Contributing writer
Laurel M. Shugart
Latest Content
Council Endorses Bill Allowing Cities to Require Payments From Large Nonprofits, Including Harvard
The Cambridge City Council voted on Tuesday to endorse a state bill that would allow the city to require large institutions like Harvard to pay 25 percent of their assessed property value through Payment in Lieu of Taxes payments.
State Legislature Limits Emergency Assistance Shelter Stays
State legislators voted Thursday to pass a bill imposing a nine-month limit on families staying in state-run Emergency Assistance Shelters effective June 1.
Cambridge Residents Alliance Rallies in Solidarity with Encampment Protesters
More than 50 non-Harvard affiliates and Cambridge residents rallied outside of Johnston Gate on Sunday afternoon in a rally organized by the Cambridge Residents Alliance in solidarity with students participating in a pro-Palestine Harvard Yard encampment.
Progressive Labor Party Organizes Solidarity March With Harvard Yard Encampment
Roughly 30 Progressive Labor Party protesters marched down Massachusetts Avenue and spoke with encampment protesters at Harvard Yard’s Johnston Gate on Saturday afternoon.
Muchnik-Led Petition to Block Walden Square Development Nears 1,000 Signatures
One of Cambridge’s most vociferous opponents of high-rise affordable housing is mounting a protest against a proposal to build an additional 95 affordable units in the 240-unit Walden Square Apartments.
Neville Place, Affordable Assisted Living Facility, To Receive $5.7 Million City Loan
Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Trust will loan $5.7 million to Neville Place Assisted Living at Fresh Pond — which provides assisted living services to low-income seniors — for physical repairs to the facility.
‘We Didn’t Always Have A Housing Crisis’: Siddiqui, Sobrinho-Wheeler, McGovern Talk Housing at Town Hall
Three City Council members endorsed by housing advocacy group A Better Cambridge stressed the urgency of tackling housing from all angles in a virtual town hall meeting hosted by ABC on Thursday.
As Cambridge Works to Improve Tenant Legal Protections, City Staff Raise Communication Concerns
As the City of Cambridge — where two-thirds of residents are tenants — works to increase legal protections for low-income tenants, city staff said the city has struggled to relay information about tenants’ rights to landlords.
City Councilors Discuss Housing Goals at Town Hall Meeting
Three City Council members endorsed by housing advocacy group A Better Cambridge stressed the necessity of involving residents in discussions around housing policy in a Wednesday virtual town hall hosted by ABC.
Healey Administration Puts Limits on Stays in Overflow Homeless Shelters
For months, Massachusetts has struggled to accommodate an influx of unhoused families, who have a right to shelter under state law. Now, state officials are looking to put limits on families’ stays in some state-run shelters.
UCSF Professor Presents Homelessness Research at Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
Margot B. Kushel ’89, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, gave the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies’ 23rd John T. Dunlop Lecture on Thursday.
City Council Puts Ending Single-Family Zoning Back on the Table
On Monday, councilors discussed a new policy order requesting that City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 direct the Community Development Department to develop zoning language that “effectively promotes multi-family housing” all throughout Cambridge.
Housing, Transit Top of Mind as City Looks to Alewife’s Future
As new developments lead to a growth in Alewife’s population, residents and advocates are left wondering how to accommodate more riders on an already-strained transportation system.
City Council Seeks to Increase Legal Representation for Tenants
The Cambridge City Council unanimously voted in support of a policy order to increase the legal protection and right to counsel for tenants during a Monday evening meeting.
City Council Supports Local Real Estate Tax, Discusses Municipal Housing Vouchers
The Cambridge City Council voted to support a tax on large real estate transactions and discussed the feasibility of municipally-funded housing vouchers during a Monday evening meeting.
