Boston City Council votes unanimously to rename Millennium Park after Mayor Menino

BOSTON — September 29, 2021 — Boston City Council unanimously renames Millennium Park for Mayor Menino and honors retiring journalist Chris Lovett. Council President Pro Tempore Matt O'Malley presided over the September 29 session, securing a 13-0 roll-call vote on Docket 1025 to rename the 100-acre West Roxbury park as Mayor Thomas M. Menino Park and its playground as the Alice Hennessy Playground, honoring the late mayor and his longtime chief aide. The council also declared the day Chris Lovett Day, presenting a signed resolution to the retiring Boston Neighborhood Network News anchor and director for his 34 years of coverage. Among grant orders handled, the council referred a $45 million Continuum of Care homelessness-services application to the housing committee, passed a $345,678 HUD Fair Housing regrant on the floor at Councillor Lydia Edwards's request, and approved acceptance of $46,725 in COVID-19 air-detection equipment from Thermo Environmental Instruments. Councillors Liz Breadon, Edwards, and Zac Bach filed a hearing order on rental unit inspection enforcement, with Breadon citing corporate landlords who "pay fine after fine without actually improving living conditions."