MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $30 MILLION NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUNDING ROUND

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $30 MILLION NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUNDING ROUND Funding promotes the Mayor's Carbon Neutral 2050 goals and supports Boston's homeless and/or aging population

BOSTON - Friday, August 14, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that the City of Boston has released two Requests for Proposals (RFP) offering approximately $30 million for affordable housing developments seeking City of Boston financial support. This is the first affordable housing funding the City of Boston has offered since restarting affordable housing construction in June when Boston began its phased reopening plan in line with its COVID-19 guidelines.  "The work of creating affordable housing in Boston must continue," said Mayor Walsh. "Affordable housing for all families is crucial now more than ever, and the urgency for safe, stable income-restricted housing has been highlighted by this pandemic. We're dedicated to creating sustainable, affordable housing, in line with our housing and environment goals, for all families in Boston." Developers can apply to the City with proposals to build new affordable housing or preserve existing affordable housing. The City, the Community Preservation Commission and the Neighborhood Housing Trust will prioritize projects that produce significant percentages of housing for extremely low-income Bostonians, that serve special populations such as homeless, seniors or special needs households, promote City goals to affirmatively further fair housing, and that efficiently use City resources and/or land to increase the supply of housing available to low- and moderate-income households.  The RFPs also require that developers prove that their team -- from the executive suite to construction workers in the field -- reflects the diversity of Boston's population. New affordable housing development proposals must provide an explanation for how they will prevent displacement of both residents and businesses and provide an eviction prevention plan that builds on existing sound management practices.  This year's funding announcement is paired with an update to DND's Design Standards with two key enhancements. The first is a requirement that all new affordable housing construction funded by the City must meet Carbon Neutral performance standards, consistent with the Carbon Free Boston by 2050 that Mayor Walsh set in 2017. These new standards are the result of a year-long collaborative effort between multiple City departments, the Boston Planning & Development Agency, a consulting team, and many practitioners and experts in the field. The second enhancement is an expansion of the agency's focus on Universal Design, forwarding the work of the Mayor's Disability Housing Task Force. The updated design standards not only clarify the City's goals for a minimum of fully accessible units that is double the state's requirement, but they also request new enhancements in all apartment types to make it easier for owners to adapt all units to be accessible to people throughout their lifetimes.   "We are thrilled to see the City taking a zero-emission buildings approach to its affordable housing efforts," said Rickie Harvey, steering team member of the Boston Clean Energy Coalition. "Zero-emission requirements are an urgent and crucial step toward reducing the huge carbon impact of Boston's built environment. BCEC and its member organizations look forward to continuing to partner with the City in order to ensure that all new development uses an equity lens and produces healthy, safe, and energy-efficient buildings."   The City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development and the Community Preservation Act (CPA) are issuing $20 million dollars consisting of HOME, CDBG, Housing Boston 2030, Inclusionary Development Policy Funds and Community Preservation Funding.  Approximately $16 million dollars of resources will support qualified proposals from non-profit and for-profit developers of affordable rental, cooperative and homeownership developments. DND will prioritize up to $4 million dollars of funding for supportive housing for homeless and/or aging populations.   "The City of Boston has again proven itself a leader in the production and preservation of affordable housing, this time in the midst of an unprecedented crisis," said Dara Kovel, CEO of Beacon Communities. "Bringing resources to create affordable housing counters the pressures of the economic downturn and helps alleviate Boston's housing crisis. This funding, including resiliency measures and targeting those most in need, puts Boston at the front of the pack." In addition, the Neighborhood Housing Trust Fund (NHT) is reviewing applications for up to $10 million to support the creation and preservation of affordable housing developments that meet the needs of the homeless, low- and moderate-income individuals and households in Boston. The NHT is funded through a project linkage fee system for commercial development projects in excess of 100,000 square feet, and supports homeownership, rental, cooperative, transitional, or permanent housing. Projects serving households earning incomes of 50 percent AMI or less and special needs populations receive preference. "Housing Stability continues to be a top issue for Boston residents," said Karen Chen, Executive Director of the Chinese Progressive Association. "The City of Boston is putting out critical funding to create and preserve additional affordable housing that is so badly needed, especially now as the pandemic has amplified housing struggles. As we work hard to address equity issues in our city and country, it is important that this work include creating housing that our residents can afford. Working with the City, we will continue to fight for housing policies and resources so that no resident is displaced and that every neighborhood has affordable housing." Based on the goals outlined in Mayor Walsh's housing strategy Housing A Changing City: Boston 2030, the City of Boston has established priority criteria which proposals must meet, including:  Income-restricted, affordable housing developments targeting a mix of incomes: from units for homeless households, to units targeted and restricted to incomes representative of Boston's workforce. Funding awards will prioritize proposals that, in addition to the homeless set-aside, provide some portion of units targeting extremely low income tenancies (less than or equal to 30% AMI).  Income-restricted affordable housing developments that have reduced the cost to build and or efficiently use subsidy (i.e. requests that do not exceed program limits, cost caps, and that maximize private debt and equity), maximizing the benefits of the LIHTC program and improving the projects ability to move into construction more quickly. Income-restricted affordable housing developments that provide units that serve the disabled community,  vulnerable or special needs populations, elders, veterans, artists, aging out youth, etc., (information on appropriate services or amenities must be provided) and that advance the City's goals of affirmatively furthering fair housing. Acquisition of unrestricted housing developments, extension of existing restrictions and/or deepening of affordability in order to stabilize the tenancies, and provide long term affordability for a mix of incomes (i.e. unrestricted properties). Developments that are at risk of losing their affordability within 5 Years.  Proposals must score in accordance with the states matrix as very high risk (Preservation Projects Only). Projects creating new income-restricted affordable units in high-cost neighborhoods where most of the IDP and NHT funds are generated. Income-restricted affordable housing developments that utilize City-owned land.  About Housing A Changing City: Boston 2030 Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030 is Mayor Walsh's Administration's comprehensive housing plan to create 69,000 new units of housing for a variety of income levels. Since the policy was enacted in 2014, Boston has permitted 34,321 of them as of the end of the second quarter in 2020. More than 6,450 of those permitted units are income-restricted, and more than 2,950 of these are reserved for Bostonians earning low and extremely low wages.

想要好記車牌? 麻州100張9月6日前受理申請

(Boston Orange 周菊子麻州綜合報導)嫌車牌太常難記?麻州汽車登記處(RMV)今(13)日宣佈，今年共有100張數目少的車牌，供民眾免費上網申請，9月6日前報名，9月15日公佈結果。  

根據麻州汽車登記處在網站上公布的資料，今年供人申請的數目少車牌，最少的2位數，有k5，6P，Y7，M9這4張牌照，其他的為3位數，4位數的車牌，數目最大的是9973。

申請人必須在9月6日前到網上申請。開標的日期，時間迪地鐵，將稍後公佈。查詢詳情可上RMV網站，在推特上追蹤RMV。抽中新車牌的人，資訊會放到網上去。

            申請網址為:https://atlas-myrmv.massdot.state.ma.us/myrmv/_/#1

華人前進會bike-a-thon募款2萬元 籲支持租戶優先權

華人前進會穩定華埠社區遊樂日今年網上舉行。(周菊子攝)

華埠土地信託會主任駱理德(右上)鼓勵社區推動議員支持三項法案。
(周菊子攝)

            (Boston Orange 周菊子波士頓報導)華人前進會8月9日在網上舉行穩定華埠社區遊樂日(block party)，以及華埠自行車籌款活動閉幕式，報告籌得19,329元。華埠土地信託會則為保留可負擔住宅，已斥資在華埠買下兩座屋宇，共7個單位。

               會議由華人前進會執委陳可珊，社區組織員鄺寶蓮，依序以英文、中文主持。華埠土地信託會部分的匯報，由該會行政主任駱理德報告，華人前進會名譽主席李素影做廣東話翻譯。

華人錢進會名譽主席李素影(右上)協助做廣東話翻譯。(周菊子攝)

             華人前進會自行車籌款活動，分成15隊，有47籌款者，加上450名個別捐款人支持，這活動共籌得19329元。參加華人前進會夏令營活動青少年們，在一連五天的”行動週”中，則是每天安排有不同活動，包括打電話給政客，籲請支持租戶優先否決權(Tenants’ First Right of Refusal)，保證穩定法案，打電話給居民，提醒大家積極參加2020年人口普查，登記成為選民，索取郵寄選票，填寫，寄出，以及與黑人社區團結，支持小企業等等。

在支持小企業上，他們呼籲人們到華埠內商鋪採買，以行動支持在新冠疫情期間備受打擊的小企業。華人前進會還舉辦了一場以中文舉行，協助小企業經營者申請政府補助的會議。

青少年們還製作，播放了一段視頻。

美化華埠從壁畫或空白牆壁開始。

             華埠土地信託會行政主任駱理德在華人前進會榮譽主席李素影做廣東話翻譯下，報告了多項該會與華人前進會合作推動的有關房屋法案，以及穩定華埠調查。

他們呼籲各界支持通過3項法案，一為展延暫緩逼遷令至明年3月10日的H5166/S2992，一為保障租戶的第一否決權，藉以給租戶機會承購所租住屋宇的H1260/S786法案，一為授權波士頓市府經由向某些房地產交易徵稅，募集可負擔住宅基金的H4514等。

             他們也邀請藝術家以創意方式支持華埠內的小企業，提醒亞裔民眾，在新冠病毒疫情期間，若申請福利被拒，可能有資格獲得亞美緊急援助基金發給的禮物卡，可電洽617-681-5416(廣東話)，或617-902-0342(普通話)。

             華埠土地信託會最近還斥資在波士頓華埠內買了二棟樓宇，可為波士頓華埠保留7個永久性可負擔住宅。

            駱理德表示，該會最新的一項行動是，希望民眾提供意見，如何善用波士頓華埠屋街29號的大面積牆壁。那兒以前有幅大壁畫，現在他們希望這面牆可以重新呈現可表達華埠風土人情或文物歷史，又能增進地方上視覺美感的作品。 (更新版)    

麻州今日新增319人COVID-19確診 各市鎮確診數出爐

麻省理工2020年35名35歲創新者 有6名華人

             (Boston Orange 周菊子麻州整理報導) 麻省理工學院科技評論(Technology Review)最近公佈了2020年35名35歲以下創新者。5個類別中有4類別的6名華裔獲選，人數比往年少，但創業類一舉有3人，反映了近年華人瘋創業趨勢。

             這6名獲選華裔分別是發明類王世宏(譯音，Sihong Wang)；創業類李紀為(Jiwei Li)，雷艾特瑪(Atima Lui)，潘東尼(譯音， Tony Pan)；遠見類李波(譯音，Bo Li)；開拓類柴莉莉(Lily Cai)。

            從1999年開始，曾經稱為TR100，然後改成TR35，現在叫做”35歲以下的創新者(Innovators under 35)”的這一活動，旨在藉由年輕創新者的研究工作，展現最新的未來科技趨勢。每年都有大約500人獲提名，經科技評論編輯們挑選出100人進入半決賽後，交由25名不同領域專家評審，最後選出5個類別的35名創新者。

             今年獲選的6名華裔青年創新家，以及他們的創新項目簡述如下:

             發明類:

             王世宏(譯音，Sihong Wang)

             發明類的王世宏(譯音，Sihong Wang)，今年33歲，出生於中國，目前在芝加哥大學。他發明了可伸展的微芯片，使得製造各種新設備都變成可能。

             微芯片通常都要蝕刻進薄脆矽晶基層，意味著如果彎曲或拉扯，分子結構會斷裂，效能馬上大跌。沒那麼脆弱的電路其實早就存在，但要兼顧靈活性，不是得犧牲效能，就是生產不易，王世宏研發出的新製造技術，卻能把電路打造得能彎能拉，效能還和無機半導體電路一樣好。

             憑著之前和這領域開拓者鮑哲南一起工作打下的基礎，王世宏創出一套新流程，利用已知的奈米約束物理作用，在可能的最小規模上打造一層層的聚合物電路，如今可以做出很可靠的，長度是原來兩倍，效能卻一點都不會損失的高效能電路。

             王世宏說，這些橡膠聚合物開闢出全新的設備類別，可以延長成各種形狀，做成皮膚貼片，或甚至嵌進人的身體，然後能夠做到傳統機器能做的任何事。不過那也意味著有一系列的新問題要解決，例如要怎麼啟動。他已經找到從人體收集能量的方法，用另一個叫做奈米發電機的發明，而不需要外接電池。然後這些就能夠放置在身體內，卻不會引發任何免疫反應。

             創業類獲選的華裔有3人。

             李紀為(Jiwei Li)

             李紀為(Jiwei Li)，31歲，香儂科技(SHANNON.AI )的創始人兼執行長。谷歌(google)及臉書(Facebook)最近公佈的聊天機器人，核心技術都是李紀為設計出來的。

             李紀為應用了深度加強學習，一種相對新的，神經網路在其中可做嘗試錯誤學習的技術，來處理自然語言(NLP)，這用程式來操作人類語言的電腦科學領域。藉深度加強學習來在大批文字中辨識句法結構。李紀為使機器能夠在抽取語義資訊時做得更好。

語法是指單詞之間的語法關係，而語義是指單詞的含義。在書面語言中，具有緊密語義關係的單詞在頁面上並不總是緊靠在一起。例如，動詞及其受詞可以用形容詞串或從屬子句分隔。 先前嘗試讓機器解析自然語言的嘗試，常常誇大了接近的重要性，從而導致明顯的錯誤。 李紀為的機器學習算法可以找到句子的語法結構，從而使含義更可靠。 它們已成為許多NLP系統的基石。

             李紀為在中國長大，原本在北京大學讀生物系，來美後進康乃爾大學修生物物理博士，但很快轉換領域，起先進卡耐基美崙(Carnegie Mellon)，後來到史丹福，並成為第一個在不到三年間取得電腦博士學位的學生。

             李紀為也探討其他方法來教人工智能如何在語言數據中辨識模型。2014年時，他和同事把推特貼文和美國氣象數據連起來，以檢視天氣如何影響使用者的情緒。首先他用手給600個推特做了標籤，如快樂，生氣，悲傷等。他用這標籤數據來訓練神經網路評估一條推特的情緒，並用2010年到2011年所發佈所有推特的大約2%，來根據地理位置交叉參照情緒。

             他的結果並不令人意外，下雨的時候，情緒就差了，天氣熱時人們就表現得憤怒。但是對李紀為來說，那是隱藏資訊可以從大量文字中抽取出來的一堂課。

             2017年完成學業後，他搬回北京，創辦了一個名叫香儂科技的NLP初創企業，現在已經有十多名員工，來自風險資本的2000萬元經費。

             李紀為的公司建基在推特天氣研究示範出來的模型配對，研發了語言學習算法，從包括企業報告和社交媒體貼文，抽出了經濟預測。

             李紀為已經應用深度加強學習來挑戰產生自然語言。對他來說，這是很明顯的下一步。他說一但你學會了讀，你就能學寫。

             即使最好的聊天機器人也仍然會犯明顯的愚蠢錯誤，噴出不合邏輯的話，或是顯得對世界沒有基本的普通認識。交談越長，人工智能就更難追蹤都已經說過些什麼。李紀為的技術讓人工智能可以很好的抓住語言結構。在會話中，如果說出來的話，語法明確，就比較容易追蹤主詞和受詞。例如給出一個”我們開始吧”的問題，一個聊天機器人可能會回答”當然!”，但是那回應可能會接在任何問題之後。李紀為的技術可以讓回應更像是”是，我們在這有很多事要做”，回應原本提問的內容。

             雷艾特瑪(Atima Lui)

             雷艾特瑪(Atima Lui) 30歲，用科技來糾正化妝品業偏向淺色皮膚的偏見。

           她在堪薩斯(Kansas)長大，既是美國奴隸的後代，也是蘇丹難民的女兒。她還記得小時候和皮膚顏色較淺的朋友第一次試用化妝品。一旦把化妝品放到她臉上，無論用什麼方法，都沒法看起來好看。她這才發現化妝業長久以來的假設，”膚色(nude)”意味著白或者淺色。

             雷艾特瑪(Atima Lui)現在推廣名叫”膚尺(Nudemeter)”，以人工智慧為基礎的應用程式，試圖解決前述的問題。藉由照片，以及短問卷，它決定了使用者的膚色，以及皮膚要如何地明亮起來，經由年份預測皮膚色調的改變，幫助任何膚色的消費者選擇適合他們皮膚的化妝品顏色。

             雷艾特瑪(Atima Lui)圍繞著”膚色”，打造出一個企業，但她的目標超越科技本身。她說，成長時社會中那些關於”誰可以成為中心，或誰會成為科技人才”的假設形塑，讓她感到受傷害，那是她想要修正的另外一些東西。

             潘東尼(譯音，Tony Pan)

             潘東尼34歲，來自台灣，和人合夥創辦了MODERN ELECTRON，現任執行長，擁有多項專利。他的公司改造舊設備，讓人從自己家裡發電。

             Modern Electron是一家位於西雅圖的初創企業，用電腦模擬及新材料做新型熱電轉換器，把最早在1950年代研發出來的發熱機，變得能在轉熱為電上比舊模型更有效率。

            潘東尼相信他的公司可以用科技把通常以天然氣或油來為住家燒熱水，供暖氣的鍋爐及熔爐，變成迷你的住家發電廠，在地發電。他說這會遠比由中央電力廠來為住家發電，更有效率，更便宜。尤其是和家用太陽能板，電池合併使用的話。

            潘東尼的產品如果被廣泛採用，可減少人們對中央化媒或天然瓦斯電廠的依賴。

熱電子轉換器是由真空隔開的一對金屬板組成。 熱量（例如，來自爐子的火焰）會把一塊板上的電子激發到越過間隙，跳到較冷的那塊板子上，從而產生電流。 在一個應用中，Modern Electron將金屬板捲成類似光劍把柄的管子，並安裝在燃氣爐上。

屋主可以大部分時間仰賴屋頂的太陽能，晚上、陰天或者在冬天月份，轉用Modern Electron的系統。這產品如果被廣泛採用，可以減少人們對中央化的煤或天然瓦斯電力廠的依賴。藉由燒煤，以及長幾百英里的傳輸線來生產並運送電力的做法，會在傳輸電力上浪費大量能源，潘東尼的發明可以減少來自電力的溫室瓦斯排放。

Modern Electron的科技也可以和其他燃料合用。所以如果住宅暖氣系統最後轉向低或零排放來源，例如某些公司及地區正在探討的氫，這熱電子轉換器可以發揮更大的減少汙染作用。

潘東尼相信他的設備可以對發展中國家有更大影響，可以讓社區架設自己的迷你發電廠，跳過建造中央化發電，運送系統所需投資的大量金錢與時間。電力就可以更快的被帶到偏遠地區。

遠見類:

李波(譯音，Bo Li)

遠見類的李波，32歲，來自中國，現在伊利諾香檳大學(UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN)工作。她設計出一種新方法來愚弄人工智慧，使之運作得更快。

幾年前，李波和同事在停止標誌牌上放了好幾個類似塗鴉的小黑白貼紙，人眼看來很隨意，並不會阻擋標誌牌上的字母。但這安排是刻意設計的，好讓汽車靠近時，啟動視覺系統的神經網路會把停止標誌牌誤讀成速限45英里的貼示。

這樣的”對抗攻擊”………操作輸入數據，對人來說看似無害，但卻愚弄神經網路………，以前也有人試過，但早前的例子大都是數位的。例如，在一個影像中有幾個像素可能被改動了，那是人眼看不出來的改變。李波是第一批能夠展示這樣的攻擊在現實世界中是可能的其中一個人。那對人工智慧來說可能更難，因為研發出來察覺操弄數位影像的方法對實物無效。

李波把實物特徵做了些為修改，例如形狀和紋理，那又是人類察覺不到，但可使物體在影像辨識算法前隱形。她的目標是用這關於潛在攻擊知識使人工智慧更強大。她使人工智慧系統互相對抗，用一個神經網路來辨識，探討另一個神經網路的弱點。這過程能夠暴露目標網路的訓練或結構瑕疵。然後李波就研究策略來修補瑕疵，並防範未來的攻擊。

對抗攻擊也可以愚弄其他型態的神經網絡，不只是影響辨識算法。在聲音上不可察覺的調整，可以使得聲音助理做錯誤解讀它所聽到的。例如。李波的有些技術已經被用在商業程式中。IBM用他們保護華生人工智慧(Wcatson AI)，亞馬遜用來保護Alexa，還有一些無人駕駛汽車公司用來改善他們的機器學習模型的優良狀況。

開拓類:

             柴莉莉(Lily Cai)

             開拓類的柴莉莉(Lily Cai)，33歲，來自中國，目前在伊利諾香檳大學(ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN)工作。

             她創造了節省能源的紡織材料，可以打破人們的吹冷氣習慣。

             柴莉莉已創造出以奈米材料為基礎的紡織品，厚度有如普通的T恤，可以讓人保暖或涼快。

             柴莉莉的作品利用人類皮膚在特定波長範圍內會強烈發射出紅外線這事實。藉著操弄她的紡織品阻擋或傳輸這頻寬中的發射傳送方法，製造出在溫度上可有不同效果的許多紡織品。

            柴莉莉製造的金屬化聚乙烯紡織品，可以最小化熱輻射損失，但仍然透氣，讓人的身體溫暖程度，可以比原本感受到的甚至高攝氏七度。在陽光直接照射下，她的冷卻布料，一種創新的奈米複合材料，則能夠讓人體降溫攝氏10度。

             柴莉莉相信弄明白如何讓這些紡織品盡量看起來和正常布料一樣非常重要。早前的輻射冷卻材料只能有白色，但2019年柴莉莉找出如何製作不同顏色的方法。她的目標是將來生產出單一的適應性紡織品，外面冷時能讓人保暖，外面熱時能讓人涼快。

           

INVESTIGATION BY AG’S OFFICE REVEALS WIDESPREAD HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BY SOUTH SHORE REAL ESTATE BROKERS

INVESTIGATION BY AG’S OFFICE REVEALS WIDESPREAD HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BY SOUTH SHORE REAL ESTATE BROKERS

Settlements Resolve Claims of Section 8 Discrimination Against Low Income Renters; AG’s Office Creates New Guide to Educate Residents and Landlords About Their Rights and Obligations Under the Law

            BOSTON – Several South Shore real estate brokers and agents have agreed to pay up to $110,000 and attend fair housing training to resolve an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office into allegations that they discriminated against prospective tenants based on receipt of public assistance, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. 

These settlements are the result of an extensive investigation initiated by the Suffolk University Housing Discrimination Testing Program and referred to the AG’s Office that revealed widespread systemic housing discrimination in the South Shore, an area that’s experiencing increasing rents and homelessness. In recognition of the challenges faced by Massachusetts residents who rely on public assistance in securing housing, AG Healey today issued a new guide in English and Spanish to educate tenants, landlords and those in the real estate industry on their rights and obligations under state and federal fair housing laws.

            “Rental assistance programs are critical to the economic security of our most vulnerable residents, particularly people of color and people with disabilities. Unfortunately, this type of widespread discrimination is representative of the barriers many face in the search for safe and affordable housing,” AG Healey said. “Housing providers cannot use the requirements of these programs as an excuse to refuse to rent. We will continue to hold accountable those who deny residents access to housing based on bias.”  

            The four assurances of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk Superior Court and reached over the course of a year, resolve allegations that brokers affiliated with Free and Clear Realty, Century 21 Annex, Unlimited Sotheby’s International Realty, and Success! Real Estate Inc., violated state fair housing and consumer protection laws by illegally denying low-income people the opportunity to rent an apartment because of their receipt of public assistance through the federal Section 8 housing voucher program. Section 8 helps low-income residents afford rental housing in the private market. Some of the settlements also resolve allegations of discrimination against families with children or the publishing of discriminatory advertisements marketing rental apartments.

            Investigation of Real Estate Brokers

Between July 2018 and March 2019, a tenant inquired about the rental of at least four separate South Shore properties listed by Free & Clear Realty. The AG’s Office alleges that in each of these instances, the broker terminated contact with the tenant after she disclosed receipt of public assistance and/or that a minor child would live with her in the apartment. Fair housing testing of the properties found evidence of discrimination by the broker against voucher holders and families with children. Under the terms of the settlement with Free & Clear Realty, the broker will pay $15,000 in restitution and attend annual training on state and federal fair housing laws for three years.

The AG’s Office also alleges that a realtor with Century 21 Annex increased the rent on a Braintree property after a Section 8 voucher holder applied and disclosed her receipt of public assistance. The broker wrongly believed that the rent increase placed the property just outside of the voucher’s rent cap and denied the tenant the opportunity to rent the apartment. According to the AG’s Office, the broker continued to market the property and ultimately selected an individual who did not participate in the voucher program and who had a lower credit score than the Section 8 voucher holder. Under the terms of the settlement, the broker has paid $9,000 in restitution and attended fair housing training.

            The AG’s Office also alleges that a real estate broker affiliated with Unlimited Sotheby’s made false representations to a variety of prospective tenants with rental assistance vouchers, as well as prospective tenants with children, in response to inquiries about the availability of a Braintree apartment. The broker allegedly told a tenant, who was a Section 8 voucher holder, that the landlord had selected another applicant, while the property remained on the market for weeks. The AG’s Office alleges that, despite Unlimited Sotheby’s maintenance of a compliance program designed to ensure that brokers followed federal and state fair housing laws, this broker made a number of misleading statements in connection with the rental of this property. Under the terms of the settlement, the broker has paid $9,000 in restitution and completed fair housing training.

            According to the AG’s Office, between January 1, 2018 and April 18, 2019, various brokers affiliated with Success! published advertisements for rental apartments throughout the South Shore area that included discriminatory statements based on familial status, source of income, and disability. These advertisements included statements like “One person only,” which discriminates against couples and families, or “You must have good credit and decent work history” and “verifiable employment required,” which discriminates against people who receive public assistance and may be unable to work. Under the state’s fair housing law, housing providers cannot make statements or place advertisements that discriminate against a potential tenant based on familial status, source of income, disability, and other characteristics. Housing providers are also prohibited from placing advertisements that suggest a preference for tenants without housing vouchers, without children, or without disabilities.

Under the terms of the settlement, Success has undertaken significant efforts to ensure company-wide compliance with fair housing laws, will implement fair housing training policies for its brokers, and agreed to pay $79,200 to the state, of which $66,000 will be suspended and then waived pending compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Suffolk Housing Study

Suffolk Law School’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program referred these cases to the AG’s Office in January 2019, after the program’s housing testers conducted an initial investigation into several of the brokers and agents and found evidence of discrimination against prospective South Shore tenants based on source of income and familial status. Suffolk University Law School’s Accelerator Practice also represented a tenant who faced widespread source of income discrimination and whose cases were resolved as part of the AG’s Office’s investigation. Since referring these cases to the AG’s Office, Suffolk completed and recently released a housing discrimination study, “Qualified Renters Need not Apply: Race and Voucher Discrimination in the Metro Boston Rental Housing Market.”

The study, conducted from August 2018 through July 2019, found rampant discrimination against renters with Section 8 housing vouchers, as well as discrimination against Black people. Ninety percent of the study participants who indicated they were using a voucher faced discriminatory behavior from a rental agent including the agent cutting off communication with the participant and not setting up an appointment to visit properties. The study tested properties in nine cities including Quincy, the South Shore’s largest city.

“This investigation provides a powerful illustration of how insidious discrimination impacts real families,” said James Matthews, Practitioner-in-Residence and Director of Suffolk Law School’s Accelerator Practice. “Our client and her family were turned away from numerous properties on the South Shore just because they had a voucher. It’s hard to overstate the extreme stress of being denied a fair and appropriate process for finding a home. This joint enforcement effort sends a clear message to housing providers: Don’t engage in this type of illegal conduct.”

“What does this investigation tell us? Those with vouchers face high levels of discrimination while trying to find a safe place to live,” said William Berman, Clinical Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School. “Those participating in the real estate market have a responsibility to treat those with vouchers fairly and will be held accountable for their misdeeds if they don't.”

Under Massachusetts law, it is illegal to discriminate against any individual who receives federal, state, or local housing subsidies, including rental assistance or rental supplements, because the individual is receiving such benefits. Landlords, property managers, and real estate agents or brokers can’t refuse to rent housing to a voucher holder, refuse to negotiate with a voucher holder, and set different terms or conditions for voucher holders. Housing providers also cannot treat potential tenants who have children worse or differently than those without children. A landlord or realtor cannot stop communicating with an applicant who reveals they have children or make comments suggesting that the unit is not “child appropriate.” Housing providers are also prevented from requiring an applicant for an apartment to show proof of employment.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is committed to enforcing the state fair housing law and has recovered more than $1 million in restitution, penalties, and other relief for  residents. The AG’s Office encourages those who have concerns about housing discrimination to call the office’s Civil Rights Division at 617-963-2917 or to file a complaint online.

For more information on AG Healey’s Fair Housing FAQs, click here for English and here for Spanish.

This case was handled by Assistant Attorneys General David Ureña and Amanda Hainsworth, both of AG Healey’s Civil Rights Division, with assistance from Colleen Frost, of AG Healey’s Civil Investigations Division.