Tensions Flare At City Council Meeting Over Central Square Lots Study, Starlight Closure

Cambridge City Councilors expressed frustration over the recent Central Square Lots Study during a City Council meeting on Monday.

The study, which was conducted by the city’s Community Development Department, assessed the property needs and planning efforts for ten city-owned parking lots and buildings in Central Square. The report identified the need for more affordable housing, civic and cultural space, small business support, municipal office space, an improved library, and public parking in Central Square.

But some members of the Council — particularly Mayor E. Denise Simmons — expressed frustration over what they saw as slow city action on Central Square.

Simmons said she was “anxious” that though the city had conducted a vast number of studies already conducted by the city on Central Square – 24 in the last 44 years — progress in the area has been slow.

Simmons also expressed concerns around the scope of the survey, saying that its sample size of 250 residents “does not really represent the depth of the people that are in Central Square,” and criticized the survey’s lack of information on affordable housing targeted for Cambridge’s LGBTQ residents.

“I understand as a city manager, you're new,” Simmons said, speaking directly to City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05. “So I want to give you some grace, but some of us aren't new.”

”About how long do we have to wait to see something happen?” she added.

Huang said that it would take time for the city to meet the Council’s request for greater community engagement throughout the planning process for the area.

“If we want to do something like a working group, a study group — we have done that before and it's been successful — those things take more resources and more time,” Huang said.

But Simmons remained critical of the lengthy process.

“I don't think anyone's asking you to move mountains,” Simmons said.

The meeting came hours after the announcement that Starlight Square, an outdoor space in Central Square, will close in July after its current license agreement expires.

The space currently serves as a temporary performance, learning and dining space, which was built in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Simmons praised the space in the wake of its closure, saying there was “nothing better than going by Starlight.”

According to Huang, the City was in communication with the Central Square Business Improvement District, which ran the space, for the renewal of the contract.

The announcement of the closure came as a surprise to Councilors.

“We thought we were okay,” Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui said. “It feels like there’s been a breakdown of effective communication.”

Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern raised concerns about the future of the space.

“We need to be supporting Starlight Square,” McGovern said. “If they go away and it becomes a parking lot for the next six years until we actually start building something that would be a shame to the City.”

Huang, who was also surprised by the Starlight closure, pushed back on the idea that the city had not been supportive of its development.

Huang said Cambridge had “provided significant financial support” for the space, including $500,000 for its operations in this year’s budget.

—Staff writer Ayumi Nagatomi can be reached at ayumi.nagatomi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @ayumi_nagatomi.

—Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.