Sole candidate Jonathan Klein highlights redevelopment, financing and mixed-income approaches for Brookline Housing Authority

Jonathan Klein, the only candidate running for an elected seat on the Brookline Housing Authority, outlined his housing background and priorities in an interview on TV on TV. Host Tommy Vitolo framed the segment as an explainer on what the housing authority does and how redevelopment happens.

Klein described his career in affordable housing—work at Community Builders, founding the law firm Klein Hornig LLP and subsequent local civic involvement—and said those experiences inform his interest in joining the commission. "Housing is my thing," he said.

Explaining the authority’s scope, Klein said the Brookline Housing Authority is an independent body created under state law that owns and manages roughly 950 public-housing apartments and administers about 1,400 housing vouchers. He described an ongoing redevelopment program that has modernized several sites and said several older projects still need refinancing and rebuilding.

Klein highlighted the recent redevelopment of the Colonel Floyd site, rebranded 32 Marion Street, as a case study. He said the original property included about 60 aging senior units and the new development provides roughly 115 units, exclusively for households earning under about 50% of median income; the project drew zoning and financing work and included a $6,000,000 contribution from the town’s affordable housing trust fund, Klein said. "That originally was 60 very tired units of walk up senior housing… it's being replaced by a beautiful building that is a 115 units," he said.

On policy approach, Klein described mixed-income developments (models he said can include deeply subsidized, middle-income and market-rate tiers) as one viable way to increase housing supply while also proposing selective densification — making some existing 3–4 story buildings taller in appropriate locations to add units. He cautioned these are complex choices and said he would use his experience representing housing authorities and tenants to advise staff on finance and planning matters.

The interview closed with the host inviting Klein back for a longer follow-up after he has been in office for several months; the program reminded viewers that the town election is Tuesday, May 5 with polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. No formal action by the housing authority occurred during the broadcast.