Council: Building is Public Safety Hazard

Orders Cease and Desist Against Owner of Old Arcade Building on Forest Street

Story Updated 11:15AM, Wednesday, October 31, 2007

A pedestrian walks by the old Arcade Building on Forest Street on Wednesday afternoon. Parts of the facade have crumbled to the sidewalk. The area was once tied off by cones and police tape. The City Council has issued a cease and desist order against building owner Sayan Farzad because of the condition of the building.

– Allison Goldsberry

The City Council is demanding answers from the owner of 8 Forest Street, or the building could be completely shut down.

The Council unanimously approved a cease and desist order against the owner of the old Arcade Building because councilors say the condition of the building is unsafe.

According to several councilors, the sidewalk in front of the building has been taped off and is littered with debris, forcing pedestrians to walk into busy Forest Street.

“It’s a public safety hazard at its best,” said City Councilor Paul Camuso.

Last week the Council unanimously supported a resolution offered by City Councilor Robert Penta directing the mayor to look into the situation.

According to City Council President Robert Maiocco, the mayor referred the resolution to Building Commissioner Paul Mochi yesterday.

The building is currently empty, as its last tenant, E & J Dry Cleaners, is moving across the street.

According to the city’s property tax assessment database, the owner of the building is Sayan Farzad. Farzad has owned the nearly 28,000 square foot building since 1995. The building, constructed in 1908, has an assessed value of nearly $1 million.

Farzad could not immediately be reached for comment.

The building is located next to the post office in Medford Square, and councilors are concerned about a potential public safety hazard. Pedestrians are often in the area and Forest Street hums with traffic.

The Council also asked for a police detail at the spot, at the building owner’s expense, to help direct traffic while people are forced to walk into the street to get around the tape and debris.

According to Maiocco, with the cease and desist order, the building owner will have to appear before the Council at its next meeting on November 13 and risks losing any permits previously approved by the city.

Medford Officially Withdraws from No-Hate Campaign

With a unanimous vote of the Council Tuesday night, Medford has become one of several area communities to suspend its affiliation with the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” campaign because of the ADL’s refusal to recognize mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

Councilor Penta pushed the resolution several weeks ago and it was sent to the Human Rights Commission for consideration.

The Commission voted to suspend participation in the no-hate campaign for three months, pending the ADL’s public recognition of the Armenian genocide. At that time the city could withdraw completely from the program in the absence of a sincere, unequivocal recognition of the genocide by the ADL.

The Council’s vote makes the suspension formal, as it was the Council that approved participation in the no-hate campaign in 2004 after a Neo-Nazi group dropped hateful literature around the city.

No Wrong-Doing with Lincoln-Kennedy Vote

City Solicitor Mark Rumley said the Council did nothing wrong in its vote to approve the sale of the former Lincoln-Kennedy School when it put a limit on the number of public parking spots for future development.

Rumley said the Council’s vote was legally necessary to approve the sale of the school to North Shore Construction and Development, Inc., and the Council had the authority to limit the development’s public parking spaces to between thirty and forty.

Councilor Penta asked the solicitor for his legal opinion because Penta said the Council is being publicly “attacked” for its vote to limit the number of parking spots.

“Not only was that vote of the Council extremely generous, it was open, it was notorious, and I think it was done in an extremely fair manner,” said Penta.

Council Recognizes 18th Anniversary of DiMaiti Deaths

Eighteen years ago Carol DiMaiti and her unborn child, Christopher, were tragically murdered by her husband, Charles Stuart.

The DiMaiti family still lives in Medford and continues to sponsor scholarships. Donations can be sent to the Carol DiMaiti Stuart Foundation, 238 Woburn Street, Medford, MA, 02155.