The Alewife

Schochet vows new day

Alewife articles bring results for Rindge Tower tenants

by Derren Lewis-Peters

The president of  Schochet Associates has stepped up to defend his company's handling of the Rindge Towers, saying that management has made a strong investment in the future of the troubled developments.

"In the past, there have been robberies, people committing petty vandalism, spreading feces on the walls, urinating on the elevators. That's a big reason why we've pumped up security. We've installed cameras, so we can see exactly what people do in the common spaces from the time they enter, to the time they leave," said Richard Henken, who has overlooked operations at the Towers since 1999.

"We don't ever want to go backwards. We don't want to improve the Towers, then have a few individuals come in and make it look like it did years ago," he said. "That period is over. We can't tolerate that."

Schochet owns 362 and 364 Rindge Ave. The 504 combined units there are managed by Federal Management, a subsidiary of Schochet.

Henken said the process of repairing the image of the Towers has begun. "We're taking things in phases. The next phase is we're doing our best to make things nicer.

Making the common space more attractive, the grounds, the apartments," he said.

"We've completely rehabbed 220 units -- soup to nuts," he said.

Management's committment to improvement is real, Henken said. "If your apartment hasn't been painted in 10 years, then dammit, we're going to paint it," he said. "Our goal is customer satisfaction. It has to be. Why would we want our tenants upset at us? I tell the manager all the time, if a tenant asks for something, give it to them. If its within reason, just do it," he said. The on-site manager is Michael McDonald.

After an eight-month tenure, John Craig, the president of Federal Management has left the company, he said.

Henken said that part of the problem lies with unclean tenants. "We have exterminated, renovated, done all the things we need to do. But, we have some tenants who aren't helping the process. You have to keep your apartment clean," he said.

Galluccio responds to Rindge Tower unrest

The chairman of the City Council's housing sub-committee said he wants to meet with residents and management officials from 362 and 364 Rindge Ave. to open up dialouge between the two sides on how to improve their relationship.

"There are trust issues there, no question. Because of the history there, going back to the 60's and 70's, when previous managers created something of prison atmosphere, there is alot work to do. We have to change that whole culture," said City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio, who presided over the negotiations in 2000 that established the current framework between the owners, residents, and the city.

Tenants at 362 and 364 Rindge Ave. have complained of maintainence backlogs and aggressive behavior from management.

Galluccio said that management and tenant leaders need to sit down together to work out their issues.

City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio

"When I hear about management wanting to be at tenants' meetings, and residents not wanting them there, that's a trust issue, on both sides. Meetings like that will get tense. So, we have to push them together, maybe literally, to meet in a neutral setting where tenant issues, logistical issues, and management issues can be worked out. Public meetings serve one purpose. They need a more personal relationship. I'm hoping to try and mediate," he said.

Galluccio presented three Council Orders addressing the concerns of Rindge tenants at a regular council meeting in June.

"There's all sorts of smaller issues to work through first -- cultural differences, linguistic differences. Then there's the security changes. Then the new manager. Then the history. Then the lack of communication. Some of these issues aren't made for public consumption. We have to get together and reach a resolution on these. Our re-investment starts right there, in a meeting with tenants and management saying their piece," he said.

One thing he'd like to see coming out of such a meeting is the establishment of long-term goals, he said.

"Management has to put together a plan, and put it in writing. If they don't explain their protocols, objectives, policies, and things like that, you can't expect residents to understand your actions in the future," he said. "I want to be more helpful in that way, because alot of this conflict is personalities clashing. If I can sit them down, open up discussions on security, maintainence, open spaces, etc, then that gets more done than having the tenants meeting over here, management over there, and neither side talking to each other. One side can't get much done without the other," Galluccio said.

Galluccio takes up fight for Rindge Tower residents

by Derrin Lewis-Peters

The chairman of the City Council’s housing sub-committee presented three orders at council’s regular June 19 meeting addressing the concerns raised by tower residents of 362 and 364 Rindge Ave.

"I've gotten the calls from tenants, I know there has been a problem there. And I have no plans to turn away from this,” said City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio, who as mayor was instrumental in negotiating the current working framework between the owners, residents and the city.

The orders read:

ORDERED: That the owner (Federal Management) respond back to the City Council on the extermination plan for 362 and 364 Rindge Avenue; and be it further.

ORDERED: That the same report back to the City Council with a five-year capital improvement plan; and be it further.

ORDERED: Said owner (Federal Management) consider installing computer rooms at both 362 and 364 Rindge Avenue.

Five days earlier, the tenants met inside the Community Room at 364 Rindge Ave. to further address their gripes with Jay Schochet and Associates, and Federal Management, principal owner and manager, respectively, of 362 and 364 Rindge Ave.

Residents  June 14 met in the Community Room of  the tower at 364 Rindge Ave.

Patricia Casola, head of the Fresh Pond Tenants Association, said the order builds on the concerns the residents discussed at their June 14 meeting, but she is afraid the tenants will be left out of talks between the city and the towers’ owners.

The room used for the meeting was secured only the day before, she said.

Casola said the management responded slowly to her request to use it. She said members of management also asked to participate in the meeting, but she rejected the idea. She said having them there would potentially create a hostile environment for residents that might keep them away from future meetings.

The tenants did take a vote on whether they would allow members of Federal to attend future tenants council meetings. Every resident in attendance voted against it.

Casola, in addressing the tenants, said the message sent by the vote is clear. "Management, historically, has treated people very poorly. We've had enough. Tenants do not trust you, they do not feel safe with you," Casola said, in reference to management.

Rindge Tower residents to discuss grievances Wednesday

by Derren Lewis-Peters

A Tenant Council for the Fresh Pond Apartments will meet June 14 at 6 p.m. to discuss and organize their grievances against Federal Management Company, the manager, and J. Schochet and Associates, the owner, of 362 and 364 Rindge Ave. in the Community Room on the first floor of the 364 Rindge tower.

“We are tired of the managers abusing and terrorizing the tenants,” said Patricia Casola, the leader of the Fresh Pond Tenants Association, who has lived at the Rindge Towers for 20 years.
In addition to the managers’ bullying tactics, including their yelling at residents and banging on doors, the residents are frustrated by the growing problem with rodents and cockroaches, she said.

Mice and roaches have always plagued the towers, she said. "It's been a mess for as long as I've been here. I've lost bags of clothing to these mice.

"They never used to exterminate. We kept on them about it and HUD finally brought in a new exterminator some months back, and he does a better job, but he always tells the residents the (rodent infestation) is their fault, and that they should keep a cleaner home. It's all the holes around here that are the real problem," she said.

Casola said the rodent problem is largely the result of maintenance failing to fill in holes throughout the two massive towers. "They exterminate, the mice are gone for a bit, and then they're back. It's ridiculous.”

One resident, Loretta Davis, said her living room set had a colony of mice she discovered when her granddaughter, Jasmine, 12, and a family friends were sleeping on the couch one night.
"The next morning, I called Maureen, who worked in the office until she started to side with the tenants, and she sent some men to take it away,” she said.

Davis said one of the building managers told her that there were no mice in the furniture. “He is a liar. Maureen told me later it was infected.”

Update on Kendall Square fatal accident

by  Derren Lewis-Peters

A city firefighter said his team received word of today's accident at 12:45 a.m.  at 500 Tech Square, a urban commercial park owned by M.I.T.

The man fell off an outdoors elevator when its support structure failed, said a female witness. 

The accident happened behind the building on the right.

Man killed in construction accident

Derren Lewis-Peters reports a man was killed today in Kendall Square. 

The Technology Center construction worker was killed as a crane collapsed and he was struck in the head.

Police have secured the area, but city police are challenged by the confluence of onlookers, including just released school children, and media vehicles sending live feeds.

Lewis-Peters is on the scene and we are waiting with you for his next report.

Developing...

City hosts teen drinking town meeting

by Derren Lewis-Peters

Concerned parents joined April 11 public health professionals for the city’s first town meeting focused on the alcohol abuse by the city’s teenagers.

"Drug and alcohol use begins in the home. If you see your parents holding a lax view on alcohol for themselves, you're more likely to carry that view yourself once you gain access to it,” said Dr. David Rosenbloom, the director of Join Together, a national resource aimed towards helping communities treat and prevent substance abuse, who moderated the town meeting hosted by the Cambridge Prevention Coalition.

He was joined by a panel that included Richard Scali, chairman of the city’s license commission; Amanda Shannon,  a youth delegate to Mothers Against Drunk Driving; Danny Trujillo, a substance abuse project leader at MIT and David DeIuliis, communications specialist with the state chapter of MADD.

In his remarks to the forum, Rosenbloom said young people are influenced by both their life at home and how community treats alcohol and controls its availability.
States with higher tax rates on alcohol have the smallest levels have the smallest levels of youth drinking, he said.

Massachusetts has one of the lowest alcohol tax rates in the country, he said.

Another very difficult challenge is how to fight the cool image of drinking portrayed in advertising, he said.

"The good life ad image creates a fantasy life that is hard to top," Rosenbloom said. "Youth with nothing to do start drinking, just because."

DeIuliis said youth drinking is a long-term threat. "All signs point to one dangerous fact -- the younger you begin to drink, the more likely you are to develop a dependency. Today's underage drinker becomes tomorrow's drunk driver."

One MADD legislative initiative working its way through the Beacon Hill process takes a unique approach, he said. The bill would de-criminilize consumption violations, instead turning them into less severe civil violations.

Offenses would come with a fine, and eventually be scratched from a violator's record, he said.

The idea is to beef up enforcement of youth drinking laws, he said. "More arrests will reduce drinking amongst young people. And one way to get more arrests is to ease the burden for cops.”