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

00:00All

00:28right. See you.

00:31My name is Minyard Co Pepper,

00:34District 7 city councelor,

00:37and I am the chair of the Boston City

00:40Council Committee on Civil Rights,

00:42Racial Equity, and Immigrant

00:45Advancement.

00:47Today is October 14th,

00:512026 and the exact time is 6:17

00:56p.m.

00:57We are at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge,

01:0124 Washington Street,

01:04Dorchester, Mass. Uh, this hearing is

01:07being recorded. Written comments may be

01:09sent to the committee email at

01:12ccccc.ivil

01:13[email protected].

01:16and will be made part of the record and

01:18available to all counselors. Public

01:22testimony will be taken in three groups

01:24during this hearing. Individuals will be

01:27called in the order in which they signed

01:29up and will have two minutes to testify.

01:33If you're interested in testifying in

01:35person, please add your name to the

01:39signin sheet near the entrance.

01:41And if you brought written

01:43documentation, please give 15 copies to

01:46our central staff leazison Megan

01:49Kavanaaugh.

01:51Today's hearing is on docket number

01:531340,

01:55order for a hearing to examine the civil

01:57rights implications of rapid transit

02:00equities in the city of Boston. and

02:02docket number 1341,

02:05the resolution in support of evaluating

02:08an orange line extension along Bluehill

02:12Avenue. These matters were sponsored by

02:15councilors Minyard Co Pepper and

02:18councilors Brian Werewell and were

02:20referred to the committee on July 8th,

02:242026.

02:25Today I am joined by my colleagues in

02:28order of arrival. Councelor Murphy,

02:32Councelor Mahia, Councelor Flynn,

02:35Councelor Lu Jong, and councelor Warel.

02:41Good evening everyone. I want to thank

02:43my council colleagues and panelists,

02:47community organizations, and most of all

02:50the residents who came out tonight.

02:53I made this a field hearing on purpose.

02:56When I filed these dockets, I felt a

02:59real sense of urgency to bring the

03:01council

03:03directly to the community,

03:06the community that will be impacted by

03:08this project the most.

03:11Certainly tonight, I'm disappointed that

03:14the MBTA general manager, Phil Ing, uh

03:20has decided not to

03:23come and testify,

03:26but he will uh be subpoenaed

03:32>> for our next hearing.

03:34Uh, I think Phil Ling is one of the most

03:37critical witnesses

03:40in this

03:42hearing with regard to the MBTA

03:45and funding that has been invested

03:49in and around the city of Boston.

03:53Chief of Streets Chris Ozgood

03:56also not here tonight.

03:58Uh, we anticipated he would come. We

04:02hadn't discussed a subpoena, but we will

04:04be discussing a subpoena with regard to

04:07Chris Ozgood. And I know most of you

04:10know me when I practice law, a subpoena

04:12was one of the first things that I would

04:14do. Whenever you want someone to come

04:16and testify before you, you just

04:19subpoena them.

04:21And so

04:23as a city councelor,

04:27I'm happy that we have the subpoena

04:29powers available to us when witnesses

04:32have decided not to appear.

04:38When I think about where we are tonight,

04:41this hearing was scheduled so that

04:43residents could hear not just from us,

04:47not just from the counselors, but also

04:49to get answers that you've been hearing

04:53different

04:55facts in the public in the community in

05:00those hearings. And tonight we want to

05:03try and correct a lot of the things that

05:05you have heard that just aren't

05:07accurate. Every [clears throat] time a

05:09center running bus lane has been

05:11proposed to Blue Hill Avenue, this

05:14community has opposed it. Let me say

05:18that again. Every time a center running

05:20bus lane has been proposed for Blue Hill

05:23Avenue, this community has vehemently

05:28opposed it clearly and loudly. In 2009

05:32when the state proposed a city running

05:35bus lane from Madapan to Roxberry and

05:37again in recent year through petitions

05:40pack community meetings and testimony

05:42the residents of Roxbury, Dorchester and

05:44Matipan including Nubian Square, Grove

05:47Hall, Franklin, Madapan Square and all

05:50the neighborhoods along the Bluehole

05:52Avenue corridor

05:55have said we deserve better than a

05:57center running bus lane. When you look

06:00at the MBTA's rail map, most of the city

06:03has convenient access to rapid rail

06:06transit.

06:07Our neighborhoods do not. Blue Hill

06:11Avenue is the busiest corridor in the

06:13MBTA system, accounting for 11% of the

06:16total wrership. Yet, the people who rely

06:20on the MBTA have no rail.

06:25That's a transport. We We live in a

06:27transportation desert.

06:29And it's a result of decisions that have

06:32been made not to invest in the

06:34community. Not because of geography.

06:37This community

06:41is not only having a center running bus

06:43lane that no one asked for to be forced

06:46on. It has been handed a false choice.

06:50Accept the bus lane or lose the safety

06:54and beautifification improvements that

06:56are part of the same project. These are

06:58improvements the community deserves and

07:01has been asking for for decades.

07:04Why should they be contingent on design

07:08on the design that the community

07:10continues to reject? And here's what's

07:12interesting. Anou signed by the city and

07:15the MBTA and sent to the Federal Transit

07:18Administration is the reason why these

07:21improvements cannot be separated from

07:24the project.

07:25It's not that the FDA required they be

07:28part of the project. theou there's a

07:32memorandum of understanding between the

07:34MBTA and the city signed by the mayor

07:38that

07:43stated in no uncertain terms that that

07:47$18 million that we've been saying we

07:50wanted to be used right now

07:54is committed to the center running bus

07:56lane in theouou. We haven't been told

07:59that. The mayor told us that if they use

08:02that $1 million, then they would have to

08:04come back and do it over again. So, it's

08:07best not to use it right now when theou

08:11requires that money be used for the

08:14center running bus lane signed by the

08:16mayor and general manager in thatou

08:21tells us something else about Columbus

08:23Avenue. the April 2024th letter that's

08:27sent toou to the Federal Transportation

08:30Administration,

08:33Federal Transportation Administration

08:35that Brian and War and I met with last

08:38week and found out a lot of information

08:40that we had not been told the truth.

08:44when they talk about the money being

08:47sent back to Washington and we were

08:49being criticized by folks who said stop

08:52opposing it because the money is going

08:55to go back. Well, the money can't go

08:58back because the money has not been

09:01given to the state or the city. The

09:04money hasn't been obligated yet. There's

09:07still so early in the process. They had

09:11us believing that they had the money.

09:13That's why you can't believe all that

09:15fake news.

09:17The money is not obligated,

09:20>> so it can't go back cuz you can't give

09:23back something you don't have.

09:25But they led us to believe that they had

09:27the money already.

09:31And when you think about thatou that the

09:33mayor and the general manager signed, it

09:35points to Columbus Avenue as a model for

09:37the project, calling it as similar to

09:39what we envisioned for Blue Hill Avenue.

09:42That's the Columbus Avenue project they

09:44just pulled down that they called in

09:47theou similar to Blue Hill Avenue. You

09:50heard Chris Oddsgood last week trying to

09:53distance it from Blue Hill Avenue saying

09:55Columbus Avenue is different from Blue

09:57Hill Avenue, but in theou

10:00and so let me just close there. I could

10:03talk about what's going on, but I want

10:06to give my colleagues an opportunity.

10:09But tonight's hearing is really a civil

10:11rights hearing. That's what we're

10:13focused on tonight. That's the bill that

10:16I filed. It's a civil rights hearing.

10:19And that's why I filed docket 1340 in

10:22order for a hearing on the history of

10:24transit equity in Boston and its civil

10:27rights implication. Cuz I believe when

10:29you invest in all the communities around

10:31Boston and you don't invest in this

10:33community,

10:35that's what they call a civil rights

10:36issue.

10:37>> That's right. And so we're here tonight

10:41with my colleagues and I thank my

10:43colleagues for coming

10:46and I'm going to give each of them an

10:49opening state an opportunity to give

10:51their opening statements. I've got

10:53plenty more to say but we'll talk about

10:55later but I want to hear from them now.

10:57I'm going to give each of them two

10:59minutes and we're going to start with

11:00them by arrival. We're going to start

11:02with councelor Murphy. Councelor Murphy

11:05you have the floor.

11:06>> Thank you. Um, thank you councel Kalper

11:10and Council Warel for all of your work

11:13and advocacy up to this point. I know

11:16that you and your staff I want to thank

11:18your offices also because you've been

11:20doing a lot of work and what you're

11:22advocating for. Unfortunately, it seems

11:25like we have this same conversation time

11:29and time again that when we or the

11:33administration allows and listens to the

11:36community, they do the opposite of what

11:39the community asks for or they make you

11:41think that they're listening to you, but

11:43then you find out that they're not

11:45taking, you know, lived experiences. You

11:48live in this neighborhood. You know best

11:51what your neighborhood wants. And when

11:53it's completely ignored, to me that is

11:55unacceptable. So as an atlarge city

11:58councelor, it is a privilege to

12:00represent all of the neighborhoods. I

12:02also get to see that

12:05not every neighborhood is listened to

12:07the same. Right. It is true. It's not

12:09just people complaining. It's not just

12:11saying poor us. It's it is true that not

12:14every neighborhood. So if we have that

12:16political will, it is disrespectful that

12:19the administration is not here. They

12:22always get plenty of time to show up.

12:25And I think that falls on us as a body.

12:27I think if all 13 of us, not just some

12:30of us, said the subpoena, they often say

12:33that our subpoena power, but what what

12:35teeth does it have? What can you really

12:37do with it? Well, we can stop council

12:39meetings. We can stop the business of

12:41the city if we all stand together. So,

12:44I'm here to listen to the community, but

12:46also support my colleagues who have been

12:49working hard in making sure that this

12:51community doesn't have another thing

12:52pushed on to them that that your voices

12:55are heard and respected. So, thank you

12:57for having this meeting and just glad to

12:59be here.

13:00>> Thank you, Council Murphy. Councelor

13:01Mahia, you have two minutes.

13:04>> Uh, thank you, Chair. Um, and thank you

13:06everyone for showing up because showing

13:09up is half the battle, right? And I'm

13:12sure that half of you, if not all of

13:14you, are tired of doing just that,

13:16showing up and not feeling like whatever

13:18you have to say is being heard and um

13:21and honored. So, I'll just say a few uh

13:25things. First of all, um Blue Hill Lab

13:29is at the heart of the black and brown

13:31community. It is one of the last

13:32corridors that are still left standing

13:35in terms of gentrification. And whatever

13:37we do and however we decide to move, we

13:40have to make sure that we're moving with

13:42intentionality and making sure that the

13:44people who are living in and around that

13:46neighborhood have not only a seat at the

13:48table, but are dictating what happens in

13:51that neighborhood. And I think that's

13:53going to be one of the things that I'm

13:54going to be paying most attention to

13:56because how we do this matters, right?

14:00Um, the other the other piece of it is I

14:02I reject the false hope narrative that

14:06we either take this or we have nothing.

14:08The same thing happened with White

14:10Stadium. Either we're going to renovate

14:11it or you don't get anything. We can't

14:13continue to have this and or we should

14:17and we and I believe we deserve it all.

14:19And that's what we should be fighting

14:21for is having it all. Um, and it

14:24shouldn't be pitting people against each

14:26other. this whole dynamic where you have

14:27transit people against folks who who are

14:30fighting for parking. That is how they

14:33win. What I'd like to see is all of us

14:36coming together, working in

14:38collaboration with each other and

14:40designing what we want as a unit instead

14:44of pitting each other against one

14:45another. That's played out. And then

14:47lastly, I'll say this that in January of

14:502022, I was the city councelor that

14:53hosted the first town hall at Morning

14:56Star. And then I asked the

14:58administration for real meaningful

15:01community engagement. That was in 2022.

15:04And then most recently, I was the first

15:06city councelor to host an off-site

15:08hearing on this particular topic right

15:11on Blue Hill A last year in 2025. So,

15:14I'm not new to this, but what I will say

15:17is that what we need to start doing is

15:19organizing differently because pitting

15:22people against each other when no one's

15:24going to win under those dynamics. So,

15:26I'm really encouraging you all to

15:28understand what's at stake and start

15:30learning how to be with each other

15:32instead of in conflict with one another.

15:34And I'll end with this that I'm going to

15:35leave at 7:30 and I don't want nobody

15:36talking smack about me leaving because I

15:38got to go take care of my kid. And

15:40that's it. 7:30.

15:42>> Thank you, Councilman here. Uh,

15:44Councelor Flynn, you have two minutes.

15:47>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to

15:48Councelor Co Pepper, Council Well, for

15:51bringing this forward. Honored to be

15:53here. I'm probably the only city

15:55councelor at the at the table here that

15:58doesn't necessarily represent this area,

16:01the impacted area. But I came here for

16:04two reasons.

16:06one to support my council colleagues

16:08councelor Cole Peppa council who I have

16:11a tre tremendous amount of respect for

16:13and two to listen to residents because I

16:16have respect for the residents here as

16:18well I'll be here for the three hours

16:20listening to every comment and concern

16:22you have um councelor co pepper

16:26mentioned it there's a reason this is

16:28being held in the committee on civil

16:30rights not transportation or or planning

16:34and the reason as council co pepper said

16:36is this is a racial justice issue. This

16:39is a civil rights issue.

16:42And that's what the lens of this meeting

16:45should be about and would be about is

16:47listening to residents about the impact

16:51city decisions are having on civil

16:53rights for residents in and around the

16:55impacted neighborhood. Um I I agree. I

16:58believe it is a civil rights issue. Um

17:01and I think it's a critical civil rights

17:03issue. I don't think the best decisions

17:05are made at city hall. I think the best

17:08decisions are made in the neighborhoods

17:11and the best decisions are are us

17:14listening to you and your elected

17:16officials, especially councelor Co

17:18Pepper and council elected by you to do

17:22their job. And that's exactly what

17:24they're doing, advocating for you,

17:27ensuring that you're being treated with

17:30respect, but which you're not. in my job

17:33is to support council co pepper and

17:35council war and I'll do everything I

17:37possibly can to stand with them

17:41especially on the alternative plan that

17:43council co council co pepper but I agree

17:46it's about civil rights it's about

17:48racial justice thank you

17:50>> thank you councelor Flynn

17:53councelor Louis you have two minutes

17:56>> thank you um good evening everyone sorry

17:58I'm a little raspy I'm a little bit

17:59under the weather um But I just want to

18:02thank everyone for coming out here

18:04tonight. I want to thank central staff

18:05for being here. Um, and I want to thank

18:07my colleagues for putting this together.

18:08And I want to thank all the residents

18:10who are taking time out of their evening

18:11to be here to really talk about and

18:13shape what our community looks like,

18:16what Blue Hill Avenue looks like. I know

18:17that there have been many, many hearings

18:20and meetings on this topic. And I want

18:21to thank my colleagues for their work

18:24here. Um, I'm really concerned and I

18:27know that folks in here are really

18:29concerned about issues involving

18:31displacement both during construction

18:34and after. Whether we're talking about

18:35business displacement, whether we're

18:37talking about resident displacement, um,

18:40and and on top of that, we have a a

18:42pernitious and a very real racial wealth

18:45gap that we don't want to see furthered.

18:48And so, we have to be very careful. So,

18:49I have a lot of concerns regarding that.

18:52And at the same time, Bluehole Avenue is

18:54worthy of investment. It's worthy of

18:56making sure that all of our residents

18:58feel safe. Um, and so I'm going to be

19:00here to listen. I'm probably not going

19:03to be able to last the entire hearing,

19:04but I do want to know want to mention

19:06that back when there were meetings at

19:08K's Oasis before K's Oasis closed about

19:11this project. I know some of y'all were

19:13there because I was there listening and

19:15talking to community members about what

19:17their vision is for Blue Hill A. Whether

19:19you are older, whether you are younger,

19:21I do so much on a little loud. My salons

19:23are there, so many. So, I hear about

19:25this all of the time and I think it's

19:26really important to hear from all of

19:27you. So, I look forward to doing that

19:28for as long as I can last this evening.

19:30Thank you. [snorts]

19:32Thank you, councelor Luis Yung. The next

19:35uh next councelor to present to you his

19:40opening is councelor Brian Warell.

19:43Councelor Warell.

19:45>> Thank you, councelor Copeper. Um, thank

19:48you all for being here tonight.

19:51And tonight is about the people who live

19:53here. So, I want to start with a simple

19:56question. What level of transportation

19:58investment does our community actually

20:01deserve? The MBTA spent more than a

20:05billion dollars extending rail service

20:08to New Bedford. After a year, that line

20:11is carrying roughly 2,500

20:14riders a day. Here on Bluehav, we're

20:18talking about close to 20,000 bus riders

20:22every day. That is a huge difference.

20:26Yet, this community is being told that

20:28an investment that is a fraction of that

20:31amount is somehow our once in a

20:34generation opportunity

20:37and that we better take it because we

20:39may never get another one. I don't buy

20:42that.

20:43You can get on a train in Providence and

20:46get to South Station in about an hour.

20:49But if you're taking public

20:51transportation from Madapin inside of

20:54the city of Boston, it could take you

20:56longer than that to get downtown.

21:00That should bother all of us because

21:02this is just not about shaving a few

21:05minutes off of a bus trip. This is about

21:08whether this community, our community,

21:10is finally going to receive the kind of

21:12transportation investment that

21:14[clears throat] matches the need. So the

21:17question is not whether Blue Hill Lab

21:19needs investment. Of course it does. The

21:22real question is whether a centerrunning

21:24bus lane is the best long-term answer

21:27for our community. And before we answer

21:30that question, we ought to know what the

21:33alternative actually look like. Now let

21:36me be clear. Nobody is saying build a

21:39train tomorrow. What we are saying is

21:42that before we lock oursel into this

21:45corridor into one solution for the next

21:47generation, rail deserves a real modern

21:50evaluation. And so does alternatives

21:53included side running bus lanes. And

21:56rail is not some wild idea. Rail was up

22:00and down blue lab before. This community

22:03has been talking about better rapid

22:05transit for decades.

22:07So for me, this is not about So for me,

22:10this is also about restoration.

22:13It's about looking at a community that's

22:15waited a long time and asking whether we

22:17can finally make the kind of investment

22:19that matches our need. And here's where

22:22the MBTA's own planning framework

22:25becomes important. The MBTA already has

22:28a framework for the kinds of places

22:30where highquality transit and rail

22:33should be considered. They talk about

22:35dense inner city communities that lack

22:39rail and rapid transit. They talk about

22:41places that rely heavily on buses. They

22:45talk about communities where people face

22:47longer trips to jobs and opportunity.

22:51And they did and they did not just

22:53describe our community. They

22:55specifically named Bluehill Lav in the

22:59MBTA's own focus 40 plan. Bluehill A was

23:03identified as an inner core community

23:05lacking rapid transit. That is not my

23:08phrase. That is the MBTA's phrase. So

23:11we're not asking the MBTA to create some

23:13special standard [clears throat] for

23:14Blue Hill Lav. We're asking them to

23:16apply the standard they already created.

23:20If Bluehill Lab checks the boxes they

23:23say matter, then put the rail and the

23:25BRT side by side. Show us the ridership.

23:29Show us the travel times. Show us the

23:31cost. Show us the impact on businesses

23:34and development. And show us the

23:36long-term benefits for our community.

23:38Then let the facts tell us what makes

23:40the most sense. And there's another

23:42piece of this conversation we cannot

23:44ignore.

23:46Massachusetts now has a new source of

23:48transportation revenue that did not

23:50exist a few years ago. The fair share

23:53amendment is bringing hundreds of

23:55millions of dollars into transportation,

23:57including investments in the MBTA and

24:00additional capacity to fund major

24:02transportation projects. So, when people

24:05say this $80 million federal grant is

24:08our one opportunity, that conversation

24:10is missing something. We now have new

24:12state transportation revenue coming in

24:15through the fair share. So the question

24:17should not just be how do we hold on to

24:19this one federal grant at all cost. The

24:22question should be what is the right

24:23long-term investment for Blue Hill Lab

24:26and how do we put federal state fair

24:29share and other resources to pay for it?

24:32Because if this quarter truly needs a

24:34generational investment, then we should

24:36be looking at every available tool to

24:38make that general investment happen.

24:43And that is where accountability comes

24:44in. We keep being told to trust our

24:47experts and expertise it does matter.

24:50But expertise also comes with

24:52responsibility to follow the evidence

24:54and apply standards consistently.

24:57Residents deserve to see the analysis.

25:00They deserve to see comparisons and real

25:03engagement means people have some say in

25:05the biggest question. What kind of

25:08transportation system do we want serving

25:10this community for the next 50 or 100

25:12years? If people keep showing up, keep

25:15raising the same concerns and keep

25:17asking for alternative, government has a

25:20responsibility to do more than just hear

25:22them. We have a respond and show them

25:26those analysis and those alternatives.

25:28So tonight is about listening. It's

25:30about giving residents the space they've

25:32been asking for. And before anybody

25:35makes a generational decision about Blue

25:37Hill Lab, the people along Blue Lab

25:40deserve a say. Thank you.

25:45[applause]

25:48>> In addition to what Brian said, there's

25:51an obvious disconnect between what

25:54disinvested and what underserved

25:56communities ask for. and what government

25:59gives them. Agencies claim to be

26:02helping, but they too often divide us.

26:04When other communities ask for

26:06transportation improvements, they get

26:08them regardless of cost or technical

26:11challenges. Cambridge and Somerville got

26:14the red line extension to Alwife built

26:17in the 1980s for $574 million.

26:21Somerville and Medford got the Green

26:23Line extension, which they went through

26:25major cost overruns and redesigned

26:28before the state found more money, 2.3

26:32billion in all. On the South Boston

26:35waterfront, the Silver Line got 624

26:38million for the tunnel. Today the green

26:40line, let me just say this again. Today,

26:43this day, 10:1426,

26:46the green line is slated for $2.9

26:50billion investments and we are given a

26:53bus lane. Those communities did not have

26:56to fight the way we have to fight to

27:00keep a center running bus lane from

27:02coming. They got rail investments they

27:04asked for. All we want is what they got.

27:09Rosendelle is now undergoing a

27:11feasibility study for rail line from

27:15Rosendale to the orange line. All we

27:18want is what Rosendelle is getting a

27:21feasibility study. And when you think

27:23about what we have to fight for in order

27:27to get what we asked for,

27:30we realize that it's a civil rights

27:33issue. That's right.

27:35>> One that we have to fight for. And we

27:37know that we've been fighting for a long

27:39time. Whatever we get, we fight for it.

27:43And 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.

27:53I'm going to rearrange this a little bit

27:55because tonight is really for the

27:57community. So, I'm going to have our

27:59first panelist come up tonight and after

28:02Ann McKinnon comes and talks, a senior

28:04planner, and after Lewis Alisa comes,

28:07our first panelist, then the rest of the

28:09night will be for community testimony.

28:13That's what tonight was geared for. I

28:15remember I was at those hearings when

28:17they cut them off. 20 people didn't get

28:19to speak at one, more than 20 didn't get

28:22to speak at the other. This is your

28:24night. So, Ann, why don't you come on

28:26up? Uh, Dr. Lewis Alisa, come on up.

28:39>> And we'll give each of you seven

28:42minutes.

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

28:57Jamaica plane. I um worked for um about

29:0235 years as a planner and a number of my

29:05clients were most of my clients were

29:08public agencies uh including the MBTA

29:11and other transit properties around the

29:13country and um city of Boston and other

29:16municipalities and the state. So I um I

29:20know a little bit about um how the the

29:23planning process is supposed to work and

29:26it's clearly failed here but failed by

29:29design um

29:32>> in in terms of of transit service here.

29:36You only need to look at a map and see

29:38that this neighborhood is not served by

29:41transit and it's an outlier in the city

29:43of Boston. The carter is served only by

29:46buses, which is the uh slowest and least

29:49efficient form of transportation that

29:52exists. Um the MBTA actually at at the

29:57hearings said that the ridership on in

30:00this corridor is uh kind of similar to

30:03the blue line um that goes to East

30:06Boston and River. and we don't hear

30:09anybody talking about um the blue line

30:12would be well served by a bus. Um and

30:16the facts are pretty clear.

30:19The the mode that has been chosen for

30:22Blue Hill Avenue because it's quick and

30:25relatively easy to build is buses. Buses

30:28are the lowest capacity

30:30transportation mode that exists. They

30:33have the least the lowest ability to

30:37impact land use and development

30:40decisions.

30:42Um the travel time sta savings are

30:45overstated. Um they say it'll save the

30:48bus way will save 10 to 15 minutes. Um

30:53first of all that's not enough to get

30:54people to sell their car and say gee

30:56I'll save 10 minutes and jump on the

30:58bus. Um, but a lot of that travel time

31:00savings is unrelated to the busway. It's

31:04it comes from five minutes comes from

31:06eliminating the U-turn in Milton.

31:09So, they don't tell you that. You have

31:11to read the thousandpage document to to

31:14get that. The project will do nothing to

31:17speed traffic beyond north of Grove

31:20Hall. And that's about 50% of the of the

31:24um of the trip from Matapan to Nubian

31:27Square. So a lot of the trip is uh is

31:32still stuck in traffic.

31:35And for all of this investment, the MBTA

31:38says that um it might be able to add

31:42maybe 10 additional buses, round trips,

31:4610 additional round trips over an

31:4818-hour day on the 28 bus, which is

31:52hardly a noticeable increase in service.

31:56So, it really the the benefits are

31:59really oversold by the MBTA.

32:02So, why does this neighborhood get

32:03crumbs when other neighborhoods get

32:06serious improvements? And that's because

32:09they fight for them and they're listened

32:10to. And that's why we're talking about

32:13this as a civil rights issue. Um,

32:16transit equity cannot be achieved

32:18without talking to people, without

32:21developing alternatives and analyzing

32:24them and um selecting the alternative

32:28that meets most of the goals.

32:33Transit equity requires

32:36um really thoughtful and serious

32:39planning

32:41and bold action and neither of which has

32:44happened here. The decision to pursue

32:47the pot of money at the feds uh at the

32:50at the federal government level um was

32:55probably done because it was seen as

32:57easy to get. And you know, it's

32:59unfortunate that some some areas of the

33:03city and the state um are allowed to

33:06think big, think bold, and go for the

33:10money that's needed to make a meaningful

33:12improvement in this corer. For whatever

33:15reason, they went for the uh for the

33:18bunt instead of the home run.

33:22Um,

33:24as the counselor said, this money for

33:27construction has not been approved.

33:30Basically, the city has been misleading

33:32people by saying that they have the

33:35money. And

33:37>> that is a that is a lie. Um, and and and

33:41why why else the money's relatively easy

33:44to get, they thought. They also didn't

33:46care that there were other the past

33:48studies that said this corer should be

33:52studied for a higher quality transit

33:55service. Those studies go back to 1978.

33:59Nobody cared or they ignored them.

34:03I mean, in addition, you know, the city,

34:05in addition to the city, the a number of

34:08transit advocacy groups um have said

34:10that this is a great project and they

34:13basically are saying they they speak for

34:15the community. Well, clearly they don't.

34:18Um and and I think they need to be

34:20checked. Um and finally, you know, bold

34:24action and um you know, big vision

34:28uh seems to be allowed in other

34:31neighborhoods but not here. And I think

34:34the uh the strength of the community

34:36that's come out to oppose this uh is

34:38making people pay attention that they

34:41need to think a little bolder than a bus

34:43on 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

34:57go downtown. I'm glad to be home. Um

35:01first um Reverend Dr. uh Co Pepper let

35:04me thank you for bringing this um

35:06hearing where it belongs into the

35:08community. Most of our meetings should

35:10be held in the communities that are

35:12being impacted. That's the only thing

35:13that makes sense. I want to thank the

35:15other members u of the city council who

35:16did not think it robbery. to take time

35:19and come out and hear what the community

35:20had to say is the real challenge of this

35:2320th century that people do not who

35:26govern do not hear often from the people

35:28that they govern. They are in positions

35:31that they get elected to and forget that

35:32the people who voted them in should be

35:34heard. So I appreciate each of you being

35:37here today, but I thank you very much

35:39Dr. Co, Dr. CO Pepper for bringing this

35:42home because you tried to move this in

35:44this issue situation around

35:46transportation into your committee from

35:47the beginning because like you said this

35:49is a civil rights issue. The right to be

35:51able to go to work, go to school, move

35:55safely and comfortably about your

35:57community. The right not to have your

36:00businesses undermined or destroyed. The

36:02right to be able to get from one place

36:04to another as everybody else in this

36:06Commonwealth. It's yours because you pay

36:09the same taxes as everyone else. You

36:12need to know that we are suffering from

36:14the most ardent racist political process

36:18that I've ever been a part of. That the

36:20city of Boston has deliberately with

36:23malice of forethought undermined the

36:25development of Roxbury, Dorchester,

36:27Madapan, lower Roxbury for the past 50

36:30years that I've been a resident of this

36:32city that they deliberately went out of

36:34their way to undermine the resources.

36:36They deliberately took rapid transit out

36:39of the community affecting over 45,000

36:41homes and families in Roxbury and moved

36:44it a mile away from where the people

36:46lived in Roxberry in Dorchester. Moving

36:49that orange line was a different issue

36:51to minimize the ability of folks to get

36:53from their home to a place of

36:55employment. Giving a a free 28 or 22 bus

36:59does not get you to where you need to

37:01be. When you get to the end of the line,

37:03you still have to pay to go where the

37:04jobs are. They have no direct connection

37:07to downtown or to the industrial zones

37:09or to any place else. It was a

37:11deliberate decision. I've served five

37:13governors, two presidents, and two

37:15mayors. And throughout my tenure in

37:18time, we have been arguing. We have been

37:20fighting, discussing the civil rights of

37:22the residents of Roxbury, which was

37:24denied, denied, denied. You ask any

37:27councelor up here, they'll look at their

37:29sheet and they'll tell you what they've

37:30given to other cities and other

37:32communities. $43 million to build a

37:34swimming pool in in in Charles Town. And

37:37then you ask, "What do we have on Geneva

37:40A or what do we have in Franklin Park?"

37:41They didn't spend $43 million in

37:43Franklin Park over the last 50 years.

37:45Now they want to take the park and put

37:47$335 million for somebody else to

37:50control it. They took $135 million from

37:54the children at Madison Park High

37:55School, told them they'll have to wait

37:57eight years before they have a school

37:58that makes the only difference in this

38:00community to keep up with technology.

38:02Wait seven years while we get a soccer

38:05league to come in and make a difference

38:06in Roxbury. You won't be able to play.

38:09Our children won't be able to play. And

38:11they're encroaching on the playstead

38:13that has been neglected for 50 years.

38:15That the money that they spend in

38:17Franklin Park is onetenth of what they

38:19spend on the common. and for the last 50

38:20years and now they're saying they're

38:22concerned. We should be happy that

38:23they're concerned and so they come and

38:25ask us do we want protection? They had

38:28the tarity ass we want protection. Do we

38:31want blue from 1983 when Dukakus

38:34returned as governor Senator Wilkerson

38:37Sister Virginia? They all sat on

38:40commissions. We've had three commissions

38:41on Blue Hill Avenue. We laid out what

38:43they had to be done to make the

38:45economics of Blue Hill Avenue work. We

38:47laid out clearly what we needed, wanted

38:49to see. They've ignored everything for

38:51the last 50 years and now they're saying

38:54because there's money available that's

38:56going to the construction industry, we

38:58need to make a choice of whether or not

38:59we want to see our businesses destroyed

39:01and our homes destroyed. We're building

39:03more. There are more cars coming through

39:05Roxbury and Dorchester Matteran emanate

39:09and in in in uh towns and cities that

39:13are not related to us. This is not

39:15improvement for Roxbury. When you start

39:17doing construction, ask anyone who lives

39:19at the low end of Blue Hill Avenue what

39:21happened for the three years they tore

39:23up the whole streets and what happened

39:24to the businesses down there that end

39:25near Dudley. Let's be clear, this is not

39:29about development for our community.

39:30This is about construction dollars that

39:32goes back in the terms of campaign

39:34funds. This is not economic development

39:37because economic development would say

39:38we fix the sidewalks, we put in the

39:40streets, we fix the storefronts, we deal

39:42with the nine, 10 large scale

39:44developments that are going up on Blue

39:45Avenue and we don't take away from the

39:48economy and the ability of things

39:49getting done. There has been no economic

39:53impact study. None. There has been no

39:56environmental impact study. None. The

39:58economics of this is that if they spend

40:00$22 billion to fix up the South Boston

40:03waterfront and M brother Flynn, I'm

40:05going to tell you, yeah, you have

40:06interest here because that's money that

40:08fix the city of Boston and your

40:09residents. Also, when they take 22

40:12billion and do the South Boston

40:13waterfront, they can't account for a

40:15billion dollars over the last 50 years

40:17in Grove Hall. They can't account for

40:19the money that they spent just recently

40:22in Finway. all the money that they spend

40:24in the ink block in terms of housing and

40:26street development in growth wall in

40:28Roxbury. So the question that we've been

40:29asking, Garrison Trot has been asking,

40:32Bluehole Avenue Commission has been

40:34asking the people in the community, when

40:36it gets from Matapan Square to growth

40:39hall, where does it go? For seven years,

40:42we've asked that question. They've had

40:44four studies, spend a million dollars

40:45over a great scale from Harvard, came

40:47here in 24 and 25, and we met with them

40:50overund6 times and each time the people

40:53in this community says we don't need it.

40:56We need the community to work. We need

40:59transportation that'll work. We need

41:01Blue Avenue that's safe for our kids. We

41:03need environmental impact study to tell

41:05you what slowing down those cars from

41:07Milton and Randolph and and and Brockton

41:10is going to mean to the lives of an area

41:12that has the highest asthma rate in the

41:14country. None of that has happened yet.

41:16We're saying the the justice the

41:19injustice of this process has an

41:21economic effect. that when you slow down

41:24the growth, when you minimize and

41:26complicate the ability of people to be

41:28able to use their neighborhoods and use

41:30their homes and use their businesses for

41:32economic growth, it's a civil rights

41:35issue. Thank you for taking this on. I

41:38need people to keep in mind this issue

41:40should not go away. You should not go

41:42from here and be comfortable. Tell your

41:44friend, tell your neighbors that your

41:46community is in jeopardy, your homes are

41:49in jeopardy, your lives are in jeopardy.

41:51And if we don't stand up now, we won't

41:53be here later.

41:59[applause]

42:01>> Want to move to the counselors now.

42:07Counselors, you have two minutes

42:11for questions if you choose to ask any.

42:14And we'll start with councelor Murphy.

42:16You have two questions. is gone.

42:20>> Councelor Murphy left.

42:22>> He's gone.

42:22>> Councelor

42:24Mahia.

42:25>> Yes.

42:26>> You have

42:27>> two minutes for questions.

42:28>> I'll take Murphy's, too. [laughter] Um,

42:33nah. Uh, so first of all, thank you,

42:35Council Co Pepper. Um, and I was in the

42:38chamber that day when we were trying to

42:40debate where this hearing was going to

42:42go, and I fought for it to be in civil

42:43rights because this is where it belongs.

42:46Um, and so I just want to thank you for

42:47your fierce advocacy. Um, and also for

42:51the panelists and Lewis and I go way

42:53back. We've been fighting against every

42:55single thing that is happening in

42:56Dorchester, Roxbury, and Matapan.

42:59and we're still fighting.

43:01And at some point, we're

43:04we're tired. And what we're not talking

43:07about and something that I, you know,

43:10John, I'm gonna just call you out

43:11because we've been you, we've been

43:13talking about this offline, is the

43:15displacement that is going to happen to

43:18communities, gentrification that's going

43:20to happen because whenever we get

43:22anything shiny, what happens?

43:28Right? And there's this threat and this

43:32fear that we have as people of color

43:35that things are always being done to us

43:38without us. And so I would love to hear

43:42from Lewis um and an what would a

43:48a restorative justice practice

43:51to repair the harm that has been caused

43:54question

43:55>> as it relates to the uh the community

43:58engagement that has not really happened

44:01in George Roxbury and Matapan as it

44:03relates to this like how can the city

44:06turn it around? What if anything needs

44:08to happen for the city to turn this

44:10around?

44:13>> Well, I I think um part of the problem

44:16or the biggest problem is recently is

44:18that um they're not asking for input on

44:23the fundamental question about the the

44:26mode, what what is going to be um what

44:29mode is used on Blue Hill. They're

44:31asking for um you know what color the

44:34bus stop should be and and what kind of

44:37tree should be installed. The problem

44:39with the city of Boston is they don't do

44:42planning. You can't even find a planning

44:45um division on the BTD the Boston

44:48transportation department website. So,

44:51as has been said and I think councelor

44:53Wel said it really well is um you know

44:57you got to step back and do a real

44:59planning study with alternatives. You

45:01start by looking at what's the problem

45:03and you develop alternatives. Side

45:05running bus lane, rail, center running

45:07bus lane, um peak hour bus lane, roller

45:12skate lane, whatever it is. you you

45:13develop your alternatives and you get

45:16you walk people through the process

45:19slowly analyzing each one. The city came

45:23and said, "Here, you know, we we got a

45:26bus lane project. What do you think

45:27about it?" And that's fundamentally not

45:29how you do it.

45:30>> Yeah. Thank you for that. And I know my

45:32time is up. I heard the the beeper, but

45:35before Lewis says something real quick,

45:37I just want to acknowledge uh two

45:40things. One is that I am the chair of

45:42education and I'm also going to be u

45:45speaking at the school committee in a

45:47little while. So I'll be stepping out

45:48and coming back. And then the other

45:50thing that I'd like to just put on the

45:53record is that there has been historical

45:56harm caused to our communities. I grew

45:59up here in the city of Boston. I know

46:00what it's like. Um, and I think that we

46:03have an opportunity to write the wrongs

46:07that have happened here in this process.

46:10And having watched this over the last

46:12seven years, because it was 20 2022,

46:16Lewis, that we hosted the first hearing,

46:18the first town hall at Morning Star, and

46:21then five or six years later, the people

46:23who showed up to speak at Morning Star

46:25weren't even able to be heard. So that

46:28is a problem. And that is something that

46:31I think Lewis, you can talk to in terms

46:34of what we're hearing and what we're

46:35doing with what we hear. Where's the

46:38disconnect as it relates to community

46:40engagement?

46:41>> The disconnect is the respect. We get no

46:44respect for our leadership and no

46:45respect for the knowledge that we have.

46:47Before I go on, I want to thank pas the

46:49Grandmaster Colin Herel for the use of

46:51the space. And I also want to thank

46:53sister Virginia for the time she put in

46:55because there's some people that have

46:56stayed here and made made this work. You

46:59know, the the nation had made growth

47:01hall work. This building here, this

47:04grand lodge has been here for years to

47:07make this community work. We provided if

47:10they talk to us, they would talk to the

47:12people who make a difference, who make

47:14the change in our community, we'd have a

47:16totally different environment here. It's

47:18been deliberate. There is no accident.

47:20Talk to our counselors. Ask them what

47:22they've asked for. Ask them to what when

47:24we ask for equity, why we can't get it.

47:26If they spent 10% of what they spent in

47:29ink block and Grove Hall, it'd be a

47:31totally different environment. So, you

47:33know, what they have to do is push city

47:36councils because you have the power is

47:39to get them to listen to what we're

47:40saying, get them to follow. Clearly,

47:42they talk to no planners, no city

47:44planners, no transportation planners for

47:46the designs that they've created. This

47:48last project that they've given us, we

47:50start in 2017 at the Lee School saying

47:53no, this doesn't work. not no we don't

47:55want development no we don't want

47:57improvements we're saying the design

47:58that you're pushing doesn't work and

48:00we've given them alternatives they said

48:02no to our alternatives but they keep

48:04bringing on things that work for them

48:06when they start closing Harvard Street

48:08and they close ESON and Charlotte Street

48:10and they close access to move people

48:12around to minimize the amount of time

48:14that you spend taking in carbon monoxide

48:16they're not listening to us we've got to

48:18bring this to a head and the head has to

48:20be that we charge them with the racism

48:22that's controlling their decisionmaking

48:24that takes away from what our counselors

48:26and representatives are saying.

48:28>> Thank you. Thank you, Louis. And I'll

48:30just know for the record that, you know,

48:31I've spoken to many of the business

48:33owners up and down the corridor and some

48:36of them didn't even know that that was

48:38happening. So, I find it very hard to

48:39believe that at this moment in time,

48:41there's still people who don't even know

48:43that the city is planning to do

48:45something like this that's going to

48:46impact their businesses. And that says a

48:49lot in terms of still the work that

48:50needs to be done in terms of community

48:51engagement. And I know my time was up.

48:54Councelor Co Pepper, thank you for

48:55allowing me to speak.

48:56>> Thank you, Council Mahia. Uh I do want

48:58to acknowledge recognize uh Senator

49:01Wilkerson

49:03for being here with us tonight. Uh and

49:06uh Oh, you are going to testify. Did you

49:08sign up?

49:10Are there any other elected officials or

49:12former elected officials?

49:17>> Council,

49:17>> I do want to acknowledge Councelor

49:19Santana. Uh thank you, Council Santana.

49:23And uh after

49:26I've been given the counselors two

49:29minutes for an intro and two minutes for

49:31questions, let me go to councelor Flynn

49:34uh and then councelor Bujon. And then uh

49:38we'll come to you councelor Santana.

49:41>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I

49:44also want to recognize sister Virginia

49:47and Senator Wilkerson and and so many

49:50others that are that are here, community

49:52leaders, and my my good friend as well,

49:54Louis Lewis. Lisia Louisa, um I was

49:58going to ask Lewis a question, and I've

50:00known Lewis a long period of time, and

50:03it's not it's not a trick question, but

50:06Lewis, I I opened up my statement saying

50:09this. I believe this is a civil rights

50:11issue. Um, I I I voted to to ensure that

50:16this docket went into the civil rights

50:18committee. Um,

50:21but the city thinks of this issue as a

50:23transportation and planning

50:26issue. I don't necessarily think they

50:30classify this as a civil rights issue

50:32like like the residents do, like we do,

50:36like like you do. My my question is

50:40knowing that how do how do we shift the

50:42focus to have civil rights be part of

50:46the discussion

50:48from city officials

50:51because we know the community knows it's

50:53a civil rights issue but city officials

50:56are not supporting that narrative. Um

50:59that's my question. laws.

51:01>> The question falls back on you and the

51:03council to um get the city to admit they

51:06don't respect the concept of civil

51:08rights. That's the bottom line is the

51:11former head of the Boston branch in

51:12NACP. Unfortunately, we had to sue to

51:15get people to recognize that the right

51:17to have housing and the right to have

51:19transportation and the right to have

51:20good schools and the right to have clean

51:22air and the right to be able to move

51:24safely is a civil it's a right for

51:26civilians. It's also a human right. And

51:29so transportation that gives you

51:31education and gives you access to

51:32housing and gives you access to jobs and

51:35everything else. It's a right for you as

51:37a human being to be able to survive in a

51:39city of this nature. We don't have an

51:42effective transportation program. So

51:44therefore, we must have we must have

51:48focus on the civil rights of everyone

51:50who's trying to make a living, go to

51:52school, get good health care, and

51:54participate in their society.

51:57>> Thank Thank you, Lewis. I think part of

51:59the strategy and discussion too, I think

52:02the city council has a responsibility to

52:05speak firmly that this is a civil rights

52:08issue. I don't think we can be

52:09wishy-washy and some of us say it is a

52:12civil rights issue. Some say it's a

52:14transportation issue. Some say it's a

52:16construction issue. It is a civil rights

52:18issue. If if we united on that one theme

52:21and that one goal, I think the

52:23administration will hear us as a

52:26collective body that this is a civil

52:28rights issue, I think there's some

52:29responsibility on my colleagues to

52:32firmly state that this is a civil rights

52:34issue and to ask the administration to

52:37treat it such um Thank you, Mr. Chair.

52:40>> Thank you. Thank you, Council Flor.

52:44You have two minutes.

52:45>> Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair. Um, and thank

52:48you to the panelists for your testimony

52:50and for being here today. Um, I have a

52:53question regarding like what I care

52:55deeply about the issue of displacement

52:59is one of the reasons why we fought so

53:00hard for rent stabilization. It's one of

53:02the reasons why we fought so hard for to

53:04get more money from the state house to

53:06do the work of affordable housing. When

53:08I'm thinking about businesses and

53:10potential businesses being displaced,

53:12especially black and brown ones during

53:14construction, we can look at the other

53:16end of Blue Hill Avenue to see what it's

53:18like for businesses to suffer through

53:20construction. U and whether we're

53:22talking about a center running bus lane,

53:24whether you're talking about Middle

53:25Lane, whether you're talking about a

53:26rail, construction happens. And so I'm

53:29thinking whether you're talking about

53:31the other side of Blue Lab or in High

53:33Park or when the bridge was down, there

53:35were businesses that suffered. What does

53:37a model look like to support businesses

53:41um like to support businesses during

53:44construction?

53:47>> Well, for me, the first thing that has

53:48to happen is good planning, which hasn't

53:50taken place. That's the most important

53:52thing. Planning for the time that

53:54businesses are going to be down,

53:55planning routes that are used as

53:57alternatives for people to get to school

53:58and to get to work and things of that

54:00nature. Best example,

54:01>> Louis, I'm I'm talking about

54:02specifically for the businesses, right?

54:04Like, how do we help the businesses? You

54:06help the businesses by planning. You

54:08have to plan ahead to say what's going

54:10to happen during construction period. As

54:13a former FEMA regional director for

54:14places that have been completely

54:16destroyed, I know that the first thing

54:18you have to do is talk about how

54:20businesses are able to survive during

54:22the construction or reconstruction of

54:23any area. If they don't plan for it,

54:25they don't take consider if they haven't

54:27done a survey to even understand what

54:29the businesses are and what their needs

54:30are, they can't move ahead productively.

54:35Ann, do you have a

54:38[clears throat]

54:39>> Well, I think you know it goes back to

54:41talking to people. You have to

54:43understand the the um quirks of each

54:46business when they get their deliveries,

54:49how long the deliveries take. Um and it

54:52it really it's planning to avoid not mop

54:58up but avoid making problems um by

55:02tailoring your your construction to how

55:06businesses actually operate. And you

55:07know the MBTA h has done a decent job

55:11with this in the past and they need to

55:13have their feet held to the fire but you

55:16really need block by block to understand

55:18what each business's needs are.

55:22The same work they did for South Boston,

55:24the same work we did in New Bedford, the

55:26same approach we've done on any highway

55:27and roadway construction prior to this

55:30event other than environmental impact

55:32statement for economics and

55:33environmental impact for health. They

55:35meet with all the businesses in the

55:37community. They meet with the business

55:39network and they find out how businesses

55:41run so they can plan on behalf of them.

55:44That was the most important thing in

55:46building the third harbor tunnel that we

55:48got the traffic off of Dorchester

55:49Avenue, created a bypass road and made

55:52it available for residents of Dorchester

55:54and South Boston and to be able to

55:55survive.

55:58>> Thank you. I mean I think my time is up.

56:00I would love to hear what you thought

56:01your thoughts around residential

56:02displacement as well, but I believe

56:03that's my time. I don't know if Council

56:05Co Pepper

56:06>> Council She can answer the question.

56:08>> Yeah. Around like I asked about

56:09businesses, but what about residential

56:11displacement? How do you plan for

56:13prevention of that

56:14>> when construction is happening?

56:16>> That's a that's a hard problem, but you

56:19know, the mayor claims she has an indie

56:20displacement plan, but um remains to be

56:25seen.

56:26I think it's a paper document that is on

56:29a shelf now. I I I that's a that's a um

56:34that's a bigger topic.

56:40>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those are my

56:41questions.

56:42>> Thank you,

56:42>> Sh. Can I just say displacement and

56:44disruption are two different things, but

56:45they have the same effect because

56:47residents lives will be so disrupted.

56:50Business will be so disrupted, it'll

56:51make it almost untenable when they're

56:53doing two sides of the street coming

56:56down a major thorfare artery like Blue

56:59Avenue. There is no plan in place. It's

57:01sort of like the so-called

57:03transportation plan they have for White

57:04Stadium. It's a myth.

57:08>> Thank you, counselor. U want to move now

57:12to councelor Santana. Uh councelor I

57:15gave each of the counselors two minutes

57:18to make an opening statement and I gave

57:21them two minutes for questions and so

57:25I'll give you four minutes if you need

57:27them all.

57:28>> Thank you chair co pepper and good

57:30evening everyone. It's good to be here

57:32and great to see everyone. Um

57:35I want to thank the panelists um for

57:38being here as well and for taking the

57:39time um to answer our questions. I think

57:43you know I think

57:45>> right now I mean you hear from my

57:47colleagues obviously I'm hearing from a

57:48lot of you all about what's going on in

57:50our neighborhoods here. Um and you know

57:53a a big thing about that is the lack of

57:56communication and transparency um that

57:59many residents feel um and know right

58:02that um that they're lacking right now.

58:03So my question for the panelists is more

58:05about right now obviously our current

58:08process or the current process of the

58:10administration [clears throat] um of how

58:13they do business and how they get

58:15feedback from residents um is not

58:17currently working. There's a lot of

58:18meetings, right? We I know a lot of you

58:21show up to a lot of meetings um and and

58:23testify. I know we're going to hear

58:24testimony today, right? But it's about

58:27not checking a box about how do we

58:29actually take that feedback and actually

58:30incorporate it into the plannings that

58:32we're doing. So my question is, and I

58:34don't know if you know I'm sorry for

58:36coming in late, so I I I will apologize

58:38if this question has been asked and

58:40answered. Um but my question to the

58:43panelists is more of like the current

58:45process is not working right now. So

58:48what what what about the process? The

58:50whole process has to change, right? So

58:52my question to you both is um what are

58:54some starting steps that we can take as

58:56a council um to change that process um

58:59from the ground up?

59:03Well, I I think the the problem is that

59:07they hold a meeting to talk about a

59:09project that was never embraced

59:14>> instead of and the solution is you start

59:16over with a true alternative study that

59:21I that studies each alternative to the

59:25same degree. This is what the federal

59:27government requires. If this if this

59:30were subject to um a very indepth

59:34environmental review, the requirement is

59:38that you study each alternative to the

59:40same degree. And the reason that the

59:43that the National Environmental Policy

59:46Act requires this is to prevent people

59:49from lurching toward the solution. They

59:52think we all have biases. So, you have a

59:55a highway engineer or transit

59:58professional who says, "This is what I

1:00:00think we ought to do." And the the

1:00:02environmental review and any planning

1:00:04review mandates that you step back and

1:00:08evaluate alternatives that you a have

1:00:11alternatives, b you evaluate them to the

1:00:14same degree.

1:00:17And this project did not do that. They

1:00:22cannot prod produce any document saying

1:00:24that they truly analyzed

1:00:27and tried to make work other

1:00:30alternatives.

1:00:32It's not just saying, "Oh yeah, we

1:00:33looked at, you know, a side bus lane, it

1:00:37didn't work." No, you have to analyze

1:00:39it. So, so the solution is step back and

1:00:43look at alternatives and evaluate them

1:00:46as if they did not have a preferred

1:00:49solution. And so that requires really,

1:00:52you know, making a commitment to a true

1:00:55planning process.

1:00:56>> And can I just do a follow-up question

1:00:57on that in more spec I mean, is there a

1:01:00specific project that have you seen um

1:01:02in the past where maybe it was

1:01:04introduced, it was not um embraced by

1:01:07the community as you mentioned, right?

1:01:08And then that what you just h what you

1:01:10just explained actually occurred. Is

1:01:12there a specific project that

1:01:15I'm hearing from community? I'm hearing

1:01:17>> are you you're talking about nationally

1:01:18or in Boston cuz here in Boston. No,

1:01:20here in Boston.

1:01:20>> We can take you to the seapport where

1:01:22they said they didn't want it to happen.

1:01:23We can take you to a number of places

1:01:25where they said, you know, the the bike

1:01:27lanes and some of the things that

1:01:28they're proposing, the bus lanes does

1:01:30not work for the businesses there. We've

1:01:32got examples of everybody other parts of

1:01:34this city being respected in a very

1:01:36different way.

1:01:37>> We've got real we've got real, you know,

1:01:40examples. And so the question is though,

1:01:42is not just in the city council, but in

1:01:44the state and at the federal level

1:01:45because most of this decisions made at

1:01:47the highest level of department of

1:01:48transportation. And that's why we're

1:01:50appealing to them is because they didn't

1:01:52do their due diligence. When you're

1:01:54involving this many people, this many

1:01:56thousands of people, MEEP is supposed to

1:01:58kick in automatically. There's supposed

1:02:00to be an automatic environmental impact

1:02:02assessment as well as economic

1:02:04assessment. We've done it for bridges

1:02:05and tunnels all over the city. Trust me,

1:02:08as head of the Seapport Advisory

1:02:10Council, I did it from Gloucester to

1:02:11Seapport Secon and also in New Bedford.

1:02:14did nothing moving forward without

1:02:16talking to the community and getting

1:02:18analysis 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

1:02:25I just want to give a few shoutouts. I

1:02:27obviously um Senator Rickerson Sister

1:02:30Virginia. I see um Steven Wilson, the

1:02:32great um here in the building. I also,

1:02:34you know, one thing I'm big focused on

1:02:36and I think many of you know is how we

1:02:38incorporate our young people into these

1:02:40conversations. And you know, I just want

1:02:42to give a shout out to some of the young

1:02:44people here that I know um who are here

1:02:46on a on a Thursday. Is it Thursday?

1:02:49Wednesday. Wednesday night. Um really

1:02:51appreciate y'all being here and being

1:02:53engaged. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

1:02:54>> Thank you, councelor. Councelor Warel,

1:02:56you've got uh two minutes.

1:02:59>> Uh thank you, chair. Um my question is

1:03:01around past planning um proposals that

1:03:06the community has created. Uh Lewis, you

1:03:08spoke to uh initiatives or um planning

1:03:11processes that dated back to 2017. Uh

1:03:14whether that was the Roxberry,

1:03:15Dorchester, Madapan transit needs study.

1:03:17Uh there was a Washington Street

1:03:19corridor coalition um and few other um

1:03:23uh times communities came together to

1:03:25discuss transportation needs and

1:03:27planning around Bluehav. Uh my question

1:03:30to both you and Ann is how how should

1:03:32have those past planning process been

1:03:35factored into this conversation and when

1:03:38if they should have been introduced uh

1:03:41to the community about here here are

1:03:44past pin and processes that talked about

1:03:47different uh initiatives and strategies

1:03:49to make the bus more efficient on Blue

1:03:51Lab.

1:03:53Well, any planner who's serious about um

1:03:58getting to yes on an agreeable solution

1:04:02starts by looking at what was studied in

1:04:04the past. You go back to 1978. You go

1:04:07back to all of the um previous efforts

1:04:10and you bring all those alternatives

1:04:11forward and you say, you know, this was

1:04:13looked at. We're going to update the

1:04:15data and look at it. they just jumped to

1:04:18what they thought they could get funding

1:04:21for and what was going to be easy to

1:04:25implement. And that's a lazy um arrogant

1:04:28way to um approach a project of this

1:04:31magnitude.

1:04:32>> That's right.

1:04:34>> Sister Sister Virginia and Senator

1:04:36Wilkersonson and others who've been at

1:04:38it for about 40 years now can tell you

1:04:40that there's at least three studies out

1:04:42there. is a blue lab avenue commission

1:04:44that came up during Dukakus in the

1:04:45second Dukakus came up you know even

1:04:48with King and others they all they have

1:04:50to do is do the research the

1:04:52alternatives have been presented for the

1:04:5410 years that I've been working on this

1:04:55project specifically we've had five

1:04:58groups come together and grayscale they

1:04:59paid a million dollars to from Harvard

1:05:01we sat with them throughout 24 and 25

1:05:04and we met with over 106 meetings and

1:05:07each meeting people said resoundingly

1:05:09the center line process doesn't work

1:05:11Here are two alternatives. The first

1:05:13alternative is to enforce chapter 90,

1:05:16the transportation code. Four major

1:05:19public safety agencies in the area and

1:05:22they still don't enforce the law. The

1:05:24second is to manage the traffic and

1:05:26improve transit service, which means

1:05:30starting at the the the head where the

1:05:32buses come from, send them out on a

1:05:34regular basis. In the winter time, move

1:05:36the snow in in the summertime and force

1:05:39the parking in. You can pick up 10

1:05:42minutes, not five minutes. If you

1:05:43enforce

1:05:44>> Yep.

1:05:45>> If you enforce the traffic regulations

1:05:47in the area, this community needs

1:05:48improvement. We've wanted to improve.

1:05:50This is not a group of membies. We're

1:05:52not saying no. We're saying we don't

1:05:54want our lives destroyed and our health

1:05:56taken away in order for construction

1:05:57people to make a lot of money and then

1:06:00our community lose our businesses. We

1:06:01suffered that through COVID and we know

1:06:04exactly what will happen if we don't get

1:06:05it right.

1:06:06>> Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Warwell.

1:06:10And that will end the uh panel

1:06:12discussion. We'll now move into the

1:06:17testimony from the public.

1:06:21Each speaker will get two minutes. I'll

1:06:24call the panelists

1:06:27uh five at a time. You come up to this

1:06:30mic here. Uh

1:06:34and as one panelist speak, I I'd ask the

1:06:37other four to stand behind them so we

1:06:40can uh

1:06:43give them a few minuteses

1:06:45to stand. We don't want that long line

1:06:48down there where you have to wait an

1:06:49hour. So, we're just going to call five

1:06:51at a time. Uh and I'll call the first

1:06:54five. You'll come to the mic and you'll

1:06:56have two minutes. The timer is right

1:06:58here. Uh, Westward,

1:07:02Jeffrey Sams,

1:07:04Maxon

1:07:06Medcrier,

1:07:08uh, Judith Vanam,

1:07:11and Demarcus White

1:07:18West,

1:07:20peace and blessings, sir.

1:07:22>> Uh,

1:07:25Wes's mic is not on. Uh

1:07:31hello, hello, hello.

1:07:33>> I think it's on now. Great.

1:07:37>> Peace and blessings to my brothers and

1:07:39sisters of Boston, to the Commonwealth.

1:07:42>> Thank you. How you doing? How you doing,

1:07:43sister? My name is Wes Wood. I represent

1:07:46the people. Um I'm the chair of the

1:07:49Matipan Coalition and I'm leading the

1:07:51corridor coalition as well.

1:07:54Before I begin, I want to Who's in the

1:07:56room? Can everyone put their hands up if

1:07:58you're from Roxberry, Madapan, and

1:08:00Dorchester?

1:08:03>> Almost everybody.

1:08:05>> Wonderful.

1:08:07>> I'm born and raised in Boston. My family

1:08:10has been in this city for over a hundred

1:08:12years. And when I see my people being

1:08:14torn away from their homes, when I see

1:08:17them being torn away from their friends

1:08:18and family and having to look elsewhere

1:08:20to live, this tells me that this is a

1:08:23human rights issue, not a political one.

1:08:26We assembled in this historical hall

1:08:28tonight to demand payment on a long

1:08:31overdue

1:08:32on a long overdue promisary note from

1:08:35the city.

1:08:37Decades ago, when the transit

1:08:39infrastructure was dismantled through

1:08:41this corridor, the city made a vow to

1:08:44the people of this corridor, to the

1:08:46working men and women of Roxberry,

1:08:48Dorchester, and Matipan

1:08:50that equitable connection and dignity

1:08:53and rapid transit would follow. But

1:08:55instead, this community was handed a

1:08:57checkmarked insufficient funds. Billions

1:09:00of dollars inflowing everywhere else

1:09:02into the city, and we was given red

1:09:04paint on the streets.

1:09:10What is on trial here tonight is not

1:09:12about a bus schedule, but what is on

1:09:15trial is the moral architecture of this

1:09:17city. When you bring blueprints, traffic

1:09:20models, periodic dockets into this room,

1:09:25not one of you can look at the

1:09:26businesses, the barbers, the salons, the

1:09:29the people who actually keep this

1:09:30corridor alive and thriving with

1:09:32culture. You can't look at them in the

1:09:33eyes and say, "In five years, your

1:09:35business will still be here." And if you

1:09:37can't say that to them honestly,

1:09:42you promised this corridor rapid transit

1:09:44decades ago. You gave white

1:09:45neighborhoods subways, trains, and you

1:09:48come to our neighborhood and you're

1:09:50giving us diesel exhaustion. And you're

1:09:52asking us to be thankful.

1:09:55We want transit sovereignty. We want our

1:09:58merchants to be protected. And if you

1:10:00can't deliver rapid transit equity and

1:10:03economic security to the people whose

1:10:04tax dollars built this city, then you

1:10:07have no business running this city.

1:10:10Boston still owes this corridor rapid

1:10:12transit and it was promised. What are

1:10:14you going to do to promise that? Can I

1:10:16have your hands up? Every counselor

1:10:18who's actually going to say yes and push

1:10:20for this forward.

1:10:25>> For both dockets.

1:10:31>> Okay. Thank you.

1:10:44Jeffrey

1:10:46>> Jeffrey

1:10:48Sams Jeffrey

1:10:52Jeffrey is not here. Uh Max Sense,

1:10:57is he here?

1:10:59>> Come on, Max. Come on. You got two

1:11:01minutes.

1:11:02>> I thought I had a couple more people to

1:11:04go. Good evening, everyone.

1:11:06Thank you counselors for holding this

1:11:08meeting again. Council Mahia, thank you.

1:11:11I I went to the the one on Blue Hill

1:11:13Avenue. Um so I just jotted some notes

1:11:16down because I grew up here. My name is

1:11:18again Max Sans Mateer. I grew up in uh

1:11:21Roxbury

1:11:23Matapan and Hyde Park. And I've been

1:11:25here most of my life. I have three

1:11:27children and we all commute in some way.

1:11:30I walk, I take the bus, take the train,

1:11:33I drive. So, I feel it all. I see it

1:11:36all. And not one time in my commuting,

1:11:39at least on public transportation, that

1:11:41I don't see someone, a child, an elderly

1:11:44person dragging a cart behind them,

1:11:46someone with a small child and a baby in

1:11:49a carriage that is either rushing for

1:11:51the bus, which is very easy when you're

1:11:54coming from the curb. Now, imagine those

1:11:56individuals having to cross the street

1:11:58to get to the center, still have traffic

1:12:01coming at them. Maybe the child drops a

1:12:03toy in the middle of the street. Now you

1:12:05have to stop, pick it up, maybe wait,

1:12:08right? Because everyone's always in a

1:12:10hurry. This is a major throughway. A

1:12:13major throughway for everyone who wants

1:12:15to divert off the highway, come up Route

1:12:17128, 138, off 93 just to get to and from

1:12:21work. At night, when there's no one else

1:12:24commuting to work, it's quiet. The

1:12:28streets are calm. The buses run freely.

1:12:33I challenge everyone to try to find out

1:12:36how late are the number 28 buses. How

1:12:39late are they? 28 30 uh excuse me, 23.

1:12:43They're not on the top five list. They

1:12:46[clears throat] get us there. Why do we

1:12:48need something in the center that now

1:12:51that now challenges us to cross the

1:12:53street? Many elderly. This is a multif

1:12:55family community, business community,

1:12:58homeowned neighborhood. This is not a

1:13:01street full of buildings of renters

1:13:04turning over. We have people who have

1:13:06lived here a long time. They grow old

1:13:09here. They start young here and they

1:13:11need to commute safely, efficiently.

1:13:14They need to get to the curb under

1:13:17perhaps a canopy. Why can't we have

1:13:19covered bus stops like Washington Street

1:13:22down the south end? My bus goes through

1:13:25there as well. I've seen it restored.

1:13:28I've seen new bricks. I've seen repaved

1:13:32at least three times. And we have to

1:13:34continue to deal with what is going on

1:13:37on Blue Hill Avenue. We have to continue

1:13:40to accept substandard

1:13:43conditions. Our bus drivers are great.

1:13:46And you ask them, they too see people

1:13:48running for the bus. They're not

1:13:50necessarily for it. When I attended the

1:13:53last meeting, I said, "Well, gee, are

1:13:55our buses really that late? Is it a an

1:13:59attendance issue?"

1:14:01One of the city reps paused on that one.

1:14:04I saw her write it down. Not the

1:14:07counselors, Mayor Woo's office. Okay.

1:14:11So, I don't think it's even that because

1:14:14we get two buses at a time. So, what is

1:14:17it really for and who is it really for?

1:14:20It's not really helping us. It actually

1:14:22will impact our lives more negatively,

1:14:25more negatively than what we have now.

1:14:27It's not telling us that we are being

1:14:29supported and what we want and don't

1:14:31want is being heard. It's about

1:14:34disrespect, disenfranchisement,

1:14:36continuous disenfranchisement.

1:14:38And we continually say the same thing.

1:14:42Where are these supporters of this

1:14:43project? They're not here. If they are,

1:14:46they're not saying anything. Someone

1:14:48told me on the street, we just stuck up

1:14:50a conversation that he heard there are

1:14:513,000 supporters. Really?

1:14:54>> Where are they? Where are they? Where

1:14:57are they? Oh, you're there. Oh, really?

1:14:59You support this project?

1:15:01>> You must not have grown up here. You

1:15:04must not have really fully embraced

1:15:06fully embraced all of the diversity.

1:15:13>> Okay, beautiful. I'm happy you

1:15:15supported. I'm happy you supported.

1:15:17Thank you for your time. I appreciate

1:15:19it. Um, you know, every time no one

1:15:22supports 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

1:15:32follow the rules as if we're down at

1:15:35city hall. So, we have to follow the

1:15:37council rules, which means that there's

1:15:39no expression of support one way or

1:15:42another. And so if you would just

1:15:44refrain from uh showing your support one

1:15:48way or another, as if we're down the

1:15:51council.

1:15:52>> Yes. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

1:15:54We're following Nope. Tonight we're

1:15:57following the rules as if we're down the

1:16:00council. And so I came here knowing that

1:16:03y'all are going to follow the rules as

1:16:06if we're down the council.

1:16:09You can speak for two minutes, but what

1:16:12you can't do is show support one way or

1:16:14another. Thank you.

1:16:20>> No. And we tell you down the council to

1:16:23stop clapping.

1:16:25>> Mac, [laughter]

1:16:28let let's get back so folks can testify.

1:16:32>> Let's not get distracted. Uh, who's

1:16:34next? Judith Vanham.

1:16:45You've got two minutes.

1:16:53>> I would like you to note that there is a

1:16:55better way of doing transit on Blue Hill

1:16:59Avenue

1:17:00and it's nothing that anybody's talked

1:17:03about so far that I've heard. It's solar

1:17:05mobility.

1:17:07uh transit. And if you c I I'll describe

1:17:11it so you know what I'm talking about.

1:17:14If you can imagine small pods that carry

1:17:18typically one to four people. They're

1:17:20private. You get in there with whom you

1:17:22want to travel with and they move fast.

1:17:27Um

1:17:29and they're solar powered. So all of

1:17:32Blue Hill A would have a panel of solar

1:17:36solar panels. So, you know, that's a

1:17:38protection also for people who are

1:17:40walking. Um, what what this does is that

1:17:48it it just provides faster, cleaner

1:17:51transportation, less expensive, and it

1:17:54you puts you up in leading the head of

1:17:57all the all the transit in the world.

1:18:01This system will then because it works

1:18:04so well and is so is affordable both to

1:18:07build and to use will connect with all

1:18:09of Boston and way beyond Boston. Um it's

1:18:14something that you before you make a

1:18:17decision what direction you want to go

1:18:19in, it's very important to look at it.

1:18:22Any

1:18:28questions that I could quickly answer?

1:18:30>> Judith,

1:18:31>> we're not answering questions from the

1:18:33panelists.

1:18:34>> Public

1:18:35>> just using two minutes for your

1:18:37statement.

1:18:39>> Thank you.

1:18:40>> Thank you.

1:18:42>> If you want to look it up, here's the

1:18:44company that I I've been following since

1:18:47I tried to get it to use in Hull, which

1:18:50I'm still working on. The company is

1:18:52JPods. It's jpo

1:18:55ds.com.

1:18:59Okay, 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

1:19:18and raised in Roxberry

1:19:20and I've um people be telling me,

1:19:23Demarcus, you have a vision of Boston.

1:19:27Why do I have a vision?

1:19:28>> That's good. Um, before I get to the

1:19:31plan,

1:19:32>> oh,

1:19:33>> before I get to the plan, um, take down

1:19:35my email address because I'm going to

1:19:36send you the Orange Line project plan

1:19:39that I presented to Coun, uh, council,

1:19:42uh, to the to the counselor, demarcus

1:19:45w35gmail.com.

1:19:48That's demarcus dm a r cus w35gmail.com.

1:19:56All the plan has been put in place for

1:19:59the Orange Line extension from Rugles to

1:20:02Madapan.

1:20:03It's going to be great for our

1:20:05community. Not not this this uh center

1:20:09lane that the city is proposing.

1:20:13>> Now about my vision, everybody knows mo

1:20:16mostly everyone knows that I've drawn

1:20:18drawn the orange line. I've been drawn

1:20:20for 40 years. drawn the orange line from

1:20:23Forest Hills to to do drew drew the

1:20:26green line from North Station to Leech

1:20:29and that's where my vision comes in. So

1:20:31I've created a plan. I created stations

1:20:33within this Orange Line plan. It's not

1:20:36just going to be about the stations

1:20:39itself underneath. Let's say the tunnel

1:20:44will be 125 ft deep if we plan to build

1:20:48the orange line in between.

1:20:51In between the stations and the street

1:20:54level, we will have businesses for our

1:20:58communities. We're talking about retail

1:21:00stores. We're talking about

1:21:03um businesses that where people own them

1:21:07who looks like us.

1:21:09>> And we're talking about well imagine

1:21:12this Martin Luther King Boulevard is

1:21:15which is the station that he wants. Can

1:21:18you imagine having a king center, a

1:21:21local king center within the station?

1:21:24That's what we need where Bernard when

1:21:26Reverend when when we can bring Reverend

1:21:28Bernice King up there and do the grand

1:21:31opening with the station named after her

1:21:34father.

1:21:37I um once you get the um project, you'll

1:21:41see it and we need to have a meeting

1:21:43together to talk about it. We're talking

1:21:46again businesses

1:21:48underneath the station

1:21:51because I've been to New York. I've been

1:21:53to Penn Station. They have major

1:21:55businesses under the station. We need to

1:21:57have that here in Roxberry, Dorchester,

1:21:59and Madapan where people don't have to

1:22:01go to South Bay uh to to Staples. we can

1:22:04have our own BPS supply store where we

1:22:07can where we can buy our own school

1:22:10books and all that and everything within

1:22:12our community where we don't have to go

1:22:13to South Bay or Somerville.

1:22:15>> Demarcus, can you wrap it up now?

1:22:17>> Yes. So, um so uh um

1:22:22so uh again, my email address is

1:22:24demarcus35gmail.com.

1:22:27I'll send you I'll send you that package

1:22:29and um let's let's have a meeting about

1:22:31this and continue.

1:22:34Thank you.

1:22:36Want to call up the next five.

1:22:39Uh Reggie Stewart,

1:22:41Terresa Rochelle,

1:22:44Jeffrey Ferris,

1:22:47Michael Kosu,

1:22:49and John Smith.

1:22:58>> Uh good evening. Can y'all hear me?

1:23:04How about now?

1:23:06Is that better? All right. Uh good

1:23:08evening everybody. Uh good evening uh

1:23:11Chair Co Pepper. Uh Vice Chair uh Mahia

1:23:15who's with us in spirit. Uh thank you

1:23:17counselors for coming. Uh as I think

1:23:20about this issue, I think about some of

1:23:22the questions that we should ask

1:23:24ourselves. And it's not just a question

1:23:27that I would pose to the counselors or

1:23:30just to the mayor, but also to our state

1:23:32partners as multiple levels of

1:23:34government are involved uh in this

1:23:37project. Uh, you know, I I want us as

1:23:40officials, community leaders, activists,

1:23:44residents, uh, that we as a city really

1:23:46look in the mirror and be honest, uh,

1:23:49when we ask ourselves the question, do

1:23:52black communities deserve the same scale

1:23:54[clears throat] of investment and the

1:23:56same determination to solve

1:23:57transportation problems as other

1:24:00communities? Now, on the surface, we

1:24:02should say yes, but if that's the case,

1:24:06we're not acting like it. Uh, in 1987,

1:24:09when the elevated orange line was

1:24:11removed, uh, and not replaced, it

1:24:14essentially cut off black Boston from

1:24:17the rest of the city. And here we are

1:24:20four decades out, still waiting for that

1:24:23promise to be fulfilled. Uh, in the

1:24:25meantime, uh, Massachusetts has spent

1:24:28billions of dollars. we uh uh was

1:24:32referenced 2.3 billion uh for the Green

1:24:35Line extension into Somerville and

1:24:36Medford. And I agree with everyone when

1:24:39you we say it's a civil rights issue

1:24:41because it can't be lost on us that the

1:24:44communities of Somerville and Medford

1:24:47are 70%

1:24:49white residents.

1:24:51And that project, it faced soaring cost,

1:24:54threats of cancellation, but the state

1:24:57did redesign. They found the money and

1:25:00they built it and figure it out. Uh so

1:25:02why do some communities uh receive a

1:25:05conversation uh while we're offered

1:25:07crumbs and crumbs that we did not ask

1:25:11for and that we're told to be grateful

1:25:13for. And when we propose rail, cost and

1:25:17feasibility concerns are used to shut

1:25:19down the conversation as opposed to a

1:25:23doorway for government to find a

1:25:26solution. And that's why so many of us

1:25:28rightly see that racism underpins this

1:25:32entire conversation. It's not racism

1:25:35through explic explicit prejuditial

1:25:38statements or attitudes, but it's

1:25:41through decades of decisions about which

1:25:43communities get transformative

1:25:45investment and which ones do not. Uh so

1:25:49I echo uh the call for feasibility

1:25:52studies uh serious alternative analyses

1:25:56designs to address costs feasibility

1:25:59concerns around displacement and ensure

1:26:01authentic intentional community

1:26:05engagement. Again I'll say it authentic

1:26:08intentional community engagement which

1:26:10has been missing from this process as

1:26:12well as many others uh throughout our

1:26:15neighborhoods. And I just want to close

1:26:17with just the ask. Do not tell black

1:26:21Bostononians what's feasible or what's

1:26:24possible when you haven't even done the

1:26:26work to find out in the first place.

1:26:30Thank you.

1:26:33[applause]

1:26:34Theresa

1:26:38Terresa Rochelle,

1:26:41Jeff Ferris.

1:26:47Thank you, counselors. Uh, yes, Jeffrey

1:26:50Ferris. Uh, some many of you may know me

1:26:52as the former longtime owner of Ferris

1:26:55Wheels bike shop in Jamaica Plane. Yes,

1:26:57I'm in Jamaica Plane. I am not in this

1:26:58neighborhood.

1:27:00>> Did just go through a process has some

1:27:02similarities. the the loss of the

1:27:04overpass at Forest Hills, I was on the

1:27:07losing side. The city and the state did

1:27:09not want to replace that bridge, no

1:27:10matter how much we [clears throat] in

1:27:12the community fought for it. But anyway,

1:27:16for tonight, um I'm mostly addressing

1:27:18the second docket, which is about the

1:27:20need for a study of

1:27:24the Orange Line Down Blue Hill Avenue.

1:27:27So,

1:27:29>> you know that

1:27:29>> orange line down Blue Hill Avenue?

1:27:32Why should this sound crazy? Is it

1:27:34because it's just a lot of black folks

1:27:36and other people of color? The city and

1:27:39the tea never did a complete and open

1:27:42alternatives analysis of the Blue Hill

1:27:44Avenue corridor. You've heard this a

1:27:46number of times tonight already. They

1:27:48come up with their own idea of a center

1:27:50bus proposal and told the community that

1:27:53this was the best thing for them. They

1:27:55still haven't learned that the community

1:27:56is tired of being told what's good for

1:27:58them.

1:28:00>> Now, I could not find a comprehensive

1:28:02list of project goals for this for the

1:28:04transit improvements, but in this era of

1:28:06climate change and global warming, it

1:28:08needs to include getting as many people

1:28:11as possible out of gas guzzling cars.

1:28:15It is well known that an underground

1:28:17heavy rail subway like the Orange Line

1:28:19to downtown along this or any corridor

1:28:22would attract the most riders.

1:28:24This includes people from this community

1:28:27currently on the buses along with new

1:28:29local riders and commuters as have been

1:28:31mentioned from other communities south

1:28:33of here currently driving up Blue Hill

1:28:35Avenue. A one seat ride to downtown

1:28:38along with many destinations in between

1:28:40is a wonderful goal. Why is this

1:28:44community being denied this future

1:28:47opportunity?

1:28:49Now the detail if after

1:28:53what was that

1:28:55>> that's your time Mr. But go on and wrap

1:28:57up.

1:28:58>> Thank you.

1:28:58>> You can wrap up.

1:28:59>> If after a proper analysis, it was

1:29:01determined that the underground subway

1:29:02was the right approach, but they'd

1:29:05already put in a center bus lane, what

1:29:08would have to happen? They'd have to

1:29:09tear up the whole center bus lane to

1:29:11build the subway under the street. That

1:29:14would be a sad result following the huge

1:29:16cost and disruption the center bus lane

1:29:19would have caused.

1:29:21>> Obviously, the orange line extension

1:29:23here is a long range desire. Choosing

1:29:25this does not preclude the need for

1:29:27immediate transportation improvements.

1:29:29There are many ways these can be done,

1:29:30but don't choose so-called improvements

1:29:32that preclude the Orange Line

1:29:34construction down the road. The current

1:29:37center bus lane planning should stop

1:29:39immediately until an open public

1:29:42thorough alternatives analysis is done,

1:29:44including the Orange Line extension.

1:29:46Look at the pros and cons of each. any

1:29:49community would deserve this, but

1:29:51especially here with the decades of

1:29:53broken promises to the people of color.

1:29:56>> Thank you.

1:29:57>> Thank you. Want to just make sure that

1:30:01Teresa Teresa Roshelle, you are you

1:30:03going to testify? Teresa,

1:30:07Michael, why don't you testify and we'll

1:30:10let Teresa follow you?

1:30:16My my name is uh Michael Kosu,

1:30:19co-director of project right. Why this

1:30:22issue is a civil rights issue is that

1:30:24this whole process has been flawed from

1:30:26the start and the neighborhood that's

1:30:28most impacted negatively by this pro uh

1:30:30plan has the least input into the plan.

1:30:34When the meeting was at Growalt Library,

1:30:37they had big poster boards of the

1:30:38intersections south of of Franklin Park.

1:30:42The intersections from Franklin Park

1:30:44into Warren Street was very small. It

1:30:46was this this wide. You cannot see the

1:30:49impact of that plan. And there was a

1:30:51reason why for that when they first

1:30:54tried to nest scheduled the meeting,

1:30:56they had it at the Holland BCY facility

1:31:00on by boat in Geneva. We told them

1:31:02that's not Grove Hall. So then they

1:31:03moved it to the Holland Techch or Burke.

1:31:06And as much as I love the Hall and Tech

1:31:07Burke, because I spent a lot of time

1:31:09there, we told them that that's not

1:31:11accessible community-wise for seniors,

1:31:13those in walkers, those in wheelchairs,

1:31:16and so forth. And the side path that

1:31:18they had you take was to go right by the

1:31:20dumpsters where there's a lot of needles

1:31:22we find, and a lot of rats. So that's

1:31:24not very accessible. They said, "Oh, we

1:31:26were going to try to use the Grove Hall

1:31:27Community Center." But they did not tell

1:31:28anyone. So a lot of people who I knew

1:31:31who knew the Hall and Tech Burke did not

1:31:34come because they knew that it was

1:31:35totally inaccessible.

1:31:37The other part on this is that we've

1:31:39always said before you present a plan on

1:31:42Blue Avenue and you're using the flawed

1:31:44design of the Columbus A process. Let's

1:31:48evaluate what happened on Columbus A.

1:31:50It's not safer. We've had two elders,

1:31:52very respective elders, killed trying to

1:31:55cross the street along Columbus A. You

1:31:57have apartment buildings no longer have

1:31:59parking in front. So, uh, seniors and

1:32:03families have to go around the corner

1:32:05several blocks just so they can get to

1:32:07their their building. So, why are we

1:32:08repeating that same mistake? Businesses

1:32:10have lost u customers. We've lost our

1:32:13fish market that everyone like to go to,

1:32:16right? So, why are we repeating that?

1:32:19And they're going to try to tell you

1:32:20that it's better and it's faster. Not

1:32:23for us. It's it's for growall. So you

1:32:25can look at the plan, but if you're

1:32:27riding the bus, you you have instead of

1:32:30two bus stops between Columbia Road and

1:32:32War Street, you only have one. You can't

1:32:34drive across uh Blue Avenue. If you're

1:32:37leaving your house, you're going to have

1:32:39to go one way. You only have one way,

1:32:40and you usually have to go into traffic

1:32:43um into dead of traffic. In front of

1:32:45Harbor Street Health Center, you're

1:32:47you're going to have part-time parking.

1:32:49So during rush hour, you cannot load and

1:32:51unload to a health center. And we have a

1:32:53lot more. I think Anton's going to talk.

1:32:55We have copies of our of our statement.

1:32:59>> Thank you.

1:33:01[applause]

1:33:02Teresa Roser

1:33:04and John

1:33:07Smith, you're next.

1:33:08>> Good afternoon, everyone. My name is

1:33:09Teresa Rochelle. I'm a longtime resident

1:33:12of Rox Ferry. I am here to express my

1:33:15concerns about the um blue the Grove

1:33:18Hall bus one bus going up um from Brock

1:33:22Prevy to Madapan.

1:33:24I'm really um concerned more or less

1:33:28that a lot of the statistics and the

1:33:30data weren't given at a number of the

1:33:31meetings. I've attended all of the

1:33:34meetings for Roxberry, Dorchester,

1:33:37Madapan, and Jamaica plane. And there

1:33:40was a stark difference in Roxberry in

1:33:42Dorchester and Matapan. When I went to

1:33:45JP, it was more accessible when there

1:33:48were more people there and they were

1:33:50more uh their neighborhood association

1:33:53was more involved. During the meetings,

1:33:55one of the questions that was asked is

1:33:57how come the neighborhoods do not know

1:34:00about the meetings that are being held.

1:34:02If I went home and I asked people in my

1:34:04neighborhood and many of the people in

1:34:06my neighborhood had no idea about this

1:34:09meeting or the Blue Hill AB bus meetings

1:34:12in certain neighborhoods. So, how are

1:34:14the neighborhood associations being

1:34:16contacted is what I'd like to know.

1:34:18Another thing is that the Orange Line I

1:34:22grew up when we had the Orange Line. It

1:34:24was a high It was a a a train track that

1:34:27was up high, probably about 20 feet up

1:34:30in the air.

1:34:32>> Yes. And so the it it leaned a little

1:34:35bit, but they promised another transit

1:34:38system and we never got another transit

1:34:40system. We all we have is the buses.

1:34:43Now, the problem I have with the buses

1:34:45is that there's not enough information

1:34:48that was put out during the meetings.

1:34:50They didn't give us an environmental

1:34:52study. They gave us all the pros and

1:34:54none of the cons. When you give a

1:34:56audience the information, you're

1:34:58supposed to produce both so you can have

1:35:00an objective informed view. That did not

1:35:03happen from my perspective. I asked

1:35:06about the studies and I did not see

1:35:08them. The number one concern that I have

1:35:11is that you want a bunch of diesel buses

1:35:13going up and down in Roxbury

1:35:15neighborhood. You're not giving into

1:35:17consideration other projects that are

1:35:18already in the making. Not only that,

1:35:21you're not considering the fact that

1:35:22Roxberry is one of the high toxic

1:35:25neighborhoods in the whole state. There

1:35:28are many studies that tell you about the

1:35:29environmental problems and the high

1:35:31toxicity rate here. And none of that was

1:35:34mentioned at any of the meeting or how

1:35:35they were going to address it. When we

1:35:37asked about when are we going to get um

1:35:40electrical buses, the answers are

1:35:42[clears throat] in three years. So you

1:35:43mean you just going to put a system in

1:35:45and wait for three years for more

1:35:47pollution? I just think that we need

1:35:50alternative not one one one shoe size

1:35:54does not fit everyone. So we should have

1:35:56had an alternative plan. That's all.

1:35:58>> Thank you John Smith.

1:36:02[applause]

1:36:13>> How's everybody doing?

1:36:16My name is John Smith Saintier and I've

1:36:18spent all of my life between Roxberry

1:36:21and Madapan.

1:36:22And so I found a quote by Malcolm X. I

1:36:25really think um sums up my feelings

1:36:27about with this whole situation. So he

1:36:30says, "If you stick a knife in my back 9

1:36:32in and pull it out six inches, there's

1:36:35no progress.

1:36:36If you pull it out all the way, there's

1:36:39no progress. Progress is healing the

1:36:42wound that the blow made. And as we all

1:36:45know, for generations, our community has

1:36:48experienced sustained disinvestment by

1:36:50both the city and state. Transportation

1:36:54is one of the clearest examples. We have

1:36:56been left heavily dependent on bus

1:36:58service, and that inequity limits access

1:37:00to employment, health care, civic

1:37:03participation, and much more. Do you

1:37:06know how many people I speak to in my

1:37:08neighborhood that have never even been

1:37:10to city hall? When I ask them why, some

1:37:13tell me plainly that that they do not

1:37:16have a reliable way to get there. That

1:37:19matters because civil rights are not

1:37:22only about formal exclusion.

1:37:25Civil rights are also about whether

1:37:27public systems create structural

1:37:29barriers that limit meaningful

1:37:32participation.

1:37:34So if residents cannot reliably reach

1:37:36city hall and access government,

1:37:39transportation, transportation inequity

1:37:42becomes a barrier to civic participation

1:37:44itself.

1:37:46And none of these barriers exist in

1:37:48isolation.

1:37:50Structural inequities have contributed

1:37:52to premature death and shorter lives.

1:37:54Transportation is part of that larger

1:37:56system. It shapes where people can go,

1:37:59what opportunities they can reach, and

1:38:01how much time and access they lose

1:38:04simply trying to move through the city.

1:38:08That is why the civil rights question

1:38:10cannot simply be how much money is being

1:38:12spent on Blue Hill. A government can

1:38:15spend hundreds of million dollars in our

1:38:17community and still leave the underlying

1:38:20inequity intact.

1:38:22Mayor Michelle Woo's approach to racial

1:38:24justice too often appears to be making

1:38:27historically inequitable systems operate

1:38:31more efficiently. But making an

1:38:33inequitable system work better is not

1:38:36the same as correcting the inequity

1:38:38itself. So I ask for like the millionth

1:38:42time, when are we going to stop managing

1:38:45inequity more efficiently and become

1:38:47willing to correct the inequity itself?

1:38:50Thank you.

1:38:52Thank you.

1:38:54Want to call up the next five. Uh Marcus

1:38:59Ny,

1:39:01Paul Simmons,

1:39:03M Hudson,

1:39:06Robert 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

1:39:35solar power invitation transportation.

1:39:39But first of all,

1:39:4330 over 30 years ago, this neighborhood,

1:39:46they tore down the elevated train

1:39:50and they moved it out of the

1:39:51neighborhood. And this is the only

1:39:54neighborhood without any rail service at

1:39:56all.

1:39:59Years later,

1:40:02along comes Deval Patrick. goes down to

1:40:05Dudley station and says he has better

1:40:09transportation for this neighborhood.

1:40:11What he gave you was a civil line.

1:40:15[clears throat] That's what he brought.

1:40:17What I have here

1:40:20is solar powered ramp transportation.

1:40:23Doesn't cost you 4 cents to put it in.

1:40:27That's about it. There's no fossil

1:40:29fuels. It operates by itself. you uh

1:40:33punch in where you're going to go and

1:40:35you go.

1:40:37I propose that one side of it'll be it

1:40:41can be put it together in a solid train

1:40:44all the way down from Matapan to Dudley

1:40:47or you can use it as parts and you can

1:40:49use your notebook to punch in where you

1:40:52want to go and it's run by

1:40:56the sun. And it's called solar powered

1:41:00energy.

1:41:02The way it works, it will start on one

1:41:05side of Blue Hill Avenue, not two sides

1:41:07is the way they want or down the middle.

1:41:10At each bus stop will be a station

1:41:13and you get on it and you just punch in

1:41:16where you want to go. It doesn't cost a

1:41:18lot of money to install it. We're asking

1:41:21the city to listen. We already had two

1:41:24bills with the state and they wanted to

1:41:26put it in South Boston. We want it here

1:41:28in this neighborhood.

1:41:30This is where we need the the

1:41:32transportation.

1:41:34And if anyone wants to see it right now,

1:41:38I can give it to you on your cell phone

1:41:42right now. Your [clears throat]

1:41:44telephone number if you want. that this

1:41:46this so power industry doesn't cost

1:41:49anything to put except for an investment

1:41:52in the community and putting

1:41:55uh all the cars and things that were on

1:41:58one side of the street down the middle

1:42:00will be gone. You put one side where

1:42:04cars can go up and down. You'll have the

1:42:06trees and them still will still be there

1:42:08and you still have your bicycles riding

1:42:10and everything. It'll it'll can come

1:42:12from Matapan

1:42:15>> all the way down Blue Hill Avenue. We

1:42:16can run it over to downtown Boston or

1:42:19over to the Orange Line.

1:42:22And uh the use in it is for us in this

1:42:27neighborhood. So I'm asking the city to

1:42:29take a look at it.

1:42:30>> Thank you, Mr. Hector.

1:42:33[applause]

1:42:35Is Marcus here? Is there a Marcus here?

1:42:39No.

1:42:41There's a Mac here.

1:42:46Mac is Mac Hudson.

1:42:52>> Thank you. Um, first, good evening to

1:42:55all the city councilors, chairman, and

1:42:59to everybody that came out. My name is

1:43:01M. Hudson. Uh, I am one of the main

1:43:04facilitators of the Black Agenda

1:43:05Coalition and I keep showing up for

1:43:08these meetings because I think for the

1:43:12first time I'm hearing at least framed

1:43:15of the proper way as a civil rights

1:43:17violation. And I think there is no

1:43:20fundamental constitutional right than

1:43:22the right to be heard. And when I've

1:43:25showed up at all these hearings, the one

1:43:27thing that I've realized is that we're

1:43:29not being heard. We're being talked to,

1:43:33spat at,

1:43:35not being heard.

1:43:36>> Bamboozled.

1:43:37>> And then the the other fundamental is

1:43:39the right to redress.

1:43:41At [clears throat] these meetings, there

1:43:43should be a redress if you're not

1:43:45hearing what you should be hearing,

1:43:48right? All of which our community has

1:43:51been deprived of and and constantly

1:43:53being deprived of. So I I want to urge

1:43:58this body and the rest of us to stop

1:44:01thinking now we cannot depend on what

1:44:05the city's going to do because I'm

1:44:07hearing now the the plot thickens.

1:44:10They're lying about the what what the

1:44:12agreement was. We we just heard this

1:44:15about the theus,

1:44:17right? I mean what they're coming before

1:44:20us. They don't even have the decency to

1:44:22tell us the truth.

1:44:24To me, that is the most greatest

1:44:26disrespect that you can do to a

1:44:28community, but it's being done to our

1:44:31community because we're black and

1:44:34because we're not respected. Now, if

1:44:37that makes city hall a racist, then I

1:44:40would be the first one to say that's

1:44:42exactly what I'm feeling, that they are

1:44:44racist. And there's no way to understand

1:44:47this because when I look at every other

1:44:49community, it's not a fact that they

1:44:51just coming out to vote, but they're

1:44:53showing up in those spaces saying what

1:44:55they do and what they don't. And no

1:44:57matter how many times we show up in

1:44:59these same spaces and say we don't want

1:45:01it, we're being s we're being told so

1:45:04what. That's a fundamental wrong. And so

1:45:09I concede and I know my two minutes is

1:45:11up and I urge all of us to stop

1:45:13contemplating. We need to stop filing an

1:45:16action. We need to bring this to a

1:45:19court. We need to sue the city. We need

1:45:22to start suing them on every single bit

1:45:25and fight them to the end. Peace.

1:45:29Thank you, Paul Simmons.

1:45:40>> Uh, do you hear me?

1:45:44Hello.

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

1:45:52meeting, I asked an engineer who had

1:45:55worked for the MBTA with the MIT degree

1:45:58what his professional opinion was of the

1:46:00city's proposal. If you'll bear with me,

1:46:03I'll quote from the email he sent me to

1:46:05so there's no misrepresentation.

1:46:09In my opinion, there are numerous

1:46:10problems with the proposed center

1:46:12running bus lane project. The tea is

1:46:14promising that the project will result

1:46:16in a 10 to 15 minutes shorter bus ride

1:46:18along Bluehill Avenue. I think the time

1:46:21savings will be marketkedly less,

1:46:23perhaps closer to 5 minutes or less. So

1:46:25why build the project in the first place

1:46:27and settle small businesses with several

1:46:29years of significant construction

1:46:31impacts? We can instead focus on

1:46:34implementing roadway safety improvements

1:46:36in the near term. And while true

1:46:38alternative alternatives analysis and

1:46:40feasibility study performed that analyze

1:46:43a range of possible public transit

1:46:45improvements along the corridors,

1:46:47including all rail options. The 10 to 15

1:46:51minute time savings is indeed

1:46:53questionable given the following. We

1:46:56believe that the higher end of the

1:46:58bracket is applicable to a southbound

1:47:00trip from Grove Hall to Madapan Square

1:47:03since the proposed roadway upgrades will

1:47:05allow a bus to turn left directly on the

1:47:07Madapan station rather than having to

1:47:09proceed further southbound over the

1:47:11river then make a U-turn as is the case

1:47:13today. As part of a near-term standalone

1:47:17safety improvement project, if so

1:47:19desired, we can reconfigure the

1:47:21intersection to facilitate a left turn

1:47:22for buses and realize a fiveminute time

1:47:25savings. It follows we should focus on

1:47:28purported 10-minute time savings and

1:47:30dispute this metric. The proposed

1:47:33project will reduce the number of bus

1:47:35stops by approximately 50%. Accordingly,

1:47:38many riders will have to travel

1:47:40significant further significantly

1:47:42further to a bus stop, thereby

1:47:44increasing their nonb their nonbus

1:47:46travel times, even though the actual

1:47:48trip times on the bus may be shorter.

1:47:52The 10-minute time savings is only

1:47:54realizable for a full length trip from

1:47:56Matapan Square to Grove Hall or full

1:47:59length trip in the opposite direction.

1:48:01Many passengers board buses. Is that am

1:48:04I running out of time? Paul, going to

1:48:06wrap up. You can wrap up.

1:48:08>> Okay. Well, well, briefly, there were

1:48:10all kinds of flaws in the city's

1:48:12presentation. My other concern, which I

1:48:15wasn't able to get to, was increased

1:48:16congestion. The problem you have, and

1:48:19it's been mentioned before,

1:48:20>> I was speaking the mic into the mic.

1:48:22>> Okay. Other people have mentioned the

1:48:24issues of air quality. You have extra

1:48:26congestion. You have you have more

1:48:29particular pollution. Thanks to the

1:48:31senator, I now know that there will be

1:48:33350 buses coming in to shuttle people

1:48:36into White Stadium. That is also

1:48:39expected to increase congestion. So,

1:48:40what you're going to see given the

1:48:43existing sensors for particular

1:48:45pollution, it's increased air quality

1:48:49degradation, more asthma triggers, and

1:48:52inevitably more deaths. So anybody that

1:48:55calls himself to be in favor of

1:48:56environmental justice cannot in any way

1:49:00in conscience support this project

1:49:02because people will be hurt. Thank you.

1:49:06>> Thank you

1:49:08Alan Tanner.

1:49:22Good evening members of this Boston City

1:49:25Council and to everybody present. My

1:49:27name is Alan Tanner. I testify today as

1:49:32a leader with Prophetic Resistance

1:49:34Boston and as well as a resident of

1:49:36Roxbury.

1:49:39My first point is that this process was

1:49:43not based in listening to the people.

1:49:46Listening to the people is what we see

1:49:48today where we have the city coming to

1:49:51the people, listening to the needs of

1:49:53the people and then moving upon what the

1:49:56people have said.

1:49:58>> That is not what we have seen in this

1:50:01process of the center running bus lane.

1:50:04>> Um my next point

1:50:06>> is that there has been a

1:50:07disproportionate impact in black

1:50:10communities. you know, constantly as has

1:50:12been mentioned already, if

1:50:14[clears throat] we have other

1:50:15communities, if I go to Back Bay, if I

1:50:17go to JP and we have people that are

1:50:20saying, "No, this is not something that

1:50:23we want," then guess what? That's

1:50:25actually considered. But now, if we go

1:50:28to Roxbury, Doorchester, Matapan, we are

1:50:31constantly told, "Oh, don't don't worry

1:50:33about it. This is it's the money's

1:50:35there. It's going to happen. It's going

1:50:36to happen." That is not okay.

1:50:41My next point, rail has been here

1:50:43before. This is not the first time we

1:50:46are looking at the possibility of rail.

1:50:50And so we we should not shut down all

1:50:54other options. We we should not shut

1:50:56down, you know, options and say, "Oh,

1:50:59well, no, we just don't have the money

1:51:01for rail." But as has been mentioned, we

1:51:03have the fair share amendment. You know,

1:51:05we have invested money in other things.

1:51:08So, let us think about investing and not

1:51:11divesting from our communities. Um, my

1:51:15other point, other center bus lanes such

1:51:18as the one on Columbus Avenue, that has

1:51:21been atrocious. It's created traffic.

1:51:23It's created bottlenecks, and it has

1:51:26been consistently known that that is not

1:51:30what we want.

1:51:33Safety issues. I'm actually particularly

1:51:35worried. I've looked at the plan. um for

1:51:38the segment of Blue Hill Avenue that's

1:51:40in front of my church. Um and they plan

1:51:44to put a a bike lane also kind of like

1:51:47on the sidewalk in front of my church.

1:51:50So I'm like, "Oh, so now not only are we

1:51:52asking our seniors and our young people

1:51:54to cross two lanes of traffic, but we're

1:51:57also asking them to cross a bike lane,

1:52:00too. So now we're adding another

1:52:02hazard." Well, that does not work for

1:52:05me.

1:52:06Um, and in my closing two points,

1:52:10I want to focus on

1:52:14the the fact that to consistently say we

1:52:17are going to go ahead and we're going to

1:52:19do this, that is an egregious abuse of

1:52:22authority.

1:52:24And lastly, I call for an alternative

1:52:28analysis. Thank you for your time.

1:52:30>> Thank Thank you. [applause]

1:52:34The next five is uh Maha Alim.

1:52:41Maha Ashlin.

1:52:47Drew Carpenter,

1:52:54Asia Jackson,

1:52:57Antoine

1:52:59Joe Care,

1:53:03Anthony Bayz, and Diane Wilkerson.

1:53:09Yes.

1:53:11>> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

1:53:13>> Good evening.

1:53:13>> My name is Drew Carpenter.

1:53:16Um, Out of all the speakers that came up

1:53:18here, I think I'm one of the ones who

1:53:22actually just lived like two minutes

1:53:24from here. I moved at 484 Blue Hill Lav

1:53:27in 1972.

1:53:30>> I moved 484 Blue Hill Lav 1972 right

1:53:33next to M Dixon. I watch Blue Hill Laugh

1:53:36shrink.

1:53:38>> I watch him shrink and I'm like, you

1:53:41know what is their fixation on Blue Hill

1:53:44Laugh?

1:53:46You know what is their fixation on blue

1:53:48your lab? Like I grew up in this

1:53:50neighborhood and we did good, you know,

1:53:53as we did as we do. Well, whatever we

1:53:56do, whatever we did, we did do good. I

1:53:58don't know if that makes sense. I'm a

1:53:59little nervous. I ain't going to lie.

1:54:01But what I do know is that that bus lane

1:54:04thing triggered me. That bus name

1:54:07triggered me. I understand the history

1:54:09of Boston. See, I was bus from there to

1:54:12South Boston and had to get under the

1:54:14bus, get under the seats because rocks,

1:54:16bricks, sticks, and racist slurs was

1:54:18coming through the window. You know what

1:54:20I mean? I didn't want to leave my

1:54:22neighborhood and go somewhere else. What

1:54:24I what we did want was them to give us

1:54:27what they gave them. And that's what we

1:54:29don't get. We never get what they get.

1:54:32>> We get less because that's how they view

1:54:35us, less.

1:54:37This community, someone's talked about

1:54:39gentrification. I'm going go I'm going

1:54:41to go a different route and this is no

1:54:42charge to the Hispanic community. This

1:54:44community is like 75% Hispanic. I can

1:54:48count the Hispanic people on my hands in

1:54:50this room. Is the word getting to them?

1:54:53Is anybody talking to them,

1:54:55communicating with them or the rest of

1:54:57them?

1:54:58>> But they don't care because they wanted

1:55:00this to go quiet as possible. I was at

1:55:03the Burke meeting when they I was told,

1:55:05"Oh yeah, construction is going to

1:55:07happen regardless in 2028. Everything

1:55:09was paid for." I was lied right to my

1:55:11face.

1:55:13That's disrespectful.

1:55:16That's straight disrespectful. I And I'm

1:55:18triggered by all this. I'm pro black all

1:55:21day. I love my people. I love my

1:55:23community.

1:55:25>> I want y'all to love us, too, the way we

1:55:27are. To me, I've been taking that those

1:55:30buses since they was 10 cent up and down

1:55:33Blue Hill A. I'm okay with waiting the

1:55:35extra five minutes because the extra

1:55:37five minutes gave me an opportunity to

1:55:39meet someone in my neighborhood that I

1:55:41never met before. Community

1:55:45togetherness. We don't need y'all to

1:55:46come over here and dictate how we move

1:55:49about in our community.

1:55:51>> We don't need that. What you What we

1:55:54need is y'all to hear the people in the

1:55:55community. Talk with them. meet with us.

1:55:58But y'all don't want that. That ain't

1:56:01what y'all want. That ain't what y'all

1:56:02ever wanted, you know. So, leave us

1:56:06alone.

1:56:11[cheering]

1:56:13>> Anton.

1:56:14>> Anton.

1:56:21>> Anton, can you just stay where you live?

1:56:23Sure.

1:56:24>> So, I'm Anson Joano. I work for Project

1:56:26Wright. Um I've worked in Grof fall

1:56:28since 19 2000 something like that but um

1:56:32basically I just wanted to talk about

1:56:34the plan that they have proposed

1:56:35[clears throat] and how it affects

1:56:36growall itself because I understand

1:56:38whether we don't want it or not but what

1:56:40they've actually proposed like what what

1:56:42is it that we have so um part of the

1:56:46issue is that a lot some of the project

1:56:48is not even what directly happens at

1:56:49Blue Hill but it's what's going to be

1:56:51pushed into the neighborhood streets

1:56:52around it that we need to also be

1:56:54concerned about. So between Sver and

1:56:57Wayne, the current design reduces

1:56:59northbound traffic to one lane,

1:57:01restricts several left turns, makes

1:57:03nazing a one-way eastbound, redirects

1:57:06traffic towards Sver and Elmhill. Right

1:57:08between Wayne and Washington, there's

1:57:10only one general traffic lane in each

1:57:12direction along with a pickup and drop

1:57:14off from the Carolina Academy. Right.

1:57:17And at Castlegate, drivers would be

1:57:19limited to a right turn with other

1:57:21movements redirected through Washington,

1:57:22Normandy, or Elm Hill. And each of these

1:57:25changes is small by itself, but together

1:57:28they raise one major question, which is

1:57:30how much traffic is being moved off

1:57:32Blueh Hill and onto the streets where

1:57:34Groveall residents actually live.

1:57:36>> Right. So this is information the

1:57:38community should see. We need the we

1:57:41need the projected before and after

1:57:43traffic volumes for Elm Hill, Sver,

1:57:46Washington, Normandy, Nas, Pasadena,

1:57:48[clears throat] Wayne, Supple, all of

1:57:50these streets

1:57:52before we can actually make even an

1:57:54informed decision and we haven't been

1:57:56presented with any of these. Um, we also

1:57:59need to know what happens in the

1:58:01one-lane sections during the real

1:58:02neighborhood conditions. School pickups,

1:58:04deliveries, double parking, crashes,

1:58:07disabled vehicles. Their transit

1:58:09concerns, too. Existing bus stops at

1:58:11Sver Street are being replaced by

1:58:13stations farther along the corridor,

1:58:15which could mean longer walks for some

1:58:17riders. Um, the current plan shows no

1:58:20bike lanes from Sver through Warren

1:58:22Street. So, the idea about bike

1:58:25transportation being better, we don't

1:58:27get that. So, that's another question to

1:58:29bring up there. Uh, just wrap up. So if

1:58:33Gro Falls is asked to accept these

1:58:34tradeoffs, then we need the numbers that

1:58:36are specific to Gro Hall and not just

1:58:38the 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

1:58:52live?

1:58:53>> I live in Roxberry.

1:58:56Roxberry.

1:58:58Oh, my time started, y'all. Okay. So,

1:59:01good evening everyone. My name is Asia

1:59:02Jackson. I'm from Roxberry. I'm a

1:59:05stakeholder here. I'm speaking for

1:59:07myself, but I'm a part of several

1:59:09organizations that are in this room.

1:59:12Five generations, five

1:59:15lived on this soil, fought for this

1:59:18rail. My grandmother, my greatg

1:59:20grandmother fought for this rail. Fast

1:59:22forward to tonight. My son spend 95

1:59:26minutes from Matapan station all the way

1:59:29to Rugos twice daily.

1:59:34Think about that. That is not a delay.

1:59:37That is not inconvenience. That is a

1:59:39human life, human potential and economic

1:59:43opportunity systemically

1:59:46>> stolen from our children by a broken

1:59:50transit grid. Let's be honest. Darkest

1:59:53number 1340 and 1341

1:59:56for the rapid transit that was stripped

1:59:59from us in 1987

2:00:02was never replaced when billions flow

2:00:06seamlessly

2:00:07to white communities. $2.3 million

2:00:12billion

2:00:14for the green line extension. 1.58

2:00:17billion for the red and orange line on

2:00:20the other side extension,

2:00:221 billion for South Coast Rail, but our

2:00:27neighbors neighborhoods are given measly

2:00:31little pennies. We get $164 million

2:00:35diesel bus lane. What is that?

2:00:39>> That is not an accident.

2:00:42That is modernday infrastructure

2:00:44redlinining.

2:00:46>> This is separate and unequal layout

2:00:49inflicts structural economic harm. It

2:00:53sentences our families to profound

2:00:56health equity crisis. I'm going to be

2:00:58one more minute longer because I got

2:01:00some demands and they need to be

2:01:02answered in 30 days. So blockading

2:01:06direct access to Boston Medical Center,

2:01:09New England, Longwood Medical Area, our

2:01:13children, are they not worth more?

2:01:17Is our time worth less? Are we not

2:01:21supposed to have jobs in our

2:01:23commonwealth

2:01:24that help us our livelihood?

2:01:2895 minutes

2:01:31to Ruggles, not even downtown. Before

2:01:34this body commits a single dollar to a

2:01:37painted bus lane, I demand a formal

2:01:40title six civil rights review. Number

2:01:44one, I am placing eight action

2:01:47actionable mandates directly onto the

2:01:51official record. Number one, price a

2:01:55green line connection. There's a rail

2:01:59underneath Tmont Street that is not

2:02:01being used. We need to look into that.

2:02:06There's a formal mass dot form that even

2:02:08gives the information about how much it

2:02:12will cost for that rail to go to Newbian

2:02:15Square and then extend to Madapan

2:02:18station. We deserve that.

2:02:21Number two, study a direct heavyline

2:02:24rail connection from Matapan to Forest

2:02:27Hills or South Station, which would be

2:02:30better.

2:02:31Three, force a 30-year operational cost

2:02:34audit. Number four, formally review my

2:02:37Gold Line 28 Express for immediate

2:02:40interim relief while we work on our rail

2:02:45system. Number five, stop using fake

2:02:48riding times claims from true doortodoor

2:02:53trips, taking away stops that our

2:02:56elderly residents cannot get to these

2:02:58stops, which will in fact create longer

2:03:02travel times by 20 plus minutes for

2:03:05elderly and disabled residents traveling

2:03:09on this middle bus bus disaster. So um

2:03:15we need number six a published verified

2:03:18fatality construction impact and canopy

2:03:21removal data block by block. Number

2:03:25seven we need funds for home ownership

2:03:29stability and binding reperative growth

2:03:33especially for the leftover American

2:03:36free men that are here along Blue Hill A

2:03:39and in Roxbury. Establish number eight,

2:03:42my last establish absolute

2:03:45accountability. I demand that every

2:03:47single agency involved answer each of

2:03:50these eight demands

2:03:52in writing point by point within 30

2:03:56days. We will not wait another 40 years.

2:04:00Our community deserves equality,

2:04:04economic mobility, health equity, and

2:04:07rail now. Thank you.

2:04:13I'd like to acknowledge

2:04:17uh and

2:04:20give my uh councelor colleague uh

2:04:24councelor Pepin. I didn't see you down

2:04:26there. Uh so I just want to acknowledge

2:04:29councelor Pepin. Uh we're in public

2:04:32testimony, but let me just give him two

2:04:35minutes to make his opening statement.

2:04:38Since we don't have a panel up anymore,

2:04:41uh you won't need those two minutes, but

2:04:43councelor Pepin, uh go on and make your

2:04:45two-minute opening statement.

2:04:48>> I appre Thank you, Councelor Pepper. I

2:04:51co pepper, thank you so much, council

2:04:53war. Thank you so much for for just

2:04:56holding this this council hearing

2:04:57tonight. Uh for me this is a very

2:04:59important topic. Uh public

2:05:01transportation

2:05:03for me advocacy has been gone a long way

2:05:05before I was a city councelor. Used to

2:05:07work for an organization called

2:05:08transportation for Massachusetts where

2:05:11we studied a lot the implications of

2:05:13public transportation. And I actually

2:05:15got the opportunity to do a lot of the

2:05:16studying of the lack of public

2:05:19transportation investments in these

2:05:21neighborhoods. And to their credit and

2:05:24to the credit of a lot of residents that

2:05:25I've heard tonight, the hurt is real.

2:05:28And I know that the BTA and the state

2:05:30and even the city has for a long time

2:05:32promised a lot of projects that were

2:05:34supposed to be here. Um they moved the

2:05:37orange line away from Washington Street

2:05:39and Square many years ago. They moved

2:05:41away the light rail, the trolley that

2:05:43used to run down Blueho Avenue. A lot of

2:05:46things have been taken away from these

2:05:47communities. And I know many of you know

2:05:50that I do support this project.

2:05:52But it's not because of any

2:05:53relationships or any new ideas for me.

2:05:56It's it's because of I truly believe in

2:05:58the usage of public transportation. Um I

2:06:02do believe in the fact that if we allow

2:06:05this type of infrastructure to come, it

2:06:07does give the opportunity to build a

2:06:10light rail down Blueho Avenue like many

2:06:12of you are asking for. But I also have I

2:06:16I believe it was a previous speaker that

2:06:18mentioned the tunnel that's underneath

2:06:20Washington Street that used to that used

2:06:23to connect um the old previous orange

2:06:25line. There's a lot of infrastructure

2:06:26underneath our grounds that are being

2:06:29they're not used and um I know that

2:06:32there was a proposed extension by some

2:06:34of my colleagues, but I think there's

2:06:35even a better proposal out there that ex

2:06:38extends out of Tus Medical Center down

2:06:41street to Nubian Square and then an

2:06:43extension down to under Blueho Avenue.

2:06:46Um that type of infrastructure that is

2:06:48worth looking into. I believe that study

2:06:50that that was referenced by the

2:06:51residents is the 2012 Mass DOT study

2:06:54with in partnership with the Roxberry

2:06:56Doorchester Matapan Coalition that did

2:06:58that study and actually recommended

2:07:00that. And I say that because it is

2:07:03important to recognize what what the

2:07:05work has been done and what hasn't been

2:07:06done. But ultimately I say all that just

2:07:08to say I am a pro public transportation

2:07:10advocate. That is essentially why I

2:07:12really do support this. But I do hear

2:07:14why people don't support this. And I

2:07:16just wanted to make sure that I was here

2:07:18to hear more comments from the

2:07:19residents. And thank you, councelor Cole

2:07:20Pepper.

2:07:22>> Thank you, Council Pepin. Let us move

2:07:24back to our public testimony. Anthony

2:07:26Bayz 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

2:07:40Hispanics are. Here we are. So, first,

2:07:43could I get a show of hands from our

2:07:44electives who've actually rode the bus

2:07:46to get here?

2:07:48Well, I did, and it was slowed by

2:07:50traffic. Now, imagine you rely on the

2:07:52bus to get to work or to go to school.

2:07:55The plan to install center running bus

2:07:56lanes is sensible in light of the facts

2:07:59and despite the lies. I will now go over

2:08:01what is true in this debate. We know

2:08:04that 40,000 people a day ride the bus on

2:08:07this corridor. We know that the majority

2:08:09of traffic on this corridor is made up

2:08:12of bus riders. We know that over 75% of

2:08:15bus riders on Blue Hill A are people of

2:08:18color. We know that this plan would save

2:08:21up to 15 minutes for each rider. We know

2:08:24that the grant is specifically allocated

2:08:26for buses and not for any other project.

2:08:28We know that if not used, this money

2:08:31would not be returned and invested in

2:08:33this community. Now, let's go over what

2:08:35is not true. In other words, lies. The

2:08:39plan can be changed for other purposes.

2:08:42Center running bus lane platforms are

2:08:44unsafe to board. Have you ridden the

2:08:46green line? The plan is removing

2:08:48parking. Not happening. The plan will

2:08:50preclude future plans for rail projects.

2:08:53There hasn't been thousands of hours of

2:08:55community outreach. All of these

2:08:57statements are not founded in truth.

2:09:00Let's also dispel the notion that this

2:09:02hearing was of importance to the civil

2:09:04rights committee. This was orchestrated

2:09:06in order to have a biased hearing.

2:09:08Lastly, I want to address the people

2:09:10that think that if this is built, these

2:09:13bus lanes would gentrify the

2:09:14neighborhood. What do you think is going

2:09:16to happen if they build a subway?

2:09:25[clears throat]

2:09:38Senator Wilkinson.

2:09:44>> Good evening.

2:09:48>> For the record, my name is Diane

2:09:50Wilkerson.

2:09:51too many organizations in history to

2:09:54recount, but I live about 60 seconds

2:09:57from Blue Hill Avenue off Harvard Street

2:09:59and Harvard Common

2:10:08to me the question to thank you for

2:10:12being here. The these counselors I

2:10:15suspect all started already had a day at

2:10:17city hall hearing. So I think Lewis said

2:10:20I'm thank you for considering it not you

2:10:23know not robbery for you to give up your

2:10:24evening to be here. We appreciate you.

2:10:29The question for me is how is this not a

2:10:33civil rights issue.

2:10:36I want to share with the counselors

2:10:40um just a brief history

2:10:43related to you related to the council.

2:10:46In 1989,

2:10:48the city of Boston's city council held

2:10:50its first ever out of city hall

2:10:55community hearing.

2:10:58Do you know why? Because the federal

2:11:01court ordered the city of Boston

2:11:05to to create a home rule petition to

2:11:08give the Fair Housing Commission some

2:11:10teeth. They called our Fair Housing

2:11:12Commission a paper tiger.

2:11:16the then chair of the housing committee

2:11:19for the Boston City Council. Some of you

2:11:22may know the name, attorney Jim Burn. He

2:11:24was the partner for somebody named Tom

2:11:27Fineran. That name sound familiar? Well,

2:11:31Councelor Burn said after we did all of

2:11:35the hearings, the city council hearings,

2:11:37the place was packed in support of the

2:11:41home rule petition.

2:11:44Councelor Burns announced that he was

2:11:46certain, despite the fact that they had

2:11:48not heard any at the council hearing,

2:11:50there must be some opposition out there

2:11:52and we're going to go find it. So, the

2:11:55first of the hearings

2:11:58was at St. Angel Church in South Boston.

2:12:04I'm amazed that they always feel like

2:12:05they need to tell us how to behave. When

2:12:08did we ever have a city council hearing

2:12:10that? Anyway, y'all get the picture.

2:12:15It was the ugliest,

2:12:18most intense

2:12:20environment I have ever experienced in

2:12:22this city. I was the attorney, the

2:12:26council for the Boston branch at the

2:12:29time that was led by Lewis Alisa

2:12:32and I was there. I went to the hearing

2:12:34with my co-consel

2:12:36Naen Cohen who was attorney at the

2:12:38lawyers committee and councelor

2:12:42Co Pepper very familiar.

2:12:45I was the only black face in that room

2:12:47about 400 very angry white people

2:12:52and we ended up having to get police

2:12:55escort to get me out of the building

2:13:01in 1993

2:13:04and my first year in the state senate.

2:13:08I was one of the signitories on the

2:13:10letter that was signed that was

2:13:12organized 94 because Mayor Manino signed

2:13:16that letter.

2:13:18Almost all of the city councilors signed

2:13:20the letter. All of the state rep, state

2:13:23representative Fox, state representative

2:13:25Rushing signed the letter committing to

2:13:29the commitment

2:13:31for comparable replacement to the orange

2:13:34line when it came down.

2:13:37My signature is on that letter.

2:13:43In 2004,

2:13:46after negotiating with the MBTA with the

2:13:50help of the former Congressman Capalano,

2:13:54I ended up leading the cavalcade

2:13:58of buses from the MBTA out of Cabbat

2:14:02Yard on Washington Street in Egleston.

2:14:06finally

2:14:08after I don't know how many years. Why?

2:14:10Because it was a toxic toxic deadly

2:14:16site. The most deadly

2:14:20because the buses idled all the time. We

2:14:24we literally had a cat a cavalcade that

2:14:26left Cabat Yard down Washington Street

2:14:30into the Arborway to get those buses out

2:14:33of Roxberry. We have the largest number

2:14:36of school age children in that fivemile

2:14:39radius that we call Roxberry,

2:14:41Doorchester, and Matipan. The highest

2:14:44rates of asthma in the state

2:14:49because of the toxic fumes spewed by the

2:14:51diesel buses.

2:14:54How you could say counselor

2:14:58that you heard all the con concerns but

2:15:01you still support public transit is

2:15:03completely beyond me. People died

2:15:07because of the experiment at com at

2:15:10Columbus Avenue. The day after the

2:15:13Holland school hearing the city

2:15:15announced they were scrapping the plan

2:15:17for the extension on Columbus A. And I

2:15:21would submit is because they don't ever

2:15:23want people to see

2:15:26the number of incidents, accidents,

2:15:28fatalities

2:15:30that occurred in that site.

2:15:33You've never seen it and you never will.

2:15:40This morning,

2:15:42the mayor was on Java with Jimmy talking

2:15:46about Blue Hill Avenue.

2:15:49He said, "I I I I know that you've had

2:15:53all these meetings. There's a lot of

2:15:54opposition." She said, "No, there

2:15:56isn't."

2:15:58She said, "No, there isn't." Did you

2:16:00watch the hearing at Matipan

2:16:03at Morning Star Baptist Church?

2:16:08Almost half of the people there

2:16:09testified in support. That's what she

2:16:11said this morning.

2:16:15So when you ask the questions, why has

2:16:18it been so difficult?

2:16:20Is because she lies.

2:16:25>> And more important than that,

2:16:28for the first time in all the almost 50

2:16:30years that I've been here, as we sit

2:16:32here this evening, the city of Boston is

2:16:36marshalling its assets against us.

2:16:40They have a rapid response team of

2:16:43employees that we pay for every day who

2:16:47were on your Facebook post 10 minutes

2:16:49after you post them.

2:16:52Try it.

2:16:54I've seen them respond to you. I've seen

2:16:57them respond to you. Oh, they always

2:17:00respond to me until I chase them off.

2:17:03But we chase them with facts. The day

2:17:05after the Morning Star meeting,

2:17:09someone posted, "Why would they say

2:17:12we're going to have increased service?

2:17:13We're going to lose bus stops."

2:17:16That's a fact.

2:17:19We're going from 19 to 10. What that

2:17:23means is those people you see pushing

2:17:24the baby carriages, toting their carts

2:17:28on the walkers are going to have to walk

2:17:30three times further to get on this bus

2:17:33in the middle of the street.

2:17:36Can you see the traffic from Canton and

2:17:39Milton and Stoton tearing down Blue Hill

2:17:42Avenue blowing their horn to get Grandma

2:17:44to hurry up and get across the street

2:17:47cuz that's what we're going to see. So

2:17:53she said it this morning, folks. Oh, no.

2:17:57Most of supporting 3500 signatures on a

2:18:01petition to date. When did 3,500 of us

2:18:04sign anything?

2:18:07No, there will not be any electric buses

2:18:11in three years. The MBTA already

2:18:14announced that they are pulling pushing

2:18:16it back. They're at least five years

2:18:19away. Can you just get toxic spewed in

2:18:22your face every day for five more years?

2:18:25It's going to kill us,

2:18:27>> Senator.

2:18:28>> Period. So, I'm I'm gonna wrap with

2:18:30this. I think it was West who asked the

2:18:33counselors to raise their hands if they

2:18:35supported the I the con the notion that

2:18:38this was a civil rights issue.

2:18:45Six actually everybody who was here

2:18:48raised their hand. I think there was six

2:18:50and I we already know that councelor

2:18:52Murphy who had left she already said she

2:18:54was in that's seven

2:18:57even without counselor from district

2:18:59five seven is a majority on the council

2:19:03last I checked

2:19:06the idea that somebody could be bold

2:19:09enough to walk in here and say I live on

2:19:11Beacon Hill.

2:19:16Oh, no. I was not going to let that one

2:19:18go.

2:19:21Can you imagine the audacity?

2:19:27And he didn't tell you he works for

2:19:30Council Durkin.

2:19:33>> Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You order.

2:19:36Y'all order.

2:19:37>> He didn't tell you that he's taken out

2:19:40papers OCPF to run citywide for city

2:19:44council. He ain't saying I'm That's a

2:19:46lie, is he? Cuz it is. He's taking out

2:19:49his papers to run. So I guess he's

2:19:51practicing on us. How dare you?

2:19:55>> You took the bus.

2:19:57>> It's the other direction, you fool. It's

2:19:59not Matipan.

2:20:05>> So let let me just let me just say let

2:20:07me just say this. This is my ask. This

2:20:10is my ask of you.

2:20:12This is my ask for the counselors. Seven

2:20:15counselors said they believed that this

2:20:17was a civil rights issue.

2:20:20One one word of advice. I used to remind

2:20:24my my c my colleagues in the Senate, the

2:20:27other 39 senators. I have 180,000

2:20:32bosses. We call them constituents and

2:20:35not one of them is in this room. I don't

2:20:37work for you. You don't work for the

2:20:40mayor. You don't work for the governor.

2:20:43I didn't work for the governor. You work

2:20:45for this. This is these are your bosses.

2:20:48>> Order. So, if you are comfortable enough

2:20:50to come in here and say that you believe

2:20:53that this is a civil rights issue, I

2:20:56want you to be comfortable enough to

2:20:59sign a letter

2:21:03>> authored by councelor Warwell and Co

2:21:06Pepper to the mayor that said, "You

2:21:08heard enough and raise concerns and you

2:21:10think that we need to follow up on some

2:21:12of these before we move any further."

2:21:14That to me is minimum. If you believe

2:21:17what you just said, seven of you said

2:21:19yes.

2:21:21Seven of you.

2:21:23Co Pepper, Warell, Murphy, Flynn,

2:21:27Santana, Lugenne, and Mahia. Seven of

2:21:31you said yes. If you don't do that,

2:21:35it'll be reported at our next meeting on

2:21:38accountability. Because see, this is

2:21:40like when people go to black churches

2:21:42and talk about racism. Go talk to the

2:21:44white people.

2:21:46Don't come in here and tell us you

2:21:47believe it's a civil rights issue. Tell

2:21:49the folks who are making the decision.

2:21:51All we're saying is if you believe we

2:21:54should pursue it, we should at least

2:21:56look at this.

2:21:59Support the two counselors that this

2:22:01gentleman was so disrespectful to go to

2:22:03Morning Star Baptist Church and scream

2:22:05at them and talk about he's ashamed. Who

2:22:08cares?

2:22:09Who cares?

2:22:11For real. For real. This is serious,

2:22:15folks, because this is going to kill us

2:22:17all if we don't if we don't push back on

2:22:20this. Brand new

2:22:23shiny buses are still going to be

2:22:26spewing diesel.

2:22:31We can do better than this and we have

2:22:32an obligation to do better than this.

2:22:34Thank you, Senator.

2:22:36I want to call up the the next five

2:22:40and we the next five and we promised

2:22:42we'd be out by nine. Uh Mea Bush,

2:22:47H. Joseph,

2:22:51Jay McManis,

2:22:54and Ms. Grace,

2:22:57Mela Bush, H. Joseph J Mcmanis

2:23:04and Miss Grace

2:23:11>> Mela.

2:23:12>> Good evening. My name is Mela Bush.

2:23:15Thank you for holding this hearing here.

2:23:17It's very hard for people to go to city

2:23:19hall and to hold it in the evening in

2:23:21our community for an issue that um

2:23:23actually is so important to us is

2:23:28amazing. Thank you so much. Um

2:23:32I just want to speak to the um one

2:23:36thing. The life expectancy of people in

2:23:39our zip codes here in the community. I'm

2:23:42in 0 to 119

2:23:45>> is uh about 28 to 30 years less than

2:23:49those in Beacon Hill. is already true.

2:23:52>> So that is a fact and there are reasons

2:23:55why that were um laid out here around

2:23:59asthma rates, diesel pollution.

2:24:03I I just wanted to say that the second

2:24:05thing that I wanted to say is about the

2:24:08um the civil rights. I worked for over

2:24:1120 plus years on working to get the the

2:24:14Fairmont line up and running and leading

2:24:15the community process to do that. That

2:24:17was a civil rights battle. A right to a

2:24:20ride, a right to get on the train and to

2:24:22ride the rails that uh trains were going

2:24:25through our communities and they were

2:24:27polluting our lungs, but there were no

2:24:30stops and we weren't able to get on

2:24:32those trains. We now have four stations.

2:24:34One in Bluehill a Cumins and Matipan

2:24:37Square, one on Morton Street, Talbert A,

2:24:41Uppam's Corner, Four Corners, South Bay

2:24:44going straight to South Station.

2:24:47That's a rail line that we fought for

2:24:49and we won. We protested. We did all of

2:24:52that. And now we're here and we're

2:24:55talking about the civil rights and the

2:24:58equity and the the right to um adequate

2:25:01public transportation. I want to lift up

2:25:04a name that some of you know here uh who

2:25:07fought for replacement rail on

2:25:10Washington Street with the Washington

2:25:13Street Corridor Coalition. and we know

2:25:15he's no longer here with us. His name

2:25:17was Bob Terrell. He was a transit

2:25:20historian and he worked and ran the Fair

2:25:22Housing Commission in city hall. He

2:25:24didn't live to see the day that that uh

2:25:27replacement came to other communities in

2:25:30Roxbury after the Orange Line was taken

2:25:32down. I'm not speaking necessarily on

2:25:35behalf of an Orange Line replacement.

2:25:37Um, we're talking about comparable,

2:25:40equitable transportation that is

2:25:42non-polluting,

2:25:45that is not going to exacerbate our

2:25:48children's asthma and impact our health.

2:25:52My family lost uh two young people under

2:25:55the age of uh 35 to respiratory issues.

2:26:01That one lived to be 24 years old and

2:26:04she passed away because of asthma. It's

2:26:06the reason why I do this work. My son

2:26:10was in the hospital over 40 times for

2:26:13asthma. Why? Because we lived in

2:26:15Roxberry, grew up in Roxberry, we lived

2:26:18in uh Dorchester, Matipan, and the the

2:26:21old housing stalk. And then we lived in

2:26:24Jamaica Plane, and we we were in the

2:26:26area where the buses deadheaded all the

2:26:29way up to Forest Hill Station. Back in

2:26:32the 2000s, we fought to stop those buses

2:26:35early 2000, late 90s to stop those

2:26:38diesel pollutant buses from going to uh

2:26:42Forest Hills, shut down the Bartlett

2:26:45yard, stop the dead heading of those

2:26:48diesel powered buses. And today we they

2:26:51came back. We we were able to get

2:26:53compressed natural gas buses to go

2:26:56through our community that were a little

2:26:57less polluting to try and save our

2:27:00lungs. And then I watched during COVID

2:27:04when the buses that were um banned from

2:27:06coming into what was then Dudley

2:27:09Station, Ashmont, Forest Hills, they

2:27:11weren't allowed to let diesel buses run

2:27:13over here because we fought and stopped

2:27:16those buses from running through our

2:27:18communities. They slipped them back in.

2:27:21And I watched that black diesel soot

2:27:23spewing out of buses on Transit Equity

2:27:25Day in Nubian Station a few years ago

2:27:28during COVID in 2020. And I said, "Oh my

2:27:31god, they're back."

2:27:33>> And what are we fighting about right

2:27:35now?

2:27:36>> Put in more diesel buses. And I mean

2:27:40more diesel buses with shuttles that

2:27:42they will not divulge to go to White

2:27:44Stadium

2:27:46to transport people.

2:27:49So many hundreds of buses that are going

2:27:51to be coming in and they're saying, "Oh,

2:27:53we'll put electric buses three years

2:27:55after the start of the first game. Why

2:27:58aren't they saying they'll do it now?

2:28:00So, we need you to continue to fight for

2:28:03our civil rights, our right to arrive,

2:28:05our right to breathe clean air, and our

2:28:08right to have our lifespan extended to

2:28:1190 years plus and not have this

2:28:14situation. He ran out of here, the

2:28:16Beacon Hill guy. Um, he's not here

2:28:19anymore

2:28:21because that's a fact. We have a right

2:28:23to breathe here. We still can't breathe.

2:28:26And we need to have this thing addressed

2:28:31and address the our rights to clean air,

2:28:34quality public transportation that is

2:28:37going to get us to where we need to go

2:28:39and to look at viable options and to

2:28:42look at how we can um actually live a

2:28:45few minutes longer. Thank you for

2:28:48allowing me to speak.

2:28:49>> Thank you, Mea. The uh H. Joseph,

2:28:54H. Joseph, J McManis, Miss Grace. If if

2:28:59there's someone who hasn't signed up yet

2:29:02and you want to speak, please go to the

2:29:05back and sign the signup sheet. There's

2:29:08someone that wants to talk and you

2:29:10haven't. We don't want anyone to leave

2:29:13here

2:29:15who hasn't talked but wanted to talk.

2:29:18Okay.

2:29:19>> Hi, good evening. My name is Helena

2:29:21Joseph. I do live in Dorchester. I also

2:29:23work in Dorchester. And I want to thank

2:29:25you guys for um holding this meeting. I

2:29:28also want to thank the community folks

2:29:30to come out and represent yourselves. Um

2:29:33a lot of times we hear about these um

2:29:36meetings are taking place and a lot of

2:29:39the community people do not know that

2:29:41these meetings are happening. I think we

2:29:43need to do a better job to inform the

2:29:46residents and the people in the

2:29:47community when those meetings are taking

2:29:50place because people do care about where

2:29:52they work and where they leave. Um I'm

2:29:55tired of speaking. I am tired of

2:29:57talking. I feel like we are talking and

2:29:59we are talking. What are you guys going

2:30:01to do to help us? I mean are we talking

2:30:03today? What is going to what is the

2:30:05result of all this talking today? What's

2:30:08going to happen? what action is going to

2:30:10actually happen for people in this

2:30:12community. Um my brother and his wife

2:30:16built a dental practice for 25 years on

2:30:18Bluehab. I'm actually working with them

2:30:21right now. We have three um construction

2:30:24buildings happening right around um the

2:30:27practice and I I can tell you it has

2:30:30been really challenging for us and for

2:30:34the patients. Parking is a problem now.

2:30:38What is going to happen when we have all

2:30:41these things that is supposedly already

2:30:44um going to happen? We are talking about

2:30:46it, but it sounds like this is something

2:30:48that's already going to happen whether

2:30:50we talk no matter how many times we say

2:30:52we don't want it. It's something that it

2:30:54seems like it's already things are in

2:30:57motion. You have these three

2:30:59construction buildings um happening and

2:31:02they have all these huge vehicles. We've

2:31:04spoken to the city. they have come in

2:31:06and they have um tried to help. It will

2:31:09work one week and then the following

2:31:11week challenges for patients to parking.

2:31:14Patients has to go streets upon streets

2:31:16to find parking. Sometimes we have

2:31:18patients cancelling appointments and I'm

2:31:20just saying who are talking to the

2:31:22people the businesses that are serving

2:31:25the community who are representing them.

2:31:28How are you are you guys going into

2:31:30these businesses and talking to people

2:31:32and talking about the challenges? I

2:31:33think we can talk all we want, but until

2:31:36we don't see the action, it just seem

2:31:38like we we just talking just for talking

2:31:41sake. And I hope that we do something

2:31:44about the people that are being

2:31:46affected. Not only the businesses, we

2:31:48also have the all of these construction

2:31:51things that are happening. You have the

2:31:52side parking on the streets. You have

2:31:54the double parking. It's a mess. And I

2:31:57just hope that we take the consideration

2:32:00of what people are saying, the what

2:32:01people are feeling and make people feel

2:32:03like what they're saying is being taken

2:32:06into consideration and people feel like

2:32:08their concerns are being met. We need to

2:32:11respect the people in the community. We

2:32:13need to take the their concerns and we

2:32:16need action. All this talking, I hope it

2:32:19means something. Thank you.

2:32:21>> Thank you. What business was that?

2:32:24>> What?

2:32:26Okay, thank you.

2:32:30Jim 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?

2:32:53We 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

2:33:04listening. Um,

2:33:07my name is David Seawward. Um, my name

2:33:11is David Seawward and I want to tell you

2:33:13a bunch of things that I learned when I

2:33:15worked for the MBTA that have not been

2:33:18said, which is crazy to me because rail

2:33:22is so possible is so possible and I

2:33:26agree with everything that's been said

2:33:28here, so I'm not going to repeat it. Um,

2:33:32councelor WHL talked about restoring the

2:33:35rail on Blue Hill Avenue. That's how we

2:33:38know it's possible because the streets

2:33:40here were designed for the rail to be

2:33:44there. That's why their bus project is

2:33:47easy and cheap because it's already been

2:33:51you have the geometry perfect. You

2:33:53almost never have this possibility.

2:33:56Now, do you know that right next to us,

2:33:59right next to us, they are funding and

2:34:02building the upgrade of the Matipan line

2:34:05to be light rail,

2:34:07>> they're building a traction power uh

2:34:11substation that's what powers the

2:34:13overhead uh catenary wires u right

2:34:17there. That is that and they're building

2:34:20a vehicle maintenance facility.

2:34:24Those are the biggest costs that made

2:34:26that green line extension project so

2:34:28hard and so costly. We already have them

2:34:31at Madapan Square. So, we're going to

2:34:33get that. We're going to get light rail

2:34:36from Milton,

2:34:3870% white. And how are we not going to

2:34:41get it here? Like, you don't have to be

2:34:44from here to feel that this is just

2:34:46nuts, right? Um, and so all like at a

2:34:51minimum like at a minimum

2:34:55what you for you could have rail light

2:34:58rail transit

2:35:00going up uh Blue Hill Avenue in their

2:35:04center

2:35:06and Columbus

2:35:077-year construction project make it to

2:35:10Jackson Square. Thank you so much.

2:35:12>> Thank you. [applause]

2:35:17H Joseph

2:35:22J. Mcmanis

2:35:27ma'am, what's your name?

2:35:29>> Pardon me. Oh, Miss Grace. Okay, Miss

2:35:32Grace. I think Miss Grace is our last

2:35:34speaker for the night.

2:35:36>> Oh, good evening.

2:35:38>> Give our counselor. I just like to say

2:35:40that we've had a hundred years of white

2:35:44male mayors and you're probably not used

2:35:47to a nonwhite mayor, but give Mayor Woo

2:35:52the respect that she deserves. That's

2:35:54all I'm going to say. Um, people have a

2:35:57problem with everything she does. Um,

2:36:02everything she does. Oh, non-white

2:36:04people. We don't know how to build. We

2:36:05don't know how to run the city. Mothers

2:36:08can't be mayors. Oh, I think they can.

2:36:11So, I I just don't like the the the

2:36:14disrespect. If I mayor, they would have

2:36:17never disrespected Mighty Wells and

2:36:20certainly not Mayor Manino. Um, I may

2:36:23have my differences with them with

2:36:25issues and whatever, but I never

2:36:28disrespect them like she is being

2:36:30disrespected today everywhere she goes.

2:36:33um the racism attacks against her.

2:36:36>> Would you direct your comments to the

2:36:37dockets?

2:36:38>> So, I'm going Well, that's one of them.

2:36:40Um the other thing I want to say is yes,

2:36:43I do support uh the the the bus center,

2:36:48bus lanes coming down Blue Lab. I

2:36:50support the money that's coming in our

2:36:53community. I have not um the city

2:36:57council, this is a meeting. You said it

2:36:59was a city council meeting. So, you

2:37:01should have brought the data. Okay. Can

2:37:05we actually have rail? How long is that

2:37:09going to take? Can we use this $163

2:37:13million for rail? If it takes, like you

2:37:16said, uh 5 years to do something else,

2:37:21how many how long is it going to take us

2:37:25to get rail? And can this money be used?

2:37:30So this money was allotted for this

2:37:32center bus lane. Can it be used? And it

2:37:36needs to be clear for rail. Now the

2:37:40other thing it is a lie that when you're

2:37:44saying that there was no community

2:37:45engagement. I participated in 2021 to

2:37:502023 in a community engagement process.

2:37:55the city of Boston hire at Gayscale.

2:37:58Gayscale subcontracted

2:38:01with a black woman's community

2:38:03engagement firm out of Matapan.

2:38:07Okay. Um, if you goo if you Google

2:38:10grayscale community engagement, you can

2:38:13see they taped all the conversations,

2:38:17recorded everything, and I went and I

2:38:20and I must say that I also participate

2:38:24in my neighborhood um, association

2:38:27meetings, not just mine, probably about

2:38:30four of them. So ask not what your city

2:38:34can do for you. What are you doing for

2:38:36your community? Uh the neighborhood

2:38:39associations are putting out information

2:38:41and you need to contact them, get on

2:38:44these mailing lists and and know about

2:38:46them.

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.

2:38:51Grace.

2:38:51>> But um

2:38:53>> Thank you, Mrs. Grace.

2:38:54>> I support I support the

2:38:57that money.

2:38:59this we this the city of Boston has

2:39:03failed to do any major investments in

2:39:06our community for 80 years and now we

2:39:09want to start White Stadium. We want to

2:39:13stop the we want to stop this money into

2:39:16our community. What other community is

2:39:19stopping money going into their

2:39:20community?

2:39:21>> Thank you, Miss Grace.

2:39:22>> Thank you so much. Uh, Elna Elnara

2:39:27Miles is the last speaker of the

2:39:31evening.

2:39:33We'll give the counselors one minute to

2:39:34give a closing statement. I do want to

2:39:37thank everyone that came out.

2:39:40Thank everyone that stayed here the

2:39:42entire time. Thank everyone that

2:39:44participated.

2:39:46Thank all the counselors. And I want to

2:39:49make sure that we recognize the city

2:39:52council central staff that really

2:39:55conducted and operated me. Stand up.

2:39:57Come on. Let's have all of the city

2:39:59council central staff stand up. Come on.

2:40:02All you know. Come on. Stand up. Just

2:40:05stand up. Just stand up. [applause]

2:40:10[cheering]

2:40:13We thank them for coming out tonight and

2:40:18spending the time to make sure that this

2:40:21council hearing uh went in good order.

2:40:25Uh 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

2:40:34whatever project they're going to bring

2:40:36to this community. I'm not seeing any

2:40:39people of color working on the streets.

2:40:44They've dug up Blue Hill A. I'm a Grove

2:40:48Hall member and we live right on the

2:40:51corner Devon Blue Hill and I'm also the

2:40:55insurance agent in the community Empire

2:40:59Insurance.

2:41:01But we don't see any people of color

2:41:04working here and all the construction

2:41:07that's going on. There used to be a guy

2:41:10that would monitor

2:41:12>> who

2:41:14>> and I want to make sure somebody

2:41:18is appointed to that job to make sure

2:41:21people of color are represented with the

2:41:24construction that's coming to the

2:41:26community.

2:41:27>> Thank you, Miss Miles.

2:41:28>> Thank you.

2:41:28>> I also want to recognize

2:41:31all of the staff for the different

2:41:33counselors that are here tonight. Uh

2:41:36there's my chief of staff, Taric Meyers.

2:41:40There's uh council war, staff, Yousef

2:41:44Matthew. Uh there's

2:41:49Bailey.

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

2:42:05staff a round Give all the staff a round

2:42:07of applause. Thank you, Angela.

2:42:10[applause]

2:42:12I'm going to give each counselor a

2:42:14minute to close out. Uh I just thank all

2:42:17of you for coming tonight. Uh thank you

2:42:20for being part of this hearing. Uh we'll

2:42:23take all that we have. Tonight is the

2:42:27final night that the mayor and the MBTA

2:42:30will be taking comments to submit uh

2:42:33with their application. Uh we're going

2:42:35to make sure all of these comments a

2:42:37part of that submission so that uh your

2:42:41voice will be heard. This is not the

2:42:44last of these councils here. We're not

2:42:46closing out this council docket because

2:42:48we're going to work uh to make sure that

2:42:52you get a chance to hear from the MBTA

2:42:55general manager and the questions that

2:42:57folks have and concern. Just want to

2:43:00thank all you for a great night. Thank

2:43:02you for participating and uh we will

2:43:06have other meetings uh and we'll make

2:43:08sure everyone knows about them. Let me

2:43:10start with uh Councelor Flynn uh for a

2:43:14minute closing.

2:43:17>> Thank you, Councelor Co Pepper. Thank

2:43:18you, Council War. Thank you to the

2:43:21residents for being here. I stand with

2:43:24my two colleagues, Council War and

2:43:27Council Co Pepper

2:43:30in against this plan and for an

2:43:33alternative plan. And that alternative

2:43:36plan has to come from the residents. The

2:43:39alternative plan

2:43:41>> is about respecting the residents. It's

2:43:45about listening to residents

2:43:47and understanding that the best ideas

2:43:50don't come from city hall. The best

2:43:53ideas come from the residents. I do

2:43:56think as I mentioned at the very

2:43:58beginning, this is a civil rights issue.

2:44:02I think that has to be the main focus

2:44:06and we have to ensure that this

2:44:08community is respected and heard

2:44:12and I just don't think that it is heard

2:44:16at city hall and including on the Boston

2:44:19City Council. I don't necessarily

2:44:21believe my city council colleagues um

2:44:24think of this as a as a civil rights

2:44:27issue. I think they think of this as a

2:44:30transportation issue and we we still

2:44:33have a lot of work to do to

2:44:37educate city councilors about the impact

2:44:40this has on civil rights. Thank you very

2:44:43much. Honored to be here.

2:44:48>> Councelor

2:44:51is councelor Pepin

2:44:53>> councelor Santana.

2:44:55>> Um thank you Mr. Chair. I just want to

2:44:57thank you and um councelor Warel for um

2:45:00you know putting this um hearing

2:45:02together and for being the main filers.

2:45:04I want to thank the community who came

2:45:05out um showed out and testified. Um and

2:45:09you know I think we've learned a lot. I

2:45:10think there's a lot of work that had to

2:45:12do. Um as I mentioned in my questioning

2:45:14and my opening remarks um I think we

2:45:16need to completely change how we do our

2:45:18community process. um it's not it's

2:45:20currently not working and there's been

2:45:22one too many projects um where I've

2:45:24definitely been in community and and and

2:45:26hear the opposition um and things don't

2:45:29necessarily change. So um I think that

2:45:31needs to change but really appreciate

2:45:32the opportunity and the organizing. I

2:45:34also want to thank central staff um for

2:45:36all the work that you do and I'm looking

2:45:38forward to the work ahead. Thank you

2:45:41>> council war. Um I want to thank the

2:45:44chair. I want to thank um our staffs. I

2:45:46want to thank central staff. Um, but

2:45:48especially I want to thank everyone that

2:45:50has continued uh to show up. If this is

2:45:53your first year fighting against the

2:45:54center running bus, if you've been

2:45:56fighting for it um over years and years,

2:45:59just want to thank you for showing up in

2:46:01a real way for your community. Um, I

2:46:04take my job as an elected official, uh,

2:46:07very seriously [clears throat]

2:46:08knowing that I was elected by you, the

2:46:11residents, to work in partnership with

2:46:13you to bring the solutions that we can

2:46:16work together to make our neighborhoods

2:46:18better. Um, as Councelor Flynn has said,

2:46:21a lot of the good ideas, a lot of the

2:46:24great ideas, a lot of the best ideas

2:46:27come from neighbors, come from the

2:46:29residents. So that is why we need to

2:46:31work in partnership to make sure that we

2:46:34are bringing uh not only the best but

2:46:37the same level of service that is being

2:46:40uh given to other neighborhoods to our

2:46:42neighborhood and that's what you can

2:46:43expect from me every day as your elected

2:46:45official in city hall. So thank you uh

2:46:48for showing up. This fight is nowhere

2:46:50near over. So please stay engaged and

2:46:53stay tuned. Um there is a meeting

2:46:55tomorrow uh city council hearing on the

2:46:58Boston residents job policy at 2 pm

2:47:01which talks about the u requirements or

2:47:04the at the goals that we have as a city

2:47:06for every construction site. So please

2:47:09join in on that conversation but we also

2:47:11have to make sure that during this

2:47:13conversation when construction is going

2:47:16to happen for rail or a side running bus

2:47:18lane I'm going to claim it now that

2:47:20those jobs also go to our neighborhood.

2:47:23So, thank you again. Um, let's continue

2:47:24to fight.

2:47:25>> Thank you to everyone who stayed with us

2:47:27tonight, the residents who took time

2:47:29away from the family and work, the

2:47:31panelists, the community organizations,

2:47:34and my colleagues on the council. We

2:47:36came to Blue Hill Avenue because this is

2:47:39where the decisions will land. You want

2:47:42safety improvements. You want crossings

2:47:46that are ADA compliant. You want new

2:47:49lighting. You want trees. You want

2:47:51better bus stops. and you want them now.

2:47:54You do not want a center running bus

2:47:56lane that no one here has asked for. And

2:47:59you should not have to accept what they

2:48:02have told us we're getting in order to

2:48:05get what you deserve. This is a question

2:48:07of transportation equity. This is a

2:48:10civil rights question and it will not go

2:48:13away because this hearing ends and

2:48:16neither will we. Thank you for showing

2:48:19up tonight and for showing out and may

2:48:21God bless you.

2:48:28>> The meeting is now ending.

2:48:30[clears throat]

2:48:31>> Docket number 1340 and 1341.

2:48:35Thank you for all that you've done.