Welcome to the neighborhood! We are the 215 Bath Tenants Association (BTA) and we are a strong and diverse community of long-term residents. We formed our tenants’ association in order to preserve and improve our community, and we write this open letter to invite the owners, 215 Bath LLC — Chris Parker, Austin Herlihey, James Knapp, Jr., and Timothy Morton-Smith — to come to the table and negotiate with us in good faith.
We understand that potentially hazardous conditions on the property need to be addressed, as you put it, “as quickly as possible.” We appreciate that “tenant safety is [your] primary concern,” however, it has become clear to us that your main goal in your acquisition of this property is to replace our community with “West Beach College Commons,” a private dormitory for student tenants with shared-room rental agreements.
Around the time you took ownership, many of us received “non-renewal” notices without “just cause” or relocation assistance. You then began emailing “surrender offers” that stated you intended to terminate all of our tenancies and that there was a risk of electrical fire if you did not repair our wiring soon. Some of us signed your offers. Last week, this came to a crescendo when you delivered termination notices to all of us who had not signed your surrender offers.
In light of recent events, we raise the following concerns:
● We want to preserve the right to live in our homes in accordance with our leases and the laws and regulations which protect this right. Stop trying to misuse the laws allowing for demolition or renovation to displace and replace us. On January 31, 2024, the residents who had not already agreed to leave were all served with notices that their tenancy would be terminated on a no-fault basis. Rescind those notices and continue to offer us leases that allow our residency and community to continue uninterrupted.
● We have been told that important work needs to be done on the buildings to render them safe and habitable. These are lovely buildings and we are glad to hear you intend to keep them well-maintained. You have told us that the wiring and plumbing need essential rehabilitation for safety and habitability reasons. We are as if not more concerned to hear this as you were and request that you fix all such issues immediately—not after our mass eviction. Please work with us to get any necessary work done as quickly as possible and with minimal disruption.
● If we must be temporarily displaced, we ask that this be for the minimum possible amount of time and that our tenancies continue under present terms.
● Our association wants clear, ongoing communication about your plans for the buildings and property. To help us continue to be good tenants and to support the quality of life of all the residents here, please share your plans with us proactively, including the scope and expected timing of planned projects.
● Accept our rent by checks and promptly deliver receipts. We kindly request that the Koto Group be more diligent about recognizing payments. Please cash checks in a reasonable amount of time and recognize those payments immediately. It has taken management up to 17 days to process rent checks. Not knowing when checks will clear is very inconvenient for the payees, making it more likely that a payment will have a problem, creating yet another opportunity to try and evict a resident. Residents have also received spurious three-day eviction notices despite rent checks having been delivered. These practices cause stress and fear.
● Fix issues in a timely and organized manner. Firing the on-site manager of 20+ years has resulted in a dirty environment and other gaps in management. Residents have experienced power outages and plumbing problems with responses and resolutions delayed by hours or even days. Many common spaces have not been cleaned since the property manager left. Residents have taken it upon themselves to clean carpets, sweep floors, and throw out trash left behind by dumpster-divers. Recently a smoke alarm went off in an empty unit and management did not respond in a timely manner. After hours of no response, worried residents called the fire department. Please communicate disruptions and intrusions in a timely and thorough manner.
The tenant protections passed by City Council on January 23 had to be enacted because harassment has no place in our community. We ask that you hear this message and reply to us soon — and do so in good faith.
We expect a prompt response from you at admin@215bathtenants.com to establish the terms of our conversation so we can resolve this conflict and avoid future ones. We are doing this in good faith, in the spirit of community and fairness, and in seeking a common agreement with you as representatives and owners. We are not reneging on our responsibilities as established by law and our contracts as tenants. We hope to reach a satisfactory agreement with you.