HOLYOKE — U.S. Sen. Ed Markey joined local officials at Lyman Terrace apartments on Wednesday to commend the renovation of the affordable housing complex and call for “a more just, a more fair, and a more housed community.”
The once-dilapidated 167-unit public housing development, which is among the oldest of its kind in the country, was eyed for demolition nearly a decade ago.
“But community organizers and advocates understood that the demolition of this housing meant the demolition of the American dream for many residents here at Lyman Terrace,” Markey said, “so they did not sit still … For their efforts, we stand here at Lyman Terrace today — home to these renovated affordable housing units with many of the same families who still call downtown Holyoke their home.”
Markey spoke before an audience including Lyman Terrace residents and Holyoke officials and was also joined by state Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, acting Mayor Terence Murphy, Holyoke Housing Authority Director Matt Mainville, The Community Builders CEO Bart Mitchell and Lyman Terrace resident Stephanie Gomez.
Gomez, who has lived at Lyman Terrace for about three years and attended the gathering with her son and daughter, called the complex “a great community and a safe environment.”
“My eight-year-old and friends ring each others’ doorbells just to play outside and hang out,” she said.
To continue creating housing opportunities for families, Markey said that legislation such as the American Families Plan must include provisions such as family leave and child care, and lawmakers must work to address racial inequity, soaring housing prices, and other barriers to becoming a homeowner. While 70% of white people in Massachusetts own their homes, just 36% of Black people and 28% of Latinx people are homeowners.
The disparity is “disgraceful,” Markey said.
Other factors such as unemployment and income inequality often combine to make “the American dream that so many in the commonwealth are striving for … almost impossible to achieve,” he added.
Speaking at the gathering, Velis said that without affordable housing, “everything else is almost irrelevant.”
“Housing, in my opinion, is the foremost, paramount thing out there,” he added, stating that without an affordable home, “many of the other things just don’t matter.”
In addition to recognizing resident efforts to save the complex, speakers also noted the renovations as a collaborative effort between local, state and federal government.
“It’s all about building housing that’s worthy of the families who deserve them,” Markey said, “and that’s why we have to think big and bold here in the United States.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.