Why We Go South

Ice in winter is dangerous.

Security and Hazardous Steps

These images were captured at about 2:30 PM on Monday April 4, 2011. They show the rear entrance door to the basement at 85 Prescott Street.


In this image you can see a small block of wood placed into the door stop to prevent the door from closing. Though I've had numerous conversations with the Office of General Counsel regarding building security by HRES and HUPD the problem continues. HRES did place a sign on the door saying to keep the door closed and to not prop it open. But signs do not work. Few people read these days.


In this image you cannot see that on the bottom wooden step there are two nails sticking up about 1/4 inch from the step. The nail can catch rubber or open shoes and cause a fall. This is the third time I ask HRES to fix the nails in that step. The bottom step was loose. The fix may be the cause of the new problem.

Tight Squeeze for Harvard Tenants

These images were captured on Monday April 4, 2011 at about noon. The Harvard contractor vehicles at the rear of 85 Prescott Street, Cambridge MA are in a posted No Parking Fire Zone. That is just an inconvenient situation. For Harvard parking rules no less city ordinances and state laws are inconvenient and can be ignored because, "We are Harvard." OK so seldom is there a fire during which the vehicles would inhibit fire emergency vehicles from getting close to the buildings. But what about tenants who want to get to the trash barrels to get rid of trash? The space between these vehicles is less than a foot at some places. Yes, parking is at a premium in this area. But Harvard deleted 26 parking spaces from the neighborhood, and promised to replace them somewhere. But there is no mechanism to follow-up to ensure that Harvard keeps its promises. The solution is, there is no solution. Park wherever you can.

Four Sidewalk Hazards Cambridge MA

Four sidewalk hazards. The first two are from tree roots. The third is from a broken sidewalk. The fourth appears to be concrete falling from a cornice.