[Miranda Briseno]: Testing. Okay. Good evening, everyone. My name is Miranda Berseno. I love calling Medford home, and I'm running for City Council to make sure that City Hall delivers better for residents of all ages, wages, and backgrounds. We deserve a Medford that invests robustly in the public places that keep us connected to each other, like our schools, parks, and library. We deserve a library that is open seven days a week. We deserve a Medford with plenty of shade trees and green space. As a renter, I felt firsthand how hard it is to afford to remain here amid the skyrocketing cost of living. We all deserve a more affordable Medford, where elders can age in place and where new and long-time residents alike can put down roots without fear of displacement due to rising rents and home prices. Medford students and families deserve thriving public schools and expanded after-school and pre-K. Our school staff deserves competitive pay. I will fight for a budget that allows us to meet these goals every single year. In addition, I proudly support building a new flagship Medford High School. We deserve a Medford that invests in keeping all of our neighbors safe through an unarmed mental health crisis response team, continued noncompliance with ICE, and better social services for our neighbors in need. Safety also means our roads and sidewalks. And as a transportation planner, road safety is my bread and butter. In the last five years, Medford has seen at least 84 crashes which resulted in serious injuries or fatalities. we need to treat traffic violence like the emergency it is. At MassDOT, I work with municipalities to help them utilize transportation funding to its full potential. I work closely on funding for large capital projects and I help manage essential programs such as the Safe Routes to School program. This has given me a bird's eye view of the regional problems that affect us here in Medford and where the solutions lie. As your city councilor, I will make sure we strategically leverage our transportation funding to make our streets safer. I will also make sure the city completes an ADA transition plan so that everyone can participate in civic life and enjoy all that Medford has to offer. But before my time at MassDOT, I worked right here for Medford City Hall. I spearheaded Medford's COVID-19 Business Relief Grant Program, which provided crucial funding to Medford's restaurants, corner stores, salons, and spas to help them survive during an unpredictable time. I developed the city's first outdoor dining program, and I helped the city improve its bus stop and blues bikes infrastructure. As a MassDOT employee, I'm heavily involved in my union, and I currently serve on its board of directors. Medford runs on union power, and I'm proud to be endorsed by SEIU Local 509 and UAW Region 9A. I love being a part of our diverse, multi-generational, vibrant community. My neighbours have always been there for me, and now I'm running for City Council to make sure the city is there for you. I look forward to meeting you and talking with you, and I hope to earn your vote this fall. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Hi, I'm Miranda Briceño. I'm at 2 Taylor Street. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I am in favor of this ordinance, and I will tell you why. Investing in businesses that are helping destroy communities through violence, incarceration, or the climate crisis is a bad financial decision in the long run. Reinvesting in businesses that build and grow our economies is our financial responsibility. I'm eager to see my tax dollars responsibly invested in companies, projects, and banks that prioritize people over profit. How we spend our money is a statement of our values. As we exist in a capitalist system, how we spend our money is one of the few ways we as a city can... As we can, sorry, as we exist in a capital system, how we spend our money is one of the few ways we as a city can assert our ability to refuse participation in industries that are actively harming people, our environment, and prioritizing profit over people. I support that this ordinance recognizes the slow process that is divestment. We won't be able to move our money and accounts overnight from companies that are actively causing harm across the world. So deciding to actively choose contracts and do businesses with companies that are aligned with our values as a city as a result of this ordinance is just one crucial step in putting Medford on the right side of history. The idea that this issue doesn't affect Medford is naive at best and actively ignorant at worst. We live in a globalized world whether we want to or not. This is not about politics, this is about prioritizing humanity as we watch our climate degrade, we watch multiple genocides across the world, and our neighbors unjustly incarcerated so that private prisons and war industry companies can continue to profit. At a time when the federal government clearly does not care about anyone but billionaires, companies, and arming their allies, Medford must take a stand where we can. The federal government is already targeting Massachusetts and its communities, illegally so, and clearly the federal government does not care about legality, morality, or people at all. The same federal government that is spending our tax dollars to fund an armed Gestapo with no oversight, building prison camps on US soil, and further contributing to human rights violations, it is incumbent on Medford to take a stand and do what we can as a city to support people worldwide. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Sure. I'm Miranda Breseno. She, her pronouns. I live in the Hillside neighborhood of Medford. I've lived there in the same apartment since I moved to Medford in 2019. I moved here originally from Los Angeles. I moved here for grad school at Tufts in urban planning. And I wasn't sure if I was gonna stay living in the area post-grad school, but I finished in 2020 and the world had other plans. And so six and a half, almost seven years later, I'm very much happy to call this home and haven't wanted to move. I have been looking or I was looking for new apartments, but I've always wanted to stay in Medford since I've made so many friends and really developed a community here. But I am a cat mom. My orange cat, Alto, is often with me, or not here because I'm in the library, but he would be a part of this interview otherwise. And I'm a planner by training. Obviously I went to planning school. I worked at City Hall for a couple of years in the planning office. I went to a nonprofit, used to be called Walk Boston, now Walk Massachusetts, doing pedestrian advocacy work. And I now work for MassDOT in the planning office as a regional planning coordinator and federal programs coordinator, working with municipalities to get them, mostly federal funds, but other funds, complete kind of a range of projects, Small projects like bike share and bike racks and some bigger projects like the feasibility studies for putting a bridge at grade and some other planning work regionally and around the state. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: I did talk to a couple of folks who you've been to before and they were like, know what your favorite place to eat is. And I have plenty. I do like to joke that I kept Pinky's Pizza running during the pandemic because I was like, they are like down the street for me. And I was just like, you know, chicken tenders, calzone, pizza, whatever. So Pinky's is up there just because they're so close to me. I would say I have like a top three. El Tacuba, hands down the best Mexican food on the East Coast. I will never stop saying that. I feel like I have you know, the expertise to say so as someone from Los Angeles and someone who is Mexican, that is the absolute best Mexican food. I love it so much there. And I love all their cocktails, too. And then Colleen's. So, like I said, those are like my top three. Oh, Tom Yum Kung. I mean, I have so many places.
[Miranda Briseno]: I, I remember when I started at the city, it was like a whole thing. Like, yeah, we've been waiting for this thing to happen. And when it finally opened, you know, I don't even remember when it finally opened. I just remember being so excited. It was open. Yeah. I was like, wow, that was a long time. They were still working on that when I was at City Hall. But I actually got to meet and work with Alvaro, who's one of the owners, you know, when he was working on the Tenog stuff. Great guy. Awesome, awesome time to get to know him. I'm just so excited about the restaurants there. I tell literally anyone and everyone that will listen, I'm like, you need to come to Medford. Yeah.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah.
[Miranda Briseno]: Oh, really? I didn't know.
[Miranda Briseno]: They closed when I was still at City Hall, and that was rough because I would walk to work when the weather was nice from my apartment. It was always nice to be like, you know, I'm not above Duncan. I'll, I'll get Duncan any day, but it was always nice to be like, yeah, you know, I'm going to get like a nice, like a nicer bagel from the local shop. I was so sad when they closed. I still have a shirt. Cause I did get a shirt during 2020. Cause I was like, I love them. But I it's exciting to hear they're going to open a coffee shop.
[Miranda Briseno]: What really prompted me was other people asking if I considered it. When I realized I would be staying in Medford for a while, just because I wasn't sure if another job opportunity would take me somewhere, in 2020, I was like, well, let me develop roots here. And I got involved, like everybody, in the summer of 2020 after George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, so many other things. I was like, I need to feel like, besides working at City Hall, which is great and see a lot of what you work on happening in real time, I needed, I wanted to feel like more connected to people because I didn't know many people living in Medford. So I joined Our Revolution Medford, met someone who literally lived across the street from me. And then, you know, a couple other folks in my neighborhood. And since then have just been, you know, making friends. And in 2021 is when I first started getting door knocking and canvassing, trying to elect candidates endorsed by Our Revolution Medford. just really started rooting myself through that. Working at City Hall too, I did, when, you know, as we were trying to navigate COVID, one of the first projects, Alicia Hunt, director of planning, kind of assigned me and one of, now planner, used to be intern, was using HUD funds for COVID relief business grants. City of Cambridge had done one and they were like, we have a lot of CDBG, Community Development Block Grant money that we can use for this, you know, look into the details or requirements, what we would need from folks and who we can and can't offer this grant to. And so it was kind of like being thrown in the deep end, but very much with like the comfort of knowing that, you know, Alicia, the mayor and other folks were there to support us. But that really, I'd say that work in particular, That, plus I also worked on outdoor dining, really just like kind of spread my knowledge wide of the city, particularly like business owners, and like the kind of businesses that people were needing relief for. A lot of it was like our corner stores and convenience stores, like they just needed help making rent. And a lot of our restaurants as well. I mean, the biggest thing I would say we helped pay for was rent. Rent and for businesses that were like operating in the homes, it was like Zoom memberships, stuff to make them available online and sort of start to digitize and like dip into e-commerce if they weren't already. And so I think that and my involvement in the community with ORM and other stuff kind of just really organically got me knowing more about Medford. and just getting really involved. And even as I started, I changed jobs a couple of times since working at City Hall. It's still always been like, I love being in Medford. I love the people that I've met here. My apartment isn't like the most affordable, but it's not insane. You know, I can continue to keep affording it. And so, yeah, I've just been involved and then I, this last or this upcoming election was talking with a friend who had has been involved with the ORM, like coordinated campaigns previously, and had asked, is this something you'd consider, you're qualified for it? And I still do often have the imposter syndrome of like, am I qualified? then I list out the things that I've done and what I went to school for. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I am. And I think part of it is just like, I'm pretty, I'm an introverted, extroverted introvert, I'd say. So part of it is really just like exposure therapy and like getting to know people. I do really thrive much more in one-on-one situations. And so when I've canvassed before in 2021, 2023, like those conversations at the doors are like, they seem intimidating, but they're actually very fruitful and I really enjoy them. And plus I like walking around anyway. So that was part of it. I think part of it's like, I am lucky enough to have job security. I'm lucky enough to have, despite, you know, my own like struggles in my life, I did, you know, still kind of got a lucky card out of it all. And if I have this privilege and like some level of comfort in my life, I do kind of sort of view, I don't want to say like my calling or kind of view it as like, I want to make this world better for people. And if I can like offer myself and offer what I know, particularly when it comes to something like being a city Councilor or even just working at city hall, I think something that's always kind of come through in my work professionally, in particular, has been let me help you understand this really bureaucratic, nuanced thing that can help you. A lot of the times it doesn't need to be that nuanced or bureaucratic, it just kind of is because, well, historically, these processes and institutions were made to exclude people systematically, and so helping sort of kind of like that helping within the system as it exists to try and get people access to it who haven't been able to access it before. I feel like that's a lot of my work professionally. And so if I have the knowledge and the ability to try and do that in the role of city councilor, I'd be, you know, honored at the privilege to. And at the end of the day, it's really, I think just like putting yourself out there, people respond to it, cool. They don't. tried my best and I met some more neighbors. So yeah, I think there's, I'm really, I think inspired and like excited about all the work the Kern Council is doing. And I wanna see it keep going. I know that there has been a lot, not a lot of opposition, but some loud opposition to certain things going on. And I think given the federal landscape, and being targeted specifically here in Massachusetts by the federal administration, it would really just hurt everyone if we started to revert back to policies and programs and things that didn't put people first, didn't really consider protecting everyone, making sure everyone is welcome here and safe here.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah, that was basically the biggest thing. And I feel like particularly now people are feeling that too. I mean, there's a primary for a reason, right? Like so many people did feel called to run for city council. And I think that plus, I also started getting involved in mutual aid Medford-Somerville mamas in 2020. And that has also been like huge for me as much as I like the political organizing. At the end of the day, the systems and institutions that rule us were created unequally and exclusively So I do sort of see like mutual aid and like other community-based efforts as kind of the filler of that because, you know electoral politics and organizing is only gonna get us so far. And so particularly like to your point of let me help someone here, like let me feel slightly in control. I do a grocery pair every two weeks. So I drop off a market basket card to a neighbor in Medford who needs it. And it's just like, you know, I know like Mamas in particular, they're helping so many people, but like I helped this family get their groceries and I can feel good about that. Despite like everything, like I know that like I did what I could.
[Miranda Briseno]: I wish it was better. I do have a strong duolingo streak. And I try my best to practice as much as I can. It's really, In particular, I've learned Mexican Spanish is so much slower than most other Spanish, um, you know, speakers. And so particularly living on the East coast for college and grad school, and now just being here, it's like, I'll start and say a few things and then someone will like just rattle off so quickly. And I'm like, Oh, let's try English. Um, but you know, usually I just try my best. Um, it was my first language, but, um, when I was growing up, actually the teacher told my mom that we might be slow if she talked to us in two languages. And at the time, you know, we were my mom's first kids and she and my father used to get like hit in school for speaking Spanish. So she was like, Oh, okay. Yeah. Seven years later, my sister's born and we're like, Oh, bilingualism. It's like great for kids in their development. So I do try my best. I do feel like slightly more confident. I think part of it is really just like, people want to see you give an effort and like communicating. with them and if you can meet someone on their level. In particular, yeah, I just don't think, even myself, as a native English speaker, you don't realize just how hard it is for someone who doesn't know English. And English is not easy and we use so many colloquialisms and terms of phrase that's like, what are you saying? And yeah, in particular, I've been trying to try understand more Spanish in regards to my work. Cause not only do you need to like learn a lot of language, but specific like industry language is hard to learn. And I don't even know everything there is to know about, you know, talking about transportation in Spanish in particular.
[Miranda Briseno]: Right. I'm like, how do you say urban planning? Like, I mean, I know it's urban planning, but it's like, how do you really like, get at the core of what you're trying to say, not just like this word that might mean something to us in English, but doesn't really translate well over into another language.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah, that is actually a big part of, I think, what I want to focus on for this campaign. One thing I think that really came to light for me, particularly working at non-profit Walk Massachusetts, very pedestrian-focused. Pedestrian, technically, you know, sometimes cyclists, but really just non-car, like, cyclist movers, whether you're walking, you're playing, you have a mobility device. Like it's the really, it's the basics, sidewalks. I walk a lot in my neighborhood and sometimes I'll walk down like George Street all the way down to Main Street. And there are like so many curbs that have no curb ramps. And I mean, I'm not, again, I'm not even using a mobility device, but I have short legs and sometimes these curbs, I'm like, these are a little like, Rough around the edges, we have so many tree roots uprooting sidewalks. And I think as much as people are like, well, yeah, everyone wants better sidewalk. It is a hindrance to people who have just a little bit of struggle walking, have a cane or mobility device. Someone like me who's just uncoordinated at times. I like, I mean, actually I didn't trip on a sidewalk. I tripped on my own porch and sprained my ankle. So that was on me. But I think that's a big one for me in particular, not just like, okay, is the sidewalk flat? Do we have curb ramps at every corner? Curb ramps with, you know, the tactile landing that also points in the correct direction. There's so many times you see those and they're like not even going the right way. So if someone is vision impaired or has low vision, like they might be led into the wrong area. Um, so that plus no removal and like just debris in general, uh, big, big for me because I, you know, walk to the Greenline station when I go into work a couple of days a week. And this past winter in particular really made me mad. Um, and as someone who's kind of taken a peek behind the curtain in regards to like transportation, uh, a lot of what you might run into if you're walking around the city and there's not like snow removed. particularly like on a little bridge, like over the commuter rail, often it's jurisdiction like arguments. So MassDOT, my employer, owns that, you know, part of the sidewalk. And understandably, most municipalities are going to stop where they have to stop because they don't have the money or the funds to like keep paying for the removal. But in particular, this past winter, the sidewalk from like Nick's Pizza all the way up until like right when they have the nice repaved sidewalk by the T station, just fully like a sheet of ice. And I'm like, you know, penguin walking to make sure I don't slip and fall. I've done it so many, I think I've done it every winter. And so I actually just started taking the bus up to the station because I knew that I would get, you know, avoid most of that. But you know, if I, I saw plenty of people walking over it, but it's like, we shouldn't have to do that first of all. And if we want to encourage people to walk more or just support people who need to walk for whatever reason, we have to do that at all times of the year.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah. And so just like little things like that. And so I think part of what that looks like for me is like having the city complete an ADA transition plan. which would sort of lay out like, okay, where are our deficiencies? And, you know, the city did do a kind of like a sidewalk inventory report in 2021, which did lay out everything. It's just a matter of like, you know, committing the money and the like manpower to doing that. And then also thinking about like, not just like for this transition plan, where do we need curb ramps, but like, what about our buildings, our recreation, like opportunities, like where are we failing to really be accessible And that's just thinking about sort of like the physical accessibility. That's not even thinking about like, you know, language. Do we have things that are like services that allow people to be involved? If they have like other commitments, child, you know, childcare. And then as well, you know, thinking about people who are neurodivergent or just learn in different ways. I've had I don't want to say the privilege, but my sister is on the spectrum. I've worked a lot with people who are neurodivergent. And so I've come to not understand, but I think really kind of get that picture of like what it's like when something really isn't clicking for whatever reason. And just, okay, how do we just rearrange how we explain this or offer this? And even some folks who I've met in Medford who are on the spectrum or have different intellectual or developmental disabilities or like just the slight change. And when we kind of become inclusive and accessible for what seems like a small population, but it's not, we actually are just making it easier for everyone involved and to understand what's going on. It's not just for this like specific group, but we're actually making it better for everyone. You know, when sidewalks are smooth, someone in a wheelchair can use them. but it also means like, as you get older, if you want to keep living in Medford, you don't have to worry about tripping and then like needing a full knee replacement as a result. So I think that's something I always keep in mind. And it's not just for people who need it now, but we're all going to need it at some point.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah. I want, I think this kind of, for me, falls under accessibility too. I want more benches, more places for people to sit and rest. Ideally, I'd want like a bench at every bus stop. I don't care where that bus stop is. I want a bench there. And the hill I'll die on is I don't want a bench with an armrest in the middle. I, if listeners have not heard of the term hostile architecture, sort of the kind of approach to architecture and like seating that lends itself to not letting people lay down or we don't want people loitering for whatever reason in this area. And what might seem like, oh, well, we don't want certain people in and around here, which I don't care about. But even if that was your thing, all that kind of infrastructure or lack thereof, like in New York City, is it Moynihan station where they just took everything out? One of their train stations, super busy. just no seating. They're like, we're just not going to have anyone sit here. And it's like, okay, but if I went there and I have four kids and we each have bags, like that's hurting me. If I'm elderly and need somewhere to rest, that's hurting me. If I broke my leg and I'm on crutches right now, that's going to negatively affect me. So I want benches everywhere. And if people need to lay down on them, that's fine with me.
[Miranda Briseno]: They're just going to go somewhere else, and anyone deserves help. strong believer in the tenets of harm reduction and the ways that that looks in terms of municipal policy. But yeah, no, being on benches, I was actually able to get, we got a grant when I was still at the city for bus infrastructure improvement. So the bus shelter that's across the street from Dempsey's and sort of near Elta Cuba, like across the corner from, or across from the cemetery, by City Hall, we got those. And then I believe on Salem Street, if you see like, there's like four or five like benches that are kind of like brownish in color, bought those. And I was very adamant that I was going to get these and not have them have an armrest in the middle. I even actually was able to get the bus shelters when we talked with the TEAS team about getting them because they have the contract we could hop on. I had said, I want that bar removed. and we got it removed. They were very surprised and I think I was the first person who ever requested it, but I was happy to do it. So I want more of those. Yeah.
[Miranda Briseno]: I don't know when I finally, like, I think it's one of those things where you're like, Oh, I think I've always believed this. I just didn't always have the words. But I mean, in particular, growing up in LA and being in school on the East Coast, you know, last eight years, I've gone back and forth so many times. One, I just see the increasing amount of people who are unhoused when I visit LA. And it's not that it's not a thing here, it's just LA is insanely populated. And they're not going anywhere. You know, encampments are happening because there's so many, even if there is like mobile homes offered To people who need it, there's so many qualifiers to getting that housing. And if we're going to put so many qualifiers on someone else's housing, but we're not putting those on ourselves, I think that's a huge disconnect. And if we're putting all these qualifiers on someone who just needs a place to stay, I mean, it's the basic hierarchy of needs. If you don't have shelter, food, safe shelter, consistent food, and food that you want. I'm not here to tell you what you can and can't spend your SNAP benefits on. It's just the basics, right? If we get people this, what they need, and if everyone has what they need, we're all safe.
[Miranda Briseno]: Yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, it's really, especially at the state level, even it's not even the federal level, but I feel like we're such a globalized world now that it's like, what am I doing? Even, you know, like as a one person in this ether, am I even doing anything? Every now and then I walk or drive by, see the benches or the bus shelter. Actually, one time I did drive by one of the shelters and someone was laying down and it was like towards the evening. I was just like, yes, lay down, please. You know, cause I mean, I'm lucky enough to have never experienced homelessness myself, but I've, you know, faced housing insecurity. My father was homeless. And I mean, at the end of the day, we're all just humans trying to live. Like I, anyone I see on the street, who's like struggling to find a like comfortable place to sleep. Like, why am I going to make their life so much harder when they're clearly already at a pretty rough point, and if they wanna lay down, who am I to sit here and police that?
[Miranda Briseno]: My website will be done this week, I think, but I am having a Meet the Candidate event this Sunday. at, I don't even know how to say the street name, 7 Ronaleigh, Ronaleigh. You can go to bit.ly slash meet dash Miranda. And there's, it looks like a form that you have to donate on. You don't, there's like a little free RSVP that has the address. It's, I want it Northwest-ish Medford. So, I'll be there, but yeah, I'll be on the doors this summer. And my website is just gonna be MirandaPersona.com. And so you can find me there and I'm on the socials though. I don't know how plugged in I'll be on the social medias, but can't find me there. I might be at Altacuba or hanging out with my cat.
[Miranda Briseno]: Hi, I live on Taylor Street, the hillside area. 1st, I just want to plug that mascot actually has a lot of vehicle ownership data. Available to municipalities that breaks it down by vehicle type. Personal commercial also has a lot of data on through the cities and the average daily mileage. You know, all of the cars that I think would be really helpful. I just want to echo a lot of what's been said that. Induced demand exists and the reality is that the 38,000 cars that exist in Medford. If we eliminated parking minimums tonight would still be here tomorrow. Mine included. So I think removing those parking minimums. will still will support and encourage developers or smaller owners to not consider having parking, but it's still not going to change people who do need and want to build parking anyway, because again, there are almost 40,000 cars in this city. I mean, I would have loved to not buy a car a year ago. my insurance, my car payment monthly, you know, gas, everything. I mean, I bought a hybrid, I was excited about that. But, you know, like, I would have loved to not have that experience. But it just, I sat on it for about two months before I finally made the decision. I would have loved not to do it. But here I am anyway. So even as a car owner, as someone who has spent a lot of time with people with mobility limitations, the parking that people need will be there. And we can find ways to support those that don't need a car, don't want a car, can't afford a car, and are reliant on public transit. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Hi, Miranda Briseño, Taylor Street. I will pretend to... know anything that is in this new proposed version. I just wanted one support that moving this to a special meeting for next week. I think given the importance that the charter serves to the city, and the fact that changing it requires a lot of reflection and to one of the councillors points that it is quite literally the legal obligation of the council to scrutinize what's put forth in front of them. It makes sense that you all need more than a week to review such an important document. And then I also just wanted to point out that, you know, there are, while I can, I certainly appreciate the survey that the committee did, I certainly filled it out myself. It was only 663 people out of a roughly, you know, 58,000 city, 58,000 person city. I think there's a lot of underrepresentation and that's not necessarily anyone's fault here. But if we are, you know, taking, uh, research and, um, academics that have done this work, um, to understand that, you know, the history of red lining based on racism and that has segregated the city, you know, including that of, you know, 93 separating the east and west, uh, parts of the city. Um, those. long-term effects will be reflected in ward district representation. Again, I don't know all the specifics of it, but that's just to say that we can't decide that something is going to be representative because we're moving towards this without understanding the historical context of who lives where and why. All to say, I think that moving this for another week for you all to review it, for the public to review it and come back, make more comment. is certainly worth it. And, you know, moving things forward under a sense of urgency without a quality check. And, you know, everyone doing the whole point of this was to put more checks and balances into place for the city, where the mayor has a lot of executive power and to say that, you know, the whole point of the council is to check that power. I think it makes sense. Anyway, that was rambling, but thanks so much. Good night.
[Miranda Briseno]: Hi, Miranda Briseno. I live at 2 Taylor Street in Medford. Thank you, Mr. President. I've been a renter in Medford for six and a half years. I've loved living in Medford and I love calling it home. The reality for me is that as a renter, I'm currently trying to find a new apartment that meets my changing needs, and I'm finding it extremely difficult to find a suitable place that will allow me to stay here in this place that's welcoming. I'd love to call home for six and a half years. To that end, I am disappointed to see the multi-use residential drop down from three to six units to one to three. If we want Medford to be affordable and for people to stay in Medford, we need to allow more housing to be built and implement other measures to ensure that rental and home prices stay affordable. This includes whether through zoning or another mechanism, removing parking requirements and minimums, supporting transit, pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. Additionally, I think there's some short-sightedness with limiting only specific business uses. I think it'll limit the city's ability to generate more tax revenue, in particular with relation to dispensaries and hotels. I recognize for the siting of a dispensary, it's limited to what is around. So maybe a dispensary isn't appropriate in Salem Street, but thinking about the city-wide zoning update, dispensaries have unequivocally across the Commonwealth generated immense revenue for the state and for communities that have worked with companies to allow for their existence. And similarly for hotels. I think if we're truly committed to climate resiliency, one of those is creating truly mixed use areas where people can go to the grocery store, eat a meal with friends, go to a park, exist in third person places where they are free to exist as people, or go to their doctor or receive substance abuse disorder treatment. And when we force these uses to be so far away from each other, we are forcing our neighbors to rely on cars, or if they have no access to a car to simply go without access to necessary destinations, which will be detrimental and fatal. I hope to see more opportunities for housing to be built with less parking required. more medical offices and more business to come to Medford in the future. Doning proposals, I'm looking forward to the one for my area. And I hope that, you know, we're also taking into account the Commonwealth's 3A updates that require MBTA communities to update their housing stock. And also just wanna thank all that have worked hard, both, you know, city staff, the council and as associates. This work is not easy, and I thank you for all that you do to balance all the resident input. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Miranda Briseño to Taylor Street. Also, thank you for saying my last name correctly. I've been a renter here for six and a half years. I love living in Medford and I love calling it home. The reality, however, is that as a renter who's currently trying to find an apartment that meets my changing needs, I'm finding it extremely difficult to find a suitable place that will allow me to stay in this place that I love. To that end, I'm disappointed to see the multi-use residential drop down from three to six units to one to three. If we want Medford to be affordable and people to stay in Medford, we need to allow more housing to be built and implement other measures to ensure that rental and home prices stay affordable. This also includes whether through zoning or another mechanism, removing parking requirements and minimums and supporting transit, pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. Additionally, limiting only specific businesses uses limits the city's ability to generate more tax revenue, particularly with relation to dispensaries and hotels. I recognize that the siting of a dispensary is limited by the location of schools and other things, but dispensaries have unequivocally generated immense revenue for the Commonwealth and for the communities that have worked with cannabis companies to allow for their existence. While they may not be appropriate on Salem Street, I implore this board and residents in the future to consider this as an important benefit of allowing more businesses to be allowed. If we are truly committed to climate resiliency on all fronts, one of those is creating truly mixed-use areas where people can go to the grocery store, eat a meal with their friends, go to the doctor, or receive substance abuse disorder treatment. When we force these uses to be so far away from each other, we are forcing our neighbors to rely on cars, or if they have no access to a car to simply go without access to necessary destination, which will be detrimental. I hope to see more opportunities for housing to be built with less parking allowed, more medical offices and more businesses to come to Medford and future zoning proposals for areas across Medford. Lastly, thank you to the board and to Inez Associates. I know this work is not easy and I thank you all for the work that you do.
[Miranda Briseno]: Miranda Briseño to Taylor Street. Also, thank you for saying my last name correctly. I've been a renter here for six and a half years. I love living in Medford and I love calling it home. The reality, however, is that as a renter who's currently trying to find an apartment that meets my changing needs, I'm finding it extremely difficult to find a suitable place that will allow me to stay in this place that I love. To that end, I'm disappointed to see the multi-use residential drop down from three to six units to one to three. If we want Medford to be affordable and people to stay in Medford, we need to allow more housing to be built and implement other measures to ensure that rental and home prices stay affordable. This also includes whether through zoning or another mechanism, removing parking requirements and minimums and supporting transit, pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. Additionally, limiting only specific businesses uses limits the city's ability to generate more tax revenue, particularly with relation to dispensaries and hotels. I recognize that the siding of a dispensary is limited by the location of schools and other things, but dispensaries have unequivocally generated immense revenue for the Commonwealth and for the communities that have worked with cannabis companies to allow for their existence. While they may not be appropriate on Salem Street, I implore this board and residents in the future to consider this as an important benefit of allowing more businesses to be allowed. If we are truly committed to climate resiliency on all fronts, one of those is creating truly mixed-use areas where people can go to the grocery store, eat a meal with their friends, go to the doctor, or receive substance abuse disorder treatment. When we force these uses to be so far away from each other, we are forcing our neighbors to rely on cars, or if they have no access to a car, to simply go without access to necessary destinations, which will be detrimental and fatal. I hope to see more opportunities for housing to be built with less parking allowed, more medical offices and more businesses to come to Medford in future zoning proposals for areas across Medford. Lastly, thank you to the Board and to Inez Associates. I know this work is not easy and I thank you all for the work that you do.
[Miranda Briseno]: Miranda Briseño to Taylor Street. Yeah, so I just wanted to echo the concerns. I don't live in South Medford, but I've both walked and driven and biked through it enough to know what these problems look like. And while I, Support signs is an interim approach. The best way to slow cars down, whether or not they're cutting through streets is to simply redesign our streets to be a lot safer. We can be narrowing lanes, putting speed humps, speed tables onto these residential streets to really force drivers to go slower. And similarly relying on enforcement really can backfire and be really unsafe for a lot of communities. So the best kind of enforcement that we as a community can investment is better designed streets. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Thank you very much. Thank you. I'll just echo what Ellery stated and similar to what Councilor Tseng, Collins, and Bears have stated, the state has already existed, has been provided to us by the state. And so utilizing this data would allow us to understand why that significant difference exists in traffic stops for our Black and Latino neighbors. And to bring this back to the issue discussed on South Medford and traffic concerns, the primary way the general public interacts with law enforcement is through traffic stops. This data from the state is already showing there are disproportionate stops for our Black and Latino neighbors. Data in communities across the country has shown that our Black and Latino neighbors are at disproportionate risk of dying through their interactions with law enforcement. In addition, if you overlay old redlining maps that show high disinvestment and neglect in primarily Black and immigrant neighborhoods with where current traffic fatalities and high traffic concern areas are, these are the same neighborhoods. Similarly, more data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has shown that as pedestrians, black residents of Massachusetts are more than four times likely than white residents to visit the emergency department as a result of being hit by a vehicle. In addition, nationwide data has shown the disproportionate risk that black residents to be a traffic fatality than white residents. So at the end of the day, if we're looking to keep our community safe, both from the negative consequences of high volume car traffic, we can also be addressing the true safety concerns that Black, Brown, and other marginalized communities have when interacting with law enforcement by investing more than we are now into safer street design. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Miranda Briceño to Taylor Street. I live near the intersection as well and just wanted to reiterate the safety concerns, especially in my professional opinion as a planner. I can tell that this intersection could definitely use some traffic calming and traffic calming that could be installed and done temporarily and quickly with paint overnight in the interim to address safety concerns. Thank you.
[Miranda Briseno]: Hi, Miranda Berseno, Taylor Street. And I just wanted to express opposition that more police patrol in the park area would be in the interest of community safety. Community safety means everyone and that everyone feels safe in the community. not just those who would like to see their property values maintained and keep people who they deem unworthy out of their neighborhood. Police don't keep us safe. In fact, police departments are rooted in white supremacy and anti-Blackness. They have foundations in the history in slave patrols and modern-day police forces have directed oppression and violence at Black people to enforce Jim Crow, wage the war on drugs, crack down on protest, criminalize homelessness, and more. Police do not prevent crime from happening. they respond after something has already happened. If the council's concern is to truly invest in community safety, there is a multitude of empirical evidence that suggests funding education and other social services like drug addiction rehab and safe consumption sites are what keeps communities safe. So I urge the council to vote no on more patrols and instead look for opportunities to allocate more funding to Medford public schools, affordable housing, respond to the climate crisis, address racial injustice, drug addiction in our city, and more. Thank you.