Marissa Vogt

Today is another heat emergency day in Brookline - but we don't have a town outdoor pool where folks can cool down, play, or take swimming lessons ☀️ 🏊 😎

Please sign the petition in support of building an outdoor pool here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I love that idea - I hope members of the public will reach out! You can find contact info for library admin staff at www.brooklinelibrary.org/about/contac... and maybe fill out the form at www.brooklinelibrary.org/request-purc...

The strong imbalance is an interesting observation, sure, but it’s possible most folks didn’t hear about it? (Sorry I didn’t read your article, I probably missed it in all of the other things going on that week with life, work, and Town Meeting.)

I unequivocally condemn this anti-Semitic act of political violence. My heart goes out to the owners, employees, and patrons of The Butcherie and to all of our Jewish neighbors and community members. Hate has no place in our community.

Sign the Petition Support safe routes to Hayes School and Eliot Playground

Please sign this petition to support increased pedestrian safety near the Hayes School and Eliot playground: chng.it/WQ2YxsT5 This item will be on the TBoard agenda next week and you can also show support by sending an email to transportation@brooklinema.gov

The ones in Brookline at Francis & Toxteth St and in front of the Lawrence School were recently repainted and look beautiful! 🏳️‍🌈

😝 I didn’t mean you!

I was actually mostly thinking of how extraordinary it was to see the current Moderator and a longtime former Moderator come down from the big kids podium and speak for or against a warrant article.

There have been some truly bizarre parts of the debate on WA 30 but it's mostly inside baseball and really hard to explain within the character limits here.

Articles 25-28 were uncontroversial and passed overwhelmingly and relatively quickly. We're currently debating WA 30, which has been amended but now asks the Select Board to appoint a new committee to "further augment" the work of the recent Moderator's Committee on Forms of Government.

It took ~13 minutes to get a quorum for the 4th and final night of #BrooklineTownMeeting but we've started off with article 25, a resolution stating Brookline's support for state legislation establishing a Climate Change Superfund.

After much debate, Town Meeting rejected (97-118-8) the finance committee's proposal to turn WA 24, which would create a home rule petition asking for permission to create a real estate transfer fee, into a resolution. We then passed the home rule petition form of WA 24, 130-84-13.

We’re up to article 23 - almost everything is going quickly and passing overwhelmingly. I think some folks are hoping we’ll finish with our remaining articles tonight but WA 24, the home rule petition for a real estate transfer fee, will likely take at least 30 minutes.

WA 16 passed overwhelmingly, 209-4-9, far surpassing the 2/3 needed because it was a zoning change 🚲. This is a great step to support sustainable transportation. (And long-term bike storage is a real problem in our older buildings -- I recently bought a bike and haven't found a good storage option.)

WA 12, a required update to our floodplain zoning regulations, was uncontroversial and passed overwhelmingly.

Now we're discussing WA 16, which would increase the requirements for long-term large bicycle parking in new buildings and long-term bicycle parking in new 100% affordable buildings 🚲

2025 Annual Town Meeting Night 3 Night 3 will begin at 7:00 on Wednesday June 4. We have made good progress covering the warrant thus far. The Town Meeting Progress Tracker has been updated. Looking ahead, the order for the remaining Articles is as follows: Article 29: Resolution: Declaring sanctuary status for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse people Article 11: No motion offered Article 12: Establishing A Floodplain Administrator And Updates To The Floodplain Overlay District Article 13: Amend the by-laws election of Constables Article 16: Amend Zoning by-law in order to allow a higher % of bicycle parking to be dedicated to larger bicycles Article 17: Amend by-laws to restrict firearms in places that serve alcohol for consumption on-site and other medical/healthcare settings Article 18: Amend the by-laws sustainable food packaging. (Articles 18 & 19 debated together) Article 19: Amend by-laws for sustainable bags Article 21: Amend the by-laws to create a Commission on Thriving Children and Youth Article 22: No motion offered Article 23: Amend the by-laws to specify timely bylaw updates Article 24: Home Rule: Real Estate Transfer Fee Article 25: Resolution: Support of legislation to establish a Climate Change Superfund Article 26: Resolution: Prevent the forced payment of broker’s fees by tenants Article 27: Resolution: Back from the Brink of Nuclear War Article 28: Resolution: Affirming the Town’s commitment to democracy Article 30: Resolution: Forms of Govt Committee

#BrooklineTownMeeting is in the home stretch!

We've started with WA 29, a resolution that declares Brookline’s support for the rights and safety of transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse individuals in our community, including students. The article passed unanimously, 198-0-10.
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎🤍💙💗

Pride flag on display outside the Brookline village branch of the Brookline Public Library

Happy Pride month, Brookline
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎🤍🩷🩵

My approach to basically everything is to just wash it anyway. Anything that’s not functionally washable doesn’t fit with my lifestyle 😝

By comparison, the foie gras ban - which I supported - is entirely consistent with Brookline’s enthusiasm for virtue signaling (especially on issues like animal rights and climate). The foie gras ban has little practical implication and minimal cost.

3/3

Town Meeting made the right choice by boldly supporting disability rights. This was great to see, particularly since we’ve been somewhat conservative with our recent approach to land use, including rejecting some modest upzoning proposals last fall.

2/3

Though I respect & am grateful for the coverage, @brooklinenews.bsky.social has the wrong focus. Despite massive opposition from the Select Board & finance committee, Town Meeting voted for the stronger resident-petitioned version of the zoning bylaw disability accommodations - that’s a big deal 1/3

Sorry I missed saying hello - I must’ve been busy handing out munchkins 😋 🚲

Particular thanks to our Safe Routes to School task force chair Nathan Freitas, our state SRTS coordinator Tina Hein, Transportation Board members Richard Murphy and Wendy Friedman, Brookline Police, and David Kroop from Biking Brookline.

Students and community members wait for the start of the Pierce bike bus. Tina from the state Safe Routes to Schools group adjusts a student’s helmet for a safe fit.

Nathan from Safe Routes to School stands on a picnic table addressing the bike bus crowd before our ride

Full bike racks at Pierce @ OLS

Thanks to everyone who came out to join or support our Pierce bike bus this morning! We had about 20 students (and about that many adults) ride from the library to Pierce @ OLS with an escort from the police bike unit. The kids had a blast! One student said they want to do this every day 😍

(1/2)

Brookline’s Pierce School/Old Lincoln #bikebus this morning, via my friend Wendy; I came through about 4 minutes later, with a very little kid who couldn’t keep up with the big group but gamely pedaled, pushed, and walked her tiny bike all the way.

I voted to keep the petitioner’s motion because it provides more support and privacy for individuals with disabilities.

We also passed the petitioner’s version of Article 15, which would allow the building commissioner to lift a stay of demolition to provide a reasonable accommodation.

After extensive debate we rejected a substitute motion under Article 14 and then passed the petitioner’s version. The article creates administrative process by which individuals w/disabilities could request reasonable accommodations when seeking relief from zoning rules.

2025 Annual Town Meeting Night 2-5/28/2025 During night 1 we completed Articles 1-8 and got partway through the budget (Article 9) including the Lebovitz motion. For night 2, we will consider Articles in the following order: Article 9-Complete the FY 2026 Budget Article 10-CPA Appropriation Articles 14 and 15-relating to how the Town zoning and demolition delay bylaw handles requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities (Debated together) Article 20-Ban sale of Foie Gras Then back to articles in order: Article 11-No motion will be offered Article 12-Floodplains Article 13-Constables Article 16-Zoning-bicycle parking Article 17-firearm restrictions in places that serve alcohol and other medical/healthcare I don’t know how far we will get but participants in the articles listed should be prepared to present. Neil Wishinsky, Brookline Town Moderator

#BrooklineTownMeeting continues tonight! Night 2 begins by continuing the budget (Article 9), Community Preservation Act appropriations (Article 10), then taking a few articles out of order.

Here's my warrant article summary and voting guide: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I (& many other TMMs) are frustrated that the Select Board didn’t engage more with Town Meeting and the public when they signed the contract. Town Meeting is too often treated as a rubber stamp on decisions that are technically ours but basically already finalized by others in practice.

#BrooklineTownMeeting voted down the amendment that would’ve kept trash collection in-house, rejecting the contract with Casella, 66-153-13. I voted no because of the uncertainty with renegotiating the Casella contract by July 1 and the impact of morale on the wider DPW workforce but it was tough.

Facing worker shortage, town privatizes curbside trash collection - Brookline.News In an effort to stave off a crisis caused by issues with staffing and vehicle maintenance, the town on July 1 will turn over curbside trash collection to a private company, Casella Waste Management, u...

Here’s some background on the sanitation contract from @brooklinenews.bsky.social —
brookline.news/facing-worke...