I strongly support the proposed housing development at 78 Crafts Street in Newtonville.
I have lived in Newtonville since 1978. I moved here when I married and began my professional career. I rode the commuter train to Boston for years. My sons attended Newton K-12 public schools. I want future Newtonians to have these same opportunities.
Newton is in dire need of multifamily and affordable housing. Not only does the 78 Crafts Street development replace an eyesore and hazardous waste site on that location, but it will allow Newton senior citizens to move from larger homes to smaller accommodations within Newton and younger people to live and raise families in Newton. The development is transit friendly and has a positive impact on our environment.
The 2040 Newton Leads Housing Strategy of 2016 stated: “The evidence is clear: without taking action, the state of Newton’s housing market will continue on a path of limited diversity… Newton will continue to see larger housing units for fewer people, unaffordability except for the wealthiest of residents, and decreasing options for younger and older Newtonians.”
A recent survey of Greater Boston residents aged 20-30 found that: “As Greater Boston and the Commonwealth continue to navigate a housing crisis, young residents are making decisions about the value of the region to their lives. To ensure that young residents want and choose to remain in Greater Boston, the most urgent issues of quality and available jobs, rent costs, and home ownership must be at the top of mind for public officials and the business community.”
Join me in telling the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals (bbelsanti@newtonma.gov) that you support the 78 Crafts Street Project.
Gail Deegan
Newtonville