Establishing Rent Control
Back in the late 1960s when my family and I decided to move into a three-bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building in Brookline, Massachusetts, managed by Herbert Breitstein and owned by Maurice Gordon, I thought it was perfect. The manager seemed accommodating enough to repair and paint the rooms for us. Dorothy got into Northeastern University and earned her MA in secondary school. It was a spacious apartment, which was perfect to raise our firstborn son. Or so I thought.
In the autumn of 1968, problems arose. We felt that the apartment could not supply a steady warm temperature. My wife and I were concerned that our son will get ill if the problem with inconsistent temperature isn’t fixed, so I decided to check the condition of the heating system. To make the long frustrating story short, the heating system needed fixing. So I went to present this concern directly to Maurice Gordon, the landlord. I expected him to talk to me in person, but I was informed by his secretary he was not available at the time. Like a custodian, she assured me she will immediately inform her boss regarding my concern. And just like that, I was dismissed. My message? They were ignored, unfortunately.
I never stopped in communicating my concern. Winter was slowly creeping in all corners of our apartment. I wrote a letter to the landlord, declaring I will put my rent into escrow if he will not make the heating system function. Instead of receiving an action plan for my concern, the landlord sent me a letter stating that I need to pay the rent. I wrote back, informing him again of the absence of heat in the apartment. What I received in response was the threat of a notice of eviction if I don’t pay my rent. I did not want my family to be exposed to an eviction. And I felt helpless when I conceded to pay the rent.
Around that time, I learned that there are several big landlords like him living in Brookline, sucking the money out of our pockets and kicking out senior citizens from their apartments and driving out families away from Brookline. These greedy landlords put in university students to increase their income.
From this news, I realized that concerns about rent control should reach the town’s governing body. During that time, Brookline’s legislature, consisting of 240 citizens who were elected by the townspeople, would hold yearly town meetings. The purpose of the annual meeting was to discuss and resolve issues concerning our town. Selectmen were usually long-term servicemen of Brookline. Still, I tried to volunteer myself in to express the rent disputes.
I wasn’t pick by the board though. But I was still very determined to do something. My passion for justice was noticed by other volunteers who were also not picked. I was joined by Sumner Kaplan, Attorney Herbert Goodwin, and Harvard physicist, Craig Bolon. We three formed the Brookline Tenants Council (BTC). We were soon joined and led by Herb Goodwin, who has excellent legal knowledge and experience.
Our group quickly grew to twenty people who worked together to urge the building and health departments to implement rent control ordinances in the town. We met constantly to discuss civil rights and the unfair treatments of tenants by their greedy landlords. We pushed for strong laws to safeguard tenants from being evicted, asked for ridiculously high rent, and victimized by code violations.
We were warned, though, by the attendees that rent control regulations may cause the investment to plunge, but all we ever wanted was to protect our rights as tenants. The BTC came up with an action plan: implement a survey to the town legislature members on the importance of rent control laws, collate the gathered information, and publish it in the newspapers. With the help of our leader and spokesperson, Herb Goodwin, we were able to gain recognition. Also, a majority of the participants supported the proposed bylaws.
It was not easy to gain the trust of the town meeting members. We had to go door-to-door and explain to the signees why rent control is good and ask them their support for the noble cause. In all the years that we collected information, we never once escaped criticisms, accusations, and discouragement. Above these negativities, we managed to come on top.
Little by little, we harvested the fruits of our labor. Our cry had been recognized. The town meeting members established strong rent control bylaws to limit rent increases. More and more tenants gain more confidence to report avaricious landlords. With more and more pro–rent control supporters, renting became less of a headache to tenants. We were victorious.
I’m glad I took part in the service of my fellow tenants and my country. It’s great that there are people like Herbert N. Goodwin who advocated for the protection of tenants from the voracious landlords. Though, there were still persistent problems—that is, the demand for apartments exceeded the supply and all other problems that affected the decisions of lawmakers—we knew in ourselves that we have done our best to raise awareness of rent code violations and reinforce the rent control legislation. A newcomer as I was in the Brookline neighborhood and novice to the world of politics and administrative process, it did not hinder me to always put a strong foot forward in all that I desire to accomplish.
Greedy landlords are a major pain. Do you agree with what you read? Leave a comment below or you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads. Grab a copy of From Brooklyn New York To Brookline Massachusetts now!
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