Shirley Avenue Forest Pocket Park Community Event to be Held on May 4
The City of Revere is working in coordination with Shirley Ave neighborhood partners and landscape architecture firm ASK+ to design a brand-new public space at 69 Shirley Ave: a forest pocket park!
A pocket park is a small-scale neighborhood greenspace that is designed to meet a range of functions. Through last year’s Participatory Budgeting process, the community identified this project as the top public space priority. Now, the work is underway, and three concept designs have been proposed for community feedback. Community members can provide input in-person at the community event held at 69 Shirley Ave on May 4th at 10:00am, or through a survey found at www.shirleyave.com/work/pocketpark.
This project emerged from the 2023 Shirley Ave Public Realm Participatory Budgeting (PB) process, which collected more than 600 pieces of input, including over 300 votes for public space projects proposed by community members. The City of Revere allocated $560k towards the Participatory Budget process—a mix of $260k Community Development Block Grant funding, $285k of State Housing Choice Grant funding, and $15k of public art private philanthropic funds.
Mayor Keefe articulated his support of the project: “Shirley Ave is a vibrant community. This greenspace will act as a complement to Costa Park. We love to see the activity down on Shirley Avenue and across the Ward 2 neighborhood.”
Once again, join the team on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 10 a.m. at the site of the future Forest Pocket Park: 69 Shirley Ave. This is a two-part event, including a community design workshop and a plant swap. The rain location for this event is Las Delicias Colombianas, located at 86 Shirley Ave.
All are welcome! The City’s community liaison team will be on-site to support language access and refreshments will be provided by MGH/RevereCares.
Plant Swap Rules:
Bring pest-free plants, in containers or “bare root”
Swaps or giveaways only, no sales please
Indoor or outdoor plants are welcome
Please contact Laura Christopher to learn more or get involved: (617) 312-3100 or [email protected]
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden Pays $5,000 Civil Penalty
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden has paid a $5,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by failing to stop his staff from issuing and by failing to withdraw a DA’s Office press statement aimed at discrediting his opponent in the 2022 Democratic primary election. Hayden signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted the violation and waived his right to a hearing.
After an August 23, 2022 newspaper article described allegations that Hayden’s opponent in the September 6, 2022 Democratic primary, Ricardo Arroyo, had been investigated by the Boston Police Department for alleged sexual assaults when he was a teenager, the allegations became a focal point of the primary race. Arroyo sued the City of Boston for Boston Police Department investigation files he claimed would show the allegations were unfounded.
On September 2, 2022, four days before the primary election and 90 minutes before a court-ordered deadline for the City of Boston to provide investigation files to Arroyo, the Suffolk DA’s Office issued an official statement to the press announcing that the office had “reviewed the entire unredacted file regarding the sexual assault allegations,” that “nothing in the file suggests the allegations were unfounded,” and that “the campaign to sabotage the victim’s credibility is shameful.” The Suffolk DA’s Office statement was widely published by multiple news media outlets, many using it as a response to Arroyo’s claims. An article published in one outlet reported that “Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden released a statement saying prosecutors never deemed the case ‘unfounded.’”
Hayden was aware that his DA’s Office staff intended to issue a statement directly contrary to Arroyo’s public claims that the allegations against him were unfounded and challenging his credibility. Hayden took no action to prevent his staff from doing so and did not withdraw the statement after it was released. By these failures to act, Hayden knowingly or with reason to know used his official position as Suffolk District Attorney to secure for himself the unwarranted privilege of using valuable public resources for his own personal political advantage and violated the conflict of interest law.
“The authority and prestige of a District Attorney’s office and the worktime of its staff are valuable public resources to be used for the public good,” said Executive Director David A. Wilson. “Their use to discredit a political opponent in order to gain advantage in an election or for any other private purpose is prohibited by the conflict of interest law.”
The Commission encourages public employees to contact the Commission’s Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice if they have any questions regarding how the conflict of interest law may apply to them.
It’s Not Too Late To Register for Walk for Hunger
The Walk for Hunger, Project Bread’s annual fundraising event and the Commonwealth’s largest and oldest day of community action against hunger, is seeking walkers for the celebration. The one-day event is set for Sunday, May 5 on the Boston Common, and will feature family-friendly activities along the 3-mile loop. In its 56th year, Project Bread invites you to help raise more than $1.3 million to support the leading statewide food security organization’s approach to permanently solve hunger, which includes working year-round across policy initiatives, programs, and hunger prevention measures to ensure food access for all children and families in Massachusetts.
Likeminded anti-hunger organizations can enroll in the nonprofit’s co-fundraising program, The Commonwealth, forming teams to raise money to support their own work, while also furthering Project Bread’s statewide effort. To register for the event and create a personal or team fundraising page for the Walk for Hunger or to make a donation, visit projectbread.org/walk or email [email protected].
