Good Morning Everyone,
Please find this week’s updates from The City of Boston below.
COVID-19 CASES
PHASE 3 IN BOSTON
TEMPORARY MOBILE SITES FOR TESTING
DRIVE-IN MOVIE SERIES UPDATE
FRANKLIN PARK COMMUNITY MEETING
BCYF SUMMER PROGRAMMING UPDATE
BHA EXTENDING MORATORIUM FOR NONESSENTIAL EVICTIONS
PROJECT OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
WASHINGTON STREET BUS LANE COMPLETION
2020 BLUEBIKES 90 DAY PASS
HOUSING ILAB CARRIAGE HOUSE INVENTORY
ASTHMA RESOURCES
GENERAL REMINDERS
STAY INFORMED
COVID-19 CASES
The City of Boston has 13,673 positive cases of coronavirus. So far, 9,683 of these 13,673 residents have fully recovered. Unfortunately, there have been 715 COVID-19 related deaths in Boston.
The City posts race and ethnicity data for deaths, as well as for confirmed cases here.
The Boston Public Health Commission will be providing the updated total of cases in Boston residents as it is received from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Information can be found at boston.gov/coronavirus or bphc.org.
Massachusetts has 110,897 positive cases of coronavirus and 8,268 deaths reported at this time. Massachusetts has also tested 925,761 individuals to date.
The City of Boston has two dashboards to provide statistics on COVID19 cases in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. View them here.
The City of Boston has a free texting service to provide daily updates and information about the coronavirus. Text BOSCOVID to 888-777 to opt-in for English. Language and communications access remains a priority for Mayor Walsh, so this text service which was available in Spanish, Haitan Creole, French, Cabo Verdean Creole, and Portuguese, now includes Somali, Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Russian.
- Text BOSEspanol to 888-777 for Spanish
- Text BOSKreyol to 888-777 for Haitian Kreyol
- Text BOSFrancais to 888-777 for French
- Text BOSKriolu to 888-777 for Cabo Verdean Creole
- Text BOSPortugues to 888-777 for Portuguese
- Text BOSSoomali to 888-777 for Somali
- Text BOSChi to 888-777 for Simplified Chinese
- Text BOSbilAraby to 888-777 for Arabic
- Text BOSViet to 888-777 for Vietnamese
- Text BOSRus to 888-777 for Russian
Updates in 10 total languages can additionally be accessed through boston.gov/coronavirus#multilingual-help. Each language has its own page and hosts multilingual print materials distributed citywide.
PHASE 3 IN BOSTON
- City Hall remains on a Tuesday and Friday schedule, for services by appointment at City Hall. We are formulating plans to increase access to services both at City Hall and other municipal buildings.
- Despite state guidelines allowing larger gatherings, we will not be hosting public or private meetings in City Hall or other city buildings.
- On Monday, July 13, permitting starts back up for low- and moderate-contact sports and other events. High contact sports like basketball, football, and lacrosse are not permitted until Step 2 of Phase 3. But skills practice in those sports is allowed.
- For outdoor events, the City is limiting attendance to 50 people. This is less than the Statewide limit, which is 100. And people organizing or participating in events will be required to follow all the guidelines around face coverings and physical distancing.
- Boston Public Library physical branches will remain closed in Phase 3, out of an abundance of caution. But online borrowing will continue, as well as our new BPL to Go program.
- There are new sector guidelines available: for indoor fitness and health clubs, outdoor events, museums, cultural & historic facilities, and guided tours. These are detailed operational guidelines that build on the state requirements.
- Visit boston.gov/reopening for more information.
TEMPORARY MOBILE SITES FOR TESTING
- The City is partnering with a number of health centers on temporary mobile sites that offer free walk-up testing whether you have symptoms or not.
- We’ll be bringing the mobile sites to neighborhoods where inequities are evident in the case numbers, or where fewer people are getting tested.
- Contact the Mayor’s Health Line at 617-534-5050 for the latest on mobile testing in your neighborhood, or anywhere in the city.
DRIVE-IN MOVIE SERIES UPDATE
- Most of the shows have filled up already, but there are still slots available for the Age Strong Matinee next Wednesday July 15.
- This is open to Boston residents who are 55 or older.
- Registration is required by calling Age Strong at 617-635-3959, or starting at 311. We will be showing the movie “42,” the story of American legend Jackie Robinson.
FRANKLIN PARK COMMUNITY MEETING
The Parks and Recreation Department is hosting the second public (virtual) workshop for the Franklin Park Action Plan on Tuesday, July 14 at 12 pm and 6:30 pm. Fnd out where they are in the planning process and make your voice heard. Learn more and join the workshop at FranklinParkActionPlan.com.
Interpretation and translation services are available at no cost. If you need them, please contact Parks at Lauren.Bryant@boston.gov or 617-961-3019.
BCYF SUMMER PROGRAMMING UPDATE
Online registration is open for day programs, both virtual and in-person, for children 7 and older. They include arts and computer activities, recreation, virtual field trips, workshops, and more. As more programs are finalized they will be added. All of these programs will be operated in accordance with public health guidelines. You can learn more at boston.gov/BCYFsummer.
BHA EXTENDING MORATORIUM FOR NONESSENTIAL EVICTIONS
- The Mayor and the Boston Housing Authority announced that the moratorium on nonessential evictions for BHA residents has been extended through the end of 2020.
- The BHA was the first major housing provider in Boston to implement an eviction moratorium on non-essential evictions in March.
- The moratorium offers housing stability to BHA’s public housing residents and reduces coronavirus risks associated with the processing of its nonessential eviction cases. Nonessential evictions include all eviction proceedings except for those related to criminal activity and those that are necessary to protect the health and safety of BHA residents, employees, and others.
WASHINGTON STREET BUS LANE COMPLETION
- During COVID, the City created the Healthy Streets initiative, to accelerate our work on new bus and bike lanes and improved pedestrian space [our Go Boston 2030 goals].
- This week, we completed the bus-only lane on Washington Street through Chinatown into Downtown; and added a separated bike lane for part of the route.
- For 24,000 daily riders, this bus lane is going to take 12 minutes off the commute from Nubian Square in Roxbury to jobs and amenities in Downtown Boston.
2020 BLUEBIKES 90 DAY PASS
To support COVID-19 recovery, the Boston Transportation Department is offering free 90-day Bluebikes passes to some of our most important workers: those employed at grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and local retail shops. Pass-holders will be able to take as many trips as they like during the 90-day period. Trips must be completed within 60 minutes to avoid usage fees. There is no obligation to continue paying for the pass once the 90 days are over. Sign up at boston.gov/bike-share.
HOUSING ILAB CARRIAGE HOUSE INVENTORY
The City of Boston’s Housing iLab summer fellows are working on expanding Boston’s ADU (Addition Dwelling Unit) pilot program. In doing this they are trying to collect an inventory of the carriage houses around Boston to better understand their presence in the city. If your backyard has a carriage house, please register it here bit.ly/carriage-house-adu.
ASTHMA RESOURCES
During the pandemic, the Boston Public Health Commission has seen a spike in housing related complaints in affordable housing and knows that there’s a direct association between indoor environmental triggers and asthma. Therefore, it is essential that Boston residents are aware of the free asthma services BPHC offers. Please contact asthma@bphc.org with any questions. Find more information here.
GENERAL REMINDERS
- Apply to the Boston Reopen Fund boston.gov/reopenfund. The $6 million Fund is a resource to help small businesses minimize risk and manage economic recovery during reopening.
- Learn about the ONE+Boston program, which gives income-qualified first-time Boston homebuyers greater ability to purchase a home in Boston.
- If you hear or see fireworks being displayed in your neighborhood, please call 911. You can also anonymously report the illegal purchasing or selling of fireworks to the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1(800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).
- When going outside, wear a face covering, practice physical distancing from others (6 feet apart), and avoid mass gatherings.
- Anyone experiencing a medical emergency should call 911.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol; avoid shaking hands
- Cover your coughs and sneezes; clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces; and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- If you think you might be sick, please call your doctor or 311 to be connected to the Mayor’s Health Line 617-534-5050. Buoy Health has created a free online diagnostic tool which screens for COVID19 at buoy.com/mass.
- Donate supplies to first responders here.
- Donate to the City of Boston Resiliency Fund here.
- Volunteer with the City of Boston here.
- Fresh Truck Open Air Markets schedule.
- City Hall is open to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays, 9 am – 5 pm. Learn more about the status of city departments and hours of operation here.
- Tell the Parks Department where you would like to see more open space in our neighborhood here.
STAY INFORMEDReceive the latest COVID19 info from reliable sources. Visit: bphc.org/coronavirus; boston.gov/coronavirus; mass.gov/2019coronavirus. Call: 311 or 211.
Best,Shanice–
 | Shanice PimentelNeighborhood Coordinator and Constituency Liaison forBack Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, Kenmore, and Mission Hill Mayor Martin J. WalshOffice of Neighborhood Services617-635-2679 Sign up for neighborhood news here.Click here to follow me on Twitter. |
