Minutes of July 18, 2019 meeting
The July meeting was devoted to rats and how to get rid of them and to getting more information about the SeeClickFix application so that we might understand why it is both wonderful and annoying.
Rats!
The representatives from Inspectional Services provided a lot of information about city policy and practices on rat control for construction projects and residents.
Porter Square Neighbors Association:
Minutes of the June 20, 2019 meeting
Some meetings don’t really get started until they are almost over. This was one of those meetings.
Two speakers addressed the topic of responding to climate change.
Here is a link and the description of the Porter Square redesign on the Cambridge community development website:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/neighplan/neighs/~/link.aspx?_id=...
Porter Square Redesign Project
Porter Square pedestrian plaza by artist Toshi Katayama
The Porter Square project was completed in 2007.
Rat Infestations and "SeeClickFix" (the city's reportorial app)!
For the next PSNA meeting, we have invited the City (DPW and Inspectional Services) to talk to us about an apparent increase in rats in the neighborhood.
We have also invited the two largest developers in the area, St. James Place and Frost Terrace, as well as Gravestar, the landlord for Porter Square Shopping Center, to join us. We will be discussing the issue with some of our neighborhood restaurants and food handlers in the area where rats have been cited.
We welcome your observations.
Have you ever thought about what Cambridge will be like in 20-30, even 50 years?
At our June 20th meeting PSNA will start to comprehend the threats facing Cambridge from climate change and environmental degradation. We will talk about what steps we need to take now to build a better city, given the environmental challenges.
Walks Along the Avenue
PSNA will have a presentation and a chance to talk with two of the proposed adult use marijuana stores in our area -- one at the site of the old Wok 'n Roll (1908 Mass Ave), the other at the current site of Stereo Jack's (1686 Mass Ave).
There is a third proposing to come to the site of the long closed Evergood Market (1674 Mass Ave), which has a conflict at this meeting time. We hope to have them at the next PSNA meeting.
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PSNA, Agassiz Baldwin Neighborhood Community and the Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods co‐sponsored an informational presentation of the zoning, financing, and policy factors that affect the construction and rental of affordable housing. The objective was to provide residents with more information on this issue to support an informed review of a proposed zoning ordinance to create a citywide overlay that would allow affordable housing to be built as of right. This ordinance has not been drafted, but CDD has posted
