Everyone, hello. Welcome to the >> morning progress. >> Oh, and I got to let people in from the waiting room. Apologies. Welcome. Uh, the open meeting law requires that I notify the public that this meeting is being recorded.
Therefore, please be aware that an audio and visual recording of this meeting is being made by Boston City TV, a part of the City of Boston Office of Cable Communications, and is being broadcast on Xfinity Channel 26, RCN channel 13,
and FiOS channel 962, as well as livereamed on YouTube, where a recording will remain um on the cable channel. With that, I will turn it over to our board chair, Zaryi. Take it away.
>> Thank you, Andrea. And good evening, everyone. Happy that you can all join this evening. Um, I want to start by introductions. Um, and as a rule from uh this point
forward, I'm going to ask if you can when we introduce ourselves, if you can just give a little self-description of what you look like. You don't have to be very detailed, just a general description, it'll be great. So, hi, my
name is Zarya. I'm the new chair of this great advisory board. I have been a part of this group for over 10 years now and I live in city
of South Austin. I'm a female white with short brown hair and uh that's it. And uh Olivia, do you want to go next? Sure. Sure.
Um my name is Olivia Richard. I am a resident of Brighton and I am a middle-aged white female with glasses,
short hair, and a wearing a hat. So, yeah. All right. >> Oh, I'm a wheelchair user. >> Thanks, Olivia. Um, next call. Do you want to go next? >> My name is Paul Karen. I live in the
West End of Boston. I'm an advisory board member and proud to serve. I'm a white male currently wearing a white um laborers union local 151 pullover. Um, I work as a supervisor in the city
of Boston planning department and serve as a mental health advocate. Um, was I have family members and friends, dear friends with with mental health disabilities. I'm proud to serve. Thank you, >> Cara.
Hi everyone. I'm Tara Lynn Southernard. I am a female. Um I am a little person using an electric wheelchair for mobility. I am Caucasian, long blonde hair with glasses and I am from the JP
Roxberry area. >> Thank you, Ty. Um Paul. >> Yes. Hi, my name is Carl Richardson. I am a middle-aged white guy with fountain pepper uh hair. Um kind of look like
Nathan Lane for those who are into theater. Uh I'm wearing a light blue button down and I identify as death blind and that I have a dual sensory lock. And if I
remember the um note from Andrea also asked us to tell a little bit about what we do to introduce ourselves to the new members that are coming on board tonight. Give us a little more background than we normally would give. So I am the Massachusetts State House
ADA coordinator where it's my role to work with the executive and legislative branch to make sure that all the program services and activities at the state house are accessible to people of all abilities. I'm the president of the guide dog uses group of Massachusetts and the co-chair of the audio
description project for the American Council of the Blind. I don't normally do that. It sounds like I'm bragging, but I remember that Andrea asked us to um just give a little more description so people get to know us. Thank you. And I'm excited about learning from all the
new members joining tonight and working with all of you. Thank you very much for uh I'm sorry if I missed at the introduction for those of you who already introduce yourselves
um asking you to give a little bit about what you do but perhaps we can circle back next time. Um Rosie Rosie can you go next? Hi there.
Thank you very much uh for clarifying uh how we're going to introduce ourselves maybe a little bit more in depth tonight. Um so again, I am Wes. I'm a white guy. I'm Wes Ireland. I'm a white guy. Instead of saying uh my age, I prefer to
use uh a generation. Um I'm actually a millennial. So I'm a millennial. I'm deaf and I have h short, very closely shaved hair and a reddish brown beard. I'm going to be uh I'm wearing a black shirt and I'm using American Sign
Language throughout this meeting and we have two female interpreters who will be going into English from my American Sign Language. And I've been on the board since the summer of 2018. So I've served here for quite a while.
I'm almost now this is almost my ninth year on the board. So yeah, I think that's good enough. Thank you. Did you say me? >> Yes. >> Um, hi, my name is Alan. Um, I'm wearing
a a reddish maybe burgundy sweater. Um, I have braids. Um, look a little bad right now, but um that's why I'm wearing a hat. Um, this is my first official meeting as uh
um an actual member of the board. So, I'm excited to be a part of um I'm Africaname. My skin tone is a little uh I would say somewhat off from a Kit Kat. So, um that's me.
>> Welcome, Alan. Great to have you here. Um, let's see. Pette. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Pette Dret. I live in Madapan. This, I think, is my second term on um the commission.
I wear glasses. I'm a black woman, older black woman with gray hair. I'm wearing a black uh sweater, striped sweater. So, prior to being on the um on this commission, I worked for Boston College for over 25 years as a disability
services coordinator for people with physical, medical, and psychological disabilities. Glad to be here this evening. Zary, I think you're muted, but it looked like you said Richard. >> Oh, I apologize, Richard. Yes.
>> Yeah. Thank you, Zary. I'm Richard Gloveski. I live in Back Bay. I am um hearing impaired, significantly hearing impaired. Um I'm one of the few lawyers in Boston. Um but among uh my activities as a lawyer is representing I've done a
lot of civil rights work in my life including representing individuals with disabilities. Um I am not going to say either um you know what age or generation I'm from. Uh but um I am wearing a blue shirt and
sport jacket. I hate to admit it but my hair is pretty gray and I'm happy to be here. Welcome to the new members of the commission and uh to the public who's joining us as well. >> Thank you so much, Richard. Uh let's
see, who am I missing? John Whale. >> Good evening. I'm John While. I'm uh I work at the planning department, a colleague of Paul Karen. I'm here this evening to give a quick presentation on our office to residential conversion
program. I'm a male Caucasian uh with a bald head and wearing a blue button-down shirt. So, thank you so much for having me here this evening. >> Yeah. And I apologize. I'm still getting familiarized with who's our advisor and
who's our guest. >> No worries. What's our >> Welcome. Welcome. >> Thank you so much for having me. Pleasure to be here. >> Of course. Of course. Sam, pastor. >> Yeah. Hi everyone. I'm Sam. I work for Massav is standing strong. I live in
Doorchester. I'm a wheelchair user. Proud be here. >> Thank you, Sam. Am I missing anyone except the commissioner? >> No. >> No, I think you're good.
>> All right. So, last but not least, Commissioner, >> thank you. Sorry. You're doing a great job. U my name is Crystal Mosh. I'm the disability commissioner and ADA 102 coordinator for the city of Austin. In this role, I lead the city's collective
efforts toward accessibility and inclusion in all things from the built environment, including city buildings, large scale developments, streets and sidewalks to programs, policies, and services. I am a white woman with blonde
hair sitting in front of an image of city hall. and I'm also a wheelchair user. Welcome everybody. >> Thank you very much, Commissioner. So, uh do I uh I want to see if we
should um review and u vote to approve the minutes for both February and March. Anybody wants to uh >> Mrs. Carl, I I I move that we uh approve the minutes.
>> M Paul, I second. >> Thank you everyone. Does anyone have any other comments? Great. So minutes are approved. Thank you both Carl and Paul. All right. So
next we want to move to the presentation tonight. Um the presentation tonight is on autonomous vehicles um in other municipalities. Um presenters Rachel Casty look casting
uh who's the senior consultant senior of Austin transportation and public works will be presenting. Welcome, Rachel, and thank you. >> Thanks so much for having me. Um, my
name is Rachel Castigoli. I am a mid-40s white woman with frizzy brown hair, brown eyes, and I'm wearing a gray sweater. Um, I should be sharing screen now. Is that working for everyone? >> Yes. >> Great. Um, like, uh, what just said, I
work for the city of Austin, Texas. Um we have autonomous vehicles here and uh Andrea asked me to come and talk about our experience with them. Um so just so you know our typical way of getting autonomous vehicles in um a
city is they come in and they do mapping. I believe uh Whimo's already done some mapping in Boston. Then they do testing which is typically maybe with a driver, someone in the driver's seat, maybe not. but they're practicing their um autonomous moving around the city
there and then there's a full deployment where they're taking um kind of commercial paying passengers. We have uh five companies in Austin um operating Whimo which is owned by Alphabet which is the a Google parent
company um Zuks which is owned by Amazon Tesla um Volkswagen and AV ride and deployed taking passengers right now are Whimo Zuks and Tesla and I would just note on this slide that the Zuks vehicle
doesn't have a steering wheel. It doesn't have um human operated brakes. It has no human operated um kind of tools in it. It goes both ways uh up to 55 mph and it just has two benches that
face each other. So very different looking than uh like a typical vehicle. We have had autonomous vehicles in Austin since June of 2023 when we had Cruz, which was GM's uh autonomous vehicle company. And oh, it's going.
There we go. And what we found was the best way in Texas, we have no regulatory authority. Um, so it's different than Massachusetts, so cities are completely preempted. But what we found is the best way to work with the AV companies and to kind of um get some of the things we
need was to form a working group. Um our working group in Austin is our first responders, our transit agency which is Capital Metro, um our school district, our airport. Um and so these are all stakeholders who
have a lot of um do a lot of work in the right of way and we get together we train and prepare for incidents involving AVs. Our position is no first responder encounters an autonomous vehicle for the first time in the field. We make sure all of them have had a
chance to to have some classroom work on it. Um we facilitate communication and then we do collect data on autonomous vehicle incidents. This is uh our dashboard. It's probably updated through last week when Andrea
asked me to get this to her. Um and just to describe it for y'all, it shows um a map of the city of Austin with a lot of dots on it. The dots are colorcoded to show what type of incident occurred where. Um and we've got a graph showing
incidents over time starting in July of 2023. And then we have a donut chart um showing how many of each type of incident we have. So um we use this pretty extensively to review our
infrastructure which is to say if we have repeated incidents in one location. We go and we make sure that the striping is clear, the signage is clear, the signal timing is working. Um, you know, we really make
sure that our infrastructure is up to snuff since that's h what autonomous vehicles are relying on in the right of way. Um, but almost all of our incidents are related to hand signals or temporary traffic control. So, kind of things that we have
less control over. In Texas, we cannot give a moving violation to an AV directly. That is because in Texas, when you get pulled over, you sign the ticket and there's no one to sign it. There's no driver in
this front seat. Um, but we do give moving violations through kind of a a roundabout legal process. Um, and we also give parking violations. And I will say that San Francisco, who we work with really extensively, also gives a lot of parking violations. It's very hard to
tell if a electric car is on or not. Um, sometimes is it parked? Is it not parked? Um, but we have been uh, you know, giving parking violations and some moving violations. Our number one issue with autonomous
vehicles is hand signals. Um because it's a robot, it really struggles to interpret human actions and the context of it. Um autonomous vehicles struggle. So this means autonomous vehicles struggle at special events, which we
have several in Austin, um South by Southwest, University of Texas football, Austin city limits, and then we have an F1 race. um also at construction sites where you see a lot of hand signals during police escorts. So these are
locations where we know that there are issues. And then what we found is that autonomous vehicles will typically um obey traffic signals instead of hand signals, which is not ideal. Um I'm going to show this really quick video
and just to give you some context, it's a police officer who's mounted on a motorcycle. Um, and he's trying to uh coordinate traffic through an intersection where the signals are still operating. Um, so not ideal. Um, and I'm not sure
if the sound came across, but he was running his sirens during that. So, um, yeah, that's kind of our constant issue. We have meetings every six weeks with Whimo where we bring up these and and other issues. Um, we have meetings
frequently with Tesla and Zuks as well. And then um a few other issues that we have are items that are close to the ground or sometimes hard for them to perceive as well as um really thin items, which is to say
like on the far right of this, a chain that's going across a parking lot, right? The the AV didn't perceive that chain and went right through it. Um dragging the the pole up. um water crossings or flooded intersections are
hard. And in fact, last this past weekend in San Diego, they had a Whimo that was um pulled pulled into a flooded area because we're having floods here right now. Um cones, you know, sometimes
they back into cones. Um and then in in the picture on the far left, the Whimo is over an active fire hose at a fire scene. Um we do a lot of work making sure that Whimo Zuks Tesla all our EV partners
know when emergencies are happening. We uh cont you know we automate uh communication to them directly out of our 911 system but sometimes they still get into emergency scenes. So um and that usually it takes some effort of the
first responders to to move them or to work around them. So, we're still that's something we've identified and are still working through um with, you know, our partners as well as um San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and the other cities we know that have EVs. So,
there's a lot we can do together. And I will say that Boston's been in a lot of the meetings and and been a good partner on on what we're we're asking for there. It's not all bad. Um there's a lot of great things about having EVs, right? Um, we've heard especially from
our disability community that, you know, they service animals are always allowed in the Whimo. No one ever gives them um any grief about having an animal in it. So, we love that. I've talked to many people who prefer them. They feel it's safer to not have a driver. Um,
they are collecting pothole data in Austin and giving it to us, which is great. um from an equity perspective, right? We're just not sure who's calling 311 and if if that's truly equitable across the city. So, it's kind of nice to have a robot collecting pothole data
and sending it to us as well. Um because it doesn't have the barriers some people might have with language. And then um not all AVs, but most AVs are programmed to obey speed limit um obey other traffic laws. So, we've been pretty
impressed um by by that. They typically don't go through yellow lights, things like that we're pretty happy with. So, a lot of good things. Um some kind of difficult things, but since we've been doing this for 3 years, we really have
seen improvements. We haven't gotten a complaint about them not yielding to emergency vehicles in a long time. So, we're pretty happy with that. Uh every year we have a petting zoo um which is just bringing all the
autonomous vehicles in the city together into a parking lot. Um having people go through their uh the Texas School for the Deaf and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired are pretty involved in that. Um they come and they
um you know are engaged in around the conversation. It's really fun. We work with our transit agency a lot. um our schools and our universities kind of making sure we're all on the same page about what's going on, how to stop a vehicle, how to contact the AV company,
how to talk to them in advance about events. And then um we're always talking to Tex uh and our Texas partners as well as the our national partners like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.
And then um we participate in a lot of pure city exchanges and SAPE which is the society of automotive engineers. And that's it for me. Um if you want you can scan this QR code and visit our
website and our dashboard where we have that dashboard publicly available and then I'll take any questions. >> Thank you so much Rachel. This has been so informative and I know a lot of our members are excited to perhaps having
this in Boston. And um I think first question I have and I'll open it up to everyone is of course this is Boston. We are dealing with cold weather, snow, things like that which I'm sure Texas
has not experienced yet. Um, so one of my concerns is has there ever been or have you heard of any places where they've tested these cars in different
types of you know um climate. Um so that at least we can especially in the winter time that's when diffic it's difficult to get an Uber or another ride. So this would be great to have. So I just wonder
if you know of any other places that have tested this. >> Yeah, a lot of autonomous vehicles are tested in Michigan, right? Because that's where um the big three automotive uh companies are located. So they have icy weather as well. Here in Texas, we
have pretty rare icy weather, but we did have icy weather this past winter and all autonomous vehicle companies ceased operations during it. So, I think that they're not confident yet um in it. But, uh just cuz the car I think the hardest
thing to make a robot do is feel, right? So, in Texas, we have a lot of um like pavement that uh like pavement markings that are raised or things like that, right? Because we don't have plows. Um, and I think that that's something that autonomous vehicles aren't great at yet.
So, that's where they're working and improving. And I know that they have targeted a lot of colder cities for expansion. So, they must be must be confident. >> Thank you, Rachel. This uh Do you have a question?
>> Did you send me that? >> Yeah, I just asked if you had a question. Yes, I well I do obviously. Um, first of all, my name is Carl. Thank you for your presentation. I've written in both Juice and Whimo uh in San Francisco. And so I
have a two-part question. One, have you compared the state because safety is also a concern of mine. Have you compared the safety data compared to that of human livery drivers such as taxi cab that sort of thing? uh Uber
drivers, lift drivers. That that's the first question. And secondly, do you require and I think I know the answer to this, but I'm asking, do you require the companies that are providing autonomous vehicle service to be
accessible in terms of digital accessibility and more importantly even wheelchair accessibility? I've yet to hear of a autonomous vehicle service that um provides a a any wheelchair accessible vehicles because they're all
using electric vehicles and that would be so digital access uh safety digital accessibility and wheelchair accessibility. Do you uh look at those areas? >> Yeah, sure. Um, so we have done comparisons with autonomous vehicle
incidents against um, human-driven crashes or human-driven issues in the right of way. And having that map really helps us because it helps us determine where our infrastructure is making things unsafe um, for both drivers and autonomous vehicles. There aren't
there's only about 450 maybe autonomous vehicles in Austin, which isn't enough to give us good numbers to do comparisons yet. They do have collisions um you know on occasion and and they do have issues that humans wouldn't have.
Um but but yeah, so far we are liking the data. We think that it's good. We just don't think there's enough of it to say anything. I know that that Whimo puts out its own data. Um, but we don't have the raw data behind it to validate their methods. So, not entirely sure.
Um, but we're, you know, we're hoping uh that they'll be safer and they certainly never drive um, you know, drunk or they're never texting. So, hopefully that that helps. Um, do we require companies to have digital accessibility
or wheelchair accessibility? No. The city of Austin can't make any requirements on autonomous vehicles because we're preempted by the state. The state does require them to follow the same ADA accessibility guidelines as um taxi drivers.
Volkswagen, which uh it does have a vehicle that can uh I believe can accommodate wheelchairs, but I that they're not live yet and they'll be um launching in Los Angeles first. Um, as
for digital accessibility, I know that a lot of the apps um have either have accessibility uh to them. In Austin, Whimo is on the Uber app, so it is as accessible as the Uber app is. Um, but
of course in San Francisco, like you said, in Los Angeles, Whimo has its own app. So, um, that's how that works. Sorry, I can answer more. I don't. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Rachel. We have a question on
chat from Alan. Alan asks, "What mechanisms is the companies using for hand signals, especially for a place like Boston where there's a frequent construction and offices directing
traffic?" >> Yeah. Um the companies have asked us if we as infrastructure owner operators could standardize our hand signals more. Um that's pretty hard given that um you
know police and fire tend not to be formally trained on hand signals or their training is pretty short. There doesn't seem to be a nationwide standard as to how hand signals are done. However, um we have very much modified the way we do hand signals and we advise
um construction as well to face the vehicle um straight on to not not try to do it on the side um and to do a very large motion for at least 30 seconds to give the computer some time to understand what's being asked of it. Um
I do think that with more vehicles every day we are seeing the same amount of calls. So, it's possible they're getting better. Um, you know, we aren't sure of that, but we do report all the issues we have and then
the AV companies run the run it through a second simulation usually and show us simulated it would have been fixed this time because of the software update. So, they update the software. We are hoping that it's getting better. Um, a real
issue is hand signals from the back of a motorcycle, which is really common here. Um, so we're working on on that and we've made our first responders available and some AV companies have come and and done data collection with them, you know, doing hand signals on a
closed course. >> Sam, do you have a question? >> Yeah, thanks. similar to cars because I'm a wheelchair user and did you say you haven't tested a lot of wheelchairs or there's only one vehicle? Sorry. >> Um, so the Volkswagen uh has is the ID
Buzz. It's a European model and I my understanding is that it has room for wheelchairs and they are trying to optimize it for that but it's not deployed in Austin right now. >> Great. Thanks. >> Is there any other questions? If you guys haven't seen the Dukes, it's
pretty wild. >> I have one last question, Rachel. Um, have you collected any data measuring equity um of service access? >> We have not. Um, we don't have access to the pickup drop off locations or the
vehicle miles traveled by the AV companies. Um, so we can take what they give us, but we don't we don't have access to a ton of data. We have asked them to use designated spots at the school for the blind and visually impaired and the school for the deaf who
are really eager to have access to that technology. Um, so we've hooked them up with them, but um, you know, unclear how how it's working, but yeah, when they're ready to to share that data with me, I would love to see it and we'd love to plug it into the other data the city of
Austin uses. Um, because I think it'd be really interesting and a good way for us to modify our work so that we're, you know, bringing autonomous vehicles into our mobility system in a way that is equitable and sustainable.
Thank you very much, Rachel. If there are no other questions, >> I see a question from Wesley in the chat. Should I answer it? >> Yes, please do. >> Okay. Um, how would people be able to tell that AVs are approaching from a
distance based on the models of the AVs? Um, so the Whimo and some of the other vehicles have a very obvious crown with the LAR and the radar on it in that um they're regular
uh standard vehicles that have that technology added to them. For the Tesla, it is a regular Model Y Tesla, so it's very hard for us to see um if it's a robo taxi or someone's personally owned
Model Y that's doing things. Um the Zuks is pretty obvious if you can see it because it's just a box. Uh right, it doesn't have a front or back really. It doesn't have um it's a strange looking vehicle that like Carl said is is real
trip. But uh so yeah, as as they build these purpose-built V vehicles with the radar and the liar incorporated into them more, it's harder and harder for us to see them. But they all have uh badging on the side that says
>> and and if you're if you don't mind me jumping in, if you're blind and you're worried about telling the car apart from another car, like in the Whimo app, you can make it play a melody or honker horn even or even put your initials on top of the car as it pulls in. I think Duke
allows you to honk the horn as well, although that app is still under construction, not fully accessible. Um, so there are ways to um notify um uh the deaf and heart of hearing folks can see their initials on the top of the
car. The blind can make it make noises. There are things to do. >> On that note, Zary, if you don't mind me chiming in, this is Andrea with the commission. Um Rachel, you said that you've worked closely with the school for the deaf and the school for the blind. Um in your experience, how um
flexible have any of the companies been to modify their operations or their designs or their apps um based on the feedback of those schools? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um they've been very flexible with um especially accessing
them. They're both in older builtout parts of Austin, so they have like limited accessibility. Um, especially the School for the Deaf is right in downtown Austin. Um, it has some narrow one-way streets. So, we've really worked with all the AV companies on the
expectations, you know, around there and on the campus. Um, and they've been really great about that. um the school for the blind has been super welcoming and wanting to have Whimos and Zukses and Teslas and I think um all of those companies have have been
engaged on on making that uh a reality for the accessibility of all the folks up there. So, um, yeah, I think, you know, we're always giving feedback about the vehicles and what we think would make it easier for us and for other people to access them and how we want
more access to data and, uh, you know, depending um, sometimes you get, you know, someone who's a really great partner, sometimes you get someone who's a little like reticent to share, but um, we just keep asking um, and I think that's the most important part is you don't get what you don't ask for. So we
keep asking for those things and with zuks we have gotten external communications which is to say right now firefighters and police officers have to lean into some vehicles to talk to a remote assistance but with zuks they can
talk to it through um a speaker and a microphone on the door which is the preferred way for first responders cuz they don't want to put their head in a vehicle that can move. Um, so we are slowly over time kind of coming together as infrastructure owner operators and
autonomous vehicle companies to accommodate each other more. >> Great. Does anyone else have any questions before we uh move forward with the agenda? Going once, going twice. Thank you so
muchivia. There you go. Olivia got it. >> This is Olivia. Um, what has been kind of the response to the lack of wheelchair access?
>> Good question. >> Yeah. Um, I don't know that. That's a good question and I'm now interested in finding more out about it. Um, we've heard we've heard heavily from people who have service animals um, strongly for AVs and more accommodations for AVs
like designated pickup drop off, but for wheelchair um, users, I'm interested in finding that out more. I know that there's a need and that Volkswagen identified that need and I think Zuks also has has talked about that need. Um, so everyone, all the AV companies tell
us they're they're working on it. Um, but I would for sure like to to see more progress there and I'd like to kind of bring this back to my folks in Austin and and figure that out. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Uh, if no one else has any other questions, we're going to move forward with uh my report. Thank you so much, Rachel. We really appreciate your time. This was great. Great. So, moving on with uh my report
for this month. Um first, this April is autism acceptance month. Um April is recognized as autism acceptance month. to shift uh from
awareness to a stronger focus on inclusion, belonging, and removing barriers. Earlier this month, the city of Boston uh formally adopted a resolution
recognizing autism acceptance months and reaffirming the need to address barriers in education, employment, housing, and civic life. This month is an opportunity for Boston
to continue promoting neurodeiversity, affirming spaces, accessible programming, sensory inclusive environment, and meaningful representation of autistic residents in policym.
I also want to recognize that we on our board um should have a representation of uh where people from neurodyivergent community, autistic community. So I
would welcome uh anyone who's interested to reach out to um Commissioner Mahash and myself and um yeah so just to make sure that people are aware that we were
interested and seeking um support from that community as well. Second Independent Living uh Education Day is tomorrow, April 3rd. It's basically a day to advocate across
Massachusetts. They're going to gather in the state house. Um this is an annual event which highlights the right of people with disabilities to live in the community with dignity, autonomy, and equal opportunity.
It also gives residents an opportunity to educate legislators on priorities such as PCA services, wheelchair repair, accessible housing, transportation, health care, and community support. A
major statewide development this month is that Massachusetts House representative restored protection of personal care attendant program in his proposed budget. The governor's proposal included significant cuts, but the House
budget instead reestablished the working group with a majority of disability advocates that would need to approve any future reduction to PCA services. This is an important reminder that advocacy
works. Community members who rallied, organized, and contacted legislators helped make this their voices heard. PCA services are essential to independent living and the community participation
for many residents. Wheelchair report wheelchair repair the legislature amendment 803. So, we have reached an important moment in the wheelchair repair campaign, and
this is where your voice can make an impact. Amendment number 803 has officially been filed as an outside section to the House budget. This means our wheelchair repair
repair bill uh language is now being considered as part of the state budget process, giving a real opportunity to move forward more quickly. Right now, we are focused on building a strong
legislative support to help ensure this amendment is adopted. Real users across Massachusetts are currently facing long and dangerous delays for repairs, often waiting weeks
or even months for equipment that is essential for their daily lives. This amendment is critical step forward in creating accountability and ensuring repairs happen in a timely fashion.
Through this action, you will contact your state representative and ask them to co-sponsor amendment number 803 wheelchair repair protection in the house budget and send a letter of
support for H4358 to the House Ways and Means Aaron. This is fastm moving moment and a strong outreach from constituents can make a real difference in whether this moves
forward. I will put in a link on the chat so that if you can just uh you know uh send a letter or if you don't have time to write a letter they have drafted one and you can just sign on it. Um,
that would be great. And this needs to be done by tomorrow if you have time. Um, let's see. Community leadership. I want to also recognize the continued work of community organizations
um across our region and the living centers, healthcare access and community inclusion every day. This includes efforts of uh efforts to protect health care coverage for immigrant communities,
support independent living services, and celebrate leadership through events such as Marie Felton Award um ceremony honoring disability advocacy and services. Boston Marathon Week just happened. Um,
and we recognize athletes and runners uh with disabilities whose achievements continue to inspire and expand visibility for disability inclusion in sport and public life. Boston Marathon
legacy includes pioneers such as Bob A and leaders such as Sher Blow whose accomplishments have helped shape a more inclusive city. And finally, um, over the past few weeks, I've had
the opportunity to meet individually with several commission members to learn more about their interests, priorities, and areas where they believe this commission can make a greatest impact. These conversations have been incredibly
valuable and reinforce the depth of expertise represented on this commission across accessibility, housing, transportation, education, employment, and civic life. My goal is
to ensure our future work is informed by your perspectives and responsive to the needs of the Boston residents with disabilities. With that said, I'll put the links of everything I mentioned and if you have any questions, please feel
free to reach out to me. Um, next we're going to um Does anybody have any questions or comments about anything I covered? Great. So, next we're going to review the
architectural access uh report. I uh I don't know if Patricia is here. Patricia, >> I found you, Patricia. Thank you, Sari. Thank you, Andrea.
Hello, everyone. My name is Patricia Mendes. I'm the director of architectural access. I have short dark hair and glasses. And today for my architectural access report, I have a feature guest. Um he
gave you a sneak peek before is John Whale and he's here to present about our program that is called the commercial to residential conversion program.
And John, if you're ready, you can take it away. >> I am. Thank you, Patricia. Thank you for the introduction. Um pleasure to be here this evening. As I said, my name is John Why. I'm the head of office to residential conversion at the city of Boston planning department. And let me
just share my screen here because I brought a brief uh presentation. Let's see if this works. Um bear with me. It is giving me trouble here. see if it'll allow me to share my
screen. If not, I may need to ask for assistance. >> Totally fine. I'm happy to step in if you need me to. >> Uh actually, could you share the screen? It is uh it is giving me trouble. So I will
and I will try to move quickly through the presentation just so that we can get to questions for sure. >> Are folks able to see that? >> Yep. >> Yep. Wonderful. So, if we can go to the next slide, please. So, the office to
residential conversion program is something that the city of Boston with the help of the planning department launched back in October of 2023. And at its essence, it's taking older, underutilized office buildings and finding new life for them as new rental
housing in the city of Boston. And it's something that the city uh identified early on before the pandemic when they took a look at plan downtown reinvisioning what the downtown of Boston might become with to bring more vibrancy back to that neighborhood. And
if we could have the next slide please and I think the context of why we want to convert these older buildings is something that many of you are aware of which is that over certainly since co we're seeing rising vacancy in some of the older class B and class C office buildings. some of the buildings that
are preWorld War II and some of the lovelier buildings that we have in the city, but ones that admittedly have had less care taken to them and probably less updates, especially when it comes to accessibility done over time. But with post pandemic and folks working
from home, there really has been a shift towards uh office workers wanting to be in newer class A glass towers as opposed to these older buildings. And so there's definitely a need to find new life for them. Next slide, please. And this program, which was launched by
Mayor Woo back in October of 2023, is a direct effort to try to address this issue. And we view it really as a win-win from the city of Boston standpoint. The first win really being taking these older buildings and finding them new life. The second win is trying to take to create new housing downtown.
And as all of you know, new housing is something that's a perennial problem in Boston, especially when it comes to accessible housing, whether group two or group one units. So, next slide, please. And so, this program really was launched
with the idea of providing the city providing a 29-year tax abatement to developers who want to take these older buildings, change the use of them from office, and turn them into residential housing. And as part of that process, when you go from being an office building to becoming housing, one of the
things that's required, as Patricia knows well, is that you update the building to the current building code. And so that means everything from fire code to um stretch code to green energy, but most importantly for this group here, it means bringing full compliance
with ADA. And that is something that has been, you know, front and center of this program since day one. and something that we uh the planning department have been very proud to partner with um the disabilities commission here at the city and it's something where I feel that
disabilities truly has been one of our best partners with this program since day one. They've been an active participant and one who's been incredibly creative in finding solutions to make these conversions work because as Patricia and Sarah Leon can definitely attest to, it's not an easy
task taking an older building and converting it from office into residential. But it is one that we feel is worth doing and and that's why the city has been willing to offer this gen generous 75% tax abatement for 29 years. As part of this, you know, we're making
sure that these buildings also comply with the new inclusionary zoning rules so that there is an on-site affordable offering because one of the things the city really believes deeply in is that we want to make sure that as we transform the downtown in particular,
we're creating a mixed income, mixeduse uh neighborhood that's accessible to all folks. Next slide, please. And so we're very pleased with the results we've been able to achieve to date. The program's been in existence
for about two and a half years now. And it we've so far gotten 24 applications to convert 29 buildings. The majority of them are downtown, but it also includes neighborhoods like the West End, like the South End, the North End. We're looking forward to hopefully having our
first uh conversion taking place in Charles Town sometime in the future, but we were very pleased recently to get an application from Backbay as well. And so I think my personal goal is as this program continues to evolve and grow is I'd like to see a conversion project
take place in each of the neighborhoods across Boston so that we really are touching all of the communities within the city and providing this new form of housing. And to date, in terms of numbers, we're looking at about one and a half million square feet of old class B and class C
office space that's been uh taken vacant off the market and is being repurposed and creating 1,730 new units of housing. And like I said, that includes uh affordable units on site. So, we're going to at this stage
create 326 affordable units. And that's both um the majority of that is for folks that are at 60% area media income, but it also includes 30 unit for section 8 voucher holders as well. And that's something we're particularly proud of at the planning department because in many
cases there haven't been programs for section 8 vouchers in a number of these neighborhoods where we're doing the projects. And I mean when it really comes down to it, you're talking about close to 3,500 new people living downtown in the city. And we feel that this is a great way to
bring vibrancy back to the city and the downtown neighborhood in particular where as I'm sure many of you are aware it's felt a little bit darker, a little bit like less welcoming since the pandemic just due to the reduction in foot traffic and not having everybody in the office 5 days a week. And I think
one of the goals that we share and the mayor fully supports is looking to turn downtown Boston truly into a 24-hour community that's 7 days a week. Next slide please. And I think you know a lot of the
success of this program is really due to all of the departments within the city. So the planning department and myself we spearhead this program. But without the disabilities commission, without inspectional services, without Boston fire, without landmarks, none of this
would have been possible. And it really is that we have a shared sense of success. And it's through the absolute, you know, commitment of both Patricia Mendes and Sarah Le Young in terms of their time, in terms of their creativity and their passion that really has caused
this all to become something that is, you know, we view as being a big success for the city of Boston and something that on a national level we're very proud to share with other cities. And I think that in particular when you look at these pro projects, you know, many of the challenges that we find with these
older buildings are that as they come into the program, they have not been brought up to ADA standards before. So they may have everything from challenges of uh a few stairs that go in through the main entrance, so that is not an accessible entrance. They may equally as
much have, you know, challenges around if there are two buildings that are joined on the interior. We've found that there changes in elevation as you move from one building to another building. And so a lot of the things that we have to work with the developers to to solve are how do we make sure that we ensure
through signage, through um the use of lifts, through actually in some cases installing new entrances to these historic buildings. Find a way to make these buildings accessible not only for residents who want to live there, but also for guests who want to visit uh
friends and family who may live within these buildings. And it is something that we believe deeply in and something we've you know passionately committed to ensuring in these projects. Next slide please. And so to that end what we've tried to do is take the traditional planning
department permitting and approval process which really was sort of a sequential almost conga line of going from one department to the next to gain your approvals and flipped it on its head. And what we've tried to do is really bring everybody in from day one, especially um you know, Patricia and
Sarah. And what we do is we bring these the proponents in one month after they apply to the program and sit them down in a virtual meeting similar to this where all of the key permitting agencies are represented and can ask questions of the development team on day one and flag
issues up front that may be challenges to turning these buildings into housing. And that's really been our key to success where we're able to have um disabilities at the, you know, table from day one in conjunction with whether it's landmarks, whether it's the folks
looking at uh concerns around um coastal flooding and climate change issues. And that way we can work together as a collaborative team to come up with very innovative solutions to making this housing truly accessible. So next slide, please.
And it's something that is a very hands-on process where we have to track all of these 24 projects truly and map out their timelines of the you know the boards that they have to get approval from whether it's AAB whether it's uh the state for BBRS for you know building
code relief how we get them in for getting their CD drawings done to going into inspectional services for building permit and it is there's a lot of very diligent project management that goes on in the background with us to ensure that it's a success. Next slide, please.
But at the end of the day, what we're most proud of is the fact that we're creating new housing. And so, like I said, we're creating 1,730 new units of housing. Um the first building, which is at 281 Franklin Street downtown, uh those units were occupied as of this
past September. We have three more projects. One in the um one in the Bullfinch Triangle, one in Fort Point, and then another one down in the South End, which should be bringing their their apartments to the to the market and taking tenants late summer. And so,
we're very proud of the fact that we're being able to do this in a really expedited fashion and get housing online and people into those beds, you know, now rather than five years in the future. And so next slide please.
And just you know this is I think my favorite slide for those I can just give a description which is this is a slide which contains thumbnails of all 24 buildings. And so it's pictures of each of the 24 buildings that are in the program. And so it gives a real visual
representation of what it really means to convert these buildings. So, we have everything from high-rise buildings to um beautiful brick buildings downtown to more manufacturing style buildings in the south end. And it covers the gamut really of different styles of buildings,
but we're proud most proud of is that these are now becoming folks homes. And so, next slide, please. And this is something where the city of Boston's very passionately committed to this program and to um creating a success, but we c we recognize that we
can't do it on our own. And so we look both to the state level and so to Governor Healey as well as u the previous secretary Augustus and now Hana Matez who are you know our key partners in providing various forms of not only
you know uh support in terms of building code relief but also financial support from the state as well through tax credits and other funding. And we also look to Washington as well to be our partner and trying to find creative ways that we maybe can use whether it's
federal historic tax credits or other forms of whether HUD loans and things like this to help make these projects uh more of them become a reality today. And so apologies that's a lot of talking from me but I really wanted to spend some time like I said because I view dis
the disabilities commission as being one of our key partners from day one and one of our favorite groups to work with. And so I really wanted to spend some time introducing this to you all, but I'll turn it open to questions now, please. >> Thank you, John. This was so informative
and I'm so excited because housing seems to be one of those topics that keeps popping up. So I'd start with the first question if I may. And that's uh it sounds like you're already bringing people with disabilities and people who
have lived experiences. >> Yeah. >> Into the conversation. So that's great. Um, one thing that I'm wondering about is of the 326 affordable units, how many of them uh
are uh affordable to people who are extremely low income residents and people living on SSI or SSDI. >> So, um, good question. So, of the 326, as I mentioned, 30 of them are for
section 8 voucher holders. So, that gets to a certain level of affordability. And then the the rest of them are at 60% area median income. So, that is it's not the lowest level of affordability, but it's it's a a pretty accessible level of
affordability compared to some projects that we've seen in the past. And one of the things that we're most committed to is we're trying to strike a balance here is because these projects are hard to get to uh become profitable. And so we're trying to strike a balance between wanting to to adhere to the 17% of
affordable but not dip down too far in the affordability to make it so that it's um so that these projects are not uh profitable for the developer. So, we're it's a tricky balancing act, but we're requiring the folks to have the apartments, you know, onsite and not allowing them to do them offsite or to
buy out of the requirement. So, we're doing our best to try to navigate this one and we hope that between the section 8 voucher holders and the 60% AMI that will provide a good, you know, um, outcome. But I am pleased to say that one of our more recent projects, I just
saw their proposal and they are offering some units at 50% AMI as well. So we continue to be we continue to work with the developers and see where we can make inroads and provide more options. Yeah, >> this is Andrea. If I could um one thing
that I know Patricia has mentioned a bit um I don't know if you could talk about that um some of the developers are you know going above and beyond even when we've talked to them about making things accessible. So there's the adaptable units and then there's the fully built
out wheelchair accessible units. I understand we've had a decent amount of success getting folks to do both, even if both aren't always required. >> Yes. And that's something that I think I I know Patricia is particularly proud of. I'm proud of as well where what we've tried to do is um especially, you
know, approach all the developers. There's definitely an education piece to all of this and we we push that hard and we make sure that we ask whether it's possible. So there's a requirement of doing that 5% of the units are group two units and we ask developers whether if
possible they can look at their other units and to the best of their ability either make them fully group one compliant or at least if nothing more put blocking in the walls in lie of being able to put handrails in place so that folks are able to age in place as well as if you have people who have um
mobility issues that they have that option to help them. And so I think we're we've had very good receptivity from a lot of the developers. Um and we're very pleased that we've gotten some who are developers who've come through with multiple projects where at this point they're automatically
offering up that they're going to make um the rest of their units the group one and then with others it's definitely been a thing where we work at showing them that this is very little additional um effort on their part to provide a meaningful outcome to folks who could
live there. Awesome. Thank you so much. >> Yeah, >> Wes has a great question. Yep. >> Yes. And and Patricia probably knows the answer better than I do on this one, but absolutely there are sensory units uh
being provided in these developments. Yes, >> I believe. >> And where possible, we try to also work closely and um see that we if we can have a lot of the group two units be our affordable units as well because that's something I think we we feel
passionately about is providing this type of accessibility to folks that um are looking for a more affordable housing option. Um, and I believe, and Patricia, correct me if I'm wrong, uh, for the group two units west, 5% would be built out for
accessibility, for wheelchair accessibility. Uh, and then an additional separate 2% are typically required to be um, wired for deaf and heart of hearing units. And I'm seeing Patricia nod, so I think I got it right. >> I always have to defer to Patricia
because she she is my go-to on this. So, and I and I think that we feel that it's what we're I think most pleased about when it comes to this is the fact that we've been able to take these are older buildings. Many of them are pursuing historic tax credits. So they need to keep the buildings as original
as possible. But Boston Landmarks has been a very good partner in coming up with some very creative solutions that allow us to not only have a fully accessible entrance, but where possible ensure that the main entrance is the accessible entrance and therefore we're
coming out with what I consider to be the best possible outcome, which is making sure that everybody can enter and exit their home, you know, with a sense of dignity. And I think that that's very important. This is so exciting. I think that this is a once in a generation conversion
um opportunity to become national leaders. Yes. >> In urban um and inclusive housing. So, >> looking forward to all that's going to happen and thank you so much. >> Oh, thank you for having me this
evening. I really appreciate being able to present to you >> one more thing. Yes, >> thank John. I would love um to hear more about the existing elevators that these projects are um bringing.
>> So, that's a good point. Uh Patricia, I think that what we're we've been knock on wood lucky to date with in that the developers when they're trying to find buildings to convert really are trying to find good candidates to convert. And one of the things that they look for when they're picking a building and
deciding whether or not to purchase it to turn it into housing is that they tell me all every single one of them they tell me what they look for is finding buildings with good elevators and that they're looking to preserve those elevators and make sure in most cases wanting to particularly look for
buildings which have multiple elevators and I think it's something that they feel um creates a really good living environment and I think it's something that we all feel from an accessibility standpoint is uh very important to maintain and so I think it's something
that everybody involved in this process has been pretty much laser focused on ensuring that we have good elevators that are more modern as opposed to the older ones and also in as many cases multiples and so I know for myself when
I see a developer come in with a building that has three elevators the first thing I say to them is and you're going to keep all three aren't you because the last thing I want is for somebody to try to take a cost cutting route and try to decommission elevators and buildings. And um you know, even as
Patricia, you know, with Fort Liberty Square, that building had two elevators. We had a few accessibility issues with the previous owner. That building has now traded hands to a new owner. And the first thing the owner said to me is, "Yes, and we're committed to keeping both elevators in that building. We are
not decommissioning the second elevator." And so these are the kind of small wins that I think we're all very proud of. which is trying to ensure that this type of um sort of forward thinking is going on, you know. >> Awesome.
>> Yeah, >> thank you, John. >> Yeah, happy to. Thanks for having me, Patricia. >> Thank you, Patricia. Thank you, John. Uh, great. Does anybody have any questions before commissioners report?
Great. So, Commissioner, if you >> Thanks, Ari. And thanks, John. Before you jump off, um, I know you really talked about how committed my staff is to this program and we all are, but also really appreciate your collaboration and
it's a great example of the work that we do. our office um for the new board members. Just so you know, our office's main task is to work on systemic inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the city of Austin programs, policies, and then build environment.
So, this is a perfect example of how we can give input to different uh departments to ensure that everything they do is inclusive of people with disabilities. And I know I was in a meeting um a few weeks ago where somebody at the state level said they had heard about this program in the news
and they wondered if any accessibility would be considered and they were thrilled to hear how much work Austin's doing. So definitely a leader I think in this space like John said um a lot of cities are reinvisioning what their future will be. So this is something that we could be really proud of as a city. So thank you so much John.
>> You're very welcome. Thank you commissioner. And of course, kud who goes to my staff, my architectural access staff do a great job on all their work. Okay, so Andrea can share my slides, please. And I know board members, you've heard a
lot of information tonight. Uh my report also has a lot of information, but don't feel like you have to take it all in because we will share the slide deck with you and you can refer to it um at another time. So, I will kick it off with some updates
from the city of Boston. Um, as I've mentioned before, Boston is celebrating its 250 um we're celebrating America's 250th anniversary this summer. We have a lot of events happening throughout the city and the main theme is Boston
residents who are revolutionaries going from revolution to revolutionary. So, the city's working on social stories and historical markers. One of the places they're considering for a marker is the Perkins School for the Blind because that's a world famous institution that
does great work and it started in Boston. It's it's located out just outside of Boston, but um it's certainly has a place in history. So, the city will be doing just a handful of historic historical markers through this project, but they will be doing many more in 2030
when Boston celebrates its 400th anniversary. So many grants are available for the markers program through May 11th. So this is something that we hope you will spread information on. We can send you more information in the email that you can forward to your networks. And my report includes a lot
of uh opportunities for the community to get involved. So we really hope we will spread the word. Um and then we are working hard to ensure that disability history is represented in Boston 250 in all kinds of ways. Our ADA day this year will honor disability advocates from the
past, present, and future. Uh, looking at Boston revolutionaries, we certainly know people with disabilities in Boston have really pleased to trail for other parts of the country, and they continue to do this work today. And we are hopeful and we're seeing young advocates
who are ready to take out the torch and lead us into the future. So, please let us know if you have any recommendations of revolutionary advocates we can highlight. Um, another City Boston update I would like to give. Um, I'm not sure how many of you know, but the city does offer a
taxi discount coupon. This is a program for residents aged 65 and older and people with disabilities. Um, you can purchase coupon books for $5. So, that's a $10 book for $5 and the limit is two coupon books per month. For a limited
time, residents can purchase double the coupons. So, they can buy four coupon books a month for $20. This gives them $40 worth of taxi rides. So, it's a great discount for people um in these categories. An ID is required just to
prove residency and they only take cash. You can buy these coupons at the age commission in Boston City Hall weekday while city hall is open. You can also purchase them at different sites throughout the neighborhoods and you can view a public schedule at the online
link I've included. And you can also view a list of authorized taxi companies at the link on this slide. And we'll go to the next page. Okay. I'd like to give some updates on my department. So this year, one of our
um priorities is really increasing and standardizing ADA title 2 training for City of Boston departments. As I've said a few times tonight, our core work is really making sure other departments know um the requirements of the ADA and other federal and state uh codes for
including people with disabilities in their work, whether it's ADA compliance or the architectural access board code or fair housing. Uh there are a lot of different um laws and regulations that impact department's work in regards to uh people with disabilities. So, so far
we've completed and we have ongoing title 2 training for staff in the Boston Public Library, Boston Centers for Youth and Family and the Elections Department. We're also implementing a learning management system. And this is basically a platform like if you've ever done a
training online like your ethics training, it's basically a platform that um offers information that will give you a quiz. It has graphics and audio available. So, um, it's an interactive way of taking a training. So, our training specialist, Sylvie, is working
with the Office of Language Access and Communication to set up this new system so staff can take asynchronous trainings on their own time. And this is going to be piloted with the Office of Neighborhood Services and the Office of the Parking Clerk. So, as you can see,
all the departments that we've started with for ADA title 2 training are the ones that do the most work with the public. So, we really want to get them up to speed on um different ways that they can not only remain in compliance, but also do um more than compliance
because we don't emphasize just meeting mineral requirements. We really want to make sure departments are fully inclusive. On that note, um we worked specifically with the elections um department to address elections and voting access. And
I wanted to do a little bit of a deeper dive on this just via our uh information because we know that accessibility can be challenging at the polls. So we've completed training of all department staff in the elections commission in city hall. So they've all been trained
in ADA 102 compliance and the trainings were so successful that they staff actually asked for further training in um communicating with people with disabilities and etiquette. uh when working with people with disabilities. So that will be coming in the future.
We've also reviewed and updated the elections department training materials on ADA compliance and accessibility. So the ADA title 2 training is so we did focus just on general ADA compliance and all interactions and communication, but then the elections department does a
specific training um on elections for the poll workers and things like that. So we reviewed and updated all those materials. We've also drafted a letter to the secretary of state regarding new technology that we'd like to replace the autoac and I know that the board has a
letter pending too. So, uh we are currently reviewing a letter with our internal departments, our cabinet chief and intergovernmental relations. So, we will have more information on that and upcoming week. I want to pause for a
minute. Carl, I see your hand raised. Is this something you want to ask me now about or did you want to wait till >> I can I can wait. >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thanks. And then another thing that we're working on um which is a little bit outside of our main task of
ADA title two compliance, but we do do some work on ADA title 3 and I wanted to update board members about that. So ADA title 3 covers places of public accommodation. This is everything from restaurants to businesses to movie theaters, department stores, anything
that's open to the public that's not overseen by the government. So, some of the work that we do is related to government because our licensing board provides licenses to restaurants and other businesses. So, we do have some ways that we can work on compliance. So,
what we're doing right now is we're doing kind of a focus on restaurants. Um, last year we started an accessibility training for restaurants where they could become certified as a disability inclusive uh, restaurant and right now we are working um, last year
we worked with ME Boston to increase accessibility and this is everything from service dogs to accessible tables to ensuring that outdoor dining is accessible. So we piloted it last year and then we're also going to work with meet Boston this year uh rampving up for
their um dine out Boston week which is in August. So um one thing I want to mention on this one focus that we're having this year is on accessible tables. Um as I mentioned earlier I use a wheelchair and one thing that frustrates me is when I go into a
restaurant and it's all hightop tables. So, right out the current building code only requires 5% of tables to be accessible in restaurants. So, we're working with the internal city departments and try to get some input from the businesses in Boston to see how
they have thoughts on maybe increasing this percentage or even just doing it proactively. So, stay tuned for more information on that. And we also think this is a great opportunity to re-up our outreach on the captions ordinance. Um, as you may
remember, a captions ordinance was passed by the city in 2022. And this requires all TVs that are on in places of public accommodations to have captions turned on to let people with disabilities, uh, certain disabilities, deaf who are hard of hearing, have
access to the audio content if they are not able to hear it. And this can really benefit everybody because as we know restaurants are really loud. Um if you're in a gym sometimes they have music on. So uh it's important to be sure that everybody can access the information on TV. So we are going to be
ramping up our outreach on that and that's one thing we're going to ask you to help us with as well. And we'll go to the next slide. Okay. So upcoming events in our department. Um there are three that I'd like to highlight. And again, I know this is a lot of information, so um you
don't have to take it all in tonight, but um we spoke to you a few months ago that we started up a new program this year. Um it's going to be partnering with the disability policy consortium for a six-w week civic engagement program called the ABLE lab and that
stands for accessible Boston leadership and empowerment. It's going to be starting on May 12th. We did a work of 20 Boston residents to train them on advocacy and empowerment for civic issues related to people with disabilities. And we really wanted to target residents who we don't typically
work with. We know that you're all advocates and we plugged into the advocacy community, but there are so many residents from underserved neighborhoods, communities of color who aren't always um looped in as much as they should be. So, we really want to do some work to make sure that they use their voices to let the city know their
needs and how we can work with them to improve access in their communities. So, we're really excited about the um the cohort starting and we'll keep you updated uh as we move along. Our annual disability community forum is on Tuesday, May 5th from 2:00 to 3:30 at
Suffach University Law School and on Zoom. I will be producing uh the 2025 end report and highlighting um our accomplishments from this year. Um Mayor Moon will be in attendance along with many other cabinet uh chiefs, department
heads and city staff who work with the public. So I know that we all sit at the front every year, myself and the commission members, board members. So looking forward to your participation this year. I have a few thoughts on some uh roles for the board this year. Um you
always introduce yourself in your neighborhood and talk about your main priority for um access advocacy. So I would love it if you do that again this year. And for our new board members um just to let you know what that is, we ask all of our board members to sort of pick an area of focus that they work on
and pay attention to. So for instance, Zary is at this healthcare because she works in a hospital. Carl works at the state house. So he focuses on legislation. So if you're interested in a particular topic, it would be great if you could let us know what that is and then kind of keep tabs on it in the
public like attend meetings about those events uh in that area, things like that. So I was wondering if board members may want to highlight or read some of the bullets from our annual report related to your priority areas. And if you are interested, I can kind of
break out some of these bullets and email them to you directly. And if you're comfortable, you could uh read those aloud at the U. So I will get those out to you next week and you can let me know about your interest. And then our big signature event every
year is ADA Day. And this is going to be held on Wednesday, July 15th from noon to 2 p.m. It's going to be at Cockley Square Park this year because as you may have heard, FIFA is taking over the city uh for the month of July. And that is
the um soccer international competition. I don't know a lot about it, but I do know that they'll be on City Hall Plaza for the majority of the summer. So, we're going to move to Coffus Square Park for this year, but we'll be back on the plaza next year. Um, this is our celebration and resource fair where we
connect hundreds of disabled residents with disability services and agencies. We usually have over 30 agencies attend and like I said, hundreds of residents. So, um, we are also going to be launching our updated ADA transition plan and we will be celebrating the
Boston Revolutionaries. And we can go to the next slide. And then my last two slides are some engagement opportunities that we want you to share with the public. And you can literally just forward this report to people if you want or you can copy
and paste. I want to make it really easy for you to share these opportunities. But um these are things that are happening outside of city hall, but that are um some social events and places to network with other disabled advocates and also places where you can have an
impact. So, the DPC is having a community social on May 6th in person. Um, you can see the details on this slide. It is from 6:00 to 7:30 at the Lafayette Center in Boston. Uh, there's an RSB RSVP link on the slide. Also, uh,
another community event is Salsa by the Shell that is going to be ASL Salsa Dance Celebration, bringing together disabled and non-disabled dancers for an outdoor event at the Hatch Grove. um by the hatshell on the Esconat. So, it's
going to be an immersive event with a dance floor for people who are deaf, blind, deaf, blind, and military users. It will have audio description, ASL, and Protactile Jews. It's a collaborative event run through think outside the box,
which I believe is the old VSA, very special arts. >> And I I I'll be going to that one. >> Oh, great. Excellent. So, we want to report next month, Kyle. Oh, great. >> And there's also an RSP link u on the slide for that. And then an advocacy
opportunity that you can attend and pass on to um your networks is Mass Health public hearing on Monday, May 4th at 9:00 a.m. They're going to discuss upcoming changes to the PCA program. And Z already mentioned this briefly in her report, but just to let you all know
that um I serve on the PCA workforce council for the state. So, I'm one of the um I believe it's nine member board. Um I've been on the council for almost over 10 years. And this year, I'm also serving on the collective collective
bargaining unit um working with PCA union and PCAs to come up with a three-year contract. And I also serve on the work group that Zary mentioned to look at potential um cost um measures to make the program
sustainable. Um I'm on this uh work group with several of the advocates also members of the union um not members I'm sorry union representatives SEIU and also um people from um Boston Senior
Action Council um the Massachusetts Ark and um this one group but anyway we look at ways to make sure the program will last into the future because the PCA program is growing exponenti potentially
um and we want to just make sure that we have enough, you know, funding and resources to continue the program. That being said, we're not recommending any um specific uh cuts except for three that have already been proposed and they are going to be discussed at the public
hearing. So, you can give testimony um online. You there's a link where you can register to testify. You can submit testimony by email or mail. and we encourage you to show up to testify and also spread this information. The cuts
that um are recommended are basically um cutting down um meal preparation time, cutting down some time to do paperwork because all the um the time sheets are now done online, so it's much quicker than filling out time sheets in person.
And then also limiting overtime to 60 hours. Um so it's >> and the house debate is next week. Okay, great. And if you have information on that, Carl, you can send it. I would put it in the chat, but it was easy. >> Sure, I can I can um I'll I'll send it
to Andrea tomorrow. >> Okay. And then one final slide. Again, I know it's a lot of information, but um uh another opportunity I talked about last month was the US Access Board Town Hall meeting in Rhode Island. That is in two weeks on May 5th, the same day as
our forum. But we wouldn't hold it against you if you want to attend this. And if you can't attend, please pass it on to your network. So the more people with disabilities we can get involved in all these events, the better off the community will be. And then also happening um on May 12th is the
semianual public forum on accessibility at the TE. This is going to talk about the next generation agreement between the MBTA and the Boston Center for Independent Living. As many of you know, there was a settlement in 2006 between
BCIL, disability advocates, and MBTA which mandated accessibility upgrades and improvements, many of which have been um completed. We do a monthly meeting with the office at the T that works on um systemwide accessibility.
So, we share a lot of information about short-term access improvements during shutdowns and diversions to long-term planning for stations and things like that. So, I know many of you are already invol involved with the RAG and other um disability advocacy,
but just wanted to share this meeting in case you hadn't heard of it yet. >> That is everything on my end and I'm happy to take questions or comments. >> I have a quick question. Going back to title two, on Monday, the Department of Justice
released an interim final rule that extended title two obligations for websites for municipalities with more than 50,000 residents by a year, meaning it was next week you had to be fully compliant with
WCAG standards. Now they extended that a year. Is that changing the way that Boston is approaching it or are you still trying to be fully compliant by next week? >> That is a great question, Carl, and that's a great point. I should have put that out before the update. So, just to
reiterate what Carl said, um there was a requirement that all municipalities be in compliance with this WCAG, which is the digital um accessibility standards um for people with any types of disabilities. municipalities had to update all of their um digital content.
So, we actually have a meeting scheduled for today anyway with our department of innovation and technology and we are continuing the work. I think this reprieve for one year just gives us a little bit more time because really those cities were really able to fully
meet compliance with this. So, I think that um the feds heard a lot of that feedback that people needed more time. That being said, we certainly continued with the work. uh meeting today outlined priorities and then we look for you know improvements. Um Andrea I don't know if
you want to give a real summary of the meeting and then you know all the technical pieces of it. >> Sure. Um yeah so our strategy has not changed. Um we uh have been working for
a while. Uh it's for a city of our size as I'm sure you can imagine we have a lot of digital tools. Even if you just think about our websites, we have Boston.gov, Boston Police, Boston Plans,
Boston Public Library, uh Boston Public Schools, you know, let alone all of our apps like 311, um and things like that. So, uh it's a big chunk of tools to examine. And so what has already been
done um was an inventory of all the tools that would need to be updated or but might need to be that are subject to this regulation. Um quick checks of all of them to see which ones need the most work. Uh we're now at
a point where we are doing deeper audits of every single tool to identify the specific fixes that definitely need to occur. So that audit is ongoing. Um and we will remediate what we find. Um we're also
beginning to put together uh some cross departmental communications and tools for new things that are being created, new PDFs that get created, right? New social media posts that get created. Um
we're going to continue to work on rolling out that guidance. um a as a requirement. Um our plan is not to, you know, wait till next April to tell all of our social media managers that they should start using alt text. Honestly, we were telling them already.
Um but we're going to continue uh you know, starting today or starting now with this work um to talk about them as not just best practices but legal requirements. Um so that that all work is still ongoing. >> Yes. And Andrea, we received an ADA
municipal grant for this work. And what was that piece going to cover? >> So that is covering the deep audit of our websites. >> Great. And one other important piece is that this um requirement will also extend to contracts that we use. So um
third party vendors who do different websites and platforms that the city uses will also be required to meet these also required to to be compliant with this new regulation. Yeah. Okay. Um, thanks Carol for that reminder. Well, any other questions?
>> Uh, I actually have a question uh about the as since elections are coming up. Um, I have a question about accessibility of the voting machines and I know that that's going to be part of our whole business today. But my
question is um how can the city better support voters with sensory cognitive communication and mobility disabilities on medication day? >> Yeah. Um so this is something that is really a priority for the city of
Boston. Um we made some changes already in the last few years because the state's been involved working with the city. So, um, last year, I believe it was the first year that they had, um, a direct response system set up. So, it used to be that when people had a
complaint or issue, they would just call the elections department or call like they could call our office or call neighborhood services. And now there is a dedicated um, place for them to go so that those issues get resolved in real time and quickly. And um so we work with
the staff who run that process. It's called the situation room. So the city already has that infrastructure set up. Um Andre, I believe last year was the first year. >> Correct. >> Okay. Yes. So there's dedicated email, dedicated phone number, dedicated system
set up. Um that being said, we can certainly improve the process. um give the people who work in the situation room more information, more tools to answer questions when it comes to people with disabilities. So again, that's part of the training that we did on ADA title
2 compliance. But Sylvie also touched on things related to elections that um people might not know. So for instance, um I use a wheelchair and I need assistance filling out my ballot. So, I can bring a helper with me, whether it's my husband or um a friend or PCA, and
that is perfectly illegal. So, someone who works at homes may not know that. They may say, "Oh, well, you have to do it by yourself." That's not the case. Um, another thing we remind people about is service dogs. Um, we know, we all know very well that they're have to be admitted to every place that the
handlers go, but everybody may not know that. So, those types of things, um, we do work on the training. And then also um things like the automark, we can um definitely look to improve training for pole workers on how to use the technology. Um they already have a very
very robust system of making sure the machines work, setting them up before the elections, testing them. Um it's just that as we all know, it's old old that isn't always reliable. So that is the basis of my letter to the Secretary of State and I unfortunately I don't
have anything better to propose. We've done some research with other cities to see if they have anything that works better than the auto rock and we haven't really heard of like a magic bullet. So, um we can leave that to more u more people who are more capable of finding
that out than I am. But we are really committed to sending this letter and the elections commissioner is also on board with us. So, as soon as we get our permissions internally, we would like to move forward with that. So all this to say that the city is doing a ton of work
uh to support people with disabilities and also just to improve elections in general because it's you know the main function of city government is elections. So we want everybody's voice to be heard. We want everybody to get out and vote and uh this is one of our priorities of the keeper.
>> That's great. Does anybody else have any questions? One other question, Commissioner, and this has to do with the um open captioning ordinance. It uh seems like
we need to do a lot more in that area. I wonder what can we improve awareness and enforcement of Boston's open captioning ordinance for TVs in public areas. I mean, I'm happy to do whatever needs to
happen. I just wonder as as a advisory board, what can we support that effort? Yes, that is a great point. Um, so when the captions ordinance was first passed in 2022, it was December I believe. So
the next year in 2023, we did a ton of outreach. We worked with um Meet Boston. We worked with the office of economic opportunity inclusion in city hall. We worked with H strong and a bunch of our internal partners. The licensing board to get the word out to small businesses.
Every business that's licensed in Boston. We got an email from the licensing board. Um Meet Boston sent an email to all of their um businesses that are involved which is over 500 I believe. So we did a lot of outreach. he offered training in restaurant
accessibility in general and captions ordinance was included in that. But I think that um after the first year or so just because of capacity issues, we trailed off in doing the outreach. Even though it's still on our website, we still talk about it when we do outreach. It's still in the uh restaurant
training, but I think we can really ramp it up more. Um for those of you who don't know, we offer business cards. They're really like wallet size cards that give all the information on the captions ordinance. So if you are in a restaurant you can give this card to the manager. You don't have to explain the
whole thing. You can just say hey did you know this is a requirement and for more information you can check out this uh this card. So I think we will um we need to do that and really just ramp up our efforts again we'll work with meet Boston again this year and we will also
reach out to internal partners because I we haven't found that it's really like reluctance to do it. I think in informal surveys and anecdotal stories we've heard, it's that restaurants just don't and we know that they faced a lot of economic challenges and staff turnover.
So, I think we'll just u do another ramp up of outreach. So, thank you for that. Um I don't want to take too much time because I know that we have good business to get to. So, I'll wrap it up there if that's okay. >> Yeah. Thank you. Thanks so much. All
right, sister. Uh so does anybody on the board have anything that they want to cover up? I don't see. Do you see any answer that I might be missing?
>> I see Olivia. >> Olivia. Olivia. >> Yeah. Um this is Olivia. Are we doing um our spotlights at this point? Is this kind of where we
talk about our special interests? >> Yeah, sure. >> Okay. Um, I just wanted to highlight that equipment, the state's DME reuse program is under threat right now. Uh, there's
an amendment 548 that's been filed in order to restore uh 500,000 in funding and it's earmarked. It's the language is really important
because if we lose that language, we lose the the the program basically. Um recruitment has provided me personally with with pieces of equipment
that I found are vital. Um they've been there for hundreds of people in our community. Um they've given I I don't even know how many pieces of
equipment throughout the state. Uh and they're a vital uh safety net for people when they need
adaptive equipment and no one else will cover it. Um, so yeah, amendment 548, you can go to tiny URL.com slash
req in capitals and then advocacy in lowercase for their advocacy tool that will send out uh support to um
to the the state to try to get this funding restored >> and I suggest that be done in the next day or two because the hearing start on Monday. >> Yes. >> Olivia, could you put that in the chat
so we can actually >> Absolutely. >> Thank you so much. Right. Uh I see Paul and then Bessie Hi, I just want to give a shout out to Colleen Flanigan and her gift of
engaging others recently around City Hall and the City Hall campus. Um, she's been introducing different disability groups that she's been giving information and tours to and it's been very informative not just to me but to other people in different departments in
the city. Colleen has such a nice way about her and her skill set on behalf of the disability commission has been really outstanding and I would really appreciate Olivia if you would put that address in the chat so we can all reach out for that also.
Thank you. Hello. Hi. My turn. First, I have three shoutouts that I wanted to mention. Last week, Boston University hosted a sign language
>> times AI collaborative and we came together from and individuals all over the world came together and it's collaboration on the best practices
at the intersection of sign language and AI and this is from around the world. Second, the shout out goes to Disney. They're releasing songs that are performed in animation with characters
who use sign language. >> Awesome. Plus this project also was developed in conjunction with deaf west theater and there was no AI put into production of those.
The intention is to approach the work with death representation and I want my girls to see this. It's important that they see sign language and the music within the
Disney umbrella with the logos and the songs and all of that. It's important that they see that. And the third I just remembered last Saturday on Boilston Street. It was very busy
last Saturday with the BAA and the Boston Marathon on Monday. And I would just like to bring up that the fencing, there was a lot of fencing blocking the curbside
access to the street and it really did cause issues for us with the stroller and navigating that. So, it is something to be considered with issues next year and hopefully the city of
Boston will do a better job at dealing with those curb cuts and the fencing. Even though they're temporary, it's important. So, thank you. Yeah, definitely important to make sure
we don't uh we don't uh limit our PE people who use stored and military users. So definitely we'll take that into consideration our conversation for future.
Anyone else has any they want to raise or >> I also want to highlight one more thing. that's happened on Boil Boilston Street and Claridan as well. So, I just want to highlight that. Thank you.
>> I see Pette has her hand up. I just wanted to add that I actually attended the hearing that the folks were talking about with the PCAS with uh um the union folks and
Boston for independent living and mass senior action council. there were about 200 folks that um went to the governor's office and to um other various offices to deliver their concerns about that.
And um we really have to keep that on our radar because some folks are being reduced down to one hour a day worth of service. But people that started out with eight hours are being reduced down to one hour. That's unconsionable, but
we have to be aware of that. so that it >> budget cuts so that the governor knows those budget cuts are not accept acceptable to us. >> Some of the budget cuts got restored in the house budget that came out last
week. Not all of them, but much of it came back. They didn't agree with the governor's budget recommendation. So the advocacy has made a difference. >> Thank you for bringing that up. I was there with you and it was so exciting to
be part of the advocacy movement and you know just to see that power and energy within our community. So I appreciate you being there. All right. Anyone else has anything that
they want to bring up? All right. Andrea, would you mind covering all business? Yes, thank you, Zaryi. So, we have a few things under old business. Um, in February, you all took three votes uh to
draft three letters um advocacy letters. The first is about voting machines uh similar to what commissioner was mentioning earlier. Um it's a letter uh asking the secretary of the commonwealth
to find other machines. Um unfortunately municipalities can only use the machines that are approved by his office for use. Uh so basically the letter says we need
another option. Uh please find one. Um that one discussion happened in the March meeting uh to amend it and ask uh to add a um sort of a call to action not
just that he do something but that he respond to you all uh and talk to you all about what what he's going to do. Um so the addition that I added um based on that feedback was we the board would
like to meet with you to discuss our experiences with these machines and what steps your office plans to take. Um from a practical standpoint I added a sentence saying you know you can come to one of our meetings or contact the disability commission to schedule a
meeting with the board. Um, so that one is due for uh a vote to approve. Um, if people want to approve that language, >> I make a motion to approve the letter to send out to the Secretary
of State's office. >> I second. >> So, we have to take a vote now. Oh, this >> Oh, it's >> Sorry, I think you cut out, but I think I heard you say all in favor. >> Yeah. >> I >> I
Anyone abstaining? Okay. Like you see the eyes have it. Don't see any. Great. >> Great. >> There was another
>> the other two letters, excuse me. Um that were you voted to draft uh and are up for a vote or could be if someone makes a motion. um are about two pieces of legislation that are at the state
house, both related to service animals. Um so H2066 and S2714. I'll start with uh which one is open on my computer first? S2714, an act studying discrimination in public
accommodation for individuals with service animals. Carl, as the lead drafter of this letter, would you like to uh say anything about what's in it or the bill itself? >> So, I actually co-wrote this with Senator
Joan Lovely. Um, we felt that there are changes to be made in in the discrimination process with MCAD as the main mechanism to enforce service animal laws. But we need to in order to
convince the legislative body that we need to change the laws, we needed to study this more. And this commission would have mass office on disability, ARC, DLC, disability law center, disability policy consortium, and the
two chairs of the children, families, and persons with disabilities from the House and Senate on this commission along with some advocates from the community to study it and then make recommendations to the legislature on how to better enforce service animal
laws. It's currently in House Ways and Means. Um and and so we have until July 31st, but now would be a good time to send a letter out. And um I don't really have anything more to No, this is S2714,
right? It's currently in Senate Ways and Means. Excuse me. And um I think this one has a good shot of being passed to be honest with you. So, I'd like to make a motion, unless I can't I'd like to make a motion to um
approve this letter to support S2714 and send this out through Senate Ways and Means. >> I second the motion. Oh, Zary, you're muted. So, if you're calling for a vote, we can't hear you. Sorry about that. >> Yep. Sorry about that. All those in favor?
>> I >> I Any abstensions? Eyes have it. Thank you, Carl. >> All right. And one final letter under old business 2066.
>> Carl, >> you want me to talk about this one? I believe this one was written by uh Representative Christine Barber in conjunction with BCIL, Boston Center for Independent Living. And this one would
fine uh shared transportation, meaning Uber enlist drivers for not picking up individuals with service animals. Um this one I think will need a little more encouragement to get out of houseways
and means because there's some concern about uh finding drivers that they fear don't make enough of a living. But my my point of view is that if they're not breaking the law and not violating civil rights, then they don't have anything to
worry about. Um, this was based on a law in Australia where once they started finding the drivers, the refusals dropped precipitously. So, we have a track record to look at and a model to base off this off of. So, this letter
just simply says it would allow um us to find the drivers for violating the civil rights of service animal users. >> And I would like to make a motion to send this letter to Houseways and Means.
>> Anyone else? >> I second. >> Thank you, Olivia. All those in favor? >> I I believe you have approved. Any uh nos or abstensions?
Okay. So the the it has been voted. So, are we all set with the public views? >> That's everything under old business.
Um, we don't have anything officially under new business. I do know there are wheelchair repair bills um that were mentioned tonight and that Jerry has mentioned. Um, I also know we're at time, but if anyone wanted to make new
business motions for different letters, new business would be the time to do it. I I think it wouldn't hurt for us it uh to send a letter to the legislature on the wheelchair bill. It's gone further than it's ever gone before,
but it it it needs to get crossed over the finish line. I think it would be um I don't know who would draft the letter because I'm not an expert in terms of wheelchair uh usage and and repair bills, but but I think it would be I think it's something that this
commission's advisory board should support. Absolutely. >> Is that a motion, Carl, to draft a letter? >> Yeah. That was a long- winded way of saying let's write a letter. >> Yeah. >> Yes. Uh, we will
I will work with Jerry and compose a letter and we'll send it out for review. >> Oh, do we have to vote on that? >> I think so. >> We typically have to call.
>> So, can anyone make a motion? I make a motion that we write a letter of support for the wheelchair repair bill. >> This is Paul. I second. >> All those move through. >> I
Any obstensions or nos? Great. So we will submit. We will write the letter and submit for review. All right. Any other business or any uh questions from
the community? This is Andrea. Just a note for members of the public. Uh you may have noticed you are not able to unmute yourself. Um but if you have a question, uh you can put it in the chat. You can raise your
hand uh using the Zoom raise hand function. You can also turn on your camera and physically wave at the camera. I'll scroll through to try and find you. You will have two minutes to make your question or comment. Um,
and we'll go from there. I don't see anything in the chat. I am scrolling cameras to see if anyone's camera is on physically waving at me. I don't see any Zoom raised hands. I'm not seeing any comments.
>> Okay. >> Do I get to make my favorite motion of the night? >> I'm sorry I didn't hear you, Zoe. >> I said yes. Go for it. >> I'd like to make a motion to adjurnn. >> Oh, one second. >> Paul, I second. Oh, >> sorry. Richard
>> had I think left the meeting at some point and came back. So, I didn't regive him ability to unmute himself, but he is a member of the board. So, my apologies, Richard. I'm giving you that right now. Do you have anything you'd like to say? >> Thank you, Andrea.
>> Good meeting. >> Great. >> Rich, I second that. Great meeting. >> Good. I'm glad everybody's happy and everybody uh called make this motion. Does anyone want to second? >> I second.
>> Thank you, Pette. So, I bet everybody will approve that motion. >> Yeah. >> I got to go eat dinner. I hope so. >> All right, everyone. Great meeting. Thank you, everyone. Byebye.