THE ADVOCATE - A HOUSEHOLD WORD IN REVERE Vol.29, No.41 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday 781-286-8500 Friday, October 9, 2020 Revere says goodbye to Hollywood Showcase Cinemas to become city’s second Amazon distribution site By Th e Advocate N ational Amusements, Inc. has entered into an agreement for the sale of its Showcase Cinemas site on Squire Road, Revere to Northbridge Partners, a Massachusetts-based investment fi rm. Northbridge Partners reportedly has plans to lease the site to Amazon, a well-known, multinational e-commerce retailer. According to their Attorney, Gerry D’Ambrosio, Northbridge Partners plans to build a stateof-the-art, last-mile delivery station at the Squire Road site that will eff ectively function as an extension of Amazon’s new facility housed at the former Necco factory in the City of Revere. The plan is for the existing movie theatre building to be razed and replaced with a new, multi-million dollar facility, which will result in a smallThe appearance of the building will be in line with that of the Amazon Last-Mile Distribution facilities and will be similar to this rendering. (Courtesy Photo) er building footprint than the current movie theatre footprint and a reduced traffi c fl ow. The City expects to see increased tax revenue from the project. D’Ambrosio estimates that, “the tax for the new building will likely be three times what it is now, and that City auto excise tax revenue will also jump as Amazon will register their vehicles there as well. This will only help keep the residential tax rate lower.” Additionally, the new distribution facility will likely bring hundreds of new jobs to the City. Councillor calls for tighter candidate residency requirements By Adam Swift C ity Councillor and Democratic state representative nominee Jessica Ann Giannino is proposing to tighten the residency requirements for those seeking elected offi ce in Revere. An order introduced by Giannino at Monday night’s City Council meeting would require candidates for Mayor, School Committee, and City Council to have lived in the city for at least one year. In addition, City Council JESSICA ANN GIANNINO Councillor-at-Large $1.95 GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 ward candidates would need to have been residents of the ward they seek to represent for one year. “Some of you may be wondering where this is coming from,” said Giannino. “I recently ran for state election and this was a requirement to run for state rep or to run for state senate [to live in the district for a year]. It is also a requirement in some of our surrounding towns.” Enacting the requirements in Revere, she said, would protect the community and ensure people running for offi ce have a real, vested interest in each part of the community. “I think this is a great motion, and I’m shocked that it’s not already the law,” said Councillorat-Large Anthony Zambuto. Although there was a general consensus among the council that the motion would have a positive impact, there were some questions about the ward council requirements. Councillor-at-Large George Rotondo said he supports the order, but noted that there could be issues with ward district lines if there is redistricting in the city. However, he said those issues could be hammered out when the council takes it up later this month in its legislative aff airs subcommittee. During public input, Joe Gravellese, Giannino’s opponent in the state representative primary, said there could be some unintended consequences as a result of the order. “I think this is a soluREQUIREMENTS | SEE Page 17 Overall, D’Ambrosio said, “the proposed facility will result in incredibly valuable economic growth for the City, not only in job creation, but also in increased tax revenue and permit fees.” Ward 6 Councillor Richard Serino, who represents the area around the site, said there is some nostalgia for the loss of the cinema, but that overall he is happy with the likely shape of the Amazon project. “Nostalgically, I’m sad to see AMAZON | SEE Page 13 City Council questions Mayor’s funding for pay raises By Adam Swift N ever one to mince words, Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto at Monday night’s City Council meeting characterized Mayor Brian Arrigo’s plan to fund raises for several administrative positions as “repugnant” and akin to plunging Revere into a “banana republic”–type state. In a motion at Monday night’s City Council meeting, Zambuto requested that Arrigo appear before the council at a future meeting to explain the maneuvering. At issue is a memo Arrigo sent to the council dated Sept. 29 regarding cuts the council made from the mayor’s proposed budget when it approved the $223,243,774 Fiscal Year 2021 budget in June. In the memo, Arrigo stated he plans to fund the salary adjustments for the positions through the use of federal, state and local funds that will not impact the budget’s bottom line. “To arrive at this fi gure, the ANTHONY ZAMBUTO Councillor-at-Large council voted to cut $127,296 from the budget that I submitted by reducing or rejecting proposed salary adjustments for seven specifi ed positions in the municipal payroll,” stated Arrigo. “Although I have doubts about the council’s legislative authority to intrude upon the executive function to set individual PAY | SEE Page 10
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