Free COVID-19 Testing to be Offered on Thursdays Only Beginning July 1
Beginning Thursday, July 1, the City of Cambridge will offer free COVID-19 testing one day per week on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. inside the CambridgeSide Mall. No appointment is needed. Thursday testing at the CambridgeSide Mall will no longer be drive-through testing by motor vehicle but will become a walk-in testing site without appointments inside the CambridgeSide Mall on the 2nd Floor above the Food Court. The current drive-through testing in the garage will shut down.
Sustaining Community: A Climate Change Book Group (Main/Virtual)
The climate is changing, and we're all here on the planet together. Join us for a monthly community gathering and discussion of a variety of books about climate change. We will share thoughts, resources, and occasionally host special guests in a welcoming small-group environment.
For our May meeting, we will discuss The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, which was originally our book for February but due to weather, we couldn't meet. Attendees are invited to choose between reading the original text, the illustrated edition, the graphic adaptation, or watching the film version of this book!
This work is available in many different formats. Copies of the print book, the illustrated edition, the graphic adaptation, and the DVD are available at the Main Library Q&A Desk. E-book and e-audiobook copies are available to borrow on the Libby app and immediately on the Hoopla app.
This is a hybrid event. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants 1 hour before the event.
Registration is required. Please contact alengel@cambridgema.gov with questions.
Roadway Paving of Various Locations on October 4th and 5th
Beginning September 26th, weather permitting, the City’s contractor, E J Paving, will be performing partial roadway milling (grinding) and paving operations to enhance the road conditions on several sections of streets around the City. The roadway grinding operation at each location is expected take two days followed by paving of the roadway later that same week, or the following week (weather permitting).
16-28 Porter Street
16-28 Porter Street is a 12,920 square foot vacant lot located in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood, a location surrounded by many amenities such as Twin city Plaza, Gold Star Mothers Park, and the Lechmere MBTA station. It was acquired by the Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) in April 2026 with financial support from the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust (CAHT). The site is expected to be developed under the provisions of the Affordable Housing Overlay.
Climate Action Book Club (Collins)
Join the Collins Branch Library in collaboration with the Cambridge Climate Leaders Initiative for a monthly discussion of a climate-related topic. Each month the group will discuss a book on the topic at hand then hear about a related local program or initiative and how you can take action.
Topic: Countering Consumerism
Book: The Day the World Stops Shopping: How Ending Consumerism Save the Environment & Ourselves by J.B. MacKinnon
Copies of the book will be available at the Collins Branch during library hours.
Registration is encouraged, but not required. For more information contact Jo at jpercell@cambridgema.gov.
Brewery Book Club (Lamplighter)
You’re invited to our September Brewery Book Club, where Lamplighter and the Cambridge Public Library team up to highlight contemporary works from marginalized voices while having a beer. We meet at Lamplighter Brewing Co., 284 Broadway, in the back taproom.
This month we’ll read The Reformatory by Tananarive Due.
Copies of the book are available at the Main Library Q&A Desk. The e-book and digital audiobook can be borrowed through the Libby app.
We’ll gather in the Lamplighter back taproom to discuss the book, what we learned from it, what we found ourselves touched by, and all other thoughts.
Register here.
37 Brookline Street
37 Brookline Street is a 6,582 square foot property in Cambridgeport, located a couple of blocks south of Massachusetts Avenue and the amenities of Central Square, including shops, restaurants and the Central Square MBTA station. The property contains an existing vacant three-family building, which was most recently owned by the late artist Peter Valentine, a well-known member of the Cambridge arts community. Just A Start (JAS) purchased the property in July 2023 and intends to replace the existing triple-decker with a new affordable multi-family rental development under the provisions of the Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO).