Revere Police Chief Callahan Pledges Resolution to Satter House Parking Concerns

During a lengthy discussion about visitor parking passes for the Jack Satter House on Revere Beach Boulevard, Revere Police Chief David Callahan provided the words that Satter House residents had wanted to hear.

“I think we may be able to have a resolution here,” said Callahan, a member of the Revere Traffic Commission that decides on all traffic/parking regulations in the city. “Just like Councillor [Richard Serino was saying, we [should] have the Council vote amended to make [the Satter House] one of the eligible buildings, send it back to the Traffic Commission and we can vote on it. And I believe that will correct the problem for these folks here. I’m sure we can come to some resolutions for the folks over here at 420 Revere Beach Boulevard.”

City Council President Anthony Zambuto, who did an effective job moderating the at-time raucous discussion, said, “You have the chief of police who sits on the Traffic Commission that says we’re going to have a solution here, so there you go.”

That statement drew applause from the Satter House residents and neighbors in attendance.

Lauding Callahan’s effective and immediate response to the issue, Zambuto added, “I’m going to announce his candidacy next,” a remark that drew a vigorous response from the residents.

It is expected that Chief Callahan and the other members of the Traffic Commission will produce a plan at their next meeting that will address the issue of providing visitors passes for Satter House residents, their guests, and healthcare workers coming to the senior residences to provide assistance to residents.

The issue of parking provisions for visitors to the Satter House had come to the forefront after the DCR’s installation of parking meters on Revere Beach, a decision that was met with universal derision by residents and beachgoers.

“No one here in the city wants the meters,” Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe said at the meeting. “There’s not one person that I’ve spoken to in the City of Revere [who wants the meters].”

Zambuto also spoke against the DCR’s parking meters. “Nobody on this Council advocated for meters on the Beach,” said Zambuto. “We didn’t create this problem. It was created for us. We’re trying to find a solution, but it’s a different solution because the Beach is controlled by someone else, not us.”

Satter House residents Roxanne Aiello and Cynthia Kiejna did an effective job expressing the concerns about the visitors’ passes and the confusion that exists with the varied parking stickers in the city.

“This parking situation on Oak Island Street has become quite a problem for us at the Satter House,” said Aiello. “We were given 19 visitor cards in the whole, entire building which are only available to us between Monday and Friday.”

Aiello requested of the Council, “Let us have our own visitor pass like everybody else does in other cities. I am a lifelong resident of this city. I pay excise tax and I have to go through a complete hassle to have somebody come down [and visit]. There was no thinking in this plan. There’s all kinds of different stickers.”

Kiejna pointed out that the Satter House is unique in that it is the only exclusively seniors’ residence on Revere Beach Boulevard.

“We understand the DCR created the problem and started the whole issue,” said Kiejna. “The problem is we are a unique building, the only one in the city that is right on the beach and deals with seniors completely.”

Kiejna said the 19 visitors’ passes that the city distributed to the Satter House, “was really a token.”

“Now that Oak Island is 24/7 residential parking, we really do need the visitor passes,” Kiejna told the council. “We’re not asking for anything outrageous. This affects every single senior in the city. What we’re doing is focusing on the seniors in our building.”

After hearing Satter House residents and other residents express their frustrations, Callahan stepped to the podium and in a real-life moment of clarity and drama, the chief of Revere Police said he and the Traffic Commission would fix the problem, to the delight of the Satter House community.