Residents displaced due to BRMC development
Published on December 2nd, 1998
STONEHAM, MA -This is the second story in a series of two which focuses on problems surrounding Boston Regional Medical Center that are being experienced by Stoneham residents and the town government.
Home is where the heart is.
This well-known phrase captures the essence of emotions that individuals and families feel after years and decades of residency within the cozy confines of their homes.
The same can be said for the numerous people who, for years, have lived under the address of 5 Woodland Road, Stoneham, MA, 02180. These individuals and families, however, are being forced to vacate their long-time dwellings at their landlord's request.
Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC), owner of the 38+acres located at 5 Woodland Road on the Lynn Fells Parkway, is moving ahead with plans to redevelop a significant portion of the parcel of land in order to construct three large structures.
This action has forced many residents to vacate their homes of 10, 20, and in some cases 30 years.
"I'm very upset," said one resident who wished not to be identified, citing a fear of retribution from BRMC administrators as her reason. "Everyone's very upset. Most of the residents have been here for quite a while and it hasn't been easy finding affordable places to live in the area."
"It's been very, very difficult," the resident said of the search for a new home. "I have friends here who just live paycheck to paycheck. Luckily I don't, but it's still been difficult."
According to Charles Houghton, attorney for BRMC, two private entities under the name of BRMC Development Partners, LLC will pay for and construct an Alzheimer's unit, assisted living center and congregate care building. Monies from the non-profit BRMC, which has run into significant financial difficulties in recent years with the Town of Stoneham and many creditors, will not be used in the project, he maintained.
This work was proposed and approved by the Planning Board on March 11 of this year and, according to Houghton, the site plan hearing with the Board of Selectmen will likely take place in January or February. Construction could then begin in the spring or early summer.
Barbara Bertone lived on the BRMC campus for 18 years before she was informed in June that the apartment she shared with her husband would be demolished as part of the development.
"This was a nice little community," Bertone said. "A lot of people felt like they'd be there for life."
Bertone, who has already relocated, and the anonymous resident, who has yet to relocate, claim that administrators advanced the date on which residents were required to vacate, thus causing extreme difficulties in finding adequate and affordable new addresses. Originally, they say, that date was set for June of 1999, it was then moved back to February of 1999, and, finally, it was moved back further to November 15, 1998.
According to BRMC CEO Dr. Charles Ricks, however, he had told the residents this past June that as of June 1, 1999, the hospital "would be totally out of the housing business." At that time, Ricks stated, a 90-day notice was given to the residents in hopes that they would actively seek alternative housing. Later, on August 10, the hospital sent out written notices to these residents giving them an official 90-day notice. That 90-day notice elapsed in mid-November, the hospital head said.
In addition, the tenants on BRMC's land have always been tenants-at-will. Ricks explained that this arrangement would have allowed tenants to vacate the property with only a 30-day notice. At the same time, it would have allowed the hospital to give only a 30-day notice to his/her tenant to vacate the property. Ricks explained that the residents of 5 Woodland Road were given 90 days due, in part, to the understanding that many residents had lived on the premises for over 20 years.
"I don't think we have been unreasonable," Ricks told the Independent. "Nobody has long-term leases here. They're all tenants-at-will.
"I don't think we've strong-armed anyone. I think we've always tried to be helpful all the way through."
Ricks explained that the proposed development would not only be a boost in the arm for the hospital, but for the town itself.
"We're trying to develop other sources of income for ourselves as well as increase the tax base for the Town of Stoneham," he said. "I am working day and night not only to close this deal (the sale of the hospital to Doctors Community Health Corporation), but also to get more land developed so that the town will get more revenue in its tax base.
"We're not trying to be bad citizens, we're trying to be good citizens."
Bertone, who had been a part of the BRMC family as a senior nurse's aide at BRMC for nearly 20 years, stated that the treatment that she and other residents have received from hospital ownership in recent years has been less than neighborly, however.
"It's like two different places," she said when comparing the hospital to its past incarnations as the New England Sanitarium and New England Memorial Hospital. "It was such a joy to work there. We were a family and the difference between that and today is just amazing.
"They're totally different now. They're lousing it up. It was a whole different ballgame years ago. It was a loving, wonderful place to work and now it's totally changed.
"It's too bad, really."
Ricks disagrees with this assessment and says that the hospital is and always has been an asset to the community.
"This organization's been here for over 100 years. We're the largest employer in the town. We, I think, have contributed to the financial stability of the town. We're not here to cause problems for the town," he said.
"We've certainly been in some tough times recently, but we're working aggressively to get out of those tough times."
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