By now you should have received your eviction notice. Do not be alarmed, this is what we expected. Bruner and Shoreline are relying on intimidation: DON'T LET THEM SCARE YOU. Our legal team is confident that the law is on our side. Management cannot enter your apartment except for scheduled maintenance and/or emergencies. You are within your rights to refuse them entry.

The candlelight protest last Friday was a tremendous success. Three TV news cameras and newspaper reporters documented the event. Dozens of tenants came together with signs and candles to show our community spirit. Check 12/21/95 Boston Globe, Bay State Banner, and S.E. News for stories.

This past Sunday's Artist Ball was yet another tremendous success as a fundraiser and media event. The event showcased our many diverse talents, at the same time as creating media awareness and raising funds. Thank you and congratulations to all who came. If we continue to support each other and our cause, we will win.

There will be a general tenants meeting on Sunday, January 7th, in the community room at 6pm. WE WILL RATIFY BYLAWS, so if you need a copy of the bylaws, contact your wing captain. Dues may be brought to this meeting, or paid to your wing captain by January 15th, 1996. Also on the agenda that night: updates from subcommittees, including legal (legal counsel may be there for direct questions; unconfirmed as yet) and open floor for question/answer. This constitutes notice for the meeting.

BHA Update: Dotty Guild:

The Executive Office of Community Development (EOCD) controls and set all policies regarding leases, rent increases, proper notification of changes, security deposits, etc. of all tenants (BHA and moderate, with some indirect connections to setting rates for market tenants as well.) The EOCD is controlled by the Governor's office. It is for this reason the two meetings recently held with BHA tenants and EOCD (12/8/95 & 12/20/95) are significant. In the first meeting 12/8/95 seven tenants were invited to the EOCD office to state the impact of this building-wide rent increase on their lives and to relate how the process was handled by Shoreline (e.g. illegally, use of intimidation, etc.) The second meeting 12/20/95 with BHA officials was to convince them that the handling by Shoreline of the BHA tenants and all tenants generally was illegal, improper, and that the use of intimidation was prevalent. Both the tenants present (three) and our attorney felt this was accomplished.

We found BHA officials very sympathetic to our plight. It is now the job of BHA to convince EOCD of same.

Point of Information: not all BHA tenants have two years guaranteed. All BHA tenants who did not sign the lease have only January subsidy payment guaranteed. If EOCD decides in Shoreline's favor, BHA tenants could be evicted as of Jan 31, 1996. However, we do not feel this will happen, but you can be reassured that at this time, nothing is secure for any of us yet.

The BHA caucus also voted not to sign leases, even with the original threat of eviction by jan 1, 1996. Additionally, strong advocacy was made for the retaining of the entire building as affordable housing at both these meetings.

Concessions won so far: January housing subsidy paid; willingness of BHA to lend us support in their meeting with EOCD; potential for meeting in the near future with EOCD, BHA, Jay Rose and possibly tenants' representatives.

It is in all our interests for our tenant body to continue becoming more politically sophisticated and to understand the connection between EOCD and all of us. It behooves us not to create class distinctions among the tenant body through fear and ignorance. For such a diverse group, we ARE functioning extremely well as a unit. Bravo!

LIST OF COMMITTEE CHAIRS (subject to change.)

Fundraising Committee: John Rosbrook

Legal Committee: Jeff Gould

Media Committee: Bethany Gully

Political Action Committee: Phil Salkind

If you have any legal questions, please contact THE FOLLOWING people. THEY WILL HAVE BEEN FULLY BRIEFED ON SITUATIONS. Please don't call Jeff Gould as he is only human, and cannot handle all of our questions. Nancy Baptist; Gloria Graves; Alan Weller ; Jonathan Herman.

ONLY PCGTA MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING (DUES PAID) WILL RECEIVE FUTURE NEWSLETTERS.

THE LEGAL REPORT by Jeff Gould

Our legal team is in place and well-prepared to mount a massive challenge to Shoreline's attempt to unilaterally terminate our existing leases. The team consists of Harvey Shapiro from the law firm of Collier, Shapiro & McCutcheon, Jay Rose from Greater Boston Legal Services, Bob Gilligan from the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Nadine Cohen from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, Amy Davidson from the Boston HUD Tenants' Alliance, and me, Jeff Gould, from the law firm of Bowditch & Dewey.

As we expected, tenants are beginning to receive Notices to Terminate Tenancy. The purported cause for this eviction is that the landlord wishes to increase the rent. This is one Christmas wish that will not come true for Simeon Bruner and his elves at Shoreline.

Our legal team intends to challenge the unilateral termination of our valid, existing leases and to demand that Shoreline negotiate in good faith with the Tenants' Association in regard to changes in the terms of the tenancies and the long term use of the Piano Factory. With the substantial legal services which are available to our Tenants' Association, and the political and financial support which we have received from the broader community, we will compel Shoreline to deal with us in good faith, while preventing any evictions in the short term of tenants who refuse to submit to Shoreline's illegal threats and demands.

Massachusetts law protects tenants against any form of reprisal where a tenant engages in certain types of protected conduct; including organizing, joining a tenants' union, seeking to enforce any law or regulation that pertains to the premises, and bringing the violation of any pertaining regulation to the attention of the landlord or regulatory authorities.

Perhaps most important is the fact that in Massachusetts, a residential tenant can not be evicted unless the landlord can convince a Court to authorize the eviction. When an eviction action is resisted for a legitimate reason, eviction proceedings and appeals can linger in the court system, unresolved, for years. The Piano Craft Guild Tenants' Association has the grounds, the commitment, and the patience to combat the unjust actions of Shoreline.

Shoreline has informed tenants that if they do not sign the proposed new leases, their apartments will be shown to prospective renters. While the eviction proceedings are pending, however, Shoreline is prohibited by statute from entering any of the Piano Factory apartments, except for maintenance purposes (with advance notice) or to check any illegal activity being conducted in the apartment.

In closing, please know that our legal team is working very hard to protect your interests. The details of our strategy will be addressed more specifically at the next meeting of the Piano Craft Guild Tenants' Association, which will be held on January 7th, 1996, at 6:00 p.m.

On a personal note, I am very proud to be a part of this collective effort to compel Shoreline and Simeon Bruner to negotiate with our Tenants' Association in an equitable manner. Our well-organized Tenants' Association and strong legal team will most certainly defeat Shoreline's attempt to unilaterally impose onerous new terms of tenancy on our community.

PIANO CRAFT GUILD TENANTS ASSOCIATION

E X T R E M E L Y IMPORTANT MEETING

6pm Sunday January 7th in the Community Room

THIS MEETING WILL BE RESTRICTED TO DUES-PAYING MEMBERS. YOU CAN BRING YOUR DUES TO THE MEETING ON SUNDAY.

: Legal Update: find out what to do next, new legal information, what happened in the most recent lawyers' meeting, and in the meantime, remember: DON'T CASH SHORELINE'S SECURITY DEPOSIT CHECKS; BRING THEM WITH YOU TO THE MEETING. We are planning an action very soon that will involve them!

: Bylaws: we will vote on the bylaws at this meeting, so get a copy from your wing captain ahead of time, because it's too long to read during the vote. We need 2/3 of the Tenants Association present to make this vote legal.

: Political Update: a report on our meeting with Mayor Menino. Also, call those city councillors still undecided on the Home Rule Petition:

Richard Ianella 635-4376

Peggy Davis Mullen 635-4220

Thomas Keane 635-4225

and ask them to support it!

: Demonstrations: On Friday December 15th twenty tenants picketed the home of our landlord, Simeon Bruner. Although we didn't make the news it was worth it to see the look on his face when he rushed home 15 minutes after we arrived. Future demonstrations are in the works so we need ideas and most importantly committed people to make them a success and generate public awareness. Since Shoreline is playing hardball with us we have to show them that we're determined to fight their illegal, immoral plan to throw us out of our homes. FURTHER DEMONSTRATIONS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS MONTH. THEY WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE MEETING. GET INVOLVED!!

: Dues: Please bring your dues to Sunday's meeting or pay them to your wing captain by Jan 15th.

Bring with you the sheets of your Housing Code Violations!

We have invited a Guest Speaker from the Hemenway Tenants' Alliance. They're very organized and successful.