Officials Unsure if New Development Will Aid City's Unemployed Residents

More than 60 people stand in line on a typical day at the Central Square state unemployment office, waiting to receive their bi-monthly checks. Recipients in Massachusetts normally receive 30 weeks of unemployment benefits before their funding is cut off, unless the state feels the jobless rate in a particular area is especially severe. At 7.6 percent, unemployment in Cambridge is high, but not high enough for emergency attention. Many people received the unexpected news that no extension would be granted; and for some, it was their last check.

Not more than 10 blocks away, Russell C. Lindquist, chief economic planner for the city's Community Development Department studies a package of development projects worth over $1.2 billion. Some work, including the rehabilitation of abandoned buildings and warehouses and the construction of new facilities on previously undeveloped property, has already been completed. Most of the 47 projects are in the planning or early development stages.

"We're at the threshold of a massive amount of new development," Lindquist says, adding that his plans could create thousands of new jobs in the city.

These two scenes illustrate the dichotomy which now dominates the Cambridge unemployment picture. A stifling recession and the weakening of traditionally important industries, combined with federal budget cuts in job training programs have cut down on employment opportunities in the city and surrounding areas. Many companies have laid off workers and few are hiring. In contrast, growing interest of certain business to relocate in the inner city has encouraged private developers to begin projects which could bring new employment to the area. City officials also hope that a production industry will settle on one of the development sites, restoring some of the manufacturing jobs lost in the city over the past 20 years.

Many long-time residents and political leaders predict that these projects could provide needed jobs, especially blue collar and unskilled employment needed to preserve Cambridge's diversely populated neighborhoods. The losses of blue collar jobs have levelled off, says Lindquist, but few positions have been replaced. Instead, most of the new opportunities have been in almost exclusively white collar fields such as research and industrial consulting. This development has allowed the city's economy to grow at a slow but steady pace during generally rough economic times, but it has also brought a higher-income group to the city, driven up housing prices and provoked fear among long-time residents over a perceived threat to their neighborhoods.

Even if new commercial activity expands the job market, some experts argue that the city will be caught unprepared to take advantage of the opportunity. Cambridge currently has no policy to recruit job-intensive industries and also lacks a municipal program for training under-employed and unskilled residents. The city office which had been at least nominally in charge of manpower and training closed last year because of budget cuts.

The ongoing national recession, which officials say has stalled developers' attempts to recruit tenants for their property, may give the city enough time to establish employment programs, but the impact on the job market has been anything but positive. Businesses ranging from large corporations to small local firms have suffered in this region. Polaroid, a major employer in the city, has in recent months laid off 350 workers and granted 1100 others early retirement. A typical small firm, Cybermation Inc., is struggling to survive after declaring bankruptcy. Even the unemployment office recently laid off four employees. Says City Councilor Walter Sullivan, "I've got people calling me every day looking for jobs, but there just aren't any around."

Federal cuts for job training and direct job financing only compound the problems. According to a report released by Cambridge Community Services Inc., the city lost $1.2 million in training and public service employment subsidies in the fiscal year ending June 30. Six Middlesex County towns, including Cambridge have lost $5.9 million in Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) funding during the same period. Six thousand fewer people received federal services as a result. In addition, the local CETA administration reports that it has experienced a drop of almost 20 percent in the number of people it places in jobs after completion of training programs because of general caution in the business community.

The problem becomes more vivid on a personal level. "I sometimes get disgusted," says one man who asked not to be identified by name, waiting in line in the Cambridge unemployment office. "You know, when you don't have enough money to buy things for your kids--it's rough." A plasterer, the man has been out of work since September.

It is the inability of existing businesses to meet the employment needs of the area, even without recession, that underscores the need for new business, city officials say. "We can't assume that businesses already in the city will continue to grow," Lindquist says. "Developers will have to encourage new firms to come into the city," he adds.

Plans for development in the inner cities are not a new concern. Beginning with the national Urban Renewal Program of the 1960s, and continuing with the Urban Development Action Grants (UDAG) in the late 1970s, the federal government has offered money to cities able to attract capital investment from businessmen. But until recently, that interest hadn't existed in Cambridge.

In the past two years businesses have begun returning to cities such as Cambridge, backed principally by private developers, but also aided by federal and state grants. Plans now exist to revitalize four sections of the city which were once thriving manufacturing areas. A project called the Cambridge Center slated for Kendall Square calls for the development of office space, a retail center and a hotel.

A $6.8 million UDAG grant will fund the redesign of the Lechmere canal in East Cambridge, and a massive development project is designed to bring office and retail space to the Riverfront area. In the Alewife region, where three office complexes have been completed recently, additional office and industrial development is planned. Successful completion of the MBTA Redline extension is crucial for success in Alewife. In Cambridgeport, the major revitalization plans--under the supervision of MIT--have been stalled pending further negotiations with neighborhood residents. Plans for the other areas have already received local approval.

Harvard has outlined two projects for the Harvard Square area and construction has begun on the University Place and Parcel lb office and housing complex--worth a combined total of $100 million.

Business leaders in the community generally predict that the economy will rebound in the near future, allowing businesses to occupy these revitalization sites. "The city is bursting at the seams," says Barbara Sullivan of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. "You can only hold back development for so long," she adds John Conally, executive director of the Private Industry Council, which works with CETA officials to locate private sector jobs, says. "I believe the upturn will happen shortly. If the government program [to improve the economy] doesn't do it, business will take the bull by the horns."

Assuming that new businesses arrive, Cambridge political and neighborhood leaders have raised the question of what types of new jobs will become available.

City developers and business leaders insist that the market demand more office space and white collar industry. Harvard and MIT create many opportunities for research and development, small management, and consulting firms which rely on the resources and manpower of the two universities. Most recently, genetic research firms have shown a great interest in Cambridge. Four firms are trying to locate in the area, and one Biogen, has already moved in and is planning to expand its operation in Kendall Square.

But city councilors, many of whom represent areas particularly hard hit by unemployment, have voiced dissatisfaction with the employment plans proposed by these essentially white collar firms. One such program submitted recently to the council by one of the DNA firms was rejected outright by several councilors as inadequate. "We need to control what kind of industries come into the city." says Councilor David Sullivan. "I'm not suggesting that we bring in a steel plant, but we could have a technology manufacturing plant that makes for example, computer chips."

Studies conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Manpower Development shows that statewide, high technology business such as the computer electronics, and industrial chemical industries are expanding at a tremendous rate and that many supply jobs for a variety of white and blue collar positions, with excellent opportunities for advancement.

"The question for the future of this city and this state is where will the expanding high technology firms locate," Lindquist says. But he adds that "so far, high-tech manufacturing hasn't really knocked on our door."

Many of the high-tech companies with manufacturing operations in the area have settled in the rural and suburban areas, such as the so-called "technology belt" along Route 128. "To make sure those kinds of industries come into the city," Lindquist continues, "we would have to really best the bushes and actively recruit. Then we would have to offer incentives." In other words, Cambridge would need the comprehensive employment and development plan it now lacks.

City Council hearings which could lead to the establishment of such a plan will begin this month. One program already underway which could become the model for a citywide system is the Cambridge Citizens Employment plan, adopted in 1980 for development projects in the Alewife area.

That set of guidelines, which resulted from negotiations with neighborhood residents, calls for all new industries entering the area to set a hiring goal for "Cambridge residents, particularly the unemployed, underemployed, and unskilled." While Lindquist anticipates problems enforcing that law and says that it may even be ruled unconstitutional, he calls it a step in the right direction toward establishing a united employment policy.

Recent statements by city councilors indicate that the city will follow in Alewife's footsteps. David Sullivan, chairman of the committee holding the upcoming hearings, says that through careful use of zoning laws, and distribution of development funds and permit grants, the city can influence companies to hire local residents. Councilor Francis H. Duehay '55 agrees, saying, "We've got a lot on our plates that we can offer businesses in return for employment programs."

But Duehay adds that such programs will be crippled if local residents aren't trained adequately to enter the job force: "We don't live in a socialist country. Government can't force businesses to accept people that they don't need." He and others agree that the city must also adopt an expanded job-training program.

Marlene Seltzer, executive director of the Middlesex County CETA affiliate, says, "We have got a whole lot of training to do." She adds that her agency, which now relies on federal funding to train unskilled workers for jobs in computers and electronics, can only service about 850 people a year. Seltzer promises to present broader job-training and employment proposals to the council in July.

The combination of outside planning expanding commercial activity and local dedication to the plight of the unemployed could well produce an improved city economy. Politicians, even those suspicious of unfamiliar investors and unpredictable federal programs say they are optimistic about the future. But the uncertainties remain overwhelming. A great distance still exists between the frustration of the unemployment office and the excitement in Russell Lindquist's headquarters. The planner points out one final concern. If Cambridge goes too far in controlling who works for new city businesses. Cambridge residents may find a cold reception from employers in other towns. "I know we like to think of the city as an economic entity," he says, "but it isn't really. This is a regional economy, with a great deal of interaction between communities concerning jobs."CrimsonWilliam F. HammondThe entrance to the Job Insurance Center in Cambridge.