This is not right
This is not right
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In the spring of 2021, Marcus Nelson made history when he became the first Black person elected to Needham’s Select Board.
Just 34-years-old when elected, Nelson also was decades younger than most of the guys (and until recently it's been mostly guys) who served on that board for as long as anyone can remember.
He's also younger in general than most people who are willing, or able, to spend evenings and weekends engaged in the critical, but mostly mundane, deliberations that come before local town governing bodies.
Just 34-years-old when elected, Nelson also was decades younger than most of the guys (and until recently it's been mostly guys) who served on that board for as long as anyone can remember.
He's also younger in general than most people who are willing, or able, to spend evenings and weekends engaged in the critical, but mostly mundane, deliberations that come before local town governing bodies.
Something else differentiates Nelson from his colleagues too.
He’s a renter in a community where 84% of homes are owner-occupied, a fact that some in town said should have disqualified him from holding local office.
By all accounts, Nelson has served the people and the businesses of Needham admirably, thoughtfully contributing to policy decisions and conversations (including during the pandemic) in one of the best-run communities in the Commonwealth.
Yet Nelson isn’t seeking reelection when his term ends in April.
And one of the reasons he cites for stepping down should concern all of us.
He says he doesn't know if he can afford to keep living in Needham once the lease on his apartment expires in July.
“I’m not sure if I can be here, not because I don’t want to be here,” Nelson told the Needham Observer.
“I’m not sure I can afford to stay.
“I don’t know if I can be here to make it all work logistically and financially. That’s something that’s been a weight on my mind since I got elected. I don’t want to permanently shut the door on the Select Board, but it makes sense now to step away. I don’t want to start something that I can’t finish.”
He says he was inspired to enter public service following the murders of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
“I can’t speak for every person of color in the history of the world or that’s ever lived in Needham, but to have someone at the table who knows what it’s like to be looked down upon, that when you come out of your house the first thing people see is the color of your skin, there was no one on the board that saw things from that perspective.”
Nelson is the kind of public servant, the kind of neighbor, our communities need.
Let's redouble our efforts in 2024 to make our communities more accessible, affordable, and welcoming.
Read Nelson's full interview with the Observer here.
Here's the latest on the MBTA Communities Law
The MBTA Communities Law is one of the tools the state has created to force our communities to become more accessible, affordable, and welcoming, so more and other Marcus Nelsons can be part of our civic fabric.
This follows decades of exclusionary zoning laws that did the very opposite.
Twelve rapid transit communities, including Newton, met their end-of-year deadline to file plans in compliance with the law, although there is a voter referendum challenge in Milton.
The new zoning will allow for a combined capacity of over 83,000 units, according to Abundant Housing. (Standard disclaimer: That doesn't mean 83,000 new homes will be built.) Taylor Driscoll at BISNOW has a breakdown of where new multifamily housing is newly allowed in each community.
Needham, Watertown, and Wellesley are among nearly 150 municipalities that must approve their plans by the end of 2024. Here's hoping they all go above and beyond what's required by law.
On Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., the Housing Needham Advisory Group will host a workshop at Town Hall and by Zoom to review the town’s proposed zoning districts and collect input.
Watertown Biotech seeks OK for COVID-prevention treatment
Watertown Biotech seeks OK for COVID-prevention treatment
Watertown-based Tome Biosciences, which received a $750,000 job creation grant this summer from the Healey administration, continues to make news.
After emerging from stealth mode last month with $213 million in funding and a novel approach to gene editing, the Talcott Ave company has acquired a San Francisco biotech to augment its technology, reports the Globe’s Robert Weisman.
Tome also just asked the FDA to grant emergency use authorization for a product aimed at preventing COVID-19 in immunocompromised adults and adolescents.
State tax revenues fall short, again
State tax revenues fall short, again
Massachusetts collected less in taxes than expected for the sixth straight month in December, putting the year-to-date haul three-quarters of a billion dollars below projections, State House News reported yesterday.
The grim news comes just days before Gov. Maura Healey must file her fiscal 2025 budget proposal.
Late last year, our chamber joined nine chambers across the state warning Beacon Hill that "the drastic increase in government spending over the past five years is a growing concern for our future competitiveness and may detrimentally impact the long-term fiscal health of Massachusetts."
Read our letter here.
Friday grab bag
Friday grab bag
- Babson Urban and Land Use Economics Course needs partners. Could your business or nonprofit benefit from some work from Babson students? Babson is seeking partners/organizations for its Urban and Land Use Economics course this semester. Learn more.
- MassBio’s new training center which seeks to help diversify the life sciences in Massachusetts has opened its door with the first students starting in a few weeks. (NBC10)
- Gorse Mill Gallery in Needham is hosting Children Forever: Remembering, Sharing, Celebrating exhibition, an art exhibit cultivated by the children of Father's Forever, a group of men who share the bond of having children pass away. Reception is on Jan. 7. The exhibit is open through Jan. 28
- Newton Community Pride’s third annual WinterFEST is set for Jan. 27 and 28 with free, mostly outdoor events in Cold Spring Park, Newton Highlands, Newton Centre, and Newtonville.
- Josh Ostroff, Newton’s director of transportation planning, has accepted a position with the MBTA starting at the end of this month.
- Thinking of buying an electric car in 2024? There's good news — and bad news (WBUR)
- Here’s an updated list of grant opportunities and deadlines for Massachusetts nonprofits.
- Find more news from our members here. Login to your member portal to add yours.
Speck forms partnership with Dempsey
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Chamber friend and walkability expert Jeff Speck (in photo) is teaming up with another chamber friend, transportation consultant Chris Dempsey, to launch a design firm. (They've both presented at chamber events.)
“Together, they’ll provide planning and design advice to municipal clients and developers, with a bent toward creating neighborhoods that are less dependent on cars and more friendly to walkers and public transit riders,” the Globe's Jon Chesto writes.
Speck Dempsey LLC expects to have clients globally but the partnership will emphasize projects close to home, Chesto adds, including plans to work with Mark Development on a major project in Kenmore Square and at the Riverside MBTA station in Newton.
They’ll also continue Speck’s work in Watertown Square, including at an upcoming public session on Feb. 29. (If you missed the last Watertown Square redesign presentation here's the video.)
Could large lot single-family homes now be headed to this site in Needham?
“Together, they’ll provide planning and design advice to municipal clients and developers, with a bent toward creating neighborhoods that are less dependent on cars and more friendly to walkers and public transit riders,” the Globe's Jon Chesto writes.
Speck Dempsey LLC expects to have clients globally but the partnership will emphasize projects close to home, Chesto adds, including plans to work with Mark Development on a major project in Kenmore Square and at the Riverside MBTA station in Newton.
They’ll also continue Speck’s work in Watertown Square, including at an upcoming public session on Feb. 29. (If you missed the last Watertown Square redesign presentation here's the video.)
Could large lot single-family homes now be headed to this site in Needham?
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Finally today, a years-long public-private effort by the Town of Needham to preserve a breath-taking stretch of land along and near the Charles River for walking trails and other recreational opportunities -- while also making way for a private developer to build an adjacent friendly 40B housing project -- appears to be off the table.
The Needham Observer first wrote about the possibility that this might happen in early November.
The Needham Observer first wrote about the possibility that this might happen in early November.
And this week a source who would know has confirmed to me that the Castle Farm Property owned by the Foster Estate was sold to a trust for $18 million in a deal that closed in late December.
The property is zoned to allow for large single-family detached dwellings on one-acre lots.
That's just the opposite of what experts agree we need to address both our housing and climate crisis.
It didn't have to come to this. But that's what happens when the wheels of government move slowly and this project was beset with neighborhood pushback, red tape, and other obstacles.
That’s what you need to know for today unless you need an app that scans a pile of Legos and tells you what you can build (and with snow forecast Sunday, could there possibly be anything better to do?)
When shoveling, don't forget to bend at the knees. And order extra takeout on Saturday!
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
617.244.1688
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