Board of Aldermen Page 29
June 14, 2016
are very good at it. They have a lot of low income apartments, not just in Nashua but in southern New
Hampshire. | am very respectful of the work they do. They came tonight to make sure that we knew that
they were in support of this type of legislation, as did one of the commissioners from the Nashua Housing
Authority, who is probably the biggest landlord in the City of Nashua. We also got a communication from
Bob Keating, who we all know in this Chamber, who is one of the strongest advocates for low income
people. He’s with the Granite State Organizing Project, and he was in support of this. That’s pretty
telling to me, that these organizations and individuals came here to talk to us about this tonight. This is
what these people do. They advocate for low income people. They came tonight to tell us that. I'll be
supporting it.
Alderman Schoneman
| appreciate the advocacy for low income tenants in the City of Nashua and elsewhere. The gentleman
who spoke from NeighborWorks and others who would speak in favor sounds like they are good
landlords.
(Alderman Moriarty was disconnected and no longer participated via teleconference call.)
There’s no issue with their compliance or their provision of good services. Landlords at the two locations
that we are really concerned with don’t appear to be in that category. | share the view that | don’t think
we’re going to change their character. The gentleman that spoke from NeighborWorks seemed to exhibit
a character where he had legitimate and genuine concern. The landlords or the owners at the two
places that we are primarily concerned with, | don’t know if they are going to be legitimately affected by
this. If they don’t have that character already, | don’t see it happening. | think the likelinood of them
raising rent just from an economic standpoint based on the low vacancy rate that we heard from the
gentleman from NeighborWorks at 2 percent, there appears to be no pressure to keep rates low. If he
was able to raise them to collect the fines, maybe they could simply do that from an economic
standpoint. Maybe that’s the answer in a sense because if everything is complied with internally to that
building at 23 Temple, there could still be issues with those folks across the street that wanted to develop
the property but didn’t because 23 Temple exists as it is. This isn’t going to change what 23 Temple is.
I’m concerned about that. I’m also wanted to address the comment that there’s no effect on those sitting
out here. There may be no fine coming in the next week or two or whenever, but there is an effect.
That’s what they are here speaking about. One gentleman said he had anxiety. As a landlord he owns
one building and he expressed a fear of what this might mean for him. | think that’s a serious concern. |
don’t like it when any citizen in the city is afraid of this government. | think the folks at 23 Temple, the
owners of 23 Temple should be afraid, but | don’t think they are. The legitimate people who are good
landlords, they are the ones that are fearful. Whether or not this will affect them today is hard to say, but
it could. It could affect them a year from now or two years from now or whenever when this legislation
lies there ready to be picked up and enforced perhaps punitively. Who knows, we don’t know that now.
We know the character of the people that are administering it today within code enforcement. We don’t
know beyond that. It seems to me that it opens a door that | think causes potential grief in the future,
certainly causes a level of anxiety and fear today. | question what real effect it will have on the two
properties we’re concerned with. Thank you.
Alderman Lopez
| want to say | am sensitive to the anxiety that a business owner feels really. | understand what it’s like to
be concerned about the future and what it might hold. | am also sensitive to the first woman who testified
here. Her son died in the room next door. She received an eviction notice the day before Thanksgiving.
No organizations or help was going to be available for her to get anything. She was very anxious. She
was very upset. Her son’s room was rented out the day after. The discussion about when it was being
rented out was happening right in front of her while this is all happening. His belongings were kept in a
closet that someone else was renting out, so she couldn’t even get her son’s stuff. This is not behavior
