Winthrop Housing Committee Hears Flood Warnings, Down Payment Assistance Details

WINTHROP — June 11, 2026 — Winthrop Affordable Housing Committee hears flood risk projections and down payment assistance details at public information session. The committee hosted speakers from East Boston Community Development Corporation, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and the North Suburban Consortium on June 11, with no formal votes taken. Martin Pillsbury, MAPC senior environmental advisor, presented state-commissioned flood maps showing Winthrop's 100-year floodplain expanding significantly by 2030, 2050, and 2070 under sea-level rise projections produced by the Woods Hole Group. Housing manager Adam Plutz warned that Winthrop's failure to comply with the MBTA Communities Act 3A zoning law has cost the town approximately $1.2 million in rescinded state coastal resilience funding, calling the posture "an utter distraction" from goals the town itself identified in its 2021 Win 2030 Vision document. East Boston CDC co-executive director Tanya and property manager Jeff Fono explained how nonprofit senior housing at the Dalrymple School operates, including that tenants pay 30 percent of income and cannot be removed for exceeding the $68,000 income entry threshold. Chair Cassie Winthouse also presented details on a North Suburban Consortium program offering first-time homebuyers up to $10,000 in forgivable federal HOME funds toward a down payment on a Winthrop home.