Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday that, after announcing a vaccine requirement for some aspects of city life, she’s received vitriol and hateful comments beyond the protestors who showed up at City Hall during the announcement.
“I've seen my face photoshopped on all sorts of images. Now I have — there's constant calls associating me with the same hateful, racist, xenophobic language that the former president [Donald Trump] used in describing the virus and its origins and who was to blame. And, unfortunately, this isn't something that I bear alone,” she said.
Wu told hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan that she hasn’t been able to respond to constituents on social media, a way she likes to engage with the public, because of the level of vitriol she’s had to wade through. She added that the city’s 311 line has also been flooded with people “outside the city and all across the country who feel enraged at Boston taking a leadership role [with the vaccine requirement].”
Reaction from small businesses in the city has been mixed, but other municipalities have followed in Wu's wake implementing vaccine requirements of their own.
On the decision to require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, gyms, and entertainment venues
Wu fielded a call from a listener who shared concerns about potential revenue losses for restaurants and gyms due to the vaccine requirement.
“It’s something that’s meant to keep our businesses open. If we do nothing, if we head down the path we’ve already been down along the last year, and 18 months really, we will end up at a place where businesses will have to shut down because people will feel afraid,” Wu responded. “This kind of guarantee is really meant to inspire confidence ... grow our economy and keep our recovery going.”
The majority of Boston residents are already vaccinated — 68% have received two doses, and nearly 80% have received at least one dose — but Wu said the plan is meant to close gaps in vaccination.
She noted that Boston’s policy departs from New York City’s in that it does not require an identification check, and said the addition of an ID requirement is an “additional barrier” for undocumented immigrants, trans residents or people experiencing homelessness.
In response to a restaurant owner who called asking about third-party delivery services like GrubHub and DoorDash, Wu noted that drivers will not be required to show proof of vaccination, nor will residents just stopping into the restaurant to pick up takeout.
She also said the requirement will not extend to public transit or grocery stores, where people remain masked.
Free COVID-19 tests are limited by supply and going fast
Wu said that the city has received 500,000 tests from the state, in addition to the 20,000 tests purchased by the city with federal relief dollars. She said that two-thirds of these tests have been distributed through libraries, community centers, City Hall and to Boston Public School students and Boston Housing Authority residents.
“The test kits go pretty quickly and a lot of the locations will continue restocking as the supply is there, but unfortunately, we are limited by the supply that we've gotten from the state, and we're waiting for support from the president's plan and the new contracts to kick in,” she said.
She added that people can find information about where to pick up tests at the city’s website, and that she hopes to find a way in the future to update test availability in real time.
“We just ask that everyone please be considerate of your neighbors,” she said. “Take what you need, but only what you need.”
On transportation: Wu faces a roadblock on her free bus lines pilot; hopes to electrify the train system and add late-night lines
Wu’s plan to free the T — or, at least, try a two-year pilot of free buses on three routes — has come up against a Federal Transit Administration law that restricts pilots to six months.
“The rule is meant to prohibit changes to policy that will have an inequitable impact on communities, so if there's something that's longer than six months, there needs to be a full equity analysis done,” Wu said. “Now, providing fare-free public transportation is not going to create inequities and harming communities, so this is one example where I believe the rule shouldn't even be applied to begin with.”
Wu said the rule has been waived before, citing a state pilot to run buses along the shoulder of a highway that will last longer than six months.
Wu added that she also hopes to use federal money to electrify the train system. “Massachusetts has one of the few remaining diesel commuter rail systems anywhere in the country,” she said. “Lots and lots of pollution from our system, but it also means that we have lower capacity on the trains because the engines, the way the trains are, they can hold fewer passengers, and we can't run as many as frequent runs on the lines.”
She hopes this change could pave the way for a more robust late-night transportation system. “The lack of late-night public transportation options means that we have closed off a whole section of our economy,” she said. “We're really falling short of our potential for economic vitality and jobs and community across the region without late-night transportation.”
On Wu’s plan to ramp up affordable housing in Boston
Wu said her administration will form an advisory group to study rent stabilization, which requires state action to implement in Boston, but that there are plenty of things she can do at the city level more immediately.
She said she signed a zoning amendment earlier Wednesday that would remove parking minimums for affordable housing projects, effectively removing “one more barrier that tends to hold things up.”
“We will do whatever we can do at the city level, we will find a way to do the most that we can do if the state is not going to take action,” she said, referring to previous comments from Gov. Charlie Baker indicating he does not support the general idea of rent control, and may not sign a petition if it came before his desk.
Baker, who was a guest on Boston Public Radio earlier in the show, declined to comment on the issue, saying he generally avoids commenting on measures before they reach his desk.
