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Olympic group drops idea of putting visitors up in crappy student apartments
By adamg on Thu, 02/05/2015 - 7:40am
The Globe reports Boston 2024 has dropped the idea of forcing students out of year-long leases as a way to house thousands of Olympics-goers. The Globe cites the generally shoddy natures of these apartments, the risk that actual families might be forced out and protests from landlords that the Olympics plan would prevent them from gouging tourists like hotels hope to.
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Comments
So they aren't good enough for tourists
Why are they good enough for anyone?
I wonder if this was scuttled because students can and do organize and vote when it matters to them? How about a fear of undercutting the high hotel prices? Having to undertake a massive inspection campaign and enforce?
There was also the whole rent-control thing
Much as it's easy to snort at landlords crying foul over the proposal to limit their ability to gouge the
marksforeign visitors, they do have a point that voters outlawed rent control in Massachusetts. And while it would be interesting to hear the argument that Boston 2024 and the IOC are not government entities and so not subject to pesky ballot questions, I'm betting that's a battle organizers just didn't want to take on.What of Mike Ross and his 4 students per unit rules?
Gee - would have been fun to see the tapdancing around why those didn't apply to tourist hoards if they are really important for safety.
And if the IOC and Boston
And if the IOC and Boston 2024 aren't gov't entities, how could they have enforced/demanded rent caps?
Easy
They have they mayor in their pocket.
This type of new just tickles
This type of new just tickles your fancy doesn't it Adam
Olympic Cheerleader Anon is Back!
Adam - Any chance you can trace the posting above back to a computer somewhere in an office in Old City Hall?
I dunno
I mean, I could check the IP number, but this seems a bit too short for mini-Fish and more like one of my general haters.
hey now, it's quite possible
hey now, it's quite possible to be pro-adam AND pro-olympics.
877-301-8970
Richard Davey, the former Patrick Transportation Secretary, and now head of Boston 2014 is just one of the many Patrick administration staffers who have transitioned themselves from the State House to the Legion of (Boston) Doom will be on WGBH Radio at some point between 11 and 2 today.
Give him a call. Torment Davey, because he is partially responsible for the transportation mess of the past few days and now he wants to torment us even more with the Olympics.
867-5309
Jenny.
This just
This just keeps getting better and better.
I really love how they made all these proposals without ever talking to property owners. Goes to show you how they think they can pull this off.. by force.
sigh..
Speakin of which, anyone going to the Olympic Community Meeting at Suffolk tonight?
Edit: corrected my english again!
I guarantee the 2024 Olympic
I guarantee the 2024 Olympic group pays a bunch of people to show up at the meeting early so that actual Boston citizens can't get in and bring up how stupid and corrupt this olympic proposal is.
its RSVP
Its an RSVP event due to space with the meeting room.
So you almost could be right.
Doubt it
My wife and I went to the first meeting at the convention center and we found plenty of seats available when we arrived about 15 minutes prior to the start. To their credit these are very smart competent people who have worked hard - and I think in many if not most cases are sincere about the proposal. I think it would be cool if we could really do this but I remain skeptical over three things:
1) Logistics - we can't shut the city down for 3 weeks (granted we are trying to do that already with the lousy job they've done with the snow plowing and all the arteries condensed to one lane)
2) Cost - not buying the "no public funds" commitment but willing to hold judgment.
3) Came into Logan last week and realized what a pit our infrastructure is. Even the areas that are "nice" are an embarrassment by world standards - and don't even get me started on our T-stations - most of which would need a Govt Center like overhaul to be presentable - i.e. 3 years closures for 75% of the stations over the next 10 years.
You guarantee? So what do we
You guarantee? So what do we get from you if no paid people show up?
Your money back.
Your money back.
Budget?
What's the budget impact of this? The proposal was written with this in mind. Without using rundown student housing, how much does the budget increase?
So it begins.
Olympic stadium at Suffolk Downs? News to the track's owner
from today's Globe:
actually
thats kind of a good use of land.. but I agree, he should have been contacted first. Like everyone else in this boondoggle.
It keeps getting better and better... and we're just getting started.
Yeah, because
we don't want the Casino, but the Olympics are totally cool.
Low Impact?
That this was considered at all shows that this was never going to be a low impact Olympics. Forcing people out of their homes is pretty sleazy. And refusing a tenant a year lease does just that.
The Olympics need to be stopped.