Tuesday, October 29, 2002
Housing and Mayor Menino: Charlie Stein on rent control: “Is rent control a good idea? No, for all of the obvious reasons. Is it a surprise that rent control has emerged as a political issue? No - especially if you lift your head from the economic textbooks and look at what is going on in the real world.” A very good piece. ... Now, if the Menino administration was truly serious about building more housing in the city, this project would have been approved a long time ago. But it may not be approved. Why? A.) The developer has dared to criticize the administration. B.) Chinatown, playing its NIMBY card, has lots of voters. C.) Millennium Partners doesn’t like the size of the project and it has more clout at city hall. A housing shortage in Boston? Nah. It's all about politics.
