Housing Headlines

LYNN --- In what's being described as a move to reduce tensions and ensure worker safety, developer Michael Procopio of Lynnfield-based Procopio Companies has shut down all non-essential construction work on a 10-story, 259-unit market-rate apartment building in downtown Lynn. Protestors have been gathering at the site to raise concerns about workers not following safety protocols and possibly being exposed to COVID1-19. Procopio alleges workers have been harassed at the site and followed home, charges protest organizers deny.

The Waltham City Council's decision to OK Mayor Jeannette McCarthy's plan to use $1 million in Community Preservation Act Funds for emergency housing assistance on April 13 could be the first of several as both Newton and Chelsea are considering similar measures. Newton's preservation commission is scheduled to discuss using funds for rental assistance while Chelsea is discussing earmarking $1.25 million in CPA funds as grants to cover three months of rent for COVID-19 impacted residents who earn up to 50 percent of the area's median income.

SALEM --- Citing data showing that over 40 percent of the shelter population in Boston is COVID-positive, Mayor Kim Driscoll and the City of Salem are taking no chances, setting up shelters and temporary homes at the Salem High field house and looking for property owners to make vacant apartments available for those in need. In addition, Salem State University officials are also working on converting the Bates Complex on South Campus into housing for health care workers and others on the front lines.

HAVERHILL --- An unused wing of a local motel has been designated as potential space for homeless residents and first responders who may need to be quarantined as the result of COVID-19, Mayor James Fiorentini has announced. The announcement came as welcome news to Jeannie Murphy of the Emmaus emergency homeless shelters, who spent the last week combing the area's colleges, hotels and religious institutions for quarantine space.

In a letter sent March 2 to to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley warned that the lack of demographic data on who is being tested for COVID-19 is a recipe for creating containment strategies that will not address its spread in low-income communities of color. The lawmakers urged the HHS secretary to direct to work with municipalities, states and private labs to ensure that racial and ethnic data are being collected.

BOSTON --- It looks like a few people at Boston Private Bank worked over the weekend as the bank on Monday had policies in place and a web site page set up for homeowners who are worried about making their mortgage payments. For those experiencing financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston Private is offering three months of payment deferment on residential mortgages.