In an exemplary investigation of the “souls shattered” when rent control ordinances were repealed by voter referendum in 1994, the Boston Globe revisits the Hotel Hemenway and “a Boston that no longer exists.” Now The Parkside, the historic building “became a flashpoint in the city’s transition” toward citizen displacement in a state that is “one of the most expensive in the nation for renters.” In Boston, the median rent required for a two-bedroom apartment is “more than twice the median income of renter households.”
“The [Parkside], like much of Boston, has become a place for people of means.”
Read the poignant stories of the neighbors whose diversity once enriched the East Fens and who have now “scattered to the four winds.” The investigation also highlights Mayor Wu’s proposals to address housing affordability and equity.
Kudos to Spotlight Team members Rebecca Ostriker, Mark Arsenault, Stephanie Ebbert, Andrew Brinker, Diti Kohli, Patricia Wen, and Tim Logan.
