Address Newsletter
Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s tax shift bill was killed again in the state Senate, this time as an amendment to alternative Senate-led property tax shock legislation that was overwhelmingly defeated by the chamber on Thursday.
The Senate voted, 33-5, to defeat an amendment filed by state Sen. Michael Rush, a Boston Democrat, that closely mirrors the language included in a home rule petition the mayor has been pushing for nearly two years that would shift more of the city’s tax burden from the residential to commercial sector.
The mayor’s legislation was killed by the state Senate in late 2024, and stalled in that chamber again all last year. It was not taken up again until Thursday. Wu renewed her push for Senate approval last month while portraying her plan as critical to lower the projected 13% tax hike for homeowners that the city says is driven by a 6% drop in commercial values alongside a 2% rise in residential values.
The day’s vote on Rush’s nearly identical amendment, filed at the request of the mayor, leaves the future of Wu’s proposal uncertain, given that it appears to have no path forward in the Senate, despite clearing its two other legislative hurdles — the Boston City Council and state House of Representatives — three times.
“I hope we can move on past this issue to work with our municipal partners on all the goals we truly share,” said state Sen. William Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat who represents parts of Boston and filed the tax shock bill Rush was seeking to amend with the mayor’s home rule language.
Wu’s office did not respond directly to an inquiry about whether the mayor plans to continue pursuing her legislation, which seeks to exceed the 175% state limit for shifting taxes onto commercial properties in order to lower residential tax increases, for three years.
Her office, however, pointed to the support the amendment received from four of six Boston senators, while suggesting that the mayor’s proposal has widespread support in the city.
“In addition to having overwhelming support from the people of Boston, the city’s residential tax relief legislation has had support from 12 of 13 Boston city councilors, all 16 Boston state representatives, and now four of Boston’s six state senators,” a city spokesperson said in a statement.
“We’re grateful to Senator Rush for putting this amendment forward, and Senators Lydia Edwards, Liz Miranda, Sal DiDomenico and Patricia Jehlen who voted for this today,” the mayor’s office added.
Brownsberger and state Sen. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat, were the two Boston senators to vote against the Rush amendment, after having co-led the push to kill the mayor’s tax shift bill in the Senate in late 2024.
The Senate approved Brownsberger’s alternative tax relief bill, by a 37-1 vote.
His “tax shock” legislation would give “cities and towns the ability to shield their most vulnerable taxpayers from the shock of an extraordinarily high tax bill” in years when residential property tax hikes are expected to exceed 10%, per a Senate fact sheet.
Brownsberger’s bill would phase in increases or offer targeted tax credits in years with projected double-digit tax hikes.
Co-sponsored by Collins and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, the tax shock bill now moves on to the House of Representatives for consideration.
“This is a targeted relief measure,” Brownsberger said of his bill. “It’s only helpful to municipalities in a tax shock year. Tax shock years are not common, fortunately … and if a city has reserves, it can work.”
By comparison, Brownsberger said the mayor’s plan, by way of Rush’s failed amendment, does not target tax relief to the most vulnerable homeowners. He said wealthy homeowners would likely see lower tax bills with the tax shift while small business owners would be hit with higher property taxes.
Brownsberger added that the language in Rush’s amendment would have opened up the floodgates for all cities and towns to tax commercial properties beyond the 175% maximum shift allowed under state law to lower residential tax bills.
“The whole fundamental compromise of (tax) classification would be out the door, and I don’t believe that’s good for the Commonwealth in the long run,” Brownsberger said.
State Sen. Lydia Edwards, an East Boston Democrat who voted in favor of the Rush amendment, said the city’s residents are most concerned right now about taxes, and the tax shift language would help ensure housing stability.
She questioned why the Senate was unwilling to trust the City of Boston’s assessment that the tax shift was needed to stabilize residential taxes, when it was willing, “on so many different occasions,” to trust Boston’s ability to “manage itself and to manage its zoning and to manage its fiscal responsibility” with prior home rule petition approvals.
“Why don’t you trust the Boston assessing department when it says I need this tax shift to protect my residents?” Edwards said. “Just be consistent.”
The Senate also approved an alternative tax relief bill put forward by Collins, 37-1, that would provide tax rebates for low- and middle-income homeowners who already receive the residential tax exemption by using city surplus funds.
Collins said his bill would allow the city to tap into the $552 million it has in surplus funds to issue rebates to “cancel out their tax increases.”
If approved by the House, his bill would apply statewide, he said, adding that it is “unfair” for Boston to be raising residential taxes by double-digits for a second straight year while “sitting on” a large pile of free cash.
Ahead of the Senate vote, Wu’s office issued a statement criticizing the Collins and Brownsberger bills as “costly alternative Senate proposals that require sacrificing needed funding for city services.”
A vehicle crashed into a hair salon in Danvers, Massachusetts, leaving three people injured on Thursday.
Police said the crash happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. at Beijo Beauty on Newbury Street.
Three people inside the business suffered injuries that are believed to be non-life-threatening, police said. All three were taken by ambulance to local hospitals.
A fire official at the scene said the three patients’ injuries are considered minor. The building was evacuated after the crash.
One customer told NBC10 Boston she stood with an injured person while someone called 911, adding that her own car had been damaged.
“I was done, I was just about to get up. If I had been in my car, I would have gotten really hurt,” she said. “My car got totaled.”
Police did not say whether the driver would face any charges.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that she was “deeply disappointed” by the president’s decision and would keep fighting to secure federal dollars for Massachusetts.
“Our first responders, public works crews, and local communities worked around the clock to keep people safe and begin recovery,” she said. “They did their job, and now President Trump needs to do his.”
Climate advocates say the denial — which came on the same day that Trump rejected three other Democrat-led states’ requests for winter storm relief — reflects the administration’s politicization of disaster aid.
“Communities in Massachusetts and everywhere deserve a federal government that makes decisions for all people, and not just those that they perceive as having voted for them,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at the Conservation Law Foundation.
The president can declare a major disaster when a natural catastrophe is shown to have exceeded a state’s capabilities and resources. An analysis conducted by POLITICO in March found that it is three times harder for blue states than red states to get disaster funding under Trump.
According to the analysis, the president has approved just 23 percent of disaster funding requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, compared with 89 percent of requests from states represented by Republicans — an unprecedented discrepancy.
The analysis also found that Trump takes an average of 80 days to respond to disaster requests from Democrat-led states, compared to 39 for Republicans.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, strongly disputed that the Trump administration was politicizing decisions on disaster relief. She did not comment on why Trump denied Massachusetts’ request.
“President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him,” she said in a statement. She said the president was ensuring tax dollars were used by states “to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”
Former Washington governor Jay Inslee described the president’s approach to disaster aid as “outrageous, immoral, and illegal.” During Trump’s first term, the president reportedly ignored Inslee’s request for wildfire relief because of a personal dispute.
“He will consciously, willfully, and joyfully deny people aid who are at the most difficult moments of their lives,” said Inslee, who co-chairs the advocacy group Climate Power. “It is so infuriating to see an American president use disaster aid as a cudgel.”
The Healey administration announced in early April that it had requested a major disaster declaration for the February blizzard. It sought to reimburse state agencies and local governments in the southeastern part of the state for snow removal and other storm-related costs. The blizzard downed hundreds of power lines and trees, and nearly 300,000 people lost power at the peak of the storm.
Last week, Trump rejected disaster declaration requests from four Democrat-led states who had sought aid for the February storm: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. The president’s decision came just days after he approved aid for six Republican-led states.
“Trump is either politicizing disaster declarations or he is attacking states where it snows — neither is good,” wrote Senator Ed Markey in a social media post. “The February blizzard was costly for our communities, and Trump must approve the Commonwealth’s need for assistance.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren said a statement that the president’s decision was “cruel and makes clear he doesn’t see himself as a president for all Americans.”
“Communities in Massachusetts were hit by one of the worst storms we’ve seen in decades, and instead of sending a lifeline, the President is leaving everyday Americans out to dry,” she added.
Rhode Island officials also slammed the Trump administration for denying the state’s request. The winter storm hit the state with the intensity of a Category 2 hurricane. Providence had to cap spending for the rest of the fiscal year after record-setting snow.
The state’s congressional delegation — Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator Jack Reed, Representative Seth Magaziner, and Representative Gabe Amo — wrote a letter calling on the president to reverse the denial. A preliminary assessment found more than $19 million in damages across the state, the letter said.
“You chose to leave Rhode Islanders out in the cold,” the lawmakers wrote.
Meanwhile, the president approved a major disaster declaration for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts related to the February blizzard. (Federally recognized tribal governments can directly request a disaster declaration.)
Additionally, FEMA announced on Thursday that it had approved nearly $5.7 million for projects to reduce future disaster costs in New England, including more than $1 million for Massachusetts projects combating flooding.
Kate Selig can be reached at kate.selig@globe.com. Follow her on X @kate_selig.
Home Buying
If you’re in the market for a new build, you may be attracted to the modern floor plans, state-of-the-art technology, and resort-style amenities many of them offer. But you might not realize that there are financial benefits to buying new construction.
A recent report from Realtor.com found that buyers of newly built homes save an average of $25,335 over the first 10 years of ownership compared to buyers of 20-year-old homes. Those savings are even greater in Massachusetts, which topped the state-by-state list at savings of $38,927 over 10 years, due to the state’s strict building codes and harsh winters. Neighboring New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont rounded out the top five.
But in Greater Boston, where much of the new-home inventory consists of luxury condominiums, buyers still have to balance those long-term savings with higher upfront purchase prices and steep condominium association assessments.
Ryan J. Glass, vice president of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty in Boston, said that in the first quarter of 2026, luxury full-service buildings citywide averaged approximately $1,698 per square foot, while many of Boston’s historic brownstone neighborhoods generally landed in the $1,200- to $1,500-per-square-foot range. That means that a buyer with a $3 million budget may be looking at 1,750 to 1,800 square feet in a new luxury tower compared to 2,200 to 2,400 square feet in a comparable renovated brownstone, he said.
Ellyn Hartmayer, 60, and her husband, John Hartmayer, 58, looked at more than 75 properties — both new construction and existing — before purchasing a 2,875-square-foot Back Bay condominium for $3.25 million in May. The unit has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a private terrace with views of the Charles River Esplanade. It’s located in a 10-unit building that was constructed in 1950. While the couple initially considered buying a new unit in a luxury high-rise because of the modern amenities, they “became increasingly focused on where the best long-term value was,” Ellyn said Hartmayer. After a lengthy search, they found a unique property in the Back Bay that offered everything they wanted: single-level living, extra space for their children to visit, elevator access, garage parking, and private outdoor space.
“The combination of a prime location, square footage, value, and potential ultimately outweighed the appeal of a newer building,” said Ellyn Hartmayer.
In Massachusetts, the median price of a new-build is 46.7 percent more than the median price of an existing home, according to Joel Berner, Realtor.com’s senior economist.
“If you buy a new home in Massachusetts, you’ll recoup savings over time because of the harsh climate and building codes,” Berner said. “But you will have spent so much more upfront that it may or may not actually break even.”
Builder concessions can even the playing field. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders, 64 percent of builders offered sales incentives, and 37 percent actually cut new-construction prices. Many are offering buydowns on mortgage rates as well.
“If you can only afford a $500,000 existing home, maybe in the new construction space, with the 10-year savings, builder concessions, and a mortgage rate buydown, you can afford $575,000,” said Berner. “Don’t just look at the sticker price. Look at your long-term monthly cash flow, and potentially you might have more wiggle room in your budget for new construction than you thought.”
Glass tells his buyer clients the same thing. “Consider which property is the better value for your budget, as well as the location,” he said. “Sometimes a market is saturated with new construction, so you can get a better deal on it. Other times, new construction is hard to find, and you can’t get as good a deal as you could on existing construction. Keep your options open.”
Some buyers also feel that the higher price of new buildings is justified by things like a concierge, a fitness center, or valet parking, Glass added.
Indeed, a newly built home offers some advantages:
It’s move-in ready. It’s new and has never been lived in. You’ll have new fixtures, new appliances, and you’ll receive a builder’s warranty to protect you, and won’t need major repairs for several years. “Today’s new homes are built better than ever,” said Ryan O’Rourke, division president for luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers in Massachusetts.
It will be built to the latest building code and will be more energy-efficient than an older home.
The insurance will cost less, assuming you don’t purchase on Cape Cod or another coastal area. “New homes have brand-new roofs, electrical systems, plumbing, HVAC equipment, and other major components that are less likely to fail and generate claims,” said Loretta L. Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute. “By contrast, older homes may have aging roofs, outdated wiring, older plumbing systems, or deferred maintenance issues that increase the likelihood of claims and can result in higher premiums.”
Newer homes come with modern floor plans. Older homes can be dark with small rooms, while new construction will reflect current design trends (like open floor plans and kitchens with large islands) and the way people live now.
You can make it your own. Builders usually give buyers the opportunity to customize their new homes, choosing everything from the model and lot it sits on to cabinets, countertops, flooring, and appliances.
Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.
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