Local News
The MBTA says its general manager’s absence from a community meeting was communicated in advance. One councilor says it wasn’t.
The Boston City Council voted Wednesday to subpoena MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng after he missed an Oct. 14 hearing on the controversial Blue Hill Avenue redesign.
The $163 million plan would add center-running bus lanes along a three-mile stretch of Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan and Dorchester. The project has drawn opposition from residents and councilors, who argue it would worsen traffic and eliminate parking for local businesses. In June, Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell proposed an alternative plan to extend the Orange Line.
The Oct. 14 field hearing focused on the civil rights implications of the plan, which covers neighborhoods with some of Boston’s largest Black populations. Culpepper said he filed the subpoena order because Eng, who also serves as the state’s interim secretary of transportation, did not attend the hearing.
“If you don’t show up for a hearing, and we don’t hear from you, then we have no alternative other than to subpoena you,” Culpepper told Boston.com in an interview Thursday.
Eight of the council’s 13 members voted in favor of the order. Councilors Gabriela Coletta Zapata and Sharon Durkan voted against it.
Under the order, Eng must appear at the Nov. 6 meeting to “provide testimony” in a hearing on civil rights implications of rapid-transit inequities and the proposed Orange Line extension. The order also requests that he bring crash data from 2022 to 2026.
Durkan said she opposed the order because she does not want the council to make a “mockery” of its subpoena power.
“The summons power that we have is incredibly important,” she said, “so we should be choosy in the way that we use that power.”
Councilors Enrique Pepén, John FitzGerald, and Benjamin Weber each voted present. Pepén, whose district includes Mattapan, said he could not support the order because he believes Eng and the MBTA are willing to respond to community concerns.
“I worked very closely with the MBTA team not just on this project specifically but on many other projects in my district,” Pepén said. “And whenever I reach out to them, they provide a response and either the secretary responds or a member of his team.”
The Mayor’s Office also opposes the move.
“The City does not believe that subpoenas are a constructive way to engage with close partners in government,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. “We encourage the Council to find more productive ways to engage.”
Culpepper said the City Council was not notified that Eng would miss the Oct. 14 hearing.
“They ignored us completely,” Culpepper said. “Not even a phone call to say he wasn’t coming.”
The MBTA disputed that account, saying in a statement that it had “previously informed the City Council” that Eng would not be available that day.
“The General Manager participated in two of the recent public meetings on the proposed Blue Hill Ave redesign,” the statement continues. “The General Manager also hosted a meeting about Blue Hill Ave with councilors Culpepper and Worrell in June.”
The agency said it is “reviewing” the council’s request and remains “committed to continuing to engage with the City and the community” on the project.
Culpepper said he would be ready to take Eng to court if he failed to appear.
At the Nov. 6 meeting, Culpepper expects to question Eng about the proposed center-running bus lanes, the project’s federal funding application, and the MBTA’s commitment to providing “comparable transit to the Black community.”
“We hope he shows up so we can have a meaningful discussion about the future of rail and the future of Blue Hill Avenue,” Culpepper said.
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