Thank You

2005-11-09T23:36:00.000-05:00

I want to thank Newton voters for returning me to the Board of Aldermen for a second term. I will work hard to continue to earn the faith and trust you have placed in me. I am also very much looking forward to serving with my fellow members of the new Board, particularly my colleagues from Ward 3, Alderman Anthony Salvucci and my new colleague and friend, Alderman-at-Large Elect, Leslie Burg. Working together with Mayor Cohen and the School Committee, I believe we are capable of doing great things for this community. Finally, I sincerely hope everyone will join me in thanking Greer Tan Swiston, Anatol Zukerman and all of the other candidates for their willingness to participate in our democratic process. They all deserve our praise for the time and effort they put into running for office.

Ted Hess-Mahan
Alderman-at-Large

Housing Affordability

2005-08-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

On Monday, August 8th, the Newton Board of Aldermen will be voting whether to approve Community Preservation Act funding for affordable housing proposed by CAN-DO, a non-profit developer of affordable housing in Newton. This project on Chestnut Street in Upper Falls, called "Millhouse Commons" for the historic character of the mill houses that were built throughout this neighborhood, will provide attractive, quality housing for 6 families, including 4 moderate and middle income families who could not otherwise afford to buy a home in Newton. Community Preservation Act funds are set aside for projects that promote conservation of open space, historical preservation and the creation of affordable housing.

CAN-DO's proposal deserves the support of the Board of Aldermen. This proposal has been eighteen months in the making and has been thoroughly evaluated and approved by the Planning Department, Historic Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Community Preservation Committee, as well as the Finance and Community Preservation committees of the Board of Aldermen. CAN-DO has worked effectively with the neighborhood to accomodate their concerns regarding the scale an density of the project and has received the endorsement of the Newton Upper Falls Community Development Corporation.

Newton desperately needs affordable homeownership and rental opportunities. Currently, according to state and federal standards, 1 in 5 households in Newton qualify for affordable housing but only 1 in 20 are truly "affordable." According to the 2000 Census, there are 2900 households having incomes less than 50% of the area median who pay more than 30% of their annual income for housing--half of those pay more than 50% of their income for housing.

In order to maintain Newton's rich diversity, we need to promote quality affordable housing throughout the city. At the same time, in order to reinfore the fabric of our community, we need housing that fits in with the density, scale and character of the neighborhoods. CAN-DO's Millhouse Commons is a small mixed income development of modest sized housing units, that both preserves and enhances the character of the neighborhood.

I am proud to support the use of Community Preservation Funds to make this model project a reality.