Reject tax breaks for luxury apartments
Lynn City Council
Plans for a new 10 story building on Munroe St in Lynn, MA include 189 apartments with rents of $2,500 and up. There's an "indoor golf simulator" but not even one affordable apartment. Despite this, the developer wants a big tax break for the project.
This kind of exclusive luxury development not only locks out current residents, but will also push up rents in the whole area. It will contribute to gentrification and to the displacement of lower income, working class people. It will only make things worse for the majority of tenants in the area who are already cost-burdened by unaffordable rent.
Our city government should support the kind of development that benefits ALL of us, not the kind of development that has led to displacement from East Boston to Somerville to Jamaica Plain to Brooklyn and beyond.
We are facing a housing affordability crisis right now. We need innovative solutions that will help deal with that problem, that will create permanently affordable housing, that will bring in living wage jobs, and that will make development truly equitable. We say yes to development but no to gentrification. It's time to take a stand and fight to keep Lynn affordable, diverse, and working class!
Sponsored by
To:
Lynn City Council
From:
[Your Name]
We call on the Lynn City Council to say NO to tax breaks for projects like the one on Munroe Street that create segregated luxury housing with no apartments affordable to lower income, working class residents of the surrounding area.
Plans for the Munroe Street project include 189 apartments with estimated rents of approximately $2,500 and up. The designs include an indoor golf simulator but not even one affordable apartment.
We don't want tax dollars used to support this kind of luxury development. Not only does this project completely exclude working class residents, it will also push up rents in the whole area. It will contribute to gentrification and to the displacement of lower income, working class people. And it will only make things worse for the majority of tenants in the area who are already cost-burdened by unaffordable rent.
We look to our city government to support the kind of development that benefits ALL of us, not the kind of development that has led to displacement from East Boston to Somerville to Jamaica Plain to Brooklyn and beyond.
Our city is facing a housing affordability crisis right now. We need innovative solutions that will help deal with that problem, create permanently affordable housing, bring in living wage jobs, and make development truly equitable.
We hope you will say yes to development but no to gentrification. Please help us to keep Lynn affordable, diverse, and working class!