Boston City Council Advances Eight Disability Pension Petitions, Refers Mass-and-Cass Hearing Order

BOSTON — August 31, 2022 — Boston City Council advances eight disability pension petitions and refers dueling hearing orders on Mass and Cass and Clifford Park amid a turbulent session. The council voted unanimously on each of eight home rule petitions — covering seven police officers and one EMT, including Elana McAllister, Kurt Stockinger, Matthew Morris, Harry Jean, Terry Carton, Ryan Lenane, Scott O'Brien, and Richardson Tolo — sending the corrected drafts to the Massachusetts General Court; Councillor Erin J. Murphy, who co-sponsored several petitions, said months of work with State Representative Dan Hunt and the Boston Retirement Board were required to align the language with state law. The council also referred a $45 million federal Continuum of Care homelessness grant request and a $3.45 million youth violence prevention grant for committee review. A hearing order on the humanitarian crisis at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard named Section 35 involuntary commitment as a tool on the table, drawing sharp objections from Councillors Ruthzee Louijeune and Ricardo Arroyo, with Arroyo — a former public defender — saying Section 35 can increase overdose risk two to three times. A 17F document request by Councillor Lara on the unauthorized August 11 demolition of the historic Keith House at 1911 Center Street in West Roxbury passed unanimously after Lara described the Inspectional Services Department as "completely unresponsive" about why a demolition permit was issued before the Boston Landmarks Commission process was complete. The session ended in repeated gallery outbursts during a charged debate on redistricting, with Councillor Ana Belen Fernandez-Anderson delivering an extended floor speech accusing white colleagues of engineering the redistricting committee assignment to protect non-diverse districts, and Councillor Lara disclosing that she receives daily racist harassment she attributed to actions by a council colleague's family member.