To the Marblehead community:
Zoning has been the hot topic lately, but our town’s impact on the housing crisis goes far beyond that. A May 1 article in The Daily Item reports on Lynn tenants struggling to avoid displacement following demands for exorbitant rent increases from Marblehead-based landlords.
Tenants quoted in the article describe notices ordering them to pay rent increases from $600 to $950 per month or move out. One Spanish-speaking tenant shared her fear of losing not just her apartment but her church, neighbors, and night school English classes. This resonates with us, as people who are deeply involved in our own community. It is horrifying to imagine being suddenly uprooted from Marblehead. Tenants in neighboring cities and towns value their communities just as much as we value our town. It is particularly distressing to think of the harm to young children suddenly pulled away from their schools and their community.
Marblehead residents who own rental property can have a real impact on the lives and health of people in these communities. There is no legal restriction limiting what a landlord can charge tenants. There is, however, a moral one which calls out to us to be fair and just. This is not a population that will be able to snag up other housing in this inflated market. In this Lynn case and broadly, we hope landlords who call our town home will refrain from exploitative practices that displace people from their own communities.
Sincerely,
Sandra Winter
Lynn Nadeau
Cathy Marie Michael
Kathy Leonardson
Lee Mondale
Rev. Jenna Crawford, UU Church of Marblehead
Nancy Powell
Philip Blaisdell
Rev. Clyde Elledge
Francie King
Holly A James
Linda Weltner
Jean Callahan
Rev. MimiHollister
Nancy DeMuth
Patricia Sullivan
Judith Black