City Council Addresses Charles Spill

At its midsummer's meeting last night, the City Council expressed anger at not being informed by state authorities of the rupture of a sewage pipe near Newton that contaminated the Charles River with bacteria several weeks ago.

The councillors expressed increasing levels of unified concern over the lack of disclosure by the state.

In its original form, the motion, sponsored by Vice-Mayor Kathleen L. Born and Councillor Henrietta A. Davis, merely called on the city manager to communicate concern to state authorities and confer with them to implement a regular testing schedule for the water.

"It took them more than a week to discover what was causing the problem, and during that time they didn't notify the boat and yacht clubs that this was going on," Born said. "This is not an issue to be taken lightly."

Councillor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 jumped into the debate, saying the resolution didn't go far enough and asking Mayor Sheila T. Russell to draft a letter on behalf of the council expressing outrage.

"We shouldn't just cry about it, we should cry out," Reeves said.

Finally, Councillor Katherine Triantafillou entered the fray, urging even harsher measures.

"I just don't understand why they can't take care of this wonderful resource," she said.

Triantafillou proposed a meeting with the pertinent state agencies at which the city could raise its concerns and hash out possible solutions so the problem doesn't recur.

Both Reeves' and Triantafillou's amendments were accepted as friendly, and the measure was passed without opposition.

An Angry Beginning

Last night's meeting began angrily, as crowds packed the council's chambers hoping to discuss a re-zoning ordinance.

The council had received petitions and communications of support from a number of Cantabrigians calling for the down-zoning of three properties on Linnaean Street, one block east of the Radcliffe Quad. There, a developer is trying to raze a house to build condominiums.

When the council decided the petition warranted a second reading, about half the room cleared out, leaving relatively few citizens on the speakers list.

Among those who remained, concern was widespread about the possible repeal of the "parking freeze" in Cambridge, a measure designed to limit development by halting the creation of new parking lots and garages.

Several Cantabrigians also spoke at length about their concerns over the proposed development of property near Alewife owned by W.R. Grace and Co. The residents said the development would cause environmental and traffic problems in the area.

Another group, led by John Flaherty and John O'Connor, both Cantabrigians of Irish descent, lobbied the council to consider its efforts to bring a memorial to the victims of the Irish Potato Famine of 1847 to the Cambridge Common.

"When I was walking through the Common, I saw a monument erected by the Italian-American Society and one celebrating Polish heroes," Flaherty said. "Their contributions are significant and shouldn't be ignored, but I couldn't help but wonder why there is no monument to the contributions of Irish-Americans."

O'Connor, a local businessperson who has pledged $25,000 to the project, said the strong history of Irish immigrants in Cambridge deserves recognition.