A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 20-57, regarding the use of party buses in the Cambridge Crossing area

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 TELEPHONE [phone removed] WEB www.cambridgepolice.org FACEBOOK facebook.com/CambridgePolice TWITTER twitter.com/CambridgePolice Louis A. DePasquale City Manager Dr. Branville G. Bard, Jr. Police Commissioner To: City Manager, Louis A. DePasquale From: Police Commissioner, Branville G. Bard, Jr. Date: November 10, 2020 Ref.: Awaiting Report #20-57, dated October 26, 2020 Re: Report on contacting appropriate representatives regarding party buses. The purpose of this response is to address Awaiting Report #20-57, dated October 26, 2020, whereby the City Manager was requested to report back on raising the issue of rented luxury buses rented out by groups of people with the appropriate representatives of the Cambridge Crossing buildings and the Governor’s Office to ensure that these businesses are not in violation of any current statewide COVID- 19 protocols. Cambridge Police Officers initially responded to a Leighton Street noise complaint on Friday, October 23 regarding a group of people and a rental luxury bus. The following weekend, Officers were assigned to the area and responded to and stopped parked buses Friday, October 30 in the area of Leighton Street and Saturday, October 31 in the area of Morgan Avenue. As a result of these responses, Officers were able to identify the residents responsible for renting the buses and made the drivers and owner of the limousine company aware that their passengers were not following proper social distance guidelines. While there were no complaints or observed violations the weekend of November 6-8, Officers will remain assigned to the areas of concern for proactive visibility to deter any ongoing activity. Anyone responsible for potential future violations, which now include the Governor’s statewide stay-at-home advisory between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and updated limits on gatherings, are subject to fines. I have been in contact with the property managers at DivcoWest to set a plan of action to address both the residents and bus companies, and can assure you that the police department will continue to work on a variety of fronts to mitigate these concerns. I hope you find this response satisfactory, and if there are any additional questions, information needed or concerns regarding this matter, please let me know. Sincerely, Dr. Branville, G. Bard, Jr. Police Commissioner