The developer Forest City is offering free ice cream at today’s 13th Annual Ice Cream Spree, but some neighbors may fill company officials’ ears even while stuffing their faces.

The event runs through 3 p.m. at University Park Common, just below Lafayette Square on Sidney Street, and is sponsored by Forest City and Lizzy’s Ice Cream, which has a storefront in Harvard Square (as well as sites in Waltham and Needham).

But Forest City is in the midst of proposing buildings for the area that push or exceed the boundaries of what many neighbors want, and neighborhood activists are hoping to find Forest City executives at the party who’ll talk with them about the plans — or at least listen.

“Tell them we don’t want their ice cream, we want them to be responsive to our needs and concerns,” suggested Jonathan King, an Area IV resident. “We don’t want their oversize building, we don’t want residences built in our park.”

“We would be happy if they built housing at the All-Asia site, under the current zoning height of 80 feet,” he said, advising residents to bring “No to Forest City” fliers if they had them.