Tag Archives: Cambridge MA

On Rent Control: Part Four—Opportunity

The Joint Housing Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature recently held a virtual hearing on House Bill H.1378, a proposal to grant cities and towns the right to establish rent control. As a person who lived in a rent control apartment, … Continue reading

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On Rent Control: Part Three—Prognosis

The Joint Housing Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature recently held a virtual hearing on House Bill H.1378, a proposal to grant cities and towns the right to establish rent control. As a person who lived in a rent control apartment, … Continue reading

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On Rent Control: Part Two—Personal History

The Joint Housing Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature recently held a virtual hearing on House Bill H.1378, a proposal to grant cities and towns the right to establish rent control. As a person who lived in a rent control apartment, … Continue reading

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On Rent Control: Part One—Legal History

The Joint Housing Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature recently held a virtual hearing on House Bill H.1378, a proposal to grant cities and towns the right to establish rent control. As a person who lived in a rent control apartment, … Continue reading

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The High Price of Elite Housing

One hundred thirty years ago, in 1891, Mr. A.E. Parker built a house at 60 Wicklow Street in Cambridge. A 2-1/2 story wood frame building that he shared with his wife. The building first appears in the 1894 Bromley Atlas, … Continue reading

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Let’s Loosen Up Zoning: A Letter to the Cambridge City Council in Favor of “Missing Middle Housing”

June 9, 2021 Greetings Cambridge City Councilor, I am writing in support of the Cambridge Missing Middle Housing zoning petition before the city Council at the June 10, 2021 meeting. Like many Cambridge citizens, I live in a building that … Continue reading

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Affairs of (real) Estate

What is our responsibility—to ourselves, our family, and our community—for the assets we have accumulated during our lives? I confronted this question last year, when I turned sixty-five and reckoned with the good fortune bestowed upon me. Fresh senior citizens … Continue reading

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The Ugliest House in Cambridge

Okay, it’s deep winter. The snow has turned crusty and brown. The sky is grey. The ice is black. We need a bit of color and light. Sorry folks, all I have to offer is the ugliest house in Cambridge. … Continue reading

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Sons of Liberty

September 10, 2020 Cambridge, MA A chilly drizzle sprinkles discomfort over our Black Lives Matter evening vigil. The number of people taking a knee since late May has shriveled to five. My meditation wanders from the horror of Officer Derek … Continue reading

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Behind the Pane of Empty Storefronts

Are you a Cambridge resident? Go online and vote for your favorite empty storefront art by March 8, 2019. __________ What do Americans buy with our affluence? Privacy. Single-family houses in gated communities, automobiles for every driver in the family, … Continue reading

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