RULL EMERGES AS KEY PLAYER
Mayor’s pal now consults for developers seeking Hub OK
Joe Rull, a former top adviser to Mayor Martin J. Walsh who left last year to work on the Hub’s failed Olympic bid, has quietly reemerged as a consultant for developers seeking approval from City Hall, forming ties to as many as nine projects over the past year and sometimes without being listed for the public to see.
Rull, through his firm MJR Consulting, has worked on proposals ranging from Jamaica Plain to East Boston, at least four of which have already won approval from the board of the Boston Planning and Development Agency — known as the Boston Redevelopment Authority during the business in question.
A close friend to Walsh, who once reportedly called him “one of the people to carry my vision for the city” as his chief of operations, Rull now serves as what developers described as a liaison, both to city and elected officials and the communities where they’re trying to build.
Yet, that’s not always clear to the public. And a Herald review of hundreds of emails paints a sometimes cozy relationship between Rull and officials at the BRA, which is in the process of rebranding itself as the BPDA:
• On at least two projects, including a South Boston project that’s been approved, Rull is not listed in any of the documents the BRA made available on its website. The project manager for the 232 Old Colony project, where Rull is repeatedly included on emails with the development team, did not return emails for comment last week. Cliff Kensington, of City Realty Group — which counts Rull as a consultant on three projects — said he couldn’t explain why Rull wasn’t included on documents for a proposal at 301 Border St. in East Boston.
• On the same Eastie project, a lawyer told an official at the BRA that Walsh’s office was “pushing” him to complete a proposal for the 19 new condo units in East Boston.
“We are ready and can file” next week, attorney Jeffrey Drago, who shares office space with Rull, wrote in a Sept. 1 email on which Rull was cc’d. “The Mayor’s office is pushing me to get this through the process before the year ends both for the BRA and ZBA.”
In an interview, Drago said he believed he was referring to the mayor’s office of neighborhood services, which can be part of coordinating with the community on proposals. Walsh’s office said he is not directly involved.
• On a Mission Hill project, Rull and BRA officials also appeared to coordinate a response to a neighborhood advocate complaining about project meetings. “Please let’s just fix this amongst ourselves,” the advocate wrote. “I don’t want to have to complain to your respective bosses or the Mayor or the rest of our entire elected delegation.”
Phil Cohen, the BRA project manager, then forwarded the email to Rull. “Would you like to chat about a response?” he asked. Rull emailed back within an hour.
Given his close ties to City Hall, Rull’s involvement puts further pressure on the BRA as it tries to reshape a reputation as an access-driven bureaucracy rife with sweetheart deals for insiders, watchdogs say.
“All the steps that have been going on — with the two audits of the BRA, the work to improve the internal operations and put more emphasis on planning, trying to establish a new reputation and integrity — that has to be the highest priority, to not let close contacts with the administration who are working for developers to play an oversized role,” said Sam Tyler of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. “Who are the consultants working with the developers? That should be part of the public documents. Then you can