CELEBRATING 30 YEARS AS REVERE’S LOCAL NEWSPAPER! Vol.30, No.39 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday Council fired up over Quality Inn plans By Adam Swift L ast Monday night was an opportunity for the City Council and residents to stand together against a controversial plan by Boston offi cials to transform the Quality Inn on Morris Street into a transitional homeless shelter. The issue exploded last week, when Mayor Brian Arrigo got wind of the plan from the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) to address the longstanding, myriad homelessness and substance abuse problems at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard by shuttling homeless people to the closed motel along Route 1. At Monday night’s meeting, the City Council held an hour-long executive session on the issue before opening the City Council Chamber doors to the public, and then discussed fi ve motions that addressed the issue in some form or another. “This issue has received quite a bit of press over the last couple of weeks, to the point where everybody in the city wants to talk about it,” said Councillorat-Large Gerry Visconti during a discussion on a motion he introduced alongside City Council President Anthony Zambuto and Ward 6 Councillor Richard Serino backing Arrigo’s opposition to the BPHC plan. He continued, “I want to say fi rst to the homeless people – those battling substance abuse in and around the Mass. Cass area – that I am so deeply sorry that acting [Boston] Mayor Kim Janey, the Boston City Council and the Boston Public Health Commission have failed you. The fact that they have the audacity to put their heads in the sand for the past 10 years and all of the sudden want to push that problem over to the Revere area is inconceivable.” Rather than dealing with the problem, Visconti said, Boston offi cials have shifted the problem down the road to Revere. “Revere is not and will not be the dumping ground for your problems,” said Visconti. “I hope the City Council, the administration and all our residents stand united on this issue. We can’t stand idly by and let them dump their problem on our city. For Mayor Janey, I have one message: not now, and not ever.” Many of the councillors who spoke on Monday night echoed Visconti’s sentiments that the city will stick together and not accept Boston shifting a longstanding, ongoing problem to Revere. Several councillors also noted the lack of information and planning on the part of the BPHC, and that an empty hotel is not a proper landing spot for people who need medical and crisis intervention help. Serino, whose North Revere ward is home to the Quality Inn, said the homelessness and substance abuse problems are a regional problem. But, he said, the Quality Inn is not an acceptable place to dump the problem. “They are bringing their problem to another community to have them solve it,” he said. Serino was also among the councillors that noted that Revere is more than willing to HOMELESS | SEE Page 20 781-286-8500 Friday, October 1, 2021 Mayor, city officials present $660K in CDBG grant funding to local community organizations City and state offi cials recently presented the checks to community organizations for assisting low- and middle-income residents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. See pages 8 & 9 for story and photo highlights. (Photo Courtesy of the City of Revere) City Council approves purchase of Thayer Ave. boatyard site By Adam Swift I n contrast to the ongoing controversy over the Quality Inn, the City Council took care of a much more positive piece of business last Monday night, approving a $1.725 million loan order for the purchase of the Riverside Boatyard property on Thayer Avenue. The purchase will set the stage for the city to use the property as a recreation site that will include areas for nonmotorized boat access, rowing, classes and greater access to the waterfront. The development of the property is part of the Riverfront Master Plan, which also includes improvements to Gibson Park, the private development of the G&J towing property, and traffi c improvements. “The acquisition of this propThe Quality Inn, which is located at 100 Morris St., could be used as a transitional homeless shelter. (Courtesy Photo) erty at 27 Thayer Ave. is a monumental step towards advancing the goals of the Riverfront Master Plan and to expand and enhance our recreational opportunities,” said Elle Baker, the city’s open space and environmental planner. “The property, known to most people as just the boatyard, has a unique characteristic in that it off ers appropriate waterfront access for nonmotorized boating, including a suitable site for a dock to support rowing as an offi cial elite sport for our youth and our entire community.” Baker said the property will provide an epic opportunity for water-based recreation in addition to the amenities at adjacent Gibson Park. “There’s a long history of controversy with surrounding neighborhoods with suggestions of residential development, and this acquisition, if approved, will put a stop to that suggestion of residential development,” said Baker. Baker said it has yet to be determined if the existing building on the property can be preserved, but she said the city wants to maintain the character of the building while renovating the facility to provide some small boat storage, classrooms, meeting space and restrooms. “The city is prepared to take the necessary steps required to secure grant funding in order to bring this transformation to fruition,” said Baker. Elaine Hurley, who serves on the Riverfront Advisory Group and has been a key figure in the battle against the residential development of the property, spoke in favor of the project. “This piece of property survived the development boom of the 80s, when a 10-story, 82-unit proposal was the beginning of 35 years of fi ghting to keep overdevelopment out of our neighborhood,” said Hurley. “Tonight, in 2021, we fi nally have a development that fi ts our neighborhood perfectly: a place for our children to learn just how important the ocean is.” Several councillors praised Hurley for her continued advocacy for the Riverfront area. The councillors also pointed to the transformative nature of the boatyard property for the neighborhood and the city. “It’s so important that we have more open space in the city of Revere and that we can actually access the water,” said Councillor-at-Large Jessica Ann Giannino. “We have America’s fi rst public beach; it’s a beautiful place; however, you can’t easily send a kayak out from Revere Beach.” Giannino said she was on the council when a 40B aff ordable housing development was proposed for the boatyard site and that it was an awful situation for the council and for the neighbors. “This proposal is just a huge sigh of relief, not just for the council, but for the rest of this neighborhood – to know this area will be a place the public can utilize,” she said. “It will not be residential, and it will be a space the city can take care of that generations can enjoy.”
2 Publizr Home