Local affordable housing advocates embrace Mayor Menino’s vision for Moving Boston Forward
For Immediate Release
For More Information Contact:
Emily Nowlin or Nick Martin
617-367-1900
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Supporters celebrate accomplishments, provide insight for the future
During a breakfast meeting hosted by the Affordable Housing Advocates for Menino Committee earlier this week, Mayor Thomas M. Menino thanked dozens of local affordable housing leaders for their support and called on them to continue to help move Boston forward with innovative strategies for affordable housing development in our neighborhoods. The event, attended by 65 housing advocates from a variety of local community development organizations, celebrated the collective accomplishments made possible under Mayor Menino’s administration. The group also discussed solutions for the continuing challenges facing affordable housing in Boston.
“A city is only as strong as its neighborhoods, and ours are more vibrant and diverse than ever before,” Mayor Menino said. “Access to affordable housing options, especially in this challenging economy, is essential because if you work in Boston, you should be able to live in Boston. I’m proud to have the support of so many leaders from the community development organizations that keep our neighborhoods strong and growing. Their creative solutions to the challenges we face will give us the ability to meet the housing needs of generations to come.”
Co-chaired by Sarah Barnat of Trinity Financial and Mossik Hacobian, longtime community housing advocate, the Affordable Housing Advocates for Menino Committee includes officials from community development organizations from nearly every neighborhood in Boston. Other committee members include: Katherine Bachman, Viki Bok, Donna Brown, Albert Caldarelli, Paul Chan, Lyndia Downie, Jean DuBois, Joseph Flatley, Philip Giffee, Michael Gondek, Aaron Gornstein, James Hoffman, Dick Jones, Joseph Kreisberg, Gail Latimore, Nancy Ludwig, Charlie Mancikis, Michael Martin, Bart Mitchell, Virginia Morrison, Carl Nagy-Koechlin, MH Nsangou, Jeanne Pinado, David Price, Esther Schlorholtz, Richard Thal, Matthew Thall, and Mark Winkeller.
“Mayor Menino was born and raised in Boston, and his commitment to the city’s neighborhoods is evident in all of his work,” Sarah Barnat and Mossik Hacobian said. “The Mayor understands that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the unique housing needs of each neighborhood, and we’re proud to have his leadership in the work that we do to create affordable housing options for the residents of Boston.”
Affordable housing has been a priority for Mayor Menino since taking office. His commitment is emphasized by the Leading the Way campaigns, a comprehensive housing agenda initially launched in 2000 to address the changing needs of Boston’s neighborhoods. Now in its third iteration, the City of Boston through this initiative has overseen the creation of more than 18,000 new units of housing, 5,000 of which have been affordable, and nearly 9,500 affordable units have been preserved. In total, over this nearly ten-year period, Boston has benefited from upwards of $5 billion in private and public investment.
Announced in March of this year, Leading the Way III aims to address Boston’s current housing needs in four key areas:
- Combating the foreclosure crisis through targeted initiatives focusing on foreclosure intervention and stabilization of those hardest hit neighborhoods;
- Reversing the rise in homelessness through a targeted approach of prevention, placement, and production of permanent housing designed to reduce long-term and family homelessness by 50% by 2012;
- Preserving & stabilizing Boston's rental housing by preventing the loss of publically assisted affordable housing and helping stabilize tenancies in the open market;
- Housing Boston's workforce by meeting the diverse housing needs of the City’s workforce; from the highly paid professional to the minimum wage worker.
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