Help Protect OOTB Gallery and Other Arts Businesses in the Armory.

The Out of the Blue Art Gallery and many small businesses at the Arts at the Armory  building (191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA) are in jeopardy of losing their business homes completely on June 1st, 2022, because of eminent domain by the City.  We had already received documentation from the City alongside the other businesses in the Armory that our last day of official tenancy is December 31, 2021.  Any tenant staying after December 31, 2021 by the clauses of this document would pay $300/day before potential eviction anyways. The City also stated in its letter that any person with an active lawyer would have to PAY the city to acquire services to correspond with their lawyer, thereby attempting to nix an organization's desire for legal representation.  Only one former tenant signed the December 31st eviction lease, and that is Cervena Press, who decided to leave the building this month.  No extension lease was mentioned by that organization after they signed the December 31st eviction notice.  Instead, the City rep in charge of the building has informed the Press that tenants can stay until June while bullying tenants to sign the December 31st lease with false promises of an "extension lease" to follow.

It is now January, and it appears that the Press and reach out to City Council and the general public by myself put a setback in plans to June 1st, as well as general re-organization of the building which looks like a complete repopulation of the building for Somerville Arts Council and the City.  To our knowledge, no other tenants have signed the illegal December 31 "eviction" notice of sorts. And, to the City management's favor at the time, no further intimidation to leave before as happened now and hopefully until June 1, 2022, although an illegal police report was filed on the Gallery on November 19, 2021, trying to evict the Gallery and, me, Parma Chai, for speaking out and protecting the tenants.  Happily, the Press and our lawyer helped put a stop on this for the meanwhile.

The Out of the Blue Art Gallery supports 30 artists from all types of demographics and abilities and is also a 501c3 non-profit.  Members of the collective have already begun to reach out to the Mayor's office as well as the Somerville Arts Council to ask for an explanation of why we are being kept out of the loop and more information on what is to come.  Our first introduction as small art businesses in the Armory to eminent domain was through reading the press in late April 2021, after meetings had already happened with several parties.  Please help OOTB Gallery and the other small businesses in the Armory stay operating and alive through the city's eminent domain procedure.   All City Council and Mayor and to-be-Mayor constituents have been contacted, but very little help has been offered.  We want a town meeting, which could easily be endorsed by a current or to-be City Councilor, to discuss rehoming options for current leased tenants, a lease that does not violate all Massachusetts laws such as the current one ending our official tenancy on December 31, and for the City to actually take into consideration the general public's thoughts for a building that was bought through Eminent Domain.  In particular, as their vocal desire is to get all the tenants out by June 1st, we would like to discuss rehoming costs.