Abstract:
On July 25, 1979, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Paul Garrity ordered the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), landlord to almost 50,000 residents of the city, into receivership. Concluding that, after almost five years of litigation in a class action suit brought by tenants, the BHA governing board's "alleged gross mismanagement, nonfeasance, incompetence and irresponsibility have been shown to exist beyond any question. A little over six months later, after the state's Supreme Judicial Court upheld Garrity's ruling, the judge dissolved the board of commissioners and appointed Lewis H. (Harry) Spence as the BHA receiver, ordering him to "take any and all actions necessary, desirable and appropriate" to bring the BHA's housing units into compliance with the state sanitary code and other applicable federal, state and local housing regulations.
