Cambridge Council To Consider Adopting Sister Cities in Puerto Rico

CAMBRIDGE, MA — What started as a local fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico has grown into a movement that could position Cambridge as a significant contributor in helping the devastated island get back on its feet - through a sister city project.

"Most of the Puerto Rican's living in Cambridge are from Coamo, Orocovis, Salinas, and Jayuya," said Dennis Benzan, owner of La Fabrica, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Central Square. "Many of them arrived in the 60s to work in the factories in Kendall Square."

After hosting a fundraiser for Puerto Rico last week at the Cambridge, Benzan, a former vice mayor in Cambridge realized he could do more. He reached out to Mayor Denise Simmons about establishing a coordinated effort to help Puerto Rico.

(La Fabrica Central owner Dennis Benzan and his family / Courtesy Photo Dennis Benzan)

At the Cambridge City Council meeting on Monday night, councilors will be presented with a new policy order written by Benzan to have Cambridge establish a Sister City partnership with the cities of Coamo, Orocovis, Salinas, and Jayuya in Puerto Rico to "strategically increase opportunities and pathways for collaboration and aid to these municipalities that have such deep ties to our city."

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If adopted, the proposal would allow local officials to establish a Commission for Puerto Rico and coordinate relief efforts between Cambridge, the Greater Boston Area and the selected areas in Puerto Rico. The Commission for Puerto Rico, he said, would develop ways to establish long term innovative projects that would help ensure that Puerto Rico recover in a sustainable manner by utilizing best practices consistent with the systems at work in Cambridge.

Simmons, who was actually among the first mayors in the region to ask residents to contribute to hurricane relief, sponsored the policy order. Vice Mayor Marc McGovern, Councillor David Maher, and Councillor Tim Toomey also signed on.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that the federal government has not given the same amount of attention and assistance to Puerto Rico as to [Florida and Texas], but thankfully cities like Cambridge are poised to do what we can to help our friends who are feeling the brunt of this," she said. "As Cambridge and other cities begin to coordinate our efforts and connect with our counterparts in Puerto Rico, we can truly make a positive impact in helping our friends down there begin the long road toward recovery.”

As part of the effort to show solidarity and support with Puerto Rico, Benzan said the Puerto Rican flag will be hoisted at Cambridge City Hall at 5 p.m. on Monday, a first for the city.

Helping out at home

A large part of the management at Fabricia has roots in Puerto Rico. Benzan's parents migrated from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the 1960s. One of La Fabrica's co-owners, Nivia Piña head chef Giovanna Huyke, and assistant manager Michelle Estaves are all from the island, with family still there.

In the few days between Hurrican Irma and Maria, Benzan said, staff spoke about a hosting the intial fundraiser for the Puerto Rico. On Sept. 24, the restaurant hosted more than 600 people raising some $52,000 in relief funds.

Huyke said help hasn't trickled into the island fast enough, most of it being concentrated in San Juan. She said everything she's seen and heard from friends and family in Puerto Rico incidate that the island is so broken, things need to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Benzan said hosting the fundraiser last week was an emotional event.

"To see people in the community come out and help their neighbors, this could be something that could spark activism" he said. "Trump has used this this as a political issue to bash Puerto Ricans, which isn't the first time. This is an opportunity to say we're humans, we're Americans and we need help and support."

Courtesy Photo by Neal Alpert for the Mayor's Office

Cambridge Officials gathered alongside residents from Puerto Rico to announce a policy order to adopt sister cities in Puerto Rico on Oct. 2.