GBH reports on the end of a crisis for resident who are disabled or elderly and who couldn't get down the stairs from their apartments without help.
Home 'n' hearth
GBH reports on an elevator that has now been out of service for nine days at the Ruth Lillian Barkley Apartments on Washington Street.
B’nai B’rith Housing, joined by city and state officials, today officially opened its 1208 Parkway complex of 60 income-restricted apartments off Baker Street in West Roxbury - with its entrance on VFW Parkway. Read more.
Complaints to 311 about mattresses on Boston Move-In Day. Allston/Brighton and Mission Hill, of course, but a fair number of complaints from South Boston, too. Also see: Allston Christmas Bingo - North End edition.
A Dorchester woman admitted Friday she stole more than $100,000 in a year from people applying to rent apartments in Hyde Park, Dorchester and Roxbury by charging them twice as much for security deposits as her employer normally would, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Read more.
Gov. Healey today declared a state of emergency because the state is running out of room to house all the migrants coming here - we're currently at 20,000 individuals in state shelters. Read more.
Hillary Ross has set up a GoFundMe page to help people displaced by the May 31 fire at the Parklake building, 1980 Comm. Ave.
People are scrambling for places to live and for ways to cover so many unforeseen expenses. Many who live at Parklake have called the building home for years, and this emergency is particularly disorienting for the elderly in our community.
The owner of a South End condo and roof patio yesterday sued the Zoning Board of Appeal to block construction of a pair of decks - one with a grill and fire pit - atop the building next door. Read more.
The state Attorney General's office says the owner and manager of a complex on Lucy Street in Dorchester will no longer make tenants with Section 8 and state rental vouchers pay a $500 upfront fee out of their own pocket just to get an apartment there. Read more.
Ari Ofsevit asks:
Good recommendation for a heat pump specialist that serves Cambridge? Looking to replace a gas furnace w/ a heat pump (we have ductwork). We have our Mass Save audit already so they'd have to be Mass Save certified.
National Grid reports 3,655 homes and businesses in Quincy lost power at 10:48 p.m.; company estimates 12:45 a.m. for restoration.
States of desperation[Yahoo Finance]
In Massachusetts, Florida and New York, Americans spend 32.9%, 32.6% and 31.2% of their income respectively on rent, according to the Moody's report.
The article says people are told that rent should not be more than 30% of income. 50 years ago, we were told it should be no more than 25%.
Boston is currently seeking handy volunteers who can help residents get small appliances and other items to working again, rather than simply tossing them in the trash. Read more.
The Somerville Media Fund reports the Somerville City Council voted to begin drafting a home-rule petition asking the state Legislature to let it take steps to rein in rent increases in the city. The Boston City Council last week approved its own home-rule petition for the power to set limits on how fast rents could be increased in older, larger buildings in the city.
Abby Niezgoda at NBC Boston reports city inspectors have condemned the under-renovation building at 43 Fleet St. that partially collapsed last week and that it will have to be torn down. Still up in the air: What happens to the neighboring buildings connected to it. In 2019, a building around the corner on North Street also had to be torn down after partially collapsing.