From The Port

The Yuppy Ghetto

Well, here is a photo or two, (LOL) of the brand spanking new Yuppy Ghetto that for some unfathomable reason the City of Cambridge permitted. It consists of twenty town houses and condo units of three bedrooma, family units, and one car gargarge parking for each unit. Not one single unit is accessible. Nor visitable. The State of MA requires that sidewalks be 48" wide, but here, at Valentine Place, the sidewalk is only 36" wide at the wisest part, with some parts of the sidewalk only 33"wide, which is a violation of both State and Federal standards. I might add, that since no one with a disability is allowed to rent or visit these new dwellings, that it is also a violation of Fair Housing Laws and Ordinances. If the City continues to allow housing like this to be built, soon we will have segration, with no place for persons with mobility issues to live. This is certainly inconsistant with the concept of home care. While I agree we should not force owners of properties constructed before 1990, the year the ADA was passed, to modify their units for accessability, I thought we would pass ordaninces to insure we would not build any more housing that, BY DESIGN, discriminated against persons with mobility disabilities. When will we ever learn?

posted by Kathy Podgers @ Monday, September 26, 2005