These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City Calendar and in the city’s Open Meetings Portal.
Collins branch library reopens
Library branch reopening party, 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The branch reopened May 28 after being closed since July 1 for work to regrade and direct stormwater toward the street. That helped stop the infiltration of moisture at the foundation of a building in use since 1936 (after starting as Gale Lumber), according to a city press release. This party makes it official and helps the neighborhood reconnect with Collins staff and meet the new branch manager. Refreshments, crafts and games are at the library – in the backyard, if weather permits – at 64 Aberdeen Ave., West Cambridge.
Public parking in school lots
School Committee Building & Grounds Subcommittee, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday. This hearing chaired by José Luis Rojas Villarreal talks about policy orders adopted by the City Council related to exploring parking at the school district’s secure parking lots. Also expected: an update on a long-range facilities condition assessment. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Lubavitch seeks a quadrupling
Board of Zoning Appeal, 6 to 11:30 p.m. Thursday. A new application for Lubavitch of Cambridge for an institutional center at 38-56 Banks St., Riverside, now a 70-foot-high, five-story complex that would quadruple its current space – an expansion from a previous proposal of keeping the current three-story height of 38 feet while roughly doubling its space. This bigger version was proposed the day after the organization learned that zoning passed to allow construction of more homes seemingly ended restrictions on institutions too. The Orthodox Jewish sect is already suing the city in federal court for the board’s rejection of its previous, smaller plan. We wrote about it here. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Bike Give Back live event
Cambridge Bike Give Back, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Games and activities for all ages, live music and free breakfast, barbecue and dessert (including vegan options) at this nonprofit’s event with a bike giveaway for those on the list and donations of bikes accepted at Greene-Rose Heritage Park, 155 Harvard St., The Port. Free safety equipment is available from Cambridge Bike Safety from 1 to 4 p.m.
Cambridge St., Mass. Ave. zoning
Housing Committee and Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committee, 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. These committees run by city councillors Cathie Zusy and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler discuss draft zoning recommendations for Cambridge Street and Massachusetts Avenue. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Citywide shuttle network
Transportation and Public Utilities Committee and Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committee, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by city councillors Cathie Zusy and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler aim to improve transportation by identifying service gaps and potential improvements in public transit and a network of shuttles from companies and institutions. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Exempting religious buildings
Ordinance Committee, 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by vice mayor Marc McGovern takes up the proposed Marasao zoning petition, in which an Orthodox Jewish sect (Lubavitch of Cambridge, also known as Harvard Chabad because of its ties to Harvard students) seeks to exempt property used for religious purposes from density and indoor space limits and other restrictions – along with suing the city and its Board of Zoning Appeals for denying an expansion of its religious center. With a closed-door meeting by councillors Monday and a zoning board meeting Thursday, what happens at this meeting feels obscure at best. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
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