housing Archives

UNWILLING CONVERTS

Somerville’s largest condo grab in history yields relative tenant win in tense market Greg Santos moved into Somerville’s Millbrook Lofts apartment complex with his girlfriend in August 2017, looking forward to using its dedicated art space. Married couple Luciano Betoldi and Maria d’Orey, both from Portugal, immigrated to the US

ROB KATZ March 28, 2018

AGING IN THE SHADOWS

Without income or access to benefits, getting old as an undocumented is a daunting challenge It’s December, and Pedro, 78, still heads downtown to work during the day. He sings Mexican boleros and rancheras, accompanying himself with a guitar. He seems to camouflage himself under the foliage; countless Bostonians have

TIBISAY ZEA January 17, 2018

TOWNIE: CORPORATE TAX FABLES AND COMMUNITARIAN KIDDIE TABLES

December 12, 2017 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Big local corps quiet about huge profits to come from Repub tax scheme… except GE An interesting WBUR article, “Largest Mass. Companies Are Mostly Silent On GOP Tax Plans,” asked the top 12 corporations in the Commonwealth to comment on the

JASON PRAMAS December 12, 2017

EIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH

A Somerville Housing Needs Assessment report notes that the majority of units at risk of losing their affordability are located in Union Square (pictured), as increased gentrification due to the anticipated extension of the Green Line to the neighborhood has caused spikes in the cost of property | Photo by

LAURA KIESEL April 26, 2017

HOMELESS FOR THE HOLIDAYS: SAVAGE CUTS AND CRAPPY JOBS ARE WHAT GOT US HERE

December 6, 2016 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS For many people, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the only time of year that their thoughts turn to the plight of the homeless. Money, food, and presents are donated. And time is volunteered at shelters. All to make sure that people

JASON PRAMAS December 6, 2016

50 YEARS OF YEAST AND LOVE

An oral history of Haley House AS TOLD TO THE BOSTON INSTITUTE FOR NONPROFIT JOURNALISM If hungry people had to count on seasonal compassion, the poor would likely starve but for the holidays. The government only assists so much; in Boston, for example, it’s been two years since the closing of

CHRIS FARAONE November 22, 2016

LITTLE HOUSE EMISSARIES

From Martha’s Vineyard to Boston to Los Angeles, the small home movement struggles for acceptance at the end of the road “That’s definitely tiny.” Mike Mitchell is standing outside of a blue cottage with scalloped roof trimming on Martha’s Vineyard in an area known to locals as “The Campground,” or Wesleyan

KAREN MORALES April 13, 2016

THE THIRSTY GAMES

An exploration into the sordid history of Boston’s modern prohibition PART I: Boston’s liquor licensing quota was born out of elitism and has fostered a poisonous disparity over the past century. Can lifting the cap break the cycle? “Except for the city of Boston.” This historically pointed phrase punctuates

HALEY HAMILTON March 24, 2016

ART ATTACK

Photos by Derek Kouyoumjian Crisis in the Creative Professions Roundup: A call for action and a collective sigh of relief Last fall, BINJ gathered over 40 writers, photographers, musicians, performance artists, community activists and freelancers of every stripe at the Community Church of Boston with a very specific goal in mind:

HALEY HAMILTON February 12, 2016

THE LAND BOSTON FORGOT

The (r)evolution of Barry’s Corner and the search for Annie Soricelli North Allston, known to many as Lower Allston, is a quiet area that largely goes unnoticed. What few outside that neighborhood know is that 50 years ago, hundreds of residents fought in the streets to save their homes from

RACHEL HOCK October 14, 2015