Boston City Council Landmarks Four Properties, Advances Walgreens Closure Fight

BOSTON — November 9, 2022 — Boston City Council approves four historic landmark designations and advances a closed-captioning ordinance and Walgreens resolution on November 9. The council voted unanimously to designate Mount Calvary Holy Church in Roxbury, the Blessed Sacrament Complex in Jamaica Plain, the Frederick Ayer Mansion interior on Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay, and the Howes Kingsley House in Dorchester as Boston landmarks, with Councilor Baker noting the designations would have taken automatic legal effect by November 14 without council action. Council President Edward M. Flynn introduced an ordinance requiring public-facing TVs in restaurants and bars to enable closed captioning, co-sponsored by Councilors Ruthzee Louijeune and Julia M. Mejia, who called the technology "vitally important" for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and non-native English-speaking residents. Councilor Tanya Fernandez-Anderson pressed a resolution demanding Walgreens postpone the closure of three stores in Roxbury, Mattapan, and Hyde Park, citing the company's fiscal year 2022 profit of $4.3 billion — more than double its prior-year figure of $2.1 billion — while CEO Rosalind Brewer earned over $28 million in total compensation; the resolution was referred to committee for a public hearing.