@jsaif.bsky.social

Indie rock, #CambMA and national politics, occasional humor, law. Pro-housing, pro-transit. He/him. Co-chair of @ABetterCambMA

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@KDolanRR @graphingparking @realBurhanAzeem Apartment buildings (multifamily, like a triple decker) are banned in A and B zones in Cambridge. Duplexes and townhouses are also banned in A zones. (Although allowing them on paper is not enough.)

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@berkie1 @christianbrits @reason @MA_EOHLC should reject fake paper compliance, and if they feel there are good reasons why they can’t do so here, they need to state them clearly so we can fix them.

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@jayparsons @aarmlovi Yeah, modern chassis-less manufactured homes are not easily distinguishable from stick-built starter homes. Great news for companies like Reframe Systems. https://t.co/88QMAle6kT

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

“Employers tell us the lack of modestly priced homes in Greater Boston’s suburbs makes recruiting & retaining talent a grind….

We’re losing workers & businesses to NC, Texas, Florida, & NH, while the same fight playing out in Wellesley repeats itself across the Commonwealth.”

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

Massachusetts has deep “rental deserts," high-opportunity communities with almost no rentals because we've restricted multifamily housing.

Tenant stability matters, but blunt rent control policies that ignore supply impacts risk hardening exclusion & shrinking access over time.

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@friendchristoph Yep, and Boston’s refusal to build more apartments has increased rents across not just MA but all of New England.

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

“[Massachusetts] Voters soon face a choice: Should the next generation have a realistic path to homeownership in the communities where they work, grew up, or hope to stay, or should exclusionary lot-size rules continue to determine who belongs and who does not?”

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@eryney_ok Cambridge has unlimited free liquor licenses—it varies by municipality.

[回 @3_under_scores_]

I want to point out how remarkable this is—apartments on the open market in these cities are cheaper than units that you need to win a housing lottery to obtain (in addition to meeting income criteria and being a US citizen/permanent resident)

[Abundant Housing Massachusetts @AbundantHomesMA]

Congratulations to our 2025 Legislators of the Year Sumbul Siddiqui and @realBurhanAzeem , the newly selected Mayor and Vice Mayor of the Cambridge City Council!

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@bhalligan @nonsaintVincent This is silly, Mayor Wu was responding to Trump calling Somalis garbage. https://t.co/u6iT77umQ6

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@friendchristoph California’s legislature had to iterate on their ADU law to really get it going. If we could do that in less than two -year cycles with a coin-flip of whether changes pass, we could make sure by-right is by-right.

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@friendchristoph MassHousing is funding getting housing built that otherwise wouldn’t be, on the @PEWilliams_ model, but you can’t overlook that the legislature is much less pro-housing than Healey. Some building code reforms are hopefully coming.

[Chris Friend @friendchristoph]

I was inspired by this to take a look at the last five years of housing completions in Mass. I later found out I had duplicated work done by @bostonfdn (https://t.co/OXTUBD8ucQ) but I could download mine, so w/e. So which towns are building and which aren't?

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@friendchristoph Her bond bill had good stuff. Why do you think the ADU bill is limited, because you can’t build multiple?

A big part of the problem is that the legislature only passes one bill w/ housing stuff every two years and skipped 2022 due to 62F refunds.

[Alexis Ohanian 🗽 @alexisohanian]

Americans need more affordable housing.

And it turns out, building more housing, does, in fact, make rents fall.

https://t.co/b9Qmqrf6w9

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

Luxury Apartments Are Bringing Rent Down in Some Big Cities

“New building openings are bringing rents down as wealthy tenants trade up, forcing landlords to drop prices for older apartments.” @business

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

@CSElmendorf @nealemahoney @BharatRamamurti https://t.co/gOJKuFdy3c

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

Governor Healey has come out in opposition to the rent control ballot initiative.

https://t.co/XKdhzqWUrE

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

The exemption for new construction is too short. It will screw up financing and exacerbate our housing shortage.

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

Governor Healey has come out in opposition to the rent control ballot initiative.

https://t.co/XKdhzqWUrE

[Chris Elmendorf @CSElmendorf]

I did not realize that the strict rent caps in the pending MA ballot measure would apply even when a unit turns over, not just when tenants ask to renew their lease.

This is nuts.

Have any big-name Dems come out against it? @nealemahoney @BharatRamamurti

1/5

[@jsaif.bsky.social @jsaif99]

Mayor Wu has her own more moderate rent stabilization proposal and has expressed doubts about the ballot initiative. https://t.co/KqoMIfnQ33