Citizens Dispute Question 9

If Question 9, the controversial ballot measure to abolish rent control, passes tomorrow, one result could be the demise of a long-hated city institution.

The Cambridge Rent Control Board oversees 14,000 area rental units. It's despised by people on both sides of the rent control issue. One woman, 78-year-old Helen Petrillo, has even maintained that her husband's experience with the board caused his fatal heart attack.

The Petrillos' case has been the subject of recent television commercials sponsored by supporters of Question 9. They believe rent control keeps prices artificially low and makes it hard to lease property.

But opponents of Question 9 say rent control prevents homelessness and keeps prices from skyrocketing in a tight housing market.

Family Occupancy

Petrillo says her family's problems with the rent board began after their daughter's house burned down.

"We were away in California and when we came back, my daughter and her three kids were living in our house," she says. "We moved into the basement and let them move into the top floor."

The Cambridge Rent Board became involved in the case after a tenant reported that four families were living in the Petrillos' three-family building, she says.

After four years of hearings before the board, the Petrillos decided to pay the tenant $10,000 to move.

"We had a very rough experience," Petrillo says. "(My husband's) heart attack was a result of the stress from the hearings. It was just too much for him."

But opponents of Question 9 say Petrillo is misleading the public. A fax released by the Save Our Communities Coalition (SOCC) says the retired couple chose "systematically to violate and flagrantly disobey rent and housing control laws."

The Petrillos' experience with the rent control board is not unique. Many Cambridge landowners claim the board is biased towards tenants.

"The board was really hostile. I was told by my hearing examiner that I had to be cross examined by tenants," says Alice White, a resident of the Central Square area.

Vinny Bologna, a Cambridge resident, is currently locked in a dispute with the board over a rooming house he purchased in 1985. He describes his dealings with the board as "a nightmare."

Bologna says: "My family lives in an 800 square foot converted garage because the rent control laws won't let us move into our 4,000 square foot home."

Support for Board

While few admire its bureaucratic machinations, the board does have some supporters. The elimination of the board would come with the demise of rent control, and that prospect scares many residents.

"For six months I've been in a panic over Question 9," says Susan Seidel, a Brighton resident for the past 26 years. "I have no protection against rent raise or eviction. I could become homeless."

Jamaica Plain resident Harold Kaplow, 71, says Question 9 has forced him to become politically active.

"The bottom line is I would be homeless if Question 9 is passed," says Kaplow, who has lived in Jamaica Plain for 20 years. "I'm very nervous about the prospect of being evicted, but I am turning my energy to a positive role by volunteering and getting involved with the SOCC."