By Beth Treffeisen
Special to the Gazette
Roslindale City Councilor Tim McCarthy has been keeping busy down at City Hall, recently co-filing two hearing orders during an April 25 City Council meeting.
Diversity Initiatives for Boston Public Safety Agencies
McCarthy and Councilor Andrea Campbell filed an order for a series of policy briefings to explore and recommend diversity initiatives for the City’s public safety agencies – such as the Police Department, Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Services.
In Boston, 46.3 percent of residents are White, 22.8 percent are Black, 19 percent are Hispanic, and 9.3 percent are Asian.
Public safety agencies already seek to recruit officers, firefighters, technicians, and civilians that reflect that of the population they serve, but the councilors hope the hearing will assist them further.
“We are doing OK, but we can do better, especially at the higher tier levels – we have to a lot better,” said Campbell.
The matter was assigned to the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice for hearing.
Boston Youth Clean-Up Campaign
McCarthy and City Councilor Matt O’Malley filed a hearing order to reintroduce the BYCC program, also known as the “Red Shirts” and later, “Gray Shirts.”
The BYCC program was established 25 years ago to provide employment to Boston’s teenagers between the ages of 14-17 for six weeks during the summer break. The primary duties included clean-up of vacant lots, streets, parks and public facilities.
The councilors believed the program fostered civic engagement, offered relevant work experience, and provided an economic and social benefits to youth.
The program closed after the 2002 summer due to budgetary constraints.
The councilors hope to reestablish the program and potentially expanding it to the winter months for part-time youth employment. They hope to start this year with a pilot program.
“It’s a great program,” said McCarthy. “It teaches young Bostonians hard work with tangible results you can see.”
The matter was assigned to the Committee on City, Neighborhood Services, Military Families and Veterans Affairs for a hearing.