Boston City Council Unanimously Backs Federal Road to Housing Act, Flags $200M in At-Risk Transportation Funds

BOSTON — March 18, 2026 — Boston City Council passes sweeping housing resolution and raises alarm over $200 million in stalled transportation funding. At its March 18 meeting, the 13-member council unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress to pass the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act, co-sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott, which aims to expand housing supply, modernize federal programs, and curb large institutional acquisition of single-family homes. Council President Braden filed a separate hearing order warning that city participation in an estimated $200 million in state and federal transportation projects has been "indefinitely paused," threatening procurement deadlines and — she said — building on more than $300 million already lost from the Alston multimodal project via a Trump administration clawback. The council also passed two collective bargaining appropriations totaling $33,759 for property management police officers in Local 174, five Age Strong Commission senior programming grants totaling $325,000, and a $256,500 MassSave energy efficiency outreach grant, all on 12-0 votes. Councillor Durkin led a unanimous declaration of March 18 as Boston Groundwater Trust Day, marking the trust's 40th anniversary protecting wood-pile foundations beneath filled-land neighborhoods including Beacon Hill and the Back Bay.