Brooks Park Update
I wrote a few months ago about the very nasty rat infestation at Brooks Park Apartments. Very little had changed between that blog post and early April. The rat poop in the basement had been cleaned up, but rats were still a problem and one of the dumpsters was still sealed and unable to be used, for some reason. One of the organizers behind the Brooks Park Tenants’ Association reached out to me and asked if I would be able to help facilitate a community meeting on the rat situation.
The meeting consisted of a walk around the apartment complex, accompanied by myself and a sanitarian from the Medford Board of Health, where a tenant showed us areas that had common rat infestations.
At the end, we went to the basement and had a community chat. The sanitarian explained what the city could do about the rat situation (best described in her email below). I talked about City Council’s role in getting a private landlord to address issues with their property. The Board of Health can issue warnings and fines for non-compliance with local sanitation laws, while the power of Councilors is often just to bring public attention to the issue and reach out to landlords directly. I told the group that I would put up a resolution in the upcoming City Council meeting regarding this, and I strongly encouraged everyone there to come to City Hall and speak on the matter. I don’t think anyone in the room, except perhaps one or two people, had ever attended a City Council meeting, and Council Chambers can be intimidating for folks who hadn’t been there before. But residents speaking about their personal experiences in a meeting that gets some coverage on local-access TV and Youtube can sometimes spur landlords to take action.
During the City Council meeting, fewer were able to make it than appeared at the community meeting. This always happens — people have work, and it’s a lot of effort to go through just to get a new dumpster — but seeing first-time City Council attendees who can make it is always my favorite part of those meetings.
This actually had a pretty immediate effect. I did invite the management company to attend the meeting — though I only did it the day before, and they said they would be unable to attend due to the short notice — and after it was over they asked me how it went. I replied:
You can view the livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/eX6vSG1G9V4?si=yu1B8uHhjdrSCDdU&t=1635
Resolution was passed unanimously, and can be seen here, along with the letter sent in December: https://medfordma.portal.civicclerk.com/event/473/files/report/1393
The biggest priority is replacing the dumpsters completely. They're very small and one is sealed and thus unusable. The residents need one that's larger, has a side door, and is sealable at the top so that rats cannot get in.
One of them is frequently overstuffed and another has had a dead rat hanging off the bottom for months (pictures below):
Even during the walking tour that the tenant association had on Thursday, residents noted seeing rats run across the parking lot, and another resident noted later that their breeding season is coming up as we approach Spring. So getting these dumpsters replaced really ought to be the top priority. Something like this: https://www.bucksfab.com/listings/8yd-trashbox-slant-sd/#pid=4
Thank you,
Councilor Leming
Two days later, I received a pretty positive update:
Hi Matt,
Thank you for sending this over.
New dumpsters were delivered to the property today, and we have increased the pickup frequency to better manage waste. The previous dumpsters will remain stored on-site until the former vendor retrieves them.
Unfortunately, due to street spacing constraints on Brooks Park, we could not accommodate an 8-yard dumpster.
Additionally, our pest control vendor has increased service frequency and will continue actively treating and maintaining the burrow areas at the front of the property. We will also continue our 311 submissions regarding the burrows across Brooks Park.
Have a great weekend,
What can the City do?
Charlesgates’ response was just as likely spurred by the efforts of the Tenants’ Association as it was by the Board of Health’s citation, outlined below. I asked the Board of Health to clarify what the City can do in these situations, and their response shed some light on this:
To combat the rat situation, particularly in areas such as Brooks Park, Medford is taking a multi-pronged approach. DPW will be tidying up the area by clearing out the leaf litter, old mulch, and twigs and by removing invasive, woody vines and shrubs. The BoH - which has contracted Yankee Pest Control (YPC) to treat burrows on properties throughout the City – has had YPC treat burrows at the park. The treatment there has been going on since at least July 2025. Other actions the BoH takes to combat the rat situation in the City include responding to complaints regarding overflowing and/or broken receptacles; conditions conducive to rodents; rodent burrows on properties; and more. The Sanitarians provide education to residents and, when needed, citations.
To gain compliance with sanitation and pest control laws from property owners, such as Charlesgate, the BoH has some options. We require on-property dumpsters to be permitted and that permitting process includes submitting an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan as well as exterior pest control reports at the time of application. For overflowing dumpsters and for other sanitary concerns, the BoH can use Regulation 6 (Dumpster Regulation) and Regulation 13 (Nuisances Affecting Public Health), both of which have fine schedules.
The BoH has used these regulations in attempts to gain compliance and ensure sanitary conditions. The dumpsters at 208 Main St have been cited for various reasons (e.g., unpermitted, overflowing, etc.) in Orders To Correct (OTCs). One such OTC was sent in January 2026 as part of a complaint for a dwelling unit. The dumpsters were again cited in an April 2026 OTC (attached) and rodent burrow(s)/droppings were cited in a December 2025 OTC as part of a complaint for a dwelling unit.
The latest OTC was delivered on April 15, 2026, per USPS tracking. It gives Charlesgate 48 hours to comply. If compliance is not obtained by today, fines may be issued, and if necessary, court action will be taken.
Thank you,
BoH
The problem here isn’t really solved — effectively addressing the rat problem in the city takes a lot of effort, time, and resources — but getting new dumpsters in that complex is definitely a step in the right direction.
