Boston City Council Approves $19.6 Million for New Carter School Building

BOSTON — August 30, 2023 — Boston City Council approves $19.6 million for new Carter School building and landmarks the Parker House in unanimous votes. The council gave final approval on a second reading to Docket 1195, authorizing $19,610,000 to construct, equip, and furnish a new building for the William E. Carter School at 396 North Hampton Street, passing 12-0; a separate 12-0 roll call vote designated the Parker House at 60 School Street as an official Boston landmark. The council also unanimously passed a $4,550,000 Massachusetts Broadband Institute Digital Equity Partnership grant on the recommendation of Councilor Brian Worrell, who noted 63 percent of funds will flow to a community mini-grant program. Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata introduced a first-draft ordinance to create a permitting pathway for non-motorized sidewalk food carts, calling the current approval process "a tangled web of bureaucracy," while Councilor Liz Breadon filed a hearing order on stormwater flooding after basement apartments in her district took on four feet of water during recent storms. The council adopted resolutions recognizing Black Breastfeeding Week, Black Joy Day, Indian Independence Day, Overdose Awareness Day, and the unionization effort by healthcare workers at Upham's Corner Health Care Center.