Neighborhood Update

Wednesday night I stopped by the Agassiz Baldwin Neighborhood Council Meeting. There’s a lot happening in the neighborhood – here’s a few highlights:

Shady Hill Square -- Neighbors are very concerned that development may take place on the Shady Hill green. It’s a remarkable community – it’s one of the few intact examples of the Garden city movement, reflecting utopian ideals in architectural design and landscape architecture. I’m trying to get the Cambridge Historic Commission to re-instate the landmark designation process they started eight years ago, before I was on the city council. I’ve also been working with neighbors to help them understand and navigate the city bureaucracy as they try to stop building from taking place. So far, we’ve been successful as the Inspectional Services Department has issued a stop work order while they review the circumstances surrounding the issuance of a building permit. If you’re interested in some of the background and history of the site, check out the Historical Commission’s 2000 report – as usual, the Historic Commission has produced a terrific summary of a piece of Cambridge’s history.

Aging in Place – Brief discussion of the aging in place project that the Agassiz Neighborhood Council has been promoting. (Also a good story in Saturday’s Boston Globe ) Cambridge at Home is having a launch party Sunday 10/21 – their website is www.cambridgeathome.org. Aging in place is an issue Cambridge and all communities will struggle with more and more each year – how do we enable people to stay and grow older in their community? Associated questions, such as how to provide needed services efficiently and equitably, inevitably arise and will be part of the discussion.

Maud Morgan Visual Art Center/Agassiz Preschool

Interesting discussion, very much at the early stages, about a possible collaboration between the Agassiz Baldwin Community, Lesley University and the Agassiz Preschool. The idea is that the Agassiz Baldwin Community would trade the space they had been planning for the Maud Morgan to the Agassiz Preschool and Lesley would house the Maud Morgan Art Center in conjunction with the Art Institute of Boston. While there are many complicated issues that need to be addressed by each organization, it’s good to see people brainstorming and taking the risk to discuss such a collaboration.

Off to doorknock – more blogging later.