Remarks by Sharon Durkan
50 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 2
- Play at 1:18:13
“Thank you, Chair. Thank you so much, Councillor Murphy. Councillor Flynn?”
City Council · Oct 16, 2026
- Play at 1:30:25
“Thank you so much, Councillor Flynn. You know, last night, Councillor Weber and I hosted a joint office hour in Mission Hill because he represents the back of Mission Hill and I represent the majority of Mission Hill. And it was a very interesting conversation. One thing that came up was that the lack... It's often hard for residents to see that, like, part of the reason that their property taxes are going up is that there hasn't been a lot of new housing development built or um and so it was an interesting conversation because i think it's an important thing to connect is like obviously we…”
City Council · Oct 16, 2026
- Play at 1:33:59
“Thank you so much. And would you like to say anything?”
City Council · Oct 16, 2026
- Play at 1:34:13
“So you would be charged to sit on a meeting if there wasn't quorum? Essentially, but also you can sit in on any of the meetings so oftentimes you you you can you know you can be there I don't know how much you can involve yourself in the conversation. That's up to the chair and But I do think that it's really important that we have alternates. When we started with this committee, most of the boards and commissions that we oversee in this committee were having quorum issues. And that's why I have actually been charged and I've tried to do a really good job of like, when these come in, we deal…”
City Council · Oct 16, 2026
- Play at 1:24:06
“Thank you so much, Council President. I don't know if you want to make your way down. I was going to give you a chance to speak. Yesterday, September 21st, I chaired a hearing in the pilot committee on reestablishing a post office in Alston. This hearing order was sponsored by Council President Liz Braden. We were joined by Councilors Flynn, Fitzgerald, and Culpepper. The committee also received letters of absence from Councilors Pepin and Louisjean. Alston has nearly gone seven years without a post office after the previous building closed due to structural issues. USPS then had fully…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:46:59
“Thank you. I'd just like to take a point of privilege. Obviously, the last filing was about something that is in my district. I do think the new council rules does not allow for us to speak on issues unless they're being voted on, unless we're a lead sponsor. I do think it's really important as city officials. The reason why the folks that are filing this have a lot of questions is because they don't do transportation work in Mission Hill. and so it's very important to me— Councillor Dworkin, would you mind—we take your point.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:47:43
“Thank you, Councillor President. I'd like to suspend the rules and add Councillor Flynn as an original co-sponsor and Councillor Santana as a third original co-sponsor.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 1:47:57
“Package theft is an issue that I know many Boston residents have experienced. We are in the era of home delivery where most residents receive packages at their homes. In a dense city like Boston, especially in my district, it's multi-unit buildings with limited space for deliveries. Packages are often left on sidewalks or in vestibules. But we know package theft happens everywhere. And I actually want to thank a member of Councillor Fitzgerald's constituency who filed a Dorchester Reporter op-ed Yes, I read the Dorchester Reporter, some of the best reporting in Boston. Stealing someone's…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 2:06:35
“Thank you so much, Councillor President. I want to start by clarifying what the Specialized Stretch Energy Code is. It is a set of state-level regulations that add higher performance standards to the base energy code. I also want to be clear, it is separate from Berto and is one piece of a broader framework of standards that Boston has implemented to decarbonize our building stock. Massachusetts has three levels of building energy codes, the base code, the stretch code, and the specialized code. The specialized code was created in 2021 and is the most stringent of the three. It builds on the…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 2:11:20
“The hearing order is specifically written to bring in developers and engineers who work on development, and I took a lot of... I took when writing it. We are not going to be talking about the environment. We will have an environmental panel, but the point of the hearing is to talk about the development-related concerns around the special municipal opt-in.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 2:11:48
“I mean, point of privilege, I'm requesting that the Chair reconsider, given the folks that I want to show up at the hearing.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 2:12:02
“If I have to. I mean, I think it could be a conversation. And I know that my team has reached out to your team to ask specifically, given who we want to show up at the panel.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 2:12:29
“I don't think there's enough people in the room to appeal the decision of the chair right now. We need nine. Okay, I'd like to appeal the decision of the chair. Do you have a second?”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 2:44:39
“Thank you so much. I just want to thank my colleagues for standing with residents. We have a lot of residents in District 8, as I represent the Longwood Medical Area and MGH. And the residents at BMC deserve better, and I'm excited. that they are engaging and we are working with them and we are fighting for them because residents often get, I see a lot of them in my district and they're tired, they're overworked, they don't have enough benefits and they feel very unprotected. So I think that residents at BMC deserve the same attention as, you know, we're giving at any other hospital. And I…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:15:44
“Thank you so much. Yeah, and thank you for being able to speak. Yeah, I just wanted to speak into the record. Obviously, a lot of what's been being described as sort of new powers are Chapter 121Bs, which we're already using. for office to residential conversions. We really just need to have more of a conversation about how we utilize these tools. And I know in previous hearings, I've brought up the idea of using these tools to create tax abatements for residential buildings over 100 units of housing, of which we have very few that have been built since the stretch code and the specialized…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:20:11
“Councillor, you have the floor. Thank you so much. So we are naming Friday, September 25th, 9 to 5 day in honor of Dolly Parton's incredible legacy. This is in partnership with the Massachusetts State House, who my friend Senators Julian Cyr and Rep. Sam Montano have done the same. Dolly Parton was an icon whose passing felt personal to many. Her voice and songwriting inspired generations of working people. while her service to others and message of love and acceptance uplifted communities here in Boston and across the country. For that reason, I'm introducing this resolution today. And…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:29:18
“Thank you so much. I just want to thank Councillor Cleta Zapata for bringing this forward. I know when I got onto the council, one of the first things, one of the first invites I got was Councillor Cleta Zapata inviting me to the North End for dinner. I had very similar hospitality from Rep. Aaron Mikeowitz when I started running for office. And I just think that Italian Americans that serve our community, our city, and our state do such an amazing job of like, Being kind of beacons of their community and so I just want to thank you for your leadership And I just feel like we all benefit as…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:36:15
“I'd like to request reconsideration of 08-01, which was overturning the decision of the chair on the committee. I just want to give all of my colleagues who were not in chambers a chance to vote on whether to overturn the decision of the chair on 08-01, which we voted on, which got seven votes and needed nine.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:37:49
“Sure. So a yes vote would put it in the committee that the chair put it in, which is environment, and no vote would put it in planning, development, and transportation. I did make the case, and specifically looking at the committee description, this does involve the zoning commission, which is underneath the auspices of planning, development, and transportation. We didn't have a full council here when we voted on it. So I'd like to ask my colleagues to vote no to put this in the Planning, Development, and Transportation Committee. And probably even more illuminating is that the Chair of…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:39:16
“It's a motion to reconsider first. A motion to reconsider, which was seconded. Yes.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 3:39:26
“Are we voting on the motion to reconsider? Yes. Okay.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 4:03:00
“I'd like to ask for the late files to be read separately because I object to two of them.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 4:10:06
“The chair recognizes Councillor Dirk. And Councillor, you have the floor. Thank you so much. When I knocked doors for the fair share amendment, I really believed in that money being supplemental. And I do feel like this proposal is extremely reactive. It's happening in the middle of the campaign cycle. I was probably the leading opposition the last time that this was brought forward. Honestly, as a city official, we aren't tasked with this job. And so I would like to defer to the legislature. And if I had to talk to the, I'll just speak directly to the legislators in my district. You should…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 4:19:33
“Thank you so much. Tomorrow, the Link bus is doing a ribbon cutting. I think some of us remember, but through the ARPA funds, it paid for a new bus for the Mission Hill Link, so excited for that tomorrow. And then on Saturday is the Mission Hill Road Race. We just heard Rain or Shine, and obviously it's at Kevin Fitzgerald Park, so I imagine all the Fitzgeralds will be here. So I hope that everyone will be there on Saturday. And it's a requirement. You have to be there. So we'll see everyone on Saturday. And I heard Councillor Pippen's running now. So, you know, rain or shine, Councillor…”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026
- Play at 4:28:58
“He's from Hyde Park. His mom, Audrey, passed away in late August. So just wanted to send my regards to the Polgini McCarthy family. Because I know that oftentimes we're working with people on the work of what they work with. But to know him, he works very professionally and is a lawyer in the city. And just wanted to send my best to his family and to everyone who loved his mom.”
City Council · Sep 23, 2026