Call Mayor Janey: Change the IDP Now!

Note: This page includes a script for making phone calls to Mayor Janey and her chief of staff Chris Osgood, if you prefer to dial their numbers yourself. You can also visit https://affordableboston.org/call for an automatic tool that will call your phone and connect you directly with their offices!

Call-In Days: OCT 7-9, 2021

1. TAKE ACTION, CALL NOW - ask Mayor Kim Janey to sign an executive order now to strengthen the Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) and require Truly Affordable Housing Now!

2. Let us know you called & how it went! After you make your calls, visit https://affordableboston.org/callreport

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

Instructions

Call Mayor KIM JANEY and CHIEF OF STAFF CHRIS OSGOOD

  • Mayor Kim Janey: 617-635-3151.

  • Chris Osgood, Mayor Janey’s Chief of Staff: 617-635-2854

  • Ask the person to write down your main bullet points or leave a voicemail. The Mayor’s office may try to transfer you to 311. If they do, ask them to please take your message first, but if you do get transferred go ahead and leave your message with wheover you talk to.

Main Points to Share

Share these points. (When you click "Call to Change the IDP" below, you will go to a page that also has these points.)

1. Say: "Hello, my name is (your name) __________ and I am a concerned resident of (neighborhood) __________. I’m calling to urge Mayor Janey to take action on affordable housing."

2. If you reach a staff person, and they try to transfer you to someone else, first 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.

3. State these main points:

  • Thank you to Mayor Janey for your support for changing the IDP and supporting the community’s demands to increase the requirement and make housing truly affordable to lower income households.

  • Development is moving, but evictions are looming for many of us. A stronger IDP is critical, and Mayor Janey has the power to change the IDP and support our communities by signing an executive order now.

  • We urge the Mayor to sign an executive order that increases the IDP requirement from 13% to 33%.

  • In the executive order, we also urge the Mayor to make the IDP truly affordable by substantially deepening the affordability to meet community needs. These units should be affordable to actual Boston residents, especially people of color and working-class people who have been hit hardest by COVID-19, job loss, and displacement.

    • Rental units should be 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.

  • It is also important to decrease the 10-unit threshold for IDP, which the BPDA and DND have previously said they are planning to do.

Optional: Add a Personal MEssage

Add a personal message around why we need more affordability (a bigger number of units) and deeper affordability (lower rents and home prices that are actually affordable).

Tell Us You Called, Spread the Word, and Sign the Petition!

  • When you finish calling, please visit https://www.affordableboston.org/callreport to tell us you called!

  • Share these links by email and social media: https://www.affordableboston.org/call for the call-in days and https://www.affordableboston.org/petition for the petition. Tell people why you made phone calls! #TrulyAffordableBOS

  • Also sign the petition -- this is a new petition started in September specifically for Mayor Kim Janey.

BAckground

Here is some more background if it is helpful:

The City of Boston requires that in new private developments, 13% of the new units are so-called "affordable," or the developer pays money into a fund.

But in this case, "affordable" is not truly affordable! The incomes required for these units are near $85,000 - $121,000 for a family of four. The rents are: 2-bedroom: $1597 and 4-bedroom: $1981.

This is out of reach of most households without vouchers, and most BIPOC households (BIPOC = Black / Indigenous / People of Color)!

Boston uses the same measure as the federal government to define “affordability,” called Area Median Income (AMI). Median just means “typical.” However, the AMI for Boston incorporates incomes from cities beyond Boston, including Brookline, Newton, Wellesley, Weston, and even parts of New Hampshire! The current IDP creates housing at 70-100% AMI, but the typical income for Boston itself is far lower; BIPOC residents typically make 40% AMI and 50% AMI.

Want to know more about what “AMI” means? Learn more here! And visit the rest of this website for more info!