Councilor Proposes Six Resolutions to Improve Boston's Future

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During this week's Council meeting, Councilor Fernandes Anderson offered six resolutions aimed at enhancing education, fostering economic development, improving public services, and ensuring equity in the city. All six resolutions were adopted. Here's a look at each resolution and its potential impact.

Resolution 1: Relocating Muriel Snowden International School

Councilor Fernandes Anderson introduced a resolution calling for the relocation of the Muriel Snowden International School to a modern, fully equipped facility. Currently, the school's outdated infrastructure presents significant challenges to both students and educators. These include overcrowded classrooms, a basement cafeteria used as a classroom, and a lack of on-site facilities such as a gymnasium, science labs, and arts spaces.

Councilor Fernandes Anderson's resolution calls for a facility with dedicated spaces for physical education, modern science labs, arts, and performance areas, as well as classrooms designed to foster creativity and collaboration. This relocation would provide students with the resources needed for a world-class education and would help eliminate inequities that disproportionately affect students of color and low-income families. The resolution also demands a public timeline and financial commitment from the city and Boston Public Schools to make this vision a reality.

Resolution 2: Establishing a Digital Marketplace Pilot Program

Councilor Fernandes Anderson introduced a resolution co-sponsored by Councilor Worrell to establish a pilot digital marketplace to support minority-owned small businesses in Boston. The pandemic has shown that small businesses, especially those owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), are particularly vulnerable without an online presence. These businesses often face higher rents, fewer resources, and limited access to markets compared to larger corporations, leading to greater financial instability and deepening racial wealth gaps.

The resolution calls for a digital marketplace to help these businesses transition online, offering technical assistance, building local partnerships, and ensuring the marketplace is accessible and sustainable. The goal is to provide small businesses with the tools they need to compete in the modern economy while keeping profits within the local community.

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Resolution 3: Improving Bus Monitor Pay and Conditions

Councilor Fernandes Anderson's third resolution focuses on improving the pay and working conditions for bus monitors in Boston. Currently, the average pay for a bus monitor is just $18 an hour, which is only $3 above the city's minimum wage, and many bus monitors never reach the higher end of the pay scale due to high turnover. With Boston being one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., bus monitors struggle to make ends meet, with their yearly salaries often falling short of the cost of basic living expenses, like rent. In addition to low wages, bus monitors are responsible for the safety of students, often in difficult and stressful conditions, such as assisting students in wheelchairs or managing behavioral issues on the bus.

Councilor Fernandes Anderson's resolution calls for an increase in pay to ensure bus monitors receive a livable wage and for better working conditions, including additional rest time to help them manage the physical and emotional demands of their work.

Resolution 4: Supporting the "Recover Boston" Proposal

Councilor Fernandes Anderson introduced a resolution co-sponsored by Councilor FitzGerald to support the "Recover Boston" proposal, which aims to address the city's growing homelessness and substance abuse crisis. In areas like Newmarket and Mass & Cass, homelessness, open-air drug markets, and substance abuse have become a major public health and safety issue. The closure of the Long Island Shelter in 2014 and delays in redeveloping the Shattuck Hospital campus have left a gap in long-term recovery services, making it difficult for individuals to break the cycle of homelessness and addiction.

The "Recover Boston" proposal offers a comprehensive solution by creating a recovery campus that provides housing, detoxification, job training, and mental health support. The campus would house over 200 individuals and provide services at different stages of recovery. This proposal also includes measures to eliminate the open-air drug market, enforce laws against drug use and trafficking, and provide pathways to permanent housing. Councilors Fernandes Anderson and FitzGerald's resolution calls for strong support from local, state, and federal governments, as well as private and philanthropic sectors, to ensure the success of this initiative and make it a model for other communities.

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Resolution 5: Recognizing the National Fitness Campaign

Councilor Fernandes Anderson's fifth resolution supports the National Fitness Campaign (NFC), an organization dedicated to increasing access to outdoor fitness facilities and promoting health and wellness in communities across the U.S. NFC's goal is to fund 5,000 free outdoor Fitness Courts by 2030, with a focus on creating equitable spaces for physical activity.

Bostonians already spend more on fitness than the national average, but many communities, especially those in neighborhoods like Roxbury, face significant health disparities, including higher rates of heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. The creation of outdoor fitness courts will help address these disparities by offering accessible, free fitness options within a 10-minute walk or bike ride of every neighborhood.

Councilor Fernandes Anderson's resolution encourages the City of Boston to partner with organizations like NFC to expand access to these facilities, which will promote healthier lifestyles, improve mental and physical health outcomes, and provide new community gathering spaces.

Resolution 6: Supporting the Nubian Square Task Force

The final resolution introduced by Councilor Fernandes Anderson focuses on ensuring full support of the Nubian Square Task Force and the creation of a comprehensive recovery plan aimed at addressing the intersection of homelessness and substance use disorder in the Nubian Square area. Boston has seen an alarming increase in substance use disorder, especially opioid-related overdoses, with neighborhoods like Roxbury, the South End, and Dorchester disproportionately affected.

The Nubian Square Task Force – a coalition of community groups, public health organizations, and local businesses – has been working to provide necessary services and support for those impacted by both homelessness and substance use disorder. The task force is pushing for a recovery plan that focuses on harm reduction, provides support services, and works closely with health and safety officials to create fair and long-lasting solutions. The resolution calls for a hearing to talk about the task force's goals, and its plan to create a better, more caring recovery system in Nubian Square.

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