On Tuesday, over 50 Lynn residents and City Councilor Fred Hogan rallied in front of 671 Western Avenue to support families whose landlord sent eviction notices after the tenants refused drastic rent increases averaging nearly $700 per month.

Many in the crowd waved signs reading “don’t evict, negotiate” or “don’t evict our neighbors” in English and Spanish.

Just days after buying the two buildings on the corner of Western Ave and Mall St earlier this year, the Marblehead based landlords – Western Mall LLC, The DJJC LLC, and Merry Christmas LLC – tried to impose huge and nearly immediate rent increases. Most of the tenants faced increases over $600 per month; in some cases the increases were over $1,000. Facing the threat of displacement, a dozen residents joined with community group Lynn United for Change to form a tenant union.

The landlords walked out of an initial meeting with the tenant union not long after it started. Days later, after receiving a letter from local elected officials urging them to avoid displacement, the landlords asked the tenants for a proposal. The tenant union responded with a plan for multi-year leases that included substantial rent increases in the first year and smaller increases in following years. The landlords rejected the compromise, and then prompted the community protest by serving eviction notices instead of attempting to find a mutually agreeable resolution.

“Plenty of landlords find a way to operate with reasonable rent increases… but 30, 40, or 50 percent increases are outrageous. That kind of increase is a plan for displacement. In this case the majority of tenants faced increases of over 60%. That’s an attack on our community… it’s another example of why we need rent stabilization. But until we have that… we have each other and we will fight back together.”

Celly De La Cruz of Lynn United for Change

Seven of the tenants testified at the event, explaining the impossibility of paying massive and sudden rent increases and describing the devastating consequences of being displaced from their community.

“I don’t want to leave my home, the only home I’ve known,” said Susan Matias, a fourteen year old who has lived in the building since she was one. “It would be traumatizing not only for me but also for my little sister, she was born here. My little sister and I would have to leave our schools, our teachers, and our friends. I go to Lynn Tech and I really love my school… just to think about all this terrifies me. Where are we going to end up if we have to leave? I am worried that one day I will come [home] from my school and I won’t be able to open the door of my apartment because the new landlord has already evicted us. Many times I even lose my appetite thinking about that. … I want this to stop now, and I want you Mr. landlord to negotiate a fair increase with my mother so we can be able to stay in our home.”

Another tenant, Aralí Matul, noted that one of her family members is visually impaired and it would be devastating for him to be pushed out of an area he has become familiar with over years. Several of the tenants referenced a strong sense of community and safety within the buildings that they are determined to hold onto.

Many in the crowd expressed support for the tenants and concern and anger at the situation. “Myself and other city councilors along with the Mayor sent a letter to these landlords and let them know we’re not happy with what they’re doing in our city to hardworking families like yourself,” said Ward 6 City Councilor Fred Hogan. “We’re not going to stand for this… we’re going to keep fighting… the city of Lynn stands behind you… I will be arm in arm with you.”

An excerpt of a follow up letter from Mayor Nicholson to the landlords was read toward the conclusion of the rally. “I am disheartened to hear that [the landlords] have been unable to come to an agreeable compromise despite [the tenants’] best efforts,” the mayor notes in his letter. “There is still time for an agreement to be made and it is my sincere hope that you work with these valued community members to keep a roof over their heads and to avoid displacement.”

The buildings in question are located in an area that a recent Metropolitan Area Planning Council report shows as having an extremely high level of “speculative investment” in housing; the report shows that kind of investment often leads to displacement of working class residents and people of color, harming entire neighborhoods.

Photos above courtesy of Kimyen Tran, Suzanne Hodes, and Ramon Cruz.

---

The above press release was submitted to us by the Lynn United For Change.