December 12 Phone Calls

1. TAKE ACTION, CALL NOW - for a strong IDP and Truly Affordable Housing Now!
Please fill out the online form saying you can call (if you didn’t fill it out already).

2. Help us to know we reached our goal of over 100 calls! Email <idp.announce@gmail.com> to let us know you called and how the calls went.

3. Share why you made the calls on social media and encourage others to visit affordableboston.org/call and make the calls! #TrulyAffordableBOS

You can also join us today at City Hall to deliver 1000 postcards to the Mayor! We are meeting at City Hall (inside the building past security) at 1:30 pm, and going up to the 5th floor at 2:00 pm.

The Short Version

Call Mayor Walsh (617-635-3151) and Brian Golden (617-918-4326). Tell them you would like to leave a message about affordable housing. If they try to transfer you to someone else, ask them: “Can you please write down my name and four bullet points?” Then you can also talk to whoever they transfer you to or leave a message if you get a voicemail.

• Point 1:

  • (For the Mayor) Thank you to the Mayor for committing to a meeting in January with community groups

  • (For Brian) Thank you to Brian Golden and Sheila Dillon for meeting with the community and committing to a second meeting.

• Point 2:

  • Increase the IDP requirement from 13% to 33%.

• Point 3:

  • Deepen the income levels for IDP so units are truly affordable and meet community needs.

• Point 4:

  • Hold community meetings about a new draft policy, and provide more data.

More details about these points are below.

More Details

Call #1: Mayor Walsh
617-635-3151

1. SAY YOUR NAME AND FOUR MAIN POINTS:

Hello, my name is (your name) __________ and I am a concerned resident of (neighborhood) __________. I’m calling to urge (Mayor Walsh / Mr. Golden) ___________ to take action on affordable housing.

• Point 1:

  • (For the Mayor) Thank you to the Mayor for committing to a meeting in January with community groups

  • (For Brian Golden) Thank you to Brian Golden and Sheila Dillon for meeting with the community and committing to a second meeting.

• Point 2:

  • I urge (the Mayor/Brian Golden) to stand with the community and Increase the IDP set-aside from 13% to 33%.

• Point 3:

  • Also, (the Mayor/Brian Golden) should deepen the income levels for IDP so that units are truly affordable and meet community needs. “Affordable” should mean affordable to actual Boston residents, especially people of color and working-class people hit hardest by displacement and unaffordable housing. Rental units should be affordable at an average of 40% AMI, with a range of 30-70% AMI. Ownership units should be affordable at a range of 50-100% AMI.

• Point 4:

  • We need the BPDA to hold community meetings about a new draft policy, and provide more data.

2. ADD A PERSONAL MESSAGE

Add a personal message around why we need more affordability / deeper affordability. You might want to talk about:

• How luxury housing, new developments, and displacement are affecting people you know

• How affordable housing is a racial and economic justice issue, and how low affordability requirements hurt people of color. (You can find more information here.)

• How the lack of affordable housing impacts women, queer and trans people, young people and children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Want to Learn More?

Want to know what “AMI” means? Learn more here!

And visit the rest of this website for more info!