Friends of Alewife Reservation (FAR)

(All text comes from a "Friends of Jerry's Pond" newsletter)

Dear Friend of Jerry's Pond,

Please join us at the Second Annual Earth Day Clean Up at Jerry's Pond, this coming Sunday, April 22nd 2:30 to 5:00 in the afternoon. Come out and meet your neighbors. Refreshments will be served.

We are co-sponsoring this event along with neighborhood groups North Cambridge Together and Green Cambridge. The full invitation is here.

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Other updates:

As you may recall. On February 5th, the Cambridge City Council unanimously adopted a powerfully worded policy order directing City Departments to look into the possibility of a Targeted Brownfield Assessment of contaminants on the Jerry's Pond site.

This historic policy order drafted by City Councillor Sumbul Siddiqui and co sponsored by Councillors Craig Kelley, Quinton Zondervan and Vice Mayor Jan Devereux declared that:

Jerry's Pond is a historically significant and culturally important body of water to North Cambridge and Cambridge residents.
Jerry's Pond is the closest green space to the three Rindge Towers, Jefferson Park and additional units along Rindge Avenue representing approximately 3,500 to 4,000 affordable housing residents in total; and as residents do not have access to this large area of green space, its restoration is an issue of public health, environmental justice, and social equity.
Further action towards the restoration of the Jerry's Pond area will proceed most expeditiously with current, accurate and comprehensive data on the environmental hazards on the site given that prior studies are dated and incomplete.

A Great First Step!

Neighbors who signed the Jerry's Pond petition, spoke at the City Council meeting and/or spread the word deserve credit for this remarkable first step. In our last update we forgot to mention that Macky Buck spoke at the Council meeting and presented the petitions and Abra Berkowitz spoke on behalf of herself and the Cambridge Residents Alliance. Thanks to you both!

A great first step--but there is a long way to go. Jerry's Pond abuts an extremely contaminated site, is privately owned and there is no indication that either the City of Cambridge nor the owners of Jerry's Pond intend to carry out the aspirations for Jerry's Pond expressed in this Policy Order. We have been told that the City will reach out to the landowner and we'll send updates as soon as we learn more.

Please stay informed and continue to spread the word about Jerry's Pond.

And come join us to celebrate and clean-up the perimeter this Sunday. Meet at the Russell Field parking area at 2:30. Refreshments will be served and you are invited to come out, meet your neighbors, invite a friend!

For Friends of Jerry's Pond,

Lew Weitzman
Eric Grunebaum