New Faces and Resources from Greater Boston Legal Services

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Last Thursday afternoon, I ventured off to the Greater Boston Legal Services office conveniently located just five minutes from the North Station T stop. There I met with Barbara Zimbel an attorney from the housing department who explained the process someone goes through to get a lawyer to represent them.

Outside Greater Boston Legal Services. Photo taken from Google Maps Street View.

“You can’t just walk in and request a lawyer,” Zimbel said. Greater Boston Legal Services helps people find a lawyer after they fill out the appropriate paperwork. Lawyers do not directly come from Great Boston Legal Services, rather from the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center (LARC), which they match you up with.

LARC operates as a free legal hotline service since 1983 as stated on its website.

Nevertheless, she was able to connect me with Mac McCreight, the Housing Law Unit Lead Attorney at Greater Boston Legal Service who sent me an email this morning to see how he can assist me with my research. He focus is on public housing and section 8 vouchers and he primarily works with the Boston Housing Authority.

He was able to provide me with resources for my interest in gentrified neighborhoods. McCreight told me to try reaching out to the Department of Neighborhood Development since the City of Boston regularly monitors trends in rent levels throughout the city. He also mentioned an organization known as City Life/Vida Urbana

which also keeps track of post-foreclosure units that are sold at higher rent prices to investors and owners.

I will look into these resources as I continue to report on news for my blog. I will hopefully conduct an interview with McCreight sometime in the near future.

Crime and Housing in the South End…Is there a correlation?

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2013

A snapshot of the crime database on Universal Hub.

Neighborhoods in Boston can become very dangerous places to live in. Often, areas with low-income housing experience a lot of violent crime, as shown by this database provided by the website Universal Hub. This site shows a list of reported crimes in the South End over the past four years – as early as August 2008 and as late as December 2012. These crimes were reported by media and the Boston Police. Click on each incident to learn what was reported.

Ameresco’s Green Initiative Works in Boston and Beyond

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2013

After running a search on videos about Boston housing, I discovered this company Ameresco who was recently in the news. I’ve created a story about what I discovered below using the curation tool Storify.

Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston signs a labor agreement between Ameresco and the Boston Housing Authority.View as slideshow

1. Public Housing Announcement

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   bostoncable

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   Mon, May 23 2011 12:46:31

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2. This video shows how public housing and energy efficiency can go hand-in-hand. Ameresco teams up with the Boston Housing Authority to create greener units at no cost to tax payers using cutting-edge technology!
3. Ameresco – Boston Housing Authority

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   ameresco

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   Fri, Jul 15 2011 07:19:10

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4. How does Ameresco do this you might ask? Read all about its efforts in this publication:
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   Naesco

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6. Here is information on two of the 13 housing developments Ameresco has been working with. Both are in the South End. Lenox and Camden are considered one development.
7. Boston Housing Authority – Torre Unidad

   Torre Unidad is located on West Dedham Street in the historic South End community of Boston. Our complex is very close to a wide variet…

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8. Boston Housing Authority – Lenox

   52 Chauncy Street Boston, MA 02111-2375 … 136 Lenox Street, South End … Lenox/Camden is located in the South End, near many shops a…

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9. Boston Housing Authority – Camden

   52 Chauncy Street Boston, MA 02111-2375 … Street is a small family development located within the Lenox/Camden complex in the South E…

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10. A brief history of Ameresco Inc., based in Framingham, Massachusetts. This article explains how its investment in energy efficiency is perfect for the present.
11. Not flashy, but Ameresco prospers in energy … – The Boston Globe

    Sep 11, 2012 … While flashy alternative energy companies with gee-whiz technologies have foundered in recent years, George P. Sakella…

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    www.bostonglobe.com

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12. The company teams up with Ennovate, a company based in Aurora, Colorado, as of Friday, February 8, 2013.
13. 

    techrockies@techrockies

    Ennovate Acquired By Ameresco bit.ly/TTSiXi

    Fri, Feb 08 2013 05:58:45

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14. 

    WBJournal@WBJournal

    Ameresco Purchases Colorado Company goo.gl/fb/WDvyK

    Fri, Feb 08 2013 07:48:13

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15. 

    Christopher McIntosh@BosBizPublisher

    Ameresco buys Colorado energy services biz – Boston Business Journal lnkd.in/F7qUzk

    Fri, Feb 08 2013 08:24:31

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16. 

    Renewable Search@RenewableSearch

    Ameresco Inc. Buys Energy Services Company Ennovate Corp.: Ameresco Inc., an energy efficiency … bit.ly/11UJhkt #renewable #grid

    Fri, Feb 08 2013 09:09:26

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17. 

    DenverBusinessJournl@denbizjournal

    Ameresco buys Colorado’s Ennovate to expand in Rocky Mountains dlvr.it/2w4Vbd

    Thu, Feb 07 2013 13:59:01

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Strategy for action: radon detection on list of priorities for healthy homes on world cancer day

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 4, 2013

This morning, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hosted the two-hour event “Advancing Healthy Housing – A Strategy for Action” in Washington, D.C. (purpose of event here, read press release here). The event began at 9:30 a.m. HUD started the hash tags #StrategyforAction and #HealthyHomes in the Twitter-sphere which were used by other federal agencies throughout the event.

While most relaters, mortgage loaners and others involved in the housing industry were mostly Re-tweeting updates from the event and quotable moments, The National Center for Healthy Housing was the first to Tweet about radon and how it can affect a household when undetected.

Radon in homes is estimated to cause 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually #HealthyHomes
#StrategyforAction

— Department of Housing and Urban Development (@HUDgov) February 4, 2013

@HUDNews Secretary Donovan endorses principles of #HealthyHousing testing 100,000 #multifamily housing units for #radon #StrategyForAction

— National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) (@NCHH) February 4, 2013

The hash tag #radon caught on briefly after this Tweet and more news about radon detection was Tweeted alongside the hash tags #StrategyforAction and #HealthyHomes.

The Children’s Environmental Health Network then Tweeted about the correlation between radon and lung cancer.

88% of Americans do not know #radon is a health issue to be aware of. #HealthyHomes #LungCancer

— Children's Environmental Health Network (@CEHN) February 4, 2013

The hash tag #LungCancer has been spread around the Twitter-sphere today alongside #WorldCancerDay which falls on February 4. “Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States,” according to the National Cancer Institute website.

It’s interesting that radon detection was mentioned on World Cancer Day. established by the Union for International Cancer Control, as a way to make all homes and housing units  in the United States healthier.

Low-income and disabled: conversation with peer advocate of Boston Center for Independent Living

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON JANUARY 31, 2013

Trying to find housing in Boston is hard enough. Imagine trying to find housing for you and your spouse when you are both low-income, disabled and have “CORIs” (Criminal Offender Record Information) against you.

Erica Tanen, peer disability advocate for Boston Center for Independent Living, is currently working with a couple, or consumer, to secure  housing for them, but the process has not be easy. A major issue has been dealing with owners who have denied applicants based on their section 8 vouchers which pays for about 70 percent of the person’s housing costs.

“It’s illegal for anyone to deny an applicant because of a section 8 voucher,” Tanen said. Still, owners have told some of her consumers that they do not accept these vouchers, which is obviously not the case. Tanen then has to tell her consumers that the owner is misinformed. The next step is advocacy. At times the consumer will call the home-owner themselves, other times Tanen confronts the owner for her consumer via telephone.

“It’s awkward for me,” Tanen said. Owners usually tell her that they will not accept her consumers because they have had low-income section 8 voucher owners as tenants before which, “hasn’t worked out so well.”

Tanen’s job is to then refer her consumers to a lawyer in the community. One popular choice is Greater Boston Legal Services which provides lawyers to these low-income applicants to fight discriminatory affordable housing owners.

While this process is going on, these applicants must renew their section 8 vouchers which expire every 60 days, depending on where they got their voucher, what type of voucher it is, along with some other factors. Their disability helps approve them for these renewals, Tanen said.

Consumers who resource Boston Housing Authority for housing are usually placed on an eight year waiting list on average. If they are homeless at the time then their waiting time is reduced to about five years. These consumers can either apply to be on another  list for public housing or private subsidized housing (check out list of available private subsidies here or on the HUD website here). The benefit of applying for public housing is that there is one single application that can be used to apply to almost all 242 different housing authorities (see list of public housing here or on the Metropolitan Boston Housing Authority page here).

Snapshot of public housing application with reasonable accommodation request through Boston Housing Authority

With the rise in affordable housing units across the city, consumers of Boston Center for Independent Living are applying to live in newer buildings which can sometimes be easier to get in to depending on the owner, according to Tanen. Tanen says that consumers who apply to private subsidized buildings in addition to public housing tend to get housing quicker than those who only apply to public housing as well.

There are other obstacles that stand in the way of her consumers getting housing. If they are married during the waiting process then their spouse cannot live with them because they originally asked to be housed as a single person. They can also lose their housing easily if they allow someone to stay over their apartment during the night.

These strict factors make it hard for some to gain or maintain their affordable housing units. Tanen said that there is also a “pre-waiting list” for individuals who apply for section 8 vouchers which are “really hard to get.”

While these consumers are playing the waiting game essentially, they are competing with many others who wish to occupy affordable housing in the city. Agencies like Boston Center for Independent Living will strive to streamline the process for those who are unsure of their options.

Owner supports move from low income to market rate housing

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON JANUARY 23, 2013

On May 29, the City Council passed a resolution for David Parker, owner of Rutland Housing, to work with tenants to find some common ground on preserving low income housing in the apartment complex.

Since then, Parker has refused to meet with them.

Parker, who wasn’t present during the City Council hearing for affordable housing held that day, said he would have been more than happy to attend if he didn’t receive a “ghost invitation.”

By ghost invitation, Parker means that he did not know about the meeting until the morning of, saying that it was not well organized.

Kane, a proponent of affordable housing, says that Parker was “outside in his SUV” of Saint Steven’s Episcopal Church in the South End when the hearing was held. The hearing took place in that church, the location where the Rutland Housing Tenant Organization held its biweekly meetings.

When asked if he would support mixed income housing, a question that tenants and Kane have for him, he said he already does.

To Kane, this question refers to the Project Based Vouchers (PBVs) that would allow a portion of the building to remain compliant to the project based Section 8 contract, low income. But Parker doesn’t see it that way.

Kane and members of the Rutland House Tenant Organization have sent multiple letters to Parker saying that they would support him if he wanted to move forward with this proposal.

The vouchers could be transferred to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development Office to guarantee that a portion of the future tenants will be low income while the other would pay market value.

When asked if he was willing to consider that option in an interview this week, a question that Kane and the tenants haven’t had answered, he said he would not.

“I don’t see how this would happen,” Parker said. “There would be two bureaucracies, two groups to manage—that would be an administrative nightmare!”

Parker stressed that the current community will not be evicted from their apartments, but also said that “probably 20 years from now” Rutland Housing will become a market rate housing complex, a fear that tenants have for the future of diversity in the South End.

Parker says that the “city has improved” because of the actions of people like him who partnered up with the government 40 years ago to finance affordable housing.

He feels no need to bust in terms of considering to preserve low income units in his apartment building and doesn’t want to be pressured to do so by other special interest groups.

“The U.S. government should be held accountable to their obligation,” Parker said, which is to allow owners to do whatever they please with their property after the section 8 contract expires.

Parker hasn’t heard much from “the two tenants and Michael Kane,” who he says make up the Rutland Housing Tenant Organization. The last correspondence he received from them was about three to four months ago.

Councilor Tito Jackson, who tried to mediate discussion between Parker and the organization after the hearing in May, hasn’t returned any of Parker’s recent calls on other issues.

Kane is waiting to hear back from Sheila Dillon, the Chief of Housing and Director of the Department of Neighborhood Development for Mayor Menino, to discuss owner legislation.

Proponent of new tenant organization shares history of for profit owner

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON JANUARY 23, 2013

Photo outside of Michael Kane’s office PHOTO BY JORDAN FRIAS

In the basement of 42 Seaverns Avenue in Jamaica Plain is the office of Michael Kane, executive director of the Mass Alliance of Human & Urban Development (HUD) Tenants. Kane, who helped Rutland Housing Tenants form the Rutland Housing Tenant Organization in Feb. 2012, confirms that the group is still alive and well when questioned about its activity. What he is ready to talk about is what he calls the untold story of how David Parker, the owner of Rutland Housing, purchased the building that was previously owned by nonprofit management.

Kane came across Parker when he was involved in an elected neighborhood organization for urban housing known as the South End Project Area Committee (SEPAC) in the 70s. Kane says Parker was on the board of the organization earlier that decade, but wasn’t reelected in 1975. Parker then became “a principal leader” of a group called the Committee of Citizens for a Balanced South End. This group filed a controversial environmental lawsuit against urban developers of the Concord Homes project and HUD as reported by the SEPAC newsletter in March 1975. The lawsuit stated that these groups would “perpetuate a high density area of low-income Blacks” that would hurt South End property values with their construction of affordable housing.

A copy of the SEPAC Newsletter explaining the environmental lawsuit PHOTO BY JORDAN FRIAS

“They said that blacks were a pollutant,” Kane said, when asked about this incident.

The lawsuit was dropped.

Kane says that Parker was a “very controversial” figure around that time. He was a “small speculator” of Rutland Housing and had lived across the street from that building. Kane says that Parker was a “conning” figure who befriended elderly black woman in the community to take advantage of them when they sold their property. He would purchase their buildings for much less than what they were worth and convert them into market rate housing, a move that Kane and Rutland tenants believe he will make when it comes to Rutland Housing.

Since the deadline passed for Parker to renew a 40 year old section 8 contract, Kane and the Rutland Housing Tenant Organization (RHTO) believe that Parker will slowly destroy the character of the community which is largely Latino and largely low income.

Kane is not surprised that Parker did not budge on negotiating the renewal of the section 8 contract to maintain low income housing. He believes it was Kane’s plan all along to wait out the contract to appeal to the public as a supporter of low income housing. Kane says Parker has been making millions off the property from federal government assistance.

Prior to Parker, the building was owned by a nonprofit, Morgan Memorial and an elderly woman who was having trouble making mortgage payment. Kane says that this is when Parker “manipulated a defunct nonprofit” to purchase the housing for a very small amount.

He questions the legality of it all, stating that neither the Massachusetts Attorney General nor Boston Redevelopment Authority approved or monitored the sale, which is required by state law. There is no evidence on record according to Kane.

Kane says that the financial angle of Parker’s tale has not been told and has agreed to share some more of it the near future.

In the meantime, RHTO and Kane haven’t met since August of last year, but plan to meet soon to discuss the possibility of supporting legislation for all income housing in Boston.

Kane says they would like to give the city the power to require owners of low income housing to renew expiring contracts or Project Based Vouchers (PBV).

They have not met since David Parker refused to negotiate accepting Project Based Vouchers this summer. Kane spoke to representative of Mayor Menino’s office last week to try to pressure Parker into meeting with the tenant organization.

Kane says Parker has made up his mind and “hasn’t given any indication of changing it.”

“If he is serious [about mixed income housing] we will work with him to go to the state to convert 20 percent or more of his apartment to PBV,” Kane said.

Organizations form in the South End as housing contracts expire

BY JORDAN FRIAS

POSTED ON JANUARY 16, 2013

The South End of Boston is known for its Victorian style high end apartments and fancy red brick sidewalks. What’s also in this neighborhood is affordable housing complexes such as the Villa Victoria (Victory Village), Torre Unidad (Unity Tower Development) and Rutland Housing. Section 8 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) contract has sustained affordable housing in the state of Massachusetts for 40 years, a move seen as a temporary solution for public housing requirements by the federal government. On May 31, 2012, that contract expired.

Tenants of apartments on 105 West Concord Street’s Rutland Housing were determined to remain in their South End homes regardless of the $500 rent increase that was imposed on them after the first of June. Luckily, they were issued enhanced vouchers by HUD and the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to sustain the increase in their rent for the year.

Some tenants are determined to make sure that their residence status at Rutland Housing is not threatened again as federally funded programs like HUD and BHA could possibly lose funding from Congress during this recession.

Rutland Housing unfortunately did not have a tenant organization until this past summer. Tenants who wanted to form an organization to preserve affordable housing for themselves and future generations in the South End got support from Michael Kane the executive director of the Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants. They then formed their own grassroots organization and called it the Rutland Housing Tenants Organization (RHTO), as reported by Andrew McFarland, freelance reporter, in a September 7, 2012 edition of The Phoenix Boston (read article here). He described affordable housing facilities like Rutland in Massachusetts as “ticking time bombs in gentrifying neighborhoods.” At that time the group had only five official members.

With Mass Alliance’s support, RHTO was able to write letters and form petitions to urge Rutland Housing owners David and Karen Parker to continue to support the 40 plus families that are fighting for affordable housing. RHTO has won the support of Mayor Thomas Menino, State Representative Byron Rushing and Arch Bishop Sean O’Malley.

The City Council ordered that negotiations between the Parkers and RHTO begin to draft up new contract plans, which the Parkers oppose.

No news on the newly formed organization has been written since. Members of the RHTO said in the September 7 article that they were hoping to increase membership sometime in the near future.