Page 4 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE – Friday, July 19, 2019 ANGELO’S FULL "Over 40 Years of Excellence!" 1978-2019 Regular Unleaded $2.599 Mid Unleaded $2.799 Super $2.859 Diesel Fuel $2.839 KERO $4.759 Diesel $2.559 SERVICE HEATING OIL 24-Hour Burner Service Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! Open an account and order online at: www.angelosoil.com (781) 231-3500 (781) 231-3003 367 LINCOLN AVE • SAUGUS • OPEN 7 DAYS O ~ OP-ED ~ Standing Up For Malden n July 8th, I attended the Massachusetts Area PlanFriday, July 19 at 9 PM Back By Popular Demand TIME & AGAIN GIRLS Saturday, July 20 at 9 PM Sunday, July 21 at 9 PM BILLY PEZZULO DJ LOGIK MONDAY'S SHUCK! $1.00 Oysters Book Your Special Events With Us! Call 781-629-3798 SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET Only $19.95 / 11am-2pm Featuring Al Whitney Jazz Band BOOK YOUR NEXT FUNCTION WITH US * GIFT CARDS AMPLE FREE www.marinaatthewharf.com 543 North Shore Rd. Revere 781-629-3798 PARKING For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net AMAZING WATER VIEWS ning Council (MAPC) Malden Housing Production Plan Advisory Committee meeting at the Senior Center in Malden. MAPC’s recommending Malden develop 4,000 to 6,000 units of additional housing. This is even before the current downtown housing developments are complete. Such a dramatic increase in housing units would change the heart and soul of the city. This is not an approach I support. I agree there is a housing issue in the state. Governor Baker has stated he wants to add 135,000 housing units. However, I do not agree with using Malden to jump start significant housing development for the overall region. This approach is not in the best interest of the city of Malden or Ward 3. MAPC acknowledged that they are not considering schools, traffic, infrastructure, transportation or any quality of life elements in making their recommendations. Whether you are a renter or homeowner, millennial or baby boomer, MBTA rider or drive/bike to work, we are all impacted by decisions that do not consider the downstream impacts to the community. An additional 4,000 to 6,000 housing units will add to our classroom sizes, add an exorbitant number of MBTA riders, vehicles, bikes and people to a city that is currently tackling these very quality of life issues. Insisting on a moratorium is not the solution. By doing so, we squander any opportunity to be smart about the development in Malden and in Ward 3. One opportunity we have is to support housing for impacted Malden residents. We can move forward on the community vision for a reasonably sized senior housing project at the Malden Hospital site. This addresses a pressing need, does not add to our classroom sizes, does not add to rush hour traffic and is an issue already noted in the MAPC report. As a candidate for the Ward 3 City Council, I support this community vision and can see the path to make it a reality. A reasonably sized senior housing development with interactive open space that ties back to Fellsmere Pond makes sense, is achievable and is what the residents of Malden would like to see. By 2035, 1 in 3 households will be headed by someone 65 or older. We can plan for our proud future by addressing this issue now. Much like we want to provide safe and affordable homes for our parents and grandparents, we can provide safe and affordable homes to seniors in our community. We can support the long-standing tradition of multi-generational housing. I am a data person. I delve into the numbers and I listen closely to what is said as well as what is not said. I was struck when the presenters from MAPC could not provide a straight answer to my simple question, “Does the analysis include all housing units including those not completed or unoccupied?” Some questions still need to be answered based on the MAPC recommendations: Is the revenue stream coming into the city able to grow enough to support essential services, infrastructure maintenance and upgrades? How many school age children will be housed in the additional units? How many MBTA riders, cyclists, motorists will be housed in these units? How will local business be impacted both positively and negatively? Are apartments the best way to grow our city when the result is that residents are selling their family homes? It would be best for Malden if we work on finding ways to keep our residents right here in 02148. These are the types of questions I will ask as the Ward 3 City Councillor. Recommendations that suggest changes to our city need to be challenged. I will politely and respectfully challenge and stand strong if the answer is not enough. MAPC was questioned about how many housing units other municipalities are being asked to develop. Here’s their answer, “We make similar recommendations to Winchester, but Winchester wants to stay leafy and green, so they decide to not build anymore…” If Winchester can politely say “thanks, but no thanks”, so can Malden! The many residents of Malden that I speak with daily would like to stay leafy and green. They would like to be able to ride the MBTA without an unmanageable crush of riders and not experience complete gridlock. They would like to see school class sizes that are optimal for teaching and learning. They would like to have a reasonable quality of life. Like our neighboring municipality Winchester, Malden needs leadership that will stand up to state agencies looking to solve regional problems on the backs of Malden residents. We need to insist on standing for what is right for all residents, not accept what is recommended to us. As a fierce community advocate, I have achieved measurable success to better our community. We can move forward with developing the Malden Hospital site to accommodate our senior’s housing needs, create interactive open space, look to ways to support smart growth and continue to make Malden a great place to live for everyone. I will not gamble with the future of our community. As your Ward 3 City Councillor I promise to put Malden’s concerns first, before agreeing to be the solution to the region’s concerns. Thanks, but no thanks MAPC! Very best regards, Julianne Orsino Candidate, Ward 3 City Coun* A Delta Dental Premier Provider Dr. Mario Abdennour, Dr. Bhavisha Patel, Dr. Priti Amlani, Dr. Bruce Goldman and team. cillor julianneorsino@gmail.com orsinoward3.com Prices subject to change FLEET
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