Responses to "a letter to a heartless landlord"
Friday Oct 17 1997
editor's note: This letter came via postal mail with no return address. Go figure...
Dear Mr. Barnard,
I saw your email messages concerning heartless landlords and while I agree with
your general points, you don't seem to be cutting anyone much slack. I am not
going to sign this because you seem to get upset with people who won't drop everything
and leap to your aid (e.g. Sup. Bierman, who was 100% on your side)
As I understand your situation, someone bought the building you live in and they want to
move some family member in. You assume, without mentioning any proof, that this is solely
to raise the rent. You also say you have the best unit in the building. Does it not make
sense that the new owner, if they wanted to use a unit in their building, would want the
best unit? Isn't that what you would do if you were fortunate enough to purchase a building?
If your graphic design business was in a commercial property and someone bought the
building and wanted to use the building for their own purposes, they could toss you right out
if they wanted to. Should this be prohibited also?
I am all for rent control and anyone who evicts a tenant solely to raise the rent should
be punished very severely, but if people want to invest their money into a building for
their use or their family's, shouldn't they be able to?
You are so blindly righteous about your position as a tenant that I suspect you would be
just as blindly righteous if the shoe were on the other foot.
Good luck. I hope you get to stay another 10 years.
"D"
email kevin@whisperdesign.com
home www.whisperdesign.com