NLS WINS MAJOR VICTORY FOR LYNN SRO TENANTS

The Northeast Housing Court recently ruled, in a class action lawsuit brought by Neighborhood Legal Services, that nearly all tenants of 7 rooming houses in Lynn who were forced to move from their units after these buildings were purchased by a city of Lynn controlled non-profit, are eligible for relocation benefits that in some cases will total up to twenty thousand dollars for a single tenant.

This lawsuit was filed in 1996 after a city controlled non-profit development organization purchased the properties and began managing them. At the time, the then mayor of Lynn, Patrick McManus, announced that the city intended to demolish the buildings which were housing more than 250 low income individuals, many low wage workers and elderly pensioners. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of all of the residents of the buildings. The NLS attorneys first asked the court to issue emergency orders to stop the city controlled owners from taking any action to remove people from the buildings and to repair the buildings so that they met applicable building, safety and sanitary codes. The Court granted this relief and several of the buildings were substantiallly improved to become excellent housing for these residents. These buildings remain used as SRO's today and living conditions within them are vastly improved. Other buildings were found to have structural and other problems so severe that the city and the residents agreed that they should not continue to be used as housing.

Disputes arose, however, about what kinds of assistance residents were entitled to who were forced, scared or tricked into moving from any of the buildings. NLS' main attorney representing the tenants believed that because the city and the owners had failed to properly notify tenants of their rights, all tenants who moved for any reason should have received relocation assistance and that tenants forced to move from the buildings that were closed were entitled to far more relocation assistance that the city was offering. Ultimately, when these issues could not be resolved by agreement, NLS took the matter to the Court which agreed in virtually every respect with the tenants position.

To its credit, the city has agreed to follow the court decision and has been working with NLS to see that tenants are provided the additional relocation assistance ordered by the court. Notices were recently published in the Lynn Item and in Boston and regional papers notifying people about their rights and encouraging former tenants of the buildings to apply for additional relocation benefits. A copy of a notice explaining who is eligible for assistance is attached to this article. If you work with or know individuals who might be eligible, please provide them with a copy of the attached notice.

The actual detailed eligibility criteria are set out in the attached notice, but in general, individuals who lived in any of the following building at any time from May of 1996 through 1997 should contact Marc Potvin at Neighborhood Legal Services to find out if they are eligible for additional cash relocation benefits. The buildings involved are:

69 Union Street (commonly known at the time as the Belcrest)

33 High Street (commonly known at the time as the High Crest)

187 Oxford Street (commonly known at the time as the Oxford Crest)

33 Forest Street (commonly known at the time as the Forest Crest)

53 Friend Street (commonly known at the time as the Friend Crest)

50 Andrews Street (commonly known at the time as the New Crest)

18 Joyce Street

Congratulations to Marc and the tenant leaders who persevered in this fight over the years.