By Joshua Resnek [email protected]
The Planning Board engaged in contentious discussion Tuesday evening regarding the small factory complex pictured above. A manufacturing proposal involving tortilla production will receive consideration at a Zoning Board public hearing scheduled for May 10. This Winnisimmet Street property, owned by the Kayem Company, has functioned as a warehouse, office, and factory since shortly after the Great Chelsea Fire of 1908. The company has maintained continuous use of the site for nearly 100 years. While manufacturing operations have ceased, the possibility of resuming production under new ownership has mobilized roughly half a dozen Pembroke Street property owners to oppose the venture. These neighbors voiced their objections during an extended Planning Board session at city hall Tuesday evening.
The Planning Board subsequently voted 4-1 to forward a non-binding recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Zoning Board will conduct a public hearing on May 10 at city hall to address the matter. Those speaking against the proposal included influential Broadway resident Richard Smigielski and longtime Pembroke Street resident Arnold Jarmak, both of whom criticized the plan. Cinco de Mayo, a well-established Chelsea restaurant, apparently intends to acquire the property for tortilla manufacturing with two shifts, potentially expanding to three if circumstances warrant.
“When they were steaming the potatoes, the entire street and the backs of our homes were engulfed by steam and the smell of potatoes,” said Jarmak. “The thought of the neighborhood being taken over by the odor of tortillas being cooked is too much to bear. This neighborhood will stand against such a development plan,” he added. Smigielski contended the proposal would fail at the Zoning Board and characterized the two-shift operation running until 10:00 p.m. as unacceptable to himself and the neighborhood. Five residents spoke against the project, while two supported it and two posed general inquiries. Attempts to contact Cinco de Mayo’s attorney John Dodge proved unsuccessful. Several years earlier, the factory had been leased to a potato salad manufacturer.