By Stephen Brophy

In March, tenants of Burbank Apartments received a letter from their landlord calling a meeting to talk about the future of the affordable housing subsidies that many of them depend on to help pay their rent. These subsidies are due to expire next April. About 50 tenants went to the meeting, and learned that the owners wanted to phase out the subsidies that were attached to specific units and help the current tenants of those units who qualify move into a different subsidy program involving vouchers.

Some of the tenants felt unthreatened by this news; others were concerned about the future of subsidized housing in their particular residence and in the rest of the country. These latter formed the Burbank Apartments Tenant Association. and are now preparing to negotiate with the owners, Burbank Apartments Company. It owns seven East Fens buildings—48, 49, and 52 Burbank St., 15, 25, and 33 Edgerly Road, and 18 Haviland St.—that contain roughly 170 units of subsidized housing, or about 8.5% of the total in the Fenway.

In the Section 8 program, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) contracts with owners to offer affordable housing by paying a portion of the rent of low-income tenants. These tenants typically pay about 30% of their gross monthly income to rent, and HUD picks up the rest. Through the 221d Below-Market Interest Rate program, HUD contracts with owners to subsidize their mortgages and offer subsidies to low-/moderate-income tenants.

Patrick Murphy, one of the members of the tenant group, characterized the reaction of people at the original meeting as “subdued, with some confusion among some of the tenants.” He got involved after a leaflet was slipped under his door announcing a meeting at the Fenway Community Development Corporation (FCDC) for tenants to consider their options. “After that meeting, the core group of about a dozen tenants started meeting regularly, sometimes weekly. A number of others attend more sporadically, as their schedules permit.”

Murphy, who spoke with The Fenway News by telephone, said that the main concern of the tenants was “that subsidized housing would eventually disappear from the neighborhood, leading to a long-term gentrification of the Fenway.” He says that many of the tenants feel quite a bit of loyalty to the current management “because this is a really nice place to live, and a lot of people don’t want to rock the boat.”

William Kargman, one of the owners, told The Fenway News by telephone that “what we are trying to do is provide a subsidy to everyone that is eligible. We’ve done this in other properties and have had good results. We feel that we are protecting all of our tenants in this process.” He said that the owners have worked with HUD to provide housing to people with subsidies since 1971, and will continue to do so. “We prefer to work with vouchers for current tenants because we think owners should have a right to choose what to do in the future, once a tenant with a portable voucher has moved on.”

Another tenant, who prefers to remain anonymous, says that many people are alarmed by the change. “Some worry about changes in eligibility from one program to another. Others are concerned about the long term affordability of housing in the Fenway.” This tenant argues that “we would like the owner to renew the Section 8 subsidies for at least 20 more years, and to extend the regulation of rents for non-Section 8 apartments.”

The tenant also asserts that “basically in the current state of the economy—employment issues, lower wages—now is not the time to reduce the quantity of affordable housing. People are already suffering, so loss at this time will be devastating to the community and the economy overall.”

Dharmena Downey, the executive director of the FCDC, believes that “The need to produce and preserve affordable housing has never been greater. Twenty-five percent, or 30 million, American households face severe housing challenges, including insufficient funds for monthly rent or mortgage payments, maintenance, and repairs; overcrowding, both within in dwellings and in high-density multifamily developments; and structural deficiencies. We’re not talking only about the poorest among us or those without jobs, but also teachers, clergy, librarians, firefighters, health-care workers, and many others who make significant contributions to our communities.

“Preserving affordable housing,” she said, “is critical for improving the life chances of low- and moderate- income families. In the Fenway, we need to be clear about what the loss of the Burbank Apartments means for the tenants it displaces and for the gentrification of the neighborhood.”