Focus on Housing

The strength of Cambridge as a community relies upon availability of affordable housing. The City Council has an obligation to the community to help ensure residents are not priced out of their homes and to maintain and encourage diversity.

Housing Crisis

The affordable housing problem in Cambridge is truly a housing emergency. The price of housing in Cambridge has skyrocketed in recent years.

It has been rewarding to see efforts I have worked on in prior years come to fruition in recent months. Dozens of units of affordable housing are being built at the Garment District and at the former NStar Switch House as a result of negotiations I led.

I voted to allocate the maximum 80% of Community Preservation Funds - over $10 million - for affordable housing.

I work to strengthen the city’s linkage and inclusionary zoning ordinances to build more affordable units

I have worked to increase grant and loan initiatives for middle income home buyers.

Artists Housing

As artists begin to get priced out of living, studio and gallery space, we are in danger of losing an important part of what makes Cambridge special. The arts deserve our support on their own merits and as an expression of our civic ideal. Yet we should not lose sight of the value they add to our city's economic life. To that end, I support the reuse of vacant commercial buildings as live-in studios for artists. This type of creative reuse would not only provide additional affordable housing stock, but would also help us maintain the vibrancy of the Cambridge cultural community.