On June 25, the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association awarded the Association’s third “Good Neighbor” award to Francis Fox Spinks, recognized for his efforts to preserve and enhance M-C’s largest and most important open space, the Joan Lorentz Park.

The award, voted by the MCNA Coordinating Committee, specifically recognized Francis “as our neighborhood's strongest and most respected advocate for parks and green space, he has used his knowledge to improve our city. His steadfast efforts for the design, construction, and maintenance of Joan Lorentz Park from its conception in 1975 to the present day have helped to make it a treasured public space.”

Your amazing letters, emails, and participation at meetings have prevented construction on the almost century old common green at Shady Hill Square to this point. Because of you, the City's Stop Work Order remains in effect. Now, with your help, it may be possible to preserve the green as a pocket park, formally open to everyone. We must come out in force to show the Cambridge Historical Commission, CPA Committee, City Manager, Deputy City Manager, and City Council that our landmarks and open space are not building lots. A simple email to the addresses below to let them know you support the preservation of the Square could make all the difference. A strong public presence at the meeting is essential.

The Shady Hill Square Association is submitting an application for $150,000 of Community Preservation Act, Historical Preservation funds, which would be used as part of a settlement offer to place a permanent conservation easement on the common green, the Square's central design feature. The goal is not only to preserve the open space for public use, but also to preserve the entirety of Shady Hill Square as an historically, socially and aesthetically remarkable ensemble. Residents of Shady Hill Square and neighbors will contribute the larger portion of the settlement, over 80% of the total amount necessary to purchase the green. But, without the CPA funds we will be unable to purchase the green and preserve Shady Hill Square. For the City, helping to fund the project would result in preservation of an historic and much needed open space, formally open to the public and protected from future development.

Shady Hill Square is a 93 year old example of open-space oriented architecture; the product of the original 1915 developers' attempt to preserve green in the growing city of Cambridge. The architect, John Ames, used the green, the shared center of a horseshoe of semi-detached stucco houses, as the defining and cohesive element of his design. Open to the street, since 1915 it has offered an oasis to all who enter and come to admire and enjoy the gracious design, trees, and expanse of open green. If construction is not stopped, an enormous, contemporary house with a two-car garage will engulf the common green, destroying both the open space and the historical significance of the entire site as an early example of conservation design. A significant portion of Cambridge architectural and social history will be lost. Shady Hill Square faces nothing less than total destruction of place. The Historical Commission and the City can now play a vital role in making preservation possible. The CPA funds will help to acquire for preservation an historically significant pocket park for every one.

Contact: Hannah Gold and Merav Gold at hnnhgold@yahoo.com or (617) 868-7426

Cambridge Historical Commission email: histcomm@cambridgema.gov

City Council email: Council@cambridgema.gov

Email for both City Manager, Robert Healy and CPA Committee (c/o Richard Rossi): citymanager@CambridgeMA.GOV

(For further background articles on this issue, search "Shady Hill Square" on the internet.)

Although media and public attention tends to focus on the Cambridge City Council, a great deal of city business is conducted by boards and commissions few residents are more then barely aware of. Decisions coming daily out of that maze of powerful groups are for the most part not subject to review by the City Council. The few which are have increasingly been simply ratified by Council members who openly state they feel it is not their place to second-guess the decisions of the lower boards. It is therefore important for residents to be aware of City procedures and how important issues such as infill proposals are evaluated from the earliest stage in their progress through the various approval boards.

The Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association Coordinating Committee has created a City Government Subcommittee to inventory the entire structure of City boards and commissions, study how they are staffed and how they function, and make recommendations to improve their accessibility and value to the residents they serve.

A major goal of this subcommittee will be to create a coordinated web-based resource of each board's charter, current membership, and links to current meeting schedules and agendas. A limited form of printed guide will also be produced for those who do not use the Internet. In addition, by monitoring as many meetings as possible, this subcommittee will develop recommendations for improving the public's ability to observe and understand the often complex activities of the various boards and commissions. Residents interested in attending Cambridge board and commission meetings to help in this effort are welcome to contact the MCNA Coordinating Committee through MCNA.com or co-Chair Fritz Donovan at 617 497-6634.