To the editor:
Re. Phyllis Salom’s letter to the editor, July 6.
Ms. Salom reassures us that she “is not scared at all by privatization” and accuses those of us who oppose privatization of trying to scare people. Actually, we are just telling the truth, but if people are scared, that’s because the truth about privatization is very scary.
She points out that there have been maintenance increases at Southbridge. She is correct — there have been maintenance increases. And if we stay in the program, there will also be maintenance increases.
These same increases would happen under privatization. But there is one crucial difference: the cost of operating a privatized Southbridge would be over nine million dollars each year above the cost of operating our Mitchell-Lama co-op. That’s because we would have to pay the full amount of real estate taxes each year — and we would have to make payments on a mortgage that we would have to get so we could pay the city and state the $28 million in real property transfer taxes.
Every year in which the total flip tax totaled less than nine million dollars, the difference would have to be made up by an increase in maintenance or by a special assessment.
In a year in which the total flip tax collected amounted to, say, only eight million dollars, each of our apartments would have to be assessed slightly more than an extra $600. If the flip tax amount was only seven million dollars, the increase would be $1200 per apartment. That is above and beyond any increase that we would have if we stay in the Mitchell-Lama program.
Actually, the truth is even worse. The deficit would have to be made up by fewer than our 1651 apartments, because the people who choose to stay here on a rent-stabilized basis would not have to make up for the deficit. So the average increase per apartment would be even larger than I’ve stated.
Some truths are very scary, but let’s not blame the people who have been voicing these truths. Rather, let’s be critical of those who try to obscure them or who tell you that there would be nothing to worry about under privatization.
Mike Altman
