The Revere Commission on Disabilities held its regular monthly meeting on May 9 via Zoom. On hand for the meeting were chair Ralph DeCicco, vice-chair Pauline Perno, Asmaa Abou-Fouda, Robert Brown, Elle Vargas, and Mario Grimanis.
Charlie Giuffrida, the Director of the Office of Travel & Tourism for the City of Revere, was the guest speaker and told the commissioners of the city’s rosy present — and even rosier future — as a tourist hub.
“It’s our job to sell the city,” said Giuffrida of his office’s mission. “We live next to the eighth most-visited city for tourists in the world, and when they come to Boston, they’re sleeping in Revere. We had a banner year for occupancy tax revenue and a banner year in meals tax revenue. We’re looking at hospitality as the next double-digit growth sector for the city and there’s a lot of opportunity to keep reinvesting this money in growing our community as a destination.
“Tourists are finding Revere is a great place to make their home base for their visit to the Boston area,” Giuffrida continued. “We also have a ton of families who stay here for their college visits to Boston.
“We presently have 1600 hotel rooms and will have up to 2000 within the next three years,” Giuffrida said, adding that he is seeking to collaborate with Boston tourism officials for the upcoming World Cup in 2026.
He said the special events this summer at Revere Beach will include the recently-held Kite Festival; the Revere Beach Music Series that will start June 1; the second annual Revere Beach Pride event on June 25 at Waterfront Square that will include a fireworks display in the evening; the annual Sandcastle Festival from July 28-30 that will include fireworks; and an end-of-summer fireworks show on August 30.
He said L.L. Bean will be partnering with DCR and the city this summer to provide free-of-charge beach chairs, beach umbrellas, and beach toys for youngsters and their families to use (and hopefully return) during the day.
He also noted that the city is looking to achieve some degree of independence from the DCR in the operation of the beach and is considering an art installation at the beach, among other things, and cited the impending completion of the rebuilt Sullivan Park that will provide a welcoming space for visitors to the beach.
DeCicco suggested that tricycles and adaptive bicycles could be made available for persons with disabilities for use both on the beach and on the soon-to-be completed bike path in the city.
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Giuffrida, adding that grants may be available from the Better Beaches group to fund a program.
Perno asked about accessibility to the beach itself for persons with disabilities. Giuffrida said that the Revere Beach Partnership, of which he is a board member, will attempt to get together with DCR to discuss accessibility.
DeCicco also raised the possibility of “quiet zones” on the beach that would provide reserved spaces on the beach for persons with disabilities and senior citizens.
“It’s incredible to see how far Revere Beach has come. People want to come here and spend their money here,” Giuffrida concluded, adding that he recently hosted a group of about 20 travel agents from England and all were amazed that Revere Beach is located so close to Boston and Logan Airport, which makes it unique among major city tourist destinations.
Vargas made an appearance at the meeting via a FaceTime call from Washington, D.C. and reported that she was attending the National ADAPT rally, which is fighting for disability rights, and said she recently went to the office of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is seeking to reduce funding for persons with disabilities, to join in a protest outside of his office.
DeCicco updated his fellow commissioners on the recent CODA (Commissions on Disabilities Alliance) monthly Zoom meeting that he attended on May 3. He said that the issue of hybrid Zoom meetings, which would be of immense value to persons with disabilities, was discussed.
DeCicco noted for members of the public that handicapped placards are issued solely by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, not by the city. He also urged applicants to make sure they send their applications and paperwork to the correct address at the RMV.
Perno suggested, and DeCicco agreed, that a future issue for the commission to tackle is the lack of programs for those who have recently graduated from the school system for whom there are few programs available to them as young adults when they transition out of the school system.
The meeting concluded with the commission’s monthly reminder:
The Commission on Disabilities number is 781-286-8267. Residents can speak to staff from our 311 Constituent Service Center Monday through Friday when you call our office number. They will be able to answer most questions but if they are unable to or if you would like a call back from our department, please ask to be transferred to the disability office’s voicemail and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
As always, please let us know if you would like something discussed or brought up and added to our monthly meeting agenda. You can let us know if you would like to speak on any issue or concern. The commission is here to help and assist all the disabled residents and families of Revere.
The next meeting (via Zoom) of the commission will be Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m.
