LYNN — More than two dozen people gathered on the steps of City Hall Wednesday afternoon to call for more affordable housing in the city.
The rally, organized by a number of community groups, focused on the proposed South Harbor development that will bring 850 new apartments to the waterfront.
“We’re here today to demand inclusion of truly affordable housing and inclusion of our community in the new South Harbor project that is requesting a $45 million tax break from our city,” Isaac Simon Hodes of Lynn United for Change said. “We’re not here to say ‘no’ to this development. We’re not even here to say ‘no’ to this project. We’re here to say, ‘Yes, we do want development, but it’s got to be development that’s inclusive.’”
Gabe Cohen Glinick of the Lynn chapter of Neighbor to Neighbor said that the groups are not calling for a halt to the South Harbor project.
“We’re calling for the developer to work together with the community to make it more inclusive and more accessible to the average Lynner,” he said.
Celly De La Cruz of Lynn United for Change called for the community to be included in the development negotiations.
“We were not notified to what was going on,” she said. “These negotiations were going on behind closed doors.”
Hodes also took issue with how the negotiations were handled.
“This development has been in the process, we’ve heard it reported for many years in secret behind closed doors with only the profit-driven developer negotiating with our city,” he said. “What was missing was the community voice, and we’re here to bring that today.”
Jesus Cabral of Lynn United for Change said he was at the rally because he cares about the city and his neighbors.
“They’re talking about making a beautiful new neighborhood on the waterfront, but for who?” Cabral said. “It’s not for Lynn residents, because we can’t afford the rent they’re gonna charge. They’re talking about using the money for this project to make Lynn a better place, but for who? If we don’t get more affordable homes built, a lot of us are going to be pushed out before any of this happens.”
He said that he and his partner, who both work full time, would not be able to afford rent in the South Harbor development, which he said has a minimum-annual-income requirement of $90,000.
“The apartments they’re calling affordable in this new development would make it completely impossible for us to afford it,” he said. “It’s not right to build a new neighborhood that won’t have any place for those people who have families in Lynn, graduated from schools, and do the hard jobs that keep this city running.”
Charly Clark of Neighbor to Neighbor called for planners and developers to be more inclusive.
“We know it is possible to create a more inclusive plan that is financially viable,” Clark said. “If inclusion and equality are truly prioritized, private developments like South Harbor can remain profitable while helping meet the housing needs of local people without creating highly segregated areas.”
Hodes said that the community organizations will meet with city officials on Thursday.
“That’s a good step forward, but it’s late in the game,” Hodes said. “We’re going to try to be optimistic and hope, through that meeting, through our work here today, this plan for South Harbor will evolve, will improve, and will generally include the people who make Lynn what it is.”
