OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Somerville Housing Committee Public Hearing on Armory Art Space – March 5, 2026

Meeting Portal — Thursday, March 5, 2026
BodySomerville, Massachusetts
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, March 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:56

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Good evening.

0:04

This is the uh the committee of housing, community development, and equity of the city council.

0:13

I am city counselor at large, Kristen Strozo.

0:16

I am the chair of this committee.

0:17

Today is Wednesday, March 4th, 2026.

0:21

It is 601 p.m.

0:24

We are in the committee room at City Hall and Hybrid tonight.

0:29

We have one agenda item tonight.

0:31

And uh well, nope, I better read our uh little disclaimer.

0:36

Pursuant to chapter two, the acts of 2025.

0:39

This meeting of a city council uh committee will be conducted via remote participation.

0:45

We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record uh record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels.

0:58

Uh Ms.

0:59

Clerk, can you please call the roll?

1:00

Yep, this is roll call.

1:01

Counselor Sae.

1:03

Here Councillor Link here.

1:07

Chair Streza here.

1:08

Right.

1:09

With that, we have all members present, so we do have quorum.

1:11

Thank you.

1:12

Um so uh counselor uh Said.

1:18

Um I can say that.

1:20

Uh you chair uh Strazo.

1:23

Hello everyone.

1:24

Uh this is Counselor Said.

1:25

I just want to say for the record that I have to accuse myself from this item as the word counselor.

1:31

Uh I am involved in the tenant selection process.

1:34

So I checked with the um the city's legal team, and they confirmed they have to recuse myself.

1:42

Thank you, everyone.

1:44

Okay, with that, we will have uh counselor Said and seeing how we have one agenda item, and you know, we can approve the minutes without you.

1:51

Have a good evening.

1:52

Thank you for being here for this for uh tonight.

1:56

Um with that, so no, we don't have to approve any minutes.

2:00

Looks like on the agenda.

2:01

So we have one agenda item tonight that is a public hearing is item 260265.

2:09

I'm going to read the item, and then I will discuss uh some rules regarding that.

2:15

And uh we have only one agenda item that is the only focus of tonight, and uh we are not too deliberate on that or have uh any discussion.

2:27

We are here to listen to you and and just plug it in here and leave them there and and uh and then have a good evening.

2:36

So we very much this is your meeting.

2:38

So uh thank you very much for that.

2:40

The item is like I said, 260265, refer to my recommendation that this city council hold a public hearing on the petition submitted by 52 registered voters regarding out of the community art space at arts at the armory pursuant to section two-11 of the city charter.

3:02

So we are going to be heading into our public hearing, and I find the uh printed out to God then pink.

3:13

That uh that one, but um, more just like the rules of oh hey, I'm sitting on it, but I'm not anymore.

3:21

Okay.

3:23

So we're gonna do is we are going to um uh we're gonna have this public uh hearing on the chair of the committee, and I am aiming for nope, we're gonna highlight some expectations for tonight.

3:40

Uh public comment for tonight's hearing is on the item only, and comment and only comments on that following agenda item will be accepted.

3:50

When I open the public hearing, all in the public who wish to speak will have two minutes.

3:55

We have a timer.

3:57

Uh when I call you, call your name, please come to the podium, give your first and last name and your address, uh, and or your affiliation with Somerville.

4:06

And uh then you'll have that two minutes in that.

4:10

Uh those who wish to provide public comment online.

4:13

Uh so we'll do in person and then we can go to online.

4:16

And we do have some uh people and we're gonna go for that.

4:23

And if uh I'll make it very clear that uh respect is to be upheld for everybody here tonight, and and just in general, uh kind words and just stuffed all around.

4:36

If I feel that that is not happening, I will give you one warning.

4:38

And if not, then I will uh that that's it.

4:42

Uh we'll not yeah, yeah.

4:45

Hi, would you put you know, we have to say it, of course, for for every public hearing.

4:50

And um with that, we're we're you know, this is a community, and we'll do yeah, exactly.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Procedural████████████████20%
Public Engagement██████████████17%
Homelessness███4%
Public Safety███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Somerville Housing Committee Public Hearing on Armory Art Space – March 5, 2026

On March 5, 2026, the Somerville City Council’s Committee on Housing, Community Development, and Equity held a public hearing on Item 260265, a petition submitted by 52 registered voters concerning the community art space at the Arts at the Armory. The hearing, chaired by Councilor Kristen Strezo, was held in hybrid format at City Hall and online. Councilor Said recused himself due to involvement in tenant selection. The committee took public testimony only and did not deliberate or vote on the petition.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Primarchai (Parma), CO of Out of the Blue Art Gallery (191 Highland Ave, workspace at 6 Armory), described her role as a curator and tenant since September 2019. She expressed vulnerability regarding her housing and alleged that the city treated residents with hostility after taking over the building in 2021. She cited illegal eviction notices, three police reports filed against her (which she claims were false), and a 30‑day eviction notice in February 2026. She requested that the city either allow tenants to stay or provide alternative housing in Somerville.
  • Stephen Asaro (address not given, partner of Parma) alleged open hostility from city staff since the takeover. He described a dispute over mailbox access, stating that city employees Tom Galligani and Stephanie conspired to deny him a mailbox key, which he said constitutes a federal felony. He expressed frustration that the outcome was predetermined.
  • John Pilmeyer (works at Sky Body Work, 93 L Street, lives in Cambridge) spoke in support of Out of the Blue, noting its role as an affordable community space. He urged allowing current residents a seat at the table and helping them find new space if eviction proceeds.
  • Marcus Noshay (address not given, referenced multiple past locations of the gallery) praised the gallery’s spontaneous, inclusive art scene and emphasized its importance as a low‑cost creative venue.
  • Eat Lemon (169 Morrison Ave, Somerville) described the Armory and Out of the Blue as culturally important and urged not to evict the gallery.
  • Bill Lewis (formerly of 410 Kidder Ave, Somerville; now in Idaho) spoke remotely, praising Parma’s warmth and dedication.
  • David Stickney (12 Playside Road, Dorchester) spoke remotely as an artist with the gallery since its founding, supporting Parma and Steve’s work.
  • Thomas Fahy (19 North St, Westford, MA) spoke remotely, calling the gallery a “third space” and its potential loss saddening.
  • Jay Plum (Hudson St, Somerville) spoke remotely, questioned why tenants are being evicted and urged allowing all existing residents to stay.
  • Gordon Goz (recently moved from Vermont to Massachusetts) spoke remotely, praised the gallery’s hallway artwork and long history, and alleged unethical changes by the city.
  • Danielle MacNevin (40 College Hill Road, Somerville) spoke remotely, a former graphic designer for the city, described Out of the Blue as a safe space for artists and expressed frustration over repeated challenges by the city.

Key Outcomes

  • No motions or votes were taken on the petition; the committee heard public comment only.
  • Written testimony remains open until 5:00 PM on Friday, March 6, 2026, via publiccomments@somervillema.gov.
  • The meeting was adjourned at 6:56 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. This is the uh the committee of housing, community development, and equity of the city council. I am city counselor at large, Kristen Strozo. I am the chair of this committee. Today is Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. It is 601 p.m. We are in the committee room at City Hall and Hybrid tonight. We have one agenda item tonight. And uh well, nope, I better read our uh little disclaimer. Pursuant to chapter two, the acts of 2025. This meeting of a city council uh committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record uh record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. Uh Ms. Clerk, can you please call the roll? Yep, this is roll call. Counselor Sae. Here Councillor Link here. Chair Streza here. Right. With that, we have all members present, so we do have quorum. Thank you. Um so uh counselor uh Said. Um I can say that. Uh you chair uh Strazo. Hello everyone. Uh this is Counselor Said. I just want to say for the record that I have to accuse myself from this item as the word counselor. Uh I am involved in the tenant selection process. So I checked with the um the city's legal team, and they confirmed they have to recuse myself. Thank you, everyone. Okay, with that, we will have uh counselor Said and seeing how we have one agenda item, and you know, we can approve the minutes without you. Have a good evening. Thank you for being here for this for uh tonight. Um with that, so no, we don't have to approve any minutes. Looks like on the agenda. So we have one agenda item tonight that is a public hearing is item 260265. I'm going to read the item, and then I will discuss uh some rules regarding that. And uh we have only one agenda item that is the only focus of tonight, and uh we are not too deliberate on that or have uh any discussion. We are here to listen to you and and just plug it in here and leave them there and and uh and then have a good evening. So we very much this is your meeting. So uh thank you very much for that. The item is like I said, 260265, refer to my recommendation that this city council hold a public hearing on the petition submitted by 52 registered voters regarding out of the community art space at arts at the armory pursuant to section two-11 of the city charter. So we are going to be heading into our public hearing, and I find the uh printed out to God then pink. That uh that one, but um, more just like the rules of oh hey, I'm sitting on it, but I'm not anymore. Okay. So we're gonna do is we are going to um uh we're gonna have this public uh hearing on the chair of the committee, and I am aiming for nope, we're gonna highlight some expectations for tonight. Uh public comment for tonight's hearing is on the item only, and comment and only comments on that following agenda item will be accepted. When I open the public hearing, all in the public who wish to speak will have two minutes. We have a timer. Uh when I call you, call your name, please come to the podium, give your first and last name and your address, uh, and or your affiliation with Somerville.

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