City Councillors return to their chamber setting

A handful of Boston City Councillors made their way back into their City Hall chamber last Wednesday for the first time since the building closed to the public at the start of the pandemic.

With social distancing guidelines in place and masks on faces, the councilors attended their weekly meeting of the full body.

City Council offices remain closed to the public and members of the media or public cannot attend council meetings, a council official said. A timeline for reopening council meetings to the public was also unavailable Wednesday afternoon.

City Council President Matt O’Malley could be seen standing at the rostrum inside the chamber and at several points, Councillors Michelle Wu, Julia Mejia, Ricardo Arroyo, Lydia Edwards, and Kenzie Bok were also in-person.

Councilors Liz Breadon, Michael Flaherty, and Andrea Campbell could be seen participating remotely.

At the start of the pandemic last spring, state and municipal government buildings largely closed to the public out of health concerns. Since then, a contingent of state and city workers have started to make their way back into the buildings as case numbers decline and vaccination rates pick up.
The fate of another important government building in Boston, the State House, remains unclear. Legislative and administrative leaders shuttered the building last spring and have not outlined plans to reopen it.


Subscribe to the Dorchester Reporter