Neighbor News
Trustee Was Member Of Wu Advisory Group Before Emerson College Arrests
Did Wu use Boston cops to break-up antiwar/Palestinian solidarity demo at college where City Hall advisory committee member was trustee?
On April 25, 2024, the current mayor of Boston (one of the largest U.S. cities to have never elected an African American man as its mayor), Michelle Wu, authorized Boston Police Department [BPD] officers to arrest 118 non-violent antiwar demonstrators on the campus of Emerson College—whose board of trustees included a trustee, Samuels & Associates Real Estate Developer Steve Samuels, who also was a member of a Wu administration advisory group, prior to April 2024.
As a press release, titled “Mayor Wu Announces Members Of Steering Committee to Advise On Reforms To Article 80 Development Review Project: Advisory Group to shape review of Article 80 for predictability and consistency,” which was posted on the City of Boston Planning Department website on Feb. 3, 2023 had previously noted:
“Mayor Michelle Wu announced today the members of a steering committee of real estate and civic leaders to advise on reforms to Article 80 of the Boston Zoning Code being undertaken by the Mayor’s Office and the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA)…
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“Article 80 refers to a section of the Boston Zoning Code adopted in 1996 to establish a more extensive review process for proposals of more than 20,000 square feet or more than 15 dwelling units…
“`I’m grateful to these leaders for lending their expertise and working with us to improve our process,’ said Mayor Michelle Wu…
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“The steering committee will include:
“…Steve Samuels. Founder and Chairman of Samuel & Associates, a Boston commercial real estate developer, property manager, and leasing company. Samuel serves on…Board of Trustees….at Emerson College…”
And, not surprisingly, prior to being named by Wu to sit on a steering committee “to advise on reforms” to a section "of the Boston Zoning Code,” which affected his special economic interests and the speed at which his for-profit real estate development firm can push through zoning variances to construct more gentrifying high-rise building projects in neighborhoods like Fenway and Allston-Brighton, Emerson College Trustee Samuels had made 5 contributions, totaling $3,500, to Wu’s campaign committee between May 22, 2013 and Jan. 17, 2023, as well as 2 contributions, of $5,000 each, to Massachusetts’s Democratic State Committee during the same period.
