The following letter was sent to the Boston Globe:
In response to the Globe editorial, “Party ordinance would be harsh on young Bostonians” (Nov. 5, 2012), we write in support of the proposed ordinance, which will address some longstanding issues within our Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods.
“Town and gown” relationships in Boston and other cities are complicated and tense, impacting the quality of life and local economies of “host” communities. We need a multi-pronged approach that requires institutions and landlords contribute to the peace, safety and cleanliness of our neighborhoods. Institutions must provide more affordable housing for their students, and landlords, many of whom do not live in our neighborhoods, must invest resources to actively manage properties and assume responsibility for buildings, tenants and tenants’ visitors.
Not all students are a problem, but in Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain and increasingly in other neighborhoods across Boston, student tenants pay high rents (driving up housing costs) and are regularly hosting loud parties, screaming, littering, publicly drinking, urinating and vandalizing. Our neighborhoods should be as quiet and clean as the local university campuses, where loud, destructive student behavior is not sanctioned. We need similar sanctions to protect those of us who live in Boston’s neighborhoods, with children who go to bed at 7 p.m. and jobs that start at 7 a.m.
Alexandra Oliver-Davila, Executive Director, Sociedad Latina
Nelson Arroyo, Jamaica Plain
Susan St. Clair, Mission Hill
Patricia Flaherty, Mission Hill
Kay Gallagher, Back of the Hill CDC
Jesús Gerena, Jamaica Plain
Jim Hoffman, Executive Director, Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services
Claudio Martinez, Executive Director, Hyde Square Task Force
Marta Rivera, Mission Hill