׉?4ׁB!בCטUUru׉׉ 7cassandra://oagUS5cZszUmmxIKTyAkOiuVAXrWtRWct9lvDl2Smto^`'p׉ 7cassandra://CxPrJqLr8QfVPOUskf6dlC0eGmqKhDYcjGxfovcflZcK`׉ 7cassandra://jerxtLrlwqSihlISznbimhfhveoXKN9UywQLmA7bxZI9`gw5{(]׈Egw5{(C׉E&MALDEN CITY COUNCIL ROUNDUP: Councillor Spadafora proposes increasing owner-occupied homeowner tax break; Council approves special permit for new Malden Sq. cannabis retailer City Assessor will make a future presentation on how proposed increase from 30% to 35% of an exemption would affect taxpayers, city finances By Steve Freker M alden could possibly join the cities of Somerville and Boston and become the third community statewide to offer the highest property tax break allowed by state law for owner-occupied residences. Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora at the most recent Malden City Council meeting offered a resolution calling for the city to raise its owner-occupied property tax exemption from 30% to 35% for the next rate-setting fiscal period. The residential exemption is a reduction in real estate taxes for all those homeowners who occupy their property as their principal residence. The residential exemption amount is a reduction of a given percentage of the average assessed value of single-family residential properties. The property tax rate is set Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora has proposed that Malden increase its residential exemption on property value and taxes from 30% to 35%. (Courtesy/City of Malden) Malden Board of Assessors Chairperson Nate Kramer is now working on a presentation for a future City Council meeting where he could lay out the potential effects of a residential exemption. (Courtesy/City of Malden) BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE! by municipal governing bodies and is announced near the end of each calendar year after a public hearing. Malden’s property tax rate for residential properties is $11.33 per $1,000 of assessed value. Malden is one of only 17 communities that consistently approve – through their elected officials – of the residential exemptions. Some of the others are Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Marlboro, Nantucket, Somerset, Somerville, Tisbury, Waltham and Watertown. The communities differ with respect to the percentages of residential exemptions. Boston and Somerville have set their residential exemption percentages at 35%, the highest allowed. The other municipalities, including Malden, are at 30% for the residential exemption. Spadafora said the prime reason he was promoting this change “is to discourage absenROUNDUP | SEE PAGE 8 Free Tickets to Mayor’s 2025 State of the City Address F ree tickets to Mayor Gary Christenson’s 2025 State of the City Address being held on Tuesday, March 4 from 8-9 a.m. at Anthony’s at 105 Canal St. will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and will be required for admittance. Attendees should plan to arrive between 7:30-7:45 a.m. for a prompt 8 a.m. start of the presentation. Due to capacity, seating will be limited. Please RSVP for your tickMalden and the entire Northeast has been in the midst of one of the coldest winters in recent years. Since Winter officially began on December 21, only ONE day has a temperature of 40 degrees, 11 days in the 30s and the rest in the 20s and teens. This week, the temperatures already have dipped to 9 and 11 degrees, with a wind chill BELOW ZERO Monday and Tuesday. Here we see that "Pichu" is dressed well for the weather, seen in Malden Square along with his "Mama" Hui Cheng. Let's look forward to warmer weather ASAP! (Advocate Photo) et at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/mayor-gary-christensons-state-of-the-city-2025-tickets-1247176381129?aff=oddtdtcreator For admittance into the event, please have your ticket printed out or have the QR code ready to be scanned on your phone. For residents unable to attend in person, the event will be recorded by Urban Media Arts (UMA) and subsequently broadcast on Public Access Television and UMA’s YouTube channel. We hope you will join us as we come together to celebrate Malden’s resilience, achievements and the path forward. ׉ 7cassandra://jerxtLrlwqSihlISznbimhfhveoXKN9UywQLmA7bxZI9`gw5{(Dgw5{(C rבCטUru׉׉ 7cassandra://ZzwxH8oeO_Kb3Bo3-0SBYXxU7CETrFK77KgKTjeQ3Woo7`'p׉ 7cassandra://6r6lvcid7Mx38LtEwS_qkQObcJVXBN1WSlqCmLAZvWkͺ`׉ 7cassandra://01R2ULVacedB4JngGspz7AEKbdpQ3OaoTZjXd3hdy_E5f`gw5{(`טUUru׉׉ 7cassandra://JPugLI5GzydRHcBbYLQxVQ_Mzwu_COlanPCK12JLDhoM;`'p׉ 7cassandra://t7XmPAknUaZy-oquMYjyQ3YwQCgNuFNZvb05wyIGV-w͹`׉ 7cassandra://NIeWZ-ieoWG3VQ45Zbtv7FunT9dVECd2qWD88MZFns06`gw5{(aנgw5{(f̢ G#9ׁHhttp://www.810bargrille.comׁ ׁ Јנgw5{(é 9ׁHhttp://dfci.harvard.eduׁ ׁ Јנgw5{(dXd9ׁHhttp://RunDFMC.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉EPage 2 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 21, 2025 Maldonians running for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team Raising funds for cancer research at Dana-Farber Special to The Advocate O n April 21, two Malden residents, Michael Bryant and Laura Stucchi, are running to defy cancer as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team in the 129th Boston Marathon®: Along with more than 500 DFMC teammates from across the United States and around Need a hall for your special event? The Schiavo Club, located at 71 Tileston Street, Everett is available for your Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sweet 16 parties and more? For more info, call (857) 249-7882 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Open Tues. - Sat. at 4:00 PM Closed Sun. & Mon. Announcing our Classic Specials Dine In Only: * FREE Salad with purchase of Entree, Tuesdays & Wednesdays * Cheese Pizza - Only $10 Catch ALL The Live Sports Action On Our Large Screen TV’s Scan & Follow Us on Facebook! the world, they will run Massachusetts’ historic marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston to collectively raise $8.5 million for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This year marks the 36th annual running of the DFMC. One hundred percent of the money raised by the DFMC team benefits Dana-Farber’s Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, which supports promising science research in its earliest stages. DFMC has raised more than $132 million for the Barr Program to date. In 1990, Dana-Farber was among the first charity organizations to be recognized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), which organizes the Boston Marathon. The DFMC team offers its members extensive fundraising support, training guidance from 1976 Boston Marathon Men’s Open Division Champion Jack Fultz and team training runs. DFMC runners who are not time-qualified for the Boston Marathon receive an invitational entry into the race. Laura Stucchi proudly ran the 2024 Boston-Half Marathon with team Dana-Farber and will join 500 DFMC teammates in April to run the 129th Boston Marathon®. (Courtesy photo) Runners include cancer survivors and patients and family and friends of those who have been affected by cancer. Each team member must fulfill a basic fundraising commitment: • Invitational runners – runners who receive their entry from Dana-Farber have a minimum fundraising commitment of $10,000. • Own entry runners – runners who have joined the DFMC after obtaining their own race entry have a fundraising commitment of $4,000. To contribute to the DFMC, visit RunDFMC.org or contact the DFMC office at 617-6321970 or dfmc@ dfci.harvard.edu. Follow DFMC on Facebook at www.facebook/ marathonchallenge and on X at #RunDFMC. About the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research Since its incepwww.810bargrille.com After running in the 128th Boston Marathon, Michael Bryant will once again join the DFMC team in this year’s marathon to defy cancer. (Courtesy photo) tion in 1990, the DFMC has raised more than $132 million for this program. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Trustees J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver founded the program in 1987 to honor Mrs. Weaver’s mother, Claudia Adams Barr, who had lost her battle with cancer 30 years earlier. About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Dana-Farber is one of the world’s leading centers of cancer research and treatment. The mission of Dana-Farber is to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific inquiry, clinical care, education, community engagement, and advocacy. Dana-Farber is a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, providing the latest treatments in cancer for adults through Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and for children through Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is the only hospital nationwide with a top 4 U.S. News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric care. As a global leader in oncology, Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique and equal balance between cancer research and care, translating the results of discovery into new treatments for patients locally and around the world, offering more than 1,100 clinical trials. ׉ 7cassandra://01R2ULVacedB4JngGspz7AEKbdpQ3OaoTZjXd3hdy_E5f`gw5{(E׉ETHE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 21, 2025 Page 3 Councillors: Turn surplus city-owned property into affordable housing units Proposal to convert former Malden Courthouse, Oak Grove Community Center to residential use amps up Council meeting By Steve Freker T he temperature rose considerably in the Herbert L. Jackson Council Chambers at Malden City Hall at the last City Council meeting, and it had nothing to do with the thermostat. When all the debate on what turned out to be a very thorny topic simmered down, several City Councillors agreed to disagree regarding the fate of a pair of iconic Malden edifices. Also, every elected official in the room concurred on the one overlying dilemma: How does this city go about addressing what many believe is fast becoming the #1 issue in the city, lack of affordable housing. “We’ve had two major changes shoved us at us on short notice in the past year and we had to change all our zoning laws due to mandates on ADUs [accessory dwelling units] and MBTA-related zoning,” said Malden Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora at the February 11 Council meeting. “It is not equitable for a community like Malden to have to go through this when we are trying to address affordable housing,” Councillor Spadafora added. “Through all of this, I have heard the word ‘crisis’ 15 times.” At that meeting, Spadafora and cosponsor Paul Condon (Ward 2) put forth a resolution calling for the City of Malden to start designating surplus property for conversion to affordable housing. Spadafora and Condon stated in the resolution that the city could start with the former Malden Courthouse building on Summer Street and the Oak Grove Community Center located at the corner of Winter and Washington Streets. Both buildings have been the center of hopeful renovation projects, with the former Malden District Court building for the past three years sitting vacant, while still being considered as the site of a future Arts and Culture center in the city. The Oak Grove Comfor luxuries [like an arts center]. “We talk about affordable The Oak Grove Community Building was built in 1927 and is located at 6 Wyoming St. in Malden. (Courtesy Photo) The former Malden District Courthouse, built in 1922, has been vacant for six years and was sold to the City of Malden by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2020 for $480,000. (Courtesy Photo) munity Center, a much smaller structure, has also been at the center of renovation speculation. The issue at this time, Councillor Spadafora said, is that the cost to renovate the Courthouse building is rapidly escalating. “Both of these buildings have been vacant for years and both are near the MBTA,” Spadafora said. “We always talk about affordable housing, here’s a way we can do it.” Councillor Condon agreed. “It’s simply a choice. We can have an arts center or affordable housing for 10-12 families. That’s an easy answer.” “I have heard $12 million [to renovate] the Courthouse, just to make it safe and usable as an arts center. If there’s $12 million in our city for that? Show us!” Spadafora said. “It’s not that I don’t like the arts, but I’m not laying off teachers. I’m not laying off firefighters. We aren’t talking about putting a Chevalier auditorium like Medford has in there,” the longtime Councillor added. “I’m not going to ask our residents to dig deeper for three years and then ask housing out both sides of our mouths but it’s going to come down to money and our budget. I don’t know if it’s this year or next. But this is an option,” Spadafora said. When Spadafora started to get pushback from other Councillors on his proposal, he said, “That’s fine. Let’s table this for five months and then see what happens.” A motion to that effect failed by a 7-3 vote. 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Join. ׉ 7cassandra://C5s5eXJwQeOQPZwBzoKZ46QDYwAswN33Ld2diuteWYQ3`gw5{(Zgw5{(Y rבCטUru׉׉ 7cassandra://OnhkPsymSEPyTssjPf0OihBGCCwyxkBM9fboaYip72gE`'p׉ 7cassandra://cMrnBqmBy7yX4n5wfUvtitH_f1isprLW0TlvJl7Fypc͏v`׉ 7cassandra://zYIdzF3epWOWujCo-yWg9N2trkkHWNNzsgExUX8KWOM.`gw5{(׉E8Page 24 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, February 21, 2025 ׉ 7cassandra://zYIdzF3epWOWujCo-yWg9N2trkkHWNNzsgExUX8KWOM.`gw5{([׈Egw5{(\gw5{([ r,Malden Advocate 02/21/2025Malden Advocate 02/21/2025gwڴˁD|