Boston Disabilities Commission Transferred to Equity and Inclusion Cabinet Starting July 1

Uncategorized · Meeting of July 19, 2026

Boston's Commission for Persons with Disabilities moved to the city's Equity and Inclusion Cabinet on July 1, ending its long placement under Human Services. Commissioner Kristen McCosh announced the change at the July 19 advisory board meeting, introducing new cabinet Chief Mariangela Solisvera, who said the cabinet's mission is "transforming city practices" by embedding equity into policies and programming across its eight departments. Advisory board member Carl Richardson called the shift a rejection of "the medical view of what a disability is," adding, "we don't need to be fixed, we just need to be included." The meeting also featured a presentation by Director of Architectural Access Patricia Mendez on a new vertical wheelchair lift, nearly five feet wide and rated above 700 pounds, to be installed at Boston City Hall's mezzanine, replacing a 40-year-old inclined lift that Mendez said was effectively unusable by anyone who could not stand unsupported on a moving platform.

The project was funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Office on Disability's municipal grant program, which the commission applied for over multiple years before receiving the award.

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Source: the Uncategorized meeting of July 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.