[act-ma] 3/17 - March & Rally to Keep Affordable Housing in Fenway

[Sarah Horsley]

Don’t let “Evacuation Day“ turn into EVICTION DAY for working people in the
Fenway!



Keep Fenway Affordable!



Demand long-term affordability at Burbank Apartments!



Rally & Picket

Thursday, March 17th at 11:45

at the Kargmans’ downtown office

gather outside Park Street station

* *

11:45 am - gather outside Park Street Station (Park & Tremont Streets)


12:00 pm – rally at First Realty Mgt office, 151 Tremont Street* *
**
*For more information or contact: Sarah at shorsley at fenwaycdc.org  or 617
267 4637 x19*
**
*Background:*
*The Fenway could lose nearly 10% of its affordable housing.  Burbank
Apartments is a set of East Fenway buildings with 173 affordable units
whichhave long been affordable to low-income and working families.  However,
the owners (William and Robert Kargman) want to opt out of federal subsidy
programs and convert the units to market-rate at the end of March 2011.  The
owners' decision affects not only current tenants, but also potential Fenway
residents.  Thousands of people will no longer be able to afford to live in
this neighborhood that has access to economic, educational, transit, and
cultural resources.  People of color will be disproportionately affected. **But
tenants and their neighbors are fighting back! Tenants formed the Burbank
Apartments Tenants Association (BATA) in March 2010 in an effort to save
their homes.  BATA calls on the owners to 1) renew the project-based Section
8 contract and 2) work with HUD to keep the rents in the non-Section
8 units affordable for low- and moderate-income tenants for the long term.*
*
****************************************************************************
*
*Can't join us on the 14th?  Want to help out before then?*
**
*Call the owners now to demand that they preserve long-term affordability!*
**
*Owners'Contact Info:*
*

William and Robert Kargman, First Realty Management, 151 Tremont Street
(617) 423-7000
*
*Here is some info to know for your phone call:
BATA, the Fenway CDC, and hundreds of concerned community members across the
city want the Kargmans to preserve the long-term affordability at Burbank
Apartments.  Specifically, we would like the owners to: *
*1. renew the project-based Section 8 contract for as long as possible
(ideally twenty years); *
*2. work with HUD and other agencies to keep the rents in the non-Section 8
units affordable for low and moderate income residents, for the long-term.*
**
*Don't be fooled! Enhanced Vouchers DO NOT adequately preserve LONG-TERM
affordability.
If the owners opt out, some protections for eligible existing tenants will
be offered, called "enhanced vouchers," but there are significant
limitations to these. For example, enhanced vouchers are more vulnerable
than the current project-based subsidies to government budget cutting.  Most
importantly, the apartments themselves will no longer be subsidized, so
long-term affordability will be gone.  Once a current tenant moves out, the
affordability is lost forever.  The bottom line is - if the owners proposed
changes go through, current tenants will face new risks, and future
moderate- and low-income renters will be priced out of the Fenway.*
**
*3 reasons why the Kargmans should maintain long-term affordability
(1) The owners decision affects not only current tenants, but also thousands
of potential Fenway residents, who will no longer be able to afford to live
in the Fenway.
(2) The owners can maintain affordability and still get full profits through
the "Mark Up to Market" program offered by the federal government (HUD).
(3) The owners have benefited from public money and community investment
since the HUD mortgage began in 1970. It is only fair for the Kargmans to
consider the best interests of the community.*
**
*There is wide ranging support for keeping long-term affordability at
Burbank. **The Burbank Apartments Tenant Association (BATA) has won strong
support from **federal, state, and local elected officials, community
groups, tenants, and neighbors.  We have now delivered to the Kargmans
petition signatures from a large majority of tenants and over 350 community
members.  In addition, we
have delivered over 2 dozen letters of support from Boston organizations,
including the YMCA and the Archdiocese of Boston Planning Office of Urban
Affairs.***
-- 
Sarah Horsley
Civic Engagement Director
Fenway Community Development Corporation
73 Hemenway Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 267 4637 x19
shorsley at fenwaycdc.org
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