11/22/05, Sent to Cambridge Day and Chronicle (with edits):
Last evening, the Cambridge City Manager sent to the Cambridge City Council a message which informed the Cambridge City Council that he had the MBTA's permission to thin trees in the treed plaza at Porter Station.
This almost certainly forebodes massive destruction.
A brief review of the record will indicate what is coming up.
The City Manager has twice in the last year proposed the destruction of this fine park. The first time was in fine print sneaked into a developers proposal for Porter Station air rights.
The second time is fine print sneaked into the pending proposal by the City Manager for upzoning of that portion of Mass. Ave. from Harvard Law to Porter Station.
The past record of the city manager and nine city councillors seems to indicate the worst.
Since September 2004, they have been heartless starving the Charles River White Geese as part of a bizarre project destroying wetlands at Magazine Beach and by a starvation wall barring access to grass accross from the Hyatt Hotel.
With the last year or so, the City of Cambridge desroyed 8 to 12 trees below the Inn at Harvard to replace them with 8 to 12 saplings.
The City of Cambridge destroyed the woods in Vellucci Park at Inman Square to replace it with a barren plaza. They said the trees were too dense.
The City of Cambridge destroyed a grove of 8 to 12 four story high trees next to the Squirrel Brand affordable housing to replace them with grass. They said the trees were the wrong pedigree.
The City of Cambridge is on the verge of destroying 9 healthy trees on Clark Street just north of the Washington Elms affordable housing. They say the trees are in the way of their park.
The City of Cambridge and their associates are in the process of destroying 449 to 660 trees on Memorial Drive from Magazine Beach to the Longfellow Bridge. They give all sorts of lovely reasons. The real reason is to clear the way for a new off ramp from the Mass. Pike to Memorial Drive to allow Harvard to build on the current off ramp from the Mass. Pike Brighton and Cambridge.
Will the City of Cambridge destroyed the wooded park at Porter Station?
Exactly the wrong answer is: "They would never stoop so low."
