Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Immigrant Advancement on October 14, 2026
2026-10-14

[0:00] All
[0:28] right. See you.
[0:31] My name is Minyard Co Pepper,
[0:34] District 7 city councelor,
[0:37] and I am the chair of the Boston City
[0:40] Council Committee on Civil Rights,
[0:42] Racial Equity, and Immigrant
[0:45] Advancement.
[0:47] Today is October 14th,
[0:51] 2026 and the exact time is 6:17
[0:56] p.m.
[0:57] We are at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge,
[1:01] 24 Washington Street,
[1:04] Dorchester, Mass. Uh, this hearing is
[1:07] being recorded. Written comments may be
[1:09] sent to the committee email at
[1:12] ccccc.ivil
[1:13] rightights@boston.gov.
[1:16] and will be made part of the record and
[1:18] available to all counselors. Public
[1:22] testimony will be taken in three groups
[1:24] during this hearing. Individuals will be
[1:27] called in the order in which they signed
[1:29] up and will have two minutes to testify.
[1:33] If you're interested in testifying in
[1:35] person, please add your name to the
[1:39] signin sheet near the entrance.
[1:41] And if you brought written
[1:43] documentation, please give 15 copies to
[1:46] our central staff leazison Megan
[1:49] Kavanaaugh.
[1:51] Today's hearing is on docket number
[1:53] 1340,
[1:55] order for a hearing to examine the civil
[1:57] rights implications of rapid transit
[2:00] equities in the city of Boston. and
[2:02] docket number 1341,
[2:05] the resolution in support of evaluating
[2:08] an orange line extension along Bluehill
[2:12] Avenue. These matters were sponsored by
[2:15] councilors Minyard Co Pepper and
[2:18] councilors Brian Werewell and were
[2:20] referred to the committee on July 8th,
[2:24] 2026.
[2:25] Today I am joined by my colleagues in
[2:28] order of arrival. Councelor Murphy,
[2:32] Councelor Mahia, Councelor Flynn,
[2:35] Councelor Lu Jong, and councelor Warel.
[2:41] Good evening everyone. I want to thank
[2:43] my council colleagues and panelists,
[2:47] community organizations, and most of all
[2:50] the residents who came out tonight.
[2:53] I made this a field hearing on purpose.
[2:56] When I filed these dockets, I felt a
[2:59] real sense of urgency to bring the
[3:01] council
[3:03] directly to the community,
[3:06] the community that will be impacted by
[3:08] this project the most.
[3:11] Certainly tonight, I'm disappointed that
[3:14] the MBTA general manager, Phil Ing, uh
[3:20] has decided not to
[3:23] come and testify,
[3:26] but he will uh be subpoenaed
[3:32] for our next hearing.
[3:34] Uh, I think Phil Ling is one of the most
[3:37] critical witnesses
[3:40] in this
[3:42] hearing with regard to the MBTA
[3:45] and funding that has been invested
[3:49] in and around the city of Boston.
[3:53] Chief of Streets Chris Ozgood
[3:56] also not here tonight.
[3:58] Uh, we anticipated he would come. We
[4:02] hadn't discussed a subpoena, but we will
[4:04] be discussing a subpoena with regard to
[4:07] Chris Ozgood. And I know most of you
[4:10] know me when I practice law, a subpoena
[4:12] was one of the first things that I would
[4:14] do. Whenever you want someone to come
[4:16] and testify before you, you just
[4:19] subpoena them.
[4:21] And so
[4:23] as a city councelor,
[4:27] I'm happy that we have the subpoena
[4:29] powers available to us when witnesses
[4:32] have decided not to appear.
[4:38] When I think about where we are tonight,
[4:41] this hearing was scheduled so that
[4:43] residents could hear not just from us,
[4:47] not just from the counselors, but also
[4:49] to get answers that you've been hearing
[4:53] different
[4:55] facts in the public in the community in
[5:00] those hearings. And tonight we want to
[5:03] try and correct a lot of the things that
[5:05] you have heard that just aren't
[5:07] accurate. Every [clears throat] time a
[5:09] center running bus lane has been
[5:11] proposed to Blue Hill Avenue, this
[5:14] community has opposed it. Let me say
[5:18] that again. Every time a center running
[5:20] bus lane has been proposed for Blue Hill
[5:23] Avenue, this community has vehemently
[5:28] opposed it clearly and loudly. In 2009
[5:32] when the state proposed a city running
[5:35] bus lane from Madapan to Roxberry and
[5:37] again in recent year through petitions
[5:40] pack community meetings and testimony
[5:42] the residents of Roxbury, Dorchester and
[5:44] Matipan including Nubian Square, Grove
[5:47] Hall, Franklin, Madapan Square and all
[5:50] the neighborhoods along the Bluehole
[5:52] Avenue corridor
[5:55] have said we deserve better than a
[5:57] center running bus lane. When you look
[6:00] at the MBTA's rail map, most of the city
[6:03] has convenient access to rapid rail
[6:06] transit.
[6:07] Our neighborhoods do not. Blue Hill
[6:11] Avenue is the busiest corridor in the
[6:13] MBTA system, accounting for 11% of the
[6:16] total wrership. Yet, the people who rely
[6:20] on the MBTA have no rail.
[6:25] That's a transport. We We live in a
[6:27] transportation desert.
[6:29] And it's a result of decisions that have
[6:32] been made not to invest in the
[6:34] community. Not because of geography.
[6:37] This community
[6:41] is not only having a center running bus
[6:43] lane that no one asked for to be forced
[6:46] on. It has been handed a false choice.
[6:50] Accept the bus lane or lose the safety
[6:54] and beautifification improvements that
[6:56] are part of the same project. These are
[6:58] improvements the community deserves and
[7:01] has been asking for for decades.
[7:04] Why should they be contingent on design
[7:08] on the design that the community
[7:10] continues to reject? And here's what's
[7:12] interesting. Anou signed by the city and
[7:15] the MBTA and sent to the Federal Transit
[7:18] Administration is the reason why these
[7:21] improvements cannot be separated from
[7:24] the project.
[7:25] It's not that the FDA required they be
[7:28] part of the project. theou there's a
[7:32] memorandum of understanding between the
[7:34] MBTA and the city signed by the mayor
[7:38] that
[7:43] stated in no uncertain terms that that
[7:47] $18 million that we've been saying we
[7:50] wanted to be used right now
[7:54] is committed to the center running bus
[7:56] lane in theouou. We haven't been told
[7:59] that. The mayor told us that if they use
[8:02] that $1 million, then they would have to
[8:04] come back and do it over again. So, it's
[8:07] best not to use it right now when theou
[8:11] requires that money be used for the
[8:14] center running bus lane signed by the
[8:16] mayor and general manager in thatou
[8:21] tells us something else about Columbus
[8:23] Avenue. the April 2024th letter that's
[8:27] sent toou to the Federal Transportation
[8:30] Administration,
[8:33] Federal Transportation Administration
[8:35] that Brian and War and I met with last
[8:38] week and found out a lot of information
[8:40] that we had not been told the truth.
[8:44] when they talk about the money being
[8:47] sent back to Washington and we were
[8:49] being criticized by folks who said stop
[8:52] opposing it because the money is going
[8:55] to go back. Well, the money can't go
[8:58] back because the money has not been
[9:01] given to the state or the city. The
[9:04] money hasn't been obligated yet. There's
[9:07] still so early in the process. They had
[9:11] us believing that they had the money.
[9:13] That's why you can't believe all that
[9:15] fake news.
[9:17] The money is not obligated,
[9:20] so it can't go back cuz you can't give
[9:23] back something you don't have.
[9:25] But they led us to believe that they had
[9:27] the money already.
[9:31] And when you think about thatou that the
[9:33] mayor and the general manager signed, it
[9:35] points to Columbus Avenue as a model for
[9:37] the project, calling it as similar to
[9:39] what we envisioned for Blue Hill Avenue.
[9:42] That's the Columbus Avenue project they
[9:44] just pulled down that they called in
[9:47] theou similar to Blue Hill Avenue. You
[9:50] heard Chris Oddsgood last week trying to
[9:53] distance it from Blue Hill Avenue saying
[9:55] Columbus Avenue is different from Blue
[9:57] Hill Avenue, but in theou
[10:00] and so let me just close there. I could
[10:03] talk about what's going on, but I want
[10:06] to give my colleagues an opportunity.
[10:09] But tonight's hearing is really a civil
[10:11] rights hearing. That's what we're
[10:13] focused on tonight. That's the bill that
[10:16] I filed. It's a civil rights hearing.
[10:19] And that's why I filed docket 1340 in
[10:22] order for a hearing on the history of
[10:24] transit equity in Boston and its civil
[10:27] rights implication. Cuz I believe when
[10:29] you invest in all the communities around
[10:31] Boston and you don't invest in this
[10:33] community,
[10:35] that's what they call a civil rights
[10:36] issue.
[10:37] That's right. And so we're here tonight
[10:41] with my colleagues and I thank my
[10:43] colleagues for coming
[10:46] and I'm going to give each of them an
[10:49] opening state an opportunity to give
[10:51] their opening statements. I've got
[10:53] plenty more to say but we'll talk about
[10:55] later but I want to hear from them now.
[10:57] I'm going to give each of them two
[10:59] minutes and we're going to start with
[11:00] them by arrival. We're going to start
[11:02] with councelor Murphy. Councelor Murphy
[11:05] you have the floor.
[11:06] Thank you. Um, thank you councel Kalper
[11:10] and Council Warel for all of your work
[11:13] and advocacy up to this point. I know
[11:16] that you and your staff I want to thank
[11:18] your offices also because you've been
[11:20] doing a lot of work and what you're
[11:22] advocating for. Unfortunately, it seems
[11:25] like we have this same conversation time
[11:29] and time again that when we or the
[11:33] administration allows and listens to the
[11:36] community, they do the opposite of what
[11:39] the community asks for or they make you
[11:41] think that they're listening to you, but
[11:43] then you find out that they're not
[11:45] taking, you know, lived experiences. You
[11:48] live in this neighborhood. You know best
[11:51] what your neighborhood wants. And when
[11:53] it's completely ignored, to me that is
[11:55] unacceptable. So as an atlarge city
[11:58] councelor, it is a privilege to
[12:00] represent all of the neighborhoods. I
[12:02] also get to see that
[12:05] not every neighborhood is listened to
[12:07] the same. Right. It is true. It's not
[12:09] just people complaining. It's not just
[12:11] saying poor us. It's it is true that not
[12:14] every neighborhood. So if we have that
[12:16] political will, it is disrespectful that
[12:19] the administration is not here. They
[12:22] always get plenty of time to show up.
[12:25] And I think that falls on us as a body.
[12:27] I think if all 13 of us, not just some
[12:30] of us, said the subpoena, they often say
[12:33] that our subpoena power, but what what
[12:35] teeth does it have? What can you really
[12:37] do with it? Well, we can stop council
[12:39] meetings. We can stop the business of
[12:41] the city if we all stand together. So,
[12:44] I'm here to listen to the community, but
[12:46] also support my colleagues who have been
[12:49] working hard in making sure that this
[12:51] community doesn't have another thing
[12:52] pushed on to them that that your voices
[12:55] are heard and respected. So, thank you
[12:57] for having this meeting and just glad to
[12:59] be here.
[13:00] Thank you, Council Murphy. Councelor
[13:01] Mahia, you have two minutes.
[13:04] Uh, thank you, Chair. Um, and thank you
[13:06] everyone for showing up because showing
[13:09] up is half the battle, right? And I'm
[13:12] sure that half of you, if not all of
[13:14] you, are tired of doing just that,
[13:16] showing up and not feeling like whatever
[13:18] you have to say is being heard and um
[13:21] and honored. So, I'll just say a few uh
[13:25] things. First of all, um Blue Hill Lab
[13:29] is at the heart of the black and brown
[13:31] community. It is one of the last
[13:32] corridors that are still left standing
[13:35] in terms of gentrification. And whatever
[13:37] we do and however we decide to move, we
[13:40] have to make sure that we're moving with
[13:42] intentionality and making sure that the
[13:44] people who are living in and around that
[13:46] neighborhood have not only a seat at the
[13:48] table, but are dictating what happens in
[13:51] that neighborhood. And I think that's
[13:53] going to be one of the things that I'm
[13:54] going to be paying most attention to
[13:56] because how we do this matters, right?
[14:00] Um, the other the other piece of it is I
[14:02] I reject the false hope narrative that
[14:06] we either take this or we have nothing.
[14:08] The same thing happened with White
[14:10] Stadium. Either we're going to renovate
[14:11] it or you don't get anything. We can't
[14:13] continue to have this and or we should
[14:17] and we and I believe we deserve it all.
[14:19] And that's what we should be fighting
[14:21] for is having it all. Um, and it
[14:24] shouldn't be pitting people against each
[14:26] other. this whole dynamic where you have
[14:27] transit people against folks who who are
[14:30] fighting for parking. That is how they
[14:33] win. What I'd like to see is all of us
[14:36] coming together, working in
[14:38] collaboration with each other and
[14:40] designing what we want as a unit instead
[14:44] of pitting each other against one
[14:45] another. That's played out. And then
[14:47] lastly, I'll say this that in January of
[14:50] 2022, I was the city councelor that
[14:53] hosted the first town hall at Morning
[14:56] Star. And then I asked the
[14:58] administration for real meaningful
[15:01] community engagement. That was in 2022.
[15:04] And then most recently, I was the first
[15:06] city councelor to host an off-site
[15:08] hearing on this particular topic right
[15:11] on Blue Hill A last year in 2025. So,
[15:14] I'm not new to this, but what I will say
[15:17] is that what we need to start doing is
[15:19] organizing differently because pitting
[15:22] people against each other when no one's
[15:24] going to win under those dynamics. So,
[15:26] I'm really encouraging you all to
[15:28] understand what's at stake and start
[15:30] learning how to be with each other
[15:32] instead of in conflict with one another.
[15:34] And I'll end with this that I'm going to
[15:35] leave at 7:30 and I don't want nobody
[15:36] talking smack about me leaving because I
[15:38] got to go take care of my kid. And
[15:40] that's it. 7:30.
[15:42] Thank you, Councilman here. Uh,
[15:44] Councelor Flynn, you have two minutes.
[15:47] Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to
[15:48] Councelor Co Pepper, Council Well, for
[15:51] bringing this forward. Honored to be
[15:53] here. I'm probably the only city
[15:55] councelor at the at the table here that
[15:58] doesn't necessarily represent this area,
[16:01] the impacted area. But I came here for
[16:04] two reasons.
[16:06] one to support my council colleagues
[16:08] councelor Cole Peppa council who I have
[16:11] a tre tremendous amount of respect for
[16:13] and two to listen to residents because I
[16:16] have respect for the residents here as
[16:18] well I'll be here for the three hours
[16:20] listening to every comment and concern
[16:22] you have um councelor co pepper
[16:26] mentioned it there's a reason this is
[16:28] being held in the committee on civil
[16:30] rights not transportation or or planning
[16:34] and the reason as council co pepper said
[16:36] is this is a racial justice issue. This
[16:39] is a civil rights issue.
[16:42] And that's what the lens of this meeting
[16:45] should be about and would be about is
[16:47] listening to residents about the impact
[16:51] city decisions are having on civil
[16:53] rights for residents in and around the
[16:55] impacted neighborhood. Um I I agree. I
[16:58] believe it is a civil rights issue. Um
[17:01] and I think it's a critical civil rights
[17:03] issue. I don't think the best decisions
[17:05] are made at city hall. I think the best
[17:08] decisions are made in the neighborhoods
[17:11] and the best decisions are are us
[17:14] listening to you and your elected
[17:16] officials, especially councelor Co
[17:18] Pepper and council elected by you to do
[17:22] their job. And that's exactly what
[17:24] they're doing, advocating for you,
[17:27] ensuring that you're being treated with
[17:30] respect, but which you're not. in my job
[17:33] is to support council co pepper and
[17:35] council war and I'll do everything I
[17:37] possibly can to stand with them
[17:41] especially on the alternative plan that
[17:43] council co council co pepper but I agree
[17:46] it's about civil rights it's about
[17:48] racial justice thank you
[17:50] thank you councelor Flynn
[17:53] councelor Louis you have two minutes
[17:56] thank you um good evening everyone sorry
[17:58] I'm a little raspy I'm a little bit
[17:59] under the weather um But I just want to
[18:02] thank everyone for coming out here
[18:04] tonight. I want to thank central staff
[18:05] for being here. Um, and I want to thank
[18:07] my colleagues for putting this together.
[18:08] And I want to thank all the residents
[18:10] who are taking time out of their evening
[18:11] to be here to really talk about and
[18:13] shape what our community looks like,
[18:16] what Blue Hill Avenue looks like. I know
[18:17] that there have been many, many hearings
[18:20] and meetings on this topic. And I want
[18:21] to thank my colleagues for their work
[18:24] here. Um, I'm really concerned and I
[18:27] know that folks in here are really
[18:29] concerned about issues involving
[18:31] displacement both during construction
[18:34] and after. Whether we're talking about
[18:35] business displacement, whether we're
[18:37] talking about resident displacement, um,
[18:40] and and on top of that, we have a a
[18:42] pernitious and a very real racial wealth
[18:45] gap that we don't want to see furthered.
[18:48] And so, we have to be very careful. So,
[18:49] I have a lot of concerns regarding that.
[18:52] And at the same time, Bluehole Avenue is
[18:54] worthy of investment. It's worthy of
[18:56] making sure that all of our residents
[18:58] feel safe. Um, and so I'm going to be
[19:00] here to listen. I'm probably not going
[19:03] to be able to last the entire hearing,
[19:04] but I do want to know want to mention
[19:06] that back when there were meetings at
[19:08] K's Oasis before K's Oasis closed about
[19:11] this project. I know some of y'all were
[19:13] there because I was there listening and
[19:15] talking to community members about what
[19:17] their vision is for Blue Hill A. Whether
[19:19] you are older, whether you are younger,
[19:21] I do so much on a little loud. My salons
[19:23] are there, so many. So, I hear about
[19:25] this all of the time and I think it's
[19:26] really important to hear from all of
[19:27] you. So, I look forward to doing that
[19:28] for as long as I can last this evening.
[19:30] Thank you. [snorts]
[19:32] Thank you, councelor Luis Yung. The next
[19:35] uh next councelor to present to you his
[19:40] opening is councelor Brian Warell.
[19:43] Councelor Warell.
[19:45] Thank you, councelor Copeper. Um, thank
[19:48] you all for being here tonight.
[19:51] And tonight is about the people who live
[19:53] here. So, I want to start with a simple
[19:56] question. What level of transportation
[19:58] investment does our community actually
[20:01] deserve? The MBTA spent more than a
[20:05] billion dollars extending rail service
[20:08] to New Bedford. After a year, that line
[20:11] is carrying roughly 2,500
[20:14] riders a day. Here on Bluehav, we're
[20:18] talking about close to 20,000 bus riders
[20:22] every day. That is a huge difference.
[20:26] Yet, this community is being told that
[20:28] an investment that is a fraction of that
[20:31] amount is somehow our once in a
[20:34] generation opportunity
[20:37] and that we better take it because we
[20:39] may never get another one. I don't buy
[20:42] that.
[20:43] You can get on a train in Providence and
[20:46] get to South Station in about an hour.
[20:49] But if you're taking public
[20:51] transportation from Madapin inside of
[20:54] the city of Boston, it could take you
[20:56] longer than that to get downtown.
[21:00] That should bother all of us because
[21:02] this is just not about shaving a few
[21:05] minutes off of a bus trip. This is about
[21:08] whether this community, our community,
[21:10] is finally going to receive the kind of
[21:12] transportation investment that
[21:14] [clears throat] matches the need. So the
[21:17] question is not whether Blue Hill Lab
[21:19] needs investment. Of course it does. The
[21:22] real question is whether a centerrunning
[21:24] bus lane is the best long-term answer
[21:27] for our community. And before we answer
[21:30] that question, we ought to know what the
[21:33] alternative actually look like. Now let
[21:36] me be clear. Nobody is saying build a
[21:39] train tomorrow. What we are saying is
[21:42] that before we lock oursel into this
[21:45] corridor into one solution for the next
[21:47] generation, rail deserves a real modern
[21:50] evaluation. And so does alternatives
[21:53] included side running bus lanes. And
[21:56] rail is not some wild idea. Rail was up
[22:00] and down blue lab before. This community
[22:03] has been talking about better rapid
[22:05] transit for decades.
[22:07] So for me, this is not about So for me,
[22:10] this is also about restoration.
[22:13] It's about looking at a community that's
[22:15] waited a long time and asking whether we
[22:17] can finally make the kind of investment
[22:19] that matches our need. And here's where
[22:22] the MBTA's own planning framework
[22:25] becomes important. The MBTA already has
[22:28] a framework for the kinds of places
[22:30] where highquality transit and rail
[22:33] should be considered. They talk about
[22:35] dense inner city communities that lack
[22:39] rail and rapid transit. They talk about
[22:41] places that rely heavily on buses. They
[22:45] talk about communities where people face
[22:47] longer trips to jobs and opportunity.
[22:51] And they did and they did not just
[22:53] describe our community. They
[22:55] specifically named Bluehill Lav in the
[22:59] MBTA's own focus 40 plan. Bluehill A was
[23:03] identified as an inner core community
[23:05] lacking rapid transit. That is not my
[23:08] phrase. That is the MBTA's phrase. So
[23:11] we're not asking the MBTA to create some
[23:13] special standard [clears throat] for
[23:14] Blue Hill Lav. We're asking them to
[23:16] apply the standard they already created.
[23:20] If Bluehill Lab checks the boxes they
[23:23] say matter, then put the rail and the
[23:25] BRT side by side. Show us the ridership.
[23:29] Show us the travel times. Show us the
[23:31] cost. Show us the impact on businesses
[23:34] and development. And show us the
[23:36] long-term benefits for our community.
[23:38] Then let the facts tell us what makes
[23:40] the most sense. And there's another
[23:42] piece of this conversation we cannot
[23:44] ignore.
[23:46] Massachusetts now has a new source of
[23:48] transportation revenue that did not
[23:50] exist a few years ago. The fair share
[23:53] amendment is bringing hundreds of
[23:55] millions of dollars into transportation,
[23:57] including investments in the MBTA and
[24:00] additional capacity to fund major
[24:02] transportation projects. So, when people
[24:05] say this $80 million federal grant is
[24:08] our one opportunity, that conversation
[24:10] is missing something. We now have new
[24:12] state transportation revenue coming in
[24:15] through the fair share. So the question
[24:17] should not just be how do we hold on to
[24:19] this one federal grant at all cost. The
[24:22] question should be what is the right
[24:23] long-term investment for Blue Hill Lab
[24:26] and how do we put federal state fair
[24:29] share and other resources to pay for it?
[24:32] Because if this quarter truly needs a
[24:34] generational investment, then we should
[24:36] be looking at every available tool to
[24:38] make that general investment happen.
[24:43] And that is where accountability comes
[24:44] in. We keep being told to trust our
[24:47] experts and expertise it does matter.
[24:50] But expertise also comes with
[24:52] responsibility to follow the evidence
[24:54] and apply standards consistently.
[24:57] Residents deserve to see the analysis.
[25:00] They deserve to see comparisons and real
[25:03] engagement means people have some say in
[25:05] the biggest question. What kind of
[25:08] transportation system do we want serving
[25:10] this community for the next 50 or 100
[25:12] years? If people keep showing up, keep
[25:15] raising the same concerns and keep
[25:17] asking for alternative, government has a
[25:20] responsibility to do more than just hear
[25:22] them. We have a respond and show them
[25:26] those analysis and those alternatives.
[25:28] So tonight is about listening. It's
[25:30] about giving residents the space they've
[25:32] been asking for. And before anybody
[25:35] makes a generational decision about Blue
[25:37] Hill Lab, the people along Blue Lab
[25:40] deserve a say. Thank you.
[25:45] [applause]
[25:48] In addition to what Brian said, there's
[25:51] an obvious disconnect between what
[25:54] disinvested and what underserved
[25:56] communities ask for. and what government
[25:59] gives them. Agencies claim to be
[26:02] helping, but they too often divide us.
[26:04] When other communities ask for
[26:06] transportation improvements, they get
[26:08] them regardless of cost or technical
[26:11] challenges. Cambridge and Somerville got
[26:14] the red line extension to Alwife built
[26:17] in the 1980s for $574 million.
[26:21] Somerville and Medford got the Green
[26:23] Line extension, which they went through
[26:25] major cost overruns and redesigned
[26:28] before the state found more money, 2.3
[26:32] billion in all. On the South Boston
[26:35] waterfront, the Silver Line got 624
[26:38] million for the tunnel. Today the green
[26:40] line, let me just say this again. Today,
[26:43] this day, 10:1426,
[26:46] the green line is slated for $2.9
[26:50] billion investments and we are given a
[26:53] bus lane. Those communities did not have
[26:56] to fight the way we have to fight to
[27:00] keep a center running bus lane from
[27:02] coming. They got rail investments they
[27:04] asked for. All we want is what they got.
[27:09] Rosendelle is now undergoing a
[27:11] feasibility study for rail line from
[27:15] Rosendale to the orange line. All we
[27:18] want is what Rosendelle is getting a
[27:21] feasibility study. And when you think
[27:23] about what we have to fight for in order
[27:27] to get what we asked for,
[27:30] we realize that it's a civil rights
[27:33] issue. That's right.
[27:35] One that we have to fight for. And we
[27:37] know that we've been fighting for a long
[27:39] time. Whatever we get, we fight for it.
[27:43] And when we fight,
[27:44] we win.
[27:45] Not like that. When we fight,
[27:48] we win.
[27:49] Let me uh move on to uh our first panel.
[27:53] I'm going to rearrange this a little bit
[27:55] because tonight is really for the
[27:57] community. So, I'm going to have our
[27:59] first panelist come up tonight and after
[28:02] Ann McKinnon comes and talks, a senior
[28:04] planner, and after Lewis Alisa comes,
[28:07] our first panelist, then the rest of the
[28:09] night will be for community testimony.
[28:13] That's what tonight was geared for. I
[28:15] remember I was at those hearings when
[28:17] they cut them off. 20 people didn't get
[28:19] to speak at one, more than 20 didn't get
[28:22] to speak at the other. This is your
[28:24] night. So, Ann, why don't you come on
[28:26] up? Uh, Dr. Lewis Alisa, come on up.
[28:39] And we'll give each of you seven
[28:42] minutes.
[28:42] Okay. More or less.
[28:47] I'll see some of you.
[28:55] Hello. Um I'm an McKinnon. I live in
[28:57] Jamaica plane. I um worked for um about
[29:02] 35 years as a planner and a number of my
[29:05] clients were most of my clients were
[29:08] public agencies uh including the MBTA
[29:11] and other transit properties around the
[29:13] country and um city of Boston and other
[29:16] municipalities and the state. So I um I
[29:20] know a little bit about um how the the
[29:23] planning process is supposed to work and
[29:26] it's clearly failed here but failed by
[29:29] design um
[29:32] in in terms of of transit service here.
[29:36] You only need to look at a map and see
[29:38] that this neighborhood is not served by
[29:41] transit and it's an outlier in the city
[29:43] of Boston. The carter is served only by
[29:46] buses, which is the uh slowest and least
[29:49] efficient form of transportation that
[29:52] exists. Um the MBTA actually at at the
[29:57] hearings said that the ridership on in
[30:00] this corridor is uh kind of similar to
[30:03] the blue line um that goes to East
[30:06] Boston and River. and we don't hear
[30:09] anybody talking about um the blue line
[30:12] would be well served by a bus. Um and
[30:16] the facts are pretty clear.
[30:19] The the mode that has been chosen for
[30:22] Blue Hill Avenue because it's quick and
[30:25] relatively easy to build is buses. Buses
[30:28] are the lowest capacity
[30:30] transportation mode that exists. They
[30:33] have the least the lowest ability to
[30:37] impact land use and development
[30:40] decisions.
[30:42] Um the travel time sta savings are
[30:45] overstated. Um they say it'll save the
[30:48] bus way will save 10 to 15 minutes. Um
[30:53] first of all that's not enough to get
[30:54] people to sell their car and say gee
[30:56] I'll save 10 minutes and jump on the
[30:58] bus. Um, but a lot of that travel time
[31:00] savings is unrelated to the busway. It's
[31:04] it comes from five minutes comes from
[31:06] eliminating the U-turn in Milton.
[31:09] So, they don't tell you that. You have
[31:11] to read the thousandpage document to to
[31:14] get that. The project will do nothing to
[31:17] speed traffic beyond north of Grove
[31:20] Hall. And that's about 50% of the of the
[31:24] um of the trip from Matapan to Nubian
[31:27] Square. So a lot of the trip is uh is
[31:32] still stuck in traffic.
[31:35] And for all of this investment, the MBTA
[31:38] says that um it might be able to add
[31:42] maybe 10 additional buses, round trips,
[31:46] 10 additional round trips over an
[31:48] 18-hour day on the 28 bus, which is
[31:52] hardly a noticeable increase in service.
[31:56] So, it really the the benefits are
[31:59] really oversold by the MBTA.
[32:02] So, why does this neighborhood get
[32:03] crumbs when other neighborhoods get
[32:06] serious improvements? And that's because
[32:09] they fight for them and they're listened
[32:10] to. And that's why we're talking about
[32:13] this as a civil rights issue. Um,
[32:16] transit equity cannot be achieved
[32:18] without talking to people, without
[32:21] developing alternatives and analyzing
[32:24] them and um selecting the alternative
[32:28] that meets most of the goals.
[32:33] Transit equity requires
[32:36] um really thoughtful and serious
[32:39] planning
[32:41] and bold action and neither of which has
[32:44] happened here. The decision to pursue
[32:47] the pot of money at the feds uh at the
[32:50] at the federal government level um was
[32:55] probably done because it was seen as
[32:57] easy to get. And you know, it's
[32:59] unfortunate that some some areas of the
[33:03] city and the state um are allowed to
[33:06] think big, think bold, and go for the
[33:10] money that's needed to make a meaningful
[33:12] improvement in this corer. For whatever
[33:15] reason, they went for the uh for the
[33:18] bunt instead of the home run.
[33:22] Um,
[33:24] as the counselor said, this money for
[33:27] construction has not been approved.
[33:30] Basically, the city has been misleading
[33:32] people by saying that they have the
[33:35] money. And
[33:37] that is a that is a lie. Um, and and and
[33:41] why why else the money's relatively easy
[33:44] to get, they thought. They also didn't
[33:46] care that there were other the past
[33:48] studies that said this corer should be
[33:52] studied for a higher quality transit
[33:55] service. Those studies go back to 1978.
[33:59] Nobody cared or they ignored them.
[34:03] I mean, in addition, you know, the city,
[34:05] in addition to the city, the a number of
[34:08] transit advocacy groups um have said
[34:10] that this is a great project and they
[34:13] basically are saying they they speak for
[34:15] the community. Well, clearly they don't.
[34:18] Um and and I think they need to be
[34:20] checked. Um and finally, you know, bold
[34:24] action and um you know, big vision
[34:28] uh seems to be allowed in other
[34:31] neighborhoods but not here. And I think
[34:34] the uh the strength of the community
[34:36] that's come out to oppose this uh is
[34:38] making people pay attention that they
[34:41] need to think a little bolder than a bus
[34:43] on Blue Hill A.
[34:47] Thank you, Ann
[34:50] [applause] Lewis.
[34:53] Seven minutes.
[34:55] That's a lot That's a lot
[34:56] [clears throat] more than I get when I
[34:57] go downtown. I'm glad to be home. Um
[35:01] first um Reverend Dr. uh Co Pepper let
[35:04] me thank you for bringing this um
[35:06] hearing where it belongs into the
[35:08] community. Most of our meetings should
[35:10] be held in the communities that are
[35:12] being impacted. That's the only thing
[35:13] that makes sense. I want to thank the
[35:15] other members u of the city council who
[35:16] did not think it robbery. to take time
[35:19] and come out and hear what the community
[35:20] had to say is the real challenge of this
[35:23] 20th century that people do not who
[35:26] govern do not hear often from the people
[35:28] that they govern. They are in positions
[35:31] that they get elected to and forget that
[35:32] the people who voted them in should be
[35:34] heard. So I appreciate each of you being
[35:37] here today, but I thank you very much
[35:39] Dr. Co, Dr. CO Pepper for bringing this
[35:42] home because you tried to move this in
[35:44] this issue situation around
[35:46] transportation into your committee from
[35:47] the beginning because like you said this
[35:49] is a civil rights issue. The right to be
[35:51] able to go to work, go to school, move
[35:55] safely and comfortably about your
[35:57] community. The right not to have your
[36:00] businesses undermined or destroyed. The
[36:02] right to be able to get from one place
[36:04] to another as everybody else in this
[36:06] Commonwealth. It's yours because you pay
[36:09] the same taxes as everyone else. You
[36:12] need to know that we are suffering from
[36:14] the most ardent racist political process
[36:18] that I've ever been a part of. That the
[36:20] city of Boston has deliberately with
[36:23] malice of forethought undermined the
[36:25] development of Roxbury, Dorchester,
[36:27] Madapan, lower Roxbury for the past 50
[36:30] years that I've been a resident of this
[36:32] city that they deliberately went out of
[36:34] their way to undermine the resources.
[36:36] They deliberately took rapid transit out
[36:39] of the community affecting over 45,000
[36:41] homes and families in Roxbury and moved
[36:44] it a mile away from where the people
[36:46] lived in Roxberry in Dorchester. Moving
[36:49] that orange line was a different issue
[36:51] to minimize the ability of folks to get
[36:53] from their home to a place of
[36:55] employment. Giving a a free 28 or 22 bus
[36:59] does not get you to where you need to
[37:01] be. When you get to the end of the line,
[37:03] you still have to pay to go where the
[37:04] jobs are. They have no direct connection
[37:07] to downtown or to the industrial zones
[37:09] or to any place else. It was a
[37:11] deliberate decision. I've served five
[37:13] governors, two presidents, and two
[37:15] mayors. And throughout my tenure in
[37:18] time, we have been arguing. We have been
[37:20] fighting, discussing the civil rights of
[37:22] the residents of Roxbury, which was
[37:24] denied, denied, denied. You ask any
[37:27] councelor up here, they'll look at their
[37:29] sheet and they'll tell you what they've
[37:30] given to other cities and other
[37:32] communities. $43 million to build a
[37:34] swimming pool in in in Charles Town. And
[37:37] then you ask, "What do we have on Geneva
[37:40] A or what do we have in Franklin Park?"
[37:41] They didn't spend $43 million in
[37:43] Franklin Park over the last 50 years.
[37:45] Now they want to take the park and put
[37:47] $335 million for somebody else to
[37:50] control it. They took $135 million from
[37:54] the children at Madison Park High
[37:55] School, told them they'll have to wait
[37:57] eight years before they have a school
[37:58] that makes the only difference in this
[38:00] community to keep up with technology.
[38:02] Wait seven years while we get a soccer
[38:05] league to come in and make a difference
[38:06] in Roxbury. You won't be able to play.
[38:09] Our children won't be able to play. And
[38:11] they're encroaching on the playstead
[38:13] that has been neglected for 50 years.
[38:15] That the money that they spend in
[38:17] Franklin Park is onetenth of what they
[38:19] spend on the common. and for the last 50
[38:20] years and now they're saying they're
[38:22] concerned. We should be happy that
[38:23] they're concerned and so they come and
[38:25] ask us do we want protection? They had
[38:28] the tarity ass we want protection. Do we
[38:31] want blue from 1983 when Dukakus
[38:34] returned as governor Senator Wilkerson
[38:37] Sister Virginia? They all sat on
[38:40] commissions. We've had three commissions
[38:41] on Blue Hill Avenue. We laid out what
[38:43] they had to be done to make the
[38:45] economics of Blue Hill Avenue work. We
[38:47] laid out clearly what we needed, wanted
[38:49] to see. They've ignored everything for
[38:51] the last 50 years and now they're saying
[38:54] because there's money available that's
[38:56] going to the construction industry, we
[38:58] need to make a choice of whether or not
[38:59] we want to see our businesses destroyed
[39:01] and our homes destroyed. We're building
[39:03] more. There are more cars coming through
[39:05] Roxbury and Dorchester Matteran emanate
[39:09] and in in in uh towns and cities that
[39:13] are not related to us. This is not
[39:15] improvement for Roxbury. When you start
[39:17] doing construction, ask anyone who lives
[39:19] at the low end of Blue Hill Avenue what
[39:21] happened for the three years they tore
[39:23] up the whole streets and what happened
[39:24] to the businesses down there that end
[39:25] near Dudley. Let's be clear, this is not
[39:29] about development for our community.
[39:30] This is about construction dollars that
[39:32] goes back in the terms of campaign
[39:34] funds. This is not economic development
[39:37] because economic development would say
[39:38] we fix the sidewalks, we put in the
[39:40] streets, we fix the storefronts, we deal
[39:42] with the nine, 10 large scale
[39:44] developments that are going up on Blue
[39:45] Avenue and we don't take away from the
[39:48] economy and the ability of things
[39:49] getting done. There has been no economic
[39:53] impact study. None. There has been no
[39:56] environmental impact study. None. The
[39:58] economics of this is that if they spend
[40:00] $22 billion to fix up the South Boston
[40:03] waterfront and M brother Flynn, I'm
[40:05] going to tell you, yeah, you have
[40:06] interest here because that's money that
[40:08] fix the city of Boston and your
[40:09] residents. Also, when they take 22
[40:12] billion and do the South Boston
[40:13] waterfront, they can't account for a
[40:15] billion dollars over the last 50 years
[40:17] in Grove Hall. They can't account for
[40:19] the money that they spent just recently
[40:22] in Finway. all the money that they spend
[40:24] in the ink block in terms of housing and
[40:26] street development in growth wall in
[40:28] Roxbury. So the question that we've been
[40:29] asking, Garrison Trot has been asking,
[40:32] Bluehole Avenue Commission has been
[40:34] asking the people in the community, when
[40:36] it gets from Matapan Square to growth
[40:39] hall, where does it go? For seven years,
[40:42] we've asked that question. They've had
[40:44] four studies, spend a million dollars
[40:45] over a great scale from Harvard, came
[40:47] here in 24 and 25, and we met with them
[40:50] overund6 times and each time the people
[40:53] in this community says we don't need it.
[40:56] We need the community to work. We need
[40:59] transportation that'll work. We need
[41:01] Blue Avenue that's safe for our kids. We
[41:03] need environmental impact study to tell
[41:05] you what slowing down those cars from
[41:07] Milton and Randolph and and and Brockton
[41:10] is going to mean to the lives of an area
[41:12] that has the highest asthma rate in the
[41:14] country. None of that has happened yet.
[41:16] We're saying the the justice the
[41:19] injustice of this process has an
[41:21] economic effect. that when you slow down
[41:24] the growth, when you minimize and
[41:26] complicate the ability of people to be
[41:28] able to use their neighborhoods and use
[41:30] their homes and use their businesses for
[41:32] economic growth, it's a civil rights
[41:35] issue. Thank you for taking this on. I
[41:38] need people to keep in mind this issue
[41:40] should not go away. You should not go
[41:42] from here and be comfortable. Tell your
[41:44] friend, tell your neighbors that your
[41:46] community is in jeopardy, your homes are
[41:49] in jeopardy, your lives are in jeopardy.
[41:51] And if we don't stand up now, we won't
[41:53] be here later.
[41:59] [applause]
[42:01] Want to move to the counselors now.
[42:07] Counselors, you have two minutes
[42:11] for questions if you choose to ask any.
[42:14] And we'll start with councelor Murphy.
[42:16] You have two questions. is gone.
[42:20] Councelor Murphy left.
[42:22] He's gone.
[42:22] Councelor
[42:24] Mahia.
[42:25] Yes.
[42:26] You have
[42:27] two minutes for questions.
[42:28] I'll take Murphy's, too. [laughter] Um,
[42:33] nah. Uh, so first of all, thank you,
[42:35] Council Co Pepper. Um, and I was in the
[42:38] chamber that day when we were trying to
[42:40] debate where this hearing was going to
[42:42] go, and I fought for it to be in civil
[42:43] rights because this is where it belongs.
[42:46] Um, and so I just want to thank you for
[42:47] your fierce advocacy. Um, and also for
[42:51] the panelists and Lewis and I go way
[42:53] back. We've been fighting against every
[42:55] single thing that is happening in
[42:56] Dorchester, Roxbury, and Matapan.
[42:59] and we're still fighting.
[43:01] And at some point, we're
[43:04] we're tired. And what we're not talking
[43:07] about and something that I, you know,
[43:10] John, I'm gonna just call you out
[43:11] because we've been you, we've been
[43:13] talking about this offline, is the
[43:15] displacement that is going to happen to
[43:18] communities, gentrification that's going
[43:20] to happen because whenever we get
[43:22] anything shiny, what happens?
[43:28] Right? And there's this threat and this
[43:32] fear that we have as people of color
[43:35] that things are always being done to us
[43:38] without us. And so I would love to hear
[43:42] from Lewis um and an what would a
[43:48] a restorative justice practice
[43:51] to repair the harm that has been caused
[43:54] question
[43:55] as it relates to the uh the community
[43:58] engagement that has not really happened
[44:01] in George Roxbury and Matapan as it
[44:03] relates to this like how can the city
[44:06] turn it around? What if anything needs
[44:08] to happen for the city to turn this
[44:10] around?
[44:13] Well, I I think um part of the problem
[44:16] or the biggest problem is recently is
[44:18] that um they're not asking for input on
[44:23] the fundamental question about the the
[44:26] mode, what what is going to be um what
[44:29] mode is used on Blue Hill. They're
[44:31] asking for um you know what color the
[44:34] bus stop should be and and what kind of
[44:37] tree should be installed. The problem
[44:39] with the city of Boston is they don't do
[44:42] planning. You can't even find a planning
[44:45] um division on the BTD the Boston
[44:48] transportation department website. So,
[44:51] as has been said and I think councelor
[44:53] Wel said it really well is um you know
[44:57] you got to step back and do a real
[44:59] planning study with alternatives. You
[45:01] start by looking at what's the problem
[45:03] and you develop alternatives. Side
[45:05] running bus lane, rail, center running
[45:07] bus lane, um peak hour bus lane, roller
[45:12] skate lane, whatever it is. you you
[45:13] develop your alternatives and you get
[45:16] you walk people through the process
[45:19] slowly analyzing each one. The city came
[45:23] and said, "Here, you know, we we got a
[45:26] bus lane project. What do you think
[45:27] about it?" And that's fundamentally not
[45:29] how you do it.
[45:30] Yeah. Thank you for that. And I know my
[45:32] time is up. I heard the the beeper, but
[45:35] before Lewis says something real quick,
[45:37] I just want to acknowledge uh two
[45:40] things. One is that I am the chair of
[45:42] education and I'm also going to be u
[45:45] speaking at the school committee in a
[45:47] little while. So I'll be stepping out
[45:48] and coming back. And then the other
[45:50] thing that I'd like to just put on the
[45:53] record is that there has been historical
[45:56] harm caused to our communities. I grew
[45:59] up here in the city of Boston. I know
[46:00] what it's like. Um, and I think that we
[46:03] have an opportunity to write the wrongs
[46:07] that have happened here in this process.
[46:10] And having watched this over the last
[46:12] seven years, because it was 20 2022,
[46:16] Lewis, that we hosted the first hearing,
[46:18] the first town hall at Morning Star, and
[46:21] then five or six years later, the people
[46:23] who showed up to speak at Morning Star
[46:25] weren't even able to be heard. So that
[46:28] is a problem. And that is something that
[46:31] I think Lewis, you can talk to in terms
[46:34] of what we're hearing and what we're
[46:35] doing with what we hear. Where's the
[46:38] disconnect as it relates to community
[46:40] engagement?
[46:41] The disconnect is the respect. We get no
[46:44] respect for our leadership and no
[46:45] respect for the knowledge that we have.
[46:47] Before I go on, I want to thank pas the
[46:49] Grandmaster Colin Herel for the use of
[46:51] the space. And I also want to thank
[46:53] sister Virginia for the time she put in
[46:55] because there's some people that have
[46:56] stayed here and made made this work. You
[46:59] know, the the nation had made growth
[47:01] hall work. This building here, this
[47:04] grand lodge has been here for years to
[47:07] make this community work. We provided if
[47:10] they talk to us, they would talk to the
[47:12] people who make a difference, who make
[47:14] the change in our community, we'd have a
[47:16] totally different environment here. It's
[47:18] been deliberate. There is no accident.
[47:20] Talk to our counselors. Ask them what
[47:22] they've asked for. Ask them to what when
[47:24] we ask for equity, why we can't get it.
[47:26] If they spent 10% of what they spent in
[47:29] ink block and Grove Hall, it'd be a
[47:31] totally different environment. So, you
[47:33] know, what they have to do is push city
[47:36] councils because you have the power is
[47:39] to get them to listen to what we're
[47:40] saying, get them to follow. Clearly,
[47:42] they talk to no planners, no city
[47:44] planners, no transportation planners for
[47:46] the designs that they've created. This
[47:48] last project that they've given us, we
[47:50] start in 2017 at the Lee School saying
[47:53] no, this doesn't work. not no we don't
[47:55] want development no we don't want
[47:57] improvements we're saying the design
[47:58] that you're pushing doesn't work and
[48:00] we've given them alternatives they said
[48:02] no to our alternatives but they keep
[48:04] bringing on things that work for them
[48:06] when they start closing Harvard Street
[48:08] and they close ESON and Charlotte Street
[48:10] and they close access to move people
[48:12] around to minimize the amount of time
[48:14] that you spend taking in carbon monoxide
[48:16] they're not listening to us we've got to
[48:18] bring this to a head and the head has to
[48:20] be that we charge them with the racism
[48:22] that's controlling their decisionmaking
[48:24] that takes away from what our counselors
[48:26] and representatives are saying.
[48:28] Thank you. Thank you, Louis. And I'll
[48:30] just know for the record that, you know,
[48:31] I've spoken to many of the business
[48:33] owners up and down the corridor and some
[48:36] of them didn't even know that that was
[48:38] happening. So, I find it very hard to
[48:39] believe that at this moment in time,
[48:41] there's still people who don't even know
[48:43] that the city is planning to do
[48:45] something like this that's going to
[48:46] impact their businesses. And that says a
[48:49] lot in terms of still the work that
[48:50] needs to be done in terms of community
[48:51] engagement. And I know my time was up.
[48:54] Councelor Co Pepper, thank you for
[48:55] allowing me to speak.
[48:56] Thank you, Council Mahia. Uh I do want
[48:58] to acknowledge recognize uh Senator
[49:01] Wilkerson
[49:03] for being here with us tonight. Uh and
[49:06] uh Oh, you are going to testify. Did you
[49:08] sign up?
[49:10] Are there any other elected officials or
[49:12] former elected officials?
[49:17] Council,
[49:17] I do want to acknowledge Councelor
[49:19] Santana. Uh thank you, Council Santana.
[49:23] And uh after
[49:26] I've been given the counselors two
[49:29] minutes for an intro and two minutes for
[49:31] questions, let me go to councelor Flynn
[49:34] uh and then councelor Bujon. And then uh
[49:38] we'll come to you councelor Santana.
[49:41] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I
[49:44] also want to recognize sister Virginia
[49:47] and Senator Wilkerson and and so many
[49:50] others that are that are here, community
[49:52] leaders, and my my good friend as well,
[49:54] Louis Lewis. Lisia Louisa, um I was
[49:58] going to ask Lewis a question, and I've
[50:00] known Lewis a long period of time, and
[50:03] it's not it's not a trick question, but
[50:06] Lewis, I I opened up my statement saying
[50:09] this. I believe this is a civil rights
[50:11] issue. Um, I I I voted to to ensure that
[50:16] this docket went into the civil rights
[50:18] committee. Um,
[50:21] but the city thinks of this issue as a
[50:23] transportation and planning
[50:26] issue. I don't necessarily think they
[50:30] classify this as a civil rights issue
[50:32] like like the residents do, like we do,
[50:36] like like you do. My my question is
[50:40] knowing that how do how do we shift the
[50:42] focus to have civil rights be part of
[50:46] the discussion
[50:48] from city officials
[50:51] because we know the community knows it's
[50:53] a civil rights issue but city officials
[50:56] are not supporting that narrative. Um
[50:59] that's my question. laws.
[51:01] The question falls back on you and the
[51:03] council to um get the city to admit they
[51:06] don't respect the concept of civil
[51:08] rights. That's the bottom line is the
[51:11] former head of the Boston branch in
[51:12] NACP. Unfortunately, we had to sue to
[51:15] get people to recognize that the right
[51:17] to have housing and the right to have
[51:19] transportation and the right to have
[51:20] good schools and the right to have clean
[51:22] air and the right to be able to move
[51:24] safely is a civil it's a right for
[51:26] civilians. It's also a human right. And
[51:29] so transportation that gives you
[51:31] education and gives you access to
[51:32] housing and gives you access to jobs and
[51:35] everything else. It's a right for you as
[51:37] a human being to be able to survive in a
[51:39] city of this nature. We don't have an
[51:42] effective transportation program. So
[51:44] therefore, we must have we must have
[51:48] focus on the civil rights of everyone
[51:50] who's trying to make a living, go to
[51:52] school, get good health care, and
[51:54] participate in their society.
[51:57] Thank Thank you, Lewis. I think part of
[51:59] the strategy and discussion too, I think
[52:02] the city council has a responsibility to
[52:05] speak firmly that this is a civil rights
[52:08] issue. I don't think we can be
[52:09] wishy-washy and some of us say it is a
[52:12] civil rights issue. Some say it's a
[52:14] transportation issue. Some say it's a
[52:16] construction issue. It is a civil rights
[52:18] issue. If if we united on that one theme
[52:21] and that one goal, I think the
[52:23] administration will hear us as a
[52:26] collective body that this is a civil
[52:28] rights issue, I think there's some
[52:29] responsibility on my colleagues to
[52:32] firmly state that this is a civil rights
[52:34] issue and to ask the administration to
[52:37] treat it such um Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[52:40] Thank you. Thank you, Council Flor.
[52:44] You have two minutes.
[52:45] Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair. Um, and thank
[52:48] you to the panelists for your testimony
[52:50] and for being here today. Um, I have a
[52:53] question regarding like what I care
[52:55] deeply about the issue of displacement
[52:59] is one of the reasons why we fought so
[53:00] hard for rent stabilization. It's one of
[53:02] the reasons why we fought so hard for to
[53:04] get more money from the state house to
[53:06] do the work of affordable housing. When
[53:08] I'm thinking about businesses and
[53:10] potential businesses being displaced,
[53:12] especially black and brown ones during
[53:14] construction, we can look at the other
[53:16] end of Blue Hill Avenue to see what it's
[53:18] like for businesses to suffer through
[53:20] construction. U and whether we're
[53:22] talking about a center running bus lane,
[53:24] whether you're talking about Middle
[53:25] Lane, whether you're talking about a
[53:26] rail, construction happens. And so I'm
[53:29] thinking whether you're talking about
[53:31] the other side of Blue Lab or in High
[53:33] Park or when the bridge was down, there
[53:35] were businesses that suffered. What does
[53:37] a model look like to support businesses
[53:41] um like to support businesses during
[53:44] construction?
[53:47] Well, for me, the first thing that has
[53:48] to happen is good planning, which hasn't
[53:50] taken place. That's the most important
[53:52] thing. Planning for the time that
[53:54] businesses are going to be down,
[53:55] planning routes that are used as
[53:57] alternatives for people to get to school
[53:58] and to get to work and things of that
[54:00] nature. Best example,
[54:01] Louis, I'm I'm talking about
[54:02] specifically for the businesses, right?
[54:04] Like, how do we help the businesses? You
[54:06] help the businesses by planning. You
[54:08] have to plan ahead to say what's going
[54:10] to happen during construction period. As
[54:13] a former FEMA regional director for
[54:14] places that have been completely
[54:16] destroyed, I know that the first thing
[54:18] you have to do is talk about how
[54:20] businesses are able to survive during
[54:22] the construction or reconstruction of
[54:23] any area. If they don't plan for it,
[54:25] they don't take consider if they haven't
[54:27] done a survey to even understand what
[54:29] the businesses are and what their needs
[54:30] are, they can't move ahead productively.
[54:35] Ann, do you have a
[54:38] [clears throat]
[54:39] Well, I think you know it goes back to
[54:41] talking to people. You have to
[54:43] understand the the um quirks of each
[54:46] business when they get their deliveries,
[54:49] how long the deliveries take. Um and it
[54:52] it really it's planning to avoid not mop
[54:58] up but avoid making problems um by
[55:02] tailoring your your construction to how
[55:06] businesses actually operate. And you
[55:07] know the MBTA h has done a decent job
[55:11] with this in the past and they need to
[55:13] have their feet held to the fire but you
[55:16] really need block by block to understand
[55:18] what each business's needs are.
[55:22] The same work they did for South Boston,
[55:24] the same work we did in New Bedford, the
[55:26] same approach we've done on any highway
[55:27] and roadway construction prior to this
[55:30] event other than environmental impact
[55:32] statement for economics and
[55:33] environmental impact for health. They
[55:35] meet with all the businesses in the
[55:37] community. They meet with the business
[55:39] network and they find out how businesses
[55:41] run so they can plan on behalf of them.
[55:44] That was the most important thing in
[55:46] building the third harbor tunnel that we
[55:48] got the traffic off of Dorchester
[55:49] Avenue, created a bypass road and made
[55:52] it available for residents of Dorchester
[55:54] and South Boston and to be able to
[55:55] survive.
[55:58] Thank you. I mean I think my time is up.
[56:00] I would love to hear what you thought
[56:01] your thoughts around residential
[56:02] displacement as well, but I believe
[56:03] that's my time. I don't know if Council
[56:05] Co Pepper
[56:06] Council She can answer the question.
[56:08] Yeah. Around like I asked about
[56:09] businesses, but what about residential
[56:11] displacement? How do you plan for
[56:13] prevention of that
[56:14] when construction is happening?
[56:16] That's a that's a hard problem, but you
[56:19] know, the mayor claims she has an indie
[56:20] displacement plan, but um remains to be
[56:25] seen.
[56:26] I think it's a paper document that is on
[56:29] a shelf now. I I I that's a that's a um
[56:34] that's a bigger topic.
[56:40] Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those are my
[56:41] questions.
[56:42] Thank you,
[56:42] Sh. Can I just say displacement and
[56:44] disruption are two different things, but
[56:45] they have the same effect because
[56:47] residents lives will be so disrupted.
[56:50] Business will be so disrupted, it'll
[56:51] make it almost untenable when they're
[56:53] doing two sides of the street coming
[56:56] down a major thorfare artery like Blue
[56:59] Avenue. There is no plan in place. It's
[57:01] sort of like the so-called
[57:03] transportation plan they have for White
[57:04] Stadium. It's a myth.
[57:08] Thank you, counselor. U want to move now
[57:12] to councelor Santana. Uh councelor I
[57:15] gave each of the counselors two minutes
[57:18] to make an opening statement and I gave
[57:21] them two minutes for questions and so
[57:25] I'll give you four minutes if you need
[57:27] them all.
[57:28] Thank you chair co pepper and good
[57:30] evening everyone. It's good to be here
[57:32] and great to see everyone. Um
[57:35] I want to thank the panelists um for
[57:38] being here as well and for taking the
[57:39] time um to answer our questions. I think
[57:43] you know I think
[57:45] right now I mean you hear from my
[57:47] colleagues obviously I'm hearing from a
[57:48] lot of you all about what's going on in
[57:50] our neighborhoods here. Um and you know
[57:53] a a big thing about that is the lack of
[57:56] communication and transparency um that
[57:59] many residents feel um and know right
[58:02] that um that they're lacking right now.
[58:03] So my question for the panelists is more
[58:05] about right now obviously our current
[58:08] process or the current process of the
[58:10] administration [clears throat] um of how
[58:13] they do business and how they get
[58:15] feedback from residents um is not
[58:17] currently working. There's a lot of
[58:18] meetings, right? We I know a lot of you
[58:21] show up to a lot of meetings um and and
[58:23] testify. I know we're going to hear
[58:24] testimony today, right? But it's about
[58:27] not checking a box about how do we
[58:29] actually take that feedback and actually
[58:30] incorporate it into the plannings that
[58:32] we're doing. So my question is, and I
[58:34] don't know if you know I'm sorry for
[58:36] coming in late, so I I I will apologize
[58:38] if this question has been asked and
[58:40] answered. Um but my question to the
[58:43] panelists is more of like the current
[58:45] process is not working right now. So
[58:48] what what what about the process? The
[58:50] whole process has to change, right? So
[58:52] my question to you both is um what are
[58:54] some starting steps that we can take as
[58:56] a council um to change that process um
[58:59] from the ground up?
[59:03] Well, I I think the the problem is that
[59:07] they hold a meeting to talk about a
[59:09] project that was never embraced
[59:14] instead of and the solution is you start
[59:16] over with a true alternative study that
[59:21] I that studies each alternative to the
[59:25] same degree. This is what the federal
[59:27] government requires. If this if this
[59:30] were subject to um a very indepth
[59:34] environmental review, the requirement is
[59:38] that you study each alternative to the
[59:40] same degree. And the reason that the
[59:43] that the National Environmental Policy
[59:46] Act requires this is to prevent people
[59:49] from lurching toward the solution. They
[59:52] think we all have biases. So, you have a
[59:55] a highway engineer or transit
[59:58] professional who says, "This is what I
[1:00:00] think we ought to do." And the the
[1:00:02] environmental review and any planning
[1:00:04] review mandates that you step back and
[1:00:08] evaluate alternatives that you a have
[1:00:11] alternatives, b you evaluate them to the
[1:00:14] same degree.
[1:00:17] And this project did not do that. They
[1:00:22] cannot prod produce any document saying
[1:00:24] that they truly analyzed
[1:00:27] and tried to make work other
[1:00:30] alternatives.
[1:00:32] It's not just saying, "Oh yeah, we
[1:00:33] looked at, you know, a side bus lane, it
[1:00:37] didn't work." No, you have to analyze
[1:00:39] it. So, so the solution is step back and
[1:00:43] look at alternatives and evaluate them
[1:00:46] as if they did not have a preferred
[1:00:49] solution. And so that requires really,
[1:00:52] you know, making a commitment to a true
[1:00:55] planning process.
[1:00:56] And can I just do a follow-up question
[1:00:57] on that in more spec I mean, is there a
[1:01:00] specific project that have you seen um
[1:01:02] in the past where maybe it was
[1:01:04] introduced, it was not um embraced by
[1:01:07] the community as you mentioned, right?
[1:01:08] And then that what you just h what you
[1:01:10] just explained actually occurred. Is
[1:01:12] there a specific project that
[1:01:15] I'm hearing from community? I'm hearing
[1:01:17] are you you're talking about nationally
[1:01:18] or in Boston cuz here in Boston. No,
[1:01:20] here in Boston.
[1:01:20] We can take you to the seapport where
[1:01:22] they said they didn't want it to happen.
[1:01:23] We can take you to a number of places
[1:01:25] where they said, you know, the the bike
[1:01:27] lanes and some of the things that
[1:01:28] they're proposing, the bus lanes does
[1:01:30] not work for the businesses there. We've
[1:01:32] got examples of everybody other parts of
[1:01:34] this city being respected in a very
[1:01:36] different way.
[1:01:37] We've got real we've got real, you know,
[1:01:40] examples. And so the question is though,
[1:01:42] is not just in the city council, but in
[1:01:44] the state and at the federal level
[1:01:45] because most of this decisions made at
[1:01:47] the highest level of department of
[1:01:48] transportation. And that's why we're
[1:01:50] appealing to them is because they didn't
[1:01:52] do their due diligence. When you're
[1:01:54] involving this many people, this many
[1:01:56] thousands of people, MEEP is supposed to
[1:01:58] kick in automatically. There's supposed
[1:02:00] to be an automatic environmental impact
[1:02:02] assessment as well as economic
[1:02:04] assessment. We've done it for bridges
[1:02:05] and tunnels all over the city. Trust me,
[1:02:08] as head of the Seapport Advisory
[1:02:10] Council, I did it from Gloucester to
[1:02:11] Seapport Secon and also in New Bedford.
[1:02:14] did nothing moving forward without
[1:02:16] talking to the community and getting
[1:02:18] analysis of what the impacts would be.
[1:02:20] Thank you, Councelor Santana.
[1:02:22] Thank you um Chair and I just want to um
[1:02:25] I just want to give a few shoutouts. I
[1:02:27] obviously um Senator Rickerson Sister
[1:02:30] Virginia. I see um Steven Wilson, the
[1:02:32] great um here in the building. I also,
[1:02:34] you know, one thing I'm big focused on
[1:02:36] and I think many of you know is how we
[1:02:38] incorporate our young people into these
[1:02:40] conversations. And you know, I just want
[1:02:42] to give a shout out to some of the young
[1:02:44] people here that I know um who are here
[1:02:46] on a on a Thursday. Is it Thursday?
[1:02:49] Wednesday. Wednesday night. Um really
[1:02:51] appreciate y'all being here and being
[1:02:53] engaged. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[1:02:54] Thank you, councelor. Councelor Warel,
[1:02:56] you've got uh two minutes.
[1:02:59] Uh thank you, chair. Um my question is
[1:03:01] around past planning um proposals that
[1:03:06] the community has created. Uh Lewis, you
[1:03:08] spoke to uh initiatives or um planning
[1:03:11] processes that dated back to 2017. Uh
[1:03:14] whether that was the Roxberry,
[1:03:15] Dorchester, Madapan transit needs study.
[1:03:17] Uh there was a Washington Street
[1:03:19] corridor coalition um and few other um
[1:03:23] uh times communities came together to
[1:03:25] discuss transportation needs and
[1:03:27] planning around Bluehav. Uh my question
[1:03:30] to both you and Ann is how how should
[1:03:32] have those past planning process been
[1:03:35] factored into this conversation and when
[1:03:38] if they should have been introduced uh
[1:03:41] to the community about here here are
[1:03:44] past pin and processes that talked about
[1:03:47] different uh initiatives and strategies
[1:03:49] to make the bus more efficient on Blue
[1:03:51] Lab.
[1:03:53] Well, any planner who's serious about um
[1:03:58] getting to yes on an agreeable solution
[1:04:02] starts by looking at what was studied in
[1:04:04] the past. You go back to 1978. You go
[1:04:07] back to all of the um previous efforts
[1:04:10] and you bring all those alternatives
[1:04:11] forward and you say, you know, this was
[1:04:13] looked at. We're going to update the
[1:04:15] data and look at it. they just jumped to
[1:04:18] what they thought they could get funding
[1:04:21] for and what was going to be easy to
[1:04:25] implement. And that's a lazy um arrogant
[1:04:28] way to um approach a project of this
[1:04:31] magnitude.
[1:04:32] That's right.
[1:04:34] Sister Sister Virginia and Senator
[1:04:36] Wilkersonson and others who've been at
[1:04:38] it for about 40 years now can tell you
[1:04:40] that there's at least three studies out
[1:04:42] there. is a blue lab avenue commission
[1:04:44] that came up during Dukakus in the
[1:04:45] second Dukakus came up you know even
[1:04:48] with King and others they all they have
[1:04:50] to do is do the research the
[1:04:52] alternatives have been presented for the
[1:04:54] 10 years that I've been working on this
[1:04:55] project specifically we've had five
[1:04:58] groups come together and grayscale they
[1:04:59] paid a million dollars to from Harvard
[1:05:01] we sat with them throughout 24 and 25
[1:05:04] and we met with over 106 meetings and
[1:05:07] each meeting people said resoundingly
[1:05:09] the center line process doesn't work
[1:05:11] Here are two alternatives. The first
[1:05:13] alternative is to enforce chapter 90,
[1:05:16] the transportation code. Four major
[1:05:19] public safety agencies in the area and
[1:05:22] they still don't enforce the law. The
[1:05:24] second is to manage the traffic and
[1:05:26] improve transit service, which means
[1:05:30] starting at the the the head where the
[1:05:32] buses come from, send them out on a
[1:05:34] regular basis. In the winter time, move
[1:05:36] the snow in in the summertime and force
[1:05:39] the parking in. You can pick up 10
[1:05:42] minutes, not five minutes. If you
[1:05:43] enforce
[1:05:44] Yep.
[1:05:45] If you enforce the traffic regulations
[1:05:47] in the area, this community needs
[1:05:48] improvement. We've wanted to improve.
[1:05:50] This is not a group of membies. We're
[1:05:52] not saying no. We're saying we don't
[1:05:54] want our lives destroyed and our health
[1:05:56] taken away in order for construction
[1:05:57] people to make a lot of money and then
[1:06:00] our community lose our businesses. We
[1:06:01] suffered that through COVID and we know
[1:06:04] exactly what will happen if we don't get
[1:06:05] it right.
[1:06:06] Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Warwell.
[1:06:10] And that will end the uh panel
[1:06:12] discussion. We'll now move into the
[1:06:17] testimony from the public.
[1:06:21] Each speaker will get two minutes. I'll
[1:06:24] call the panelists
[1:06:27] uh five at a time. You come up to this
[1:06:30] mic here. Uh
[1:06:34] and as one panelist speak, I I'd ask the
[1:06:37] other four to stand behind them so we
[1:06:40] can uh
[1:06:43] give them a few minuteses
[1:06:45] to stand. We don't want that long line
[1:06:48] down there where you have to wait an
[1:06:49] hour. So, we're just going to call five
[1:06:51] at a time. Uh and I'll call the first
[1:06:54] five. You'll come to the mic and you'll
[1:06:56] have two minutes. The timer is right
[1:06:58] here. Uh, Westward,
[1:07:02] Jeffrey Sams,
[1:07:04] Maxon
[1:07:06] Medcrier,
[1:07:08] uh, Judith Vanam,
[1:07:11] and Demarcus White
[1:07:18] West,
[1:07:20] peace and blessings, sir.
[1:07:22] Uh,
[1:07:25] Wes's mic is not on. Uh
[1:07:31] hello, hello, hello.
[1:07:33] I think it's on now. Great.
[1:07:37] Peace and blessings to my brothers and
[1:07:39] sisters of Boston, to the Commonwealth.
[1:07:42] Thank you. How you doing? How you doing,
[1:07:43] sister? My name is Wes Wood. I represent
[1:07:46] the people. Um I'm the chair of the
[1:07:49] Matipan Coalition and I'm leading the
[1:07:51] corridor coalition as well.
[1:07:54] Before I begin, I want to Who's in the
[1:07:56] room? Can everyone put their hands up if
[1:07:58] you're from Roxberry, Madapan, and
[1:08:00] Dorchester?
[1:08:03] Almost everybody.
[1:08:05] Wonderful.
[1:08:07] I'm born and raised in Boston. My family
[1:08:10] has been in this city for over a hundred
[1:08:12] years. And when I see my people being
[1:08:14] torn away from their homes, when I see
[1:08:17] them being torn away from their friends
[1:08:18] and family and having to look elsewhere
[1:08:20] to live, this tells me that this is a
[1:08:23] human rights issue, not a political one.
[1:08:26] We assembled in this historical hall
[1:08:28] tonight to demand payment on a long
[1:08:31] overdue
[1:08:32] on a long overdue promisary note from
[1:08:35] the city.
[1:08:37] Decades ago, when the transit
[1:08:39] infrastructure was dismantled through
[1:08:41] this corridor, the city made a vow to
[1:08:44] the people of this corridor, to the
[1:08:46] working men and women of Roxberry,
[1:08:48] Dorchester, and Matipan
[1:08:50] that equitable connection and dignity
[1:08:53] and rapid transit would follow. But
[1:08:55] instead, this community was handed a
[1:08:57] checkmarked insufficient funds. Billions
[1:09:00] of dollars inflowing everywhere else
[1:09:02] into the city, and we was given red
[1:09:04] paint on the streets.
[1:09:10] What is on trial here tonight is not
[1:09:12] about a bus schedule, but what is on
[1:09:15] trial is the moral architecture of this
[1:09:17] city. When you bring blueprints, traffic
[1:09:20] models, periodic dockets into this room,
[1:09:25] not one of you can look at the
[1:09:26] businesses, the barbers, the salons, the
[1:09:29] the people who actually keep this
[1:09:30] corridor alive and thriving with
[1:09:32] culture. You can't look at them in the
[1:09:33] eyes and say, "In five years, your
[1:09:35] business will still be here." And if you
[1:09:37] can't say that to them honestly,
[1:09:42] you promised this corridor rapid transit
[1:09:44] decades ago. You gave white
[1:09:45] neighborhoods subways, trains, and you
[1:09:48] come to our neighborhood and you're
[1:09:50] giving us diesel exhaustion. And you're
[1:09:52] asking us to be thankful.
[1:09:55] We want transit sovereignty. We want our
[1:09:58] merchants to be protected. And if you
[1:10:00] can't deliver rapid transit equity and
[1:10:03] economic security to the people whose
[1:10:04] tax dollars built this city, then you
[1:10:07] have no business running this city.
[1:10:10] Boston still owes this corridor rapid
[1:10:12] transit and it was promised. What are
[1:10:14] you going to do to promise that? Can I
[1:10:16] have your hands up? Every counselor
[1:10:18] who's actually going to say yes and push
[1:10:20] for this forward.
[1:10:25] For both dockets.
[1:10:31] Okay. Thank you.
[1:10:44] Jeffrey
[1:10:48] Sams Jeffrey
[1:10:52] Jeffrey is not here. Uh Max Sense,
[1:10:57] is he here?
[1:10:59] Come on, Max. Come on. You got two
[1:11:01] minutes.
[1:11:02] I thought I had a couple more people to
[1:11:04] go. Good evening, everyone.
[1:11:06] Thank you counselors for holding this
[1:11:08] meeting again. Council Mahia, thank you.
[1:11:11] I I went to the the one on Blue Hill
[1:11:13] Avenue. Um so I just jotted some notes
[1:11:16] down because I grew up here. My name is
[1:11:18] again Max Sans Mateer. I grew up in uh
[1:11:21] Roxbury
[1:11:23] Matapan and Hyde Park. And I've been
[1:11:25] here most of my life. I have three
[1:11:27] children and we all commute in some way.
[1:11:30] I walk, I take the bus, take the train,
[1:11:33] I drive. So, I feel it all. I see it
[1:11:36] all. And not one time in my commuting,
[1:11:39] at least on public transportation, that
[1:11:41] I don't see someone, a child, an elderly
[1:11:44] person dragging a cart behind them,
[1:11:46] someone with a small child and a baby in
[1:11:49] a carriage that is either rushing for
[1:11:51] the bus, which is very easy when you're
[1:11:54] coming from the curb. Now, imagine those
[1:11:56] individuals having to cross the street
[1:11:58] to get to the center, still have traffic
[1:12:01] coming at them. Maybe the child drops a
[1:12:03] toy in the middle of the street. Now you
[1:12:05] have to stop, pick it up, maybe wait,
[1:12:08] right? Because everyone's always in a
[1:12:10] hurry. This is a major throughway. A
[1:12:13] major throughway for everyone who wants
[1:12:15] to divert off the highway, come up Route
[1:12:17] 128, 138, off 93 just to get to and from
[1:12:21] work. At night, when there's no one else
[1:12:24] commuting to work, it's quiet. The
[1:12:28] streets are calm. The buses run freely.
[1:12:33] I challenge everyone to try to find out
[1:12:36] how late are the number 28 buses. How
[1:12:39] late are they? 28 30 uh excuse me, 23.
[1:12:43] They're not on the top five list. They
[1:12:46] [clears throat] get us there. Why do we
[1:12:48] need something in the center that now
[1:12:51] that now challenges us to cross the
[1:12:53] street? Many elderly. This is a multif
[1:12:55] family community, business community,
[1:12:58] homeowned neighborhood. This is not a
[1:13:01] street full of buildings of renters
[1:13:04] turning over. We have people who have
[1:13:06] lived here a long time. They grow old
[1:13:09] here. They start young here and they
[1:13:11] need to commute safely, efficiently.
[1:13:14] They need to get to the curb under
[1:13:17] perhaps a canopy. Why can't we have
[1:13:19] covered bus stops like Washington Street
[1:13:22] down the south end? My bus goes through
[1:13:25] there as well. I've seen it restored.
[1:13:28] I've seen new bricks. I've seen repaved
[1:13:32] at least three times. And we have to
[1:13:34] continue to deal with what is going on
[1:13:37] on Blue Hill Avenue. We have to continue
[1:13:40] to accept substandard
[1:13:43] conditions. Our bus drivers are great.
[1:13:46] And you ask them, they too see people
[1:13:48] running for the bus. They're not
[1:13:50] necessarily for it. When I attended the
[1:13:53] last meeting, I said, "Well, gee, are
[1:13:55] our buses really that late? Is it a an
[1:13:59] attendance issue?"
[1:14:01] One of the city reps paused on that one.
[1:14:04] I saw her write it down. Not the
[1:14:07] counselors, Mayor Woo's office. Okay.
[1:14:11] So, I don't think it's even that because
[1:14:14] we get two buses at a time. So, what is
[1:14:17] it really for and who is it really for?
[1:14:20] It's not really helping us. It actually
[1:14:22] will impact our lives more negatively,
[1:14:25] more negatively than what we have now.
[1:14:27] It's not telling us that we are being
[1:14:29] supported and what we want and don't
[1:14:31] want is being heard. It's about
[1:14:34] disrespect, disenfranchisement,
[1:14:36] continuous disenfranchisement.
[1:14:38] And we continually say the same thing.
[1:14:42] Where are these supporters of this
[1:14:43] project? They're not here. If they are,
[1:14:46] they're not saying anything. Someone
[1:14:48] told me on the street, we just stuck up
[1:14:50] a conversation that he heard there are
[1:14:51] 3,000 supporters. Really?
[1:14:54] Where are they? Where are they? Where
[1:14:57] are they? Oh, you're there. Oh, really?
[1:14:59] You support this project?
[1:15:01] You must not have grown up here. You
[1:15:04] must not have really fully embraced
[1:15:06] fully embraced all of the diversity.
[1:15:13] Okay, beautiful. I'm happy you
[1:15:15] supported. I'm happy you supported.
[1:15:17] Thank you for your time. I appreciate
[1:15:19] it. Um, you know, every time no one
[1:15:22] supports this.
[1:15:22] Thank you, Max.
[1:15:23] Thank you so much.
[1:15:28] We follow and we are we are obligated to
[1:15:32] follow the rules as if we're down at
[1:15:35] city hall. So, we have to follow the
[1:15:37] council rules, which means that there's
[1:15:39] no expression of support one way or
[1:15:42] another. And so if you would just
[1:15:44] refrain from uh showing your support one
[1:15:48] way or another, as if we're down the
[1:15:51] council.
[1:15:52] Yes. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
[1:15:54] We're following Nope. Tonight we're
[1:15:57] following the rules as if we're down the
[1:16:00] council. And so I came here knowing that
[1:16:03] y'all are going to follow the rules as
[1:16:06] if we're down the council.
[1:16:09] You can speak for two minutes, but what
[1:16:12] you can't do is show support one way or
[1:16:14] another. Thank you.
[1:16:20] No. And we tell you down the council to
[1:16:23] stop clapping.
[1:16:25] Mac, [laughter]
[1:16:28] let let's get back so folks can testify.
[1:16:32] Let's not get distracted. Uh, who's
[1:16:34] next? Judith Vanham.
[1:16:45] You've got two minutes.
[1:16:53] I would like you to note that there is a
[1:16:55] better way of doing transit on Blue Hill
[1:16:59] Avenue
[1:17:00] and it's nothing that anybody's talked
[1:17:03] about so far that I've heard. It's solar
[1:17:05] mobility.
[1:17:07] uh transit. And if you c I I'll describe
[1:17:11] it so you know what I'm talking about.
[1:17:14] If you can imagine small pods that carry
[1:17:18] typically one to four people. They're
[1:17:20] private. You get in there with whom you
[1:17:22] want to travel with and they move fast.
[1:17:27] Um
[1:17:29] and they're solar powered. So all of
[1:17:32] Blue Hill A would have a panel of solar
[1:17:36] solar panels. So, you know, that's a
[1:17:38] protection also for people who are
[1:17:40] walking. Um, what what this does is that
[1:17:48] it it just provides faster, cleaner
[1:17:51] transportation, less expensive, and it
[1:17:54] you puts you up in leading the head of
[1:17:57] all the all the transit in the world.
[1:18:01] This system will then because it works
[1:18:04] so well and is so is affordable both to
[1:18:07] build and to use will connect with all
[1:18:09] of Boston and way beyond Boston. Um it's
[1:18:14] something that you before you make a
[1:18:17] decision what direction you want to go
[1:18:19] in, it's very important to look at it.
[1:18:22] Any
[1:18:28] questions that I could quickly answer?
[1:18:30] Judith,
[1:18:31] we're not answering questions from the
[1:18:33] panelists.
[1:18:34] Public
[1:18:35] just using two minutes for your
[1:18:37] statement.
[1:18:39] Thank you.
[1:18:42] If you want to look it up, here's the
[1:18:44] company that I I've been following since
[1:18:47] I tried to get it to use in Hull, which
[1:18:50] I'm still working on. The company is
[1:18:52] JPods. It's jpo
[1:18:55] ds.com.
[1:18:59] Okay, check it out.
[1:19:00] Thank you, Judith Demarcus White.
[1:19:13] Good evening, everyone.
[1:19:16] My name is Demarcus White. I was born
[1:19:18] and raised in Roxberry
[1:19:20] and I've um people be telling me,
[1:19:23] Demarcus, you have a vision of Boston.
[1:19:27] Why do I have a vision?
[1:19:28] That's good. Um, before I get to the
[1:19:31] plan,
[1:19:32] oh,
[1:19:33] before I get to the plan, um, take down
[1:19:35] my email address because I'm going to
[1:19:36] send you the Orange Line project plan
[1:19:39] that I presented to Coun, uh, council,
[1:19:42] uh, to the to the counselor, demarcus
[1:19:45] w35gmail.com.
[1:19:48] That's demarcus dm a r cus w35gmail.com.
[1:19:56] All the plan has been put in place for
[1:19:59] the Orange Line extension from Rugles to
[1:20:02] Madapan.
[1:20:03] It's going to be great for our
[1:20:05] community. Not not this this uh center
[1:20:09] lane that the city is proposing.
[1:20:13] Now about my vision, everybody knows mo
[1:20:16] mostly everyone knows that I've drawn
[1:20:18] drawn the orange line. I've been drawn
[1:20:20] for 40 years. drawn the orange line from
[1:20:23] Forest Hills to to do drew drew the
[1:20:26] green line from North Station to Leech
[1:20:29] and that's where my vision comes in. So
[1:20:31] I've created a plan. I created stations
[1:20:33] within this Orange Line plan. It's not
[1:20:36] just going to be about the stations
[1:20:39] itself underneath. Let's say the tunnel
[1:20:44] will be 125 ft deep if we plan to build
[1:20:48] the orange line in between.
[1:20:51] In between the stations and the street
[1:20:54] level, we will have businesses for our
[1:20:58] communities. We're talking about retail
[1:21:00] stores. We're talking about
[1:21:03] um businesses that where people own them
[1:21:07] who looks like us.
[1:21:09] And we're talking about well imagine
[1:21:12] this Martin Luther King Boulevard is
[1:21:15] which is the station that he wants. Can
[1:21:18] you imagine having a king center, a
[1:21:21] local king center within the station?
[1:21:24] That's what we need where Bernard when
[1:21:26] Reverend when when we can bring Reverend
[1:21:28] Bernice King up there and do the grand
[1:21:31] opening with the station named after her
[1:21:34] father.
[1:21:37] I um once you get the um project, you'll
[1:21:41] see it and we need to have a meeting
[1:21:43] together to talk about it. We're talking
[1:21:46] again businesses
[1:21:48] underneath the station
[1:21:51] because I've been to New York. I've been
[1:21:53] to Penn Station. They have major
[1:21:55] businesses under the station. We need to
[1:21:57] have that here in Roxberry, Dorchester,
[1:21:59] and Madapan where people don't have to
[1:22:01] go to South Bay uh to to Staples. we can
[1:22:04] have our own BPS supply store where we
[1:22:07] can where we can buy our own school
[1:22:10] books and all that and everything within
[1:22:12] our community where we don't have to go
[1:22:13] to South Bay or Somerville.
[1:22:15] Demarcus, can you wrap it up now?
[1:22:17] Yes. So, um so uh um
[1:22:22] so uh again, my email address is
[1:22:24] demarcus35gmail.com.
[1:22:27] I'll send you I'll send you that package
[1:22:29] and um let's let's have a meeting about
[1:22:31] this and continue.
[1:22:34] Thank you.
[1:22:36] Want to call up the next five.
[1:22:39] Uh Reggie Stewart,
[1:22:41] Terresa Rochelle,
[1:22:44] Jeffrey Ferris,
[1:22:47] Michael Kosu,
[1:22:49] and John Smith.
[1:22:58] Uh good evening. Can y'all hear me?
[1:23:04] How about now?
[1:23:06] Is that better? All right. Uh good
[1:23:08] evening everybody. Uh good evening uh
[1:23:11] Chair Co Pepper. Uh Vice Chair uh Mahia
[1:23:15] who's with us in spirit. Uh thank you
[1:23:17] counselors for coming. Uh as I think
[1:23:20] about this issue, I think about some of
[1:23:22] the questions that we should ask
[1:23:24] ourselves. And it's not just a question
[1:23:27] that I would pose to the counselors or
[1:23:30] just to the mayor, but also to our state
[1:23:32] partners as multiple levels of
[1:23:34] government are involved uh in this
[1:23:37] project. Uh, you know, I I want us as
[1:23:40] officials, community leaders, activists,
[1:23:44] residents, uh, that we as a city really
[1:23:46] look in the mirror and be honest, uh,
[1:23:49] when we ask ourselves the question, do
[1:23:52] black communities deserve the same scale
[1:23:54] [clears throat] of investment and the
[1:23:56] same determination to solve
[1:23:57] transportation problems as other
[1:24:00] communities? Now, on the surface, we
[1:24:02] should say yes, but if that's the case,
[1:24:06] we're not acting like it. Uh, in 1987,
[1:24:09] when the elevated orange line was
[1:24:11] removed, uh, and not replaced, it
[1:24:14] essentially cut off black Boston from
[1:24:17] the rest of the city. And here we are
[1:24:20] four decades out, still waiting for that
[1:24:23] promise to be fulfilled. Uh, in the
[1:24:25] meantime, uh, Massachusetts has spent
[1:24:28] billions of dollars. we uh uh was
[1:24:32] referenced 2.3 billion uh for the Green
[1:24:35] Line extension into Somerville and
[1:24:36] Medford. And I agree with everyone when
[1:24:39] you we say it's a civil rights issue
[1:24:41] because it can't be lost on us that the
[1:24:44] communities of Somerville and Medford
[1:24:47] are 70%
[1:24:49] white residents.
[1:24:51] And that project, it faced soaring cost,
[1:24:54] threats of cancellation, but the state
[1:24:57] did redesign. They found the money and
[1:25:00] they built it and figure it out. Uh so
[1:25:02] why do some communities uh receive a
[1:25:05] conversation uh while we're offered
[1:25:07] crumbs and crumbs that we did not ask
[1:25:11] for and that we're told to be grateful
[1:25:13] for. And when we propose rail, cost and
[1:25:17] feasibility concerns are used to shut
[1:25:19] down the conversation as opposed to a
[1:25:23] doorway for government to find a
[1:25:26] solution. And that's why so many of us
[1:25:28] rightly see that racism underpins this
[1:25:32] entire conversation. It's not racism
[1:25:35] through explic explicit prejuditial
[1:25:38] statements or attitudes, but it's
[1:25:41] through decades of decisions about which
[1:25:43] communities get transformative
[1:25:45] investment and which ones do not. Uh so
[1:25:49] I echo uh the call for feasibility
[1:25:52] studies uh serious alternative analyses
[1:25:56] designs to address costs feasibility
[1:25:59] concerns around displacement and ensure
[1:26:01] authentic intentional community
[1:26:05] engagement. Again I'll say it authentic
[1:26:08] intentional community engagement which
[1:26:10] has been missing from this process as
[1:26:12] well as many others uh throughout our
[1:26:15] neighborhoods. And I just want to close
[1:26:17] with just the ask. Do not tell black
[1:26:21] Bostononians what's feasible or what's
[1:26:24] possible when you haven't even done the
[1:26:26] work to find out in the first place.
[1:26:30] Thank you.
[1:26:33] [applause]
[1:26:34] Theresa
[1:26:38] Terresa Rochelle,
[1:26:41] Jeff Ferris.
[1:26:47] Thank you, counselors. Uh, yes, Jeffrey
[1:26:50] Ferris. Uh, some many of you may know me
[1:26:52] as the former longtime owner of Ferris
[1:26:55] Wheels bike shop in Jamaica Plane. Yes,
[1:26:57] I'm in Jamaica Plane. I am not in this
[1:26:58] neighborhood.
[1:27:00] Did just go through a process has some
[1:27:02] similarities. the the loss of the
[1:27:04] overpass at Forest Hills, I was on the
[1:27:07] losing side. The city and the state did
[1:27:09] not want to replace that bridge, no
[1:27:10] matter how much we [clears throat] in
[1:27:12] the community fought for it. But anyway,
[1:27:16] for tonight, um I'm mostly addressing
[1:27:18] the second docket, which is about the
[1:27:20] need for a study of
[1:27:24] the Orange Line Down Blue Hill Avenue.
[1:27:27] So,
[1:27:29] you know that
[1:27:29] orange line down Blue Hill Avenue?
[1:27:32] Why should this sound crazy? Is it
[1:27:34] because it's just a lot of black folks
[1:27:36] and other people of color? The city and
[1:27:39] the tea never did a complete and open
[1:27:42] alternatives analysis of the Blue Hill
[1:27:44] Avenue corridor. You've heard this a
[1:27:46] number of times tonight already. They
[1:27:48] come up with their own idea of a center
[1:27:50] bus proposal and told the community that
[1:27:53] this was the best thing for them. They
[1:27:55] still haven't learned that the community
[1:27:56] is tired of being told what's good for
[1:27:58] them.
[1:28:00] Now, I could not find a comprehensive
[1:28:02] list of project goals for this for the
[1:28:04] transit improvements, but in this era of
[1:28:06] climate change and global warming, it
[1:28:08] needs to include getting as many people
[1:28:11] as possible out of gas guzzling cars.
[1:28:15] It is well known that an underground
[1:28:17] heavy rail subway like the Orange Line
[1:28:19] to downtown along this or any corridor
[1:28:22] would attract the most riders.
[1:28:24] This includes people from this community
[1:28:27] currently on the buses along with new
[1:28:29] local riders and commuters as have been
[1:28:31] mentioned from other communities south
[1:28:33] of here currently driving up Blue Hill
[1:28:35] Avenue. A one seat ride to downtown
[1:28:38] along with many destinations in between
[1:28:40] is a wonderful goal. Why is this
[1:28:44] community being denied this future
[1:28:47] opportunity?
[1:28:49] Now the detail if after
[1:28:53] what was that
[1:28:55] that's your time Mr. But go on and wrap
[1:28:57] up.
[1:28:58] Thank you.
[1:28:58] You can wrap up.
[1:28:59] If after a proper analysis, it was
[1:29:01] determined that the underground subway
[1:29:02] was the right approach, but they'd
[1:29:05] already put in a center bus lane, what
[1:29:08] would have to happen? They'd have to
[1:29:09] tear up the whole center bus lane to
[1:29:11] build the subway under the street. That
[1:29:14] would be a sad result following the huge
[1:29:16] cost and disruption the center bus lane
[1:29:19] would have caused.
[1:29:21] Obviously, the orange line extension
[1:29:23] here is a long range desire. Choosing
[1:29:25] this does not preclude the need for
[1:29:27] immediate transportation improvements.
[1:29:29] There are many ways these can be done,
[1:29:30] but don't choose so-called improvements
[1:29:32] that preclude the Orange Line
[1:29:34] construction down the road. The current
[1:29:37] center bus lane planning should stop
[1:29:39] immediately until an open public
[1:29:42] thorough alternatives analysis is done,
[1:29:44] including the Orange Line extension.
[1:29:46] Look at the pros and cons of each. any
[1:29:49] community would deserve this, but
[1:29:51] especially here with the decades of
[1:29:53] broken promises to the people of color.
[1:29:56] Thank you.
[1:29:57] Thank you. Want to just make sure that
[1:30:01] Teresa Teresa Roshelle, you are you
[1:30:03] going to testify? Teresa,
[1:30:07] Michael, why don't you testify and we'll
[1:30:10] let Teresa follow you?
[1:30:16] My my name is uh Michael Kosu,
[1:30:19] co-director of project right. Why this
[1:30:22] issue is a civil rights issue is that
[1:30:24] this whole process has been flawed from
[1:30:26] the start and the neighborhood that's
[1:30:28] most impacted negatively by this pro uh
[1:30:30] plan has the least input into the plan.
[1:30:34] When the meeting was at Growalt Library,
[1:30:37] they had big poster boards of the
[1:30:38] intersections south of of Franklin Park.
[1:30:42] The intersections from Franklin Park
[1:30:44] into Warren Street was very small. It
[1:30:46] was this this wide. You cannot see the
[1:30:49] impact of that plan. And there was a
[1:30:51] reason why for that when they first
[1:30:54] tried to nest scheduled the meeting,
[1:30:56] they had it at the Holland BCY facility
[1:31:00] on by boat in Geneva. We told them
[1:31:02] that's not Grove Hall. So then they
[1:31:03] moved it to the Holland Techch or Burke.
[1:31:06] And as much as I love the Hall and Tech
[1:31:07] Burke, because I spent a lot of time
[1:31:09] there, we told them that that's not
[1:31:11] accessible community-wise for seniors,
[1:31:13] those in walkers, those in wheelchairs,
[1:31:16] and so forth. And the side path that
[1:31:18] they had you take was to go right by the
[1:31:20] dumpsters where there's a lot of needles
[1:31:22] we find, and a lot of rats. So that's
[1:31:24] not very accessible. They said, "Oh, we
[1:31:26] were going to try to use the Grove Hall
[1:31:27] Community Center." But they did not tell
[1:31:28] anyone. So a lot of people who I knew
[1:31:31] who knew the Hall and Tech Burke did not
[1:31:34] come because they knew that it was
[1:31:35] totally inaccessible.
[1:31:37] The other part on this is that we've
[1:31:39] always said before you present a plan on
[1:31:42] Blue Avenue and you're using the flawed
[1:31:44] design of the Columbus A process. Let's
[1:31:48] evaluate what happened on Columbus A.
[1:31:50] It's not safer. We've had two elders,
[1:31:52] very respective elders, killed trying to
[1:31:55] cross the street along Columbus A. You
[1:31:57] have apartment buildings no longer have
[1:31:59] parking in front. So, uh, seniors and
[1:32:03] families have to go around the corner
[1:32:05] several blocks just so they can get to
[1:32:07] their their building. So, why are we
[1:32:08] repeating that same mistake? Businesses
[1:32:10] have lost u customers. We've lost our
[1:32:13] fish market that everyone like to go to,
[1:32:16] right? So, why are we repeating that?
[1:32:19] And they're going to try to tell you
[1:32:20] that it's better and it's faster. Not
[1:32:23] for us. It's it's for growall. So you
[1:32:25] can look at the plan, but if you're
[1:32:27] riding the bus, you you have instead of
[1:32:30] two bus stops between Columbia Road and
[1:32:32] War Street, you only have one. You can't
[1:32:34] drive across uh Blue Avenue. If you're
[1:32:37] leaving your house, you're going to have
[1:32:39] to go one way. You only have one way,
[1:32:40] and you usually have to go into traffic
[1:32:43] um into dead of traffic. In front of
[1:32:45] Harbor Street Health Center, you're
[1:32:47] you're going to have part-time parking.
[1:32:49] So during rush hour, you cannot load and
[1:32:51] unload to a health center. And we have a
[1:32:53] lot more. I think Anton's going to talk.
[1:32:55] We have copies of our of our statement.
[1:32:59] Thank you.
[1:33:01] [applause]
[1:33:02] Teresa Roser
[1:33:04] and John
[1:33:07] Smith, you're next.
[1:33:08] Good afternoon, everyone. My name is
[1:33:09] Teresa Rochelle. I'm a longtime resident
[1:33:12] of Rox Ferry. I am here to express my
[1:33:15] concerns about the um blue the Grove
[1:33:18] Hall bus one bus going up um from Brock
[1:33:22] Prevy to Madapan.
[1:33:24] I'm really um concerned more or less
[1:33:28] that a lot of the statistics and the
[1:33:30] data weren't given at a number of the
[1:33:31] meetings. I've attended all of the
[1:33:34] meetings for Roxberry, Dorchester,
[1:33:37] Madapan, and Jamaica plane. And there
[1:33:40] was a stark difference in Roxberry in
[1:33:42] Dorchester and Matapan. When I went to
[1:33:45] JP, it was more accessible when there
[1:33:48] were more people there and they were
[1:33:50] more uh their neighborhood association
[1:33:53] was more involved. During the meetings,
[1:33:55] one of the questions that was asked is
[1:33:57] how come the neighborhoods do not know
[1:34:00] about the meetings that are being held.
[1:34:02] If I went home and I asked people in my
[1:34:04] neighborhood and many of the people in
[1:34:06] my neighborhood had no idea about this
[1:34:09] meeting or the Blue Hill AB bus meetings
[1:34:12] in certain neighborhoods. So, how are
[1:34:14] the neighborhood associations being
[1:34:16] contacted is what I'd like to know.
[1:34:18] Another thing is that the Orange Line I
[1:34:22] grew up when we had the Orange Line. It
[1:34:24] was a high It was a a a train track that
[1:34:27] was up high, probably about 20 feet up
[1:34:30] in the air.
[1:34:32] Yes. And so the it it leaned a little
[1:34:35] bit, but they promised another transit
[1:34:38] system and we never got another transit
[1:34:40] system. We all we have is the buses.
[1:34:43] Now, the problem I have with the buses
[1:34:45] is that there's not enough information
[1:34:48] that was put out during the meetings.
[1:34:50] They didn't give us an environmental
[1:34:52] study. They gave us all the pros and
[1:34:54] none of the cons. When you give a
[1:34:56] audience the information, you're
[1:34:58] supposed to produce both so you can have
[1:35:00] an objective informed view. That did not
[1:35:03] happen from my perspective. I asked
[1:35:06] about the studies and I did not see
[1:35:08] them. The number one concern that I have
[1:35:11] is that you want a bunch of diesel buses
[1:35:13] going up and down in Roxbury
[1:35:15] neighborhood. You're not giving into
[1:35:17] consideration other projects that are
[1:35:18] already in the making. Not only that,
[1:35:21] you're not considering the fact that
[1:35:22] Roxberry is one of the high toxic
[1:35:25] neighborhoods in the whole state. There
[1:35:28] are many studies that tell you about the
[1:35:29] environmental problems and the high
[1:35:31] toxicity rate here. And none of that was
[1:35:34] mentioned at any of the meeting or how
[1:35:35] they were going to address it. When we
[1:35:37] asked about when are we going to get um
[1:35:40] electrical buses, the answers are
[1:35:42] [clears throat] in three years. So you
[1:35:43] mean you just going to put a system in
[1:35:45] and wait for three years for more
[1:35:47] pollution? I just think that we need
[1:35:50] alternative not one one one shoe size
[1:35:54] does not fit everyone. So we should have
[1:35:56] had an alternative plan. That's all.
[1:35:58] Thank you John Smith.
[1:36:02] [applause]
[1:36:13] How's everybody doing?
[1:36:16] My name is John Smith Saintier and I've
[1:36:18] spent all of my life between Roxberry
[1:36:21] and Madapan.
[1:36:22] And so I found a quote by Malcolm X. I
[1:36:25] really think um sums up my feelings
[1:36:27] about with this whole situation. So he
[1:36:30] says, "If you stick a knife in my back 9
[1:36:32] in and pull it out six inches, there's
[1:36:35] no progress.
[1:36:36] If you pull it out all the way, there's
[1:36:39] no progress. Progress is healing the
[1:36:42] wound that the blow made. And as we all
[1:36:45] know, for generations, our community has
[1:36:48] experienced sustained disinvestment by
[1:36:50] both the city and state. Transportation
[1:36:54] is one of the clearest examples. We have
[1:36:56] been left heavily dependent on bus
[1:36:58] service, and that inequity limits access
[1:37:00] to employment, health care, civic
[1:37:03] participation, and much more. Do you
[1:37:06] know how many people I speak to in my
[1:37:08] neighborhood that have never even been
[1:37:10] to city hall? When I ask them why, some
[1:37:13] tell me plainly that that they do not
[1:37:16] have a reliable way to get there. That
[1:37:19] matters because civil rights are not
[1:37:22] only about formal exclusion.
[1:37:25] Civil rights are also about whether
[1:37:27] public systems create structural
[1:37:29] barriers that limit meaningful
[1:37:32] participation.
[1:37:34] So if residents cannot reliably reach
[1:37:36] city hall and access government,
[1:37:39] transportation, transportation inequity
[1:37:42] becomes a barrier to civic participation
[1:37:44] itself.
[1:37:46] And none of these barriers exist in
[1:37:48] isolation.
[1:37:50] Structural inequities have contributed
[1:37:52] to premature death and shorter lives.
[1:37:54] Transportation is part of that larger
[1:37:56] system. It shapes where people can go,
[1:37:59] what opportunities they can reach, and
[1:38:01] how much time and access they lose
[1:38:04] simply trying to move through the city.
[1:38:08] That is why the civil rights question
[1:38:10] cannot simply be how much money is being
[1:38:12] spent on Blue Hill. A government can
[1:38:15] spend hundreds of million dollars in our
[1:38:17] community and still leave the underlying
[1:38:20] inequity intact.
[1:38:22] Mayor Michelle Woo's approach to racial
[1:38:24] justice too often appears to be making
[1:38:27] historically inequitable systems operate
[1:38:31] more efficiently. But making an
[1:38:33] inequitable system work better is not
[1:38:36] the same as correcting the inequity
[1:38:38] itself. So I ask for like the millionth
[1:38:42] time, when are we going to stop managing
[1:38:45] inequity more efficiently and become
[1:38:47] willing to correct the inequity itself?
[1:38:50] Thank you.
[1:38:54] Want to call up the next five. Uh Marcus
[1:38:59] Ny,
[1:39:01] Paul Simmons,
[1:39:03] M Hudson,
[1:39:06] Robert Hector, and Alan Tanner.
[1:39:15] Marcus,
[1:39:17] are you here? Marcus.
[1:39:20] Sir, what's your name?
[1:39:22] I'm Robert.
[1:39:23] Did you sign up?
[1:39:27] Robert Hector.
[1:39:29] Why don't you come on, Robert Hector?
[1:39:32] Come on. I'm going to talk to you about
[1:39:35] solar power invitation transportation.
[1:39:39] But first of all,
[1:39:43] 30 over 30 years ago, this neighborhood,
[1:39:46] they tore down the elevated train
[1:39:50] and they moved it out of the
[1:39:51] neighborhood. And this is the only
[1:39:54] neighborhood without any rail service at
[1:39:56] all.
[1:39:59] Years later,
[1:40:02] along comes Deval Patrick. goes down to
[1:40:05] Dudley station and says he has better
[1:40:09] transportation for this neighborhood.
[1:40:11] What he gave you was a civil line.
[1:40:15] [clears throat] That's what he brought.
[1:40:17] What I have here
[1:40:20] is solar powered ramp transportation.
[1:40:23] Doesn't cost you 4 cents to put it in.
[1:40:27] That's about it. There's no fossil
[1:40:29] fuels. It operates by itself. you uh
[1:40:33] punch in where you're going to go and
[1:40:35] you go.
[1:40:37] I propose that one side of it'll be it
[1:40:41] can be put it together in a solid train
[1:40:44] all the way down from Matapan to Dudley
[1:40:47] or you can use it as parts and you can
[1:40:49] use your notebook to punch in where you
[1:40:52] want to go and it's run by
[1:40:56] the sun. And it's called solar powered
[1:41:00] energy.
[1:41:02] The way it works, it will start on one
[1:41:05] side of Blue Hill Avenue, not two sides
[1:41:07] is the way they want or down the middle.
[1:41:10] At each bus stop will be a station
[1:41:13] and you get on it and you just punch in
[1:41:16] where you want to go. It doesn't cost a
[1:41:18] lot of money to install it. We're asking
[1:41:21] the city to listen. We already had two
[1:41:24] bills with the state and they wanted to
[1:41:26] put it in South Boston. We want it here
[1:41:28] in this neighborhood.
[1:41:30] This is where we need the the
[1:41:32] transportation.
[1:41:34] And if anyone wants to see it right now,
[1:41:38] I can give it to you on your cell phone
[1:41:42] right now. Your [clears throat]
[1:41:44] telephone number if you want. that this
[1:41:46] this so power industry doesn't cost
[1:41:49] anything to put except for an investment
[1:41:52] in the community and putting
[1:41:55] uh all the cars and things that were on
[1:41:58] one side of the street down the middle
[1:42:00] will be gone. You put one side where
[1:42:04] cars can go up and down. You'll have the
[1:42:06] trees and them still will still be there
[1:42:08] and you still have your bicycles riding
[1:42:10] and everything. It'll it'll can come
[1:42:12] from Matapan
[1:42:15] all the way down Blue Hill Avenue. We
[1:42:16] can run it over to downtown Boston or
[1:42:19] over to the Orange Line.
[1:42:22] And uh the use in it is for us in this
[1:42:27] neighborhood. So I'm asking the city to
[1:42:29] take a look at it.
[1:42:30] Thank you, Mr. Hector.
[1:42:33] [applause]
[1:42:35] Is Marcus here? Is there a Marcus here?
[1:42:39] No.
[1:42:41] There's a Mac here.
[1:42:46] Mac is Mac Hudson.
[1:42:52] Thank you. Um, first, good evening to
[1:42:55] all the city councilors, chairman, and
[1:42:59] to everybody that came out. My name is
[1:43:01] M. Hudson. Uh, I am one of the main
[1:43:04] facilitators of the Black Agenda
[1:43:05] Coalition and I keep showing up for
[1:43:08] these meetings because I think for the
[1:43:12] first time I'm hearing at least framed
[1:43:15] of the proper way as a civil rights
[1:43:17] violation. And I think there is no
[1:43:20] fundamental constitutional right than
[1:43:22] the right to be heard. And when I've
[1:43:25] showed up at all these hearings, the one
[1:43:27] thing that I've realized is that we're
[1:43:29] not being heard. We're being talked to,
[1:43:33] spat at,
[1:43:35] not being heard.
[1:43:36] Bamboozled.
[1:43:37] And then the the other fundamental is
[1:43:39] the right to redress.
[1:43:41] At [clears throat] these meetings, there
[1:43:43] should be a redress if you're not
[1:43:45] hearing what you should be hearing,
[1:43:48] right? All of which our community has
[1:43:51] been deprived of and and constantly
[1:43:53] being deprived of. So I I want to urge
[1:43:58] this body and the rest of us to stop
[1:44:01] thinking now we cannot depend on what
[1:44:05] the city's going to do because I'm
[1:44:07] hearing now the the plot thickens.
[1:44:10] They're lying about the what what the
[1:44:12] agreement was. We we just heard this
[1:44:15] about the theus,
[1:44:17] right? I mean what they're coming before
[1:44:20] us. They don't even have the decency to
[1:44:22] tell us the truth.
[1:44:24] To me, that is the most greatest
[1:44:26] disrespect that you can do to a
[1:44:28] community, but it's being done to our
[1:44:31] community because we're black and
[1:44:34] because we're not respected. Now, if
[1:44:37] that makes city hall a racist, then I
[1:44:40] would be the first one to say that's
[1:44:42] exactly what I'm feeling, that they are
[1:44:44] racist. And there's no way to understand
[1:44:47] this because when I look at every other
[1:44:49] community, it's not a fact that they
[1:44:51] just coming out to vote, but they're
[1:44:53] showing up in those spaces saying what
[1:44:55] they do and what they don't. And no
[1:44:57] matter how many times we show up in
[1:44:59] these same spaces and say we don't want
[1:45:01] it, we're being s we're being told so
[1:45:04] what. That's a fundamental wrong. And so
[1:45:09] I concede and I know my two minutes is
[1:45:11] up and I urge all of us to stop
[1:45:13] contemplating. We need to stop filing an
[1:45:16] action. We need to bring this to a
[1:45:19] court. We need to sue the city. We need
[1:45:22] to start suing them on every single bit
[1:45:25] and fight them to the end. Peace.
[1:45:29] Thank you, Paul Simmons.
[1:45:40] Uh, do you hear me?
[1:45:44] Hello.
[1:45:47] Am I coming through now?
[1:45:48] Yes.
[1:45:49] Okay. My name is Paul Simmons.
[1:45:50] [clears throat] Um, prior to the last
[1:45:52] meeting, I asked an engineer who had
[1:45:55] worked for the MBTA with the MIT degree
[1:45:58] what his professional opinion was of the
[1:46:00] city's proposal. If you'll bear with me,
[1:46:03] I'll quote from the email he sent me to
[1:46:05] so there's no misrepresentation.
[1:46:09] In my opinion, there are numerous
[1:46:10] problems with the proposed center
[1:46:12] running bus lane project. The tea is
[1:46:14] promising that the project will result
[1:46:16] in a 10 to 15 minutes shorter bus ride
[1:46:18] along Bluehill Avenue. I think the time
[1:46:21] savings will be marketkedly less,
[1:46:23] perhaps closer to 5 minutes or less. So
[1:46:25] why build the project in the first place
[1:46:27] and settle small businesses with several
[1:46:29] years of significant construction
[1:46:31] impacts? We can instead focus on
[1:46:34] implementing roadway safety improvements
[1:46:36] in the near term. And while true
[1:46:38] alternative alternatives analysis and
[1:46:40] feasibility study performed that analyze
[1:46:43] a range of possible public transit
[1:46:45] improvements along the corridors,
[1:46:47] including all rail options. The 10 to 15
[1:46:51] minute time savings is indeed
[1:46:53] questionable given the following. We
[1:46:56] believe that the higher end of the
[1:46:58] bracket is applicable to a southbound
[1:47:00] trip from Grove Hall to Madapan Square
[1:47:03] since the proposed roadway upgrades will
[1:47:05] allow a bus to turn left directly on the
[1:47:07] Madapan station rather than having to
[1:47:09] proceed further southbound over the
[1:47:11] river then make a U-turn as is the case
[1:47:13] today. As part of a near-term standalone
[1:47:17] safety improvement project, if so
[1:47:19] desired, we can reconfigure the
[1:47:21] intersection to facilitate a left turn
[1:47:22] for buses and realize a fiveminute time
[1:47:25] savings. It follows we should focus on
[1:47:28] purported 10-minute time savings and
[1:47:30] dispute this metric. The proposed
[1:47:33] project will reduce the number of bus
[1:47:35] stops by approximately 50%. Accordingly,
[1:47:38] many riders will have to travel
[1:47:40] significant further significantly
[1:47:42] further to a bus stop, thereby
[1:47:44] increasing their nonb their nonbus
[1:47:46] travel times, even though the actual
[1:47:48] trip times on the bus may be shorter.
[1:47:52] The 10-minute time savings is only
[1:47:54] realizable for a full length trip from
[1:47:56] Matapan Square to Grove Hall or full
[1:47:59] length trip in the opposite direction.
[1:48:01] Many passengers board buses. Is that am
[1:48:04] I running out of time? Paul, going to
[1:48:06] wrap up. You can wrap up.
[1:48:08] Okay. Well, well, briefly, there were
[1:48:10] all kinds of flaws in the city's
[1:48:12] presentation. My other concern, which I
[1:48:15] wasn't able to get to, was increased
[1:48:16] congestion. The problem you have, and
[1:48:19] it's been mentioned before,
[1:48:20] I was speaking the mic into the mic.
[1:48:22] Okay. Other people have mentioned the
[1:48:24] issues of air quality. You have extra
[1:48:26] congestion. You have you have more
[1:48:29] particular pollution. Thanks to the
[1:48:31] senator, I now know that there will be
[1:48:33] 350 buses coming in to shuttle people
[1:48:36] into White Stadium. That is also
[1:48:39] expected to increase congestion. So,
[1:48:40] what you're going to see given the
[1:48:43] existing sensors for particular
[1:48:45] pollution, it's increased air quality
[1:48:49] degradation, more asthma triggers, and
[1:48:52] inevitably more deaths. So anybody that
[1:48:55] calls himself to be in favor of
[1:48:56] environmental justice cannot in any way
[1:49:00] in conscience support this project
[1:49:02] because people will be hurt. Thank you.
[1:49:06] Thank you
[1:49:08] Alan Tanner.
[1:49:22] Good evening members of this Boston City
[1:49:25] Council and to everybody present. My
[1:49:27] name is Alan Tanner. I testify today as
[1:49:32] a leader with Prophetic Resistance
[1:49:34] Boston and as well as a resident of
[1:49:36] Roxbury.
[1:49:39] My first point is that this process was
[1:49:43] not based in listening to the people.
[1:49:46] Listening to the people is what we see
[1:49:48] today where we have the city coming to
[1:49:51] the people, listening to the needs of
[1:49:53] the people and then moving upon what the
[1:49:56] people have said.
[1:49:58] That is not what we have seen in this
[1:50:01] process of the center running bus lane.
[1:50:04] Um my next point
[1:50:06] is that there has been a
[1:50:07] disproportionate impact in black
[1:50:10] communities. you know, constantly as has
[1:50:12] been mentioned already, if
[1:50:14] [clears throat] we have other
[1:50:15] communities, if I go to Back Bay, if I
[1:50:17] go to JP and we have people that are
[1:50:20] saying, "No, this is not something that
[1:50:23] we want," then guess what? That's
[1:50:25] actually considered. But now, if we go
[1:50:28] to Roxbury, Doorchester, Matapan, we are
[1:50:31] constantly told, "Oh, don't don't worry
[1:50:33] about it. This is it's the money's
[1:50:35] there. It's going to happen. It's going
[1:50:36] to happen." That is not okay.
[1:50:41] My next point, rail has been here
[1:50:43] before. This is not the first time we
[1:50:46] are looking at the possibility of rail.
[1:50:50] And so we we should not shut down all
[1:50:54] other options. We we should not shut
[1:50:56] down, you know, options and say, "Oh,
[1:50:59] well, no, we just don't have the money
[1:51:01] for rail." But as has been mentioned, we
[1:51:03] have the fair share amendment. You know,
[1:51:05] we have invested money in other things.
[1:51:08] So, let us think about investing and not
[1:51:11] divesting from our communities. Um, my
[1:51:15] other point, other center bus lanes such
[1:51:18] as the one on Columbus Avenue, that has
[1:51:21] been atrocious. It's created traffic.
[1:51:23] It's created bottlenecks, and it has
[1:51:26] been consistently known that that is not
[1:51:30] what we want.
[1:51:33] Safety issues. I'm actually particularly
[1:51:35] worried. I've looked at the plan. um for
[1:51:38] the segment of Blue Hill Avenue that's
[1:51:40] in front of my church. Um and they plan
[1:51:44] to put a a bike lane also kind of like
[1:51:47] on the sidewalk in front of my church.
[1:51:50] So I'm like, "Oh, so now not only are we
[1:51:52] asking our seniors and our young people
[1:51:54] to cross two lanes of traffic, but we're
[1:51:57] also asking them to cross a bike lane,
[1:52:00] too. So now we're adding another
[1:52:02] hazard." Well, that does not work for
[1:52:05] me.
[1:52:06] Um, and in my closing two points,
[1:52:10] I want to focus on
[1:52:14] the the fact that to consistently say we
[1:52:17] are going to go ahead and we're going to
[1:52:19] do this, that is an egregious abuse of
[1:52:22] authority.
[1:52:24] And lastly, I call for an alternative
[1:52:28] analysis. Thank you for your time.
[1:52:30] Thank Thank you. [applause]
[1:52:34] The next five is uh Maha Alim.
[1:52:41] Maha Ashlin.
[1:52:47] Drew Carpenter,
[1:52:54] Asia Jackson,
[1:52:57] Antoine
[1:52:59] Joe Care,
[1:53:03] Anthony Bayz, and Diane Wilkerson.
[1:53:09] Yes.
[1:53:11] Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
[1:53:13] Good evening.
[1:53:13] My name is Drew Carpenter.
[1:53:16] Um, Out of all the speakers that came up
[1:53:18] here, I think I'm one of the ones who
[1:53:22] actually just lived like two minutes
[1:53:24] from here. I moved at 484 Blue Hill Lav
[1:53:27] in 1972.
[1:53:30] I moved 484 Blue Hill Lav 1972 right
[1:53:33] next to M Dixon. I watch Blue Hill Laugh
[1:53:36] shrink.
[1:53:38] I watch him shrink and I'm like, you
[1:53:41] know what is their fixation on Blue Hill
[1:53:44] Laugh?
[1:53:46] You know what is their fixation on blue
[1:53:48] your lab? Like I grew up in this
[1:53:50] neighborhood and we did good, you know,
[1:53:53] as we did as we do. Well, whatever we
[1:53:56] do, whatever we did, we did do good. I
[1:53:58] don't know if that makes sense. I'm a
[1:53:59] little nervous. I ain't going to lie.
[1:54:01] But what I do know is that that bus lane
[1:54:04] thing triggered me. That bus name
[1:54:07] triggered me. I understand the history
[1:54:09] of Boston. See, I was bus from there to
[1:54:12] South Boston and had to get under the
[1:54:14] bus, get under the seats because rocks,
[1:54:16] bricks, sticks, and racist slurs was
[1:54:18] coming through the window. You know what
[1:54:20] I mean? I didn't want to leave my
[1:54:22] neighborhood and go somewhere else. What
[1:54:24] I what we did want was them to give us
[1:54:27] what they gave them. And that's what we
[1:54:29] don't get. We never get what they get.
[1:54:32] We get less because that's how they view
[1:54:35] us, less.
[1:54:37] This community, someone's talked about
[1:54:39] gentrification. I'm going go I'm going
[1:54:41] to go a different route and this is no
[1:54:42] charge to the Hispanic community. This
[1:54:44] community is like 75% Hispanic. I can
[1:54:48] count the Hispanic people on my hands in
[1:54:50] this room. Is the word getting to them?
[1:54:53] Is anybody talking to them,
[1:54:55] communicating with them or the rest of
[1:54:57] them?
[1:54:58] But they don't care because they wanted
[1:55:00] this to go quiet as possible. I was at
[1:55:03] the Burke meeting when they I was told,
[1:55:05] "Oh yeah, construction is going to
[1:55:07] happen regardless in 2028. Everything
[1:55:09] was paid for." I was lied right to my
[1:55:11] face.
[1:55:13] That's disrespectful.
[1:55:16] That's straight disrespectful. I And I'm
[1:55:18] triggered by all this. I'm pro black all
[1:55:21] day. I love my people. I love my
[1:55:23] community.
[1:55:25] I want y'all to love us, too, the way we
[1:55:27] are. To me, I've been taking that those
[1:55:30] buses since they was 10 cent up and down
[1:55:33] Blue Hill A. I'm okay with waiting the
[1:55:35] extra five minutes because the extra
[1:55:37] five minutes gave me an opportunity to
[1:55:39] meet someone in my neighborhood that I
[1:55:41] never met before. Community
[1:55:45] togetherness. We don't need y'all to
[1:55:46] come over here and dictate how we move
[1:55:49] about in our community.
[1:55:51] We don't need that. What you What we
[1:55:54] need is y'all to hear the people in the
[1:55:55] community. Talk with them. meet with us.
[1:55:58] But y'all don't want that. That ain't
[1:56:01] what y'all want. That ain't what y'all
[1:56:02] ever wanted, you know. So, leave us
[1:56:06] alone.
[1:56:11] [cheering]
[1:56:13] Anton.
[1:56:21] Anton, can you just stay where you live?
[1:56:23] Sure.
[1:56:24] So, I'm Anson Joano. I work for Project
[1:56:26] Wright. Um I've worked in Grof fall
[1:56:28] since 19 2000 something like that but um
[1:56:32] basically I just wanted to talk about
[1:56:34] the plan that they have proposed
[1:56:35] [clears throat] and how it affects
[1:56:36] growall itself because I understand
[1:56:38] whether we don't want it or not but what
[1:56:40] they've actually proposed like what what
[1:56:42] is it that we have so um part of the
[1:56:46] issue is that a lot some of the project
[1:56:48] is not even what directly happens at
[1:56:49] Blue Hill but it's what's going to be
[1:56:51] pushed into the neighborhood streets
[1:56:52] around it that we need to also be
[1:56:54] concerned about. So between Sver and
[1:56:57] Wayne, the current design reduces
[1:56:59] northbound traffic to one lane,
[1:57:01] restricts several left turns, makes
[1:57:03] nazing a one-way eastbound, redirects
[1:57:06] traffic towards Sver and Elmhill. Right
[1:57:08] between Wayne and Washington, there's
[1:57:10] only one general traffic lane in each
[1:57:12] direction along with a pickup and drop
[1:57:14] off from the Carolina Academy. Right.
[1:57:17] And at Castlegate, drivers would be
[1:57:19] limited to a right turn with other
[1:57:21] movements redirected through Washington,
[1:57:22] Normandy, or Elm Hill. And each of these
[1:57:25] changes is small by itself, but together
[1:57:28] they raise one major question, which is
[1:57:30] how much traffic is being moved off
[1:57:32] Blueh Hill and onto the streets where
[1:57:34] Groveall residents actually live.
[1:57:36] Right. So this is information the
[1:57:38] community should see. We need the we
[1:57:41] need the projected before and after
[1:57:43] traffic volumes for Elm Hill, Sver,
[1:57:46] Washington, Normandy, Nas, Pasadena,
[1:57:48] [clears throat] Wayne, Supple, all of
[1:57:50] these streets
[1:57:52] before we can actually make even an
[1:57:54] informed decision and we haven't been
[1:57:56] presented with any of these. Um, we also
[1:57:59] need to know what happens in the
[1:58:01] one-lane sections during the real
[1:58:02] neighborhood conditions. School pickups,
[1:58:04] deliveries, double parking, crashes,
[1:58:07] disabled vehicles. Their transit
[1:58:09] concerns, too. Existing bus stops at
[1:58:11] Sver Street are being replaced by
[1:58:13] stations farther along the corridor,
[1:58:15] which could mean longer walks for some
[1:58:17] riders. Um, the current plan shows no
[1:58:20] bike lanes from Sver through Warren
[1:58:22] Street. So, the idea about bike
[1:58:25] transportation being better, we don't
[1:58:27] get that. So, that's another question to
[1:58:29] bring up there. Uh, just wrap up. So if
[1:58:33] Gro Falls is asked to accept these
[1:58:34] tradeoffs, then we need the numbers that
[1:58:36] are specific to Gro Hall and not just
[1:58:38] the corridor wide averages.
[1:58:40] So thank you.
[1:58:42] Thank you. Thank you, Asia Jackson.
[1:58:50] Asia, could you just state where you
[1:58:52] live?
[1:58:53] I live in Roxberry.
[1:58:56] Roxberry.
[1:58:58] Oh, my time started, y'all. Okay. So,
[1:59:01] good evening everyone. My name is Asia
[1:59:02] Jackson. I'm from Roxberry. I'm a
[1:59:05] stakeholder here. I'm speaking for
[1:59:07] myself, but I'm a part of several
[1:59:09] organizations that are in this room.
[1:59:12] Five generations, five
[1:59:15] lived on this soil, fought for this
[1:59:18] rail. My grandmother, my greatg
[1:59:20] grandmother fought for this rail. Fast
[1:59:22] forward to tonight. My son spend 95
[1:59:26] minutes from Matapan station all the way
[1:59:29] to Rugos twice daily.
[1:59:34] Think about that. That is not a delay.
[1:59:37] That is not inconvenience. That is a
[1:59:39] human life, human potential and economic
[1:59:43] opportunity systemically
[1:59:46] stolen from our children by a broken
[1:59:50] transit grid. Let's be honest. Darkest
[1:59:53] number 1340 and 1341
[1:59:56] for the rapid transit that was stripped
[1:59:59] from us in 1987
[2:00:02] was never replaced when billions flow
[2:00:06] seamlessly
[2:00:07] to white communities. $2.3 million
[2:00:12] billion
[2:00:14] for the green line extension. 1.58
[2:00:17] billion for the red and orange line on
[2:00:20] the other side extension,
[2:00:22] 1 billion for South Coast Rail, but our
[2:00:27] neighbors neighborhoods are given measly
[2:00:31] little pennies. We get $164 million
[2:00:35] diesel bus lane. What is that?
[2:00:39] That is not an accident.
[2:00:42] That is modernday infrastructure
[2:00:44] redlinining.
[2:00:46] This is separate and unequal layout
[2:00:49] inflicts structural economic harm. It
[2:00:53] sentences our families to profound
[2:00:56] health equity crisis. I'm going to be
[2:00:58] one more minute longer because I got
[2:01:00] some demands and they need to be
[2:01:02] answered in 30 days. So blockading
[2:01:06] direct access to Boston Medical Center,
[2:01:09] New England, Longwood Medical Area, our
[2:01:13] children, are they not worth more?
[2:01:17] Is our time worth less? Are we not
[2:01:21] supposed to have jobs in our
[2:01:23] commonwealth
[2:01:24] that help us our livelihood?
[2:01:28] 95 minutes
[2:01:31] to Ruggles, not even downtown. Before
[2:01:34] this body commits a single dollar to a
[2:01:37] painted bus lane, I demand a formal
[2:01:40] title six civil rights review. Number
[2:01:44] one, I am placing eight action
[2:01:47] actionable mandates directly onto the
[2:01:51] official record. Number one, price a
[2:01:55] green line connection. There's a rail
[2:01:59] underneath Tmont Street that is not
[2:02:01] being used. We need to look into that.
[2:02:06] There's a formal mass dot form that even
[2:02:08] gives the information about how much it
[2:02:12] will cost for that rail to go to Newbian
[2:02:15] Square and then extend to Madapan
[2:02:18] station. We deserve that.
[2:02:21] Number two, study a direct heavyline
[2:02:24] rail connection from Matapan to Forest
[2:02:27] Hills or South Station, which would be
[2:02:30] better.
[2:02:31] Three, force a 30-year operational cost
[2:02:34] audit. Number four, formally review my
[2:02:37] Gold Line 28 Express for immediate
[2:02:40] interim relief while we work on our rail
[2:02:45] system. Number five, stop using fake
[2:02:48] riding times claims from true doortodoor
[2:02:53] trips, taking away stops that our
[2:02:56] elderly residents cannot get to these
[2:02:58] stops, which will in fact create longer
[2:03:02] travel times by 20 plus minutes for
[2:03:05] elderly and disabled residents traveling
[2:03:09] on this middle bus bus disaster. So um
[2:03:15] we need number six a published verified
[2:03:18] fatality construction impact and canopy
[2:03:21] removal data block by block. Number
[2:03:25] seven we need funds for home ownership
[2:03:29] stability and binding reperative growth
[2:03:33] especially for the leftover American
[2:03:36] free men that are here along Blue Hill A
[2:03:39] and in Roxbury. Establish number eight,
[2:03:42] my last establish absolute
[2:03:45] accountability. I demand that every
[2:03:47] single agency involved answer each of
[2:03:50] these eight demands
[2:03:52] in writing point by point within 30
[2:03:56] days. We will not wait another 40 years.
[2:04:00] Our community deserves equality,
[2:04:04] economic mobility, health equity, and
[2:04:07] rail now. Thank you.
[2:04:13] I'd like to acknowledge
[2:04:17] uh and
[2:04:20] give my uh councelor colleague uh
[2:04:24] councelor Pepin. I didn't see you down
[2:04:26] there. Uh so I just want to acknowledge
[2:04:29] councelor Pepin. Uh we're in public
[2:04:32] testimony, but let me just give him two
[2:04:35] minutes to make his opening statement.
[2:04:38] Since we don't have a panel up anymore,
[2:04:41] uh you won't need those two minutes, but
[2:04:43] councelor Pepin, uh go on and make your
[2:04:45] two-minute opening statement.
[2:04:48] I appre Thank you, Councelor Pepper. I
[2:04:51] co pepper, thank you so much, council
[2:04:53] war. Thank you so much for for just
[2:04:56] holding this this council hearing
[2:04:57] tonight. Uh for me this is a very
[2:04:59] important topic. Uh public
[2:05:01] transportation
[2:05:03] for me advocacy has been gone a long way
[2:05:05] before I was a city councelor. Used to
[2:05:07] work for an organization called
[2:05:08] transportation for Massachusetts where
[2:05:11] we studied a lot the implications of
[2:05:13] public transportation. And I actually
[2:05:15] got the opportunity to do a lot of the
[2:05:16] studying of the lack of public
[2:05:19] transportation investments in these
[2:05:21] neighborhoods. And to their credit and
[2:05:24] to the credit of a lot of residents that
[2:05:25] I've heard tonight, the hurt is real.
[2:05:28] And I know that the BTA and the state
[2:05:30] and even the city has for a long time
[2:05:32] promised a lot of projects that were
[2:05:34] supposed to be here. Um they moved the
[2:05:37] orange line away from Washington Street
[2:05:39] and Square many years ago. They moved
[2:05:41] away the light rail, the trolley that
[2:05:43] used to run down Blueho Avenue. A lot of
[2:05:46] things have been taken away from these
[2:05:47] communities. And I know many of you know
[2:05:50] that I do support this project.
[2:05:52] But it's not because of any
[2:05:53] relationships or any new ideas for me.
[2:05:56] It's it's because of I truly believe in
[2:05:58] the usage of public transportation. Um I
[2:06:02] do believe in the fact that if we allow
[2:06:05] this type of infrastructure to come, it
[2:06:07] does give the opportunity to build a
[2:06:10] light rail down Blueho Avenue like many
[2:06:12] of you are asking for. But I also have I
[2:06:16] I believe it was a previous speaker that
[2:06:18] mentioned the tunnel that's underneath
[2:06:20] Washington Street that used to that used
[2:06:23] to connect um the old previous orange
[2:06:25] line. There's a lot of infrastructure
[2:06:26] underneath our grounds that are being
[2:06:29] they're not used and um I know that
[2:06:32] there was a proposed extension by some
[2:06:34] of my colleagues, but I think there's
[2:06:35] even a better proposal out there that ex
[2:06:38] extends out of Tus Medical Center down
[2:06:41] street to Nubian Square and then an
[2:06:43] extension down to under Blueho Avenue.
[2:06:46] Um that type of infrastructure that is
[2:06:48] worth looking into. I believe that study
[2:06:50] that that was referenced by the
[2:06:51] residents is the 2012 Mass DOT study
[2:06:54] with in partnership with the Roxberry
[2:06:56] Doorchester Matapan Coalition that did
[2:06:58] that study and actually recommended
[2:07:00] that. And I say that because it is
[2:07:03] important to recognize what what the
[2:07:05] work has been done and what hasn't been
[2:07:06] done. But ultimately I say all that just
[2:07:08] to say I am a pro public transportation
[2:07:10] advocate. That is essentially why I
[2:07:12] really do support this. But I do hear
[2:07:14] why people don't support this. And I
[2:07:16] just wanted to make sure that I was here
[2:07:18] to hear more comments from the
[2:07:19] residents. And thank you, councelor Cole
[2:07:20] Pepper.
[2:07:22] Thank you, Council Pepin. Let us move
[2:07:24] back to our public testimony. Anthony
[2:07:26] Bayz and then Diane Wilkerson.
[2:07:34] Hello, my name is Tony Bias.
[2:07:35] Tony Bayas, where's you from?
[2:07:37] Peacel. And someone asked where the
[2:07:40] Hispanics are. Here we are. So, first,
[2:07:43] could I get a show of hands from our
[2:07:44] electives who've actually rode the bus
[2:07:46] to get here?
[2:07:48] Well, I did, and it was slowed by
[2:07:50] traffic. Now, imagine you rely on the
[2:07:52] bus to get to work or to go to school.
[2:07:55] The plan to install center running bus
[2:07:56] lanes is sensible in light of the facts
[2:07:59] and despite the lies. I will now go over
[2:08:01] what is true in this debate. We know
[2:08:04] that 40,000 people a day ride the bus on
[2:08:07] this corridor. We know that the majority
[2:08:09] of traffic on this corridor is made up
[2:08:12] of bus riders. We know that over 75% of
[2:08:15] bus riders on Blue Hill A are people of
[2:08:18] color. We know that this plan would save
[2:08:21] up to 15 minutes for each rider. We know
[2:08:24] that the grant is specifically allocated
[2:08:26] for buses and not for any other project.
[2:08:28] We know that if not used, this money
[2:08:31] would not be returned and invested in
[2:08:33] this community. Now, let's go over what
[2:08:35] is not true. In other words, lies. The
[2:08:39] plan can be changed for other purposes.
[2:08:42] Center running bus lane platforms are
[2:08:44] unsafe to board. Have you ridden the
[2:08:46] green line? The plan is removing
[2:08:48] parking. Not happening. The plan will
[2:08:50] preclude future plans for rail projects.
[2:08:53] There hasn't been thousands of hours of
[2:08:55] community outreach. All of these
[2:08:57] statements are not founded in truth.
[2:09:00] Let's also dispel the notion that this
[2:09:02] hearing was of importance to the civil
[2:09:04] rights committee. This was orchestrated
[2:09:06] in order to have a biased hearing.
[2:09:08] Lastly, I want to address the people
[2:09:10] that think that if this is built, these
[2:09:13] bus lanes would gentrify the
[2:09:14] neighborhood. What do you think is going
[2:09:16] to happen if they build a subway?
[2:09:25] [clears throat]
[2:09:38] Senator Wilkinson.
[2:09:44] Good evening.
[2:09:48] For the record, my name is Diane
[2:09:50] Wilkerson.
[2:09:51] too many organizations in history to
[2:09:54] recount, but I live about 60 seconds
[2:09:57] from Blue Hill Avenue off Harvard Street
[2:09:59] and Harvard Common
[2:10:08] to me the question to thank you for
[2:10:12] being here. The these counselors I
[2:10:15] suspect all started already had a day at
[2:10:17] city hall hearing. So I think Lewis said
[2:10:20] I'm thank you for considering it not you
[2:10:23] know not robbery for you to give up your
[2:10:24] evening to be here. We appreciate you.
[2:10:29] The question for me is how is this not a
[2:10:33] civil rights issue.
[2:10:36] I want to share with the counselors
[2:10:40] um just a brief history
[2:10:43] related to you related to the council.
[2:10:46] In 1989,
[2:10:48] the city of Boston's city council held
[2:10:50] its first ever out of city hall
[2:10:55] community hearing.
[2:10:58] Do you know why? Because the federal
[2:11:01] court ordered the city of Boston
[2:11:05] to to create a home rule petition to
[2:11:08] give the Fair Housing Commission some
[2:11:10] teeth. They called our Fair Housing
[2:11:12] Commission a paper tiger.
[2:11:16] the then chair of the housing committee
[2:11:19] for the Boston City Council. Some of you
[2:11:22] may know the name, attorney Jim Burn. He
[2:11:24] was the partner for somebody named Tom
[2:11:27] Fineran. That name sound familiar? Well,
[2:11:31] Councelor Burn said after we did all of
[2:11:35] the hearings, the city council hearings,
[2:11:37] the place was packed in support of the
[2:11:41] home rule petition.
[2:11:44] Councelor Burns announced that he was
[2:11:46] certain, despite the fact that they had
[2:11:48] not heard any at the council hearing,
[2:11:50] there must be some opposition out there
[2:11:52] and we're going to go find it. So, the
[2:11:55] first of the hearings
[2:11:58] was at St. Angel Church in South Boston.
[2:12:04] I'm amazed that they always feel like
[2:12:05] they need to tell us how to behave. When
[2:12:08] did we ever have a city council hearing
[2:12:10] that? Anyway, y'all get the picture.
[2:12:15] It was the ugliest,
[2:12:18] most intense
[2:12:20] environment I have ever experienced in
[2:12:22] this city. I was the attorney, the
[2:12:26] council for the Boston branch at the
[2:12:29] time that was led by Lewis Alisa
[2:12:32] and I was there. I went to the hearing
[2:12:34] with my co-consel
[2:12:36] Naen Cohen who was attorney at the
[2:12:38] lawyers committee and councelor
[2:12:42] Co Pepper very familiar.
[2:12:45] I was the only black face in that room
[2:12:47] about 400 very angry white people
[2:12:52] and we ended up having to get police
[2:12:55] escort to get me out of the building
[2:13:01] in 1993
[2:13:04] and my first year in the state senate.
[2:13:08] I was one of the signitories on the
[2:13:10] letter that was signed that was
[2:13:12] organized 94 because Mayor Manino signed
[2:13:16] that letter.
[2:13:18] Almost all of the city councilors signed
[2:13:20] the letter. All of the state rep, state
[2:13:23] representative Fox, state representative
[2:13:25] Rushing signed the letter committing to
[2:13:29] the commitment
[2:13:31] for comparable replacement to the orange
[2:13:34] line when it came down.
[2:13:37] My signature is on that letter.
[2:13:43] In 2004,
[2:13:46] after negotiating with the MBTA with the
[2:13:50] help of the former Congressman Capalano,
[2:13:54] I ended up leading the cavalcade
[2:13:58] of buses from the MBTA out of Cabbat
[2:14:02] Yard on Washington Street in Egleston.
[2:14:06] finally
[2:14:08] after I don't know how many years. Why?
[2:14:10] Because it was a toxic toxic deadly
[2:14:16] site. The most deadly
[2:14:20] because the buses idled all the time. We
[2:14:24] we literally had a cat a cavalcade that
[2:14:26] left Cabat Yard down Washington Street
[2:14:30] into the Arborway to get those buses out
[2:14:33] of Roxberry. We have the largest number
[2:14:36] of school age children in that fivemile
[2:14:39] radius that we call Roxberry,
[2:14:41] Doorchester, and Matipan. The highest
[2:14:44] rates of asthma in the state
[2:14:49] because of the toxic fumes spewed by the
[2:14:51] diesel buses.
[2:14:54] How you could say counselor
[2:14:58] that you heard all the con concerns but
[2:15:01] you still support public transit is
[2:15:03] completely beyond me. People died
[2:15:07] because of the experiment at com at
[2:15:10] Columbus Avenue. The day after the
[2:15:13] Holland school hearing the city
[2:15:15] announced they were scrapping the plan
[2:15:17] for the extension on Columbus A. And I
[2:15:21] would submit is because they don't ever
[2:15:23] want people to see
[2:15:26] the number of incidents, accidents,
[2:15:28] fatalities
[2:15:30] that occurred in that site.
[2:15:33] You've never seen it and you never will.
[2:15:40] This morning,
[2:15:42] the mayor was on Java with Jimmy talking
[2:15:46] about Blue Hill Avenue.
[2:15:49] He said, "I I I I know that you've had
[2:15:53] all these meetings. There's a lot of
[2:15:54] opposition." She said, "No, there
[2:15:56] isn't."
[2:15:58] She said, "No, there isn't." Did you
[2:16:00] watch the hearing at Matipan
[2:16:03] at Morning Star Baptist Church?
[2:16:08] Almost half of the people there
[2:16:09] testified in support. That's what she
[2:16:11] said this morning.
[2:16:15] So when you ask the questions, why has
[2:16:18] it been so difficult?
[2:16:20] Is because she lies.
[2:16:25] And more important than that,
[2:16:28] for the first time in all the almost 50
[2:16:30] years that I've been here, as we sit
[2:16:32] here this evening, the city of Boston is
[2:16:36] marshalling its assets against us.
[2:16:40] They have a rapid response team of
[2:16:43] employees that we pay for every day who
[2:16:47] were on your Facebook post 10 minutes
[2:16:49] after you post them.
[2:16:52] Try it.
[2:16:54] I've seen them respond to you. I've seen
[2:16:57] them respond to you. Oh, they always
[2:17:00] respond to me until I chase them off.
[2:17:03] But we chase them with facts. The day
[2:17:05] after the Morning Star meeting,
[2:17:09] someone posted, "Why would they say
[2:17:12] we're going to have increased service?
[2:17:13] We're going to lose bus stops."
[2:17:16] That's a fact.
[2:17:19] We're going from 19 to 10. What that
[2:17:23] means is those people you see pushing
[2:17:24] the baby carriages, toting their carts
[2:17:28] on the walkers are going to have to walk
[2:17:30] three times further to get on this bus
[2:17:33] in the middle of the street.
[2:17:36] Can you see the traffic from Canton and
[2:17:39] Milton and Stoton tearing down Blue Hill
[2:17:42] Avenue blowing their horn to get Grandma
[2:17:44] to hurry up and get across the street
[2:17:47] cuz that's what we're going to see. So
[2:17:53] she said it this morning, folks. Oh, no.
[2:17:57] Most of supporting 3500 signatures on a
[2:18:01] petition to date. When did 3,500 of us
[2:18:04] sign anything?
[2:18:07] No, there will not be any electric buses
[2:18:11] in three years. The MBTA already
[2:18:14] announced that they are pulling pushing
[2:18:16] it back. They're at least five years
[2:18:19] away. Can you just get toxic spewed in
[2:18:22] your face every day for five more years?
[2:18:25] It's going to kill us,
[2:18:27] Senator.
[2:18:28] Period. So, I'm I'm gonna wrap with
[2:18:30] this. I think it was West who asked the
[2:18:33] counselors to raise their hands if they
[2:18:35] supported the I the con the notion that
[2:18:38] this was a civil rights issue.
[2:18:45] Six actually everybody who was here
[2:18:48] raised their hand. I think there was six
[2:18:50] and I we already know that councelor
[2:18:52] Murphy who had left she already said she
[2:18:54] was in that's seven
[2:18:57] even without counselor from district
[2:18:59] five seven is a majority on the council
[2:19:03] last I checked
[2:19:06] the idea that somebody could be bold
[2:19:09] enough to walk in here and say I live on
[2:19:11] Beacon Hill.
[2:19:16] Oh, no. I was not going to let that one
[2:19:18] go.
[2:19:21] Can you imagine the audacity?
[2:19:27] And he didn't tell you he works for
[2:19:30] Council Durkin.
[2:19:33] Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You order.
[2:19:36] Y'all order.
[2:19:37] He didn't tell you that he's taken out
[2:19:40] papers OCPF to run citywide for city
[2:19:44] council. He ain't saying I'm That's a
[2:19:46] lie, is he? Cuz it is. He's taking out
[2:19:49] his papers to run. So I guess he's
[2:19:51] practicing on us. How dare you?
[2:19:55] You took the bus.
[2:19:57] It's the other direction, you fool. It's
[2:19:59] not Matipan.
[2:20:05] So let let me just let me just say let
[2:20:07] me just say this. This is my ask. This
[2:20:10] is my ask of you.
[2:20:12] This is my ask for the counselors. Seven
[2:20:15] counselors said they believed that this
[2:20:17] was a civil rights issue.
[2:20:20] One one word of advice. I used to remind
[2:20:24] my my c my colleagues in the Senate, the
[2:20:27] other 39 senators. I have 180,000
[2:20:32] bosses. We call them constituents and
[2:20:35] not one of them is in this room. I don't
[2:20:37] work for you. You don't work for the
[2:20:40] mayor. You don't work for the governor.
[2:20:43] I didn't work for the governor. You work
[2:20:45] for this. This is these are your bosses.
[2:20:48] Order. So, if you are comfortable enough
[2:20:50] to come in here and say that you believe
[2:20:53] that this is a civil rights issue, I
[2:20:56] want you to be comfortable enough to
[2:20:59] sign a letter
[2:21:03] authored by councelor Warwell and Co
[2:21:06] Pepper to the mayor that said, "You
[2:21:08] heard enough and raise concerns and you
[2:21:10] think that we need to follow up on some
[2:21:12] of these before we move any further."
[2:21:14] That to me is minimum. If you believe
[2:21:17] what you just said, seven of you said
[2:21:19] yes.
[2:21:21] Seven of you.
[2:21:23] Co Pepper, Warell, Murphy, Flynn,
[2:21:27] Santana, Lugenne, and Mahia. Seven of
[2:21:31] you said yes. If you don't do that,
[2:21:35] it'll be reported at our next meeting on
[2:21:38] accountability. Because see, this is
[2:21:40] like when people go to black churches
[2:21:42] and talk about racism. Go talk to the
[2:21:44] white people.
[2:21:46] Don't come in here and tell us you
[2:21:47] believe it's a civil rights issue. Tell
[2:21:49] the folks who are making the decision.
[2:21:51] All we're saying is if you believe we
[2:21:54] should pursue it, we should at least
[2:21:56] look at this.
[2:21:59] Support the two counselors that this
[2:22:01] gentleman was so disrespectful to go to
[2:22:03] Morning Star Baptist Church and scream
[2:22:05] at them and talk about he's ashamed. Who
[2:22:08] cares?
[2:22:09] Who cares?
[2:22:11] For real. For real. This is serious,
[2:22:15] folks, because this is going to kill us
[2:22:17] all if we don't if we don't push back on
[2:22:20] this. Brand new
[2:22:23] shiny buses are still going to be
[2:22:26] spewing diesel.
[2:22:31] We can do better than this and we have
[2:22:32] an obligation to do better than this.
[2:22:34] Thank you, Senator.
[2:22:36] I want to call up the the next five
[2:22:40] and we the next five and we promised
[2:22:42] we'd be out by nine. Uh Mea Bush,
[2:22:47] H. Joseph,
[2:22:51] Jay McManis,
[2:22:54] and Ms. Grace,
[2:22:57] Mela Bush, H. Joseph J Mcmanis
[2:23:04] and Miss Grace
[2:23:11] Mela.
[2:23:12] Good evening. My name is Mela Bush.
[2:23:15] Thank you for holding this hearing here.
[2:23:17] It's very hard for people to go to city
[2:23:19] hall and to hold it in the evening in
[2:23:21] our community for an issue that um
[2:23:23] actually is so important to us is
[2:23:28] amazing. Thank you so much. Um
[2:23:32] I just want to speak to the um one
[2:23:36] thing. The life expectancy of people in
[2:23:39] our zip codes here in the community. I'm
[2:23:42] in 0 to 119
[2:23:45] is uh about 28 to 30 years less than
[2:23:49] those in Beacon Hill. is already true.
[2:23:52] So that is a fact and there are reasons
[2:23:55] why that were um laid out here around
[2:23:59] asthma rates, diesel pollution.
[2:24:03] I I just wanted to say that the second
[2:24:05] thing that I wanted to say is about the
[2:24:08] um the civil rights. I worked for over
[2:24:11] 20 plus years on working to get the the
[2:24:14] Fairmont line up and running and leading
[2:24:15] the community process to do that. That
[2:24:17] was a civil rights battle. A right to a
[2:24:20] ride, a right to get on the train and to
[2:24:22] ride the rails that uh trains were going
[2:24:25] through our communities and they were
[2:24:27] polluting our lungs, but there were no
[2:24:30] stops and we weren't able to get on
[2:24:32] those trains. We now have four stations.
[2:24:34] One in Bluehill a Cumins and Matipan
[2:24:37] Square, one on Morton Street, Talbert A,
[2:24:41] Uppam's Corner, Four Corners, South Bay
[2:24:44] going straight to South Station.
[2:24:47] That's a rail line that we fought for
[2:24:49] and we won. We protested. We did all of
[2:24:52] that. And now we're here and we're
[2:24:55] talking about the civil rights and the
[2:24:58] equity and the the right to um adequate
[2:25:01] public transportation. I want to lift up
[2:25:04] a name that some of you know here uh who
[2:25:07] fought for replacement rail on
[2:25:10] Washington Street with the Washington
[2:25:13] Street Corridor Coalition. and we know
[2:25:15] he's no longer here with us. His name
[2:25:17] was Bob Terrell. He was a transit
[2:25:20] historian and he worked and ran the Fair
[2:25:22] Housing Commission in city hall. He
[2:25:24] didn't live to see the day that that uh
[2:25:27] replacement came to other communities in
[2:25:30] Roxbury after the Orange Line was taken
[2:25:32] down. I'm not speaking necessarily on
[2:25:35] behalf of an Orange Line replacement.
[2:25:37] Um, we're talking about comparable,
[2:25:40] equitable transportation that is
[2:25:42] non-polluting,
[2:25:45] that is not going to exacerbate our
[2:25:48] children's asthma and impact our health.
[2:25:52] My family lost uh two young people under
[2:25:55] the age of uh 35 to respiratory issues.
[2:26:01] That one lived to be 24 years old and
[2:26:04] she passed away because of asthma. It's
[2:26:06] the reason why I do this work. My son
[2:26:10] was in the hospital over 40 times for
[2:26:13] asthma. Why? Because we lived in
[2:26:15] Roxberry, grew up in Roxberry, we lived
[2:26:18] in uh Dorchester, Matipan, and the the
[2:26:21] old housing stalk. And then we lived in
[2:26:24] Jamaica Plane, and we we were in the
[2:26:26] area where the buses deadheaded all the
[2:26:29] way up to Forest Hill Station. Back in
[2:26:32] the 2000s, we fought to stop those buses
[2:26:35] early 2000, late 90s to stop those
[2:26:38] diesel pollutant buses from going to uh
[2:26:42] Forest Hills, shut down the Bartlett
[2:26:45] yard, stop the dead heading of those
[2:26:48] diesel powered buses. And today we they
[2:26:51] came back. We we were able to get
[2:26:53] compressed natural gas buses to go
[2:26:56] through our community that were a little
[2:26:57] less polluting to try and save our
[2:27:00] lungs. And then I watched during COVID
[2:27:04] when the buses that were um banned from
[2:27:06] coming into what was then Dudley
[2:27:09] Station, Ashmont, Forest Hills, they
[2:27:11] weren't allowed to let diesel buses run
[2:27:13] over here because we fought and stopped
[2:27:16] those buses from running through our
[2:27:18] communities. They slipped them back in.
[2:27:21] And I watched that black diesel soot
[2:27:23] spewing out of buses on Transit Equity
[2:27:25] Day in Nubian Station a few years ago
[2:27:28] during COVID in 2020. And I said, "Oh my
[2:27:31] god, they're back."
[2:27:33] And what are we fighting about right
[2:27:35] now?
[2:27:36] Put in more diesel buses. And I mean
[2:27:40] more diesel buses with shuttles that
[2:27:42] they will not divulge to go to White
[2:27:44] Stadium
[2:27:46] to transport people.
[2:27:49] So many hundreds of buses that are going
[2:27:51] to be coming in and they're saying, "Oh,
[2:27:53] we'll put electric buses three years
[2:27:55] after the start of the first game. Why
[2:27:58] aren't they saying they'll do it now?
[2:28:00] So, we need you to continue to fight for
[2:28:03] our civil rights, our right to arrive,
[2:28:05] our right to breathe clean air, and our
[2:28:08] right to have our lifespan extended to
[2:28:11] 90 years plus and not have this
[2:28:14] situation. He ran out of here, the
[2:28:16] Beacon Hill guy. Um, he's not here
[2:28:19] anymore
[2:28:21] because that's a fact. We have a right
[2:28:23] to breathe here. We still can't breathe.
[2:28:26] And we need to have this thing addressed
[2:28:31] and address the our rights to clean air,
[2:28:34] quality public transportation that is
[2:28:37] going to get us to where we need to go
[2:28:39] and to look at viable options and to
[2:28:42] look at how we can um actually live a
[2:28:45] few minutes longer. Thank you for
[2:28:48] allowing me to speak.
[2:28:49] Thank you, Mea. The uh H. Joseph,
[2:28:54] H. Joseph, J McManis, Miss Grace. If if
[2:28:59] there's someone who hasn't signed up yet
[2:29:02] and you want to speak, please go to the
[2:29:05] back and sign the signup sheet. There's
[2:29:08] someone that wants to talk and you
[2:29:10] haven't. We don't want anyone to leave
[2:29:13] here
[2:29:15] who hasn't talked but wanted to talk.
[2:29:18] Okay.
[2:29:19] Hi, good evening. My name is Helena
[2:29:21] Joseph. I do live in Dorchester. I also
[2:29:23] work in Dorchester. And I want to thank
[2:29:25] you guys for um holding this meeting. I
[2:29:28] also want to thank the community folks
[2:29:30] to come out and represent yourselves. Um
[2:29:33] a lot of times we hear about these um
[2:29:36] meetings are taking place and a lot of
[2:29:39] the community people do not know that
[2:29:41] these meetings are happening. I think we
[2:29:43] need to do a better job to inform the
[2:29:46] residents and the people in the
[2:29:47] community when those meetings are taking
[2:29:50] place because people do care about where
[2:29:52] they work and where they leave. Um I'm
[2:29:55] tired of speaking. I am tired of
[2:29:57] talking. I feel like we are talking and
[2:29:59] we are talking. What are you guys going
[2:30:01] to do to help us? I mean are we talking
[2:30:03] today? What is going to what is the
[2:30:05] result of all this talking today? What's
[2:30:08] going to happen? what action is going to
[2:30:10] actually happen for people in this
[2:30:12] community. Um my brother and his wife
[2:30:16] built a dental practice for 25 years on
[2:30:18] Bluehab. I'm actually working with them
[2:30:21] right now. We have three um construction
[2:30:24] buildings happening right around um the
[2:30:27] practice and I I can tell you it has
[2:30:30] been really challenging for us and for
[2:30:34] the patients. Parking is a problem now.
[2:30:38] What is going to happen when we have all
[2:30:41] these things that is supposedly already
[2:30:44] um going to happen? We are talking about
[2:30:46] it, but it sounds like this is something
[2:30:48] that's already going to happen whether
[2:30:50] we talk no matter how many times we say
[2:30:52] we don't want it. It's something that it
[2:30:54] seems like it's already things are in
[2:30:57] motion. You have these three
[2:30:59] construction buildings um happening and
[2:31:02] they have all these huge vehicles. We've
[2:31:04] spoken to the city. they have come in
[2:31:06] and they have um tried to help. It will
[2:31:09] work one week and then the following
[2:31:11] week challenges for patients to parking.
[2:31:14] Patients has to go streets upon streets
[2:31:16] to find parking. Sometimes we have
[2:31:18] patients cancelling appointments and I'm
[2:31:20] just saying who are talking to the
[2:31:22] people the businesses that are serving
[2:31:25] the community who are representing them.
[2:31:28] How are you are you guys going into
[2:31:30] these businesses and talking to people
[2:31:32] and talking about the challenges? I
[2:31:33] think we can talk all we want, but until
[2:31:36] we don't see the action, it just seem
[2:31:38] like we we just talking just for talking
[2:31:41] sake. And I hope that we do something
[2:31:44] about the people that are being
[2:31:46] affected. Not only the businesses, we
[2:31:48] also have the all of these construction
[2:31:51] things that are happening. You have the
[2:31:52] side parking on the streets. You have
[2:31:54] the double parking. It's a mess. And I
[2:31:57] just hope that we take the consideration
[2:32:00] of what people are saying, the what
[2:32:01] people are feeling and make people feel
[2:32:03] like what they're saying is being taken
[2:32:06] into consideration and people feel like
[2:32:08] their concerns are being met. We need to
[2:32:11] respect the people in the community. We
[2:32:13] need to take the their concerns and we
[2:32:16] need action. All this talking, I hope it
[2:32:19] means something. Thank you.
[2:32:21] Thank you. What business was that?
[2:32:24] What?
[2:32:26] Okay, thank you.
[2:32:30] Jim McGanis,
[2:32:35] are you H Joseph?
[2:32:38] That's David. David. That's David.
[2:32:40] That's David.
[2:32:41] You didn't sign up yet, did you?
[2:32:43] You thought you did?
[2:32:53] We don't sit on the list, but
[2:32:56] go on. David, two minutes.
[2:32:59] Thank you, sir.
[2:33:00] Thank you, sir. Um, thank you all for uh
[2:33:04] listening. Um,
[2:33:07] my name is David Seawward. Um, my name
[2:33:11] is David Seawward and I want to tell you
[2:33:13] a bunch of things that I learned when I
[2:33:15] worked for the MBTA that have not been
[2:33:18] said, which is crazy to me because rail
[2:33:22] is so possible is so possible and I
[2:33:26] agree with everything that's been said
[2:33:28] here, so I'm not going to repeat it. Um,
[2:33:32] councelor WHL talked about restoring the
[2:33:35] rail on Blue Hill Avenue. That's how we
[2:33:38] know it's possible because the streets
[2:33:40] here were designed for the rail to be
[2:33:44] there. That's why their bus project is
[2:33:47] easy and cheap because it's already been
[2:33:51] you have the geometry perfect. You
[2:33:53] almost never have this possibility.
[2:33:56] Now, do you know that right next to us,
[2:33:59] right next to us, they are funding and
[2:34:02] building the upgrade of the Matipan line
[2:34:05] to be light rail,
[2:34:07] they're building a traction power uh
[2:34:11] substation that's what powers the
[2:34:13] overhead uh catenary wires u right
[2:34:17] there. That is that and they're building
[2:34:20] a vehicle maintenance facility.
[2:34:24] Those are the biggest costs that made
[2:34:26] that green line extension project so
[2:34:28] hard and so costly. We already have them
[2:34:31] at Madapan Square. So, we're going to
[2:34:33] get that. We're going to get light rail
[2:34:36] from Milton,
[2:34:38] 70% white. And how are we not going to
[2:34:41] get it here? Like, you don't have to be
[2:34:44] from here to feel that this is just
[2:34:46] nuts, right? Um, and so all like at a
[2:34:51] minimum like at a minimum
[2:34:55] what you for you could have rail light
[2:34:58] rail transit
[2:35:00] going up uh Blue Hill Avenue in their
[2:35:04] center
[2:35:06] and Columbus
[2:35:07] 7-year construction project make it to
[2:35:10] Jackson Square. Thank you so much.
[2:35:12] Thank you. [applause]
[2:35:17] H Joseph
[2:35:22] J. Mcmanis
[2:35:27] ma'am, what's your name?
[2:35:29] Pardon me. Oh, Miss Grace. Okay, Miss
[2:35:32] Grace. I think Miss Grace is our last
[2:35:34] speaker for the night.
[2:35:36] Oh, good evening.
[2:35:38] Give our counselor. I just like to say
[2:35:40] that we've had a hundred years of white
[2:35:44] male mayors and you're probably not used
[2:35:47] to a nonwhite mayor, but give Mayor Woo
[2:35:52] the respect that she deserves. That's
[2:35:54] all I'm going to say. Um, people have a
[2:35:57] problem with everything she does. Um,
[2:36:02] everything she does. Oh, non-white
[2:36:04] people. We don't know how to build. We
[2:36:05] don't know how to run the city. Mothers
[2:36:08] can't be mayors. Oh, I think they can.
[2:36:11] So, I I just don't like the the the
[2:36:14] disrespect. If I mayor, they would have
[2:36:17] never disrespected Mighty Wells and
[2:36:20] certainly not Mayor Manino. Um, I may
[2:36:23] have my differences with them with
[2:36:25] issues and whatever, but I never
[2:36:28] disrespect them like she is being
[2:36:30] disrespected today everywhere she goes.
[2:36:33] um the racism attacks against her.
[2:36:36] Would you direct your comments to the
[2:36:37] dockets?
[2:36:38] So, I'm going Well, that's one of them.
[2:36:40] Um the other thing I want to say is yes,
[2:36:43] I do support uh the the the bus center,
[2:36:48] bus lanes coming down Blue Lab. I
[2:36:50] support the money that's coming in our
[2:36:53] community. I have not um the city
[2:36:57] council, this is a meeting. You said it
[2:36:59] was a city council meeting. So, you
[2:37:01] should have brought the data. Okay. Can
[2:37:05] we actually have rail? How long is that
[2:37:09] going to take? Can we use this $163
[2:37:13] million for rail? If it takes, like you
[2:37:16] said, uh 5 years to do something else,
[2:37:21] how many how long is it going to take us
[2:37:25] to get rail? And can this money be used?
[2:37:30] So this money was allotted for this
[2:37:32] center bus lane. Can it be used? And it
[2:37:36] needs to be clear for rail. Now the
[2:37:40] other thing it is a lie that when you're
[2:37:44] saying that there was no community
[2:37:45] engagement. I participated in 2021 to
[2:37:50] 2023 in a community engagement process.
[2:37:55] the city of Boston hire at Gayscale.
[2:37:58] Gayscale subcontracted
[2:38:01] with a black woman's community
[2:38:03] engagement firm out of Matapan.
[2:38:07] Okay. Um, if you goo if you Google
[2:38:10] grayscale community engagement, you can
[2:38:13] see they taped all the conversations,
[2:38:17] recorded everything, and I went and I
[2:38:20] and I must say that I also participate
[2:38:24] in my neighborhood um, association
[2:38:27] meetings, not just mine, probably about
[2:38:30] four of them. So ask not what your city
[2:38:34] can do for you. What are you doing for
[2:38:36] your community? Uh the neighborhood
[2:38:39] associations are putting out information
[2:38:41] and you need to contact them, get on
[2:38:44] these mailing lists and and know about
[2:38:46] them.
[2:38:46] Thank you, Miss Grace.
[2:38:47] Uh that that's one thing.
[2:38:49] Thank you, Mrs. Grace. Thank you, Mrs.
[2:38:51] Grace.
[2:38:51] But um
[2:38:53] Thank you, Mrs. Grace.
[2:38:54] I support I support the
[2:38:57] that money.
[2:38:59] this we this the city of Boston has
[2:39:03] failed to do any major investments in
[2:39:06] our community for 80 years and now we
[2:39:09] want to start White Stadium. We want to
[2:39:13] stop the we want to stop this money into
[2:39:16] our community. What other community is
[2:39:19] stopping money going into their
[2:39:20] community?
[2:39:21] Thank you, Miss Grace.
[2:39:22] Thank you so much. Uh, Elna Elnara
[2:39:27] Miles is the last speaker of the
[2:39:31] evening.
[2:39:33] We'll give the counselors one minute to
[2:39:34] give a closing statement. I do want to
[2:39:37] thank everyone that came out.
[2:39:40] Thank everyone that stayed here the
[2:39:42] entire time. Thank everyone that
[2:39:44] participated.
[2:39:46] Thank all the counselors. And I want to
[2:39:49] make sure that we recognize the city
[2:39:52] council central staff that really
[2:39:55] conducted and operated me. Stand up.
[2:39:57] Come on. Let's have all of the city
[2:39:59] council central staff stand up. Come on.
[2:40:02] All you know. Come on. Stand up. Just
[2:40:05] stand up. Just stand up. [applause]
[2:40:10] [cheering]
[2:40:13] We thank them for coming out tonight and
[2:40:18] spending the time to make sure that this
[2:40:21] council hearing uh went in good order.
[2:40:25] Uh Miss Miles, you have two minutes.
[2:40:28] Well, I don't need that long, but
[2:40:29] Okay. Okay.
[2:40:30] Thank you everyone. My concern is
[2:40:34] whatever project they're going to bring
[2:40:36] to this community. I'm not seeing any
[2:40:39] people of color working on the streets.
[2:40:44] They've dug up Blue Hill A. I'm a Grove
[2:40:48] Hall member and we live right on the
[2:40:51] corner Devon Blue Hill and I'm also the
[2:40:55] insurance agent in the community Empire
[2:40:59] Insurance.
[2:41:01] But we don't see any people of color
[2:41:04] working here and all the construction
[2:41:07] that's going on. There used to be a guy
[2:41:10] that would monitor
[2:41:12] who
[2:41:14] and I want to make sure somebody
[2:41:18] is appointed to that job to make sure
[2:41:21] people of color are represented with the
[2:41:24] construction that's coming to the
[2:41:26] community.
[2:41:27] Thank you, Miss Miles.
[2:41:28] Thank you.
[2:41:28] I also want to recognize
[2:41:31] all of the staff for the different
[2:41:33] counselors that are here tonight. Uh
[2:41:36] there's my chief of staff, Taric Meyers.
[2:41:40] There's uh council war, staff, Yousef
[2:41:44] Matthew. Uh there's
[2:41:49] Bailey.
[2:41:51] [applause] There's Kristen. Uh
[2:41:55] what other staff is here?
[2:41:59] What's it?
[2:42:00] Bradford. Where's Bradford?
[2:42:01] Angela.
[2:42:02] Angela. Where's Angela? Give all the
[2:42:05] staff a round Give all the staff a round
[2:42:07] of applause. Thank you, Angela.
[2:42:10] [applause]
[2:42:12] I'm going to give each counselor a
[2:42:14] minute to close out. Uh I just thank all
[2:42:17] of you for coming tonight. Uh thank you
[2:42:20] for being part of this hearing. Uh we'll
[2:42:23] take all that we have. Tonight is the
[2:42:27] final night that the mayor and the MBTA
[2:42:30] will be taking comments to submit uh
[2:42:33] with their application. Uh we're going
[2:42:35] to make sure all of these comments a
[2:42:37] part of that submission so that uh your
[2:42:41] voice will be heard. This is not the
[2:42:44] last of these councils here. We're not
[2:42:46] closing out this council docket because
[2:42:48] we're going to work uh to make sure that
[2:42:52] you get a chance to hear from the MBTA
[2:42:55] general manager and the questions that
[2:42:57] folks have and concern. Just want to
[2:43:00] thank all you for a great night. Thank
[2:43:02] you for participating and uh we will
[2:43:06] have other meetings uh and we'll make
[2:43:08] sure everyone knows about them. Let me
[2:43:10] start with uh Councelor Flynn uh for a
[2:43:14] minute closing.
[2:43:17] Thank you, Councelor Co Pepper. Thank
[2:43:18] you, Council War. Thank you to the
[2:43:21] residents for being here. I stand with
[2:43:24] my two colleagues, Council War and
[2:43:27] Council Co Pepper
[2:43:30] in against this plan and for an
[2:43:33] alternative plan. And that alternative
[2:43:36] plan has to come from the residents. The
[2:43:39] alternative plan
[2:43:41] is about respecting the residents. It's
[2:43:45] about listening to residents
[2:43:47] and understanding that the best ideas
[2:43:50] don't come from city hall. The best
[2:43:53] ideas come from the residents. I do
[2:43:56] think as I mentioned at the very
[2:43:58] beginning, this is a civil rights issue.
[2:44:02] I think that has to be the main focus
[2:44:06] and we have to ensure that this
[2:44:08] community is respected and heard
[2:44:12] and I just don't think that it is heard
[2:44:16] at city hall and including on the Boston
[2:44:19] City Council. I don't necessarily
[2:44:21] believe my city council colleagues um
[2:44:24] think of this as a as a civil rights
[2:44:27] issue. I think they think of this as a
[2:44:30] transportation issue and we we still
[2:44:33] have a lot of work to do to
[2:44:37] educate city councilors about the impact
[2:44:40] this has on civil rights. Thank you very
[2:44:43] much. Honored to be here.
[2:44:48] Councelor
[2:44:51] is councelor Pepin
[2:44:53] councelor Santana.
[2:44:55] Um thank you Mr. Chair. I just want to
[2:44:57] thank you and um councelor Warel for um
[2:45:00] you know putting this um hearing
[2:45:02] together and for being the main filers.
[2:45:04] I want to thank the community who came
[2:45:05] out um showed out and testified. Um and
[2:45:09] you know I think we've learned a lot. I
[2:45:10] think there's a lot of work that had to
[2:45:12] do. Um as I mentioned in my questioning
[2:45:14] and my opening remarks um I think we
[2:45:16] need to completely change how we do our
[2:45:18] community process. um it's not it's
[2:45:20] currently not working and there's been
[2:45:22] one too many projects um where I've
[2:45:24] definitely been in community and and and
[2:45:26] hear the opposition um and things don't
[2:45:29] necessarily change. So um I think that
[2:45:31] needs to change but really appreciate
[2:45:32] the opportunity and the organizing. I
[2:45:34] also want to thank central staff um for
[2:45:36] all the work that you do and I'm looking
[2:45:38] forward to the work ahead. Thank you
[2:45:41] council war. Um I want to thank the
[2:45:44] chair. I want to thank um our staffs. I
[2:45:46] want to thank central staff. Um, but
[2:45:48] especially I want to thank everyone that
[2:45:50] has continued uh to show up. If this is
[2:45:53] your first year fighting against the
[2:45:54] center running bus, if you've been
[2:45:56] fighting for it um over years and years,
[2:45:59] just want to thank you for showing up in
[2:46:01] a real way for your community. Um, I
[2:46:04] take my job as an elected official, uh,
[2:46:07] very seriously [clears throat]
[2:46:08] knowing that I was elected by you, the
[2:46:11] residents, to work in partnership with
[2:46:13] you to bring the solutions that we can
[2:46:16] work together to make our neighborhoods
[2:46:18] better. Um, as Councelor Flynn has said,
[2:46:21] a lot of the good ideas, a lot of the
[2:46:24] great ideas, a lot of the best ideas
[2:46:27] come from neighbors, come from the
[2:46:29] residents. So that is why we need to
[2:46:31] work in partnership to make sure that we
[2:46:34] are bringing uh not only the best but
[2:46:37] the same level of service that is being
[2:46:40] uh given to other neighborhoods to our
[2:46:42] neighborhood and that's what you can
[2:46:43] expect from me every day as your elected
[2:46:45] official in city hall. So thank you uh
[2:46:48] for showing up. This fight is nowhere
[2:46:50] near over. So please stay engaged and
[2:46:53] stay tuned. Um there is a meeting
[2:46:55] tomorrow uh city council hearing on the
[2:46:58] Boston residents job policy at 2 pm
[2:47:01] which talks about the u requirements or
[2:47:04] the at the goals that we have as a city
[2:47:06] for every construction site. So please
[2:47:09] join in on that conversation but we also
[2:47:11] have to make sure that during this
[2:47:13] conversation when construction is going
[2:47:16] to happen for rail or a side running bus
[2:47:18] lane I'm going to claim it now that
[2:47:20] those jobs also go to our neighborhood.
[2:47:23] So, thank you again. Um, let's continue
[2:47:24] to fight.
[2:47:25] Thank you to everyone who stayed with us
[2:47:27] tonight, the residents who took time
[2:47:29] away from the family and work, the
[2:47:31] panelists, the community organizations,
[2:47:34] and my colleagues on the council. We
[2:47:36] came to Blue Hill Avenue because this is
[2:47:39] where the decisions will land. You want
[2:47:42] safety improvements. You want crossings
[2:47:46] that are ADA compliant. You want new
[2:47:49] lighting. You want trees. You want
[2:47:51] better bus stops. and you want them now.
[2:47:54] You do not want a center running bus
[2:47:56] lane that no one here has asked for. And
[2:47:59] you should not have to accept what they
[2:48:02] have told us we're getting in order to
[2:48:05] get what you deserve. This is a question
[2:48:07] of transportation equity. This is a
[2:48:10] civil rights question and it will not go
[2:48:13] away because this hearing ends and
[2:48:16] neither will we. Thank you for showing
[2:48:19] up tonight and for showing out and may
[2:48:21] God bless you.
[2:48:28] The meeting is now ending.
[2:48:30] [clears throat]
[2:48:31] Docket number 1340 and 1341.
[2:48:35] Thank you for all that you've done.