"What's the rush?" Baumamn said. "It seems to me an act of good faith for Harvard to support that. A moratorium sets the framework for the process."
But Cuno said that no development would occur in the next 18 months anyways, making the moratorium a moot point.
"If we were to get the green light today, it would still be two years before we could break ground," Cuno said, adding that, at the earliest, the museum would not be completed until 2005.
Power added that pushing the petition through the Cambridge City Council would only delay discussions with the Riverside community.
"We can offer assurances without the legal issues," Power said. "We don't think [the moratorium] would move us forward."
But many residents continually voiced their belief that a museum was not the right use of the limited space. Some pointed to creating affordable housing as a more pressing priority.
"We do not house collections before we house people," one resident said.
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