Dear Billy T and Somerville Speakup Line,
Need not to worry the city’s new housing czar has been brought on board at a costly price to solve all these issues. They have begun by training people how to screw their landlords.
It is unfortunate that anyone in this city could be homeless. We have a duplication of efforts by multiple agencies along with the Housing Authority who has been providing for years since public housing was created for our Veterans.
Not only are there people living in the public spaces many of our older residents are being forced to move into senior settings as a result of this administration and City Councilors not protecting the affordable housing many had lived in.
The knee jerk reactions of the implementation of ordinances, new laws and increased taxes negatively impacting current homeowners has caused people to cash out and flee the city.
A good start for the city is to reevaluate the way it treats the homeowners who are the biggest taxpayer collectively in the city.
Many have been providing affordable housing below market rate to family, friends and long time neighbors for years.
Unfortunately they city continues to treat them like they have deep pockets and continue passing increased costs and unmanageable controls onto them preventing it to be somewhat affordable
The city has created a climate to attract younger residents whose needs are different they want pimped out housing, they need entertainment, quick transportation and minimal responsibility to survive things they can afford it with their six figure salaries.
Keep building expensive housing which cause the costs to increase and it may at some point prove to hurt the market and drive more residents out. Leaving upper income earners and low income assisted housing residents no more middle class.
Remember the first inaugural speech given ” YOU CANNOT CUT YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS.” So true the only thing gone down is our moral and ability to afford living here.
I can never understand why not taking care of those worse off than the rest of us is not much of a priority here anymore. Senior homelessness has been on the rise. Kids going to school who are homeless. Some are victoms of circumstances beyond their control. Not always because they are bad people. I have met a few and have taken in some. Really does give you a whole new look into the problems. Yes, we now cater to young people who want everything geared to them with no thought of all to the other people around them.. We need to work with all the people in Somerville, not just one group. And the council members are guilty of not looking out for everyone anymore. Take a look at the meetings. Things important to the city are no longer discussed and worked on. The only possible solution at this point is to rid our city of these council members not working for us. That would be most of them. We need to put people in that actually work for us. Not their own agenda. This has to change next November so we can start putting this city back on track. Personally the SHC should be tops on the agenda until the problem is under control. Time after time I have watched as way to help them are passed over. The priorities here are not for the taxpayers and employers of these council members and the mayor. We need to take our city back and do the right thing. Your article is on point and sure to be ignored by our so called leaders.