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Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

@realBurhanAzeem • 4,701 subscribers

Running for MA State Senate to Represent Medford, Somerville, Winchester and Cambridge | Founder Abundant Housing MA

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The triple decker might be the most Massachusetts thing there is. It's also illegal to build in almost every city and town. Look around your block. Most of what you see couldn't be built today. In Cambridge, 85% of our buildings were illegal until I helped fix it last year.

The triple decker might be the most Massachusetts thing there is. It's also illegal to build in almost every city and town. Look around your block. Most of what you see couldn't be built today. In Cambridge, 85% of our buildings were illegal until I helped fix it last year.

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

242,680 views • 3 months ago

You know what’s even better than affordable housing? An economic mobility machine. Let me introduce you to Rindge Commons. Rindge Commons is a set of 100% affordable apartments in North Cambridge. We recently completed 24 units. Very soon, we will have 101 apartments, which were made possible by the Affordable Housing Overlay I helped pass. Housing was just the first step, though. Our community partner Just A Start provides on-site job training to residents and community members. That way, folks can get jobs that earn them a living wage. But wait, there’s more! Ringe Commons also has three pre-k classrooms, so parents can easily drop off their kids in the morning on their way to the well-paying jobs they got training for. And of course, the schools themselves are affordable, because I ensured preschools were free for Cambridge 4-year-olds two years ago. Most affordable housing stops at “you have a place to live.” This one asks “what if you had a place to thrive?”

You know what’s even better than affordable housing? An economic mobility machine. Let me introduce you to Rindge Commons. Rindge Commons is a set of 100% affordable apartments in North Cambridge. We recently completed 24 units. Very soon, we will have 101 apartments, which were made possible by the Affordable Housing Overlay I helped pass. Housing was just the first step, though. Our community partner Just A Start provides on-site job training to residents and community members. That way, folks can get jobs that earn them a living wage. But wait, there’s more! Ringe Commons also has three pre-k classrooms, so parents can easily drop off their kids in the morning on their way to the well-paying jobs they got training for. And of course, the schools themselves are affordable, because I ensured preschools were free for Cambridge 4-year-olds two years ago. Most affordable housing stops at “you have a place to live.” This one asks “what if you had a place to thrive?”

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

32,357 views • 2 months ago

Everyone in this race is progressive and says the T needs more funding. That's true, but not enough. GLX opened after 32 years, then shut down almost immediately because the $2.3B track was built too narrow. We need to build gov capacity and show liberals can deliver.

Everyone in this race is progressive and says the T needs more funding. That's true, but not enough. GLX opened after 32 years, then shut down almost immediately because the $2.3B track was built too narrow. We need to build gov capacity and show liberals can deliver.

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

42,195 views • 4 months ago

Massachusetts has one of the least productive legislatures in the country. Last week it moved fast for once: voting 125-28 to gut the audit 72% of voters approved and block the courts from enforcing it. No hearing, 24 hours to read it. They can move quickly. Just not for you.

Massachusetts has one of the least productive legislatures in the country. Last week it moved fast for once: voting 125-28 to gut the audit 72% of voters approved and block the courts from enforcing it. No hearing, 24 hours to read it. They can move quickly. Just not for you.

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

33,667 views • 3 months ago

Massachusetts needs an ADU assembly line. When the state legalized accessory dwelling units, I was genuinely excited. Granny flats and backyard units create more housing capacity without changing what a neighborhood feels like. I also assumed there would be economies of scale, that someone would design a beautiful ADU, a company would identify how to build it at scale, and you start seeing them pop up all over the state. But that hasn’t happened, and here’s why: We have 351 municipalities, and every single one runs a unique site plan review process. So you can design a single ADU for all of Massachusetts, but you have to tweak it 351 times to fit the different rules for setbacks and placement. That adds time and cost for homeowners during the permitting process. I’m always looking for easy ways to increase the speed at which we build housing. Having a statewide uniform site plan for ADUs is low-hanging fruit.

Massachusetts needs an ADU assembly line. When the state legalized accessory dwelling units, I was genuinely excited. Granny flats and backyard units create more housing capacity without changing what a neighborhood feels like. I also assumed there would be economies of scale, that someone would design a beautiful ADU, a company would identify how to build it at scale, and you start seeing them pop up all over the state. But that hasn’t happened, and here’s why: We have 351 municipalities, and every single one runs a unique site plan review process. So you can design a single ADU for all of Massachusetts, but you have to tweak it 351 times to fit the different rules for setbacks and placement. That adds time and cost for homeowners during the permitting process. I’m always looking for easy ways to increase the speed at which we build housing. Having a statewide uniform site plan for ADUs is low-hanging fruit.

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

14,583 views • 1 month ago

Medford passed a $7.5M override. Winchester rejected $11.5M. Somerville froze hiring to avoid the ballot entirely. Three cities, one broken system. Prop 2½ shouldn’t make funding schools and roads a gamble every few years.

Medford passed a $7.5M override. Winchester rejected $11.5M. Somerville froze hiring to avoid the ballot entirely. Three cities, one broken system. Prop 2½ shouldn’t make funding schools and roads a gamble every few years.

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

36,518 views • 5 months ago

While we're on the topic of alcohol. It costs about $100,000 just to get a liquor license in Somerville. Before you sign a lease or pour a single drink. Why? A cap from prohibition times (1933). The city voted unanimously to scrap it. Beacon Hill said no. Let's lift the cap

While we're on the topic of alcohol. It costs about $100,000 just to get a liquor license in Somerville. Before you sign a lease or pour a single drink. Why? A cap from prohibition times (1933). The city voted unanimously to scrap it. Beacon Hill said no. Let's lift the cap

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

21,333 views • 2 months ago

You'll understand our campaign more from this launch video than anything else. We gave it our heart and soul. Give it a watch.

You'll understand our campaign more from this launch video than anything else. We gave it our heart and soul. Give it a watch.

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

36,886 views • 6 months ago

When I ran for City Council, I published my to-do list for if I got into office. Three terms later, we've checked a lot of projects off: ✅ 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 (Starting in fall 2024, we ensured every family could send their 4-year-olds to no-cost preschool) ✅ 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝟮.𝟬 (Passed in Oct 2023) ✅ 𝗥𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 (After the February 2025 multifamily ordinance passed 8-1, allowing triple-decker buildings by right citywide) Over the next few weeks, I'm publishing my to-do list for the State House. What do you want us to accomplish at the state level? Let me know ⬇️

When I ran for City Council, I published my to-do list for if I got into office. Three terms later, we've checked a lot of projects off: ✅ 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 (Starting in fall 2024, we ensured every family could send their 4-year-olds to no-cost preschool) ✅ 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝟮.𝟬 (Passed in Oct 2023) ✅ 𝗥𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 (After the February 2025 multifamily ordinance passed 8-1, allowing triple-decker buildings by right citywide) Over the next few weeks, I'm publishing my to-do list for the State House. What do you want us to accomplish at the state level? Let me know ⬇️

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

14,757 views • 2 months ago

"Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome." That's the story of the mbta and how it went awry. The T runs on a state tax that's always short, set by legislators whose voters don't ride it. LA faced the identical broken incentive in 2008 and fixed it. Montreal did too

"Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome." That's the story of the mbta and how it went awry. The T runs on a state tax that's always short, set by legislators whose voters don't ride it. LA faced the identical broken incentive in 2008 and fixed it. Montreal did too

Burhan Azeem, Cambridge Vice Mayor

10,235 views • 3 months ago

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