City Council To Curb Street People

The City of Cambridge intends to make sure that disruptions like the one which occurred last weekend in Harvard Square are not allowed to happen again.

A marathon meeting of the City Council this week took definite action to curb the activities of street people in the Harvard Square-Cambridge Common area. Orders passed by the Council included:

A 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. curfew on the Common, to prevent groups from gathering on the Common after dark and to keep street people from sleeping there overnight;

A request that Harvard institute court action to prevent "disreputable persons" from congregating in Forbes Plaza;

Orders that the Cambridge police strictly enforce laws against panbandling;

A request that the sponsors of the Summerthing concerts in the Harvard Stadium immediately cancel the remaining shows to minimize the possibility of another rampage.

More to Come

Although these actions were taken by the Council as an immediate response to the Saturday night disruption, they are not the only steps which the City is contemplating to prevent such disturbances. Still under consideration by the Council is an ordinance to require organizers of parades and demonstrations to obtain permits 48 hours in advance.

The Council defeated a motion by Councillor Walter J. Sullivan which would have banned the Sunday rockconcerts on the Common. Sullivan was supported by John J. Wrenn, president of the Cambridge Veteran's Organization, who said, "The Cambridge Concerts congregate thousands of people on the Common for one purpose-destruction."

Raising the Cost

The concerts found an unlikely defender in Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci,who stated his belief that the riots and the recent vandalism on the Common were caused by people unconnected with the concerts. In addition, Councillor Thomas Danchy speculated that the number of police necessary to halt the concerts might cost $250,000.

Several residents and young people from the Common area also came to the defense of the concerts, and Sullivan withdrew the resolution.

A number of Harvard Square merchants appeared at the Council meeting. Al Zavelle, general manager of the Coop, criticized police handling of the situation. He said that the police should have moved in earlier than they did on Saturday in order to protect property in the Square.

Sheldon Cohen, owner of the Out-of-Town News Agency in the Square, said that his insurance had been cancelled as a result of repeated riot damage, and demanded more police protection.

The vice president of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Malcolm Fryer, said that business in the Square had fallen off because people are afraid to come into the area, and called for increased visibility of police patrols in sections frequented by loiterers and panhandlers.

The repeated calls for extra police protection made a visible effect on the Council, Mayor Vellucci stated that the number of policemen in Cambridge is inadequate, and that 25 men should be added to the force in order to cope with such disorders as the one last weekend without leaving other neighborhoods unprotected.

The meeting adjourned at 1:30 a.m. without acting on his recommendations.

The impact of the City Council's orders is not yet completely clear. While the police department seems to be enforcing the anti-panhandling ordinance and the Common curfew, it has not yet been faced with any major defiance of these laws.

Police department spokesmen refuse to comment on what action will be taken to control future disturbances.

It seems likely that demands by Harvard Square merchants for increased protection will result in augmented patrols on weekends, similar to those employed on nights when Stadium concerts are held.

The additional police would be instructed to strictly enforce the ordinances against loitering and congregating in the Square.