Federico Muchnik
2023 Candidate for Cambridge City Council

Home address:
82 Richdale Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

Contact information:
email: federico.muchnik@gmail.com
phone: 617-869-3463
website: federicoforcouncil.net
Twitter: @fedmuchnik
Facebook: federicomuchnik
Instagram: fmuchnik

Send contributions to:
Committee to Elect Federico Muchnik
82 Richdale Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
or via ActBlue:
actblue.com/donate/federico-muchnik-for-cambridge-1

New Candidate - 2023

BIO:
Federico attended the Cambridge Public Schools, having gone to Peabody Elementary followed by the Pilot School at Cambridge Rindge and Latin. He grew up next to Saint Peter’s Field where he played little league baseball for the Cambridge Red Sox. After college he returned to Cambridge where he became an activist, producing films on local issues including a controversial development project in Harvard Square, life inside a youth center in Central Square, and a profile of a visually impaired African-American blues musician living in affordable housing. His interest in activism and politics comes from his mother, Rita Arditti, and her work with women’s rights and science. Federico is a lifelong teacher, most recently as adjunct professor of film production and history at Lesley University. As a long time resident and chronicler of past and present city life, Federico understands Cambridge and its needs. He is a committed, active, involved citizen who enjoys engaging with people and hearing their stories. He brings an articulate voice and unique perspective of what the city has been, where it stands today, and what it can become in the years ahead. Working with the city’s numerous and diverse communities Federico believes there’s a common-sense way to retain Cambridge’s small town charm while continuing to grow as a world-class city.

ISSUES AND PRIORITIES

HOUSING & CONSTRUCTION

• The lab construction bubble has burst. We need a moratorium on the construction of new lab space in favor of new home construction, especially quality affordable housing.
• Revise the AHO toward more mid-rise (5-6 stories), gentle density townhouses in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood all the while having as many new units as our infrastructure can reasonably support.
• Avoid repeating the public housing mistakes of the past. Build apartments in buildings that are joyful to live in. Scale matters: for humane housing, economic and environmental justice.
• Commission a study to determine the feasibility of repurposing business buildings into affordable housing residences.
• Promote rent-to-own policies for low-income families.
• Demand of Harvard and M.I.T. that they work in partnership with the city and follow through on their stated commitment to build more student housing.
• Hold the city and developers accountable with respect to the city’s design heritage.
• Develop a long-term city-wide housing plan where all neighborhoods contribute to the city’s affordable housing needs.

TRANSPORTATION

• Balance the use of public ways so that pedestrians, cyclists, cars, and buses share the road.
• Educate the public with rules of the road signage through a Courteous in Cambridge campaign.
• Make Cambridge a 15-minute city where pedestrians can easily access their needs from any part of the city on foot in a quarter of an hour.
• Simplify the obstacle course look and feel that our main through fares have become. Consider the needs of businesses, particularly those patronized by the elderly and infirm.
• The way mass transit will succeed is to make it free. Establish a city-funded shuttle service. Current MBTA buses are too big for the type of city Cambridge is becoming. Implement electric shuttle-sized busses and double the fleet.
• Where residents are short on parking spaces, implement car-share electric vehicles for short distance, city-wide travel. For example: public housing residents gain access to EV’s through a subsidized resident-based sharing plan.

ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY

• Demand of the owners of the most polluting buildings that they come up with a workable plan to reduce their carbon footprint.
• Educate residents on the “Big 3” ways individuals may choose to save energy: shorter and fewer commutes, consume less meat, and lower heating bills.
• Increase subsidies for homeowners moving to solar and heat pumps.
• Improve the city’s recycling program by adding used battery recycling drop off bins at sites across the city.

EDUCATION

• Advocate for free universal pre-K and set the eligible starting age for children at 2. Educate pre-schoolers about environmentalism through a “Trees for Tots” campaign.
• Implement tutoring for the Covid learning slowdown; provide children with the learning resources and education they lost during the pandemic.
• Make Cambridge a No Banned Books Here zone through a Free to Read campaign that encourages open and public discourse.
• Bring more arts and sports into the school system.

ARTS, CULTURE, & COMMUNITY

• Develop more open spaces where people can get to know their neighbors. More parks and squares with tables and food services enable the city’s multi-cultural and inclusive character to shine. Tie in the importance of community with an arts and culture and civics campaign that promotes good citizenship awareness and engagement.
• Bring back the Concerts on the Common with a variety of acts ranging from classical to pop and from hip hop to jazz, blues, and experimental music.
• Develop a LifeSpan program with city elders mentoring teens in civics, citizenship, participation in their government and add an arts and science component through Harvard and MIT.
• Order a feasibility study for a Museum of the City of Cambridge.

PUBLIC SAFETY

• Continue keeping our streets safe through the police department and add a clinician ride-along component for misdemeanors not requiring the use of force. Look to the Framingham model which has been in place for twenty years.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Make a municipal broadband internet service available at no cost to all residents and local businesses that do not already have one. Make sure it is multi-lingual, working, and available in all public housing units.
• Advocate for persons who want to start their own small, locally owned businesses by lowering taxes, subsidizing low interest loans, and providing favorable occupancy terms.
• Work with small businesses and the hospitality space to generate local wealth.

CCTV candidate video (2023)