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Boston's Morning Newsletter
New England's largest supportive housing project officially opens in Jamaica Plain
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
We officially bid farewell yesterday to Plum Island’s beloved Pink House and Harvard’s storied Pit. But we’re saying hello today to another new community cornerstone:
New England’s largest permanent supportive housing development is opening today. As WBUR’s Amy Sokolow reports, the local nonprofits Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders teamed up to construct a 202-unit apartment complex in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The project, which has been in the works since 2019, involved tearing down an old Pine Street Inn warehouse and faced lawsuits from neighbors. But now, Pine Street Inn President Lyndia Downie says the five-story complex will make an outsized difference for their mission of getting people off the street.
- What is supportive housing? Residents will have access to Pine Street Inn’s case managers to help them do everything from manage their healthcare to budget for food to look for jobs to simply settle into their new neighborhood. Downie says those services are key to keeping people from falling back into homelessness. ”Last year, 96% of our tenants that we placed in housing with support were still there a year later,” she said.
- Why it matters: Downie says a big focus for the city is moving so-called “long-term stayers” from shelters into more permanent housing. While just 18% of the people Pine Street Inn serves are considered long-term stayers, Downie said they take up 50% of shelter beds at night. ”It’s been a tough couple of years, frankly, and we’re seeing overflow in the shelters, but every one of these units will have a multiplier effect in terms of creating space and housing for new people that may be coming in,” she said.
- It’s not just supportive housing: In addition to the 140 units for people leaving homelessness, the complex also includes 62 income-restricted apartments (ranging from one to three bedrooms) for those making 60% to 80% of the area’s median income. ”Other cities are doing this kind of housing at scale … and I think we were really anxious to do it in Boston,” Downie said.
- What’s next: According to Downie, the building is already 50% full. They plan to continue leasing new tenants through the Boston Housing Authority waitlist over the next few months.
On the docket: Massachusetts’ top court ruled yesterday that the state can impose its gun laws on visiting out-of-staters. The decision by the Supreme Judicial Court found that enforcement of local laws doesn’t violate the Constitution’s right to travel or equal protection.
- Zoom in: The ruling came after two New Hampshire residents were arrested while driving in Massachusetts with guns not licensed in the Bay State, even though they were legally owned under New Hampshire’s more lax gun laws.
- Zoom out: While many states recognize out-of-state gun licenses, Massachusetts does not; out-of-state visitors must get a special non-resident gun license to carry firearms here.
- What’s next: New Hampshire’s attorney general claims the ruling violates the Second Amendment, and promises to keep fighting the decision. The Union Leader has more details here.
Meanwhile in court: Federal money meant to help address teacher shortages in Boston, Holyoke and Springfield will keep flowing — for now. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training, after Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and seven other attorneys general sued. They estimate the programs provide upwards of $600 million in grants for teacher preparation in subjects like math, science and special education.
About this weekend: This Sunday’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston will start at 11:30 a.m. — 90 minutes earlier than usual. Organizers say it’s “an attempt to get a better handle on the tomfoolery,” aka the drunken rowdiness that occurred last year.
- Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, the parade’s general chairman, is also pushing the event to return to its Evacuation Day roots. (Flynn has called for moving the parade out of Southie if last year’s level of public drinking and fighting continues.)
P.S.— Maureen Dowd is in the building tonight. Here & Now‘s Robin Young will chat live with the New York Times columnist about the new book she released yesterday, “Notorious.” Come for the conversation about Dowd’s most popular politics and celebrity profiles; stay for the book signing. Get tickets here.
