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Featured

Malden Community Fridges open their doors to the hungry

By Kami Nguyen Dotted around the city of Malden are a handful of large painted boxes that house community refrigerators — stocked to the brim with free food for anyone in the community to take as they need. The Community Fridge initiative, founded by City Councilor at Large Craig Spadafora, and Ward 8 City Councilor Jadeane Sica, was started in March 2021 with a single spare fridge from Spadafora’s basement. Since then, the program has grown to four fridges at various locations around the city, and two more waiting to be installed. The “green” community fridge located at Canal Street in Malden. (Photo from Malden Community Fridge Facebook page) No city funds are used to sustain this program. Aside from a one-time grant, the entire initiative is community run. Local businesses donate fridges and electricity, the Malden Teen Enrichment Center decorates their protective boxes, existing organizations provide food and volunteers restock them every week. Much of the food comes from an organization in Arlington called Food Link, that saves unused food from local grocery stores. [...]
Arts

6th Annual Hispanic Festival offers a lively celebration

By Sabrina Monteiro On October 7, the North Shore Hispanic Association celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month for the 6th consecutive year in Malden. Among the local figures attending was Mayor Gary Christenson, who gave a speech about the importance of this celebration. “They say to never underestimate the power of music,” Mayor Christenson said, excited about the opportunity to showcase Hispanic culture in Malden. He finished by saying, “Gracias por estar aquí y disfruten el evento.” Soon enough, everyone was on the dance floor. Iliana Sanchez, the 2023 Preteen Miss Honduras winner, began the festivities with her rendition of “I Am Woman.” Other performers followed, including Pumawari Tusuy, a traditional Peruvian dance group from the Boston area. Iliana Sanchez performing at the Hispanic Festival in Malden. Photo by Sabrina Monteiro. Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th to October 15th. The initiation of this celebration first began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. It then expanded into the span of a month by President Ronald Reagan and turned into a law [...]
Featured

The Great Malden Outdoors: Making outdoor recreation more accessible to communities of color

By Nia Harmon Cities across the United States saw an increased use of outdoor spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic, including the Greater Boston area. However, these outdoor spaces have not been maximized by all communities based on what is called “The Adventure Gap,” which measures the percentage between different groups that participate in outdoor activities in comparison to their makeup of the U.S. population.Working towards bridging that gap in the city of Malden is Darren Josey, founder and CEO of First Seed Sown, a sales and marketing company, and the new outdoor education and empowerment campaign, The Great Malden Outdoors. The campaign is designed to help break down barriers of entry to outdoor sporting for communities of color. With 14 years of experience working in the outdoor industry, Josey is encouraging members of his community to appreciate the city’s natural beauty. Darren Josey walking the path at Waitt’s Mount Park. Photo by Nia Harmon. “I think Malden is a great example of a very diverse town ethnically and socioeconomically, that has amazing outdoor recreation that [...]
Arts

186 books and reading: Reflections from a local book club

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” –George Martin By Anne D’Urso-Rose At a time when reading for pleasure is on the decline, a Malden-based women’s book club believes there is much value to be found in the pages of a good book. As of October 2023, the club has read and discussed 186 books together. Members have come and gone since the group was formed 15 years ago, but several core members and later additions have two things in common: a love of reading, and a desire to read more. The group gathering at Busha Husak’s cottage in Gloucester, July, 2017. Photo by Susan Margot Ecker. “Rarely does a day go by when I don’t put aside time to read,” says Angela Allen, a current and original member of the group. “One day, my neighbor who often stopped to chat, asked “Do you like to read?” She mentioned her idea for a book club.” That was the spring of 2007. The neighbor was Sue Scarborough, [...]
Featured

Q&A with Mikeneil Paul, Director of the Malden Senior Center

By Jack Drees Mikeneil Paul has served as the Malden Senior Center’s program coordinator for more than two years. His days – Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – include anything from meeting with the mayor or the city’s Council on Aging, to assisting anyone who needs him. Between tasks, activities, or solving problems, there’s always some new challenge for Paul. It is a job he continues to “take a lot of pleasure in,” whether dealing with seniors who come in every day, or only once a week. While they may not be family, Paul sees himself as the seniors’ noble grandson who rises to the occasion whenever called upon. And by making the job a staple of his life, Paul has become a factor in the center’s ongoing success. He recently took a moment out of his busy schedule to chat with Neighborhood View. Ping pong tables set up in the auditorium of the Malden Senior Center are always in active use. Photo by Anne D’Urso-Rose. How would you describe a typical [...]
Events

Bread of Life’s Annual 5k Walk honors Tom Feagley

By Sabrina Monteiro Bread of Life’s (BOL) annual 5k event took place on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Continuing BOL’s tradition of honoring someone new each term, this year’s walk was in memory of former Executive Director, and loving friend, Tom Feagley, who passed away last May. Feagley started out volunteering at the Saint Paul’s Parish Supper Program in Malden, a social time intended for members of the parish. He took note that many homeless individuals, who were not part of the parish, were showing up at the meals. Recognizing the apparent need, he went on to found the Bread of Life, managing supper and pantry programs for Malden and surrounding communities. The organization grew under three decades of his leadership. In later years and before his retirement in 2019, he worked to secure funding to build a permanent home for all of BOL’s programs. This project has now officially come to life as it is currently being constructed at 54 Eastern Avenue in Malden. “Tom was very involved in the community…he was a lovely and [...]
Featured

Malden navigates growing housing crisis

By Maile Blume Longtime Malden residents are being priced out of their homes and separated from their neighbors because of an ongoing rise in the cost of housing. In response, Malden is taking steps to address the affordable housing shortage that has emerged throughout the city. A recent film created by community members in the “Filmbuilding Malden” program – coordinated through Urban Media Arts – celebrates the diversity that characterizes Malden, but also explores how the city’s changing housing landscape is displacing the very residents that make the city so diverse. “I’m always proud of how diverse we are, but I feel that with the changes in our community, we’re pricing out working-class families that cannot afford to continue to live in a place where they have given so much and have brought just an intangible value,” said resident Zatcha Montes in the film “Green Elephant,” one of the five films in the series that explore the question “Who is Malden?” “We had a friend who recently moved who could not afford to live here, [...]
Arts

Filmbuilding Malden – Forging connection and collaboration through film within our city

The city of Malden, MA uses the power of collaboratively filmmaking to forge cultural connection and create a sense of place. […]
Arts

How my community benefits from immigration: The Immigrant Learning Center’s 2023 essay contest

“It is simply impossible to act as if our ethical and other differences do not exist; however, we can learn to embrace one another’s customs and lifestyles instead of disregarding them. Our distinctiveness is, after all, what makes us human, and brushing these things aside will only end in ignorance.” From “How Malden Benefits From Immigration” by Dina Genene, First Prize, The Immigrant Learning Center’s essay contest, 2022 By Jamie Perkins The Immigrant Learning Center in Malden, Massachusetts, holds an annual essay-writing contest that, according to their website, celebrates “the impact of immigrants and refugees.” The 2023 contest concluded with an awards ceremony at The Immigrant Learning Center on Monday, May 22. This year’s topic was “How My Community Benefits from Immigration.” All Malden High School, Everett High School, and Medford High School students can apply to the contest at no cost. Participants must write their essays in English but are not solely evaluated on English proficiency, and English learners are encouraged to apply. The Immigrant Learning Center is a non-profit organization providing free English [...]
Business

Rain, Snow, or Shine: outdoors serves as classroom for local preschool

By Jamie Perkins “Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær.” This common Norwegian saying translates to “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Malden preschoolers and their families learn to embrace this perspective at the Boston Outdoor Preschool Network’s (BOPN) Malden/Melrose location. BOPN is the brainchild of three local educators: Sarah Besse, Shela Sinelien, and Sara Murray. Masters-level educators with experience in public and private schools, Montessori education, and special education, the three founders opened BOPN’s first program in 2019 at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. They’ve since opened three additional sites, including one at Pine Banks Park, a 107.5-acre park on the Malden/Melrose line. The Pine Banks Park location began in September 2022 and offers a half-day, mixed-age program for preschool and Pre-K-aged children. Pine Bank Parks’ entrance sign, accompanied by wooden ducklings to welcome the children to school. Photo by Jamie Perkins. As stated by their website, BOPN provides “mixed-age, nature-immersive programs designed to teach resilience, persistence, and problem-solving.” Programming runs throughout the year, including during the summer. [...]