Being a student in a city like Boston is no easy task – especially financially speaking.
Housing expenses alone in Boston are astronomical for any student who wants to live within the borders of the city. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that the fire in an Allston building that killed a Boston University student revealed the dark underworld of housing in Allston, one of the city’s most student-friendly neighborhoods.
A city law passed in 2008 limits the number of undergraduates living in off-campus, private housing. The law limits the number of undergraduates leasing a single unit or house to four. According to reports, there were 19 students living in the Allston building. It was, by all accounts, an illegal rooming house, one owned by Anna Belokurova, who also owns a condo in West Roxbury.
The fire caused over $500,000 in damage, injured at least two firefighters and sent shockwaves through the rental community in the neighborhood.
But here’s the kicker: the rental units hadn’t been inspected by the city in over 20 years. In the end, Belokurova was cited. As of press time, there was no word if she could face criminal charges.
The city should take this tragedy and use it to crack down on landlords whose aims don’t fit in with the law – or human decency.
Energy Law A No-Brainer
Back in 2010, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s Climate Action Leadership Committee recommended the city establish an energy reporting and disclosure requirement for Boston buildings.
The goal? Reducing greenhouse gases in the city by 80 percent by 2050.
The ordinance, which was refiled by Menino May 1 after it was rejected without prejudice by the City Council, works like this: the city would set a model by disclosing energy use in all its buildings beginning this year; all large and medium buildings would be required to report annual energy use, including ENERGYSTAR rating, water use and greenhouse gas emissions; and all the data would be available online. The rules would take effect gradually – applying to non-residential buildings larger than 50,000 square feet in 2015 and then moving to residential buildings with 25 units by 2017.
The ordinance does not outline how much energy usage is good energy usage; it’s merely requiring landlords to report usage. The only fines imposed would be if a landlord doesn’t report numbers or doesn’t perform an energy audit.
The idea is to try to get landlords and tenants to think about their energy consumption. It’s a noble goal that should be approved. In many ways, Boston is playing catch-up to other cities, such as Philadelphia and Chicago, which already require energy usage reporting. The council has 60 days starting from last week’s refiling to take action on the ordinance.
Opponents argue the law would shift unnecessary burdens to landlords and tenants alike, amounting to higher rents for tenants. And while it may be true that there will be one more hoop to jump through and there will be costs associated with it, all parties involved would be doing their part to ensure a greener future.
