The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is a public agency of the city of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 that provides subsidized public housing

Public housing in the United States

Public housing in the United States has been administered by federal, state and local agencies to provide subsidized assistance for low-income and people living in poverty. Now increasingly provided in a variety of settings and formats, originally public housing in the U.S...

 to low- and moderate-income families and individuals.

In the federal government model of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...

 (HUD), BHA is a public housing agency

Housing authority

A housing authority or ministry of housing is generally a governmental body that governs some aspect of the territory's housing, often providing low rent or free apartments to qualified residents.-Specific housing authorities:...

. As such, BHA administers federal government assistance programs and monies for locally subsidized housing.

With 60 developments, and serving 27,000 people across 14,000 public housing units, it is the largest public housing authority in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. It also offers partial subsidies for private housing, assisting another 25,000 people, and administers federal Section 8

Section 8 (housing)

Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 , as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of approximately 3.1 million low-income households...

 vouchers.

The agency's performance is periodically reviewed by a nine-member council, the BHA Monitoring Committee, which reports to the mayor.

History

The BHA was established in October 1935 by the mayor and city council

Boston City Council

The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councilors are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve...

 of Boston. Since 1989, it is overseen by a single administrator, appointed by the mayor.

William McGonagle has been its chief administrator since 2009.

List of developments

, the BHA oversees 60 developments across 13 Boston neighborhoods. Of them, 36 are designated for elderly and disabled housing (two of which contain additional family units) and 24 are designated for families (one of which contains additional elderly and disabled units).

Brighton

• Commonwealth (family)
• Commonwealth Elderly (elderly, disabled)
• Fanueil (family)
• J.J. Carroll Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Patricia White (elderly, disabled)
• Washington Street (elderly, disabled)

Charlestown

• Basilica (family)
• Charlestown (family)
• General Warren (elderly, disabled)

Dorchester

• Annapolis Street (elderly, disabled)
• Ashmont Street (elderly, disabled)
• Bellflower Street (elderly, disabled)
• Codman Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Franklin Field (family, elderly, disabled)
• Lower Mills (elderly, disabled)
• Meade Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Pasciucco Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Peabody Square (elderly, disabled)

Hyde Park

• Davison (elderly, disabled)
• Fairmount (family)
• Hassan Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Joseph C. Malone Apartments (elderly, disabled)

Jamaica Plain

• Amory Street (elderly, disabled)
• Bromley Park (family, elderly, disabled)
• Heath Street (family)
• Pond Street (elderly, disabled)
• South Street (family)

Roslindale

• Archdale (family)
• Roslyn Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Washington-Beech (family)

South Boston

• Foley Apartments (elderly, disabled)
• Mary Ellen McCormack Housing Project
  Old Harbor Housing Project
  The Old Harbor Housing Project, formally known as the Mary Ellen McCormack Project, is a housing project opposite Carson Beach in South Boston, Massachusetts.-History:...
  
   (family)
  • (informally known as Old Harbor Housing Project)
• Monsignor Powers (elderly, disabled)
• Old Colony Housing Project
  Old Colony Housing Project
  The Old Colony Housing Project is a housing project located in South Boston, Massachusetts on East Ninth Street. Built in 1941, it is one of Boston Housing Authority's oldest developments....
  
   (family)
• West Broadway (family)
• West Ninth Street (elderly, disabled)

South End

• Camden Street (family)
• Cathedral (family)
• Eva White (elderly, disabled)
• Frederick Douglass (elderly, disabled)
• Hampton House (elderly, disabled)
• Lenox Street (family)
• Rutland/East Springfield Street (family)
• Torre Unidad (elderly, disabled)
• Washington Manor (elderly, disabled)
• West Newton Street (family)

See also

• Public housing in the United States
  Public housing in the United States
  Public housing in the United States has been administered by federal, state and local agencies to provide subsidized assistance for low-income and people living in poverty. Now increasingly provided in a variety of settings and formats, originally public housing in the U.S...
  
  
• List of public housing developments in the United States

Further reading

• Vale, Lawrence J., From the Puritans to the projects: public housing and public neighbors, Harvard University Press, 2000.
• Vale, Lawrence J., Reclaiming Public Housing: A Half Century of Struggle in Three Public Neighborhoods, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002.

External links

• Boston Housing Authority (official site)