This train could change your life

Green Line expected to up real-estate values, further gentrification

By George P. Hassett

After almost two decades of stops and starts, the  long awaited Green Line extension through Somerville is coming closer to becoming a reality. The project received its biggest boost to date this month when Governor Deval Patrick fully funded the $600 million venture in his transportation bill. In October he stood in Gilman Square and pledged his administration would meet, and try to beat, the 2014 deadline for the extension.

Now Somerville officials, activists and community groups are beginning to prepare for the train’s arrival and the substantial impact it is expected to have on the city.

The expected positive effects of the extension include significant improvements to the city’s economy and environment. However, even some supporters of the extension say the new train stops could further the gentrification seen in the west side of the city, price out longtime residents and transform the city’s diverse neighborhoods into havens for only the very wealthy.

Alderman-at-Large William A. White said the Green Line’s arrival in Somerville could expand the city’s gentrification beyond West Somerville and into other neighborhoods. In the neighborhoods surrounding the train stations – current proposals include Gilman Square, Lowell Street, Ball Square and Union Square — more multi-family homes will likely be converted to condominiums and longtime homeowners will take advantage of an increase in the value of their properties and sell out, he said.

 
Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah L. Gewirtz, chair of the city’s Housing and Community Development subcommittee, said more should have been done to prevent displacement in West Somerville before the Red Line arrived in 1984 and the city has an opportunity to avoid considerable displacement of longtime residents this time around.

“Affordable housing was overlooked when the Red Line came to Davis Square,” she said. “We have to treat [the Green Line extension] as a positive for the community but also address the need for affordable housing and make sure the city doesn’t become a place where only the very wealthy can afford to live. We don’t want to lose our diversity and we don’t want the people who helped build the city up into what it is today to be pushed out.”

Gewirtz said she supports a campaign launched by the Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) to increase the units set aside as affordable in new Union Square developments from 12.5 percent  to 15 percent. The increase would only cut into developers profits by 1 percent, according to SCC.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said he opposes SCC’s proposal for increased affordable housing requirements in new Union Square developments. “We want to create incentives for developers to come to Somerville,” he said.

Curtatone did increase affordable housing requirements for developers in one part of Union Square from 12.5 percent to 15 percent. He said more relief for affordable housing needs will come from the creation of new housing stock, some priced affordable and some market-rate, along the Green Line corridor. He said linkage fees from commercial development will also go toward the creation of new affordable units.

And, he said, there is plenty of time to work out the particulars.

“As we’re moving closer and closer to the reality of the Green Line coming to Somerville we have an opportunity to work with community members and organizations to plan this in an open, transparent way,” he said.   

The support Patrick has given the project recently stands in sharp contrast to its history of delay and abandonment.

In 1973 the state first considered extending the Green Line’s route past Lechmere and into Somerville. The proposal languished and was never seriously taken up. In 1990, state officials promised Somerville residents they would complete a Green Line extension through the city and into Medford as a way to offset air pollution caused by the Big Dig. In 2005, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) sued the state because it had not taken the necessary steps to complete the project on time. In November 2006, CLF and the state settled and agreed on a binding commitment to complete the project by 2011. That commitment was then pushed back to 2014. 

Comments

[Election]

The logic here is quite puzzling. Let's forget we are in a real estate crisis period (I'm sure many home owners would not fall in love with politicians whining that prices may stabilize or EVEN go up). The argument is that, if prices go up, then long time residents will sell their places to developers and move somewhere else. Well, if that is the case, it means these residents did not like it here enough to stay; and, given the option, they will leave. What's wrong with that? Are politicians worried that they'll base will erode? Towns are dynamic, people come and go, you cannot stop that.

[Jered]

I seem to be missing the problem here. Longtime homeowners will make a windfall profit, quality of life in crime-ridden East Somerville will improve, and the new homeowners will be happy too? Yes, that does sound like a disaster!

Nobody is being "pushed out"; in general, just because the houses go up in value doesn't mean that the owners will be forced to move against their will. (Ignoring property tax issues; if that's the concern, consider a limit on rate of increase in taxes... wait, don't we already have one of those?) If they move, it's because they can improve their quality of life... is that a bad thing?

[Yorktown Street]

Not all towns are dynamic. It depends. If there are enough jobs in town or by easy commute, if prices are stable, if people have strong ties with their neighbors and community, then they don't leave. Somerville used to be more like that. But now there are not nearly enough jobs in Somerville for the people who live here, prices have gone up and up, and even people with ties here find it hard to resist selling their houses for three times what they paid for them.

The question is not whether people like it here. That's way too simple. People leave by their own choice, but the factors that push them to leave are not any individual's preference. They are social decisions. We can make policies that shape what kind of city we live in.

[Inman Square]

There is no reason not to push the affordable requirement to 15%. That will not do anything to keep developers away from an area about to get a new T line to downtown. Let's be real here- there's no significant difference between 12.5% and 15%. I don't know why the Mayor is so dug in on this when the difference is so little. I wish he'd realize that and take a political win on this, rather than a fight.

The market will ebb and flow but the prices in Union Square WILL spike up as the Green Line approaches, and now is the time to plan for keeping at least some of the current residents around.

[Inman Square]

There is no reason not to push the affordable requirement to 15%. That will not do anything to keep developers away from an area about to get a new T line to downtown. Let's be real here- there's no significant difference between 12.5% and 15%. I don't know why the Mayor is so dug in on this when the difference is so little. I wish he'd realize that and take a political win on this, rather than a fight.

The market will ebb and flow but the prices in Union Square WILL spike up as the Green Line approaches, and now is the time to plan for keeping at least some of the current residents around.

[Switcheroo]

Wait. You're saying the princess is fighting to keep long-time residents in Somerville and Golden Boy Joe doesn't give a rats @$$ because more development and higher property values mean more money in the city coffers?

I'm shocked! SHOCKED, I say!!

[Election]

So, if there is NO difference, why not leave it as it is at 12.5%? Your argument can be used both ways.

>>>
Let's be real here- there's no significant difference between 12.5% and 15%.

>>>

[Election]

Yorktown, I doubt jobs in Somerville are a critical factor in people moving away. People can commute to Cambridge or Boston or Medford, wherever the jobs are in the area. In any case, you seem to be saying that Somerville does not have to be a dynamic town! Way to go! Let's make sure Somerville is not a dynamic town. Change is a pain for politicians because they have to keep working to convince the newcomers to vote for them. Better to send that same moldy campaign leaflet and sit back.

[fefie]

In listing the positives, the writer forgot to mention that the Green Line will bring rapid transit service a large chunk of the city that is without it. Around 27 percent of households in Somerville do not have cars and rely on public transportation. For most, that means lousy bus service. Is the article implying that we should just keep the lousy bus service and settle for the vehicle emission pollution all around us for the sake of keeping the areas along the Green Line routes affordable? Is it saying that is the only option? I notice no one from SCC or any other advocacy group actually working on affordable housing was interviewed.

[Inman Square]

Election- You're right, it doesn't make much difference either way. But why not get the extra little bit towards affordable housing if we can? I actually think the percentage could be even higher - 20% - if it was tied with some sort of density bonus.

[Election]

I would be fine with 20% if there was convincing evidence these affordable housing spots were not given out on a nepotistic basis and if it were clear that the people occupying these spots are an actual benefit to the community.

[Imux]

What the hell do we need more affordable housing for? We got enough bums and lowlifes (like Election) here as it is. There should be no set aside for affordable or low-income housing. Let the market handle it. It's all some sort of white man's guilt that forces you imbeciles to cry for others to lose money in development. You want more lowlifes in Somerville then buy a house and rent to to the scumbags yourself, but don't force us investors to build units for them.

On a separate note; I noticed one of the bums on route 16 went down hard today. It was like 10 cars in front of me, but I swore another car just missed running over the guy's melon by inches. I was laughing so hard I barely avoided plowing into him too. I keep telling people that having bums panhandling in Somerville/Cambridge is going to lead to someone getting injured. No one listens.... until SOMEONE LOSES AN EYE!

[nobody3]

Having the green line will allow people to ditch their cars, which will way more than offset the effect of increased rents. If they don't want to be carless, that's their choice...If they own their place, their mortgage payments (if they have any) are basically fixed, so that won't matter.

[somebody]

Election, I agree with one of your points... If there is affordable housing set aside, how do you fairly decide who gets to live there?

I REALLY do not understand all the special treatment for artists. It's somehow saying that artists are really worth a lot more than they are paid. Well, I'd argue that that is true of many professions. In fact, if anyone is going to get special privileges, I'd personally prefer to give them to people who perform more useful day-to-day services, such as handymen, nannys, housekeepers, etc. Economically, it makes sense, because you keep the money in the city. Also, logistically, it is more practical and convenient to hire a neighbor that an out-of-towner. My neighbor across the street is a handyman, and I use him for everything around the house that I can't/won't do. I prefer using him, because he is close by, I feel like I can trust him (because we've become friends), and I feel like I'm helping keep a neighbor employed.

Now with that said, I really don't understand the logic behind setting aside affordable housing. If you set aside say 20% for affordable housing, doesn't that just artificially inflate the remaining 80%?? So what do you get? Two extremes side-by-side. That doesn't make much sense to me, but maybe someone can convince me otherwise.

[cabbie]

Imux - So you almost saw a homeless guy get his head run over and his "melon" squashed all over the road and you were "laughing so hard" you "barely avoided plowing into him too".

You're a real class act.

What say we just round up the homeless and race them at Wonderland instead of greyhounds. Bet you like the idea.

Oh, and for whoever said 15% - 12.5% -- same thing --- What would you rather have, 12.5% of a million dollars or 15% of a million. It's math, 14.9 isn't the same as 15!

Now, maybe you don't understand what passes for affordable housing around here. A condo that goes for $200k is called affordable. It's purchased by say a single Mom who's a nurse with a 60K income. The affordable housing being discussed isn't exactly going to be for the guys collecting money at Mass Ave and Route 16.

[sime]

dude imux you are a bad bad man. posting that shit...you sound proud about your immaturity and disregard for humanity. way to be, bud.

you're also making quite a stretch saying that affordable housing = panhandling bums.

are you a parody of a developer or are you an actual human ass?

[sime]

good point to the person (somebody) about artists getting special treatment. do they really get special treatment? how does that work? if it is true...give special treatment to child care providers, handymen, etc...in addition to artists.

and if you are an artist and you are not making what you are worth, do something different. there's plenty of money to be made in art.

'i was told if you got something you can change about,
keep quiet you got nothing to complain,
you got work to do...'

[Diogenes]

Cabbie,

I think that you underestimate Imux. I see him more as a promoter of to-the-death gladiatorial performances pitting the homeless against illegals.

Do you ever get the feeling that Imux is so over-the-top that he may really be a lefty moonbat masquerading as a right winger just to push those in the middle toward the left? Imux reserves his ugliest comments for Election. Could they be the same person?

[Just]

Assembly Square ain't got much yet how long we wait, maybe Hog get wings, Green line how long we wait? Not twenty years over thirty two, please don't let elephants get wings, the HOGS waste is bad enough.

[Imux]

I just want to say that I agree with the poster who said we give too much to artists. I would like to see an ROI analysis if any these touch-feely "councils" (Arts, Human Rights, etc) actually are worth it or are just a drain (as I suspect).

and for those whining about for the bums... I am trying to help those panhandlers by trying to get them off the street. There should be designated "areas" (like pens) where bums can panhandle. People that want to give them money - they just toss the money into the pen where all the bums stay. That way the bums are safe and we don't have to deal with them. Good idea, right? Why our politicians can't come up with these is beyond me. I have to do all the thinking!

And I wouldn't blow my nose in Election's general direction.

I am Imux.

[Yorktown Street]

Election: on the commuting point, some places are easier to get to than others. Try working in the Longwood area as a nurse's assistant and commuting there from Somerville by public transit. Working-class families would be more able to live in Somerville if they could work in Somerville, too, and not pay for the commute with hours of each day.

On "dynamism": the flip side is transience. When people move in and out often, they don't form the same strong bonds with the community. Politicians don't have to convince people who don't vote in local elections. More important, if you're only living here in your $350,000 condo until you can save enough to buy your $800,000 house in Lexington, what reason do you have to know or care about Somerville? Some degree of turnover is good, but according to the Census, more than half the people in Somerville weren't living at the same address in 2000 as they were in 1995. When people lament that they don't know their neighbors any more, this is a reason why.

[Somer_Salted]

Imux may be an a--hole, but he's OUR a--hole!

[DRT]

If a new trolley line would jack up home and apartment prices so that everyone had to leave, and Somerville became the new Monaco or Beverly Hills -- playground for the rich and famous -- just imagine what would happen if the city shoveled snow off of the sidewalks too. Good thing the city leaves the snow where it falls or else to find the same rents we'd all have to move to ... um ... does any other city refuse to remove snow from the walks? Well, if Somerville started then we'd have nowhere to go. We'd be homeless. Hedge fund managers and CEOs would be lining up all the way down the block just for a glimpse of the inside of place. Keep things the way they are! Keep the snow on the walks, and the Green Line in Cambridge, where they both belong. HA!

[Fat City Citizen]

The logic here is pretty weird: let's avoid improving our town so people won't take profits and move out. Why not cut back on our schools - everybody knows that having good schools raises property values! And unlike investing in schools, the Green Line will be entirely paid for by the state and the feds.

The other thing that doesn't make sense is why only Union Square is going to gentrify. Won't the new stops at Cobble Hill, Gilman Square, Lowell St and Ball Square do the same thing? Since Union Square already has 5 bus lines going through it, the effect of a Green Line stop there should be a lot less than at other new stops that are not as well served.

Let's not forget that the folks behind this campaign in SCC are not volunteers - they make money on every subsidized housing project. And as a 501c3 non-profit, they are not supposed to be lobbying for legislation, but they seem to ignore that.

[Election]

Yes, the rich and the famous will want to move to Somerville just because there is a new lousy trolley line (if this part of the Green Line resembles the rest of the Green Line)! The extension will mostly benefit people who already live here, so they may be able to stay and find a commutable job outside of Somerville instead of moving somewhere else.

[My two cents.....]

Here are some of my random thoughts-
~Anyone who thinks that the areas around the new T won't gentrify must be living under a rock. Look at the areas around Davis Square - $500,000 for nothing more than a renovated apartment, now called a 'condo'. Sometimes without even getting a facelift!
~The notion that people are 'cashing in' and then leaving town with their pockets' full is a lot of malarkey. When people move in and drive up housing prices, property values go up, thus assessments go up, thus property taxes go up. And that doesn't even take into account what happens when the tax rate goes up. Many who are elderly, poor, or on a fixed income simply cannot afford these tax increases. Yes, they may 'cash in', but it's not by their choice. There have been many who have done this in recent years out of sheer necessity when they would much rather stay.
~Also, tenants in these homes that are being sold are now often unable to find an affordable apartment, and they also leave.
~The number of families leaving the city has hurt the school system (federal funding is only one of the reasons. Our average gross income has gone up to such a degree that we no longer qualify for many assistance programs), and other youth activities.
~Alloting not only housing but work space and even retail space to artists is probably the most absurd plan I've ever heard. I'm not sure it even requires a comment!
~The amount of affordable housing is not the most important aspect. More important to me, is will current Somerville residents receive priority? My feeling is that, if not, we'll have a lottery and be handing out less than market rate mortgages to people from all over. We need to help our own first.

[Election]

Don't worry, the friends and relatives of the Mayor and Aldermen (and various city employees) will receive priority on the cheap housing. That's why I'm against it.
Also, all the talk that the Red Line caused Davis Sq to become yuppified is unproven BS. Porter Sq is nothing like Davis Sq, and it's had the Red Line too... Many other economic factors have changed at the same time. You cannot rule out these other factors. So, the cause-effect links of your argument are unproven assumptions.

[cabbie]

"~The notion that people are 'cashing in' and then leaving town with their pockets' full is a lot of malarkey."
Really, so you're saying when someone sells a $600,000 piece of Real Estate that they're not carrying a mortgage on and moves to Billerica, Florida or New Hampshire that they're not leaving town with fat bank?

As far as long time residents being forced out due to property taxes. Well, again assuming the property is free of a mortgage as most born and breed resident on my block are set up, $2500 to $3000 annually to keep a roof over your head is about as affordable an outlay for housing as you're going to find anywhere outside the 3rd world.

[nobody]

Sullivan Square has a T stop, but its not a super nice place, I don't thing the presence of a T automaticaly has a gentrification effect.

[Tricky]

That's because the towering I-93 is between Somerville and the T stop (also because Rutherford Highway's between Charlestown and the T.)

The city has some map available deep in some publication on their website showing what percentage of neighborhood residents take public transportation to work. The neighboorhoods with the highest percentage (30% IIRC) are bunched around Davis/Porter except one: east of Cross Street in East Somerville. Build it and people will ride.

[Imux]

Election, the properties around Porter are very similar in prices to Davis. Porter square has been around a looooong time (TAGS, Star Market, Decelles, etc...) -- it is what it has always been. Davis had the advantage of being a square that was underdeveloped before the T arrived.

Cabbie, to fixed income people $4K or $5K is a lot. If you have a property worth $650K then you're still paying > $4K a year in property taxes (even with the residential exemption).

We just need to get rid of all the moonbats. They can leave their money with us, but they need to get back over to the People's Republic of Cambridge. Many of them don't bathe often enough and too many of the moonbat women wear comfortable shoes!

[Ron Newman]

Some additional development followed the Red Line's coming to Porter Square. Sears closed and became the Porter Exchange, which was only intermittently successful but does have a lot of Japanese eateries and shops. The CVS-Healthworks building was added to the Porter Square shopping center. On the other side of White Street, a new building went up containing Pizzeria Uno, Pier One, and Blockbuster Video.

[Bill Shelton]

To support Yorktown street's point about jobs: Comparing employment figures on the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development website with census figures shows that Cambridge and Boston have two jobs for every worker, while Somerville has two workers for every job.

The source data for the mode of transportation people get to work with that Tricky refers to also comes from the census. Those data make a strong case that the Green Line would make more jobs accessible as well as reduce auto trips.

Although I generally agree with Cabbie, I do know that escalating rents have forced a lot of good and decent folks out of Somerville. Many young professionals who moved here have bid up housing prices. They help cover their jumbo mortgages by jacking up rents. Old timers also pass tax increases on. There are plenty of people who were born and raised here who never bought a house. And there are plenty of those who have left and will leave because of rents that have skyrocketed.

This is a sad thing for me. Those forced out are often replaced by people who are not as invested in the community, don't volunteer for things that enrich the community, and often don't even form relationships here.

All that said, I don't think that we make Somerville better by rejecting measures, such as the Green Line, that would improve our quality of life. I think that we do so by developing more living-wage jobs, making sure that residents have the skills and advocacy to land them, and by expanding affordable housing for which preference is given to long-term residents.

And by the way, Imux, people who buy "affordable housing" are working to hard to panhandle.

[Jim Gray]

"There are plenty of people who were born and raised here who never bought a house. And there are plenty of those who have left and will leave because of rents that have skyrocketed.

This is a sad thing for me. Those forced out are often replaced by people who are not as invested in the community, don't volunteer for things that enrich the community, and often don't even form relationships here."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bill, with all due respect, there is absolutely no evidence that the new young professionals who have moved into Somerville are not invested in the community. This is the old canard that is always trotted out: "the selfish rich yuppies just don't care about Somerville." Frankly, I am much happier to have young professionals on my street than welfare moms and kids hanging out on the corner all day, who contribute nothing, except petty crime.

Just because you were born and raised in an area does not give you a divine right to own a house in the community. You live where you can afford. I can't afford to live in the area where I was born and grew up: but you know what, that's life. Areas change, they go up and down. Maybe the people who cannot afford to live in Somerville will move into another area and make that a better place to live. Also, many of the home owners in Somerville made a fortune selling their homes over the past 10 years....and good for them.

Somerville is improving all the time. If that is what is meant by gentrification then I am all for it.

[Jon]

Gee, the envy on this board against all the young professionals is staggering. I can afford one of those new condos in Davis, and frankly I don't feel bad about it at all. I worked hard in college, and put myself through grad school while working part time. I made alot of sacrifices to get where I am and to make the kind of I money I do.

I don't think that I am better than anybody else. However, you would think from some of the posters on here that the young professionals are all trust fund kids that haven't earned it. Actually, the young professionals I know all have one thing in common: they worked hard and continue to work hard. Hardly any of them work 9-5pm. We will continue to enjoy the fruits of out labor. Thanks.

If you want to afford a condo or rent in Somerville then I suggest you figure out how to earn enough money to do that, instead of whining that private developers should set aside "affordable housing" units. Incidentally, all "affordable housing" means is that those rich "yuppies" living in the other units end up subsidising those "affordable units." The cost is simply passed on by the developer to the other regular units. On that basis alone I object to it. Why should I have to pay for someone else's housing? I don't expect anyone to pay for mine.

[Election]

Well said, Jon. Let the idiots bitch about us. Who cares? And I agree: 9-5 job? LOL, that's 40 hours/week! I've been working more than double that for the last 15 years, at least.

[Imux]

Jon, even though you're obviously new to the area, I do agree with your main point that affordable units is a silly ass concept. It allows the moonbats on the left to run around and say "See, I've helped those less fortunate!". It's stupid. No one should get "subsidized" housing - or as you said - no one else should have to pay a bum's share of housing.

Election, cut the crap. Your idea of "manual labor" is some guy who slipped under the fence in Mexico and is now living in East Somerville. You freak, you haven't worked a day in your life beyond strolling down to the welfar office.

[Election]

Imux, how hypocritical! I KNOW for a fact you are currently receiving unemployment checks since I have a good friend who works there. Nothing wrong with that, everybody can have periods of bad luck. But don't push your luck.

[Election]

Going back to the topic of subsidized housing. I would be in favor of something like that as a form of social net. To help out productive members of society who are temporarily down for some reason. I'm not sure how one would decide who gets those slots, but at minimum they should be reassigned every year, depending on circumstances.

[Deal or no Deal]

Show me the money. 3 Family 4 sale Ball Sq 1 Million

[Bill Shelton]

Jim Gray,

Thank you for one of the more thoughtful posts here. I must disagree with you however. There is evidence that many professionals who move here don’t invest themselves in Somerville. A few years ago, I noticed a pattern of “young professionals” who had moved into my neighborhood. They left Somerville when they had children or when their children reached school age. One such couple was my next-door neighbors.

I wondered if they were exceptional, so I looked at sales records of homes in Somerville over the previous year. A disproportionate number of sold homes had been held for less that six years and sold at a substantial profit, contributing to continuing price escalation.

If you participate in PTA, coach little league, sit on a church council, are active in a local service organization, or are involved in any of the many activities that make up the fabric of a community, look around you and see how many young processionals are sharing these activities with you. In my experience, the ones who do are the exceptions, and all the more cherished for it.

Now consider your neighbors who were born and raised here but have left the community. What were their participation rates by comparison?

The fabric of community is relationships. When people who have maintained long-term relationships with their neighbors leave, and when those who replace them do not form new and equally extensive relationships with their neighbors, the fabric unravels. This affects many things, not the least of which is basic security. On the other hand, if you have never lived where genuine community existed, you probably won’t notice the difference.

If you imagine me to be saying that "the selfish rich yuppies just don't care about Somerville," then you aren’t listening. Rather, as Jon suggests, the professionals I’m describing, “worked hard and continue to work hard. Hardly any of them work 9-5pm.” They have to work hard if they’re going to pay they mortgages. But they haved scant time to invest in forming relationships with their neighbors.

Jon is proud that he “made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am and to make the kind of I money I do.” Yet, there are a lot of people who make sacrifices and work just as hard, don’t make the kind of money that he does. Increasingly, they cant afford to live here, even though they have contributed much to our community.

It’s fine to say that this is the inevitable working of market forces. But I believe that we are losing what made Somerville a very special city. And I believe that there are things we could do about it.

[Election]

Bill, your argument is flawed by a generational confound. YOUNG people in general, not only young professionals, do less of all of that community service you are talking about, like being on the church council, to begin with. How many young non-professionals are sharing these activities with you, voluntarily?
In case you have not noticed, the time of physically close communities is gone. People form communities that are spread out in space these days. My best friends live thousands of miles away, for example. Physical proximity is optional to build a community.

>>
If you participate in PTA, coach little league, sit on a church council, are active in a local service organization, or are involved in any of the many activities that make up the fabric of a community, look around you and see how many young processionals are sharing these activities with you. In my experience, the ones who do are the exceptions, and all the more cherished for it.
>>

[Imux]

Election, there is a probably reason your best friends live thousands of miles away... -- they don't really like you. How can your BEST friends live that far? There is just something wrong with that statement. I mean I can see having good friends living miles away... but your best friends? Maybe time to do more than hit the welfare office. Eh?

Try going to church.... raising kids (granted with your lifestyle preference - adopt) and being a member of THIS community.

[Affordable Housing]

The points about Affordable Units is well-taken. I don't really agree with the concept, although I think in recent years it's unfortunately become necessary. Every developer building in the city is building high-end units full of granite countertops, skylights, and stainless steel appliances. They are marketing the units to 'yuppies' who will pay top dollar so that they can make top dollar. Nothing wrong with that, it's capitalism. But why can't the city search out a developer who will build 'regular' units. Units which are more like apartments which would be more affordable, especially to families, and many local young people who are just starting out. The idea, though, that they want to subsidize artists tells me that they have no interest in attracting and keeping families in Somerville.

[Jon]

Affordable housing is always framed as "helping the less fortunate." Everybody nods in agreement. However, people that cannot afford to live in Somerville simply do not earn enough money at their current job.

These people are usually not "less fortunate." They simply chose a profession that does not pay top dollar because they want to work regular hours, or they like the job and don't care too much about the money. Fair enough...that is their choice. Life is full of choices.

I decided to work long hours to make more money. Of course I pay a price in terms of my social life, and there may be a point where I decide that it is not worth the price.

Those of us who make decent money work either stayed in school, usually until grad level, or started thier own business with a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. We all work long hours.

I do not wish to come over as a snob. Indeed my cousins have their own construction/contractor business. Neither went further than high school. Both of them make more money than me and work comparable hours.

I understand that not everybody can do the above. Again, one should simply live where they can afford. The government should not be in the buisiness of social engineering and deciding what percentage of what demographic they want in the area.

[Jim Gray]

Bill, thanks for the post. You make a number of good points. I do not disagree with your harkening back to a golden era where everyone knew everyone on the block.

This has vanished in every city, not just Boston. I have lived in many cities and I knew enough people to say hi to, but that was it. This is because populations have become so much more fluid in the U.S. and other countries. People used to buy a place and stay there for decades...this simply does not happen anymore.

[Truth Fan]

Bill,

I think that you've nailed why affordable housing is important to us, although you've been more gentle than I would be. And I think that your statement that, "if you have never lived where genuine community existed, you probably won’t notice the difference," explains a lot of the assumptions underlying these posts.

Election's argument that, "YOUNG people in general...do less of all of that community service" is circular. If each generation experiences less community, there are fewer young adults who recognize it, know its value, and have learned their roles in perpetuating it.

It's not their fault if they've never experienced it. Anyone who mistakes the marketing term "on line community" for community doesn't know community. Does that mean that those of us who do shouldn't try our best to maintain it? I don't think so. Otherwise, the only significant difference between Somerville and Bilerica becomes location.

And Jon, I don't see a lot of "envy on this board against all the young professionals." I think the fact that you do reveals more about you than about what is posted here.

[Cosmo]

The Mayor has delivered once again! Thank God we have a guy who loves his city and produces where others have failed.

[Ron Newman]

You've posted the exact same comment in four different places so far, Cosmo. That's spamming.

[Cosmo]

not spamming but my opinion Ron. I have to read your thoughts enough so tend to your own business!