City Councilor Kenzie Bok will change into the brand new chief of the Boston Housing Authority, a job she’ll start to transition into subsequent month, making a emptiness within the District 8 seat, Mayor Michelle Wu introduced.
Bok will formally take the reins of the general public company charged with offering inexpensive housing to greater than 62,000 Boston residents later this summer time, when present Administrator Kate Bennett steps down.
She resigned from the City Council, per a correspondence shared on the panel’s Wednesday assembly, efficient April 28 at 11:59 p.m.
“The Boston Housing Authority has been a lifeline for generations of Boston families, and in this moment of housing crisis, the BHA must be a model for housing as health, safety, opportunity and community,” Wu stated in an announcement.
“Kenzie brings a deep commitment to our BHA communities along with an expansive vision of how public housing should anchor our neighborhoods and city.”
Bok, 33, was the senior advisor for coverage and planning at BHA, earlier than being elected to characterize District 8 on the City Council in 2019. She spearheaded BHA’s efforts to differ the subsidy quantity of federal housing vouchers by zip code, relatively than offering the identical monetary assist for all candidates making use of to dwell in Greater Boston.
This allowed voucher recipients larger flexibility in figuring out the place they needed to dwell, “and continues to be an impactful program today,” Wu’s workplace stated.
“Public housing is a public good, and all of Boston benefits when our public housing communities are strong,” Bok stated in an announcement.
“I’m so excited to return to BHA to put our residents and voucher-holders at the heart of everything our city does, by providing safe, high-quality housing for every family and by ensuring the best access to jobs, services and all the opportunities Boston has to offer.”
The mayor’s workplace, in saying the management change, additionally pointed to Bok’s efforts to assist lead a profitable poll initiative to enact the Community Preservation Act in Boston in 2016, “which has generated tens of thousands of dollars for affordable housing in the city.”
Bok replaces Bennett, who was appointed as BHA administrator in 2020 after working as senior deputy administrator and different lower-level positions since 1998.
Bennett oversaw capital enhancements and redevelopment tasks all through Boston throughout her time at BHA, maintaining the company “resident-centric.” She has labored in inexpensive housing for 25 years, managing such applications for the cities of Chelsea and Newton earlier than becoming a member of town’s housing authority, the mayor’s workplace stated.
The outgoing administrator stated she was “delighted” that Bok was chosen as her alternative, saying that town councilor was the “right person to take BHA to the next level.”
“She is passionate about the authority and its mission,” Bennett stated. “She knows our staff and residents, and she is a brilliant housing advocate.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”