Lower-cost units remain in Hyde Park
By Jeannie Nuss, Globe Correspondent | May 9, 2010
Mayor Thomas M. Menino told dozens of residents of Blake Estates in Hyde Park yesterday that their affordable housing complex will remain affordable until 2030.
“We’re going for 20 years of affordability right here at Blake Estates,’’ Menino said to an outburst of applause from the crowd.
Menino’s announcement came after negotiations with the property’s owner, Beacon Residential Properties, which agreed to extend the affordable housing contract with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The current Section 8 contract was due to expire this year for the 263-unit housing complex on Hyde Park Avenue that houses elderly and disabled people. Under the contract, seniors pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent.
Rosetta Wilson, a 75-year-old grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of three, has been living in Blake Estates for 10 years.
“I’m ecstatic,’’ Wilson said after yesterday’s announcement. “I don’t want to go to a nursing home or assisted living. I like to cook what I like to cook. I don’t want anyone to plan my meals for me.’’
Menino talked about his personal connection to the area, which is where he grew up.
“We work hard together. We don’t allow people to come in here and say, ‘Oh we’re gonna throw you out,’ ’’ Menino said. “We’re never gonna throw you out.’’
City Councilor Rob Consalvo called the extension a “great victory’’ for Hyde Park.
“All of you at Blake Estates are so important to the fabric of our neighborhood,’’ Consalvo said. “You are our neighborhood.’’
“You can live here and understand that you’re not going anywhere, and we’re not going anywhere,’’ he added. Still, Roger Herzog, the executive director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, called attention to the difficulties that planners face in maintaining affordable housing and praised the mayor’s work.
“Mayor Menino, for his entire term as mayor, has really been a natural leader in making sure that places like Blake Estates stay affordable,’’ Herzog said.