Joel Feldman, an attorney for Springfield-based law firm Heisler, Feldman & Ordorica, spoke at the conference advocating for landlords to reconsider some of the recent hikes to rent.
Pine Valley tenants condemn rent increases across the city
Source: The Reminder | by Trent Levakis | Dec 22, 2025
EASTHAMPTON — A press conference was held inside Easthampton City Hall on Dec. 10 by the Pine Valley Tenants organization to shine a light on recent rent increases they deem unfair.
The organization was joined by the Easthampton Tenants Union, Northampton Tenants, tenant advocates and state Rep. Homar Gomez during the gathering.
Tyler Jones, a member of grassroots housing advocacy group Springfield No One Leaves, explained during the conference that over the past year, renters in Easthampton have dealt with excessive rent increases.
“At Springfield No One Leaves, we receive phone calls daily from folks facing eviction because the cost of housing is crushing them,” said Jones.
Specifically, Pine Valley Realty has imposed rent increases from 40% to more than 60%, and tenants say landlord Matthew Gawle has refused to negotiate with tenants or listen to their concerns, evicting those who don’t agree to the new increases.
“The saddest part about this at Pine Valley is a landlord lives here [in Easthampton]. He’s a second-generation landlord. He’s putting his profit in front of the core element that makes up a good community: people,” added Jones. “We are here today because the tenants at Pine Valley have gotten organized, and they are not going to be displaced without a fight.”
One of those being evicted is Roland Decaires, who could not make the press conference, but a statement from him was read.
“It’s really ridiculous that he would be raising my rent by $375 a month,” said Decaires, in a statement. “I’m 79 years old, I have health problems, I’m on dialysis; I have Social Security. I have been living here for 16 years, and I have never had a rent raise so large.”
In collaboration with the newly formed Easthampton Tenants Union, the Pine Valley tenants organized the conference to put pressure on Gawle and urge him to come to the negotiating table. Tenants and organizers had collected more than 600 signed letters from community members indicating their support. The letters were hand-delivered to the Pine Valley Reality office following the conference in an attempt to get their landlord to negotiate with them in good faith.
Gawle and his wife Donna told Reminder Publishing through a joint statement that the rent increases were in response to the rising cost of living.
“We simply took on too many losses due to rising costs. For example, at 115 Northampton St. alone, we have a net loss of $29,266.14 from 2019 to 2024,” they said.
When asked if they felt these increases could be negotiated further, they added they could not negotiate due to the net losses.
“We have explained our situation to the tenants, who requested negotiations. We kept rent as low as possible for as long as possible,” they said. “We are open to finding solutions to keep local landlords and tenants in Easthampton. However, we feel the community has spoken.”
Pine Valley Reality manages 137 units across 13 complexes in Easthampton.
The Easthampton Tenants Union is a group of renters from different apartment complexes in the city who are facing similar stark rental increases.
