Cambridge Tenants Group To Visit Harvard Officials And Question Housing Plan

A delegation of Cambridge tenants is planning to visit the Office of Intergovernmental Relations this Thursday to present Corporation officials with a set of requests concerning Harvard's role in providing low-income housing for the city's inhabitants.

"We're coming to tell them that their whole housing program stinks," said William Joyce, head of the delegation.

The tenants notified three University officials-George F. Bennett '33, Treasurer of Harvard College, Edward S. Gruson, assistant to President Pusey for Community Affairs, and Albert L. Nickerson '33, Fellow of Harvard College-in letter delivered to Gruson yesterday afternoon of their proposed visit.

The tenants-members of the Cambridge Housing Convention-claimed in the letter that Harvard's institutional growth has "greatly contributed" to a shortage of low-income housing in Cambridge.

They added that the University's attempts thus far to supply additional low-rent units-notably a recent proposal to build 94 units for elderly families-have been "mere tokenism."

The delegation will request among other things that Harvard make 40 per cent of a proposed 250-unit middle-income project at Cambridge Highlands available at low-income rents.

None of the three officials addressed in the letter was available for comment last night.