Thomas M Menino, has done a lot to help the lower- and middle-class in the city during the 15 years he has been mayor (and the four months he was “acting” mayor).

His staff does him no favors, then, when they say things that are blatantly untrue; or, at the very least, misleading.

From yesterday’s Boston Globe:

The city’s efforts, and the mayor’s continued attention to affordable housing issues, were praised by Daniel O’Connell, secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. According to a spokeswoman from the Department of Neighborhood Development, since Menino unveiled his “Housing 2000″ initiative in 1999, Boston has seen more than 22,000 new units of housing created; more than a quarter of them considered affordable.

However, the way I understand it, 22,000 new units of housing may have been “created” over the past nine years, but during the same time several thousand “affordable” units have been demolished.

A prime example of this is the West Broadway housing project, in South Boston. Several years ago, one third of the buildings were torn down and replaced with buildings of less density; correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe fewer people live there today than a decade ago.

Also partially demolished and rebuilt:

Mission Main: original constructed in 1940; reconstruction completed in 2000
Orchard Gardens, originally constructed in 1942; reconstruction completed in 2000
Maverick Gardens, originally constructed in 1942; reconstruction completed in 2006
Franklin Hill, originally constructed in 1952; reconstruction underway

The Boston Housing Authority has announced plans to upgrade several of its largest (and oldest) housing projects.

As part of the first phase of upgrades, 14 developments — including Bunker Hill, Bromley-Heath, Franklin Field in Dorchester and Lenox in the South End — would receive between $45 million and $50 million worth of upgrades to energy and water systems, such as low-flow toilets, weather-stripping, heating and electrical controls, and lighting.

Bunker Hill in Charlestown is to get new roofs, unit doors, and a security system. Mary Ellen McCormack is slated for brickwork repairs, new unit doors, and new exterior stoops and entryways and Old Colony is to get new unit doors and upgraded security.

The history of public housing in Boston is fascinating (and, at times, depressing). There is a fairly good book about it:

From the Puritans to the Projects: Public Housing and Public Neighbors

It covers a lot of ground quickly. A good primer. The book is a little skimpy in parts, however. I suggest finding a copy at your local library, actually.

Public housing in Boston is undergoing great change, these days. Many of the developments are being renovated and/or torn down and replaced with townhouse-style housing. A good portion of the current residents remain in the new buildings, while others are placed into apartments throughout the city, through the Section 8 rental assistance program.

Source: BHA to launch a broad upgrade of public housing – By Donovan Slack, The Boston Globe

If you know anything about public housing in America, you’re familiar with Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project. Even if you don’t (like me), you probably know it’s something bad.

What happened at Cabrini-Green happened in other cities in the 1950’s and 1960’s, including, of course, Boston.

What steps to take next, to mitigate this disaster, is controversial, to say the least.

Anyway, that’s an essay for another time.

Meanwhile, if you want to know what’s going on in Chicago, read today’s New York Times article, entitled “At Housing Project, Both Fear and Renewal”, by Susan Saulny.