City vs. MIT

Longtime antagonists are currently gearing up for another campaign in the ongoing war between the city and its universities. This time, however observers predict that Cambridge's main adversary will not be the university based in Harvard Square.

According to Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci, "MIT is now wearing the crown as the biggest land plunderer of the century."

MIT ended its voluntary moratorium on physical expansion this summer and bought eight townhouses in Cambridgeport and a number of other buildings which it had been renting. Both moves drew the ire of city councilors, but it was the purchase of the townhouses that received the most attention.

City Councilor David Sullivan charged that the purchase was illegal under laws governing university housing. To remove any cause for doubt. Sullivan introduced new legislation before the council that tightens codes prohibiting university purchases in residential neighborhoods.

In addition to the dispute over the purchase of the townhouses there were signs this summer of another city-university confrontation. MIT has indicated that it plans in October to choose a developer for 27 acres of its Cambridgeport property.

MIT is expected to build offices for white collar industries including research and development firms and consulting companies. Many neighborhood residents, and five of the city councilors, would like to see low-income housing, a public park, and manufacturing firms located on the property.

Attempts to reach a compromise between neighborhood leaders and MIT, as well as proposals for rezoning of the area, have failed. Under current zoning, MIT has wide discretion over construction on the site.

Dinner with Derek

President Bok served as host in the second week of June when the city's top officials city councilors, school committee members and the city manager gathered for a dinner party with Harvard administrators who formulate the University's policy on Cambridge relations.

The menu included shrimp cocktail and steak, and Bok was careful to insure that meal-time conversation did not stray from social chatter to serious negotiation. Some city councilors complained after the gathering that discussions had been too limited and that University officials would not respond to general questions of policy on broad Harvard-city issues.

The dinner meeting did result in plans to begin a program, utilizing some Harvard resources, for retraining the city's teachers in specialized fields, such as science. There was also talk of forming a standing committee to investigate other avenues of cooperation between Cambridge and its biggest resident.

Old River, New Name

After successfully leading a campaign last fall to change the name of Boylston St. to John F. Kennedy St., Mayor Vellucci moved on to bigger targets this summer, supporting a request for switching the name of the Charles River to the Kwa Na Ha Nee River.

The proposal came as part of a petition by a Concord-based Indian organization, which asked for the use of city property for a regional festival. In return for his backing. Vellucci was promised the title of Chief Little Velvet a loose translation of his Italian surname.