February 8, 2021 Cambridge City Council meeting featured attractions
First of all, congratulations to Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, and to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their Super Bowl victory. As for those who took the opportunity to disparage Brady for his political inclinations, I just want to remind you that this was just a football game.
Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to an update on Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Placed on File 9-0
The Covid-19 numbers have been trending in a good direction lately. That’s cause for guarded optimism. Also, even though the start of spring training and the 2021 baseball season will be delayed, a 154 game schedule has been proposed, and hopefully the vaccinated fans will at some point outnumber the cardboard cutouts in the stands.
Manager’s Agenda #5. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $1,000,000 from the Community Benefits Stabilization Fund to the Grant Fund Human Services Other Ordinary Maintenance for the purpose of entering into grant agreements with nonprofit organizations to provide services to vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery.
Order Adopted 9-0
Money well spent. It will be interesting to see in a few months what cumulative impact this dreadful pandemic will have on City finances (and taxes). The numbers I have heard for commercial and residential vacancies have been stunning.
Charter Right #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-63, which requested a review of the granting of an extension for the 605 Concord Avenue project. [Charter Right Feb 3 – Nolan]
Tabled 9-0 (Nolan)
Charter Right #2. Policy Order re Renaming Fairmont Avenue. [Charter Right Feb 3 – Simmons]
Withrawn (Rescinded) 9-0
Perhaps this item was delayed when other residents of Fairmont Ave. found out that their address might be changing.
Charter Right #3. Eliminating Hostile Architecture. [Charter Right Feb 3 – Nolan]
Order Adopted 7-0-0-2 as Amended (DS,TT – PRESENT)
I expect we’ll have another parade of clueless Harvard Young Democratic Socialists reading from their script. By the way, none of the examples of "hostile architecture" attached to the Order is particularly hostile. There is such a thing as hostile architecture, but this ain’t it.
PUBLIC COMMENT TEMPLATE
Hi, my name is _____. I live on______. [ State your relationship to Cambridge. E.g. I have lived here for 7 years, I was unhoused, I attend X university, I work in Cambridge, I grew up in Cambridge ].
I’m here today to urge the City of Cambridge to support Charter Right 3 and councilor Zondervan’s amendment to that policy order. Our unhoused community already suffers from lack of non-congregate shelter and resources every single day, and taking away one of the few sheltered places they can safely rest does nothing more than reinforce that harm.
We hear the argument often that the hostile architecture installed is actually installed for the benefit of disabled and senior citizens. Unhoused people frequently fall into both of those categories. So I don’t think the council should accept Vice Mayor Mallon and Councillor Nolan’s amendments. Vice Mayor Mallon’s amendment removes the ask to create design guidelines for future projects, the ask to remove existing hostile architecture in the city, and the specific reference to Carl Barron Plaza which will soon be redesigned. Councillor Nolan’s amendment shifts the balance of the order uncomfortably towards housed people. These amendments hide behind legitimate concerns for the elderly and disabled communities in order to act against the interest of the most vulnerable unhoused seniors and disabled people. Members of the unhoused community have supported the specific asks in this policy order, and they should remain.
I am glad that the city has provided some services to the unhoused community already in the face of the pandemic. We have never said that the city has done NOTHING for the homeless community. We understand that the city spent $10 million on supporting non-profits who address homelessness, but the city has spent $0 dollars on non-congregate shelter, and that is what we want to highlight. Instead of spending Cambridge taxpayer funds to support unsafe shelter, the city should have used federal FEMA funding over the past year to support safe non-congregate shelter. Unlike what was said in last week’s meeting, Spaulding is a congregate shelter, and not a non-congregate one. What homeless community members have explicitly asked for are private spaces, and Spaulding definitionally does not meet this demand. Thank you for your time.
I have never been a fan of robots.
Order #1. Retail Table of Land Use Update PO. Vice Mayor Mallon, Mayor Siddiqui
Referred to Ordinance Committee & Planning Board 9-0
This is important…. and complicated.
Order #4. Redesigning Cambridge Voting Stickers. Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler
Order Adopted 9-0
Apparently having a sticker that says simply "I Voted" is insufficiently woke.
Order #5. That the City Manager instruct his staff to develop a ten-year infrastructure plan for the City Council that outlines all future needs and plans for infrastructure, public safety and public services. Councillor Carlone, Councillor Nolan
Order Adopted as Amended 9-0
I agree with this Order completely. Waiting for utility companies such as Eversource to plan in any comprehensive way is a hopeless quest. Perhaps we should should energize the City’s Pole and Conduit Commission. – Robert Winters