Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Neighborhood Blght Initiative topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mayor apologizes after council members say Bloomberg‑Harvard 'block by block' work excluded them
Summary
Council members said they were not properly involved in a new neighborhood anti‑blight initiative developed with Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative partners; the mayor apologized and pledged to meet individually with council members.
Council members and the mayor traded sharp criticism and assurances on June 10 over the city’s recently announced “block by block” anti‑blight initiative, a project the administration developed with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.
Several council members said they were surprised by the public announcement and by the selection of neighborhood participants without council input. Councilman Green said the rollout felt like “a beautiful black neighborhood takeover,” a phrase he used repeatedly to describe his concern that community members and district representatives were excluded from planning.
Councilman Jackson raised concerns about displacement and renters, asking whether the initiative includes measures to prevent landlord price increases after neighborhood improvements. “What about our renters? … Do we have a plan in place to ensure that once we improve an area that the landlords are not going to come in just double the rent?” he asked.
City staff described the Bloomberg Harvard program as an education and leadership platform funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard Kennedy School; staff and the city attorney said Bloomberg provided the training and fellowships but not operational funding. “Beyond that, there’s no additional funding,” said a city official involved in the project.
Mayor Arsenault acknowledged the council’s concerns and apologized for how the announcement was perceived. “To the extent that my announcement last week caused discomfort or made you feel left out or slighted, I apologize,” he said, and he pledged to meet individually with council members and to continue the conversation.
Several council members said they want to be involved from the start on neighborhood meetings and stressed that council leadership is needed to ensure local ownership of any anti‑blight work. The city attorney and administration officials described the initial participants as stakeholders and community representatives invited to an executive brainstorming session and said those participants were not intended to replace council input.
The council requested a clearer plan and earlier involvement in site selection and asked administration staff to provide a timeline for engagement and to name the local stakeholders for each district. The mayor’s office said those conversations will continue and that council participation would be sought for subsequent neighborhood meetings.
