Residents honored for fighting against Revere Beach meters

  It takes more than elected officials to get things done, and on Monday night the City Council recognized a number of residents who fought for the successful removal of parking meters installed along Revere Beach over the summer by the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR). Councillor-at-Large George Rotondo presented the motion to award Certificates of Appreciation to Pat Melchionno, Cynthia Kiejna, Roxanne Aiello, Rick Sarno, Peter Martino, Wayne Rose and the residents of Jack Satter House as a whole for their advocacy against the parking meters on Revere Beach.

  “This is democracy at its best,” said Rotondo. “We all know what happened down at Revere Beach, and we all know what happened regarding the meters and the people [who were recognized] were the process; they fought and energized everybody who is on this council, who is in this city to stop the meters from being put on Revere Beach, America’s first public beach. We worked collectively, as a community, as a council to stop that.”

  City Council President Anthony Zambuto thanked the residents for their unselfish and hard work. “Everyone knows that it looked like something that couldn’t be rescinded, but it just goes to show you that if you keep fighting for what is right, sometimes you get your way,” said Zambuto.

  The Certificates of Appreciation stated that the parking meters would have disproportionately affected the residents of Jack Satter House, the working class residents of the city, immigrants and underserved populations.