The first round of applications for the Boston E-Bikes Incentive Program opened Monday, with the pilot initiative set to provide discount vouchers to residents who have a disability, are over age 60, or are low-income, the mayor’s office said.
The new program aims to address transportation access inequalities, increase mobility options, and improve sustainability, Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said in a statement.
“Boston is a city always on the move, and we want to ensure that all of our residents have transportation options that are convenient, affordable, and sustainable for their individual needs,” Wu said in the statement. “This e-bike voucher program will help reduce emissions and expand transportation options for traditionally vulnerable residents.”
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The program, which received $1.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, will provide about 1,000 vouchers for amounts ranging from $800 to $2,400 to eligible recipients. Recipients will also receive $150 for bicycle safety equipment, the statement said.
To be eligible, an applicant must be a Boston resident over age 18 who is at or below 40 percent of the area median income, is over 60 years of age, or has a chronic or permanent disability, according to the statement. Recipients will be randomly selected and then can use the vouchers within 90 days in person at a participating bike shop, the statement said.
“E-bikes and adaptive e-bikes make active mobility an option for older adults and some people with disabilities,” said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the city’s chief of streets, in the statement.
E-bikes eligible for purchase through the program must include safety-certified rechargeable batteries and pedal assists, and the pilot program will also support the purchase of powered handcycle wheelchair attachments and e-bikes adapted for the needs of those with chronic disabilities, Wu’s office said.
“We are excited to see the City of Boston offer incentives to lower the costs for their residents to use electric bicycles to get around,” Alex Salcedo, e-bike program manager for MassBike, said in the statement, going on to cite a Worchester program in which MassBike has provided e-bikes to lower-income residents. “Riding bikes has improved participants’ health and mental wellness, lowered the costs of transportation, expanded connections to the community, and introduced the joy of bicycling to more people.”
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Eligible residents can try out bikes and get assistance filling out applications at “Try an E-Bike,” a free event hosted by the Boston Bikes team in August, the statement said.
Applications close Sept. 5 and will reopen in spring 2025. More information about applications and program details can be found at boston.gov/ebikes.
Kiera McDonald can be reached at kiera.mcdonald@globe.com.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox reported homicides are up nearly 30% this year, as Mayor Michelle Wu continued to tout Boston as the safest major city in the country at a year-end public safety briefing.
Cox said there have been 31 homicides in the city thus far this year, compared to 24 for all of last year, but said that number still reflects a near record-low for the city — and represents a 16% decrease from the city’s five-year average.
“In comparison to last year’s 67-year low in homicide rates in the city’s history, we have had an increase, although we don’t know what the final number will be,” Cox said Monday at the Boston EMS Training Center in West Roxbury. “This year still represents a 16% decrease from our five-year average, and the lowest number in the last 20 years, but for the 67-year low I made mention to.”
The 29.1% uptick in homicides was reported by the police commissioner at an end-of-year public safety briefing that was a more tempered affair than how 2024 police statistics were reported last December.
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At last year’s press conference, Cox boasted that the “city has never been safer,” when joining the mayor in rolling out end-of-year crime statistics that featured a record-low number of homicides and shootings.
The number of murders in 2024 “appears to be the lowest since 1957,” and is “by far” the lowest amount since the Boston Police Department began tracking such data in 2007, when there were 68 homicides, Cox said at the time.
Wu, who was gearing up for a reelection campaign at the time, pointed to the data as evidence that Boston is the “safest major city in the country.” She stuck to that same refrain on Monday, despite the uptick in homicides, and a significant spike in shoplifting that was also highlighted by the police commissioner.
“Being a home for everyone means being there, not just during the good times, but all the time,” Wu said. “It means showing up for families, even when they feel the ground beneath them is falling through and when they’re having the worst days and the worst moments of their lives.”
Referring to the city’s public safety teams, including police, firefighters and EMS personnel, Wu said, “It’s because of the care, the hard work, and the empathy of these teams that Boston is the safest major city in the country.”
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Isaac Yablo, Wu’s senior advisor for community safety and director of the Office of Violence Prevention for the Boston Public Health Commission, said the city’s approach to tackling gun violence has shifted from focusing solely on five hot-spot neighborhoods to “a city-wide focus, so that more residents are being met where they’re at and we’re addressing needs more holistically.”
“As we look into the new year, we will continue focusing on secondary and tertiary prevention, but the main goal will be primary prevention — preventing the violence from happening in the first place,” Yablo said.
Cox said the Police Department has “doubled our efforts in community policing,” following last year’s record-low gun violence, which he said has led to “historic lows” for this year’s number of shooting victims and gunfire incidents. Both are down more than 30% compared to the department’s five-year averages, he said.
Shoplifting, however, remains “an issue in our city,” Cox said, which has led to the police department making retail theft an increased priority alongside its efforts to “sustain lower levels of violence” — with the two sometimes overlapping.
He attributed that increased focus, by way of a Safe Shopping Initiative the department has partnered on with the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, to a 113% increase in arrests for shoplifting this year — driven in part by a “substantial increase in timely, more detailed reporting from the retailers.”
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“This increased reporting supports Boston Police Department’s ability to address repeat violent and high-volume offenders with the ultimate goal of keeping shoppers and retailers safe,” Cox said.
The police commissioner also shared statistics that suggest crime is down at the troubled intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, an area commonly referred to as Mass and Cass and known for being home to the city’s open-air drug market, as well as the downtown.
Police have targeted Mass and Cass and the downtown in recent years, following reports of increased violence and drug activity, Cox said.
Around downtown, violent crime has declined by 24% this year and police have increased patrols there by 31%, compared to last year. Officers have made 48% more arrests in the downtown, including 30% more drug arrests, he said.
The police commissioner said violent crime is down 8% and property crime has decreased by 10% this year in the Mass and Cass area. Arrests at Methadone Mile have increased by 54%, Cox said,
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Cox did not elaborate on whether those statistics for Mass and Cass extend to hot-spot areas like the South End, where residents have complained of open-air drug use, dealing and violence that has spilled over into their neighborhoods.
He also highlighted the department’s focus on reckless motorized scooter operations, which have become a nuisance for residents. To date this year police have seized more than 840 electric scooters, including 160 from the downtown area, representing a 22% increase in seizures since last year, Cox said.
The police commissioner said seizures are made for illegal, unregistered scooter operations.
Mayor Michelle Wu speaks during a press conference on Boston’s year-end crime statistics where she continued to tout the city’s status as “the safest major city in the country.” (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Though the bitter New England wind is upon us, the holiday calendar is just warming up. This week’s schedule features a fire-and-ice Hanukkah celebration in Watertown, readings of two soon-to-debut theatrical works, and offbeat holiday film screenings at a dive bar. However you choose to get ready for the festivities, here are some no-cost and discounted events across Greater Boston and beyond for the week of Dec. 15-21.
A HOT AND COLD HANUKKAH Chabad Watertown’s Hanukkah celebration kicks off at 4:45 p.m., live performances featuring fire breathing, flaming prop juggling, and other heated tricks. Then, at 5 p.m., Chabad’s 7-foot-tall ice menorah will be lit, followed by a gelt drop, when chocolate coins will be parachuted from above for attendees to catch. Crafts and games will be set up around the venue, and free hot chocolate and doughnuts will be offered while supplies last. Dec. 15, 4-6 p.m. RSVP recommended. Arsenal Yards, 130 Arsenal St., Watertown. arsenalyards.com
HOLIDAY HORRORS There’s nothing like the gritty texture of VHS that elevates a scary movie: WickedVHS, a series of free public screenings of VHS movies at bars, screens a double feature of two creepy Christmas movies at the Model Café on Monday. Film names won’t be revealed until you’re at the event, but a few clues have been offered. The first pick is a childhood horror staple, featuring cutesy monsters who turn evil once you feed them at night; the other is a folkloric fable about Santa’s evil twin. Dec. 15. 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. 21+. Model Café, 7 North Beacon St., Allston. instagram.com/wickedvhs
On Sept. 30, viewers attended a Wicked VHS double-screening of “The Faculty” and “Scream 2” at Deep Cuts in Medford.Craig Silva/Wicked VHS
GONE CAROLING Caroling isn’t just an activity from the days of old: The New School of Music hosts a drop-in session for curious carolers to practice for the doorways. The session is led by NSM instructor Joe Reid, who will teach attendees a wide variety of Christmas, Hanukkah, and general winter tunes, demonstrate different ways to harmonize, and provide live piano accompaniment. Hot cider will be provided to soothe your throat, and free Christmas cookies can keep spirits high. Dec. 16, 6:30-8 p.m. New School of Music Concert Room, 25 Lowell St., Cambridge. newschoolofmusic.org
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NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN THEATER The Huntington Theatre’s Winter New Play Intensive, a development program for new plays, will present its two projects this season for the first time. “Blue Train,” which has its live reading on Tuesday, is a familial drama about a son who hopes to inherit his ailing father’s beach retreat. Wednesday, it’s “Three Bears,” a sci-fi epic about two wandering spacemen attempting to reach a distant outpost before they run out of the necessary resources for their journey. Dec. 16 and 17, 7 p.m. The Maso Studio in the Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. huntingtontheatre.org
The Huntington Theatre will present two live readings of new works from its Winter New Play Intensive.MIKE RITTER
CELEBRATORY CRAFTS Before the holidays are upon us, visit Assembly Row for some casual activities. Attendees can take part in various family-friendly crafts celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah, including ornament-crafting, snowflake-making, and drawing, and indulge in some free hot chocolate while supplies last. The J.P. Licks deck also turns into a dancefloor with tunes from DJ Axelrod, who will play house beats to keep the crowd moving and grooving. Dec. 20, 1-3 p.m. J.P. Licks Deck at Assembly Row, 355 Artisan Way, Somerville. assemblyrow.com
MENORAH AT THE MUSEUM The MFA’s Hanukkah celebration, which features discounted entry for the museum’s $5 Third Thursdays event. This month features activities and exhibitions celebrating Jewish traditions beginning at 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., catch a performance from the Global Yiddish Orchestra, or, at 5:45 p.m., a performance from AJ Rubin that blends Jewish folk music and clowning. Among the many festivities are tours and live readings celebrating Jewish history, an interactive scavenger hunt to gather candles for a menorah, a drop-in dreidel-decorating workshop, and a face-painting booth. Dec. 18, 5-10 p.m. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. mfa.org
PET PORTRAITS Furry friends can get in on the festive fun at the Paws and Claus event hosted by Bond Vet, a veterinary clinic with several locations in Greater Boston. Pets will get their photos taken for free alongside a (human) Santa Claus, for a professional-looking portrait their owners can put on kitschy greeting cards. Dogs and cats can snag a free treat, and humans get hot chocolate for tagging along. Dec. 20, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Bond Vet, 320 Foley St., Somerville. bringfido.com
Check individual event websites for the most up-to-date information.
Send info on free events and special offers at least 10 days in advance to ryan.yau@globe.com.
