letter to commission.docxMarch 1, 2019
To whom it may concern,
Our family loves the charm of an old home. Simon's family renovated several charming antebellum houses on South Street in Philadelphia. While we were in training we renovated and lived
in a turn-of-the-century Victorian in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.
Our son was born in 2009 during this time in Boston. He suffered from severe early onset asthma. This is a condition that disproportionately impacts children of color living in urban
areas. The correlation appears to be less with the age of the dwelling or neighborhood and more with the quality and maintenance of the buildings. The proposed causal factors have to
do with what can be deep inside walls: insect carcasses, dust, animal feces, dander, deteriorating insulation and mold. True to form, his asthma resolved entirely upon moving to a
newer house with a history of meticulous upkeep.
When we first visited 43 Finn, my son immediately began coughing in an uncontrolled way after 20 minutes inside, reminiscent of his prior illness. We had to take him home. We informed
our realtor, that although the location was what we were looking for, we would need to remove the existing structure for air quality and other health concerns - asbestos, rotting wood
and lead (we also have a 2 year old and we may not be done growing our family).
It is our experience that New England craftsmen and other professionals in the construction, building and real estate businesses have a quick eye for historical value and good craftsmanship.
Even in our current 1990s home, carpenters are quick to comment on the excellence of the millwork. At 43 Finn, we have had many visits from realtors, architects, and contractors and
not one person mentioned any aspect of the home worthy of comment or preservation. The words "deteriorating" and "dilapidated" were mentioned frequently. We were told by several professionals
prior to purchasing the house that, in fact, this was a good property for demolition because the house had been poorly maintained and had very little charm.
We have enclosed photographs of the building. Because there is some breakdown of the wood to the point where the latches and seals are not effective, we have had to board it up for safety.
If it would assist in understanding, we invite any member of the city historic or planning commissions to the site for a tour.
Due to health concerns related to our children, it is not an option for us to renovate or preserve this building in any way. We bought this home to raise a family and have no desire
to be landlords. Even if this were the only way to use this investment, as physicians we are not sure we could ethically rent out a home we believe to contain carcinogens, respiratory
toxins and mold to other adults and children or to maintain a
home that may hold health risks for the neighborhood. If we cannot build a new home on this site with good air quality, it will remain a vacant building until we can re-sell it.
As a last request, we ask you to view the plans of the home we wish to build. It is a lovely, traditional black and white colonial which we hoped would both blend in and enhance the
neighborhood while paying homage to its history. We have taken care to maintain or improve the space between neighboring houses, and on both the Finn and Warfield street side, the proposed
building will remain set further back from the street than any other adjacent property (please see enclosed photographs showing that neighboring properties all have less than 20 feet
setback on both Finn and Warfield). It is our sincere wish to be an asset to this community we want so much to join.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Jaya Agrawal, MD and Simon Ahtaridis MD
Images below are taken of both Finn and Warfield showing ALL houses on these streets maintain only bare-minimum setbacks- front porch stairs empty directly onto sidewalks. A site map
(though a bit old) demonstrates the same thing.
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Image of 43 Finn, setback from Finn St. will be maintained and exceeds that of all neighboring houses.
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Additional images of 43 Finn, showing very few decorative elements and deteriorating wood requiring that the property be boarded up for safety.
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