The Advocate - A household word in Revere for 30 years! Vol. 31, No.9 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday City Council honors Broadway Towers property manager By Adam Swift A fter nine families were displaced by a massive fire on Endicott Avenue last May, Broadway Towers Property Manager Hennisse Gómez was quick to act. Last Monday night, the City Council presented Gomez with a Certificate of Appreciation for helping families fi nd emergency shelter following the fi re. “Last May, we had six houses that caught on fi re on Endicott Avenue, and we had nine families that were displaced; they lost everything,” said Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna. “I got a call from Hennisse, and she said she was the property manager of 250 Broadway, the Broadway Towers, and she said, ‘I would love to assist you. Do you need any assistance for the families who lost everything?’” McKenna said she reached out to the families aff ected by the fi re to let them know Gomez was off ering reasonable rates to the families who needed somewhere to stay, with one family 781-286-8500 Friday, March 04, 2022 accepting the off er. “The family really needed this, because they lost everything,” McKenna said. Gomez’s kindness and willingness to help has extended beyond assisting the fi re victims, McKenna said. “I’ve had people call and say I really need an apartment and I need reasonable rates, because everyone knows that rents are so expensive, so I called Hennisse again, and she said, ‘Sure, I have a two-bedroom apartment availMANAGER | SEE Page 3 Revere community leader Aklog Limeneh honored during “Black Excellence on the Hill” event O n Monday, February 28, Revere resident and community leader Aklog Limeneh was honored by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC) during their annual “Black Excellence on the Hill” event, which took place virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each February, as a part of celebrations to mark Black History Month, the MBLLC hosts this event to celebrate and honor Black leaders from across the Commonwealth. Among the leaders recognized during this year’s event was Aklog Limeneh, AKLOG LIMENEH HONORED | SEE Page 13 City Council approves funding for new firefighter contract By Adam Swift Revere City Councillors Joanne McKenna, Gerry Visconti and Richard Serino presented a Certifi - cate of Appreciation to Broadway Towers Property Manager Hennisse Gómez for helping victims of last year’s Endicott Avenue fi re. 2022 State of the City Address Delivered on Thursday, March 3, 2022 by Mayor Brian Arrigo G ood evening and thank you. It feels really good to be back in the same room with you all. I’m grateful to our hosts tonight, the Springhill Suites by Marriott. We’re here together at the fi rst full-service hotel to open on Revere Beach since the 1950s, when people from all over New England fl ocked to the restaurants, attractions and amenities that lined our shore. Tonight, we mark the achievement of what we always knew Waterfront Square could and should be: a fi rst-class welcome for visitors and residents alike, a powerful contributor to our commercial tax base and a slate of new employers eager to tap into our local workforce. mative, state-of-the-art Revere High School will anchor the new identity of Wonderland. And we will acquire and build it without asking our residents to approve a tax override. What would have been a fantasy just a decade ago is our reality today. Because when we grow here, we can deliver the best urban education in the country for our young people right across the street. BRIAN ARRIGO Mayor Less than 300 yards from where I’m standing lies the next chapter in our story of resiliency and resurgence. A transforWhen we welcome national and international brands to reimagine long vacant parcels, we can deliver new local jobs – 1,000 and counting – that provide a living wage and tap into our residents’ talents. CITY | SEE Page 12 L ast Monday night, the City Council approved the funding necessary for a new threeyear contract between the City of Revere and Revere Firefi ghters Local 926. The union has been without a new contract since July 1 of last year. The new contract calls for a three percent raise per year for fi refi ghters, as well as several other fi nancial incentives and changes to the previous contract. “We’ve been out of a contract since July 1, 2021; we came to an agreement between both parties and hoping that it can get through tonight,” Local 926 President Kevin O’Hara told the City Council. The City Council unanimously approved appropriating any money needed to fund the memorandum of agreement between the city and the union. The contract runs through June 30, 2024. New language in the contract requires union members calling in sick to do so by 6:45 a.m. on the day of their tour. It also includes increased compensation for fi re watch duty and adds Juneteenth to the list of legal holidays for the union. The contract also provides new language for the retirement buyback of sick days for an employee who has a minimum of 50 sick days accrued by the date of their retirement. Those with 100 or less accumulated sick days receive $40 per day; those with 100-200 accumulated receive $40 per day for the fi rst 100 and then $60 per day for days 101-200, and those with more than 200 accumulated sick days get $75 per day for sick days 201-300. The contract increases the clothing allowance from $1,000 to $1,200 per year for members who work a minimum number of shifts. Stipends were also increased by $500 per year for fi re clerks, fi re investigators, fi re training offi cers and fi re detail officers. The contract also includes updated compensation for hazardous duty pay, emergency medical certification, and NARCAN administration training. The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2021.
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