Central Housing Project files

Collection

Identifier: 9000.006

Staff Only

Scope and Contents note

This series includes the central files of the staff of the Boston Housing Authority on the individual housing developments under their control. The files are arranged under the authority establishing the developments and within those categories by each development project. The Federally-Aided Developments for Families of Low Income were established under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended and were constructed between 1938 and 1973. The State-Aided Developments for Veterans' Families or Low Income were established under Chapter 200 of the Acts of 1948, as amended and were constructed between 1949 and 1954. The Federally-Aided Developments for Elderly Persons of Low Income were constructed between 1962 and 1977. The State-Aided Developments for Elderly Persons of Low Income were established under Chapter 667, as amended and were constructed between 1962 and 1977. Series V consists of a small number of files on the federal defense housing that was set up during World War II. These include files on the Old Colony Housing development and one file on the Temporary Housing Developments that were set up at Alsen Village, Franklin Field, Camp McKay and other locations.

The Central Housing Project files include correspondence with the City, State and Federal Governments, reports, memorandum, policies, public relations files, tenant relation files, dedication files, photographs, etc. The photographs in the series include images from Ground Breaking and Dedication ceremonies, first families in the developments, and construction photographs. Photographs do not exist for every housing development. All photographs have been removed from the original files and photocopied. The original photographs make up Series VI. All the files have been left in the original folders. In some instances, folders did not contain any records. These folders have been left in place and noted as being empty in the folder list. Dates were included in the folder listing only when the dates were already listed on the file label. An alphabetical listing of housing developments with their corresponding project number has been included in this finding aid.

Dates

circa 1938-1982

Creator

Boston Housing Authority (Organization)

Historical note

The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) was established by order of the Boston City Council on October 1, 1935, pursuant to St. 1935, c. 449, s. 5 which empowered cities and towns of Massachusetts to establish housing authorities. Such a body is responsible for providing decent, safe and sanitary housing for families unable to afford housing without public subsidies and for clearing substandard, decadent or blighted open areas under the provisions of MGLA c. 121B. To carry out these responsibilities BHA develops and manages housing projects and leases housing when necessary. It also performed the functions of an urban redevelopment authority until such a body was established separately pursuant to St. 1957, c. 150.

The management and governance of the BHA has deviated from that of other housing authorities since 1975, when BHA was sued in Boston City Housing Court by a group of BHA tenants, represented by Greater Boston Legal Services, over poor conditions in housing projects under the authority's control. As a result of the ruling in favor of the tenants, a court-appointed master prepared a report listing recommendations that provided the basis for a consent decree signed in 1977 by BHA, Greater Boston Legal Services and the Boston Public Housing Tenants Policy Council. The decree detailed a series of improvements that BHA was to make over the course of three years. The master, responsible for monitoring BHA's compliance with the consent decree, gave approval for all major decisions made by the BHA board and administrator. In 1979, the judge ruled that BHA had failed satisfactorily to fulfill the terms of the consent decree and BHA was placed in receivership, with its board of commissioners and administrator replaced by a court-appointed receiver. Since 1990, when the receivership ended, BHA has been directed by an administrator whose activities are reviewed by a nine-member monitoring committee appointed by the mayor of Boston.

Source: Massachusetts State Archives catalog record