Advocates agree: ‘Housing first’ approach could help solve New Bedford’s homelessness issue
The idea is a reversal from the previous status quo, where service providers would require homeless people to address their substance abuse and mental health problems before they could be housed. Instead, housing first is based on the idea that it’s a lot easier to get your life back on track once you have a…
Should New Bedford control rent hikes? City Council wants to know
“We have heard the stories [about rising rents]. This is just for us to ask the people of New Bedford what they want to do. Then we can begin the conversation.” — Councilor Shane Burgo
Local lawmakers condemn ‘home equity theft’ as city officials defend tax collection tactics
“I’m sickened. What really concerned me is that big money can come in and pull the homes away from working people in New Bedford.” — Rep. Paul Schmid
‘Home equity theft’ — in New Bedford and across Massachusetts
How one Boston real estate investment firm earned millions by foreclosing on property tax debts it purchased from cities and towns
Ousted New Bedford tenants struggle to find shelter
One tenant is struggling to afford her new apartment. Another said the stress of moving led to an injury at work, and now he’s homeless and couch surfing. A third tenant found an affordable place, but he won’t give up the fight to save his neighbors from gentrification.
Homeless students are the unseen victims of New Bedford’s housing crisis
“The housing crisis is very real. I think there’s kind of this esoteric idea of what the housing crisis looks like, and all of us in the school department see it every day. We see it every day with students who don’t have a reliable place to stay at night.” — Margaret Silva, housing specialist…
Anonymous investors building ‘real estate empire’ in New Bedford
“It’s sort of ironic that today, landlords and property management companies use all sorts of systems like tenant screenings to learn all sorts of data about tenants. And yet tenants don’t even know the names of their own landlords.” — Erin McElroy, UT Austin professor.
Agencies, advocates rally to assist New Bedford tenants with eviction crisis
The HOME Group said it plans to coordinate with several agencies that specialize in housing and legal aid — organizations like PACE, New Bedford Housing Authority, and South Coastal Counties Legal Services.
Dozens of New Bedford tenants scramble after buyer gives them notice to leave
“Had we been told they were selling the building, that would have given us time to look … To sell it and say you have 30 days to get out — come on, that’s ridiculous.” — Retired teacher and cartoonist Joe Quigley
Video: Resident reacts – ‘It’s screwing the people’
Joe Quigley, 72 and a resident of 189-193 Elm St., is one of more than a dozen tenants told after the apartment building he is living in was sold that he had to move out. He said he thinks developers are getting ready to welcome a wave of Bostonians.
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