As a home owner in Cambridge, I can not just sit and watch as a housing developer steamrolls the system and forces itself on a neighborhood.

I am a home owner in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood, and I can not believe what Just-A-Start Corporation is trying to do to the recently closed Immaculate Conception Church on Windsor Street, which by the way, they bought with City of Cambridge money; $1.425 million of taxpayer's money, to be exact.

The church is over 100 years old, built by the blood, sweat and tears of generations past, with brick built by our own New England Brick Company (NEBCO) from material garnered from Jerry's pit, now part of Danehy Park!

The roof on this building is true representation of Lithuanian architecture, beautiful red clay roof. This building is the only true historical landmark in all of Wellington-Harrington area. Just-A-Start Corporation wants to put 16 units in this property, 14 in the church and 2 in the rectory. How are they going to accomplish this?

First by adding a floor above the arched windows of the church, and then by tearing into the beautiful clay roof, to make dormers for bedrooms. They intend to dig under the church to put a parking garage. Are they going to inform potential buyers that Millers river runs under the church, that the basement of the church floods constantly and thus the cars will be water boats (especially with 16 showers, washers, sinks, dishwashers, toilets adding to that water table)?

They plan on putting in 16 outside air conditioning units (you think leaf blowers are loud, and what happened to being a green city?). 16 units net about 60 - 80 more people in what is already the most densely populated area of Cambridge (#5 in the NATION). Did they inform the neighbors? Yes, one week prior to closing on the property. We were told there was nothing we could do to stop them.

How did this happen? Was it because they are a large corporation with a lot of money? Was it because the Director of Housing Development for Just-A-Start was also the chair of the Cambridge Planning Board (replaced last week)? Can you say conflict of interest! The neighbors reacted.

The first order of business for the neighbors was to bring the issue to the Historical Commission to try and preserve a historical landmark. Just-A-Start arrived on the first visit with "plans"; the neighbors were awarded the landmark study. Two days later, even with the historical landmark study order in place, workers were at the church drilling the outside front, under the fresco of the Virgin Mary. Police had to be called to stop them. Work continued. Inspectors showed up as there was no building permit ever requested, nor issued, and stopped the ongoing actions.

Somehow Just-A-Start got back on the Historical Commission agenda for the following month meeting, disrespectful of the very start of the one year landmark study. Just-A-Start showed up with "new" plans, which were the plans they actually had presented to the neighborhood one month prior to the first Historical Commission meeting! Again they got rebuffed. The Historical Commission issued a continuation with a no-changes status to January 2008, and will visit the church before that date, when another hearing will take place.

Has this stopped Just-A-Start or the archdiocese from doing any work on the property? NO! Trucks have been in the parking lot as early as 6:30am, backed up to the front door, and to stop neighbors from seeing what is being removed, the workers put up large pieces of foam to block anyone from seeing what is being taken from the building (we have pictures). The stained glass windows were removed, even though they were donated by families and the names of the families are in the glass. The bell was removed. The archdiocese stated IN THE DEED that the property could NOT be another religious institution or house of worship of any kind for the next 99 years; How can the Catholic archdiocese discriminate so openly, and be allowed to get away with it?

Just-A-Start has 20 rental buildings in Cambridge, 17 of them are in the Wellington-Harrington area. Just-A-Start has 17 home ownership buildings in Cambridge, 12 of them are in Wellington-Harrington area. Just-A-Start keeps putting more and more people in the same area of town because the more people they put, the lower the cost of property. They can buy up more and build more - your CPA money at work, they justify. Just-A-Start would like to think this is an affordable housing issue. It is far from an affordable housing issue, it's an overcrowding issue.

Crime is higher in this area, up 217% over last year alone, while the rest of Cambridge's neighborhoods enjoy lower numbers than the prior year! Higher density, higher crime. Just-A-Start has no respect for the history of this building. They have no respect for the potential new residents they are building for, and they most certainly have no respect for the current neighbors. As they stated at the last Historical Commission meeting "it would not be equitable for us to put less than 16 units in this building". Guess what Just-A-Start. It has more to do with than money, our money at that, it has to do with lives, lives you are destroying and the history you are destroying. How does that saying go? "If these walls could talk."

Well if the Immaculate Conception Church walls could talk, they would tell you stories rich in history of love and marriage and baptisms and deaths; they would tell you tales of teachers, priests, nuns and deacons; they would resound in past days of laughter and joy; and then they would tell you of the recent turn of events - of the raping of heritage and prestige, of the recent lies told, arrogance, injustice and violation of integrity, and yes, if these walls could talk today, these walls would cry.

Marion Figueiredo