malden river Archives - Neighborhood View

Indigenous wisdom, poetry and history guide community event at Malden River

November 15, 2022 annedr 1

By Anne D’Urso-Rose I know that our ancestors are really happy for the work that we’re doing. It’s been a 400-year fracture – with colonization and assimilation – and it’s really going to take all of us to come together, in ways like this, to bring balance back to the land and to the water. Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines, Jr. – Malden, MA, 9-24-22 As the country recognizes indigenous Peoples Month this November, Neighborhood View reflects on a recent community event that embodied the spirit of remembering, understanding and connecting with Native people, history and culture. “Words on the Water” (morning) and “Project Misik” (afternoon) was a combined day-long event on Sept. 24 in a spot along the banks of the Malden River that is generally hidden from public view. In that space, more than 200 residents, a sampling of Malden’s diverse community, gathered over the course of the day to take part in an Indigenous blessing ceremony, paddle canoes on the waterway, share a meal of Haitian food from “The Island” restaurant, and learn how […]

Malden River clean-up raises awareness of local environmental issues

July 12, 2021 Kamila Rodrigues 2

By Kamila Rodrigues As global citizens push back against climate change and North America experiences its hottest June ever, members of the Malden community are finding ways to clean up and care for the Malden River. During the school vacation week in April, Urban Media Arts (UMA) partnered with Friends of the Malden River, a citizens group committed to drawing the Malden River back to vibrant, civic life, and Malden Catholic High School students for a river clean-up at River’s Edge in Medford. This hybrid (in-person and virtual) program, which will continue in a similar way for one later the summer, was run by UMA’s Amanda Hurley and Masio in collaboration with Karen Buck of the Friends of the Malden River, who is also a Malden River Works representative. The participants included Malden Catholic 3rd year students Sharieff Andrews, Amy Nguyen, and Frederika Noel. The students met with Masio and Amanda on April 20 for an orientation. They discussed the virtual component of the student media program, which would include virtually editing a public service announcement together. They also discussed the in-person component […]

Malden River Loop Dedication: The Story of Louise Stokes

September 2, 2020 Amanda Hurley 13

By Amanda Hurley Joggers and bikers huffing and puffing on the new 3.2 mile Malden River Loop may draw inspiration from a Malden athlete who faced both Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler as she pursued her passion for running. Louise Stokes, a Malden native, is considered the first African-American woman to qualify for an Olympic team. Earlier this summer, the bike loop – which runs along the Malden River and spans three cities, Malden, Everett and Medford— was dedicated to Stokes and former clerk magistrate of Malden District Court, Joseph Croken. Malden City Councillor-at-Large Stephen Winslow conceived of the Malden River Loop project and enlisted the help of graphic artist Elena Martinez of Artfort Design Studio in August of 2019. Martinez recalled that she and Winslow “met at the Joy of Biking Sculpture near Anthony’s” and chatted as they walked the trail. Winslow was “inspired by the chance interactions – just a friendly hi or wave of the hand – that might happen during your time on the trail and the ever-changing landscape of buildings […]

Trash boom and volunteers keep Malden River cleaner

January 25, 2020 karenbuckmalden 0

By Karen Buck “Welcome to my office,” I recently told Malden city councilors and officials when I took them on a canoe tour of the Malden River, a waterway I cherish. I was happy to tell them that, thanks to the installation of a trash boom on the river and the hard work of volunteers, “my office” was getting cleaner. Consider the math: Since midsummer, the Trash Free Malden River Project, funded by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET), has recruited 74 volunteers who donated 316 hours for clean up. We collected 1,120 single use plastic bottles, 976 alcoholic “nips,” 57 pounds of dry polystrene (Styrofoam), and 300 pounds of miscellaneous trash from the river. Some of this trash would have flowed down the Malden River into the Mystic River and may have continued into the Boston Harbor. Some of this trash would have been caught by the vegetation along the shoreline, disrupting the balance of nature. Without any cleanups, all of the plastic trash would have degraded into microplastics in the water, ruining our ecosystem […]

Malden Works receives Norman B. Leventhal Prize to improve access to the Malden River

October 17, 2019 NeighborhoodView 3

Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misattributed quotes on the Leventhal jury process to to Kathleen Vandiver; the quotes should have been attributed to Marcia Manong. Neighborhood View regrets the error. By Kevin Perrington-Turner A Malden urban coalition has won a prestigious $100,000 prize from the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that will be used to fund a two-year program of projects on the Malden River to create greater access to the river for Malden’s diverse population. Malden Works for Waterfront Equity and Resilience, known as Malden Works, was named the winner of the first Norman B. Leventhal City Prize in September. Malden Works has formed a steering committee to ensure all communities are represented in upcoming projects. The $100,000 triennial prize was established by the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism to catalyze innovative, interdisciplinary urban design and planning approaches worldwide to improve both the environment and the quality of life for residents. “The prize was a really difficult competitive […]

Malden’s second “City Nature Challenge” takes place April 28

April 24, 2019 NeighborhoodView 0

Mother Nature is calling. Will you help her out? Do your part for biodiversity by participating in the second City Nature Challenge, a global contest for cities to compete for the highest number of natural observations within their regions. This Sunday, April 28, the Friends of the Malden River and the National Park Service of Boston Harbor Islands invite you, your friends, and family to take part in this challenge and discover two Malden River parks in the process. This will be a chance to help a global effort to document biodiversity in urban places and to highlight the natural beauty hidden in plain sight along the Malden River. No prior experience in nature-sighting is necessary! Participants are taking part in what is known as citizen science. (See related article in Scout Somerville about citizen science and the City Nature Challenge). There will be two time frames and locations offered for participants. At 11. a.m. meet at the new Everett Rivergreen Park for the first challenge. The second challenge will take place from 12:30 to […]

Cruising and Cleaning the Malden River

October 18, 2018 karenbuckmalden 1

, By Karen Buck Photos by Anne D’Urso Rose and Kelsey Menon On the eve of the 2018 Autumnal Equinox during the mystical moment of twilight, two launch boats from the Gentle Giants Rowing Club (GGRC), towed 10 canoes from the Blessing of the Bay up the Malden River. Aboard were Pastor Edwin Menon of Highrock Malden Church and his wife, Kelsey Menon. They were preparing for what would be one of the largest community cleanups in Malden River’s recent history on the next day. The mostly obedient canoes snaked behind the motor boats as Rich Whelan of GGRC told stories of his youth teams traversing the Mystic River and the Malden River. The return trip to the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse was under a waxing gibbous moon and guided by city lights. At the end of the ride, Menon said, “Now, I really know why you love this river.” By 8:15 a.m., Sept. 22, more than 71 people mingled in the parking lot of 188 Commercial St. in Malden. The group was organized by the Menons. […]

Election 2017: Questions for City Council Candidates: Affordable housing and public comment

October 13, 2017 NeighborhoodView 0

The 2017 Malden City Council elections are approaching. The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. A preliminary election on Sept. 19 determined the final candidates. To help Malden voters decide on which candidates to support, a group of citizens organized by Prisco Tammaro, a Malden resident, in partnership with local media, developed a series of “Quality of Life” questions for City Council candidates. The questions were sent to the candidates in August with instructions on how to respond. The questions ranged from issues of affordable housing to development, grant writing and bike trails. This week’s questions are about public comment periods before City Council meeting and affordable housing. This is the fifth and final installment. For previous questions and answers, see links at the botton of this page. Question 1: Would you support a public comment portion before all City Council meetings, but after any special guest, similar to the School Committee? Question 2: According to state records, 10.2% of Malden’s housing is affordable. If the city’s rate of affordable housing drops […]

Election 2017: Questions for City Council Candidates: Malden River and Water Quality

September 29, 2017 NeighborhoodView 2

The 2017 Malden City Council elections are approaching. The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. A preliminary election on Sept. 19 determined the final candidates. To help Malden voters decide on which candidates to support, a group of citizens organized by Prisco Tammaro, a Malden resident, in partnership with local media, developed a series of “Quality of Life” questions for City Council candidates. The questions were sent to the candidates in August with instructions on how to respond. The questions ranged from issues of affordable housing to development, grant writing and bike trails. Neighborhood View will run the answers to these questions every Friday for the next two weeks. This week’s question is about the Malden River and water quality. Question 1: Would you support creating a waterfront park/boardwalk system along both sides of the Malden River? Question 2: What actions by the City would you support to improve the water quality of the storm water that is discharged through the city’s storm sewer system into the Malden River/Fellsmere Pond [Mystic Watershed (West)] and […]