MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF CITY-WIDE GET BIKING CHALLENGE

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF CITY-WIDE GET BIKING CHALLENGE

Competition Encouraged K-8 Students to Bike More During National Bike Month

BOSTON - Wednesday, June 17, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the successful results of the Boston Bikes Get Biking Challenge, the first city-wide biking competition for youth. Eleven schools accepted the challenge and over 3,500 students were invited to participate by tracking the amount of minutes they rode throughout the month of May.

"Encouraging exercise and healthy choices should start with our youngest residents," said Mayor Walsh. "Boston Bikes Get Biking Challenge was a fun way to do just that, and I'm excited to see such great participation throughout the City." 

The friendly competition ranked schools based on the percent of students who participated and the number of days ridden. The Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Chinatown took first place, earning the Golden Pedal Award and a bike raffle, and Perkins Elementary in South Boston and Nathan Hale Elementary in Roxbury came in second and third place, respectively.

Through the Get Biking Challenge, 1,389 students reported biking a total of 597,760 minutes. Converted into distance, these students biked 79,700 miles, the equivalent of biking around the Earth’s equator three times. In terms of calories, the students burned about 859,810 calories, the equivalent of 6,230 cans of soda.

The Get Biking Challenge was a unique opportunity for students to get active and develop healthy habits. Some students biked to school, others biked during physical education classes or recess, and some students biked with their families on weekends. Students earned participation prizes of stickers, reflectors, bike lights or bike bells.

For more information, visit: http://www.bostonbikes.org/programs/get-biking-school-challenge/overview// or call (617)-918-4253.

About Boston Bikes:

Boston Bikes is part of Mayor Walsh's vision for a vibrant and healthy city that benefits all its citizens. It seeks to make Boston a world-class bicycling city by creating safe and inviting conditions for all residents and visitors. Boston Bikes focuses on improvements in all six universal bike planning areas: Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Encouragement, Equity and Evaluation.

MAYOR WALSH JOINS OVER 30 CITIES CALLING ON FCC TO IMPROVE BROADBAND NETWORK PERFORMANCE MEASURES

MAYOR WALSH JOINS OVER 30 CITIES CALLING ON FCC TO IMPROVE BROADBAND NETWORK PERFORMANCE MEASURES 

Next Century Cities and City Leaders Release Letter in Support of GAO Report

BOSTON- Wednesday, June 17, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined mayors and elected officials from 34 communities to call for uniform and accessible reporting on broadband network performance.  The letter, coordinated by Next Century Cities, was prompted by the findings of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, “BROADBAND PERFORMANCE: Additional Actions Could Help FCC Evaluate its Efforts to Inform Consumers.”

“Our residents deserve access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet services,” said Mayor Walsh. “Consumers need access to clear, impartial information about the broadband services they buy, and the City needs tools to measure the quality of broadband services in Boston. The Government Accountability Office report highlighted the importance of standardized measurement for broadband network performance, and all should have to abide by its guidelines.”

Boston is a member of Next Century Cities, a city-to-city initiative founded to support communities and their elected leaders as they seek to ensure that all have access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet.

“The GAO report offers an opportunity to assess how we measure network performance,” said Deb Socia, Executive Director of Next Century Cities. “If we are truly committed to ensuring access to fast, affordable, and reliable broadband Internet, we need to think seriously about how we measure speed, cost, and reliability, and how we communicate this information to consumers.”

In support of this effort to provide clarity and transparency in the provision of broadband services, Boston joined other member communities, including Syracuse, N.Y., New Haven, Conn., Roanoke, Va., and Hagerstown, Md., in writing the FCC, saying:

“Efforts to develop this core infrastructure are impeded when our citizens are unable to accurately gauge the quality and speed of their Internet…As broadband Internet becomes increasingly critical to the well-being of towns and cities across the country, being able to reliably measure and compare network performance will help to ensure that we, as elected leaders, are delivering the essential infrastructure our communities need."

On Bunker Hill Day, BHA seeks proposals to redevelop the Bunker Hill public housing development

On Bunker Hill Day, BHA seeks proposals to redevelop the Bunker Hill public housing development

RFP next step in resident and community process regarding long-term preservation of affordable housing at Bunker Hill

Boston, MA- Today the BHA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) inviting developers to submit redevelopment proposals to preserve and rebuild existing affordable housing at the Bunker Hill public housing development.  The issuance of the RFP comes as BHA is seeking ways to upgrade and make sustainable its affordable housing communities in the wake of historic federal budget cuts.

“It’s imperative that we think outside the box to preserve our existing affordable housing as well as develop new housing to meet the future housing needs of all of our city’s residents,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “I’m excited because this project has the potential to meet the housing needs of people from a broad spectrum of economic backgrounds.”

The BHA has selected Bunker Hill as one of the initial candidates for which to issue an RFP due to current market conditions and the potential opportunity for the preservation or replacement of all of the existing 1100 very low income units in the development with little or no public subsidy.   The potential for adding additional units to create a mixed income development would add both affordable workforce and market rate apartments, which BHA hopes would generate additional income to help sustain the low income units over the long term.  The creation of additional market rate and workforce housing will also further Mayor Walsh’s goal of creating 53,000 new units of housing by 2030. 

“We look forward to receiving creative ideas that will preserve and protect our affordable housing resources for the future,” said BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle.  “We are proceeding in this manner to ensure that our current residents and future residents of the city in need of affordable housing have this valuable resource to call home for generations to come.”

BHA staff recently met with residents of the development as well as members of the surrounding Charlestown community before issuing the RFP.  Also prior to this issuance, BHA issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in November, 2014 asking the non-profit and for-profit development community for ideas about how to preserve public housing units with decreased reliance on federal subsidy, which has been shrinking for many years.  There is a copy of the RFQ and more information on the BHA’s funding situation in our Five-Year Plan on the BHA’s website.

“The residents of the Bunker Hill public housing development are looking forward to working with the BHA and a future developer to improve and preserve our housing for the future,” said Betty Carrington, President of the Charlestown Tenant Task Force.  “We are excited to start working on designs with the community.”

BHA expects to have responses back from developers by late summer.  A selection committee comprised of residents of the Bunker Hill public housing development and BHA staff will review the proposals and select a developer.  BHA and the selected developer will hold a series of resident and community meetings, as well as design charrettes as part of an open, public, neighborhood planning process that is expected to begin this fall. 

It is the BHA’s intent to preserve its public housing portfolio and to protect existing residents.  The BHA expects to issue a handful of additional RFPs in the near future after completing a resident and community process for respective sites.  The BHA will solicit proposals which may offer opportunities to use a new construction approach or which involve both new construction and renovation. 

An informational only copy of the RFP without supporting documents as well as the full RFP with all supporting documents is available for download from the BHA’s website under News.  The RFP is also available in the public library in Charlestown at 179 Main Street.

Proposer submission copies of the RFP MUST be obtained directly from the BHA’s Procurement Department.  The RFP is available to proposers for free via e-mail request to bids@bostonhousing.org, or in hardcopy form for a $100 fee from the BHA Contract Unit at the 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA  02111 starting June 17, 2015.  The RFP Package shall be mailed to prospective respondents upon request for an additional $15.00 fee. 

  

All proposals must be received by Friday August 14, 2015 at 2:00 pm at the Boston Housing Authority, Procurement Dept., 6th Floor, 52 Chauncy Street, Boston, MA 02111.  Interested developers may subscribe to the BHA’s electronic mailing list to receive future bid notices.

MAYOR WALSH JOINS JOHN HANCOCK, CORPORATE AND CIVIC LEADERS TO ​LAUNCH YOUTH INITIATIVES

MAYOR WALSH JOINS JOHN HANCOCK, CORPORATE AND CIVIC LEADERS TO ​LAUNCH YOUTH INITIATIVES

​​

New Effort Will Target 11-14-Year-Olds, Kicks Off MLK Summer Scholars Teen Jobs Program

BOSTON— Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined John Hancock President Craig Bromley, hundreds of Boston Public School (BPS) students, and corporate and civic leaders to announce a new initiative to stem youth violence and to kick off the annual MLK Summer Scholars teen jobs program.

​​

“We must create opportunities to nurture at-risk young people as they enter the critical first years of adolescence,” said Mayor Walsh. “I am proud of our work with John Hancock, the

​ ​

Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston’s YouthConnect program to give more of our young people the chance to embrace their future in a positive way.”

​​

Stemming Youth Violence

Mayor Walsh announced a public/private partnership led by the Mayor’s Public Safety Initiative with John Hancock and Boys & Girls Club of Boston's Youth Connect program that is aimed at stemming youth violence by providing clinical case management and positive youth development opportunities for high-risk youth.

"The Mayor’s Office of Public Safety Initiatives would like to thank John Hancock and Youth Connect for helping to support the Mayor’s vision of giving opportunity and access to all youth in particular the 11-14 year old population- too old for camp and too young for employment," said Dan Mulhern, Director of the Mayor's Office of Public Safety Initiatives. "We recognize that Public Safety is multi-faceted and providing this opportunity is a part of that. Prevention efforts are key and this partnership will offer mentorship, a variety of support services and most importantly to empower and cultivate our future leaders."


The program, which will be funded by John Hancock, will serve approximately 50 at-risk males and females ranging from 11-14-years-old per year.

The focus of the program will be to reduce risky behaviors to increase positive decision-making skills, while creating opportunities to increase self-awareness and confidence through the acquisition of leadership and work-readiness skills.  

The initiative is based off of the Summer of Opportunity program, which was first launched in 1994 as a unique public-private partnership between John Hancock, the Mayor of Boston and the Boston Police Department in response to the youth violence epidemic.

​​

Providing Meaningful Job Experience and Life Lessons for Teens

The Mayor also kicked off the eighth year of the company’s MLK Summer Jobs Program, a major component of the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program and the City’s efforts to employ Boston youth. John Hancock’s MLK Summer Jobs Program employs more than 600 Boston teens annually.


"John Hancock's MLK Summer Scholars’ Program understands the critical need for us, as business and community leaders, to take the lead in providing our City youth with meaningful opportunities,” said Mayor Walsh. “I am thankful for the collaborative efforts of all of our partners to shape the future of Boston in this way."

Mayor Walsh has made youth summer employment a priority, challenging businesses to partner with the City to increase employment opportunities for Boston's youth. In conjunction with the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program, John Hancock works in close partnership with 

​T

he Boston Globe, Boston University and Partners HealthCare to offer the unique MLK Summer Scholars program.

Mayor Walsh addressed hundreds of teens at a kick-off event today at John Hancock’s headquarters in South Boston. The event also included a motivational appearance by former Celtics player Dana Barros, who urged the participants to work hard and do their part to support their communities. Following the speaking program, the teens participated in an interactive exercise, engaging one-on-one with Barros

​,​

 business and civic leaders, and each other.

This summer, the $1 million plus program will employ more than 600 Scholars who will work at more than 70 non-profit agencies in neighborhoods throughout the City. Along with gaining valuable paid work experience, the Scholars also attend a series of life skills workshops. Today’s kick-off served as the first workshop of the summer.

“John Hancock has long believed that it is critically important to our community and our business that young people gain meaningful employment skills at an early age," said Hancock’s Bromley. “We are pleased to continue working with our partners at the City, The Boston Globe, Boston University, and Partners HealthCare to offer this unique personal and professional leadership development program."

“Young people are our future workforce,” said David Torchiana, MD, President and CEO of Partners HealthCare. “Our relationship with John Hancock and the MLK Scholars Program is exactly what we need to be doing – giving young people great educational and professional opportunities so that they are prepared to be our community’s next workforce.”

“The Boston Globe is a proud supporter of the MLK Summer Scholars program which introduces Boston’s corporate and non-profit community to a new generation of talented young Bostonians,” said Linda Pizzuti Henry, Boston Globe Managing Director. “These students are the city's future and summer jobs provide them an opportunity to learn effective job skills including problem solving, reliability, customer service and high-quality task completion – valuable work experience that will prepare these future leaders."

"There are few better investments we can make in our future than affording young people opportunities to work and learn as they develop skills essential to their academic and professional careers. MLK Summer Scholars performs a remarkable service providing these enriching experiences, and Boston University is proud to continue its support of this terrific program,” said Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer for Boston University.

For more information on MLK Summer Scholars, please visit www.mlksummerscholars.com