Re: Zeckhauser

To the Editors of The Crimson:

The opinion piece primarily about Harvard Real Estate in the September 29 Crimson has many errors and half-truths and is grossly unfair to Sally Zeckhauser. A few examples: there is no state or other official estimate predicting MATEP will cause any lung cancer deaths over 40 years because of nitrogen dioxide or, for that matter, any other emissions; HRE does not run the shuttle bus system; and HRE found a home in Holyoke Center for the Thomas More Bookstore when the store had to move.

In regard to Sally Zeckhauser, she has done extremely well in one of the most difficult jobs at Harvard. It is true that the landlord is seldom loved. Running a real estate operation is never easy, especially in a university environment. There are many seemingly irreconcilable interests. Mrs. Zeckhauser has a high rate of success in reconciling these interests and at the same time putting Harvard's real estate house in order and improving the housing stock in Cambridge. As someone who has worked closely with her for a number of years, I know that the indictment of her is uninformed, lacks credibility, and ignores her many achievements. Daniel Steiner   vice president and general counsel, Harvard University