I hate to keep posting pretty much unedited letters to the Cambridge MA City Council. But I put a lot of work into them. Their contents are of major importance in general, and with regard to the Charles River in particular.
The non stop lying of environmental sainthood spreading out from Cambridge has very broad impact. The level of hypocrisy which focuses on this entity is very illuminating.
This was officially filed with the Cambridge City Council (filing on March 18, 2019; to be formally received on March 25, 2019) and the Cambridge City Manager (received on March 18, 2019.
RE: New “Tree protections,” more tree destruction. Samples of reality at Magazine Beach, part 2.
1. Introduction.
2. Our June 6, 2017 analysis of destruction plans 2, overview.
3. The northeastern part of the Hill and northwestern part of Playing Fields.
4. The Magnificent Grove on the Hill, Overhanging the Playing Fields.
5. Summary.
Gentlemen / Ladies:
1. Introduction.
It was decidedly telling to see the grand total of communications for the March 18, 2019, meeting.
Communication 1 praised Peter Valentine for the beautiful, non “professional” look he has created of his home.
Communication 2 and 4 were my letters condemning fake tree protections and bemoaning the imminent “professional” destruction on Magazine Beach.
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Magnificent grove overhanging the Playing Fields. CDD and City Council vary in whether they want to destroy all this excellent grove or just part of it. They also claim that these TEN trees are THREE. Two of the ten have been destroyed since this picture
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Communication 3 communicated a good example of one reason why the “tree protections” are so meaningless. One of the top two tree destroyers in Cambridge, the City of Cambridge, would appear to have destroyed in this highly visible part of the Fresh Pond Reservation, at Huron Avenue and Fresh Pond Parkway, in the same spirit as nine City Councilors are destroying on the Charles River. This is decidedly in the spirit of 3.4 + acres at Alewife, the thick woods on the Cambridge Common nearest Harvard Square and the hundreds of trees on the Charles River east of the BU Bridge.
The City Council responded to communication 3 with deafening and very telling silence.
A comment of apology. I have felt guilty about omitting the outrage in Inman Square in my past comments. It is not because I think Cambridge’s tree destructive City Council is being responsible in Inman Square. It is because, while this destruction is reprehensible and widely known to be reprehensible, it amounts to but a fraction of the destruction in each of the other items I have been mentioning. Other outrages, apparently, include the destruction at Huron Avenue and Fresh Pond Parkway which the Cambridge City Council, dah, dah, does not seem to want to know about.
In Communication 4, I gave the City Council my explanation of the formerly SECRET plans for manipulation of funds at Magazine Beach (see insert). Funds are being manipulated to lie that the Cambridge City Council is a “responsible” entity.
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Top is generally NE. Lots of issues with regard to the “restoration” and the “protective group.” Plan kept secret for more than a year.
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Lying through allocation of funds does not change a truly reprehensible reality. These now publicized secret plans were made public by one of the biggest environmental destroyers on the Charles River. She runs around bragging about things. Her broad statements brag about areas which include massive environmental outrages which she keeps secret. I call that lying.
Area 1 is the area specified for allocation of funding by the Cambridge City Council to give the false impression of responsible behavior while supporting and “partnering” in the massive tree destrucition and claiming that indulging in funding games in less obvious destructive behavior and heartless animal abuse. The area 1 plans included two doomed trees, although, since the language is for destruction of “invasives,” the City Council could be joining its “kind of activist” in rerouting more poisons into the Charles River including heartless animal abuse and destruction of those trees..
I broke out two trees in Area 1 which the DCR informed the Cambridge Conservation Commission it wants to destroy. The words are sufficiently ambiguous that they could include City Council destruction.
Then again, lovely plans / lovely promises do not seem to bother the Department of Conservation and Recreation very much. The destruction could be casually included in area 4 which is the most large scale destruction, that of the core park. I recall the destruction in the core MIT portion of the BU Bridge to Longfellow Bridge outrage was described to well meaning people as “thinning” without mentioning the truly massive destruction.
Much of the outrage in Area 4 may be laughed off as “thinning” by the destroyers. The DCR admits that their “decline” lie overwhelmingly does not apply.
Returning to the information the Cambridge City Council does not want to know.
Here is some of the destruction in the reprehensible area of activity BY THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL and the DCR, Area 4. Since this is so massive, the bulk of the 56 tree outrage, it will take more than one communication.
2. Our June 6, 2017 analysis of destruction plans 2, overview.
This chart organizes that part of the “Area 3" / “Area 4" outrage at the top of the hill, the THICK Magazine Beach Park bounded on the north by Memorial Drive, on the south by the Charles River, generally on the east by the pedestrian overpass (and the area south of it is included) and on the west by the Swimming Pool area.
This chart will be followed by a sufficient number of additional pages to communicate PART of the outrage in the Magazine Beach Park, while trying to keep the size of this letter to be other than overwhelming. The chart includes all or part of all designated areas. Part of the area in our prior report, Area 1, is at the bottom.
Some of these trees have already been destroyed.
My reference of compass directions in this report have been persuasively communicated to me as deficient by Phil Barber. I have a problem in that I too often believe the self-proclaimed “experts” and it too often comes back to haunt me.
There is a convention by which maps commonly have NORTH at the top. The “experts” in their maps of Magazine Beach, have NORTHEAST at the top.
I mistakenly believed them and missed OCCASIONAL tiny explanations in fine print. So my compass references are frequently wrong. Phil’s references are correct.
Area includes the southern end of the pedestrian overpass.
The tree straight ahead and slightly to the right looking down the ramp has been destroyed.
Two dead trees among this grove have been properly removed. As stated in the analysis, this is TEN TREES, NOT THREE. They were the furthest trees to the left in the plans, SOUTHEAST in reality. Please see my comment above.
My Comment as to which subgrove is not being destroyed, for reasons stated way above, is wrong. Originally all are being destroyed. The change (color) says that the upper right portion of the grove is not being destroyed, until the next time they change their mind. And this error continues, correspondingly.
5. Summary.
The immediately following pages of the June 6, 2017 letter were presented in Communication 4 of March 18, 2019.
In a subsequent letter I will pick up with groupings which followed the above. This will include the destruction of the Little Guys’ Parking Lot including all but one of the trees in it. After running this series to the western (actually northern) extremity, I will return to the beginning of the June 6, 2017 letter.
Planned destruction of the Little Guys’ Parking Lot is an excellent example of gentrification. So, in yet another field, the Cambridge City Council has only to look in a mirror to identify part of the problem.
I regret that there are so many erroneous plans in distribution with regard to apparent compass directions that I am rather forced to use the “expert’s”erroneous presentation of north to minimize confusion.
Reality again, not what is being pitched by the Cambridge City Council.
Sincerely,
Robert J. La Trémouille
Chair
Selected Relatively Recent Related Materials
1. Multiple instances of large scale tree destruction at Fresh Pond by Cambridge Water Department.
Citations will be provided.
2. Destruction of 3.4+ acres of Silver Maple Forest at Alewife by Cambridge City Council and DCR
Citations will be provided.
3. Destruction of thick woods on Cambridge Common nearest Harvard Square by Cambridge City Council.
Citations will be provided.
4. The Destruction of Memorial Drive, January 2016, final cut (by Cambridge and the DCR, 30 minute video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTplCCEJP7o
5. Trailer for #4, 5 minute video
https://youtu.be.com/x0iEFypDt8k
6. Nature and Beauty Ripped Out on the Charles River (Analysis of achievements by #1, international expert, 30 minute video)
https://youtu.be.com/dWyCdcWMuAA
7. City Council vote in praise and support of DCR planned destruction at Magazine Beach, April 24, 2017
http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1782&Inline=True, page 309 and 310
8. 51 page analysis of DCR filed plans for Magazine Beach with OFFICIALLY FILED plan details and photos of target trees, June 6, 2017, provided twice to Cambridge City Council
http://focrwg.com/agenda1.html
9. Destruction at MicroCenter in implementation of City Council blank check (#7), increases supported destruction to 56 trees, August 7, 2017
http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1825&Inline=True, pages 151 to 157
10. Multiple objections to destruction of Vellucci Park in Inman Square
Too many to individually cite
11. Analysis of City Council fake Tree Protections to Cambridge City Council, March 18, 2019
http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2033&Inline=True, pages 141 to 143
12. Report of Large Scale City of Cambridge Tree Destruction at Huron Ave & Fresh Pond Pkwy, almost certainly Water Department.
http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2033&Inline=True, page 144
13. Response to Destruction achieved and planned by Cambridge City Council at Riverbank, Samples of reality at Magazine Beach #2, March 18, 2019.
http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2033&Inline=True, pages 145 to 162
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This letter is posted in the official Cambridge City Records on line at http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2036&Inline=True, communication 14, pages 281 to 294.
Of necessity, it is not possible to reproduce on this blog in exactly the format which appears in the City of Cambridge official records. This link provides that official record.
