Committee Report CR-4
The Housing Committee held a public meeting on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 beginning at nine o'clock and thirty minutes A.M in the Ackermann Room. The meeting was held for the purpose of receiving information about the availability of and need for single room occupancy (SRO) units in Cambridge and about any other affordable housing suitable for seniors and others in need of SRO housing.
Present at the meeting were Councillor Marjorie C. Decker, Chair of the Committee, Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis and D. Margaret Drury, City Clerk. Also present were Michelle Carter, Laurelyn Peru, Eva Martin Blythe, Executive Director, Cambridge YWCA, Heather O'Leary, Cambridge YWCA, Trudy Bartlett, Cambridge YWCA, Cassie Arnaud, Housing Planner, Community Development (CDD), Chris Cotter, Housing Director, CDD, Michael Haran, CEO, CASCAP, and member of the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT), Peter Graham, Housing Director, Just-A-Start (JAS), Pam Edwards, Organizer, Mass Senior Action Council, (MSAC), Ruby Woodbine, MSAC , Grendel Ellis, MSAC, Helen Spann, 50 Churchill Avenue, MSCA, Rosemarie Soucey, 950 Erie Street, MSAC, Joan Morris, 2050 Massachusetts Avenue, MSAC, Isabel Teller, 2 Mt. Auburn #608, Cambridge, Hasson Rashed, Cambridge, Al King, Robert Jones, 150 Erie Street, Annie Santulan, MSAC, Charlene Reese, Cambridge, Nancy Messon, 166 Hampshire Street, Mass Senior Action, Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services, Cristina Martinez, MSAC, 20 Ware St. #24, Robert Thames, 264 Mt. Auburn Street #804, Richard C. Wadman, MSAC, 2 Mt. Auburn Street #804, Jim Munafo, Cambridge, Joseph Capared, MSAC, Jack Welch, 164 Auburn Street Apt. 2, Cecilia Burks, MSAC, Victoria Harris, Aide to Councillor Seidel, Elaine DeRosa, Executive Director, CEOC and Peter Daly, Executive Director of Homeowner's Rehab, Inc. and member of the Affordable Housing Trust (AHT).
Coucillor Decker convened the meeting and explained the purpose. She began the meeting with public testimony. She invited representatives from affordable housing agencies and advocates, as well as SRO tenants and those in need of SRO units to speak.
Eva Martin Blythe, Executive Director, Cambridge YWCA, stated that the Cambridge YWCA operates single room occupancy (SRO housing) and has done so since 1911. She provided statistics and demographics regarding the occupants of the 108 rooms. Ms. Blythe said SROs can foster community building that is not typically seen in other types of residential housing. She submitted a copy of her remarks
Laurelyn Peru, 240 Albany St., stated that she has been homeless for thirteen (13) years, including ten (10) years at the Albany Street Shelter on and off, and has worked the entire time. She now receives disability of $720.00 per month and it is not possible for her to put together a first and last month's security deposit. She has a thirteen year old daughter.
Michelle Carter stated that she is homeless. She became homeless a year ago due to illness. She recently married a man who has lived in Cambridge all his life. They went to Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) and did not get help. You can only stay at the Albany Street Shelter if you can prove you had been a Cambridge resident before you became homeless. There have to be some places for homeless married people who do not have kids.
Cheryl Thomas stated that she is homeless and has been homeless for over two (2) years. She has three kids, including a 19 year old and an 11 year old. She is very tired of having to find a place for the night every day.
Pam Edwards, Organizer, Mass Senior Action Council, stated that they met with Mayor Maher in December. They had heard stories like those being told today and started doing outreach on single room occupancies and why they have disappeared.
Helen Spann, MSAC, 50 Churchill Avenue, stated that she has worked all of her life. She was a registered nurse. In 2004 she had two cancers in a year. Her doctors will not allow her to work. The CHA refuses to meet with her regarding notices of increases in rent that she has received. She has had the Mayor, his secretary, and the tenant council all working on this without success.
Nancy Messon, MSAC, 166 Hampshire Street, stated that a number of her senior friends have lived as homeless people for years, not in shelters, but on the street, living here and there, sleeping in basements. They are all over sixty (60), some working; almost all are not substance abusers.
Hassan Rashed, SRO tenant at the YMCA, stated that he is a board member of ACT and that he has two community CCTV programs a week. Cambridge is pretty good about taking people of the streets into SRO's. But Cambridge is not good at the next step with regard to the rights of SRO occupants to participate in local government or any organization that offers services to SRO units. He would like more information about the rights of SRO tenants.
Mary Chin, 46 Pleasant Street, spoke in support of more housing resources for homeless women. Many are the victims of past domestic trauma.
Councillor Decker thanked all of those who offered testimony for sharing their stories. She introduced Peter Daly, Executive Director of Homeowner's Rehab, Inc and member the AHT, and Michael Haran, CEO of CASCAP and member of the AHT. The trust was established twenty (20) years ago to help fund affordable housing. Councillor Decker also introduced Christopher Cotter, Housing Director, CDD, Elaine DeRosa, Executive Director of CEOC, and Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis who stated that she is chairing the Silver Ribbon Commission. Vice Mayor Davis said that commission heard from the Mass Senior Action Committee, a few weeks ago. The commission has a long term focus.
Councillor Decker invited Mr. Cotter to begin. He stated that the need is great. The commitment is and should continue to be there to fund SRO's. CDD Housing Department works with the AHT to identify needs. Federal funding for affordable housing is being cut, twenty percent (20%), from one source of funds and fifteen percent (15%) from the other. The Community Preservation Act (CPA) match funds that the City receives from the state have been reduced by sixty percent (60%). CDD staff has been working with the YWCA on a planned 108-room SRO and with the YMCA on a 128 unit project. They hope to see both projects move to closing and construction during FY12. He said that in addition they are trying to add to the stock of affordable family units. Mr. Cotter said that a year ago, in cooperation with CASCAP, sixteen (16) SRO units in North Cambridge were preserved. CASCAP manages SROs. Mr. Cotter said that they also completed fourteen (14) units of SRO housing in conjunction with Heading Home a couple of years ago.
Councillor Decker said that she knows anecdotally that there has been a big decrease in SROs. She asked about the average waiting time for a SRO unit.
Mr. Haran said that in 1979, excluding group homes and the YWCA and YMCA, there were 502 SROs in Cambridge, including some of the private rooming houses that were prevalent earlier in the century. By 1999 there were only 171 units left. On three streets, Inman, Bigelow and Clinton, there were 206 SROs in 1979; by 1999, only thirty (30) remained. Mr. Haran stated that one of the issues for new construction of SROs is that the unit cost is very high and when the AHT has to go to the state or federal government for funding, the cost is way over what those funding sources are willing to pay.
Mr. Daly said that he believes the majority of SROs were lost in the four years after the loss of rent control. He said that they are trying to preserve what we have and to get units into the affordable housing stream. Whenever a lodging house comes on the market they take a close look to see if they can make the finances work to save it. They also have a loan program to help owners preserve current SROs.
Councillor Decker then described the Inclusionary Zoning and Incentive Zoning. The Inclusionary Zoning mechanism has been a good way to add affordable housing to the City, but owners are required to make the affordable units in the building identical to the other units, and market rate developers do not typically build SRO units.
Mr. Daly emphasized the importance of knowing what they are looking for. For example, very few SROs have elevators. Another factor is the income level of the target population and whether the occupants will have low or moderate incomes. If the occupants have a moderate income level, the affordable housing agencies may be able to do reconstruction without subsidies, but if the occupants will be people with low incomes, subsidies will be needed. Mr. Cotter said that smaller buildings are usually the most appropriate for SRO use. Mr. Haran said that these buildings usually require zoning relief, and that there is a need for neighborhood and public support.
Mr. Haran gave the example of a lodging house on Clinton Street that was listed for sale about twenty years ago. The CHA was going to buy it, but there was a great deal of neighborhood opposition. Neighbors asked for time to talk with the CHA and bought it out from under the CHA. The same thing happened on Bigelow Street.
Mr. Graham, JAS, stated that he did not know whether there is a recent survey and data set regarding current occupants of SROs and what they need. When someone has been living in her or his home, moving them can be a destabilizing destruction to their lives, but managers of affordable housing are continuously faced with the challenge of over- and under-housed tenants.
Mr. Rashed, Alliance for Cambridge tenants asked how the AHT has complied with the mandates of Federal and State regulations for tenant participation. Mr. Cotter noted that the process for allocating Community Preservation Act funds requires a public hearing which will be held on June 21, 2011 in the Sullivan Chamber. This is an important opportunity for people to have input into what kind of housing the City should support. He added that all of the AHT meetings are open meetings. In addition, the CHA is in the process of holding meetings on what their capital reconstruction plans are.
Vice Mayor Davis said that there are ongoing group meetings at the Senior Center about shared living opportunities. Eileen Ginnetty, Director of the Council on Aging, is the contact person.
Vice Mayor Davis asked what has worked, what has been the most successful model for producing SROs and what formula makes it work.
Mr. Haran provided the example of Harvey Street, which was a fully occupied SRO purchased by CASCAP. The Harvey Street SRO had been a well run lodging house, and the neighbors did not oppose its continuation. CASCAP asked the tenants what would make their housing better and used tenants' responses in their rehab plan. Neighbors were very concerned about CASCAP's purchase. On the other hand, CASCAP purchased a lodging house on Bigelow Street which was overcrowded and not kept up. Once they met with the neighbors and explained to the neighbors what their plans were for rehabilitation of the building, they were very accepting.
Mr. Cotter said in other places SROs have involved partnerships utilizing both state and federal funds. Mr. Haran said that almost all the existing SROs are filled by tenants with Section 8 vouchers. Back in the 1970s, almost none were.
Mr. Cotter said that when the Section 8 vouchers are project based, people do not need to already have a Section 8 voucher to apply to live there.
Elaine DeRosa, Executive Director of CEOC, said, with regard to what is successful, it is critical that people in need of housing come to the CPA meetings. There will be people there who say Cambridge does not need affordable housing and does not need more homeless people housed here.
Councillor Decker emphasized the need for tenants to organize and to become aware of the advocacy opportunities. She suggested that Mass Senior Action come to the Affordable Housing Trust meetings. She also encouraged a link between CEOC and Mass Senior Action and suggested that they come to the City Council meeting when the report of the committee meeting comes to full City Council. The importance of and need for affordable housing is not always the highest priority for all City Councillors.
Lisa Schulman, Women's Center, Pleasant Street, asked if there was any effort to purchase properties that have been taken by foreclosure. Mr. Cotter said that they do monitor foreclosures but there are not a lot in Cambridge.
Mr. Welch stated that he misunderstood the purpose of the meeting and suggested advocates do an inventory. He said that senior citizens vote and should use that power. He noted that as seniors get older certain kinds of SROs do not work for them.
Sherry Tucker, 854 Massachusetts Avenue, asked if it would cost less to build SROs than apartments with kitchen and bathrooms. Mr. Cotter replied that it depends on the building. Acquisition costs are always high.
Councillor Decker thanked all those present for their attendance. The meeting was adjourned at eleven o'clock and twenty minutes a.m.