Massachusetts is preparing to open its beaches for Memorial Day weekend. Revere Beach is often a popular destination this time of year, but the city is issuing new safety guidelines in order to prevent spreading the coronavirus. WGBH Morning Edition host Joe Mathieu spoke with Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo to learn more about how the city plans to handle the potential rush to Revere Beach this weekend. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.
Joe Mathieu: I got a chance to read some of the steps that you're going to be taking here — no parking, no tailgating, beach games prohibited. Doesn't sound like any Memorial Day weekend we can remember.
Mayor Brian Arrigo: Yeah, our message is pretty clear: You are safer at home. These, unfortunately, are not normal times and ... sorry, I have a little one running around.
Mathieu: We can all relate.
Arrigo: No one should expect to spend [their] holiday weekend the way that they normally would, and the beach experience is going to be a lot different than anything that folks are really used to. So we're asking people to honor our veterans and celebrate Memorial Day at home with their family and keep gatherings under 10 people.
Mathieu: So while you do have a lot of rules and guidelines here for people who do choose to go to Revere Beach, you would prefer that people just not go, period?
Arrigo: That's correct. We want to make sure that people understand that they are safer at home.
Mathieu: You start looking around the neighborhood, Kelly's is going to be closed for the weekend along with most places along Revere Beach Boulevard. Do you want people to know that this is not going to look like Revere Beach when you get there?
Arrigo: So we've been working closely with the state throughout the entire crisis to make sure that Revere Beach is a safe place. And actually, Kelly's will be open. We've worked really closely with our restaurants along the beach. They are curbside pickup only; no lines are allowed outside of the restaurant. So we've tried to make sure that folks can continue to operate, but in a safe way. The collaboration with the state will continue through the weekend. We're going to make sure that people continue to social distance, that traffic is kept moving and the parking will continue to be blocked off, as it has been for the last month or so.
Mathieu: Understood. I have to admit, it says closed online. It's kind of a breaking news story here, Mayor, as you're telling us Kelly's is reopening, or have they already?
Arrigo: So they've been open, but they're closed to walk-up customers.
Mathieu: Okay, well, that's the part that I meant. That's what I'm referring to, because that was kind of a big deal when that move was made.
Arrigo: Kelly's isn't quite the same if you have to get it curbside and not enjoy all of the great aspects of Revere Beach and have to defend your roast beef three-way from a seagull.
Mathieu: Exactly. From a marauding seagull. But I'm sure, Mr. Mayor, like anybody in Revere, you'd like to take your little one who's bouncing around there this morning to do nothing other than that. It's just not possible this year.
Arrigo: It's not possible. And so, again, the message is everyone is safe at home, and truly, the meaning of this weekend is around the veterans that have sacrificed and made the ultimate sacrifice. We're asking people to celebrate that at home with their families rather than going to enjoy a beach day.
Mathieu: Remember the actual purpose of Memorial Day. How about enforcement? Do you worry about people complying?
Arrigo: We've seen over this entire crisis that the vast majority of people do continue to listen to what we're talking about and actually adhere to the rules and the guidelines that we've laid out. There are always going to be some people that may not want to listen, but for the most part, we've seen folks have complied with a lot of the regulations and rules that we've put out there.
Mathieu: But you'll have police, I presume, strolling Revere Beach Boulevard [and] keeping things straight.
Arrigo: So state police will be will be out there. We know that the state will have all of their resources dedicated to make sure that Revere Beach is a safe place and the city of Revere will have their resources dedicated to make sure that Revere Beach is safe this weekend.
Mathieu: I want to ask you while we're talking about all things Revere about the Jack Satter House. Revere, of course, had its own throws and is still dealing with them with the coronavirus, but there was a very difficult situation at that senior living facility. Nearly a dozen residents died following an outbreak there. Mayor, how are things going at the Jack Satter House?
Arrigo: Yes, so we've been working closely with management to make sure that the residents are protected and that the entire community is protected, and I'm really grateful for the work that they've all done. I know that what we've asked for our seniors is an awful lot, and we've actually been able to upgrade the situation at the Jack Satter House. We had a quarantine order in place. We've lifted that and it's now an advisory. We've been working with the management of the Jack Satter [House] to make sure, again, that the residents are healthy and safe. And things are looking certainly better in that building.
Mathieu: We all remember the image of the sign in the window, it said "we will survive." Someone hung [it] in the window. It's just one of those images that will always be symbolic of what happened this year.
Arrigo: We've seen people really step up, and I think what we've seen, especially in the city of Revere, is folks who are resilient. You get to see what people are made of during really difficult times. This has been a difficult time for all of us, and folks have the will to get through this really difficult situation. We're really thankful for all of our residents taking the difficult steps that they've taken.
