Tag: Lizzie Torres

  • Boston City Council votes on housing resolutions in first full meeting of the year

    Vivian Wu

    On January 28, the Boston City Council convened to discuss a rent control state ballot initiative, a potential ban on algorithmic price setting in the housing market and an order to remove parking minimums under newly-elected Council President Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Breadon, representing Allston-Brighton.

    Nine out of 13 councilors, including Breadon, approved the return of Massachusetts Question 9 on the 2026 state ballot during the meeting. Voters will decide if rent control should be prohibited for most privately-owned housing units in the state. Question 9 was most recently on the 1994 ballot, where it passed by about 51 percent.

    “[Tenants] deserve to know that after signing the lease of an apartment within their budget, their landlord won’t decide the next year to demand more than they can afford,” councilor Henry Santana said. “The vibrancy and the inclusivity of our city depend on these measures.” 

    Lizzie Torres, a housing policy associate for MassHousing and long-time Allston renter, said they are worried the restrictions proposed in the ballot question could hinder new housing developments and exacerbate poor housing quality. 

    “Alongside rent control, you have to have a better zoning code that allows for very flexible upzoning,” Torres said. “Otherwise, what you end up having is that rent control usually can create a situation where landlords then only rent to the most wealthy, stable and credit-worthy renters.”

    Councilor Edward Flynn of District 2 objected to the resolution. He said he was concerned the initiative would negatively impact the city’s business climate. 

    “We want investors coming into Boston to invest their money to build housing,” Flynn said. 

    Flynn also objected to a resolution co-sponsored by Santana and councilors Ruthzee Louijeune and Sharon Durkan that would place a tax of at most two percent on real estate ownership transfers over two million dollars. The revenue would fund programs assisting middle to low-income residents. 

    Torres said the resolution overlooks transfers between generations whose property values have increased significantly over time. 

    “It doesn’t necessarily mean that the generation that is inheriting that home is going to be able to pay that transfer fee,” Torres said.

    Durkan and Breadon proposed an investigation and potential ban on algorithmic price setting in the housing market, which would prevent commercial property software from using public and non-consensual private data to suggest prices to buyers. 

    “It’s the best way to protect renters from monopolizing housing in this way,” Torres said. 

    Durkan and Santana also co-sponsored an order to remove parking minimums in an effort to decrease housing costs. 

    “Affordability is my top priority, and it should be the top priority of everyone in this body,” Durkan said. “The two hearing orders I filed for this meeting […] are our first steps.”

    The real estate transfer tax, algorithmic price setting and parking minimum hearing orders were referred to the Committee of the Whole, a less formal session for all committee members to further discuss resolutions before the next council meeting. 

    The Committee of the Whole will meet publicly on February 2 with open public testimony to discuss funding grants sponsored by Mayor Wu. 

    Torres said they hope to see more action on part of the City this year.

    “I think we’ve been yelling about housing affordability being a problem for a very, very long time,” Torres said. “And I think it’s just been very hard to get our elected officials to materially do anything about it.”

  • After Delays, Allston Post Office Development Plans to Proceed

    After years of delay, Allston’s Post Office is slated for reconstruction by the start of next year.

    The original Allston Post Office closed after a record-breaking North American Blizzard dropped nearly two feet of snow, exacerbating its structural issues. In 2021, Eden Properties, a developer, purchased the site and planned to build a new mixed-use building. Within their plan included a space for a new post office. In addition, the developer proposed 170 housing units as well as a parking garage with 58 spaces.

    In the four years since, however, plans to reopen the space ran in fits and starts. Earlier this year, after persistent petitioning by local residents, The Harvard Crimson reported that construction was slated to begin by the summer. Eight months later, the site is still inactive.

    According to Lizzie Torres, an Allston resident working in housing policy, the delays are attributed to difficulties navigating the city’s approval process. She says that access to the sole post office is crucial for folks in the Allston area, especially considering its high population of renters, who frequently move around. 

    Optimism is beginning to tinge conversations about the prospects for the post office.

    “I’ve spoken with the developer, and they are […] ready to start demolition on the old building,” says Allston-Brighton District Councilor Elizabeth Breadon. “They’re sort of starting out the final details for the requirements […] for a retail post office on the side as well as with the United States Postal Service.” 

    Breadon said the Boston City Council believes it is in a good position to advance the project, but USPS staff cuts have complicated the process. Both Torres and Breadon said in the past, the main reason for the delay was worrying about funding for the project, including rising interest rates, tariffs making materials harder to buy, and construction loans.

    Allston resident La’Femme Bolden says that  the lack of a neighborhood post office is an inconvenience and extra costs that present an unnecessary burden for residents. She says that residents have had to travel to Cleveland Circle or the Brighton Post Office.

    However, the impasse may be coming to an end.

    Breadon said demolition is supposed to start this fall, with reconstruction beginning next year.