My name is Evelyn Snyder, owner of Kaleidoscope Pottery. I have been at Cottage Street Studios for 33 years. Information about planned rent hikes by Riverside Industries (our landlord) didn’t include extreme changes in the new leases. The 19-page, three-year lease has many new restrictions. It might be restricting Open Studios and prohibits going out of business sales.

They now require first and last month’s rent and security deposit, all at the new rate, and it differs greatly from all my previous agreements. They did concede to a new one-year lease but expect signing of that by Sept. 1. We have yet to receive it.

Especially for long-term tenants in good standing, these circumstances feel merciless. This should be a process of give and take, not take it or leave it. I am disappointed in RSI’s unkind handling of this necessary hike. I saw former RSI president Deb Thomas recently. She winced when learning of the destroyed relationship between RSI and the artists. She reassured me that we tenants were definitely a huge part of Riverside’s mission, before.

This is not artists vs. people with disabilities. It’s severely altering not just our rental agreements, but the history of how we have been valued as tenants. It’s devastating not only financially, but erodes the symbiotic partnership that we tenants have had with Riverside and their clients for 40 years.

We sincerely thought they welcomed and benefited from our presence. I am heartbroken.

Evelyn Snyder

Florence