Malden MOA THANKS CITY OF MALDEN SEE PAGE 14 ADVOCATE Vol. 28, No. 32 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 617-387-2200 Friday, August 9 , 2019 Spirit fills the sky in downtown Malden SPIRIT | SEE PAGE 2 By Barbara Taormina E verybody is watching and wondering, what will ARTLine do next? A riot of color broke out on Exchange Street this week as artist Jesse Melanson worked on a four-story mural on the back wall of Malden’s temporary city hall at 110 Pleasant St. The huge image of a hand tossing up and unfurling a rainbow banner is a tribute to Malden native Norman Greenbaum and his popular song “Spirit in the Sky.” The mural, which breaks through the muted tones of the Exchange Street skyline, is the latest gift to the city from ARTLine, an ongoing project by members of Malden Arts who are creating a public art gallery along the Northern Strand Community Trail and through the city center. In addition to sparking some local imagination with Alice Spadafora recipient of St. Rocco statue the sculpture and murals, ARTLine aims to foster commuThe rainbow mural honoring singer, songwriter and Malden native Norman Greenbaum on the back of the building at 110 Pleasant St. (Photo Courtesy of the City of Malden) Shown from left to right are Mayor Gary Christenson, Alice Spadafora, Giovanni Spadafora and Albert Spadafora in front of the Spadaforas’ Emerald Street home on Sunday. Alice Spadafora, 91, was honored with the St. Rocco statue as she is the last surviving member of the Edgeworth family. See next week’s Malden Advocate for full photo highlights. (Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Spadafora) Restaurant permit on hold until plaza owners revive the riverfront By Barbara Taormina T he Planning Board put off deciding on a request for a special permit for a restaurant at the Super 88 Plaza until the property owners make good on the conditions required by a special permit granted back in 2011. Plaza 188 Associates LLC has applied for a special permit to allow their tenant Jeffrey Wu, the owner of Super 88 Market, to convert the empty space next door, the former site of Ace Hardware, to a 252-seat, food-courtstyle restaurant. The plan calls for 15 kiosks that would serve food from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The special permit would allow the proposed 12,000-square-foot restaurant to open in an industrial zone. While the idea of a food-courtstyle restaurant in an area with businesses, offices and plenty of workers seemed welcomed, City Councillors Peg Crowe, Ryan O’Malley, Paul Condon, Barbara Murphy and Stephen Winslow were among those who opposed granting the permit until the owners clean up the back of the property, which runs along the Malden River. The councillors and other river advocates also want Plaza 188 Associates to comply with conditions of their 2011 special permit and upgrade the rough waterfront path behind the supermarket with a 10-foot wide stone dust walkway equipped with benches and signs to encourage public access to the Malden River. “A lot needs to be addressed,” said Crowe. “There are conditions that have never been met. There are storage trailers that need to be removed. There’s no stone dust, no walkway, no signs, and a bench in disrepair. Until these conditions are met and maintained, I don’t think we should be considering this use.” Crowe added that she was reaching out to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees waterfront properties required to provide public access to waterways, to make sure the property owners are complying with that agency’s conditions. “They haven’t done anything to show they are complying with the conditions set eight years ago,” said Condon, who echoed Crowe’s concerns. Condon also questioned the adequacy of the parking and said that despite the plaza’s large parking lot, the proposal is still 92 spaces short of what would be required for a 252-seat restaurant. He suggested scaling the proposed food court back by 25 percent. There were also questions about the accuracy of a traffic study property owners conducted midday on a Wednesday when the busy Social Security office located in the plaza closes at noon. Karen Buck wrote a letter on behalf of the Friends of the Malden River stressing the importance of public access to the water. Buck, who personally rows out to clean trash floating in the river, also stressed that trash and garbage from the plaza property has been a chronic problem. Murphy, who heads up the City Council’s Waterfront Access Committee, said a lot of time, effort and local and state dollars are going toward creating a riverfront walkway, and Malden River advocates need the Planning Board’s help in ensuring that businesses along the water comply with city and state requirements for public access. At the urging of City Councillors, residents and City Planner Michelle Romero, the Planning Board voted unanimously to suspend their discussion and postpone their decision on the special permit application. “This is tabled until the owner cleans up the previous violations,” said Planning Board Chair Charles Ioven. $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
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