Gary Rogers, the man who faced eviction from his Somerville apartment for refusing to pay a 90 percent rent hike, will be recognized by Somerville City Council Thursday.
Councillor Kristen Strezo has sponsored a citation to commend Rogers, Community Action Agency of Somerville, Somerville’s Office of Housing Stability and DeNovo Legal Services, the Cambridge-based nonprofit that represented Rogers in his jury trial, for their work in “fighting for housing justice for Somerville residents.”
“I submitted this citation because I think it’s really important to recognize the wins and validate the hard-fought struggle that it took to get to that point of a court decision,” Strezo said in an interview. She said she believes her fellow councillors will support it.
That “hard-fought struggle” saw Rogers refuse to pay his landlord an increased rent amount for his third-floor unit at 22 Sargent Ave. for nearly two years. The landlord, Ryan Pinto, who is based in California, filed a no-fault eviction case against him. The case made its way to a jury trial, a rare circumstance in Massachusetts.
The jury found that Pinto effectively terminated Rogers’ self-extending lease upon filing for eviction in Spring 2024 but created a new tenancy for Rogers by accepting checks the tenant sent that were labeled as “rent” and did not reflect the 90 percent increase. This granted Rogers possession of the apartment, making him a month-to-month tenant.
But Rogers may soon face eviction again. Less than a week after the verdict, Pinto sent Rogers a new notice to quit – this one includes a reservation of Pinto’s rights to accept payments Rogers makes as “use and occupancy,” not rent.
When asked about possible future eviction proceedings and the legitimacy of her citation given the verdict and new notice to quit, Strezo, who has led the council’s Committee on Housing, Community Development and Equity for several terms, seemed to defend the citation, saying she hopes critics “educate themselves” on the ways in which people are struggling in the city.
“Whatever happens with Gary Rogers, it takes a lot of guts to take a chance into the unknown and challenge something,” she said.
Rogers said the citation is a recognition of the “successful mix” of people who contributed to his victory in court.
“We were all in the cauldron and it was a good mix, and the mix worked, but it could’ve been me [alone],” Rogers said. “Not many people would’ve kept saying to the judge, ‘no, I want a jury trial.’”
Rogers has no plans to move out of his apartment despite the new notice to quit. He acknowledged that his case isn’t over but said that he is excited by the possibilities it presents for other tenants in his situation.
“What I see is a garden I have two sets of flowers in. I have last month’s rent that I got and I’m going to see those as lilies of the valley,” he said, referring to the $1,602.09 he was awarded in damages and interest by the court for a mishandled deposit. “The other one is the new tenancy, I’m going to call that a tiger lily, because that’s a big one. If I continue to fight, I’m going to gain some more things, because my garden needs to be expanded so that other people see more clearly what I did and how I did it.”
Pinto’s attorneys declined a request for comment.
CAAS, an organization that works to address poverty and economic injustice, has supported Rogers and the Sargent Tenants Alliance, a group of former and current 22 Sargent Ave. tenants, by providing them resources informing them of their rights, helping them draft negotiation letters and holding rallies to bolster community support. Danny McLaughlin, director of community organizing and advocacy for CAAS, said that while the battle is not over, Rogers and the alliance deserve to be celebrated for their perseverance.
“I hope this sends a message and lets people know that Somerville’s not going to stand by and just let people kick out our residents,” he said. “We’re going to fight.”
McLaughlin, who grew up in Somerville in the 1980s and 1990s, said many of his friends got priced out over the years due to gentrification. He said Rogers’ case shows Somerville will not accept exorbitant rent increases.
“Gary sends a message that you can fight,” he said. “Not just fight, you can win.”
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