good morning, everyone. welcome to urban update. i'm byron barnett. on the show this morning, two cities, haverhill and waltham, elect their first latino city councilors. we will have both city councillors-elect in the studio. also this morning, an upcoming fashion show with a fun diverse team and a great cause as well. but up first, east boston long known as the destination for many immigrants groups, it has been the home for waves of irish, canadian, jews and italians, today's immigrant residents are coming mostly from central and south america.

recently, the steady influx of professionals have begun to make an impact. as many longtime residents are starting to feel squeezed out. developers with projects and new works and ones being discussed often, the issue around the cost of housing is certainly a hot one in easts with. ... boston. joining us are east boston's state representative and boston city cowens whose district covers east boston as well as the north end and charlestown. gentlemen, thank you for coming. in welcome to urban update. before we get into the housing issues that we are going to talk about, you ran a very successful campaign last year. talk to me about... give our viewers your sense of east boston, it is a pretty diverse district. isn't it? >> it certainly is. thank you so much for having me this morning. east boston has always been an immigrant town. by nature, it is a very

diverse community. i really like to think of us as representing three different unique constituencies. each having their own challenges, opportunities, et cetera. one is certainly the, you know, old-time east bostonians. those that have been here for two, three, four generations. another would be the immigrant crowd that is representative of many different nationalities, cultures and religions. predominantly, currently, at central and south americans but also muslims from north africa and other places like that. the last constituency would be young professionals. in. neighborhood. >> okay. all right. you know this community is well... as well as anyone. talk to me about the housing issues. how that is sort of playing out in your view. talk to. residents, they are excited because they are selling their houses for a lot of money. million dollars in east

some over a million dollars. you have talked to longtime residents and some of the newer populations. particularly, the immigrant community. the rents are going up. we have never seen rents $1,500 $2,000 and more in east boston. that is a first. many years ago, the only development we saw in east boston was affordable housing. and a lot of people at that time, nine years ago, they were against affordable housing. they thought it was section eight. >> we have some statistics right there. average monthly rent in east boston. a huge increase. >> i feel bad for the young families in east boston. particularly, young kids. my daughter is 24. because i mean, they will be priced out. they won't be able to afford to buy a home in east boston. big concerns for that. >> now, i guess according to developers, they have now become landlords. they have issued eviction

notices to entire buildings. at least that is the way it is described. ordering residents to leave or pay up to $1,000 more per month. i mean, is there anything that people can do about this? anything at the legislature? >> it's certainly a concern. like sal said. it is a real thing happening in east boston. one by-product of gentryification is forcible displacement of residents. we are advocating for a balance of development. a balance of those luxury waterfront units with workforce housing. with affordable housing. you know, east boston remains a place that everyone has an opportunity to stay. >> yeah. now, sal, you said that you have seen the same changes in the north end. did you always sort of anticipate eventually, this is going to end up here in east boston? >> yes. you know, charlestown, the north end, south boston, the south end, they are already being developed.

a lot of it had to do with how the tunnel was built. there is always traffic. they look at east boston as an airport. east boston is a great neighborhood. finance... people have recognized east boston is a great place to live. close to downtown boston. they come to east boston. >> i guess it is not a surprise. you look and see what's happening in boston. all the buildings. the million-dollar condos going up. and the expensive apartments. i guess it was only a matter of time before it spread to the communities that are closest to downtown. >> i would say that i think east boston is still more affordable than other mentioned. more affordable than charlestown, the north end and south boston. >> well, we have been talking about high rents and everything. what about some positive things? we don't want to make this a whole downer. some positive things going on. point to some of the good things coming out of east boston. >> look, wear community that has a ton of wonderful amenities to offer. that is part of what's driving the desirability of east boston.

that is desirability is really at an all-time high. we will soon be the only community in the entire city, i believe, to have a continuous greenway connecting one section of the neighborhood to the other. we have a new charter school that is about to open. we have a beach. we have waterfront development. because we were the immigrant town, we have some soft best cuisine and most diverse in the city. that is why folks are coming. >> yeah. well, one thing about east this beautiful waterfront there. you have overlooking boston harbor and everything. i mean, that is really... there is some really... some great real estate to work with there. >> so now our focus right now is the harbor. we are going to focus on the harborwalks. so you can walk from logan airport all the way around east boston on the waterfront. hopefully, with the waterfront development, we will have some nice restaurants that you can some more retail space. health clubs. so our goal is to make sure

available and the community... the people that live in east boston will have access to waterfront. we are excited about that. the greenway is almost completed. >> the greenway has come right into east boston. the east boston greenway the from jeffrey's point. to the beach. hopefully, one day, we will get a connection from the beach to the marsh. we have one of the nicest salt water mashes... mar mashes... marshes in the city. wow. it is a beautiful, stunning green space overlooking boston harbor. it is stunning. >> i think it is one of the best parks in the state. so many people go there to take their wedding photos and really memorable photographs there. at the park. a special place. it is also where we host eastie pride day every year. >> for me it was interesting.

was younger. we had to take the kids from outside east boston to the suburbs to go to the parks. now the suburban kids are copping to boston to use our parks. new soccer fields, baseball fields, football fields. >> is there a great sailing program for kids in east boston? >> very affordable for the youth of east boston. great amenity. >> kids can get on the ocean and learn how to do it. again, all the back-up against all of this is really the housing, the development, we had luxury apartment buildings and condos going in on the waterfront there. >> yeah. i'll tell you. like we were saying. it is about balance. last week, sal and i were joined by charlie baker in east boston. we were announcing a few millions of dollars in grant money from the state, being spent in east boston on two mixed-income developments which include affordable housing in them. so i mean, that is the type of development we need to be

pushing for in east boston. >> yeah. ultimately, they will take the development and build low-income, middle-income, and upper-income housing. >> how worried ru r you about losing the character of the neighborhood? you know, with all this development and all the yuppies coming in and everything. >> well, listen, i welcome the yuppies. there was a time... (laughter) >> he wants the yuppies, too. >> you have to understand, i'm a lifelong east bostonian. there was a time when we had a lot of abandoned houses in east boston. vacant storefronts. our families and friends were moving out in the 80's. a lot of us saved in east boston. we have been working many years to finally get the development going. smart development. >> smart development. all right. any parting words? >> thank you for having us. it's been a pleasure. go patriots. >> okay.

all right. keep it going. keep the fingers crossed on. that coming up next, details on a fun fashion show with a diverse team of collaborators. details in a few.

>> our next guests are all about fashion and they are all about boston. we sit down with some fun folks w(o have a passion for

diversity and high fashion as well. take away, alberto. >> yes. that's right, byronful. our next guest was born in uganda, raised in boston. and is passionate about putting people together from all walks of life in his line of work which happens to be fashion. he is very talented. he has been nominated for the second consecutive year by the boston fashions award. one of the city's top fashion designers. a little applause. now, this fashion has brought to life his third annual fashion show which will take place next saturday, 21 at the hilton boston. the event has an impressive lineup of designers, make-up artists and entertainers. one of the best things of all, part of the proceeds go to the jimmy fund to support the dana-farber cancer institute. to tell us more about this collaboration is joe maliyka.

and the marketing director for a local studio. kudos to them. welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> i'm glad you guys came back after church. right? going to church early today. >> i had to do that. >> yes. it's less than a week. right? the event. before we get to that event, tell me what got you into fashion and how have you been so active near boston? >> i got into fashion... my grandmother was a tailor. i always wanted to do what she was doing. i moved out here and i was finding myself buying so many clothes. i wanted to do fashion. one day she told me, how come you are not senning any money? she told me, come on, you can make your own clothes.

making my own clothes. what? you can do this. here we are. >> one of the things about you, as i follow you and i have seen you, you have fast very diverse not just following, but a diverse collaboration of workers. the make-up artists. they will be doing part of this. then you have people like this. sell me on your salon. >> we are hp studio located brookline village. we are constantly trying to be part of our community. that is our big thing. i mean, the reason for our success is getting to work with people like you. to just continue that is what we are always trying to do. >> let me guess what you have been doing. let's see. oh, modeling. >> that's me. for this, what can we expect?

if i go to this, what am i going to see you doing? >> strutting my stuff down down the runway. >> all right. how excited are you for that? >> i'm really excited. we had banana republic the other day. i can't wait to show you guys. >>off can't tell us what it is, kind of a secret? >> no, no. >> all right. hey, a shout-out to you. i know that the day after the show is your birthday. right? >> yes, it is. >>off don't have to tell us how old you are going to be. >> that is secret, too. it is a secret. >> 22. oh, to be 22 again. right? tell me about the fashion here in boston. is boston a fashionable town? >> boston, i would say, probably not. i know. it's sad. we are trying to make it fashionable. yeah. >> okay. all right. good. >> not fashionable. >> we are getting there. >> a lot of people working towards that. a lot of that around town the

>> besides... a lot of designers come together to work together. which is different. there is a lot of competition. a lot of deaf signers come together. >> like i said, there is designing. there is entertainment. the hair-styles. that we are going to get to see. right? part of that is, you know, it falls on your shoulders. >> yes. absolutely. everyone knows your hair is your most valuable accessory. >> i didn't know that. let me write that down. >> it is. it is. you wear it every single day. and i think the biggest part about fashion is that it needs to complement the designs. will be very interesting to see the way the artists work together. >> anything goes. >> if it goes well, you get all the credit. what are you looking forward to most? >> i think i'm looking forward the most to supporting this cause. and you know, this is a huge

cause. we need to put some proceeds towards it. i'm trying to support this. >> proceeds going to the jimmy fund. >> that is correct. >> the dana-farber cancer institute. >> the jimmy fund... i figured we should just keep doing it. we always want to support them. i have some friends of mine who work there. >> tell me what to expect. give me a sneak preview. an elevator pitch. >> we are going to expect a band that will be performing. we will expect runway. you have to come to the show to see it all. >> you had me at the yellow dress. and all right.

so for you guys, that must mean... i mean, saturday is a busy day. you guys going to stay open and still be able to... >> we are going to be open. a big portion of the team is going to be working with joe. so it's going to be a busy day there. we are doing our best to raffle off v.i.p. tickets in the salon. all of the proceeds going to dana-farber as well. >> well, i look forward to it. next saturday. i will get to see you in some type of outfit. all the hair. you will be all over the place. all right. good. i wish you guys luck. all right. when we come back, byron will talk to two young men who earlier this week made history by becoming their respective city's first city councilor-elect.

right here on urban update. >> well, earlier this month, history was made as two cities in massachusetts elected their first latino city councilors. voters in haverhill elected the city'splace in tee know to public office as 22-year-old andy vargas finished third for city council in his first run for political office. with more than 3800 votes. all the way across in waltham, carlos won counselor at large seat. with more than 4800 votes. vargas is from dominican parents. carlos was born in peru. we have invited both of them little better. andy, why don't we start by background. >> right. >> well, i have been fortunate

a good education and reallythy american dream through my parents who came here from the dominican republic. worked in the shoe factories in haverhill. now i have had the opportunity to run for office in haverhill as a 22-year-old. i'm forever thankful for that opportunity. i have been passionate about civic engagement since i was 16, 17 years old. at 17, through an organization, we helped file legislation to bring civic education back into our high schools. ever since then, i have been on the path towards public service and focusing my experiences in that sector. >> 22 years old, too. that is amazing. carlos, what about you? a little background for you. >> i'm not 22 years old. sorry. >> you look it, though. >> thank you very much. i'm from peru. i moved here back in 1989. due to violence that was happening back there. we moved to the boston area with my mom and my older brother. i have been working since.

i have done a lot of... all kinds of work. i have been to school. also college. i have been involved with politics for over the last six years. since moving to waltham. i thought it was pretty important to represent a latino community that is there. it is quite large. also, to make sure we could make waltham a embezzlementer city. >> all right. now, andy, again, 22 years old. give us historical perspective how long it's been since haverhill has had a latino candidate run for office. >> well, everyone... we elected the first latino. we had the first latino candidate which is something i have been blessed and honored to have. to be able to say. so yeah, i mean, this is the first time. >> a 22-year-old role model. carlos, i guess what about you? what made you run? what clicked if your head? >> i ran two years ago for the

first time. i came in a hundred votes shy to making it. i wanted to run so i could make waltham a better city for everybody. i want to improve communications. i want to improve the mix of businesses we have in waltham. i'm passionate about waltham. it's my city. i have been there since 2003. >> now, you have also made history there as well. talk to me about your campaign and i guess the significance of your new constituents. >> sure. it was intreing... interesting. you know, i am a latino. i didn't run on that platform. i did want to reach out to everyone. i wanted to make sure everyone knew i was there to support the whole community. we are a community of 60,000 people. i presented the ideas to the whole community to. improve communications: to create a mix of business and so on. >> andy, a question for you. what made you run? >> sure. well, i think similar to

carlos, i ran not only on the latino platform. although i find it a blessing to be able to say i'm latino. i ran on improving the city services to all residents that we have in haverhill. i also ran on the grassroots campaign they think was unprecedented in haverhill. we had 75-plus volunteers. we knocked on 5,000 doors. made 2,000 phone calls. that is really the only way we were able to come in the top three. >> by the way, i believe we are looking at a picture of someone... oh, my goodness. that was my campaign headquarters. those are the shoes i wore when we knocked on those 5,000 doors. without my family, friends, supporter, the high school interns that we had, the senior volunteers that we had, none of this would have been possible. i want to thank all of them for the hard work they have

put into this. >> no. i had some people... somewhat's interesting. i don't have a network as others might have. so it was an uphill battle from the beginning. >> one thing i would like to ask both of you. what does this say about the changing demographics of the state of massachusetts? >> well, i through it says a lot. there are different groups of people. the groups are getting quite large in the state. we are fining the political area to be a stepping point to get into different areas in

>> we talk about demographics. we talk about age. i think people are very open to having young people running for office. we are innovative. we know how to use technology. we are bringing our cities into the 21st century. not only being latino but also being young was an advantage on the campaign trail. again, i would like to see more young people, more latinos. more folks who have traditionally been disenfranchised from the political process to step in and say hey, my voice matters, too. >> what are the top issues that you feel passionate about, that you think you will have to deal with? >> again, i was talking to andy earlier. we boat agree onimproving communications between city hall and its residents. that is very important. >> absolutely. i think, number one, just because we have folks dying every single week in

my main thing is to treat this as a public health issue. we need to accept that what we are doing now, throwing people in jail and expecting them to come out okay is not working. that is our number one issue that we are having. folks are dying every week. number two, you will find this across cities, across the country. the communication issue with city hall and its residents. what i have been campaigning on is letting folks know that their local government matters just as much, if not more than the federal or state government. >> now, a lot of cynics say the politics, being in such a toxic state dissuades young people. now, you guys are new blood coming in here. do you see these things? do you have the sent that this sort of state of politics dissuades young people from going into the field of public service? >> i believe so. i think when you see on the

national level, how things look. if you get really discouraged by what's going on, i think it affects people. >> we are doing amazing things in the private sector. especially young people, solving some of the world's most pressing problems. i would like to see more young people saying "i would like to solve government's problems." making that more attractive to them would involve having more young people running for office. >> okay. carlos, thank you for coming in. congratulations. and andy vargas. 22-year-old andy vargas. congratulations. >> thank you very much. >> i hope you both make a big difference. well, that is it for this

the entire team here. i'm byron barnett.