Page 12 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 13, 2023 Resilient Mystic Collaborative communities secure $12.9M in federal community grants for 9 projects Advocate Staff Report W hen President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, into law on December 29, 2022, the $1.7 trillion spending bill included nine grants for Resilient Mystic Collaborative (RMC) cities and towns totaling almost $13 million. These earmarks bring the total grant funding for RMC community projects to $30.4 million since its founding in 2018. For each of the last two federal budgets, Congresswomen Katherine Clark and Ayanna Pressley and Congressman Seth Moulton were able to help fulfill multiple requests for Community Project Funding for projects with demonstrated local support that fit within speand their staff for securing such robust funding for our communities,” said Executive Director Patrick Herron of the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), which partners with RMC. “These investments will make our cities and towns safer, more equitable, and more beautiful.” “Since its beginnings the Resilient Mystic Collaborative has been focused on projects that make a difference for the people most affected by climate change,” said Director of Waterfront & Climate Justice Initiatives John Walkey of the local nonprofit GreenRoots. “It’s why GreenRoots is so excited to support and partner with the RMC and its members to help secure almost $14 million in federal grants to fund these projects.” event of sea level rise. “The Malden River Works Coastal flooding in Rumney Marsh (Photo courtesy of Loretta LaCentra) Steering Committee is inclusive of the diverse Malden population and under-represented communities of color,” said Steering Committee Chairperson Marcia Manong. “Our project will help reduce the City’s climate vulnerability by building green stormwater infrastructure to reduce surface flood risk, increasing the tree canopy by planting over 200 new trees and bushes to mitigate urban heat island effects, restoring the natural riverfront landscape, and building an elevated greenway path to serve as a flood barrier in the event of sea-level rise. We wish to thank all for the effort put forward to ensure that this community-driven project was included in the Community Project earmarks.” “Addressing the legacy of enA flooding boatyard in Revere will soon be a community center. (Photo courtesy of Loretta LaCentra) Malden River Works Project Artist Rendering cific existing federal grant programs. These grants included four for RMC communities in Fiscal Year 2022, and nine in Fiscal Year 2023. Congresswoman Clark secured funding for climate resilient projects in Arlington, Malden, Medford, Revere and Woburn. Congressman Moulton secured a $2 million grant for Reading. “We couldn’t be more grateful to Congresswomen Katherine Clark and Ayanna Pressley and Congressman Seth Moulton Each of the municipalities that championed these climate resilient projects is an RMC founding member. The RMC is a Mystic River watershed–wide voluntary partnership focused on regional climate resilience. Convened by MyRWA in September 2018 and led by senior staff from 20 cities and towns and nongovernmental partners, the RMC focuses on managing flooding and extreme heat on a regional scale and increasing the resilience of our most vulnerable residents and workers to extreme weathThe list of FY2023 Community Project grants secured by RMC communities is summarized below: Community Project Title Arlington Malden Medford Revere Woburn Everett MyRWA Reading Mystic River Path Project Malden River Works Project Carr Park Resilient Community Solar Project Riverside Climate Resiliency Project Hurld Park Construction Project Cambridge Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure for Cambridge Residents Cooling Urban Heat Islands through Enhancing Urban Forests Maillet, Sommes, Morgan Stormwater System Climate Risk Heat Heat/flooding Energy resilience/heat Flooding Flooding/heat Gateway Park Urban Forest/Wetland Restoration Flooding/heat Heat Flooding/heat Funding $1,000,000 $1,334,610 $1,500,000 $1,977,220 $2,916,370 Carbon neutrality $1,000,000 $750,000 $400,000 $2,000,000 Riverfront on Millis Avenue in Revere (Photo courtesy of Loretta LaCentra) vironmental racism is an important part of our response to climate change,” said Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, “and that is what we are doing with the Malden River Works project. It represents a new planning approach for Malden that focuses on elevating the voices of marginalized community members to build a climate-resilient park on the Malden River. The funding secured by our federal delegation will play an important role in the eventual success of Malden River Works.” Revere: Riverside Climate Resiliency Project ($1,977,220) The funding will alleviate current conditions and prepare the community for the impact of worsening risks of climate change and sea-level rise. It expands mitigation and adaptation efforts in the RiverFront Future site of community center (Photo courtesy of Loretta LaCentra) er. These projects are the result of years of analysis and design by both individual communities and multiple municipalities working collectively. Malden: Malden River Works Project ($1,334,610) This funding will be used to transform Malden’s Department of Public Works yard on the Malden River to incorporate a public, climate-resilient riverfront park. It will reduce Malden’s climate vulnerability by building green stormwater infrastructure to reduce surface flood risk, increasing the tree canopy by planting over 100 new trees to mitigate urban heat island effects, restoring the natural riverfront landscape and building an elevated greenway path to serve as a flood barrier in the area in Revere. “As a community located outside the shelter of Boston Harbor we get the brunt of increasingly intense winter storms,” said Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo. “This funding will help us manage coastal flooding in our Riverfront neighborhood.” “The frequent flooding of the Riverside neighborhood due to sea level rise has reached a critical juncture,” said Revere activist Loretta LaCentra. “Our worstcase scenario has become a common event as we dread reports of upcoming flooding and King Tides. We need immediate attention and remediation to address the multiple flooding events we experience annually. We cannot wait any longer.” GRANTS | SEE PAGE 13
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