neighborhood view Archives - Neighborhood View

Malden Community Fridges open their doors to the hungry

November 17, 2023 Kami Nguyen 0

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. 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. “Councilor Spadafora and I teamed up with them after learning about that particular organization when we volunteered […]

6th Annual Hispanic Festival offers a lively celebration

November 14, 2023 Sabrina Monteiro 0

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. 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 on August 17, 1988. The event in Malden was held at the Malden […]

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

October 26, 2023 Sabrina Monteiro 0

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 […]

Turf battle heats up: An update on Roosevelt Park

May 12, 2023 Colette Lauture 0

Four years later, where is the project headed? By Colette Lauture A debate over the use of artificial turf has stalled the proposed redesign of Malden’s Roosevelt Park. The ongoing conversation is vast, covering everything from environmental concerns to sports teams wanting more playing time. Since its inception nearly four years ago, the project has experienced support and pushback. Malden residents have voiced their apprehension and excitement alike for the field’s redesign, the back-and-forth causing confusion about its trajectory. Debbie Burke, Executive Director of the city’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, said that the city is eager to complete the project. With hazardous soil removed, flood storage capacity would be set to improve, and the number of residents who will be able to play on the field will increase. Youth athletic groups, Salemwood School students, and the surrounding neighborhood would experience these benefits. “The project also responds to climate change by increasing stormwater capacity in a floodplain, increasing resiliency on the field and in the neighborhood…It also reduces water use and increases access […]

Coffee for a Community: Choices abound in Malden Center

April 8, 2022 Nikita Sampath 1

By Nikita Sampath In Malden, there is a cup of coffee for everybody. The city’s downtown has five spots to grab a cuppa joe, all within a short walk of one another. Each spot tells a story about the people who live here. Tous Le Jour Right across from the Malden Station on Commercial Street is Tous le Jour, a spot that offers French-style bread and pastry with Asian inspired flavors. It’s the only place in Malden where you can get a kimchee-filled croquette and a taro latte. Owner Dennis Diao was a longtime resident of Malden when he first came to the United States from China for a program at Northeastern University. Despite moving away from the city, he chose to open a branch of Tous le Jour in the J Malden luxury apartment complex in June, 2021. “Malden is a city with potential. Everybody who lives in J Malden and everyone who takes the T is a customer,” he says. Tous le Jour allows for customers to grab a quick bite or spend extended […]

Part two: A defining moment for a generation

April 29, 2020 annedr 0

Generations are often defined by key moments in history. How will the global pandemic we are now experiencing shape this young generation? Will teens and twenty-somethings see this as the moment when everything changed? What will they – and the rest of us – remember in the decades to come? With the help of an energetic group of interns, Neighborhood View embarked on a project to interview young Malden residents about their life during the pandemic. These citizen journalists interviewed their generational peers and collected stories that crystalize this moment in time, from the mundane to the momentous. Here is part two of an ongoing series. Read part one here. David Kennedy: The more you read, the more fearful you get By Masio Dotson Twenty-seven year old David Kennedy, who grew up in Malden and has been a resident for over a decade, is an Audi car salesman, a father and now a teacher. Kennedy has transitioned to homeschooling his 5-year-old son, due to the closing of Salemwood School, using a homeschooling app called “IXL.” […]

A defining moment for a generation: Malden’s younger residents confront the pandemic: Part One

April 12, 2020 NeighborhoodView 1

Generations are defined by key moments. For many it was the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which propelled the United States into World War II. For baby boomers, it was the assassination of President John F. Kenney in Dallas in 1963. For others, it was the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. And now, as the world grinds to a halt from the coronavirus pandemic, another generational moment has been created. How will this period affect this generation? Will teens and twenty-somethings see this as the moment when everything changed? What will they – and the rest of us – remember in the decades to come? With the help of an energetic group of interns, Neighborhood View embarked on a project to interview younger Malden residents about their life during the pandemic. Citizen journalists interviewed residents and collected stories that crystalize this moment in time, from the mundane to the momentous. Here is part one of an ongoing series. Delilah Doleman: Baking in […]

Is the Grass Really Greener?

December 12, 2019 joanneelie 3

By Joanne Elie On Monday, November 25, 2019, the City of Malden met with members of the Malden community and the Malden City Council to unveil the design of the Roosevelt Park Improvement Project at a public information meeting. Many in attendance expressed their apprehensions about turf. Kathleen Sullivan, a fifth-grade science teacher who attended the meeting, is one of many who is not for turf. “Removing natural grass is detrimental to our environment. Artificial turf raises surface temperatures and creates a heat island effect while grass cools the surface naturally through transpiration. Turf is counterproductive to the work we need to do as a society to combat the effects of climate change.” Megan Buczynski, principal engineer for Activitas, Inc. the landscape design company working on the project, responds to the heat effect turf may produce. “The organic infill we plan to use reduces the heat on the field vs the rubber that is more commonly used in other fields.” The Geo infill referred to is a material that is 100% environmentally friendly. Geo infill […]

ELECTION 2019: Final Questions for Candidates: Political Philosophy & Campaign Team

October 30, 2019 priscotammaro 2

By Prisco Tammaro The 2019 elections in Malden are approaching. The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. To provide Malden voters with information, Neighborhood View has been running a series of “Quality of Life” questions and answers with the city council and mayoral candidates. Suggestions for questions were provided via Facebook on a Malden (MA) Politic’s poll; 10 questions were formulated by the moderators in consultation with Neighborhood View and sent to all candidates. Each candidate was given 150 words to respond to each question. Every effort was made to reach out to every candidate. Below are answers to Question 9 and 10. Question 9 focuses on political philosophy and Question 10 asks about campaign committees. Please note: all opinions here are those of the candidates and Neighborhood View has not checked the accuracy of these comments. See links for previous questions at the bottom of this page. QUESTION 9: As an elected official, what is your philosophy? Is it your responsibility to follow the will of the voters […]

ELECTION 2019: Questions for the Candidates: Week 4 of 5 – Housing Needs

October 13, 2019 priscotammaro 3

By Prisco Tammaro The 2019 elections in Malden are approaching. The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. To provide Malden voters with information, Neighborhood View is running a series of “Quality of Life” questions and answers with the city council and mayoral candidates. Suggestions for questions were provided via Facebook on a Malden (MA) Politic’s poll; 10 questions were formulated by the moderators in consultation with Neighborhood View and sent to all candidates. Each candidate was given 150 words to respond to each question. Every effort was made to reach out to every candidate. Below are answers to Question 7 and 8 which focus on housing needs in Malden. Please note: all opinions here are those of the candidates and Neighborhood View has not checked the accuracy of these comments. See links for previous questions at the bottom of this page. QUESTION 7: What percentage of units in new developments would be allocated to affordable housing? MAYOR – Incumbent – GARY CHRISTENSON Several communities have adopted inclusionary zoning to leverage the […]