Boston City Council Passes $26 Million in Federal Housing and Homelessness Grants

BOSTON — May 3, 2023 — Boston City Council approves $26 million in federal housing grants and confirms six members of new building emissions review board. The council voted unanimously Wednesday to accept four grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development totaling $26,023,000, including a $17,535,525 Community Development Block Grant, a $6,235,976 HOME Investment Partnerships grant, $3,734,533 for Housing for Persons with AIDS, and $1,517,966 for the Emergency Solutions Grant covering street outreach and homelessness prevention. The committee chair noted that despite the dollar figure, federal housing allocations "have actually not only been stagnant but in some places lower than what we were receiving 30 years ago." The council also confirmed six appointees — Gail Lattimore, Kai Palmer Dunning, Lee Matsueda, Rashida Boyd, Lovett Jacobs, and Stephen Ellis — to the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Review Board, which will advise the city on implementing its landmark building emissions ordinance, with a seventh appointment, Jack Nelson, confirmed separately from the green sheets.