Letter: Disappointment in Local Leadership to secure Shelter Solutions

To the Editor:

I have a pit in my stomach this morning after reading about the decision against making Berkshire Towers a homeless shelter.

I am utterly disappointed by Mayor Macksey, The North Adams City Council, Representative Barrett, and President Birge in your handling of this situation.

You have all aided in the further traumatization of families seeking shelter.

There will never be enough resources to support people who are unhoused until you all make it a priority to support those resources. When someone redevelops an apartment building — no one questions whether we have enough resources available to support tenants moving in. But suddenly when we are talking about unhoused people our hackles rise. You have let assumptions and fears about being homeless take the focal point of your attention. You have allowed "not in my back yard" rhetoric take precedence over suffering families. This approach has directly contributed to keeping those families living on the streets. Are you proud of this?

Rather than push against a solution that came to the table, you all should have helped the community understand why giving people shelter is necessary right now. You know that we are facing a crisis. And that crisis is deepening as a recession nears. You are all prioritizing your comfort over the survival of our neighbors. And for that, you should be ashamed.

Jessica Sweeney
North Adams, Mass.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.