City Council Talks Rental Properties and Snow Removal

Cambridge residents raised concerns about being forced to evacuate their rental properties at the Harvard Towers located on 295 Harvard Street during the Cambridge City Council’s weekly meeting on Monday.

According to Cambridge resident Jerome Saunders, apartment renters at the towers were given an unfairly short notice to evacuate their homes on May 4. Saunders said at the meeting that he thought the City should do something about what he saw as the unfair treatment of the tenants.

“I have always considered my apartment as my home, not just a place I rent,” said Saunders, adding that being forced to move out is especially inconvenient for senior citizens and tenants with children.

Elaine DeRosa, the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee’s executive director, also expressed her disapproval at the meeting.

“I think that sometimes landlords forget that people live in these units,” she said. “I hope that the city can do some negotiation on behalf of these tenants.”

All nine city councillors voted to abide by the renters’ concerns and reach out to property owners of the Harvard Towers to express renters’ dissent. Councillor E. Denise Simmons added that she would author a personal letter to the buildings’ owners, regardless of whether or not the Council decided to reach out to them.

“We always talk about the legal requirement [for rental properties], but the requirement isn’t always the right thing to do,” Councillor Mark C. McGovern said.

Residents also expressed their disappointment with the city’s snow removal process this winter. Cambridge and the greater Boston area faced numerous storms and record-breaking snowfall this winter season, with the snowfall totaling 108.6 inches in Boston.

One resident argued that the snow removal was poor and indicative of the city’s failure to cope with changing times and global climate change. Another said penalties for poor snow removal should be more strict, including larger fines.

—Staff writer Jalin P. Cunningham can be reached at jalincunningham@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @JalinCunningham.