Bird's eye view of proposed development - and existing tank farm.
The Boston Business Journal reports that two groups active in fighting gentrification have asked the Trump administration to hold up any federal housing funds for Boston because of what it says are inadequate efforts to involve Spanish-speaking residents in planning for the proposed 10,000-unit residential component of the massive Suffolk Downs project.
Sanders, running in the Democratic primary next week, immediately jumped into the fray over the project, which would replace the shuttered, 160-acre Suffolk Downs racetrack on the Boston/Revere line:
We need affordable housing for all instead of more gentrifying luxury developments for the few. I stand with the longtime residents of East Boston fighting displacement from the communities they have spent generations building.
Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the complaint for City Life/Vida Urbana and Green Roots, over the roughly 70% of the units that would be built on the Boston side of the land.
In addition to the residential units on the 160 acre site, developer HYM is also proposing roughly 5.2 million square feet of office space, roughly half in Boston, as well as a new mall and hotel rooms.
Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo got up in Bernie's grill:
OK Boomer.
In all seriousness- I agree that MA residents should have better access to all types of housing. That’s why we engaged in a year long community driven process and collaborated with many stakeholders to make one of the largest developments in MA history a reality.
And finally just to be clear - Suffolk Downs is 1/3 in my city. Being an executive means making decisions that require compromise - nobody got everything they wanted but the end result was a positive for the community.
Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards jumped into the fray as well:
Good evening this is the district city councilor from East Boston. Don't worry @BernieSanders I have a PLAN FOR THAT!
So, yeah, you can probably guess who Edwards is supporting on Tuesday. But she continues:
Last May, I filed a comment with the Boston Planning and Development Agency asking the agency and developer to amend plans to address fair housing concerns and ensure that as we create a new neighborhood we build for all of East Bostonians. ...
I also introduced a zoning change to further fair housing and put racial equity in Boston's zoning code last April. We had a hearing in November and another one today.
Thomas O'Brien, HYM's managing director - and a onetime executive director of the BRA - responded as well, in a statement:
We agree that Boston needs more affordable housing. That’s why our plans for Suffolk Downs will create the largest amount of affordable housing ever created by a single project in Massachusetts. The project includes 10,000 new housing units, with 20% affordable overall, while creating 14,000 union jobs. And by redeveloping a shuttered horse racing track, we are adding to the communities of East Boston and Revere without displacing a single resident.
Suffolk Downs filings (includes two overviews in Spanish posted today).
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Comments
Bernie is terrible on housing
By Cutter
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 10:37pm
Bernie is consistently bad on housing. He wants national rent control that not only ignores problems with rent control but differences between regions and communities. He backs NIMBY movements and candidates across the country. This is a good example.
The Suffolk Downs proposal is not displacing any housing, it is creating an outlet for tremendous demand that is pushing up prices in Eastie's existing housing stock. Cllr. Edwards and others have negotiated it up to 20% income-restricted affordable. Go beyond that and developers simply won't build. Yes they are greedy, but they are taking on risk and their investors won't back a charity effort.
Bernie's Democratic Socialist fans say that's okay, all housing should be "social" (ie public) housing anyway. How long do they think it will take before we can nationalize housing production, after we get through nationalizing health care? It would take hundreds of billions of dollars just to renovate the dilapidated public housing we already have, and trillions more to build it for everyone else. To oppose all private housing is simple NIMBYism, which is why leftists and house-rich homeowners so often join forces to block new housing.
Suffolk Downs
By John-W
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 10:39pm
"investors?" It's one Texas oil billionaire.
exactly
By Cutter
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 10:52pm
This is someone the activists think will build a 50% deeply affordable development if they exert enough pressure on him?
As opposed...
By John-W
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 11:37pm
...to lying back and thinking of England?
No but they could take the win
By Cutter
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 7:20am
They made their concerns known and the housing advocate who is their city councilor got the project up to 20% affordable. Now they want to block the whole project and worsen the displacement crisis in their neighborhood. And the local homeowners who benefit from this massive unearned wealth spike are cheering them on.
what win?!
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 6:16pm
No, you don't just give up the first moment that the incredibly wealthy decide to give you crumbs and say: "gee, how fortunate we are!"
Boston is too quickly becoming unlivable for working class people.
Are you kidding? Bernie is great on housing.
By Stevil
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 11:26pm
He owns three houses after all.
Who opposes all private
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 6:13am
Who opposes all private housing?
Maybe the developers should just go ahead and not build if they can't do it in a way that doesn't make the housing crisis worse.
as a poor person
By lets be real
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:02pm
As a poor person national rent control would mean increased freedom of movement. As it is it is increasingly difficult for working class people to be able relocate to the increasingly concentrated job centers.
Actually new housing raises
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 9:09pm
Actually new housing raises the value of my property so bring it on. If the neighborhood gets better, value increases.
In a perfect world with
By anon
Thu, 02/27/2020 - 10:54pm
In a perfect world with endless federal funding and no NIMBYism, we could build ample public housing affordable to anyone like Bernie and his supporters here want.
In the real world, the federal government barely supports public housing and NIMBYs oppose all housing including affordable ones.
Suffolk Downs isn’t perfect but nothing is and it’s long past time for Bernie and his ilk to realize that’s an impossible standard to demand.
This is why Republicans love Bernie
By O-FISH-L
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 12:08am
I'm one of President Trump's many solid supporters in MA, not enrolled in either party, wavering on whether to vote Trump on Tuesday or give Bernie a vote and help provide the numbers to make it harder for the Democrat establishment to take it away from him, again. Everybody loves an underdog, especially when panicked Dems and their media brethren are dumping all over him. The only thing keeping me from early voting Bernie is the opportunity to take a Republican ballot to prevent Baker from controlling the Republican State Committee. Warren's lack of any organization in her home state shows a real vulnerability for her in 2024, not necessarily from the weak MA Republican party but from her fellow Democrats. Looking forward to Super Tuesday and the aftermath.
If you’re supporting Trump, bragging about
By MC Slim JB
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:51am
being unenrolled is a sorry joke. The GOP is the party of Trump; Trump is the GOP.
If you’re not a millionaire, they’re not your friends: you’re being played. I understand why you might think they’re on your side. It’s an ancient con, an effective one, especially on old working-class white guys. (No shade there: that’s where I’m from.)
My dad watched Fox News late in life, also became angry and bitter — a smart man who became senselessly bigoted and irrational on a steady diet of partisan disinformation. That’s half the country now. Propaganda: it works.
Lost my uncle the same way.
By Old Groucho
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 8:55am
An incredibly gifted artist of both the canvas and guitar, an open minded, very cool guy who I looked up to for years. He opened me up to music, art, and classic films.
Now? His TV is permanently tuned to FOX and he regularly complains loudly about LIBERAL FASCISM!!!!
Trümp's rise to power has shown how easy and effective propaganda is when trying to destroy a Democracy.
MAGA has killed America
Adam, PLEASE BAN FISH NOW.
By BAN FISH
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 7:46am
The longer you continue to give a platform to people like fish, the less likely I am to read your site.
He's an obnoxious troll. Please stop giving trolls a platform.
If you're not "enrolled"
By Marco
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 10:44am
(it's called " being registered" btw you dolt) for either party, then you won't be voting for ANYONE in the primaries. Hate to break it to you. More evidence that you are either totally ignorant or completely full of crap.
Um ...
By adamg
Sat, 02/29/2020 - 1:20pm
That's not how it works in Massachusetts. Somebody who's not enrolled in a party CAN vote in a primary - they just have to choose which one at the polls. You might want to use the Googles before getting in somebody's grill like that.
Yup
By Stevil
Sat, 02/29/2020 - 3:49pm
Been unenrolled in Mass for almost 30 years. Have voted as both a Republican and Dem in the primaries. Last week as a Dem. I Like Mike!! :-)
Cant wait until the election
By Old Groucho
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 6:48am
So we never ever ever ever have to hear from that man again.
He's a complete and total mess who's gonna not only give trump another 4 years but ruin any chances of taking back the senate.
GO AWAY BERNIE!
- lifelong Democratic voter who regrets having voted for Sanders in the 2016 primary.
Are you kidding me?
By Never say Never
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 11:04am
Um... why would he go silent?
His output would be drastically reduced, but you aren't going to silence him.
He's got PLENTY to talk about.
He's got a special purpose!
Affordable housing is not the issue here
By Danimilan
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 8:31am
Look deeper into other projects, actual luxury projects, and look who supported getting away with less affordable housing.... the same group who is screaming to block Suffolk Downs.... also look into who got donations from those developers... it’s not the affordable housing that is worrying anyone, is the fact that Suffolk Downs won’t give them money directly! That’s what a real reporter should look into!
City Life
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:44pm
The end goal of a group like City Life is to have no new market rate housing built in the city. They fundamentally do not believe in it. They demanded that only 100% affordable housing be allowed on Washington St in JP. They protested and interrupted meetings until they got the City to finally agree to an affordability threshold in that area so high that it prevents most new housing construction there unless it's heavily subsidized with public funds. And that is exactly the point. They are not interested in the construction of new housing, full stop.
you don't know City Life.
By anon
Sun, 03/01/2020 - 11:24am
That's all really. You obviously don't know their work.
Bernie is not a Boomer
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 10:21am
Technically speaking, Bernie is not a Boomer. He was born in 1941. The acknowledged first year of Boomer births as 1946. This makes him a member of the so-called "Greatest Generation", and I do stress "so-called".
Age discrimination
By Lunchbox
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 10:44am
doesn't let facts get in the way of a good insult
It's the new trend
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 11:01am
Part of the new "hate the Boomers" trend is the lumping in of all older people as "Boomers", regardless of if they actually are or not. This encompasses the remaining "Greatest Generation" folks, as well as some on the older end of Gen X. This is the other end of the generalizing all people, say under 40, as "Millennials".
Yeah
By Jethro
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 11:27am
If Millennials and Gen Z had to deal with getting lumped together for a few years, Boomers and Silents can take a few years of conflation too (says this late Gen-Xer)
Incorrect, the greatest
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 10:47am
Incorrect, the greatest generation was the ones fighting in the war. Bernie is a member of the Silent Generation, who were children during WWII.
Generations
By SamWack
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:01pm
I think that unsurpassable vapidity, "The Greatest Generation", was applied by Tom Brokaw to people that grew up in the Great Depression and fought in World War II. Bernie, who was born in 1941, doesn't qualify.
Of all the categories that humans have invented and imposed upon themselves, "generations" are among the most useless.
Hidden Agenda??
By Nowy Liberté
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:15pm
Let's put it this way:
You ostensibly want more affordable housing?
Yet you are opposed to 10,000 units of housing being created out of essentially an open field.
There is a fundamental logic flaw in this set of statements.
Let's assume further that you as the NIMBY and current local renter -- want to make sure that the neighboring houses and 3 Deckers aren't going to be priced out of your range.
So now you oppose the production of housing, which even if it is not in your price range, will put downward pressure on the surrounding multifamily houses and small apartment blocks -- that just doesn't make much sense.
The growth in population due to the economic dynamism in the region is already putting pressure on the supply of multifamily houses and small apartments from which pool you can find a place to rent. Do nothing and they will continue to appreciate in value and result in higher rents. Now instead -- if someone drops 10,000 units of multifamily housing next door -- the reaction of the owners of the existing older multifamily units will either be to sell-out, or else they will be forced into existing in a market favoring renters.
Indeed if anyone should be complaining about the development -- it is the owners of the near-by apartment buildings. They will face stiff competition for tenants as lacking Amazon II -- there is no really compelling reason why someone should want to live in Suffolk except for the availability of a large pool of newly constructed residences.
Its amazing how the lack of just a small amount of logic and some basic arithmetic skill converts adults into blithering idiots, or Sander's supporters.
MA Bernie Bro's mansplain housing to
By bulgingbuick
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:21pm
Lydia Edwards. You know, the woman who got this project done for her district.
you suck
By nah
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 2:49pm
City Life and Green Roots are not Bernie bros, they are important community organizations. the former has helped keep countless people in their homes who have faced evictions. they are not mansplaining. your selective identity politics is gross.
The Headline is
By TheDotRat
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 3:03pm
A++++
Not enough family housing
By anon
Fri, 02/28/2020 - 5:00pm
One of the objections to the project is that there are not enough apartments for families.
https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/01/16/racial...
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