Eviction by University Raises Housing Problems

The 24 families Harvard plans to evict to make room for the eighth House and the Leverett annex, face an acute housing shortage.

President Pusey sent a personal letter to each of the tenants being evicted. To those affiliated with Harvard, he promised that Hunneman&Co., real estate agents for the University, "will make their best efforts to find you a place to live." Those who had followed up this offer frequently felt that they could not afford the company's services. They're very helpful if you want a $30,000 house in Lexington," said one young mother.

Notified that they must vacate by June 30, most of the families did not know where they would move. For graduate students who have children, acquisition of an inexpensive apartment in the Harvard Square area seems next to impossible.

No one questioned Harvard's right to evict tenants, but many households complained of the suddenness with which it was done. One couple had just repainted their apartment; another was expecting a baby in June. This resentment is increased by the knowledge that the University does not own all the property on which it plans to build. Frequently, the lessees' neighbors show no intention to move. "I won't sell my property ever!" said one woman on Mt. Auburn St., "unless, of course, Harvard meets my price."

Furthermore, according to Edward J. Reynolds '15, administrative vice president, construction will not begin "for a good many months." One member of the Class of '52 said that he didn't mind being evicted in the cause of progress, but had heard that "they're going to tear this down for a parking lot."

Older residents were more sorrowful than resentful. One woman reminisced about her 44 years as the University's tenant, and stated that Harvard was an "ideal" landlord. Her boarding house used to house students until complaints about the DeWolfe St. "rathouses" caused the transfer to the dormitories. Now, students will live on DeWolfe again, and she thinks this will force her to leave Cambridge.

"There's B.U., and Lesley," she said. "M.I.T. is coming up from the river, and now Harvard. Cambridge is licked."