Boston City Council hearing identifies gaps in disaster relief for flood and collapse victims

BOSTON — April 3, 2023 — Boston City Council examines fire relief gaps and eyes Cambridge's private disaster fund model. The Committee on City Services and Innovation Technology held a hearing Monday on Docket 0154, with lead sponsor Councillor at Large Ruthzee Louijeune and co-sponsors Liz Breadon and Michael Flaherty pressing administration officials on coverage holes for flood and building-collapse victims. Fire Commissioner Paul Burke told the panel that the Red Cross does not respond to floods even when "hundreds of people" are displaced, while Deputy Director Danielle Johnson of the Mayor's Office of Housing Stability confirmed the city's Boston Emergency Assistance Fund provides hotel stays and up to $4,500 in moving costs but did not have the fund's annual budget figure on hand. Cambridge Assistant City Manager David Cahill and Housing Liaison Mara Penczak described their city's 1997 Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund, which accepts private donations and issues checks of up to $2,400 per household within days, with no documentation or income-reporting requirements — a model Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata said she wants to replicate in Boston. The Red Cross clarified that its assistance — ranging from $350 for individuals to $1,236 for large households — is unrestricted cash delivered by debit card or electronic transfer, not a hotel voucher.