Bernie Sanders blasts Suffolk Downs project as he plays for Elizabeth Warren’s Massachusetts
Bernie Sanders is backing East Boston residents in the fight over the Suffolk Downs redevelopment project just days before the Massachusetts Super Tuesday primary, voicing support for local affordable housing in Elizabeth Warren’s backyard.
On the eve of his two-day sweep through the Bay State, Sanders tweeted, “We need affordable housing for all instead of more gentrifying luxury developments for the few. I stand with the longtime residents of East Boston fighting displacement from the communities they have spent generations building.”
Sanders linked to an article referencing a federal complaint filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston on Feb. 3 asking the Department of Housing and Urban Development to require the Boston Planning and Development Agency to halt its review of the Suffolk Downs project, citing issues over outreach to nonEnglish speaking residents.
Local officials and housing advocates have been locked in an extended back-and-forth with developer HYM over the project, which looks to create an entirely new 10,000-home neighborhood on top of the old horse-racing track that sits on the border of Boston and Revere.
City Councilor Lydia Edwards, who represents East Boston, quoted Sanders’ tweet Thursday and said, “Don’t worry @BernieSanders I have a PLAN FOR THAT!” — an apparent reference by the Warren supporter to the Massachusetts senator’s old campaign catchphrase.
Edwards, who has long voiced concerns about the availability of affordable housing associated with the project and about nonEnglish language outreach, added, “The proposal at Suffolk Downs has improved substantially with millions more for affordable housing, union jobs, open space and transportation changes. We are still not there yet.”
The Vermont senator’s foray into a hyper-local issue drew some criticism online. But it was an unquestionably strategic move from the current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination as he looks to clean up as best he can in Massachusetts and across the 14-state Super Tuesday slate, with rallies scheduled Friday in Springfield and Saturday in Boston.
“It’s cheeky, in Elizabeth Warren’s backyard, to stake out a pro-tenant position,” said Democratic strategist Scott Ferson. “He’s playing to win. He’s the front-runner, so as much as people wring their hands over this, what does a front-runner want to do? He wants to close it up, end it as quickly as possible.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/387xK5J
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