As the first workweek of the Orange Line shutdown begins, Boston organizations are raising concerns about how the closure will impact entrepreneurs in already-underserved communities.
Leaders from organizations including EforAll and the Roxbury Innovation Center told BostInno the shutdown will create yet another barrier for entrepreneurs and small-business owners in areas like Roxbury, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain.
Kurt Faustin, executive director of EforAll in Roxbury, said that like other commuters, entrepreneurs have to tackle the new logistical challenges to get around. But unlike commuters, who will be going to the same place each day, entrepreneurs often need to travel all around the city for meetings or speaking engagements.
“I don’t care what anyone says, these transportation issues will add on and not take away from some of the pressures or some of the barriers entrepreneurs are facing — just to move around,” Faustin said.
EforAll’s Roxbury-based location helps early-stage founders turn an idea into a business, Faustin said. The organization serves entrepreneurs in the Roxbury neighborhood and surrounding communities. Roxbury became a predominantly Black community by the 1960s and remains one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.
In addition to the logistical challenges, Faustin said he was also concerned about the mental stress the shutdown would create, especially for Black and Brown entrepreneurs.
“They say eight out of 10 Black and Brown entrepreneurs will fail in the first 15 months,” Faustin said. “My humble opinion is the failure is not necessarily due to a lack of talent or lack of a business model. It mainly has to do with stressors, emotional issues, obstacles they’re facing within their life.”
Faustin said this shutdown will be just another stressor to add to the list.
EforAll is based at the Roxbury Innovation Center, a space run by the nonprofit Innovation Studio. The center is home to programs, networking events and workspace for entrepreneurs.
'Bad policy'
Marisa Nieves, director of Massachusetts programs for Innovation Studio, said the shutdown as well as the longtime inferior condition of the Orange Line highlights the history of “bad policy and racist policy” regarding transportation in these communities.
Nieves pointed to a 1987 decision to tear down an elevated rail line serving Roxbury and replace it with the Silver Line buses as an example of the city failing to provide accessible and reliable transportation.
“This issue has been facing the Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park area for decades,” Nieves said. “If you think the T is not on time, the buses are even worse. So I think it just highlights the injustice that’s impacting these specific communities.”
The Roxbury Innovation Center regularly hosts events for entrepreneurs in Roxbury and surrounding communities to connect with other founders and experts from across the city. But the Orange Line shutdown could make it more difficult to bring people together, Nieves said.
“If anyone is trying to get here who’s not already directly within a few blocks radius and they don’t have a car, they’re not going to be able to get here unless they use a rideshare service. But even then, a lot of people can’t afford that,” Nieves said.
