License commission tables Fiesta Shows carnival application after safety, contamination and traffic concerns

The Revere License Commission on a regularly scheduled meeting tabled an application from Dean and Flynn Inc., doing business as Fiesta Shows, to run a weeklong carnival on a property on Squire Road after council and public safety officials raised unresolved safety and environmental concerns.

The matter drew multiple objections from Ward 3 City Councilor Anthony Cargliandra and public-safety leaders, who questioned whether the site could safely handle traffic, emergency access and large crowds. Councilor Anthony Cargliandra said residents were “looking at putting a carnival in the middle of 1 of the busiest areas of our city. It's already a traffic nightmare over there.”

Fiesta Shows’ vice president, John Flynn, told the commission the event would be smaller than earlier Revere carnivals and “more children rides than adult rides,” and described steps he planned to take if the license were approved, including electrical and health-department inspections and state inspection of the amusement devices.

Why it matters: Commissioners cited immediate public-safety risks and gaps in the applicant’s paperwork that need resolving before the commission can consider approving a large public event where families and children will gather.

Public-safety officials told the commission they had reviewed the applicant’s emergency plan and found it insufficient. Deputy Chief Paul Teever said the submitted emergency plan was “4 pages, and it's basically excerpts from that other professionally done plan,” and criticized a site diagram that showed only a single gate. Teever added the property has outstanding environmental questions dating to a prior fire, describing it as a “21 e site” and noting that “there hasn't been a 21 e done on the site to clarify whether there's still some contamination in the soil.”

Revere Fire Chief James Collin said he was “opposed to this location” because the carnival would add to traffic and could impede emergency apparatus responding from North Revere. Captain Thomas Malone, representing the Revere Police Department, also opposed the location and warned that nearby Brown Circle is “poorly lit” and “heavily traversed,” predicting that inadequate parking and pedestrian crossings would create safety hazards.

Flynn told the commission he could revise the safety plan and that the event would use private security, a single controlled entrance with bag checks and metal detectors, and parking he estimated would accommodate about 85 cars. The applicant said businesses adjacent to the property would be closed during the event if needed.

Commissioners did not vote to approve the application. After hearing comments from council and city safety officials, the panel decided to table the application so the applicant could revise the emergency/safety plan and provide additional site documentation addressing the committee’s questions. The commission told the applicant to return with clearer gate/egress plans, updated parking arrangements and clarification on the site’s post‑fire environmental status.

The commission’s stated next step is for the applicant to resubmit the application with the requested materials; the commission did not set a specific deadline at the meeting.