The Alewife

Harding speaks to Alewife contributors

by Erin K. Gray

A city school committee member discussed the direction of Cambridge public schools at the Oct. 19 contributors meeting of The Alewife held at the back table of Porter Square Books.

“I believe Cambridge public schools has the potential and funding to be the best school system in America,” said Richard Harding, a lifelong Cambridge resident running for re-election in the Nov. 6 municipal election.

Harding said he wants to work towards closing the academic gap and ensure that students from all socio-economic backgrounds are offered the same means to succeed. “We have a district of choice, we let the parents have options and these are the values of Cambridge. We bus kids like no other city in the world.”

Harding is a strong supporter of the Rindge School of Technical Arts and the partnerships that ensure a strong vocational future for those students that choose such a path, he said. He also continues to thrive towards emphasis on special education programs to ensure students are getting what they need.

To accomplish this Harding is examining ways to ensure that each student is getting adequate time with teachers. “Time is an issue,” he said.

He recently sponsored a motion to examine staff hours to ensure students are receiving the teacher resources and help they need. A comprehensive extended day program has already been implemented in two schools, he said.

Transition to after school is important in the equation, he said. “How can we service kids with continuity between academic and after school?”

NCSC meets Wednesday to discuss 56 Churchill

by Erin Gray

The future use of the semi-demolished house and lot at 56 Churchill Ave. will be discussed at the Oct. 10 meeting of the North Cambridge Stabilization Committee.

“The neighbors have been formally complaining to the city about the unsightly, unsanitary, unsafe conditions at 56 Churchill for more than a year without satisfaction,” said Michael Brandon, the secretary of the NCSC.

The property, a 148-year-old historical building illegally demolished, has been an eyesore to the community since February 2006, with neighborhood complaints of rats, weeds, litter and building debris said Brandon.

“It is fenced off but there is still debris and a rotting structural wall,” said Brandon who recently repeated the concerns of the neighbors to Ranjit Singanayagam, the commissioner of the city’s inspectional services department. Singanayagam, in response to the concerns, increased the height of the fence surrounding the property, and promised to clean the weeds and litter, but would not complete the demolition without a solid legal mandate.

According to a report from the Cambridge Historical Commission prepared by Sarah L. Burks, a stop work order was issued by the inspectional services department to the original developer, Alfred J. Benedetti, on approximately March 10 2006, after the neighbors discovered he had illegally demolished the building. The property has been left undeveloped and half demolished ever since.

“Not only is the present state of the property an eyesore to myself and my neighbors, which is visible from my garden and every living area of my home, but it is unsanitary and unsafe. The neighbors would like immediate action taken to ensure that Mr. Benedetti takes down the structure and cleans up the lot,” said Renee A. Chandonnet, a 10-year resident of Matignon Road, directly across the street from the property.