Malden Vol. 28, No. 32 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net EAST MEETS WEST ON THE MALDEN RIVER SEE PAGE 4 ADVOCATE Published Every Friday 617-387-2200 Friday, August 9 , 2019 City rallies to support Park Street tenants By Barbara Taormina M ayor Gary Christenson urged them to keep the faith, but that might be a stretch for the tenants of 33 Park St. who saw their rents jump nearly 50 percent after the building was sold last April. Christenson and other city officials joined tenants, neighbors and community activists last Saturday to rally for negotiations between tenants and the building’s owner, Andreas Tsitos of United Properties Inc., in the hope of finding a compromise to the sharp spike in rents. City Councillors John Matheson and Stephen Winslow also joined the small crowd, which was backed by members of City Life/Vida Urbana, a grassroots nonprofit that works to protect tenants’ rights and prevent housing displacement. “We want to let everyone know that we stand with you,” Christenson told tenants who were at the center of the crowd outside the building’s front door where members of City Life were holding a huge banner that read “Eviction Free Zone.” sically control the market rate of all apartments of different sizes,” said a Park Street resident during the rally. While Matheson expressed support for the tenants, he suggested that rallying against the steep jump in rents was too little too late and the problem has been years in the making. He pointed to the 1,000 new apartments coming online in downtown Malden, none of which are affordable, and the city’s practice of overbilling for water and sewer services as reasons behind rents increases and the dwindling supply of affordable housing. “We need a new day Members of City Life/Vida Urbana unfurled a huge “Eviction Free Zone” banner at Saturday’s rally to support the tenants of 33 Park St. who are fighting against huge rent increases. Christenson said he had met with Tsitos, who agreed to at least talk to the tenants about the rent increases. But that conversation has not taken place yet, and this week the word from the United Properties office on Main Street was “no comment” on the rally or the rent. Tenants said they learned about the rent hikes shortly after Tsitos bought the building. The cost of a studio jumped from around $1,000 a month to $1,500. Many long-term tenants have already moved out, but some have stayed put and vowed to push back against the 2019 National Night Out held at Macdonald Stadium $3.39 $2.44 GALLON GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 Police Chief Kevin Molis, Sgt. Mike Powell, Mayor Gary Christenson, Det. Renee Kelley, School Resource Officer Trent Headley and Officer Charles Washington during this year’s National Night Out on Aug. 6 at Macdonald Stadium. See pages 6 for photo highlights. (Advocate Photos by Ross Scabin) Local NAACP branch supports MaldenCORE’s list of school reforms By Barbara Taormina M embers of Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity (MaldenCORE) picked up a powerful endorsement this week for the group’s mission to promote racial equity in city schools. The Mystic Valley Branch REFORMS | SEE PAGE 3 rent increases. Although the average cost of a studio in Malden is around $1,500, tenants feel Tsitos, who owns 800 rental units in Malden, Everett and Chelsea, is driving the rising rents. “This guy owns so many properties in Malden that he can ba1 Week Class Aug. 19 CALL - ENROLL or Register Online 617-387-9121 HENRYSAUTOSCHOOL.COM EVERETT AUTO SCHOOL “Successful Key To Driving” Since 1938 Gift Certificates Available PARK | SEE PAGE 7 Our 80th Year EDUCATION Next Classes DRIVER of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) issued
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