
he’s already got his rabies vaccine,

2155
02:49:18.250 --> 02:49:21.040
we’re going to do
a distemper parvo vaccine.

2156
02:49:21.230 --> 02:49:26.170
We're going to give him a kennel cough vaccine
which is a drop that has to go into his nose.

2157
02:49:26.750 --> 02:49:29.580
We’re going to give him a de-wormer
and we’ll do a blood test.

2158
02:49:30.040 --> 02:49:34.120
We’re testing him for heartworm disease.
That’s transmitted by mosquitoes

2159
02:49:34.250 --> 02:49:35.830
and it’s a horrible disease

2160
02:49:35.960 --> 02:49:37.870
to have to treat
that’s really easy to prevent.

2161
02:50:24.790 --> 02:50:26.500
Distemper. Ready?

2162
02:50:34.260 --> 02:50:36.040
What was that? Nothing.

2163
02:50:38.970 --> 02:50:40.960
Rabies. I’m sorry little girl.

2164
02:50:42.000 --> 02:50:44.212
So you want to giver her a bath now?

2165
02:51:32.010 --> 02:51:35.710
You can call 1-800-PETMEDS
and ask for a prescription

2166
02:51:36.120 --> 02:51:40.420
of heartworm medication and they’ll call
here to verify that the test was clean.

2167
02:51:40.470 --> 02:51:41.921
But the way to keep him healthy

2168
02:51:42.129 --> 02:51:45.962
is to have him on the preventive medicine
once a month, all around the year.

2169
02:53:05.270 --> 02:53:07.460
This organization is incredible.

2170
02:53:07.580 --> 02:53:11.120
Morgan Memorial we all have a story
growing up of Morgan Memorial

2171
02:53:11.350 --> 02:53:15.790
and Goodwill,
providing opportunities for training,

2172
02:53:16.030 --> 02:53:18.330
for housing, for food,

2173
02:53:18.870 --> 02:53:20.920
for supplies, for clothing,

2174
02:53:21.040 --> 02:53:25.460
helping people. This organization has always
wrapped its arms around people that are in need.

2175
02:53:25.620 --> 02:53:30.920
It’s one of our largest employers for people with disabilities.
I want to thank you as well for the great work you do there.

2176
02:53:31.210 --> 02:53:35.000
I want to thank all the people that are here today
that we had the honor of serving.

2177
02:53:35.170 --> 02:53:38.830
Thank you for letting us serve you today.
Thank you for letting us be part of this day.

2178
02:53:39.860 --> 02:53:41.290
Thanksgiving is...

2179
02:53:43.040 --> 02:53:45.712
one of those holidays I think that

2180
02:53:46.087 --> 02:53:49.171
allows us the opportunity
to come and serve somebody else.

2181
02:53:49.670 --> 02:53:55.460
And a chance to see people and it should
fill our hearts with gratitude for what we have.

2182
02:53:55.750 --> 02:53:58.629
And on behalf of myself and all the folks
from the City and the State,

2183
02:53:58.884 --> 02:54:02.004
I want to thank you because
my heart is filled with gratitude today

2184
02:54:02.421 --> 02:54:04.790
because of the great work
that Goodwill does

2185
02:54:05.010 --> 02:54:07.620
and the great work of the young people
and the people that are here today.

2186
02:54:07.870 --> 02:54:12.087
So I’m going to stop talking and then
we’re going to have, we’re going to have dancing.

2187
02:54:12.370 --> 02:54:16.337
Will the runners go to the kitchen
and dinner will start.

2188
02:57:02.070 --> 02:57:07.070
We’re going to be doing the general contracting.
We’re the developer and the property manager

2189
02:57:07.370 --> 02:57:10.160
and this is some of the additional organizations
that we have.

2190
02:57:10.370 --> 02:57:13.990
We’re very proud of Cruz’s Care
because it’s a nonprofit that does

2191
02:57:14.780 --> 02:57:19.530
outreach to youth. We mentor young people,
we take them on trips, we do computer learning.

2192
02:57:20.530 --> 02:57:25.070
We do all kinds of backpack giveaways,
but the most important thing is we spend time

2193
02:57:25.240 --> 02:57:28.660
with youth that live on our properties
because we think mentorship

2194
02:57:29.290 --> 02:57:32.530
and interaction
is vital in young people’s lives.

2195
02:57:32.870 --> 02:57:33.990
And next slide.

2196
02:57:34.740 --> 02:57:38.160
We also have heard through the community
in this process,

2197
02:57:38.450 --> 02:57:40.530
about the wealth gap that exists.

2198
02:57:40.740 --> 02:57:44.240
And we all know in the Black community
the wealth gap

2199
02:57:45.200 --> 02:57:48.490
between Blacks and Whites is 275,000

2200
02:57:48.910 --> 02:57:52.950
for an average White family and 750 for an average Black family.

2201
02:57:53.120 --> 02:57:57.740
So one of the things that we made
as part of our mission in this proposal

2202
02:57:57.920 --> 02:58:01.070
is to give as much back
economically to the community

2203
02:58:01.280 --> 02:58:03.570
and leave it better than we find it.

2204
02:58:04.020 --> 02:58:08.870
We just want to give folks a bit of sense
of what we do from a payroll standpoint.

2205
02:58:09.030 --> 02:58:11.410
This is the last seven years.
You'll see our people

2206
02:58:11.740 --> 02:58:16.570
of color percentages go up
from 77 to 93.

2207
02:58:16.740 --> 02:58:21.620
Boston residents are in the 60’s.
Women and Section 3 workers.

2208
02:58:21.870 --> 02:58:24.620
And we continue to put money back
in the community.

2209
02:58:26.470 --> 02:58:29.700
And this is not only
on an employee’s standpoint,

2210
02:58:29.950 --> 02:58:31.490
but on a business standpoint.

2211
02:58:31.660 --> 02:58:35.990
We think it’s very important
that we support local businesses of color.

2212
02:58:36.160 --> 02:58:38.530
So these are MBE numbers.

2213
02:58:39.430 --> 02:58:43.160
Utilization of firms of color
in the last seven years.

2214
02:58:44.370 --> 02:58:49.120
And you see out of 152 million of total
development costs that we’ve done on average

2215
02:58:49.660 --> 02:58:54.700
75 to 78 % have gone to firms of color.
And you look at the worker hours.

2216
02:58:54.910 --> 02:58:59.780
We’ve hit as much as 95 % on 35,000 hours.

2217
02:58:59.980 --> 02:59:02.200
So again it’s about
Ngiving back to the community.

2218
02:59:03.010 --> 02:59:08.240
To talk about the program, it’s now 160 units.
When we were selected it was 150.

2219
02:59:08.970 --> 02:59:11.120
But as you get more into design

2220
02:59:11.320 --> 02:59:15.410
and more finite layouts you find that
you have a little bit more footprint.

2221
02:59:16.030 --> 02:59:22.620
So right now, it’s 160 units of which
105 are home ownership condominiums

2222
02:59:23.380 --> 02:59:27.700
and there’s 15,500 square feet
of retail space.

2223
02:59:27.770 --> 02:59:29.240
That’s also an increase

2224
02:59:29.640 --> 02:59:33.570
from when we were designated because during,
we’ve had about nine meetings

2225
02:59:33.990 --> 02:59:37.990
with DND, BPDA and part of the feedback,

2226
02:59:38.910 --> 02:59:41.240
most of the feedback we incorporated

2227
02:59:41.410 --> 02:59:43.990
and you’ll see in the design we have more of a street presence

2228
02:59:44.410 --> 02:59:48.740
and as that evolved
it opened up for more retail space.

2229
02:59:48.950 --> 02:59:51.320
So you’ll see when they do
the architectural

2230
02:59:51.800 --> 02:59:54.950
that our retail space has in fact increased.

2231
02:59:55.750 --> 03:00:00.950
Estimated real estate tax, people ask us,
is about $700,000 annually.

2232
03:00:02.020 --> 03:00:07.490
As some of you know, as part of our community
benefits we are going to be leasing space

2233
03:00:07.660 --> 03:00:10.490
to the NAACP at no cost for 10 years.

2234
03:00:10.780 --> 03:00:14.450
In addition to that we’ve endowed
a $5,000 scholarship

2235
03:00:15.120 --> 03:00:19.030
annually for 10 years for them to allocate
anyway that they want.

2236
03:00:19.650 --> 03:00:24.200
We also have agreed, YouthBuild Boston
for those of you who aren’t familiar,

2237
03:00:24.400 --> 03:00:27.120
is an organization
that trains young people in the trades.

2238
03:00:27.370 --> 03:00:30.870
Helps them get on a straight path.

2239
03:00:31.620 --> 03:00:35.450
We’ve committed $100,000
to that organization over five years.

2240
03:00:35.700 --> 03:00:40.410
Plus we’re going to hire at least
one YouthBuild graduate

2241
03:00:40.870 --> 03:00:45.070
in every major trade
or during the life of the development.

2242
03:00:45.320 --> 03:00:49.240
The life of the construction and we have
estimated that to be about 20 positions.

2243
03:00:49.540 --> 03:00:54.030
Community benefits should be
driven by the community

2244
03:00:54.530 --> 03:00:57.070
and not by a developer.

2245
03:00:57.280 --> 03:01:01.700
I’m not taking issue with that.
It’s a broad statement that I’m making.

2246
03:01:01.870 --> 03:01:05.120
It’s not targeted at crews specifically.

2247
03:01:06.910 --> 03:01:13.240
What, in that sort of proposal and package
can we revisit and look at

2248
03:01:14.530 --> 03:01:19.700
and really build more consensus around
from the community’s perspective

2249
03:01:19.870 --> 03:01:23.740
as to what they would like to see
as a community benefit.

2250
03:01:24.200 --> 03:01:28.070
Much of what you listed out

2251
03:01:28.320 --> 03:01:33.660
of course NAACP, I’m not sure they need
1,000 square feet of space.

2252
03:01:34.820 --> 03:01:41.740
And some of the others that are noble endeavors,
but could there be others?

2253
03:01:42.030 --> 03:01:45.280
And that make more sense
particularly for this site?

2254
03:01:45.780 --> 03:01:49.370
So I would just like to hear,

2255
03:01:49.700 --> 03:01:53.700
I think from not only the IAG group,

2256
03:01:53.950 --> 03:01:56.200
but also from the community

2257
03:01:56.280 --> 03:01:59.660
and have that community benefits process be more

2258
03:01:59.820 --> 03:02:02.450
inclusive of what the community wants,

2259
03:02:02.620 --> 03:02:07.700
as opposed to relationships that developers
have with specific groups of people.

2260
03:02:07.950 --> 03:02:11.120
It may not be that thing,
but it can look like that.

2261
03:02:11.860 --> 03:02:14.530
For us to go a little deeper on that.

2262
03:02:14.570 --> 03:02:15.870
I would like to respond.

2263
03:02:15.990 --> 03:02:17.950
We tried to get out ahead of...

2264
03:02:18.490 --> 03:02:23.910
Anytime we put in a proposal, as part of that we
think about the benefits back to the community.

2265
03:02:24.350 --> 03:02:30.410
And I think the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan
Oversight Committee asks the question,

2266
03:02:30.870 --> 03:02:35.740
how come the Cruz’s proposal has benefits
and none of the other’s had them?

2267
03:02:36.360 --> 03:02:38.910
And it’s because we always try
to be proactive.

2268
03:02:39.280 --> 03:02:41.780
So we can always have a discussion.

2269
03:02:42.410 --> 03:02:46.990
You know John’s always open to having
conversations and considering things.

2270
03:02:47.570 --> 03:02:50.950
But we made a commitment to the NAACP
in writing.

2271
03:02:51.910 --> 03:02:54.950
That not only would we give them
free space for 10 years...

2272
03:02:55.450 --> 03:03:00.740
Not to date myself, but when I was growing up
the NAACP was on Mass Ave, the prominent side.

2273
03:03:00.910 --> 03:03:05.320
You drive by you see them, you had ethnic pride
because you knew their mission.

2274
03:03:05.570 --> 03:03:07.240
Now, unfortunately

2275
03:03:07.570 --> 03:03:11.450
they’re in the Washington Park Mall
where no one sees them.

2276
03:03:11.820 --> 03:03:13.910
So we thought it was an excellent idea

2277
03:03:14.320 --> 03:03:17.530
to have them visible,
where better than in Dudley Square.

2278
03:03:17.780 --> 03:03:21.030
When people come down.
So we made that agreement with them.

2279
03:03:21.240 --> 03:03:25.320
We also made an agreement
to fund a scholarship

2280
03:03:25.820 --> 03:03:30.820
at $5,000 a year for at least 10 years
that they would have the control

2281
03:03:31.450 --> 03:03:35.160
to determine who got it.
We wouldn’t be involved in that at all,

2282
03:03:35.570 --> 03:03:37.570
just from the vantage point
of giving them the money.

2283
03:03:37.780 --> 03:03:40.450
And with YouthBuild.
YouthBuild does a great job.

2284
03:03:40.660 --> 03:03:42.910
If you’re not aware of them
just Google them.

2285
03:03:43.030 --> 03:03:46.120
Not that a lot of organizations don’t,
but they do a great job

2286
03:03:46.990 --> 03:03:48.660
taking our troubled youth

2287
03:03:48.780 --> 03:03:53.820
and turning them around
when their next step is either incarceration

2288
03:03:54.430 --> 03:03:59.070
or they have to turn their lives around.
And so we thought that that was a high priority

2289
03:03:59.290 --> 03:04:01.030
for us to make a commitment on

2290
03:04:01.910 --> 03:04:05.120
and providing jobs.
We’ve worked with them before, in fact

2291
03:04:05.620 --> 03:04:08.740
John has hired at least 10 YouthBuild graduates

2292
03:04:09.160 --> 03:04:12.740
in probably the last 10 or 15 years
because we think it’s so important.

2293
03:04:13.030 --> 03:04:16.280
It’s like ex-offenders. They need a chance.
They need another chance.

2294
03:04:16.570 --> 03:04:19.410
So, conversation on community benefits

2295
03:04:19.820 --> 03:04:22.537
is not off the table,
but the ones that we’ve given

2296
03:04:22.704 --> 03:04:25.829
we feel like we’ve given our word
to those people.

2297
03:04:26.120 --> 03:04:29.820
To those organizations.
It would be hard to go back and say,

2298
03:04:30.990 --> 03:04:32.320
we’ve changed our mind.

2299
03:04:32.530 --> 03:04:36.780
Community benefits should be driven
by the community.

2300
03:04:37.070 --> 03:04:41.240
It should have its focus
come from the community.

2301
03:04:41.410 --> 03:04:46.160
I understand that you as a developer
and others want to, some of you,

2302
03:04:46.320 --> 03:04:50.280
not all developers want to get ahead of that
and put on the table,

2303
03:04:51.660 --> 03:04:54.530
meaningful, long term community benefits.

2304
03:04:54.700 --> 03:04:57.950
That’s the other thing
and this is also more for the City that

2305
03:04:58.160 --> 03:05:02.070
community benefits shouldn’t just be
a shot in the arm. It should be long term.

2306
03:05:02.370 --> 03:05:06.620
It should be, it should you know,

2307
03:05:07.030 --> 03:05:10.280
build equity in the community.

2308
03:05:10.980 --> 03:05:15.620
That’s my concern and my concern
is that the voice

2309
03:05:15.870 --> 03:05:18.320
that carries that piece
around community benefit

2310
03:05:18.530 --> 03:05:20.120
resonate and comes
from the community.

2311
03:06:18.280 --> 03:06:19.450
I’m here today to tell my story on

2312
03:06:19.620 --> 03:06:22.660
how I got in front of the hydrant
and why I’m in front of the hydrant.

2313
03:06:23.780 --> 03:06:27.620
First of all I’m not denying I parked there.
I was wrong in parking there.

2314
03:06:28.200 --> 03:06:30.450
How I ended up there?

2315
03:06:30.910 --> 03:06:34.320
My industry’s biggest conference
of the year

2316
03:06:34.780 --> 03:06:37.450
is September 22, 23rd.
That’s something I know.

2317
03:06:37.740 --> 03:06:42.370
It’s also happened to be two weeks
before my wife’s due date.

2318
03:06:42.780 --> 03:06:45.370
It was a big debate throughout the year
if I should go, if I should not go.

2319
03:06:45.700 --> 03:06:47.740
That conference was in Rockland, Maine.

2320
03:06:48.700 --> 03:06:50.160
So predictably,

2321
03:06:51.570 --> 03:06:56.660
Tuesday night, September 23rd, I get
a phone call, my wife’s having contractions.

2322
03:06:56.780 --> 03:07:00.950
And I race home to, from Rockland, Maine,
Bar Harbor area.

2323
03:07:02.690 --> 03:07:05.030
So I drive home
three and a half, four hours.

2324
03:07:05.840 --> 03:07:08.780
It’s East Boston past midnight.

2325
03:07:08.950 --> 03:07:12.160
There’s no parking anywhere
within two miles of my house.

2326
03:07:12.370 --> 03:07:14.660
I’m a first time father, new father.

2327
03:07:14.910 --> 03:07:17.370
I have no idea what to expect.
I just have to get a parking spot.

2328
03:07:18.160 --> 03:07:20.620
2:30 in the morning
I park in front of the hydrant.

2329
03:07:22.280 --> 03:07:25.620
I wake up the next day and there’s not one,
but two tickets on my car.

2330
03:07:26.350 --> 03:07:29.620
So, I’m here,
letting you know I was wrong,

2331
03:07:29.780 --> 03:07:33.370
but as an exhausted, stressed,
tired new father

2332
03:07:33.820 --> 03:07:38.370
that is facing a pile of medical bills,
asking for reprieve from one of those tickets.

2333
03:07:39.280 --> 03:07:42.200
Based on the evidence you provided,

2334
03:07:42.370 --> 03:07:44.530
as well as the evidence provided
by the Officer who wrote the tickets,

2335
03:07:44.820 --> 03:07:47.700
factoring what I’m allowed to factor in,
legally speaking

2336
03:07:47.870 --> 03:07:49.820
I should deny the appeal today.

2337
03:07:50.130 --> 03:07:53.530
What I’m going to do however instead
I’m going to dismiss both tickets.

2338
03:07:53.700 --> 03:07:55.700
One with a warning
the other with a final warning.

2339
03:07:55.860 --> 03:07:57.370
That means is a couple of things.

2340
03:07:57.530 --> 03:07:59.450
First, in the future you got to make sure

2341
03:07:59.620 --> 03:08:02.320
you check where you park
because especially with issues like this,

2342
03:08:02.490 --> 03:08:06.240
and with no stop or stands,
they can tow the car if they really wanted to.

2343
03:08:06.410 --> 03:08:09.240
Which would not have been helpful
in this entire process for you.

2344
03:08:09.870 --> 03:08:12.160
Second, if you filed an appeal
you do need to bring

2345
03:08:12.320 --> 03:08:14.780
all evidence that you have
that can corroborate any testimonies,

2346
03:08:14.910 --> 03:08:17.280
paperwork, receipts, photos, whatever.

2347
03:08:17.410 --> 03:08:19.280
And third, means you don’t have
to pay anything today.

2348
03:08:19.530 --> 03:08:20.530
Thank you very much.

2349
03:08:24.690 --> 03:08:28.700
For the record we’re here today
for ticket 754471406

2350
03:08:28.870 --> 03:08:31.660
issued to us in a resident permit only
on 8/9/2019

2351
03:08:31.910 --> 03:08:35.120
at 10:09 p.m. at 343 Congress Street.

2352
03:08:35.490 --> 03:08:37.950
So what can you do to prove
the ticket was given incorrectly.

2353
03:08:39.200 --> 03:08:42.240
It’s tough for me to prove the ticket
was given incorrectly, but --

2354
03:08:42.530 --> 03:08:45.820
when I parked the car
there wasn’t any sign for

2355
03:08:46.410 --> 03:08:48.530
resident permit parking there.

2356
03:08:48.700 --> 03:08:50.530
It was just a meter I thought

2357
03:08:50.910 --> 03:08:55.620
and I mean I lived in this town my whole life.
I didn’t even know anybody lived down there.

2358
03:08:55.870 --> 03:08:58.780
I haven’t been down there
in a long time, so

2359
03:08:58.950 --> 03:09:01.490
for me to park in that part of town

2360
03:09:01.660 --> 03:09:03.530
and think, wait a minute,
this might be resident permit,

2361
03:09:03.990 --> 03:09:06.120
like it was the Hill or like it was the Back Bay

2362
03:09:06.280 --> 03:09:07.990
or like it was the South End.

2363
03:09:08.160 --> 03:09:09.700
I just didn’t see a sign

2364
03:09:10.070 --> 03:09:13.990
and I figured 9:00 I’m fine and I come out
and get a ticket at 10.

2365
03:09:15.620 --> 03:09:19.410
I can’t understand what happened.
I don’t, I just don’t know.

2366
03:09:20.180 --> 03:09:22.820
So what could have happened,
there are some parts of Boston

2367
03:09:22.990 --> 03:09:24.820
where it’s resident permit after six.

2368
03:09:25.070 --> 03:09:28.530
So without any evidence that
there isn’t a sign posted on the block,

2369
03:09:28.700 --> 03:09:31.160
more likely it was given correctly,
but I’ll dismiss it.

2370
03:09:31.380 --> 03:09:33.820
Just make sure every time you park the car
even if you’re at your in meter.

2371
03:09:33.990 --> 03:09:36.570
I have to check a little bit harder
than I did that night. Certainly.

2372
03:09:37.020 --> 03:09:39.120
I was even on a date the other night
and I’m like:

2373
03:09:39.120 --> 03:09:42.070
Hold on, I made her wait,
I got to check the signs

2374
03:09:42.370 --> 03:09:45.070
Just keep going until you find a sign there,
there’s always going to be one.

2375
03:09:45.330 --> 03:09:49.030
I just didn’t think to look.
Again, because who lives down there?

2376
03:09:49.200 --> 03:09:51.740
Evidently a lot of people
live down there now.

2377
03:09:52.160 --> 03:09:54.280
Maybe it’s like a new high rise
or something, I’m not sure.

2378
03:09:55.030 --> 03:09:56.910
Back in the day, nobody lived down there.

2379
03:09:58.710 --> 03:10:01.200
So that’s a copy of the decision.
Do you have any further questions?

2380
03:10:02.160 --> 03:10:05.200
Thank you for hearing me because
I missed my date and everything.

2381
03:10:05.450 --> 03:10:08.700
- You missed your date?
- Like I said, but the guy said you can.

2382
03:10:21.570 --> 03:10:23.700
Except for Atlantic, nothing’s that bad.

2383
03:10:23.870 --> 03:10:25.160
Don’t worry. It’ll get there.

2384
03:10:27.560 --> 03:10:29.570
Harold Street’s not bad so far.

2385
03:10:31.410 --> 03:10:34.700
So far it’s not bad.
It’s going to be getting bad.

2386
03:10:35.030 --> 03:10:37.200
Starting to build up
in the Sumner tunnel.

2387
03:10:46.420 --> 03:10:49.200
8th Street is not bad tonight.

2388
03:10:53.030 --> 03:10:55.280
I made a little adjustments
over there earlier.

2389
03:10:56.660 --> 03:11:00.070
You figured they’d start diving off
the highway, cutting through the back streets.

2390
03:11:07.070 --> 03:11:09.370
Looks like the highway
is starting to slow down.

2391
03:11:10.990 --> 03:11:13.030
The expressway’s starting to slow down.

2392
03:11:14.070 --> 03:11:15.780
Everyone is going north skiing.

2393
03:11:16.870 --> 03:11:19.740
Got to stay ahead of the traffic.
Got to stay ahead of the problem.

2394
03:11:21.870 --> 03:11:23.700
I might make this change permanent.

2395
03:11:23.950 --> 03:11:25.570
- Which one?
- Upham’s corner.

2396
03:11:26.570 --> 03:11:31.530
I’m always doing this. I just don’t think those
left turns need that much green time.

2397
03:11:31.700 --> 03:11:33.870
I never see that many cars making the move.

2398
03:11:38.740 --> 03:11:40.160
It backs up.

2399
03:11:40.530 --> 03:11:42.450
Some nights it doesn’t, but --

2400
03:11:42.960 --> 03:11:45.280
It don’t do it all the time though.

2401
03:11:45.450 --> 03:11:47.990
No, but it’s 50/50.

2402
03:11:49.160 --> 03:11:51.160
Gotta give it time. It will clear up.

2403
03:11:53.740 --> 03:11:55.160
What’s that? Double parked?

2404
03:12:02.950 --> 03:12:06.070
Hi it’s Keith from the Tech Center.
Hey, how’s it going?

2405
03:12:06.730 --> 03:12:11.870
I’ve got a vehicle stopped in the bike lane
on Congress Street at Milk Street.

2406
03:12:13.200 --> 03:12:14.320
Great, thanks.

2407
03:13:53.990 --> 03:13:58.740
I am the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office
of Women’s Advancement here in Boston

2408
03:13:58.910 --> 03:14:02.620
and you’re now joining a community
of almost 8,000 women

2409
03:14:02.780 --> 03:14:07.990
that have been trained to know their worth
and demand fair pay.

2410
03:14:08.910 --> 03:14:13.950
You may know that Latinas in Boston
through the data that we measure locally,

2411
03:14:14.070 --> 03:14:19.160
and we are the only city that measures
these pay gaps locally,

2412
03:14:19.410 --> 03:14:24.870
Latinas are making 49 cents
to the White man’s dollar in Boston.

2413
03:14:25.800 --> 03:14:27.700
And then the figure nationally

2414
03:14:28.210 --> 03:14:33.310
is slightly different, but almost the same
which makes today Latina Equal Pay Day.

2415
03:14:33.310 --> 03:14:35.410
We have to work up until November 1st

2416
03:14:35.570 --> 03:14:39.370
to make the same amount of money
that White men made last year.

2417
03:14:39.430 --> 03:14:43.450
And so if you think
that’s shocking and depressing as I do,

2418
03:14:44.200 --> 03:14:45.530
that’s why you’re here.

2419
03:14:45.990 --> 03:14:49.370
And I wanted to say thank you.
You are part of the solution.

2420
03:14:50.240 --> 03:14:53.070
We have a two or three prong solution

2421
03:14:53.530 --> 03:14:57.160
that we’re working on putting together
at the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement.

2422
03:14:57.370 --> 03:15:01.570
The first part of it is training ourselves,
empowering ourselves

2423
03:15:01.740 --> 03:15:04.570
and learning how to navigate the system as it is.

2424
03:15:04.870 --> 03:15:07.620
So we acknowledge that the system is unfair and that

2425
03:15:07.780 --> 03:15:12.700
it’s not our individual fault that we are
experiencing this pay gap as Latinas.

2426
03:15:12.980 --> 03:15:18.410
But there is something that we ourselves
can do about it and that is

2427
03:15:18.470 --> 03:15:21.280
learning to negotiate,
learning our work, our worth,

2428
03:15:21.570 --> 03:15:24.570
doing our research
and then demanding fair pay.

2429
03:15:24.770 --> 03:15:29.240
At the same time at the Mayor’s Office of
Women’s Advancement we do understand

2430
03:15:29.490 --> 03:15:32.120
that’s only going to get us so far,
so on the other hand

2431
03:15:32.370 --> 03:15:35.870
we are working on fixing that system and leveling it off so that

2432
03:15:36.160 --> 03:15:38.740
we are playing in a more equal play field.

2433
03:15:39.450 --> 03:15:42.280
What that entails is doing
a lot of work with employers.

2434
03:15:42.570 --> 03:15:46.280
So that you guys will learn how to negotiate
and demand your worth here,

2435
03:15:46.560 --> 03:15:49.620
they have to be ready for that
on the other end.

2436
03:15:49.950 --> 03:15:54.740
We work with more than 200 employers in the
greater Boston area to talk about this issue,

2437
03:15:54.990 --> 03:15:58.490
to get them to measure their own
wage gaps and then to come together,

2438
03:15:59.320 --> 03:16:03.370
and learn and propose strategies
for what they’re going to do about it.

2439
03:16:04.320 --> 03:16:07.410
Part of it is, how do you figure out
for this role,

2440
03:16:07.570 --> 03:16:10.070
how do I know
that I should be getting paid more?

2441
03:16:10.180 --> 03:16:15.490
Or that I should even get anything
outside of just a paycheck? What is that?

2442
03:16:16.070 --> 03:16:19.240
With the advent, thank goodness,
of the Internet,

2443
03:16:19.740 --> 03:16:22.410
that type of information
is very readily available.

2444
03:16:23.050 --> 03:16:25.780
So one of the things that I did learn

2445
03:16:26.160 --> 03:16:30.990
at an early stage thanks to the same manager,
because we had a conflict at one point.

2446
03:16:31.240 --> 03:16:35.490
And it was a conflict about
the size of my skirt.

2447
03:16:36.740 --> 03:16:40.530
It taught me one of these lessons, a good
negotiating point and why I researched.

2448
03:16:40.780 --> 03:16:42.990
Somebody complained
that my skirt was too short.

2449
03:16:43.370 --> 03:16:47.120
Now mind you compared to these days, woo.
It was like having knee length skirt.

2450
03:16:48.160 --> 03:16:53.370
But I asked him: would you ask or say
something, say the same thing to a man?

2451
03:16:53.620 --> 03:16:55.780
I mean obviously at that time,

2452
03:16:55.950 --> 03:16:58.700
men didn’t have the option they do or --

2453
03:16:59.200 --> 03:17:03.700
non-binary wasn’t a thing then,
so we didn’t have those types of conversations.

2454
03:17:03.950 --> 03:17:06.030
Then he said I’m going
to teach you something.

2455
03:17:06.450 --> 03:17:08.370
I don’t care if you’re a woman or a man.

2456
03:17:08.700 --> 03:17:11.820
He said do you want people to think about
these things because you’re a woman

2457
03:17:11.990 --> 03:17:15.120
or do you want them to think about
the value that you bring into your role?

2458
03:17:17.410 --> 03:17:20.280
And so, he did teach me that,
so part of that was

2459
03:17:20.670 --> 03:17:24.320
every time when I go for a new role,
or I’m helping someone,

2460
03:17:24.570 --> 03:17:27.620
I say go look up what a man
and a woman’s making for that role.

2461
03:17:28.280 --> 03:17:29.570
Find out what they’re making here

2462
03:17:29.570 --> 03:17:31.910
and what they’re making
in other parts of the country.

2463
03:17:32.070 --> 03:17:34.200
Find out what that scale is,
and then use the men’s scale.

2464
03:17:35.280 --> 03:17:38.490
The other thing too,
when you talk about knowing your value is:

2465
03:17:38.870 --> 03:17:41.740
besides that number on a piece of paper,

2466
03:17:42.370 --> 03:17:44.870
what else should you be negotiating for?
And that’s one of the great things

2467
03:17:45.120 --> 03:17:47.410
about doing your research
between the Internet,

2468
03:17:47.570 --> 03:17:50.240
what the company’s offering
and what other people are making.

2469
03:17:50.620 --> 03:17:52.570
Do you have bonus potential?

2470
03:17:52.990 --> 03:17:58.160
Are you moving expenses?
Do you have training that’s involved, or

2471
03:17:58.820 --> 03:18:00.950
memberships
for professional associations?

2472
03:18:01.070 --> 03:18:03.240
There’s so many things
that you can actually negotiate,

2473
03:18:03.410 --> 03:18:05.120
they should all be on the table.

2474
03:18:05.490 --> 03:18:09.120
So how my strategy changed
was I learned how to research.

2475
03:18:09.280 --> 03:18:12.870
I learned how to do those types of things.
But the other thing I also learned how to do

2476
03:18:13.160 --> 03:18:16.160
and Evelyn you touched upon this.
This is so very important.

2477
03:18:16.530 --> 03:18:18.070
Learning how to read people.

2478
03:18:18.320 --> 03:18:20.410
You can have all the knowledge
in the world,

2479
03:18:20.900 --> 03:18:23.570
but if the person across from you does not want to negotiate

2480
03:18:23.740 --> 03:18:28.120
or you don’t think they want to negotiate,
or you don’t know their negotiation style,

2481
03:18:28.340 --> 03:18:30.070
you may go nowhere in that conversation.

2482
03:18:30.240 --> 03:18:33.780
So another really important part
of that negotiation is

2483
03:18:34.020 --> 03:18:37.530
trying to figure out a person’s
negotiation style. It’s not that difficult

2484
03:18:37.820 --> 03:18:42.070
to be honest with you. One of the things
I had to learn early on in my career

2485
03:18:42.370 --> 03:18:45.410
because when I started negotiating
there was not that many women in my field.

2486
03:18:45.950 --> 03:18:48.200
So it was non’t even women of color,
it was just women.

2487
03:18:48.410 --> 03:18:50.570
And I had to learn to hold my own

2488
03:18:51.270 --> 03:18:55.570
with all these men that in a lot of times
I was leading, especially early in my career.

2489
03:18:55.740 --> 03:18:57.950
I was 23, 24 leading men that were,

2490
03:18:58.240 --> 03:19:01.820
had been in corporate careers for 20, 30, 40 years if not more.

2491
03:19:01.990 --> 03:19:04.700
So that was my first lesson
because I remember,

2492
03:19:05.780 --> 03:19:08.820
just from a cultural type of perspective,

2493
03:19:09.200 --> 03:19:11.870
a gentleman from Alabama
called me Sug one day.

2494
03:19:12.930 --> 03:19:16.450
Now I knew culturally that
he wasn’t trying to be offensive

2495
03:19:16.870 --> 03:19:19.030
and I also knew him personally,

2496
03:19:19.240 --> 03:19:22.910
but I also knew that that could impact
how other people looked at me.

2497
03:19:23.570 --> 03:19:27.410
And when you talk about value that’s not
a dollar sign value at that point in time.

2498
03:19:27.560 --> 03:19:31.120
Although it could translate into it
at a later point.

2499
03:19:31.410 --> 03:19:36.070
I had to go to my manager and say,
I know he doesn’t mean harm by this,

2500
03:19:36.240 --> 03:19:38.200
but he could be creating harm

2501
03:19:38.370 --> 03:19:41.660
based on the fact that I’m a woman.
And I’m a woman, a female negotiator.

2502
03:19:42.160 --> 03:19:47.570
So one of the things that I had to learn
from a cultural and just the value as a woman,

2503
03:19:47.910 --> 03:19:50.450
was my job was a negotiator.

2504
03:19:51.030 --> 03:19:55.700
If I could not negotiate my salary, what
was I saying to my potential employer?

2505
03:19:56.990 --> 03:20:01.320
So it was even more stressful
to be able to put a package together.

2506
03:20:01.780 --> 03:20:05.950
A couple of things that I learned,
I actually learned a lot from men.

2507
03:20:06.120 --> 03:20:07.780
I had a lot of male mentors.

2508
03:20:07.950 --> 03:20:11.620
Mostly because of the fact that
there was no one else again in that space

2509
03:20:11.920 --> 03:20:15.950
that were women. And they were definitely
not women of color, very seldom.

2510
03:20:16.200 --> 03:20:18.490
Very seldom did I ever run into
a woman of color.

2511
03:20:19.030 --> 03:20:21.740
So I had to lean outside of that space

2512
03:20:21.910 --> 03:20:26.240
to actually find women and women of color
who were doing something different

2513
03:20:26.380 --> 03:20:29.620
and that they could teach me
and they could give me a voice.

2514
03:20:29.910 --> 03:20:32.030
So mentorship was huge for me.

2515
03:20:32.230 --> 03:20:33.954
Without that mentorship,

2516
03:20:34.246 --> 03:20:39.920
I would not have learned as a woman
and as a Latina what my value was.

2517
03:20:39.920 --> 03:20:42.070
Then the other thing I did lean on

2518
03:20:42.530 --> 03:20:46.120
as far as my approach was concerned,
was I watched men.

2519
03:20:46.280 --> 03:20:48.490
And I watched how
they conducted themselves.

2520
03:20:48.700 --> 03:20:50.200
When you talk about learning your value,

2521
03:20:50.370 --> 03:20:55.160
a lot of times where I learned
were at bars at happy hours.

2522
03:20:56.270 --> 03:20:57.280
So number one,

2523
03:20:57.520 --> 03:21:02.490
I was taught you should not be a woman
going to a bar at happy hour with all these men.

2524
03:21:02.920 --> 03:21:08.450
I had to take a risk at that time in my career
to say there’s something going on there.

2525
03:21:09.360 --> 03:21:11.700
And so I would go and have a beer or two.

2526
03:21:11.950 --> 03:21:15.780
And have these conversations
because again, negotiation strategy.

2527
03:21:16.320 --> 03:21:20.160
People let their guard down at different points
and it was usually at the bar for men.

2528
03:21:20.420 --> 03:21:24.990
The other thing that I had to learn as far as
what was going on corporate America at the time?

2529
03:21:25.280 --> 03:21:27.660
Things were happening on the golf course.

2530
03:21:28.030 --> 03:21:32.200
I didn’t play golf. We played no activities.
We had no money for it.

2531
03:21:32.550 --> 03:21:36.450
So, I went and I took golf lessons
at the public golf course. I was horrible.

2532
03:21:37.070 --> 03:21:41.320
The first time I joined the company golf league
and I would tell them, I’m horrible.

2533
03:21:41.700 --> 03:21:46.490
The first time that I went up to hit the ball,
I missed it. And I missed it horribly.

2534
03:21:47.630 --> 03:21:50.740
But I told everyone.
I said I told you I was not good at golf.

2535
03:21:50.990 --> 03:21:55.240
At least people knew I was going to play golf,
but I was going to be on that golf course.

2536
03:21:55.620 --> 03:21:59.410
And I knew at the time that especially
when I was living in Pittsburg,

2537
03:21:59.780 --> 03:22:03.490
there really was not that many
women of color in the community,

2538
03:22:03.660 --> 03:22:07.030
much less in corporate America that I was doing
these things, that I was representing,

2539
03:22:07.200 --> 03:22:11.160
so I had to be careful of my actions.
I had to be careful of my words.

2540
03:22:11.320 --> 03:22:13.990
But when that did translate into salary,

2541
03:22:14.160 --> 03:22:15.662
I was at a stronger position

2542
03:22:15.871 --> 03:22:18.329
because people knew
that I was willing to do these things

2543
03:22:18.700 --> 03:22:20.870
to understand what my value was.

2544
03:22:21.160 --> 03:22:23.950
Because at that point I wasn’t
comparing myself to other women

2545
03:22:24.240 --> 03:22:27.450
and I definitely wasn’t comparing myself
to women of color because they weren’t there.

2546
03:22:27.910 --> 03:22:31.280
I was learning what to do and what
my value was compared to a guy,

2547
03:22:31.820 --> 03:22:33.120
compared to a White man.

2548
03:22:33.820 --> 03:22:38.530
And so that was huge for me as far as
my career in negotiation was concerned.

2549
03:24:05.520 --> 03:24:08.820
We had a shooting today
at Quincy and Ceylon Street.

2550
03:24:09.690 --> 03:24:13.990
It was a guy on a -- a kid on a scooter.

2551
03:24:14.200 --> 03:24:16.450
The scooter’s been recovered,

2552
03:24:16.620 --> 03:24:18.570
but the suspect’s still outstanding.

2553
03:24:18.740 --> 03:24:20.950
Pull it up, it’s on the brick, but I printed out

2554
03:24:21.120 --> 03:24:23.820
like 15 copies
so you guys can grab one if you need to.

2555
03:24:23.990 --> 03:24:25.490
Check your emails. It’s in there.

2556
03:24:25.680 --> 03:24:28.200
Otherwise, we’ll be
on the lookout for him.

2557
03:24:29.250 --> 03:24:33.370
And 7 p.m., the 201 --
what did I say 201 was?

2558
03:24:34.450 --> 03:24:36.450
Hogan and Lahey. You guys do

2559
03:24:36.910 --> 03:24:40.320
the Gloucester versus Boston Latin game
up at Madison Park.

2560
03:24:40.490 --> 03:24:43.780
Go up there. A couple code 19s. Or just
drive around at 7 p.m., take a look

2561
03:24:44.280 --> 03:24:46.320
and let us know if anything
needs attention up there.

2562
03:25:02.160 --> 03:25:04.740
I remain concerned about the precedent

2563
03:25:05.030 --> 03:25:10.160
establishing past practice of this committee
to approve such a request as this

2564
03:25:10.780 --> 03:25:13.370
of allowing the increase in enrollment
for a school,

2565
03:25:13.660 --> 03:25:17.910
when we know that the current
physical capacity of their building

2566
03:25:18.070 --> 03:25:20.490
is not equal to
what we are proposing going to.

2567
03:25:21.230 --> 03:25:25.450
And that we’re setting ourself up
for a year or two years from now,

2568
03:25:26.780 --> 03:25:28.950
the school rightfully coming back to us
and saying,

2569
03:25:30.740 --> 03:25:32.450
'we expect a bigger facility,

2570
03:25:32.660 --> 03:25:34.740
'you told us we were going
to have a bigger facility'.

2571
03:25:36.000 --> 03:25:37.280
And this is something that

2572
03:25:37.620 --> 03:25:40.320
this committee has perpetually done
time after time.

2573
03:25:40.360 --> 03:25:42.280
This is no reflection on the school.

2574
03:25:42.410 --> 03:25:46.990
But I’m concerned
we’re setting up a conflict

2575
03:25:47.120 --> 03:25:48.200
a year or two from now

2576
03:25:48.450 --> 03:25:52.200
when you’re trying to expan
to your approved enrollment level

2577
03:25:52.370 --> 03:25:55.370
particularly when there’s a lot of demand
for your school because you’re doing

2578
03:25:55.490 --> 03:25:58.320
really good things there with some youth
who are very challenged.

2579
03:25:58.620 --> 03:26:00.320
You’re doing outstanding work.

2580
03:26:00.950 --> 03:26:04.240
And yet, unless I hear otherwise,

2581
03:26:04.320 --> 03:26:09.280
the answer I have here was about
suspension, but was not yet about facilities.

2582
03:26:10.390 --> 03:26:14.200
This is a long setup to then hear
from the Superintendent on

2583
03:26:14.490 --> 03:26:16.200
where the District stands

2584
03:26:16.540 --> 03:26:19.070
about what we will do for facilities

2585
03:26:19.240 --> 03:26:23.490
because I remain deeply concerned
about approving this amendment.

2586
03:26:24.070 --> 03:26:27.660
I recognize we’re in a challenge.
We’re doing this because of the State review.

2587
03:26:28.580 --> 03:26:31.570
And yet we’re setting up a problem
a year from now.

2588
03:26:31.820 --> 03:26:36.820
I believe there was testimony last time that
the school is already well in excess of its

2589
03:26:37.780 --> 03:26:42.280
approved enrollment and so part of what is
in front of us right now

2590
03:26:42.490 --> 03:26:47.490
is an opportunity to right size
the maximum enrollment of the school

2591
03:26:47.740 --> 03:26:50.950
that would capture
what the excess enrollment will be.

2592
03:26:51.110 --> 03:26:52.870
So that’s not an excuse and that’s not

2593
03:26:53.030 --> 03:26:55.570
a total answer for what your question is, but I think

2594
03:26:55.740 --> 03:26:59.660
just to give that context, we are serving
through the current building,

2595
03:26:59.910 --> 03:27:04.530
or the current facility, students in excess
of what our current allotment is.

2596
03:27:05.170 --> 03:27:07.870
So there is a need for an additional building

2597
03:27:07.870 --> 03:27:11.030
or additional space.
I don’t want to presuppose a building.

2598
03:27:12.740 --> 03:27:17.530
And within that context I think that
might be helpful for the District to further

2599
03:27:18.120 --> 03:27:21.410
elaborate on its own comments
on the facilities from the last meeting.

2600
03:27:21.570 --> 03:27:25.570
But Mr. Chair, correct me if I’m wrong.
We are not just approving

2601
03:27:26.410 --> 03:27:32.820
for the Charter, for the enrollment to go up to
what the existing enrollment is right now,

2602
03:27:33.120 --> 03:27:37.160
we’re going beyond that
which would allow the school to expand

2603
03:27:37.450 --> 03:27:42.780
particularly in the 2.0, right?
So this is a kind of a newer program.

2604
03:27:42.990 --> 03:27:46.160
So this will be an expansion
for the school, it’s not just --

2605
03:27:46.410 --> 03:27:48.820
part of it is correcting where they are, right?

2606
03:27:48.990 --> 03:27:51.490
I agree with you,
but just help me out with that.

2607
03:27:51.700 --> 03:27:55.620
Absolutely and I want to just make sure
that within the context of that,

2608
03:27:56.000 --> 03:27:58.200
the increase is not 100 students.

2609
03:27:58.500 --> 03:28:02.780
The increase to the approved
maximum enrollment is 100 students.

2610
03:28:02.780 --> 03:28:05.740
But the increase I believe
in the actual enrollment is --

2611
03:28:06.170 --> 03:28:08.660
can you help me out with
what that number might be?

2612
03:28:08.830 --> 03:28:13.320
Next year is 430. And the enrollment
is 405 in our Charter.

2613
03:28:13.820 --> 03:28:17.240
- And this is a multiyear enrollment?
- Over 3 years.

2614
03:28:17.410 --> 03:28:19.450
The idea would be to grow 100.

2615
03:28:21.410 --> 03:28:24.620
- Grow 100 additional students?
- To 505.

2616
03:28:25.030 --> 03:28:26.030
To 505.

2617
03:28:26.420 --> 03:28:31.780
That’s 100 additional students,
but over your existing maximum enrollment.

2618
03:28:32.420 --> 03:28:34.030
- its’ about 70? - 70.

2619
03:28:34.360 --> 03:28:36.530
70 students over your actual enrollment.

2620
03:28:37.160 --> 03:28:40.030
- And that will require new physical space.
- More space.

2621
03:28:41.720 --> 03:28:44.740
So, we’re setting ourselves up here
for a big challenge.

2622
03:28:45.910 --> 03:28:47.780
So we’re not proposing simply

2623
03:28:47.950 --> 03:28:52.570
to adjust the amendments
to the actual enrollment right now,

2624
03:28:52.990 --> 03:28:57.030
but we’re proposing now
to allow them to expand

2625
03:28:58.140 --> 03:29:01.280
for students that we know
we do not yet have space for.

2626
03:29:01.820 --> 03:29:07.370
We cannot identify specific space
so we can’t say a plan is part of it.

2627
03:29:09.010 --> 03:29:10.280
Am I correct in that?

2628
03:29:11.940 --> 03:29:14.870
I can tell you that we are committed

2629
03:29:15.030 --> 03:29:18.490
to finding space for the current students
who are offsite already.

2630
03:29:18.780 --> 03:29:21.410
So we will be finding
space for them regardless.

2631
03:29:21.620 --> 03:29:24.450
They’re currently in an offsite location
this year.

2632
03:29:24.910 --> 03:29:26.570
- They’re in the Dearborn?
- In the Dearborn.

2633
03:29:26.740 --> 03:29:28.410
And Dearborn’s going
to need that space next year?

2634
03:29:28.570 --> 03:29:30.950
So we already know we need
to find some space for them?

2635
03:29:31.390 --> 03:29:33.820
But now we’re talking about
additional space beyond that.

2636
03:29:35.280 --> 03:29:36.910
This is a great problem to have.

2637
03:29:37.070 --> 03:29:39.990
It’s because you’re an outstanding school
doing outstanding work.

2638
03:29:40.200 --> 03:29:43.410
There is huge demand. When we talked to folks
at the Reengagement center,

2639
03:29:43.910 --> 03:29:47.950
they would love to have
so many more students there.

2640
03:29:48.030 --> 03:29:49.820
It’s not about a bad problem.

2641
03:29:50.060 --> 03:29:53.870
But it’s a problem that we’ve done
over and over again here.

2642
03:29:54.070 --> 03:29:55.660
And that’s what concerns me.

2643
03:29:55.820 --> 03:29:59.570
I wonder if we can come to a compromise

2644
03:29:59.770 --> 03:30:03.570
of what the enrollment actually is
for the building

2645
03:30:03.880 --> 03:30:05.450
and come back and have this conversation.

2646
03:30:06.220 --> 03:30:08.240
In order to capably serve

2647
03:30:09.280 --> 03:30:11.410
the varied and diverse

2648
03:30:11.490 --> 03:30:14.070
and high needs populations
within our district, we need to be able to

2649
03:30:14.240 --> 03:30:18.620
walk and chew gum at the same time.
Be able to move these programs forward

2650
03:30:18.920 --> 03:30:24.280
while we also continue to think about
how we are best creating the facilities

2651
03:30:24.450 --> 03:30:27.870
and the architecture around the district
to support these programs.

2652
03:30:27.990 --> 03:30:31.780
I’m wondering if it may be better for us
since we’re improving policy

2653
03:30:32.660 --> 03:30:38.660
just to make it clear that we’re approving you
to 435 or whatever the number is immediately

2654
03:30:38.910 --> 03:30:47.450
and to 505 contingent upon finding
a suitable facilities solution for the school.

2655
03:30:47.620 --> 03:30:50.820
So the school and their leadership
and their students and their staff

2656
03:30:51.160 --> 03:30:54.070
know that this is a priority
for the school committee

2657
03:30:54.510 --> 03:30:58.030
to find that solution for the school.

2658
03:30:58.360 --> 03:31:00.620
And that we’re also
very supportive of the school

2659
03:31:00.760 --> 03:31:03.280
because we know the population
they’re serving is critical.

2660
03:31:04.120 --> 03:31:06.280
But also now it’s a school committee by policy,

2661
03:31:06.700 --> 03:31:09.530
putting it back to the District
that it’s critical we find a solution.

2662
03:31:09.630 --> 03:31:12.740
Not putting it solely on the back
of the Superintendent to say,

2663
03:31:13.240 --> 03:31:14.450
we’re going to find something.

2664
03:31:14.620 --> 03:31:16.660
My recommendation at this point would be

2665
03:31:17.180 --> 03:31:21.280
rather than change the number which
would require a whole new process of approval,

2666
03:31:21.660 --> 03:31:23.910
that we table the current request

2667
03:31:24.040 --> 03:31:29.030
until we have completed
their satellite location identification

2668
03:31:29.200 --> 03:31:31.320
and we will bring this back to you

2669
03:31:32.160 --> 03:31:36.030
subsequently with that space solution
connected to it.

2670
03:31:36.200 --> 03:31:38.410
What about simply adding the sentence

2671
03:31:38.740 --> 03:31:40.030
to the approval that

2672
03:31:40.200 --> 03:31:45.190
the expansion is subject to finding
an appropriate facility solution?

2673
03:31:45.370 --> 03:31:46.950
Does that create a problem?

2674
03:31:47.450 --> 03:31:49.280
Thinking about

2675
03:31:50.700 --> 03:31:54.070
the issue that the Interim Superintendent
just laid out,

2676
03:31:54.700 --> 03:31:57.530
I suppose an approval like that

2677
03:31:58.200 --> 03:32:00.910
would allow the District to move forward

2678
03:32:01.160 --> 03:32:06.320
simply upon notification to the committee
at a later date that space has been found.

2679
03:32:07.300 --> 03:32:09.950
And so what that would then do would be--

2680
03:32:11.120 --> 03:32:16.780
it would simply be delaying the opportunity
for BDA to move forward to the State

2681
03:32:17.070 --> 03:32:21.740
and seek the approval
for the full 505 at a later date.

2682
03:32:22.720 --> 03:32:26.780
In other words, we would be taking care
of our committee business this evening

2683
03:32:26.980 --> 03:32:29.700
with that provision

2684
03:32:29.820 --> 03:32:31.240
and in the alternative,

2685
03:32:31.950 --> 03:32:35.120
if we were to table this
we would be voting at a later date.

2686
03:32:35.200 --> 03:32:40.070
Either way, it’s going to result in

2687
03:32:40.240 --> 03:32:42.370
an action from BDA to DESE

2688
03:32:42.630 --> 03:32:47.120
that follows the identification of space
for these students.

2689
03:32:48.240 --> 03:32:51.950
So, you know, I think it’s probably
six of one, half dozen of the other.

2690
03:32:52.160 --> 03:32:54.530
We do think that’s
a wise path forward. It allows

2691
03:32:54.740 --> 03:32:59.490
the current Charter proposal as presented
to be approved,

2692
03:32:59.700 --> 03:33:03.410
but the approval of moving beyond the 435

2693
03:33:03.570 --> 03:33:08.280
is contingent on us coming back to you with their offsite space plan.

2694
03:33:09.120 --> 03:33:12.780
So if you want to propose
the amending language

2695
03:33:13.320 --> 03:33:15.070
that would give them the approval

2696
03:33:15.290 --> 03:33:18.160
and also make it clear that
before we submit it to DESE,

2697
03:33:18.490 --> 03:33:20.990
we will have come back to you with the space plan.

2698
03:33:21.450 --> 03:33:22.990
Alison, if that buys you the right amount of time?

2699
03:33:25.730 --> 03:33:27.950
We’re not waiting until fall next year.

2700
03:33:28.700 --> 03:33:33.200
No. We’re talking about
before the end of this school year.

2701
03:33:34.110 --> 03:33:35.870
To bring it back from the very

2702
03:33:38.280 --> 03:33:40.740
focused conversation we had
about facilities this evening.

2703
03:33:40.910 --> 03:33:44.570
This really isn’t about facilities.  That’s just a condition precedent to

2704
03:33:44.740 --> 03:33:48.200
allowing you to continue to serve
the population that you serve so well.

2705
03:33:48.370 --> 03:33:49.910
And expand that service to

2706
03:33:50.200 --> 03:33:52.870
a number of students across the district
who really need it.

2707
03:33:53.000 --> 03:33:54.370
We’re very excited.

2708
03:33:54.620 --> 03:33:58.910
Something that was lost is that you’re also
changing your enrollment policy

2709
03:33:59.250 --> 03:34:02.030
as part of the Charter amendments
that are going forward and so,

2710
03:34:02.280 --> 03:34:05.990
making it easier and more accessible
for students to find

2711
03:34:06.240 --> 03:34:08.370
high quality education at BDA

2712
03:34:08.530 --> 03:34:12.410
is the sum and substance of the Charter
amendments that you put before us tonight.

2713
03:34:12.570 --> 03:34:14.410
We’re very happy to approve those
and we wish you well.

2714
03:34:14.770 --> 03:34:16.780
And we look forward to hearing
about your new location.

2715
03:35:26.970 --> 03:35:28.910
So your main issue is the rodents?

2716
03:35:29.310 --> 03:35:33.870
I found one of them dead under that cabinet.
I moved the refrigerator --

2717
03:35:35.320 --> 03:35:39.620
I had to throw him away.
He was about that big with a big fat tail.

2718
03:35:40.450 --> 03:35:42.620
And oh, it stunk bad.

2719
03:35:43.070 --> 03:35:47.070
- It pulled out the refrigerator.
- You were seeing ‘em over here?

2720
03:35:47.640 --> 03:35:51.870
I threw one away. I killed one.
I had traps under there.

2721
03:35:52.490 --> 03:35:56.660
Trays and they were empty.
And then I smelled a bad odor. Really bad.

2722
03:35:57.330 --> 03:36:02.410
He was like that big. That wasn’t no mouse and
he got a big fat tail with rings around it.

2723
03:36:03.490 --> 03:36:05.990
So it could possibly be a rat.

2724
03:36:07.950 --> 03:36:10.620
Did you already clean out
the droppings under there?

2725
03:36:10.710 --> 03:36:13.370
Yeah, but I did take some pictures
on my phone.

2726
03:36:14.830 --> 03:36:17.570
I wanted to just check around here
just to make sure.

2727
03:36:18.120 --> 03:36:20.120
They’re possibly getting in
through right there.

2728
03:36:20.410 --> 03:36:23.120
He’s coming through the cellar I think.

2729
03:36:23.360 --> 03:36:24.280
We can take a look.

2730
03:36:24.900 --> 03:36:27.370
But those droppings right there
are pretty big.

2731
03:36:27.460 --> 03:36:31.450
It’s not a mouse. I had three tomatoes
on the top of the counter.

2732
03:36:31.990 --> 03:36:34.570
They we’re smashed all over the place.
I’ve never seen a mouse do that.

2733
03:36:35.230 --> 03:36:37.620
How often have you been seeing them?

2734
03:36:38.380 --> 03:36:41.240
Every day for the last month,
month and a half.

2735
03:36:41.610 --> 03:36:43.530
Since they’ve been working on the streets.

2736
03:36:45.370 --> 03:36:49.570
- I can’t even sleep at night because --
- Because that’s been going on?

2737
03:36:49.760 --> 03:36:53.700
I mean I saw one of them running,
he runs fast.

2738
03:36:54.550 --> 03:36:59.910
And then I hear him in the broiler there
where I left him some peanut butter

2739
03:37:00.390 --> 03:37:02.780
and then the next day it’s half gone.

2740
03:37:02.860 --> 03:37:05.490
I’m surprised he’s still kicking.
But there might be more than one.

2741
03:37:05.990 --> 03:37:08.780
This is probably the second one.
There might be three or four.

2742
03:37:10.110 --> 03:37:14.070
Those kick plates underneath the cabinet
can come out easy, they’re not nailed in.

2743
03:37:16.160 --> 03:37:19.160
If you kick it or--
yeah I can kick it with my foot.

2744
03:37:36.910 --> 03:37:42.120
- There’s definitely heavy activity down there.
- I know I wasn’t imagining it.

2745
03:37:42.490 --> 03:37:44.700
- I’ve never seen rats before here.
- You’re getting a lot.

2746
03:37:44.820 --> 03:37:47.950
Before this I had raccoons
in my ceiling.

2747
03:37:48.570 --> 03:37:50.700
They dug two holes and I patched

2748
03:37:50.820 --> 03:37:53.700
that one, but with the heavy rain
he dug a big circle in the wood

2749
03:37:54.240 --> 03:37:57.990
and the water was coming in and the rain,
the sheetrock just came down.

2750
03:37:58.120 --> 03:38:01.320
Does the management usually get back
to you when you try --

2751
03:38:01.770 --> 03:38:05.570
My sister’s got problems
her side of the house. Water leaking in.

2752
03:38:05.950 --> 03:38:08.780
So it’s you on this side
and your sister on the other side?

2753
03:38:09.120 --> 03:38:12.450
And my two brothers own a part of this

2754
03:38:12.860 --> 03:38:15.740
and one of my brothers is trying to evict me
because I think

2755
03:38:16.200 --> 03:38:18.870
he wants to come down into my apartment
which is better than his.

2756
03:38:19.190 --> 03:38:20.070
Got you.

2757
03:38:21.150 --> 03:38:24.280
I put all those in there.
They’re pretty clean.

2758
03:38:25.410 --> 03:38:27.410
There’s no food on them,
but I don’t know.

2759
03:38:29.400 --> 03:38:32.490
- What’s going on with the flooring?
- It’s just cracking from the water.

2760
03:38:32.910 --> 03:38:36.570
It’s been that way for the last year or so.

2761
03:38:37.290 --> 03:38:38.700
It was with all the little leaks.

2762
03:38:38.960 --> 03:38:42.530
When you have a chance and possibly
get to it sooner than later,

2763
03:38:43.230 --> 03:38:46.820
start scrubbing that, getting rid of
that heavy build up, that grease.

2764
03:38:48.410 --> 03:38:51.070
- Because any sort of food source --
- He ate half of my--

2765
03:38:51.240 --> 03:38:54.780
I had a sponge with some food on it
and he chewed half of it away.

2766
03:38:54.950 --> 03:38:57.410
So what you really want to do

2767
03:38:57.970 --> 03:39:00.780
is not leave any kind
of food source out for them.

2768
03:39:01.290 --> 03:39:04.530
So anything like for instance
these onions right here.

2769
03:39:04.700 --> 03:39:09.200
If you can, get a plastic container
and just put them in there

2770
03:39:09.580 --> 03:39:11.030
at least until --

2771
03:39:11.710 --> 03:39:16.910
I’ll let the management or the landlord know
what’s going on as far as the issue.

2772
03:39:17.470 --> 03:39:20.280
But in the meantime, you’re going
to have to do your part.

2773
03:39:20.450 --> 03:39:23.740
So, that would be the stove
and putting

2774
03:39:23.870 --> 03:39:26.910
these onions or any kind of fruit
or vegetable in a plastic container.

2775
03:39:27.120 --> 03:39:28.910
What I’ll do is I’ll try to talk to them,

2776
03:39:30.030 --> 03:39:32.280
find out what’s going on.

2777
03:39:32.820 --> 03:39:37.660
And where the disconnect happened so hopefully
we can come to some sort of resolution

2778
03:39:38.070 --> 03:39:43.370
where you’re not living
with a pest infestation and the leaks.

2779
03:39:44.360 --> 03:39:45.910
Because they spread disease too.

2780
03:39:46.950 --> 03:39:50.530
And I try to keep it clean as I can here.
I’m a bachelor right now

2781
03:39:50.680 --> 03:39:52.990
and living here for 18 years
since I got divorced.

2782
03:39:53.420 --> 03:39:57.620
I’ve made my mistakes, but you know,
I don’t do drugs or anything.

2783
03:39:57.940 --> 03:39:59.660
- I’m clean.
- That’s good.

2784
03:39:59.740 --> 03:40:04.320
I have a glass of of wine here and there
and lately my spirit's broken.

2785
03:40:05.910 --> 03:40:08.740
Because they want to throw me
to the street after all.

2786
03:40:11.170 --> 03:40:12.870
Anybody’s spirit would be broken.

2787
03:40:13.030 --> 03:40:15.570
I’ve been going through mental health
through Veterans.

2788
03:40:15.820 --> 03:40:22.450
And I got some anxiety pills,
I’m on blood pressure pills,

2789
03:40:22.660 --> 03:40:25.240
baby aspirin because I got
stents in my heart.

2790
03:40:25.920 --> 03:40:30.570
But I’m still alive. Hopefully
move onto something better soon.

2791
03:40:35.170 --> 03:40:37.490
We’ll try to help you out
as much as possible.

2792
03:40:37.870 --> 03:40:40.620
And I’ll talk to them to see
what exactly is going on.

2793
03:40:43.990 --> 03:40:45.780
Anytime, and I’ll leave my card for you.

2794
03:40:46.410 --> 03:40:47.870
On the back of my card

2795
03:40:48.240 --> 03:40:51.910
I’ll leave my cell in case you have
any issues or if anything comes up.

2796
03:40:52.060 --> 03:40:54.200
Most of this stuff will be on a 30 day notice.

2797
03:40:54.450 --> 03:40:59.780
Some things that I deem is an emergency
will be on an emergency notice.

2798
03:41:00.320 --> 03:41:03.700
And so, once they get an emergency notice
that’s 24 hours.

2799
03:41:04.400 --> 03:41:07.280
The other stuff will be 30 days
so they’ll have 30 days to fix that.

2800
03:41:08.700 --> 03:41:12.490
What I need from you is
when they come by

2801
03:41:12.740 --> 03:41:14.410
or when they’re letting you know

2802
03:41:14.570 --> 03:41:16.320
like within the 24/48 hours like

2803
03:41:16.570 --> 03:41:18.950
I’m going to come by and do the repairs.
Just let them in.

2804
03:41:19.700 --> 03:41:21.200
That’s no problem. Sure.

2805
03:41:21.870 --> 03:41:23.740
I want the repairs to be done. Believe me.

2806
03:41:23.910 --> 03:41:25.780
- I know.
- I don’t want to live like this.

2807
03:41:25.950 --> 03:41:30.490
I hear you. So, like I said I’ll touch base
with you later on today

2808
03:41:30.700 --> 03:41:33.530
after I talk to your siblings
and then we’ll take it from there.

2809
03:41:53.570 --> 03:41:54.240
Currently

2810
03:41:54.700 --> 03:41:58.160
we need to finalize the community
process which we’re doing right now

2811
03:41:59.240 --> 03:42:02.070
and then finalize the host community
agreement with the City.

2812
03:42:02.280 --> 03:42:03.450
And then apply to

2813
03:42:03.740 --> 03:42:06.740
to the Cannabis Control Commission
for the provisional licenses

2814
03:42:06.950 --> 03:42:08.570
and then that will allow

2815
03:42:08.620 --> 03:42:12.620
617 to move forward with the build out
and final inspections and hopefully,

2816
03:42:13.160 --> 03:42:14.740
ultimately license to operate.

2817
03:42:16.690 --> 03:42:19.780
How close are the cannabis shops
going to be to the school?

2818
03:42:20.910 --> 03:42:25.820
How many people are you hiring?
And where are you hiring them from?

2819
03:42:26.180 --> 03:42:28.780
I believe the closest school
is about 600 feet.

2820
03:42:29.010 --> 03:42:31.410
To say that we just want to offer jobs
is actually a misnomer.

2821
03:42:31.570 --> 03:42:35.160
We actually want to
help people with a career.

2822
03:42:35.720 --> 03:42:36.454
We also have

2823
03:42:36.704 --> 03:42:39.037
a cultivation facilities
in Southwestern Massachusetts

2824
03:42:39.204 --> 03:42:41.204
that’s going through licensing processes.

2825
03:42:41.690 --> 03:42:43.660
Anybody can get a job. That’s very easy.

2826
03:42:43.890 --> 03:42:46.496
But in this industry,
we want to be able to mentor somebody

2827
03:42:46.996 --> 03:42:49.621
and to let them have
a pathway to a career.

2828
03:42:49.787 --> 03:42:52.621
If you’re interested in edibles,
we can help you with that pathway.

2829
03:42:52.780 --> 03:42:56.871
If you’re interested in extractions,we have
a facility going up that will be able

2830
03:42:57.037 --> 03:42:59.162
to mentor people
to go through that particular program.

2831
03:42:59.370 --> 03:43:00.412
If you want to be a grower,

2832
03:43:01.121 --> 03:43:04.537
we do have some pretty good growers on our
team that would be able to mentor people

2833
03:43:04.720 --> 03:43:07.787
to get to a certain point where they can
become successful in this industry.

2834
03:43:08.030 --> 03:43:11.204
And not just so
they can go get a job, right?

2835
03:43:11.579 --> 03:43:15.454
We’re looking for pathway to a career,
a mentorship program that can

2836
03:43:15.662 --> 03:43:18.079
really turn some things around
for this neighborhood

2837
03:43:18.454 --> 03:43:20.787
in certain ways that a job
just probably couldn’t.

2838
03:43:21.750 --> 03:43:25.370
How many parking spaces do you guys
have dedicated to your facility?

2839
03:43:25.660 --> 03:43:29.160
What's it like in the surrounding area?
Have you done any traffic studies?

2840
03:43:29.510 --> 03:43:33.704
And then how many shoppers can you
physically handle inside your store?

2841
03:43:33.871 --> 03:43:37.496
What’s your plan for line management
and overflow?

2842
03:43:37.621 --> 03:43:40.579
I only saw a small mantrap on that floor plan.

2843
03:43:41.079 --> 03:43:43.121
So I’m curious if you could address that.

2844
03:43:43.630 --> 03:43:45.204
Someone would come into a vestibule.

2845
03:43:45.371 --> 03:43:47.746
He would be identified
with the proper government I.D.

2846
03:43:47.920 --> 03:43:50.371
and then he would buzz
into the retail area there.

2847
03:43:50.870 --> 03:43:52.746
So, as soon as we want,

2848
03:43:52.912 --> 03:43:55.579
we’ll have someone outside
telling everybody, have your I.D. ready.

2849
03:43:55.746 --> 03:43:59.912
We’ll try to move that line as fast as
we can safely, professionally and securely

2850
03:44:00.079 --> 03:44:01.287
that allows them into the next.

2851
03:44:01.454 --> 03:44:04.204
And then when they make the purchase
they will exit a different door

2852
03:44:04.371 --> 03:44:06.200
so there won’t be
that backlog right there.

2853
03:44:06.371 --> 03:44:10.780
Are you going to have a line down the block?
Are you going to have a waiting area inside?

2854
03:44:11.410 --> 03:44:13.829
Just these are the things
you need to think about

2855
03:44:13.996 --> 03:44:15.954
because these situations will come up when

2856
03:44:16.121 --> 03:44:20.280
you’re at capacity and people
are going to be standing outside.

2857
03:44:20.621 --> 03:44:22.870
These are things that you got
to think about.

2858
03:44:23.170 --> 03:44:25.204
Given the neighborhood,
given the location,

2859
03:44:25.371 --> 03:44:27.204
we absolutely think
that a lot of the traffic

2860
03:44:27.371 --> 03:44:31.660
and customers are going to be pedestrian
based as well as public transportation.

2861
03:44:31.960 --> 03:44:37.240
And then certainly rideshare
which is being used all over the place.

2862
03:44:37.454 --> 03:44:41.660
When you talk, you’re speaking
to the host community groups,

2863
03:44:42.070 --> 03:44:44.200
I’m sorry, there’s some of those groups

2864
03:44:45.370 --> 03:44:47.954
that are being talking to
that really don’t matter.

2865
03:44:49.160 --> 03:44:51.246
And some of those people
that you’re talking to

2866
03:44:51.412 --> 03:44:53.871
are making decisions
for the rest of us in this room

2867
03:44:54.287 --> 03:44:56.871
that don’t consider us.

2868
03:44:57.620 --> 03:45:02.370
Like some of the people over in Savin Hill
that don’t like this side of Dorchester.

2869
03:45:03.810 --> 03:45:05.496
So, I think when we’re talking about --

2870
03:45:05.658 --> 03:45:09.162
when we’re making plans about host community
and talking about to the community,

2871
03:45:09.320 --> 03:45:12.030
I think you need to reach out
to the regular people of the community

2872
03:45:12.240 --> 03:45:17.700
because some of these organizations
and some of these little groups and meetings

2873
03:45:17.880 --> 03:45:19.829
don’t really give a crap about us.

2874
03:45:20.950 --> 03:45:24.240
And it’s all about their agenda that
they have set forth. That’s one thing.

2875
03:45:24.620 --> 03:45:26.740
Also often in our community

2876
03:45:26.990 --> 03:45:29.700
we do have Asian businesses
that are run,

2877
03:45:29.880 --> 03:45:34.530
but there’s not people that look like me
that work in those Asian businesses,

2878
03:45:34.950 --> 03:45:40.746
I don’t want -- we’ve talked Richard
so I don’t have a problem with you

2879
03:45:41.389 --> 03:45:42.912
and we’ve already discussed this.

2880
03:45:43.870 --> 03:45:50.280
I’m just concerned that are we going
to make this a multicultural employment area?

2881
03:45:50.410 --> 03:45:52.371
Like I said, a lot of the times

2882
03:45:52.579 --> 03:45:56.662
the Asians that do come in our community, they don’t hire me.

2883
03:45:57.530 --> 03:45:59.700
We have to hire locally
because that’s the easiest

2884
03:46:01.200 --> 03:46:02.662
community outreach we can do

2885
03:46:02.829 --> 03:46:05.829
and also for the operations sense is the best way to do it.

2886
03:46:06.030 --> 03:46:07.570
As a business owner,

2887
03:46:07.700 --> 03:46:09.954
once you get in here
and I’m not going to say right away,

2888
03:46:10.240 --> 03:46:13.570
but maybe six months or a year
depending how your profit goes,

2889
03:46:13.746 --> 03:46:19.870
are you willing to personally give
something back to this community to help

2890
03:46:20.120 --> 03:46:24.370
educate the young African Americans,
the young Cape Verdeans, the young Asians

2891
03:46:24.620 --> 03:46:28.537
that live in this poor community
that’s riddled by gun violence

2892
03:46:29.870 --> 03:46:32.787
and other drugs that are not marijuana
that keeps everybody calm?

2893
03:46:32.954 --> 03:46:35.371
If everybody was on marijuana
they’d be calm someway.

2894
03:46:36.490 --> 03:46:40.410
Your first comment regarding the various
groups that we are supposed to meet,

2895
03:46:41.110 --> 03:46:43.996
and I strongly use the words
'we were supposed to meet',

2896
03:46:44.162 --> 03:46:46.329
because a lot of those
are dictated by the City.

2897
03:46:46.530 --> 03:46:48.030
Exactly! That’s my point.

2898
03:46:48.280 --> 03:46:52.496
So you know for us to jump outside
of that particular parameter

2899
03:46:52.662 --> 03:46:54.490
is not very easy for us.

2900
03:46:58.070 --> 03:47:01.746
As a business man, as a lifelong
resident of Boston, Massachusetts,

2901
03:47:01.912 --> 03:47:04.121
we would want to give back.

2902
03:47:04.590 --> 03:47:09.740
But because there are some things
that are beyond our control as a business,

2903
03:47:10.140 --> 03:47:14.200
there are only so many things we can do
per the host community agreement.

2904
03:47:14.490 --> 03:47:17.490
Now if you want to touch upon
a personal stuff,

2905
03:47:17.871 --> 03:47:20.496
that’s a personal passion of mine
to really give back

2906
03:47:20.996 --> 03:47:22.621
and do things for the community.

2907
03:47:22.930 --> 03:47:25.329
I can’t promise you anything today,
but I can pledge.

2908
03:47:25.787 --> 03:47:27.829
Let me finish.
I can pledge

2909
03:47:28.650 --> 03:47:31.450
that there are times
we will outreach to the community.

2910
03:47:31.740 --> 03:47:34.280
People that think that we didn’t
include them in this particular

2911
03:47:35.420 --> 03:47:38.870
round of talks and everything like that,
because that is a personal mission for me.

2912
03:47:39.070 --> 03:47:42.204
That is something I hold dear and near
and it's passion for me.

2913
03:47:43.260 --> 03:47:47.579
First things first. I need to make sure that
I cross my T’s and dot my I’s with the City.

2914
03:47:47.870 --> 03:47:52.370
They are the ones that are in control
of a lot of things in our situation here.

2915
03:47:52.530 --> 03:47:54.660
I just want to make sure that

2916
03:47:54.829 --> 03:47:58.070
whatever funds that you’re going
to be giving out of your pocket

2917
03:47:58.280 --> 03:48:01.037
goes into a great entity in this community
that really matters

2918
03:48:01.246 --> 03:48:03.662
and that is actually having an effect
on our community.

2919
03:48:03.829 --> 03:48:09.037
As I said, I support you guys. I just want
to make sure that you have a solid plan,

2920
03:48:09.240 --> 03:48:11.070
and especially around security

2921
03:48:11.750 --> 03:48:16.820
and the overflow thing is really, we need
to address that as the young lady said

2922
03:48:16.950 --> 03:48:19.287
becaus we can’t have a line of people

2923
03:48:19.496 --> 03:48:22.412
particularly if we have people coming
from like Milton or other places.

2924
03:48:22.780 --> 03:48:25.871
It’s kind of like Oh look at them,
let’s go setup for robbery.

2925
03:48:26.037 --> 03:48:28.662
I want to make sure
that those are addressed, OK?

2926
03:48:31.490 --> 03:48:34.079
I guess I want to find out from you
what you’re going to do

2927
03:48:34.246 --> 03:48:39.371
truly to address safety concerns around
the store that you’re looking to open.

2928
03:48:39.990 --> 03:48:46.070
We have some phenomenal officers in our
neighborhood. They work extremely hard

2929
03:48:46.620 --> 03:48:48.662
to keep us all safe.

2930
03:48:49.340 --> 03:48:54.910
And it sounds like part of your
public safety plan is to lean on the Polie.

2931
03:48:56.280 --> 03:48:58.660
And I think that’s a bit unfortunate.

2932
03:48:58.980 --> 03:49:02.990
There’s a lot going on
in this neighborhood that isn’t good.

2933
03:49:03.870 --> 03:49:06.950
And we lean heavily on them
to help support the community.

2934
03:49:07.300 --> 03:49:13.740
So that doesn’t help when we’re layering
something additional onto the BPD.

2935
03:49:13.990 --> 03:49:18.371
Second question has to do with
the process for approving this.

2936
03:49:19.470 --> 03:49:21.121
If someone can just sort of address

2937
03:49:21.371 --> 03:49:26.829
whether or not the community
has an opportunity to vote up or down.

2938
03:49:27.200 --> 03:49:29.204
This has to go through another process.

2939
03:49:29.371 --> 03:49:33.412
The Board of Appeal which they have not
received a date as of yet.

2940
03:49:34.310 --> 03:49:36.537
You can make your voice heard
through that process as well.

2941
03:49:36.746 --> 03:49:38.871
This is not a done deal here today.

2942
03:49:39.240 --> 03:49:42.320
They have more meetings to do.
We have more applicants to

2943
03:49:42.740 --> 03:49:46.120
visit and do outreach to as many people
in the neighborhood as possible.

2944
03:49:46.960 --> 03:49:49.450
Leaning on the police for their expertise

2945
03:49:49.662 --> 03:49:53.787
in this neighborhood and what the police
needs for resources in this neighborhood.

2946
03:49:53.954 --> 03:49:56.496
I don’t think we want
to stand up here and say

2947
03:49:56.662 --> 03:49:59.121
oh, we’re going to do X, Y, Z
for security.

2948
03:49:59.310 --> 03:50:01.871
And then the police say You don’t want
to do that in this neighborhood',

2949
03:50:02.037 --> 03:50:03.870
or 'That’s not what we need
in this neighborhood'.

2950
03:50:04.037 --> 03:50:06.496
I think that conversation is ongoing.

2951
03:50:06.662 --> 03:50:10.579
And one of the big things
that I think 617 can do as an entity

2952
03:50:10.790 --> 03:50:15.162
is obviously that surveillance
and extending that circle of surveillance

2953
03:50:15.570 --> 03:50:18.780
really in conjunction with BPD
and what they’re looking for.

2954
03:50:18.954 --> 03:50:21.160
Making sure those systems
talk to each other.

2955
03:50:21.380 --> 03:50:28.200
But also making sure that BPD and who’s ever
running the store have a relationship.

2956
03:50:28.270 --> 03:50:31.070
My concern is I’m an abutter
to this whole establishment.

2957
03:50:31.600 --> 03:50:33.740
So, I’m right behind Walgreens.

2958
03:50:35.050 --> 03:50:39.530
I maintain it. There’s dumpster
diving back there with Walgreens.

2959
03:50:39.760 --> 03:50:43.030
They park in my driveway.
I can’t get in and out of the alley.

2960
03:50:43.204 --> 03:50:45.954
Half the time I got to call the police.
I got to call 311.

2961
03:50:46.330 --> 03:50:48.320
It’s a huge major --

2962
03:50:51.320 --> 03:50:54.660
If I wasn’t such a gentleman
I would say what it is.

2963
03:50:55.280 --> 03:50:57.450
So what I’m saying is that
having no parking,

2964
03:50:58.070 --> 03:51:00.496
dealing with the security issues
that I’m dealing with right now,

2965
03:51:00.662 --> 03:51:03.204
I’m not having it.
Just dealing with the restaurant

2966
03:51:03.770 --> 03:51:07.740
and dealing with the smoke shop
and dealing with Walgreens is enough.

2967
03:51:08.370 --> 03:51:10.700
I can’t even get in and out
my driveway as it is.

2968
03:51:10.950 --> 03:51:14.320
I got people dumpster diving in the middle
of the night. I have security cameras.

2969
03:51:14.680 --> 03:51:18.329
When the police come and they look
what stuff that goes on back there,

2970
03:51:18.662 --> 03:51:19.954
doesn’t do anything.

2971
03:51:20.820 --> 03:51:23.160
Those are my issues whatsoever.

2972
03:51:23.330 --> 03:51:27.780
The parking -- People that park from
Boden Str. and down Blakeville Str.,

2973
03:51:28.020 --> 03:51:31.700
blocking the driveway just
when people are going to the restaurant.

2974
03:51:31.990 --> 03:51:34.620
So never mind having a dispensary there.

2975
03:51:34.900 --> 03:51:37.030
Where they going to park at?
Where they block

2976
03:51:37.570 --> 03:51:42.160
my neighbors, I got one, two, three, four,
four or five abutters here

2977
03:51:42.870 --> 03:51:45.829
that they block their driveways here
and we always like

2978
03:51:45.996 --> 03:51:50.079
up in a rage trying to figure out
whose car is blocking your driveway.

2979
03:51:50.490 --> 03:51:52.160
So what are your plans for that?

2980
03:51:52.340 --> 03:51:54.950
We’re going to have cameras out front
that indicate

2981
03:51:55.280 --> 03:51:57.570
that someone’s there and we’ll have
one of the security go out there

2982
03:51:57.700 --> 03:51:58.912
and ask them to move.

2983
03:51:59.079 --> 03:52:01.871
We’re going to work hand in hand
with Boston Police on this.

2984
03:52:02.270 --> 03:52:04.621
There may come a time
when we may have to hire some details

2985
03:52:04.787 --> 03:52:06.787
to help us out at the early goings on this.

2986
03:52:07.080 --> 03:52:10.070
We’re going to have conversations
with them. They’ll approve our plan.

2987
03:52:10.320 --> 03:52:11.871
They’re going to have input to our plan

2988
03:52:12.037 --> 03:52:13.954
and those are things
that we’ll discuss with them

2989
03:52:14.162 --> 03:52:17.079
that they can be on the lookout
when they send their patrols by as well.

2990
03:52:17.320 --> 03:52:19.079
And I can tell you that there is no way

2991
03:52:19.329 --> 03:52:22.579
that we’re going to let our customers
double park in front,

2992
03:52:22.870 --> 03:52:25.079
say I’ll be right back and run in.

2993
03:52:25.246 --> 03:52:27.371
They won’t be allowed entry
into the store.

2994
03:52:27.930 --> 03:52:32.490
We have personnel who will be onsite
inside and outside

2995
03:52:32.704 --> 03:52:37.740
as well as some sort of combination of
Boston Police outside,

2996
03:52:37.990 --> 03:52:42.204
and our store person checking people
as they get in. And we won’t let them in.

2997
03:52:44.570 --> 03:52:49.530
Walgreens is a staple of our community
and an intersection where people go get

2998
03:52:49.820 --> 03:52:54.240
family supplies, go get Pampers,
they go get their medical needs.

2999
03:52:54.530 --> 03:52:56.621
So within that going on,

3000
03:52:56.829 --> 03:52:59.537
they have to pass through
a smoke shop, a weed shop.

3001
03:53:01.040 --> 03:53:06.450
Then that alley that’s running there
is famous to becoming a smoke --

3002
03:53:07.220 --> 03:53:10.910
destination. Before the smoke shop got there
that was a smoke destination.

3003
03:53:11.120 --> 03:53:13.704
The smoke shop came and it became
a bigger smoke destination.

3004
03:53:13.871 --> 03:53:16.954
A barber shop was there.
It became a bigger smoke destination.

3005
03:53:17.121 --> 03:53:20.280
The Walgreens has been raided,
I mean from --

3006
03:53:20.490 --> 03:53:22.537
us doing an event for the community

3007
03:53:22.746 --> 03:53:24.787
and people going across the street
and raid it.

3008
03:53:25.100 --> 03:53:29.120
There’s been shootings and other
negative things going on in the community.

3009
03:53:29.440 --> 03:53:34.870
So just having an entity there constantly
is really worrisome for

3010
03:53:35.240 --> 03:53:40.410
our seniors, our young people
who have teen centers.

3011
03:53:40.620 --> 03:53:44.030
We have schools,
even though there’s a radius.

3012
03:53:44.280 --> 03:53:47.412
At the end of the day this is
a common intersection for everyone.

3013
03:53:47.579 --> 03:53:50.912
Those imaginary lines don’t exist
because we have to go to Walgreens

3014
03:53:51.079 --> 03:53:53.160
to get our medications,
we have to go get Pampers

3015
03:53:53.370 --> 03:53:55.490
and our daily stuff
that we need right away.

3016
03:53:55.950 --> 03:53:57.740
We need Walgreens in our community.

3017
03:53:58.280 --> 03:54:03.490
We don’t necessarily need a smoke shop
or a weed shop, but we do need Walgreens.

3018
03:54:04.150 --> 03:54:07.070
As I read this,
you guys are talking about

3019
03:54:07.450 --> 03:54:11.740
'fostering a mutual beneficial
healthy and safe partnership'.

3020
03:54:12.280 --> 03:54:16.990
Again, we had a store, never got robbed,
never got anything,

3021
03:54:17.160 --> 03:54:23.160
but we have seen people who have been
getting shot in corners, inside stores.

3022
03:54:23.330 --> 03:54:25.780
There is a lot of trauma
in this neighborhood

3023
03:54:25.990 --> 03:54:30.490
and in your whole beautiful presentation
I didn’t see

3024
03:54:30.740 --> 03:54:31.996
bullet points around

3025
03:54:32.246 --> 03:54:35.787
how you guys are doing all that
and bringing it back to the community.

3026
03:54:37.590 --> 03:54:39.450
And also about,

3027
03:54:39.600 --> 03:54:45.579
where you say that you’re creating a positive
economic impact beneficial to Boston,

3028
03:54:45.780 --> 03:54:50.079
and Dorchester neighborhood.
Bowdoin Geneva is a high needs.

3029
03:54:50.450 --> 03:54:55.870
We don’t have police available
in the evening hours.

3030
03:54:56.410 --> 03:54:59.912
So it’s my concern how you guys are saying
that you’re going to reach out

3031
03:55:00.079 --> 03:55:02.079
and get support from, you know,

3032
03:55:02.480 --> 03:55:05.120
the police department
which is all nice and dandy,

3033
03:55:05.580 --> 03:55:09.120
but they’re short staffed. They have
people retiring day in and day out.

3034
03:55:09.340 --> 03:55:10.912
And academy’s coming in

3035
03:55:11.079 --> 03:55:12.910
and we’re not getting the people
that we need in order to

3036
03:55:14.160 --> 03:55:18.370
provide the services that we need,
in order to be a safe environment.

3037
03:55:18.840 --> 03:55:22.950
So bringing in this flow where you guys
are going to have somebody at the door,

3038
03:55:23.200 --> 03:55:27.120
I didn’t hear anybody directing traffic
or telling people

3039
03:55:27.150 --> 03:55:30.240
where to go and how to park.
It sounds beautiful when you’re saying

3040
03:55:30.450 --> 03:55:32.870
we’re going to tell people
to move their cars,

3041
03:55:33.320 --> 03:55:35.530
but that’s not how it works around here.

3042
03:55:36.270 --> 03:55:39.070
We are not in downtown.
We are not in Back Bay.

3043
03:55:39.150 --> 03:55:41.162
We are in Dorchester where people say

3044
03:55:41.329 --> 03:55:43.160
I’ll leave my car there,
what you gonna do about it?

3045
03:55:43.371 --> 03:55:48.120
I think that it we all agree that earing that type of feedback

3046
03:55:48.530 --> 03:55:52.370
is the starting point because
we don’t have all the answers right now.

3047
03:55:52.510 --> 03:55:55.410
You’re absolutely right.
There are certain things that we don’t know.

3048
03:55:55.780 --> 03:55:57.870
And we need the feedback
from the community

3049
03:55:58.250 --> 03:56:03.570
to be able to work together
to come up with a plan that works.

3050
03:56:03.860 --> 03:56:06.121
Are we going to have
all the answers on day one?

3051
03:56:06.450 --> 03:56:08.204
I hope so, but it’s unlikely.

3052
03:56:09.520 --> 03:56:11.454
We’re not going to know what problems may arise.

3053
03:56:11.662 --> 03:56:15.746
There may be problems that are resolved
by our presence just as much.

3054
03:56:18.630 --> 03:56:24.280
We can commit to working with you
to resolve them as they come up.

3055
03:56:25.220 --> 03:56:28.200
I mean that’s all that we can promise
right now. Hearing that,

3056
03:56:28.480 --> 03:56:29.954
that’s something that’s important.

3057
03:56:30.280 --> 03:56:32.910
It’s noted. We want
as much feedback as we can get

3058
03:56:33.870 --> 03:56:37.570
on those types of issues that we may not
be able to see at the moment.

3059
03:56:38.320 --> 03:56:40.662
And if we can help prevent
issues like that

3060
03:56:41.412 --> 03:56:44.621
and there’re ideas on how to do that,
we’re all ears.

3061
03:56:45.530 --> 03:56:46.871
It may sound like
we haven’t addressed it,

3062
03:56:47.037 --> 03:56:49.329
it’s only because there are a lot
of moving parts that we have to

3063
03:56:49.537 --> 03:56:52.579
make sure that we coordinate
with the City.

3064
03:56:53.120 --> 03:56:55.246
Having community meetings like this
to meet with you

3065
03:56:55.412 --> 03:56:57.240
to talk about stuff that concerns you guys

3066
03:56:57.370 --> 03:57:00.410
and incorporate that into our business plan
and plans moving forward.

3067
03:57:00.580 --> 03:57:03.780
This isn't by far a done deal.
This is something that we would like to discuss

3068
03:57:03.980 --> 03:57:05.746
with everybody in the community as well

3069
03:57:05.996 --> 03:57:07.740
and hopefully
tonight’s a great start to that

3070
03:57:08.070 --> 03:57:11.660
and something more elaborate
and a little bit more lengthy in the future.

3071
03:57:12.200 --> 03:57:15.912
This community meeting is part
of the process for you to get your license?

3072
03:57:16.820 --> 03:57:20.912
And then does this community meeting
have a process to vote?

3073
03:57:22.070 --> 03:57:27.870
So does this community, after we talk
and we vent, and we cry and we laugh --

3074
03:57:29.530 --> 03:57:31.410
- What happens?
- Nothing.

3075
03:57:33.670 --> 03:57:36.120
We take what happens here
back to City Hall.

3076
03:57:37.450 --> 03:57:39.537
We have a conversation there
about what happened --

3077
03:57:40.246 --> 03:57:41.530
To City Hall meaning the Mayor or --?

3078
03:57:42.660 --> 03:57:45.240
We go back and reiterate
what happened here.

3079
03:57:45.490 --> 03:57:47.746
So you also have an opportunity yourself,

3080
03:57:47.996 --> 03:57:51.621
if you’d like to send in an email,
a phone call, write a letter

3081
03:57:51.660 --> 03:57:56.450
- And it gets taken a look at.
- It goes into a file for this applicant.

3082
03:57:56.510 --> 03:57:57.740
I’m new to this. I’m sorry.

3083
03:57:58.710 --> 03:58:00.450
So that’s how the information that --

3084
03:58:01.450 --> 03:58:04.537
the public puts out gets put into play.

3085
03:58:05.030 --> 03:58:08.320
'Mr. Mayor, this is what they said'.
And then what happens?

3086
03:58:08.450 --> 03:58:11.329
In a nutshell we go over what happens
and it’s deliberated,

3087
03:58:11.329 --> 03:58:14.787
it's decisions made and if they move
forward they move forward.

3088
03:58:15.370 --> 03:58:17.780
You have good intentions. I believe you.

3089
03:58:18.370 --> 03:58:20.746
If you have good intentions,
forget the requirements!

3090
03:58:20.996 --> 03:58:23.371
Communicate with us.
Go above and beyond.

3091
03:58:23.537 --> 03:58:26.121
Make sure that everybody knows about it.

3092
03:58:27.810 --> 03:58:30.280
- Too much?
- No, no you’re right.

3093
03:58:30.600 --> 03:58:31.954
You have good intentions.

3094
03:58:32.170 --> 03:58:35.990
Do more, make sure that everybody knows
about it because you know what?

3095
03:58:36.200 --> 03:58:41.079
I know this kind of stuff is beneficial
to Black communities if done properly

3096
03:58:41.246 --> 03:58:43.954
because I’ve done my research.
However,

3097
03:58:44.121 --> 03:58:47.200
if done in this way
and just an ill prepared manner --

3098
03:58:47.371 --> 03:58:49.329
I’m not saying you have been
because I don’t know enough --

3099
03:58:49.660 --> 03:58:52.121
then you have detriment at your hands.

3100
03:58:52.320 --> 03:58:55.787
This kind of business,
if it doesn’t benefit our community

3101
03:58:55.954 --> 03:59:00.829
is a detriment and will disproportionally
affect brown and black people.

3102
03:59:01.780 --> 03:59:04.620
We have been outreaching
to the community members.

3103
03:59:05.170 --> 03:59:12.120
They work at the neighborhood associations
to address us and to introduce us.

3104
03:59:12.490 --> 03:59:18.450
We cannot go knock on every single door
in Dorchester. That’s not possible.

3105
03:59:19.240 --> 03:59:24.746
Those neighborhood associations
are predominantely represented by Whites.

3106
03:59:25.200 --> 03:59:27.246
So what happens is the people that

3107
03:59:27.412 --> 03:59:31.871
or we’re saying that are impacted,
the people that suffer from trauma or not,

3108
03:59:32.220 --> 03:59:36.070
we’re not generalizing this culture saying
everybody suffers from trauma. We’re saying

3109
03:59:36.240 --> 03:59:40.287
that this is a poorer neighborhood
and poverty affects us in this way.

3110
03:59:40.740 --> 03:59:44.530
So, the people that it impacts
are not being communicated to.

3111
03:59:44.900 --> 03:59:47.370
And so, it makes sense then

3112
03:59:47.520 --> 03:59:51.280
if you have good intentions
that you go above and say look,

3113
03:59:51.490 --> 03:59:54.162
we want everyone to be aware

3114
03:59:54.329 --> 03:59:57.621
and we want to be very transparent
so we’re going to do more.

3115
03:59:57.820 --> 04:00:01.160
This process is not dictated by us,
the applicant. As much as we want to be

3116
04:00:01.280 --> 04:00:04.996
in control as business owners,
this entire process is dictated by the City.

3117
04:00:06.990 --> 04:00:10.162
Let me reiterate it. This entire process
is dictated by the City.

3118
04:00:10.370 --> 04:00:14.246
Many things you brought up and concerns,
I personally am bothered as well.

3119
04:00:14.620 --> 04:00:16.621
Some of the things that you talked about
and you reiterated,

3120
04:00:16.912 --> 04:00:18.787
some other people have said
that same thing.

3121
04:00:18.954 --> 04:00:20.996
We heard it. Several, many times.

3122
04:00:21.700 --> 04:00:24.537
But the fact of the matter
is a lot of things that we’re hand tied.

3123
04:00:24.740 --> 04:00:27.496
To go above and beyond something
that was instructed us to do by the City,

3124
04:00:27.662 --> 04:00:29.490
we just do what the City asks us to do.

3125
04:00:29.730 --> 04:00:32.496
Now to say forget about crime,
just go ahead and do that.

3126
04:00:32.662 --> 04:00:36.121
We can’t.
We listened tonight and we shall.

3127
04:00:36.280 --> 04:00:37.787
We need to get organized
and get to the City then.

3128
04:00:38.621 --> 04:00:40.204
We need to change this process.

3129
04:00:43.360 --> 04:00:45.910
I represent the Bowdoin Geneva community.

3130
04:00:46.200 --> 04:00:51.037
It’s an amazing community, but that has
some of the worst public health outcomes.

3131
04:00:51.640 --> 04:00:55.820
If you look at the geography of
incarceration today in our Commonwealth,

3132
04:00:56.140 --> 04:00:59.329
about 60 % of the people
in the Massachusetts jails

3133
04:00:59.496 --> 04:01:04.079
actually come from the zip codes
that I partially represent.

3134
04:01:04.700 --> 04:01:07.329
And so I want to just ask
a couple questions

3135
04:01:07.746 --> 04:01:12.037
that constituents brought to me. First,
I’ve only been in office 7 weeks.

3136
04:01:12.240 --> 04:01:13.954
The State didn’t do a good job

3137
04:01:14.121 --> 04:01:17.121
and I’ve said this
at every cannabis meeting

3138
04:01:17.330 --> 04:01:20.579
because applicants
are educating residents

3139
04:01:20.829 --> 04:01:23.704
about things that should have been done
by State and City government.

3140
04:01:23.871 --> 04:01:25.329
At least that’s my opinion.

3141
04:01:25.460 --> 04:01:30.120
And so I offered to bring the Office
of emerging industries and the Commission

3142
04:01:30.270 --> 04:01:35.120
to come and talk to our community
directly because we have questions

3143
04:01:35.460 --> 04:01:37.454
that can’t be answered

3144
04:01:37.621 --> 04:01:43.079
by asking an applicant and having
an agitated conversation with the residents.

3145
04:01:43.370 --> 04:01:49.280
The first is this is one of the most
diverse communities in the entire City.

3146
04:01:49.740 --> 04:01:51.870
It is the poorest part of Dorchester.

3147
04:01:52.490 --> 04:01:55.120
It’s over 90 % of color.

3148
04:01:55.320 --> 04:01:58.030
My question is
do you have anybody on your team

3149
04:01:58.410 --> 04:02:01.450
that represents one of the major
ethnic groups in this community?

3150
04:02:01.920 --> 04:02:05.990
I know the Vietnamese community is 20 %
so that answered probably yes.

3151
04:02:06.330 --> 04:02:08.280
I don’t want to assume Asian identity.

3152
04:02:08.484 --> 04:02:13.070
Two, also mass incarceration
has deeply impacted our community

3153
04:02:13.370 --> 04:02:16.570
and when this law was first passed
I know a lot of people went to vote

3154
04:02:16.740 --> 04:02:18.621
because we wanted to right the wrongs

3155
04:02:18.871 --> 04:02:22.704
of also what has happened to our community
because of the war on drugs.

3156
04:02:22.900 --> 04:02:24.329
Do you have anybody on your team

3157
04:02:24.579 --> 04:02:28.121
that has been impacted by that
or have you thought about that?

3158
04:02:28.630 --> 04:02:31.950
Third, we know that the host agreement
goes into a general fund,

3159
04:02:32.200 --> 04:02:35.160
so the other question I had is
have you discussed as a team

3160
04:02:35.410 --> 04:02:38.287
how you will put resources together
for this community

3161
04:02:38.496 --> 04:02:40.412
that is highly under resourced,

3162
04:02:41.180 --> 04:02:43.621
also by the City and State government
to be quite honest,

3163
04:02:43.787 --> 04:02:46.079
but there’s an immediate needs on this --

3164
04:02:46.270 --> 04:02:50.579
in this corridor that are not represented
in areas like

3165
04:02:50.829 --> 04:02:55.030
Neponset or in Lower Mills.
That the Bowdoin Geneva specifically

3166
04:02:55.750 --> 04:03:00.320
been deeply impacted by bad policy
and under resources. So those were

3167
04:03:00.560 --> 04:03:04.320
three questions and are you open
to a second meeting or conversation?

3168
04:03:04.930 --> 04:03:08.410
This district is 42 % Cape Verdean

3169
04:03:08.580 --> 04:03:13.410
and a lot of the times at these meetings,
I might see 4 or 5 Cape Verdean Americans,

3170
04:03:13.579 --> 04:03:15.700
but nothing is translated in our language

3171
04:03:15.870 --> 04:03:18.579
and so what I find is that
they’re not even participating

3172
04:03:18.829 --> 04:03:21.454
in these conversations,
not because they don’t want to.

3173
04:03:21.700 --> 04:03:24.912
They care about this community,
but you’re not going to walk into a room

3174
04:03:25.079 --> 04:03:29.950
where they don’t speak your language
or try to have things translated for you.

3175
04:03:30.121 --> 04:03:32.246
So I just wanted to know
if you’d be open to another --

3176
04:03:32.412 --> 04:03:34.371
because you’re only required to have
one meeting,

3177
04:03:34.700 --> 04:03:37.660
so the question is
are you open to another conversation?

3178
04:03:38.070 --> 04:03:42.200
So those are the points that I want to share
that mainly came from constituents

3179
04:03:42.490 --> 04:03:44.287
who couldn’t be here tonight,

3180
04:03:44.454 --> 04:03:47.996
so part of my job is to
represent their interest and share that.

3181
04:03:48.910 --> 04:03:50.537
Somebody brought up
a comment earlier about

3182
04:03:50.704 --> 04:03:53.287
when they walk into these
particular stores they don’t really see

3183
04:03:53.787 --> 04:03:55.537
a representation of themselves.

3184
04:03:55.760 --> 04:03:57.787
Well I do want to note
that we’re not open yet.

3185
04:03:58.200 --> 04:04:01.287
And so we will have representation
of this neighborhood.

3186
04:04:01.440 --> 04:04:03.787
A lot of people have asked us
to drill down hard on that number.

3187
04:04:04.037 --> 04:04:07.704
That’s a business question. I don’t have
that answer for you because

3188
04:04:08.121 --> 04:04:11.662
that has not been answered
during our business plan discussions.

3189
04:04:12.900 --> 04:04:16.954
But we're willing to have more conversations
and more dialogue with everybody

3190
04:04:17.246 --> 04:04:20.412
that should be involved.
As you stated in your first comment

3191
04:04:20.910 --> 04:04:23.662
before saying anything else that
the State didn’t do a very good job on this.

3192
04:04:23.830 --> 04:04:27.871
And I felt the applicant’s the guy that
has to elucidate and enlighten the public.

3193
04:04:28.200 --> 04:04:29.162
And we’ve done that.

3194
04:04:29.454 --> 04:04:32.829
Through our own pockets, through our own
measures and through our own grit.

3195
04:04:33.120 --> 04:04:34.787
We don’t want to see this industry fall.

3196
04:04:34.996 --> 04:04:38.537
Because yes, Dorchester has been
disproportionately affected by this.

3197
04:04:38.820 --> 04:04:40.454
I don’t see anybody else stepping up

3198
04:04:40.662 --> 04:04:43.537
to really say hey, let’s bring this
to Dorchester and really make this happen.

3199
04:04:43.890 --> 04:04:45.662
You see a lot of Colorado people,

3200
04:04:45.912 --> 04:04:48.579
you see a lot of Washington people,
you see a lot of California people.

3201
04:04:48.980 --> 04:04:52.030
But the barrier is so high
during the DPH era,

3202
04:04:52.250 --> 04:04:54.912
for you to get into this
that it was nigh impossibility

3203
04:04:55.246 --> 04:04:59.162
for anybody thinking of bringing a medical
marijuana establishment to Dorchester.

3204
04:04:59.400 --> 04:05:03.450
You’re talking high six figures
to even be heard,

3205
04:05:04.240 --> 04:05:06.996
so not only have you been
disproportionately affected

3206
04:05:07.246 --> 04:05:09.537
by having your members
of your community arrested,

3207
04:05:09.700 --> 04:05:13.079
and now there is an economic barrier
for you to go ahead and overcome

3208
04:05:13.287 --> 04:05:16.121
just so you can do business
in this industry that has affected your life

3209
04:05:16.537 --> 04:05:18.246
and generations down the road.

3210
04:05:18.690 --> 04:05:20.912
We’re not the type of people
that’s going to come in and say

3211
04:05:21.079 --> 04:05:22.870
I can go ahead and clean this up for you.

3212
04:05:23.037 --> 04:05:25.662
I’m not that type of person.
But what I can pledge to you

3213
04:05:25.910 --> 04:05:27.121
is that we can come down here

3214
04:05:27.329 --> 04:05:29.954
and have discussions and
frank conversations with everybody

3215
04:05:30.121 --> 04:05:32.704
to make sure we include
as many people as we can.

3216
04:05:32.830 --> 04:05:34.162
We can’t do everything for everyone,

3217
04:05:34.537 --> 04:05:36.579
but we can do a lot of things
for a lot of people.

3218
04:05:36.830 --> 04:05:39.530
But again, we are not open yet.
Give us the opportunity to come down

3219
04:05:39.750 --> 04:05:42.787
and really show you our medal
and show you what we’re really all about.

3220
04:05:43.070 --> 04:05:45.079
And let the State know that what they did

3221
04:05:45.246 --> 04:05:47.912
and what they have been doing
is not the correct process.

3222
04:05:48.079 --> 04:05:50.070
And with your help we can go ahead
and let them know

3223
04:05:50.380 --> 04:05:53.870
that we can overcome that situation
and bring this neighborhood around.

3224
04:05:54.037 --> 04:05:55.787
This is the poorest neighborhood
in Boston.

3225
04:05:55.990 --> 04:05:57.704
Do you guys not want economic development?

3226
04:05:57.990 --> 04:05:59.990
Do you guys not want to be
a piece of something

3227
04:06:00.280 --> 04:06:01.954
that has taken your lives away from you?

3228
04:06:02.121 --> 04:06:05.660
I’m the catalyst for that and so be it.
I can do it. I look forward to helping you

3229
04:06:05.950 --> 04:06:08.537
and you helping me
and we can accomplish this together.

3230
04:06:09.410 --> 04:06:11.700
We see everyone who’s at the table here,

3231
04:06:12.120 --> 04:06:16.780
and as a community we need to make sure
that we’re holding them accountable.

3232
04:06:16.990 --> 04:06:20.410
So we shouldn’t just be
saying this now in the moment,

3233
04:06:20.890 --> 04:06:26.280
but we really need to take everybody
who has a hand in this to task.

3234
04:06:26.910 --> 04:06:29.240
When things are not working correctly

3235
04:06:29.550 --> 04:06:32.829
because you all have to live here.
We have people who work here.

3236
04:06:32.996 --> 04:06:37.579
We have people who care about this
community who’s been here for many years,

3237
04:06:37.746 --> 04:06:41.990
putting in the hard work and effort
to get ourselves together.

3238
04:06:42.370 --> 04:06:46.950
And so the way we do that is
every time somebody says something to us,

3239
04:06:47.180 --> 04:06:49.246
let’s make sure
we’re going back to them.

3240
04:06:49.537 --> 04:06:51.829
And let’s make sure
that we’re holding them accountable.

3241
04:06:52.070 --> 04:06:56.030
And let this evening not be the only time
where we’re continuing to do that.

3242
04:06:56.170 --> 04:07:00.620
Because if we do that, you know what?
It’s just going to be another situation,

3243
04:07:00.820 --> 04:07:04.660
same old, same old and we get to hold
the crappy end of the stick.

3244
04:07:05.620 --> 04:07:07.621
And we’ve been doing that for many years

3245
04:07:07.871 --> 04:07:11.371
and so let’s hold folks to the fire
and let’s hold folks to task.

3246
04:07:11.910 --> 04:07:14.990
There’ll be business cards
on the back table. If you have comments

3247
04:07:15.280 --> 04:07:17.412
you can call up
or you can shoot an email.

3248
04:07:17.579 --> 04:07:20.621
We’ll be responsive and we’ll make sure
it’s noted and it’s on file.

3249
04:08:06.472 --> 04:08:11.522
We talked about this you know from a
year ago when we first met to talk about

3250
04:08:11.589 --> 04:08:16.407
utilizing the restore program.
Hiring an architect through our program

3251
04:08:16.659 --> 04:08:23.759
to work with you and your family,
to really elevate your business.

3252
04:08:23.846 --> 04:08:29.071
I know one of the other goals was really, I
mean this is a very successful supermarket.

3253
04:08:29.384 --> 04:08:33.861
I think that you have a very
loyal customer base,

3254
04:08:34.001 --> 04:08:34.962
but I do know

3255
04:08:34.986 --> 04:08:37.395
and this is true for any business
in the city,

3256
04:08:37.602 --> 04:08:40.127
it’s always important to
attract new customers.

3257
04:08:40.189 --> 04:08:42.471
So were you hoping,
is one of the goals

3258
04:08:42.595 --> 04:08:46.170
that by doing this project it will attract
some new customers in the city?

3259
04:08:46.215 --> 04:08:51.182
Yeah, absolutely 100 percent. You know
I know during the rush hour traffic

3260
04:08:51.229 --> 04:08:53.068
in the morning,
rush hour traffic at night there’re

3261
04:08:53.093 --> 04:08:56.426
thousands of cars that go along
Cummins Highway that pass the

3262
04:08:56.451 --> 04:08:59.759
store and probably don’t even
think twice about

3263
04:08:59.784 --> 04:09:03.143
ever coming in here to do their
grocery shopping. But I think

3264
04:09:03.168 --> 04:09:06.285
once we remodel and redesign
the front I think they might

3265
04:09:06.310 --> 04:09:09.507
have second thoughts about
that and maybe give us a chance

3266
04:09:09.532 --> 04:09:12.619
and see what we have to offer
for them and their family.

3267
04:09:12.703 --> 04:09:18.649
Yeah, I mean we do know like through this
program that when people complete a project

3268
04:09:18.674 --> 04:09:21.980
of this scale, two things happen.
Your existing

3269
04:09:22.005 --> 04:09:27.930
customers feel
grateful and taken care of,

3270
04:09:28.628 --> 04:09:33.237
and it in many ways it’s a thank you to
them for shopping here.

3271
04:09:33.419 --> 04:09:36.401
And I think people get
very excited when a project

3272
04:09:36.503 --> 04:09:40.466
like this, a store that they’re
going to constantly is transformed.

3273
04:09:40.625 --> 04:09:42.443
But I think also

3274
04:09:42.443 --> 04:09:45.513
people discover you for
the first time

3275
04:09:45.878 --> 04:09:48.886
and as you said, people are driving
up and down Cummins Highway

3276
04:09:49.121 --> 04:09:51.553
and not pulling into
your parking lot.

3277
04:09:51.577 --> 04:09:54.859
Because they’re not really seeing you.
And I think that’s absolutely going to

3278
04:09:55.322 --> 04:10:00.027
happen for you and we see this happen over
and over again for many of our projects.

3279
04:10:00.145 --> 04:10:04.617
Is that people walk by a storefront
and once we actually transform it

3280
04:10:04.642 --> 04:10:08.338
through the restore program with
a new signage and design, you know

3281
04:10:08.362 --> 04:10:12.111
it’s getting people through that door.
And obviously that helps you

3282
04:10:12.184 --> 04:10:13.445
be more successful.

3283
04:10:13.576 --> 04:10:15.358
Who are the
customers that come to this store?

3284
04:10:15.463 --> 04:10:19.217
So predominately residents of Mattapan.

3285
04:10:19.327 --> 04:10:21.993
We also get a fair amount of people from

3286
04:10:22.154 --> 04:10:26.915
Dorchester, Hyde Park, a little bit of
Milton as well.

3287
04:10:27.086 --> 04:10:31.285
And you know demographic wise come
from many different countries,

3288
04:10:31.443 --> 04:10:36.073
all the Caribbean countries,
South, America, Central America

3289
04:10:36.311 --> 04:10:39.378
hat’s predominately where
customers come from.

3290
04:10:39.671 --> 04:10:44.592
And you know I live in the neighborhood
too, so I know

3291
04:10:44.700 --> 04:10:47.696
America’s Food Basket’s been in
the neighborhood for so long.

3292
04:10:47.696 --> 04:10:50.608
I do know that based on
the constituency that

3293
04:10:50.966 --> 04:10:55.318
America’s Food Basket’s
been serving in your four locations,

3294
04:10:55.371 --> 04:11:02.769
so do you carry specific foods and
that really the community needs?

3295
04:11:02.799 --> 04:11:06.973
Yeah, yeah absolutely especially in the
meat department, the produce department

3296
04:11:07.046 --> 04:11:10.664
and grocery department as well.
Basically we want customers when

3297
04:11:10.737 --> 04:11:14.263
they come in they feel like they never
left their home, left their country.

3298
04:11:14.348 --> 04:11:18.727
Whether they’re Haitian or Dominican,
they want, we want them to be able

3299
04:11:18.752 --> 04:11:23.259
to come in here and get whatever it
is, whether it’s Plantains, Yucca, Ox

3300
04:11:23.440 --> 04:11:27.800
Tails, you know whatever seasonings
that they use in their countries

3301
04:11:28.075 --> 04:11:34.628
we want them to be able to use that same
recipe that their grandmother and mother

3302
04:11:34.751 --> 04:11:38.472
used when they were growing up
back home. Only now they’re in Boston.

3303
04:11:38.589 --> 04:11:43.463
So how do you develop that list of
ingredients and foods over time?

3304
04:11:43.994 --> 04:11:48.335
I mean the founders of
Americas Food Basket,

3305
04:11:48.414 --> 04:11:51.579
you know they’re Dominican so that
aspect the Caribbean aspect

3306
04:11:51.682 --> 04:11:54.918
of it was fairly easy.

3307
04:11:54.943 --> 04:11:57.978
Then as you’re in the store, as you gain
experience dealing with different types of

3308
04:11:58.315 --> 04:12:02.450
types of customers, they’ll ask you
what they’re looking for

3309
04:12:02.475 --> 04:12:05.733
and we try our best to get
whatever it is that they’re

3310
04:12:05.742 --> 04:12:08.255
asking. And you know I think
to a great extent

3311
04:12:08.280 --> 04:12:11.677
we’ve done a good job of that,
kind of serving to their needs.

3312
04:14:40.336 --> 04:14:43.459
Managing expectations is important
so, where we can get folks

3313
04:14:43.484 --> 04:14:46.682
in a room who are interested
because they’re calling me too

3314
04:14:46.707 --> 04:14:49.066
and they have all these great ideas
and I said well that’s not how

3315
04:14:49.150 --> 04:14:52.920
National NAACP conventions work.
We’re not organizing from the

3316
04:14:53.053 --> 04:14:56.371
ground it’s really organized from National
and there’s some local activities.

3317
04:14:56.396 --> 04:14:59.336
So, I’ve had to
educate folks locally on that,

3318
04:14:59.361 --> 04:15:01.729
but I think if we can have
a community conversation

3319
04:15:01.754 --> 04:15:03.134
I think Tanesha could host.

3320
04:15:04.266 --> 04:15:06.157
And then I manage expectations

3321
04:15:06.264 --> 04:15:08.906
that it’s convention of delegates,
it’s a voting convention.

3322
04:15:08.931 --> 04:15:10.873
So people are here to do business.

3323
04:15:11.430 --> 04:15:12.741
They’re here to go to luncheons,

3324
04:15:12.766 --> 04:15:15.341
be part of panel discussions.
There’s not a lot of free time

3325
04:15:15.366 --> 04:15:18.234
to leave the area that they’re
in,

3326
04:15:18.259 --> 04:15:21.065
and if they leave the area they’re not
there to vote

3327
04:15:21.127 --> 04:15:23.486
on a particular matter that’s
coming before the body.

3328
04:15:23.618 --> 04:15:25.304
So there’ll be some limited opportunities

3329
04:15:25.338 --> 04:15:27.865
to get out of the convention
area and see Boston

3330
04:15:28.463 --> 04:15:31.049
and we just got to be intentional
about when those opportunities come up.

3331
04:15:31.099 --> 04:15:33.645
We talked about that.
There might be NAACP

3332
04:15:33.670 --> 04:15:36.546
members that are police
chiefs and fire fighters

3333
04:15:36.571 --> 04:15:38.819
and nurses,
and doctors

3334
04:15:38.892 --> 04:15:42.054
that want to like get a tour of behind the
scenes at Mass General or

3335
04:15:42.078 --> 04:15:45.276
go to Dimock in Roxbury

3336
04:15:45.301 --> 04:15:47.554
and see how the recovery community
that they have there,

3337
04:15:47.579 --> 04:15:50.258
one of the best in the country.
Look at these different

3338
04:15:50.283 --> 04:15:53.079
places and so we can
offer that up for people.

3339
04:15:53.209 --> 04:15:57.860
We have a criminal justice community here
so if we tap Harvard, and some of our other

3340
04:15:57.885 --> 04:16:00.305
higher Ed institutions say
hey, we need Skip Gates

3341
04:16:00.330 --> 04:16:03.496
to be at the convention and we as
the City of Boston are reaching out

3342
04:16:03.712 --> 04:16:06.051
to you Harvard to say make
your folks available.

3343
04:16:06.105 --> 04:16:09.133
I think there’s an opportunity for
us to provide value in that way.

3344
04:16:09.316 --> 04:16:13.275
If we can do that basic part first then
all the extras come along after that.

3345
04:16:13.405 --> 04:16:17.366
There’s a fuller picture of Boston’s
history good and bad that I want

3346
04:16:17.493 --> 04:16:20.226
West Roxbury to know
and Roxbury to know

3347
04:16:20.275 --> 04:16:25.760
and Dedham to know and I think we have an
opportunity to share that through different

3348
04:16:25.799 --> 04:16:27.872
ways so that it’s
an education for us

3349
04:16:27.897 --> 04:16:30.404
Bostonians and an
education for our visitors.

3350
04:16:30.488 --> 04:16:32.781
I think it’s great.
And I say this all the time.

3351
04:16:32.806 --> 04:16:34.416
I know there’s kids in
Roxbury, in West Roxbury

3352
04:16:34.467 --> 04:16:35.872
that have no idea,
they don’t even know busing

3353
04:16:36.053 --> 04:16:39.168
because they weren’t even here.
Their families were

3354
04:16:40.377 --> 04:16:42.587
where their families impacted by it.

3355
04:16:43.975 --> 04:16:46.905
And not even understanding,
I think even bussing there was a

3356
04:16:46.931 --> 04:16:50.070
step before that that’s
not talked about if the

3357
04:16:50.522 --> 04:16:54.250
school committee elected
at the time took action

3358
04:16:54.868 --> 04:16:57.808
Yes, would have staved
off that whole experience.

3359
04:16:57.808 --> 04:17:04.240
So that was a lack of, inaction by local
represented people elected by the people.

3360
04:17:04.481 --> 04:17:07.693
And if they’d dealt with it and
addressed it history might have been a

3361
04:17:07.810 --> 04:17:12.417
little different. And it would have been,
maybe a little different if you tackle

3362
04:17:12.442 --> 04:17:17.114
the issue at the time, in a different
manner, but it wasn’t thought of so.

3363
04:17:17.166 --> 04:17:19.891
And not to debate that,
but I think what’s interesting

3364
04:17:19.916 --> 04:17:22.714
is the values of the city
wasn’t fully reflected by that

3365
04:17:22.739 --> 04:17:25.500
City Council as it is today right?
We see the diversity

3366
04:17:25.525 --> 04:17:28.163
in the City Council today.
The diversity, the lack of

3367
04:17:28.188 --> 04:17:30.974
diversity at that time didn’t
take the racial imbalance

3368
04:17:30.999 --> 04:17:33.909
issue seriously enough that
if they had had more diversity

3369
04:17:33.934 --> 04:17:36.918
they would have said no,
let’s avoid court action and let’s

3370
04:17:36.943 --> 04:17:39.678
do something proactive to
create the kind of diversity

3371
04:17:39.706 --> 04:17:42.766
Wanna back up even further,
Civil Rights Movement? That same

3372
04:17:42.791 --> 04:17:45.776
diversity wasn’t in the City
Council today that it was back

3373
04:17:45.801 --> 04:17:49.062
then. And they took action.
And the abolition of slavery, a lot

3374
04:17:49.087 --> 04:17:52.144
of things, so it’s like that
generation had an opportunity.

3375
04:17:52.196 --> 04:17:53.196
Yeah, they missed it.

3376
04:17:53.221 --> 04:17:56.417
And you mean obviously it’s easier to
talk about it today sitting here and

3377
04:17:56.442 --> 04:17:59.425
not saying you should do that.
But there’s a different mindset today.

3378
04:17:59.501 --> 04:18:04.123
So we talked about all the talent here,
the Cornell West, the Skip Gates, the

3379
04:18:04.148 --> 04:18:06.978
Academic Institutions,
the healthcare industry,

3380
04:18:07.003 --> 04:18:09.219
dominant industries
here in this City

3381
04:18:09.244 --> 04:18:14.150
and in this region. We say hey, we can
offer those up as resources as you have the

3382
04:18:14.175 --> 04:18:17.311
conversation here. So we know the folks
from Partners are already interested.

3383
04:18:17.789 --> 04:18:21.540
We know the folks at TGS companies. I talked
to Bob Rivers today at Eastern Bank and

3384
04:18:21.808 --> 04:18:25.437
the banking community wants to be involved.
Now we just got to sort of harness all

3385
04:18:25.462 --> 04:18:31.348
that interest and I think they’re reaching
out to me and to you and Tanesha and it’s

3386
04:18:31.607 --> 04:18:36.304
exciting that this is, in my years of
being President of NAACP, there was never

3387
04:18:36.329 --> 04:18:41.217
this much focus on being involved in civil
rights. And contributing to it, so we

3388
04:18:41.242 --> 04:18:46.285
just have to harness that. How do we get
Black and Brown and White Boston to become

3389
04:18:46.388 --> 04:18:52.789
observers, delegates, alternates at the
convention during that week?

3390
04:18:53.338 --> 04:18:58.188
That would be huge and I’ve not seen it
done as well as I think Boston could do it.

3391
04:18:58.213 --> 04:19:01.935
That we have an additional 3,000 Bostonians

3392
04:19:01.935 --> 04:19:05.657
at the convention to listen
to the Presidential nominees

3393
04:19:05.682 --> 04:19:09.471
or Presidential candidates at
that point to partake in the conversation

3394
04:19:09.496 --> 04:19:13.443
around criminal justice and what’s going on
in terms of today with mass incarceration.

3395
04:19:13.468 --> 04:19:18.112
The folks are here and the interest is
here. We just got to get them over to

3396
04:19:18.116 --> 04:19:19.255
-I think it’s the marketing.
-Right

3397
04:19:19.255 --> 04:19:23.882
It’s how do we market it to let people
know this is open for you, so that you

3398
04:19:23.907 --> 04:19:28.747
live on whatever street it is you live
on, Humboldt. This is your convention. You

3399
04:19:28.772 --> 04:19:34.028
might not be a credential voting delegate,
but you are as engaged in this conversation

3400
04:19:34.053 --> 04:19:38.703
as everyone else. We need you to get that.
And I think it’s about marketing.

3401
04:19:38.755 --> 04:19:40.307
We’ve done all this,

3402
04:19:40.307 --> 04:19:43.095
but yet we’re still
not where we need to be

3403
04:19:43.365 --> 04:19:47.281
And why did that happen?
And how do we take the past

3404
04:19:47.409 --> 04:19:50.075
and celebrate it, but also
understand where the problems happen

3405
04:19:50.228 --> 04:19:52.292
and I think that you
know, when people talk about you

3406
04:19:52.317 --> 04:19:55.728
know racist Boston, racist
Boston, racist Boston, you know

3407
04:19:55.753 --> 04:19:58.661
like you said, a lot was done here.

3408
04:19:58.923 --> 04:20:01.089
So to bring equality,

3409
04:20:01.114 --> 04:20:03.505
but for some reason we have more
work to do.

3410
04:20:03.598 --> 04:20:06.186
And I think there’s an opportunity for
maybe one month’s a reflecting month.

3411
04:20:06.214 --> 04:20:08.849
History is the key thing.
Right. Is if people

3412
04:20:08.874 --> 04:20:11.712
know history they get the
good, they get the bad,

3413
04:20:11.737 --> 04:20:14.588
they got a context for
where we are

3414
04:20:14.613 --> 04:20:18.236
and then they can act. But the problem
is many of us don’t know our history.

3415
04:20:18.717 --> 04:20:22.339
So we think that the poverty rates in
our communities is an accident.

3416
04:20:22.632 --> 04:20:25.476
People just decided to be poor
or our health disparities

3417
04:20:25.501 --> 04:20:28.149
is an accident.
People just need to eat better

3418
04:20:28.174 --> 04:20:31.024
and they don’t understand
the context for access

3419
04:20:31.049 --> 04:20:33.991
and opportunity and inequities.
So I think there’s

3420
04:20:34.016 --> 04:20:36.795
a unique opportunity with
the convention coming

3421
04:20:36.820 --> 04:20:39.574
here and the work that
you’ve been doing around

3422
04:20:39.599 --> 04:20:42.507
racial justice and equity
and these conversations

3423
04:20:42.532 --> 04:20:45.066
is to have it be a
citywide conversation as

3424
04:20:45.091 --> 04:20:47.940
you said that plays out
throughout the course of

3425
04:20:47.965 --> 04:20:50.639
the year and it’s really
grounded in history.

3426
04:26:01.584 --> 04:26:07.491
Oh say can you see by the

3427
04:26:07.516 --> 04:26:14.344
dawn’s early light, what so

3428
04:26:14.369 --> 04:26:19.928
proudly we hailed at the

3429
04:26:19.953 --> 04:26:26.206
twilight’s last gleaming.

3430
04:26:26.258 --> 04:26:31.622
Whose broad stripes and bright

3431
04:26:31.647 --> 04:26:37.725
stars through the perilous fight

3432
04:26:37.801 --> 04:26:41.488
O’er the ramparts we

3433
04:26:41.513 --> 04:26:46.465
watched were so gallantly

3434
04:26:46.490 --> 04:26:53.862
streaming.
And the red rockets red glare

3435
04:26:53.938 --> 04:26:59.862
The bombs bursting in air.

3436
04:26:59.887 --> 04:27:04.084
Gave proof through

3437
04:27:04.109 --> 04:27:08.748
the night that our

3438
04:27:08.773 --> 04:27:16.631
flag was still there.
Oh say does

3439
04:27:16.656 --> 04:27:20.816
that star spangled

3440
04:27:20.841 --> 04:27:24.769
banner yet wave

3441
04:27:24.913 --> 04:27:31.026
O’er the land of the free

3442
04:27:31.572 --> 04:27:39.552
And the home of the brave

3443
04:28:11.832 --> 04:28:15.629
To the people of Boston,
thank you for the privilege

3444
04:28:15.654 --> 04:28:18.911
of serving you these past five years.
I love my job

3445
04:28:19.056 --> 04:28:22.908
Every day I get to go out
into the neighborhoods to talk

3446
04:28:22.974 --> 04:28:25.479
listen and work with the people of Boston.

3447
04:28:25.865 --> 04:28:29.042
Every day Bostonians walk
through the doors of City Hall

3448
04:28:29.273 --> 04:28:31.451
and share
their hopes and dreams with me.

3449
04:28:31.867 --> 04:28:35.502
They remind me of how
grateful I am to live my dream

3450
04:28:35.605 --> 04:28:38.580
and walk through those doors
as the son of immigrants.

3451
04:28:39.449 --> 04:28:42.157
I think of another
door that opens. It was

3452
04:28:42.239 --> 04:28:44.593
the morning after
my election in 2013.

3453
04:28:44.764 --> 04:28:48.812
I was in a hotel room and opened the
door for the worker to deliver breakfast.

3454
04:28:49.260 --> 04:28:52.146
Her name was Letty. She emigrated

3455
04:28:52.171 --> 04:28:54.215
from Africa to follow her
dreams here in Boston.

3456
04:28:54.499 --> 04:28:58.119
She came around the cart
and gave me a big hug and she was crying.

3457
04:28:58.808 --> 04:29:02.440
She said we did it. We won.
We are going to be Mayor.

3458
04:29:11.195 --> 04:29:13.281
Letty’s here somewhere.
Thank you Letty.

3459
04:29:14.571 --> 04:29:18.009
It hit home right at that
moment what this job means.

3460
04:29:18.675 --> 04:29:21.452
It means opening doors for more
Bostonians to walk through.

3461
04:29:21.481 --> 04:29:24.601
People of every race,
creed and class.

3462
04:29:24.995 --> 04:29:27.758
Changing a city.
Changing a nation.

3463
04:29:28.128 --> 04:29:31.774
One year ago I pledged my
second term to strengthening

3464
04:29:31.799 --> 04:29:34.045
and expanding Boston’s middle class.

3465
04:29:34.070 --> 04:29:37.846
Today more people are working than
any other time in our city’s history.

3466
04:29:38.378 --> 04:29:41.248
Unemployment is 2.4 percent.

3467
04:29:41.547 --> 04:29:44.068
The lowestever recorded.

3468
04:29:50.631 --> 04:29:55.005
We are ranked number two in the nation for
moving people up and into the middle class.

3469
04:29:55.434 --> 04:29:59.108
And we’ve been named the best city
in the entire world to find a job.

3470
04:30:06.546 --> 04:30:09.307
We have thrown open the
doors of opportunity

3471
04:30:09.518 --> 04:30:11.960
and Bostonians are surging through them

3472
04:30:12.099 --> 04:30:15.431
to live their dreams
and lead us forward.

3473
04:30:15.573 --> 04:30:18.397
And because we are drawing
on more of our people’s strength

3474
04:30:18.682 --> 04:30:21.227
the state of our city
is stronger than ever.

3475
04:30:21.277 --> 04:30:24.183
But I’m concerned
about the state of our Union.

3476
04:30:24.647 --> 04:30:28.790
What happens in Washington,
we feel on the streets of Boston.

3477
04:30:29.254 --> 04:30:35.102
But here’s what matters more. What we
do in Boston can change this country.

3478
04:30:35.247 --> 04:30:37.915
We’ve shown that differences
don’t have to divide us.

3479
04:30:38.186 --> 04:30:43.036
When we come together anything is possible.
That’s democracy in action.

3480
04:30:43.519 --> 04:30:45.938
That’s how we
built this administration.

3481
04:30:46.331 --> 04:30:49.409
We won office in a coalition that
wasn’t supposed to be possible.

3482
04:30:50.103 --> 04:30:54.941
Working people, Black, White,
Latino, Asian, all came together.

3483
04:30:55.163 --> 04:30:58.711
We created the most diverse
administration in Boston’s history from

3484
04:30:58.736 --> 04:31:00.995
the Cabinet to the frontlines.

3485
04:31:01.220 --> 04:31:06.015
We listened to the voices of every
community. We took on Boston’s toughest

3486
04:31:06.040 --> 04:31:09.496
long standing challenges and
we began changing our city.

3487
04:31:10.200 --> 04:31:13.622
We are opening doors to new
schools, new libraries,

3488
04:31:13.647 --> 04:31:15.041
new homes, new jobs.

3489
04:31:15.383 --> 04:31:19.752
We’re listeningto new voices.
It’s not always easy or comfortable,

3490
04:31:19.815 --> 04:31:23.650
but a more open conversation means
better solutions for our City.

3491
04:31:24.261 --> 04:31:26.735
The sign of a more vibrant democracy.

3492
04:31:26.921 --> 04:31:30.003
We put social justice
at the heart of our vision.

3493
04:31:30.302 --> 04:31:34.008
Because a more equal conversation
means a more resilient city.

3494
04:31:34.501 --> 04:31:37.836
So we’ll keep leading the
fight to defend immigrants.

3495
04:31:38.351 --> 04:31:42.004
We’ll continue our groundbreaking
work to achieve gender equality.

3496
04:31:42.250 --> 04:31:46.036
And we’ll never stop protecting the
rights and embracing the

3497
04:31:46.061 --> 04:31:47.842
identities of our LBGTQ community.

3498
04:31:47.867 --> 04:31:51.863
Five years together, we made
Boston a more compassionate, a more

3499
04:31:51.888 --> 04:31:53.821
dynamic, a more democratic city.

3500
04:31:53.846 --> 04:31:57.632
We’ve listened, we’ve learned and
we’re leading. I’m proud of what

3501
04:31:57.657 --> 04:32:01.120
we’ve achieved.
We should all be proud.

3502
04:32:01.184 --> 04:32:04.969
And we should be ready to do more.
Our city needs us, our country needs us

3503
04:32:05.300 --> 04:32:08.936
and we’re
just getting started.

3504
04:32:46.423 --> 04:32:48.556
Boston 311.  How may I help you?

3505
04:32:49.626 --> 04:32:55.412
1,367 customers affected. Estimated
time to be fixed between five and 5:30.

3506
04:32:56.882 --> 04:33:01.204
And is this only in Brighton
or does it extend beyond that?

3507
04:33:01.814 --> 04:33:04.040
And you said that it fell
onto your property, correct?

3508
04:33:04.040 --> 04:33:06.648
No, so that’s furniture
and furniture you can

3509
04:33:06.673 --> 04:33:09.111
just throw that out
with the regular trash.

3510
04:33:09.704 --> 04:33:12.484
If you want I can connect you
over with the Credit Union.

3511
04:33:12.868 --> 04:33:17.087
OK, but if you were in Watertown that
would be a responsibility of Watertown.

3512
04:33:17.087 --> 04:33:19.487
It wouldn’t be anything with Boston.

3513
04:33:20.442 --> 04:33:23.375
OK. Is it a whole tree,
a limb or a branch?

3514
04:33:23.869 --> 04:33:28.002
The first step is to request a
birth certificate request form.

3515
04:33:28.019 --> 04:33:33.215
You print it out, fill it out
and then with that form you would

3516
04:33:33.240 --> 04:33:38.678
send it in with a $14 money order or
check, addressed to City Hall.

3517
04:33:40.143 --> 04:33:42.078
So the senior shuttle you mean?

3518
04:33:42.078 --> 04:33:44.257
I can connect you with
their department so you

3519
04:33:44.282 --> 04:33:46.554
can see exactly when it’s
going to get there OK?

3520
04:33:47.641 --> 04:33:50.253
OK, I have down that
you reported that there

3521
04:33:50.278 --> 04:33:52.657
is something wrong
with the hawk’s eyes?

3522
04:33:52.906 --> 04:33:56.939
And that the hawk isn’t acting
normal since it is feeding on

3523
04:33:56.964 --> 04:34:00.930
a pigeon on the street other
than flying away with its food.

3524
04:34:01.188 --> 04:34:03.396
There are a lot of people
around the hawk and

3525
04:34:03.421 --> 04:34:05.484
the hawk doesn’t seem
able able to fly away

3526
04:34:07.320 --> 04:34:11.193
But it’s only picked up on
your specific trash day.

3527
04:34:12.012 --> 04:34:13.570
Yeah, so if it’s public housing

3528
04:34:13.570 --> 04:34:16.282
you want to contact the
Boston Housing Authority

3529
04:34:16.307 --> 04:34:18.907
Work Order Center to get
that replaced for you.

3530
04:34:19.313 --> 04:34:21.678
Sir, please don’t yell

3531
04:34:23.883 --> 04:34:27.356
I just have someone on the other line
that’s trying to locate a gravestone.

3532
04:34:27.356 --> 04:34:31.890
They have a name, but they just are
trying to find the burial ground