February 2009 Newsletter

Dear Elected City Officials,

The Sunrise Club is a group of senior citizens who live in East Cambridge and gather for social meetings at the East End House several times a week. The Club meetings usually consist of social interaction, coffee and refreshments, activities, exercise, lunches, and monthly field trips. The members of this Club have been gathering at East End House for over 10 years, sharing stories and experiences with our friends and neighbors. The Sunrise Club Program is just one part of the various opportunities available for senior citizens at East End House, which include volunteering, Free Farmers Market, the Young at Heart Club, free tax assistance, emergency food assistance, workshops, health screenings, community classes, and much more.

As members of the Sunrise Club and residents of East Cambridge, we have a vested interest in our community. Many of us have resided in East Cambridge for all or most of our lives, have raised children here, and have seen how the community has changed. We have, in the past, been vocal about how we felt effected by these changes, specifically those relating to development. Many of us feel that a sort of "wall" is being erected in East Cambridge, blocking the neighborhood residents from Kendall Square, Cambridgeport, the Charles River, and other areas of Cambridge and beyond that used to connect us to the greater Cambridge community.

The proposed re-zoning petition put forth by Alexandria Real Estate is another venture that has significant consequences on the residents of East Cambridge. We feel that this development poses some serious issues for the East Cambridge, and greater Cambridge community, and that these issues must be addressed before we allow zoning changes to occur. Issues like parking, noise considerations, building density, shadowing, traffic, and biotech safety are all very serious and important issues that must be discussed, with the input of neighborhood residents, before such a grave decision is made.

As the East Cambridge neighborhood becomes increasingly developed and populated with biotechnology and other life science companies, the residents of East Cambridge are left with little by way of community space. While this petition includes space for a community park, it does not adequately address the need for shared community indoor space, which is sorely lacking in East Cambridge. Over the past ten years our community has seen nearly 10 million square feet of new development approved within a one mile radius of our neighborhood with little significant indoor community space. Why? This development poses the opportunity to provide top-notch facilities and services to the community as well as to the new residents and businesses of the proposed development. A 30,000 sq. ft. multi-purpose community space, which would include senior activities, would make positive use of the power of community and allow East Cambridge individuals and families of all ages the opportunity to gather and grow together.

Thank you for your service and dedication and I hope that you understand the severe importance of this matter on the East Cambridge community.

Sincerely,
The Sunrise Club