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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 named Kevin L’Herrou as the next Allston-Brighton Neighborhood Liaison after Frank Mendoza, his predecessor, was promoted to Deputy Director of the Office of Neighborhood Services.
L’Herrou, a Boston University graduate from Florida, said he was “incredibly privileged and lucky to be able to serve my community now” in an interview with the Crimson on Tuesday.
He will serve as a point of contact for residents in need of emergency services while managing basic quality of life complaints about rodents, potholes, and vandalism, and communicating city policies and updates.
Since being appointed about five weeks ago, L’Herrou has met with local leaders, civic associations, and other neighborhood groups to get to know the area better.
L’Herrou said he was struck by the communal spirit of Allston-Brighton after moving into the area — adding that some residents reached out to him to provide furniture after his arrival.
“When I moved to Allston-Brighton and found an incredibly welcoming, thriving community that, in my opinion, gave a lot to me, I just felt a huge urge to give back,” he said.
Mendoza, the former liaison since May 2022, said he was proud of his work so far at the ONS, pointing in particular to his efforts to assist residents displaced by fires.
The neighborhood liaison should be “a walking and talking encyclopedia of all things relating to their neighborhood,” Mendoza said in an interview.
“It’s a very dynamic office, it’s an office very engaged in the community, in grassroots, in organizing,” he added, as well as “listening to the pulse of what Bostonians have to say.”
In her statement, which also announced new neighborhood liaisons for the South End and Jamaica Plain, Wu called each “well suited for the neighborhoods they represent.”
“Neighborhood liaisons are a direct channel to city government, and I’m so grateful for their service and dedication to our communities. I look forward to working closely with these three additions to such an essential city office,” she said.
Looking forward, L’Herrou said he encouraged residents to reach out. Though he didn’t grow up in the neighborhood, L’Herrou said he’d had “nothing but pretty much a warm welcome” and relies on longtime residents to understand “how they feel the neighborhood has been changing.”
“I am really thankful to be living in such a welcoming and fantastic community,” L’Herrou said.
“I’m absolutely looking forward to being an advocate for a community that’s given so much to me,” he said.
—Staff writer Jina H. Choe can be reached at jina.choe@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Jack R. Trapanick can be reached at jack.trapanick@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @jackrtrapanick.
