Mayor Martin Walsh was on hand for a Downtown Open House that highlighted the myriad services the city offers Monday night at the Josiah Quincy School.
The event, which drew a full house of Downtown residents, featured tables staffed by members of their respective city agencies, including the Transportation Department, the Public Health Commission, the Commission for People with Disabilities, the Assessing Department and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, among others.
“It’s great to talk to people in the community because we know they can’t all get to City Hall, but want to hear about the services we provide,” said Kristen McCosh, the city’s disability commissioner.
Beth Gavin, special assistant to Sheila Dillon, the city’s chief of housing and director of Neighborhood Development, said, “The Open Houses are really great because they bring out a lot of people and showcases all the services the City of Boston has to offer in one place.”
Vineet Gupta, the Boston Transportation Department’s director of planning, said “It’s really a great opportunity for neighborhood residents to be able to get feedback to all the city departments, and for the Transportation Department, it lets us know about the full spectrum of issues.”
Leather District resident Kathryn Friedman, who attended the open house with her daughter, Lucinda, said she learned about the event from Lisa Hy, Mayor Martin Walsh’s neighborhood liaison to the Leather District, as well as Chinatown and Downtown.
Meanwhile, Edinboro Street resident Bingxang Ma told this reporter via an interpreter he came to the Downtown Open House because he wanted to talk to Mayor Walsh about a “billboard proposed in the heart of Chinatown” that he believes “would have an adverse impact on the community.”
Boston Massachusetts Newspaper
