Board of Health – Apr 15, 2026

CITY OF MALDEN

Health and Human Services/Board of Health 215 Pleasant St., 3rd Floor Malden, Ma 02148 781-397-7000 Laura Vlasuk, Director

Malden Board of Health Meeting

Minutes April 15, 2026 6:30pm Mayors Conference Room, Malden City Hall

Board & Staff Present Dr. Scune Carrington, Board Chair Mr. John Colangeli, Member Dr. Kunwar Singh, Member

Laura Vlasuk, Director of Health and Human Services Caroline Gwokyalya, Clerk Drew Crawford, Senior Inspector Tai Nguyen, Public Health Nurse

• Meeting called to order by Dr. Scune Carrington at 6:30 pm.
• Approval of Minutes of the March 25, 2026, meeting. Motion to approve minutes made by Mr. John Colangeli, seconded by Dr. Scune Carrington. Motion passes 3-0.
• Introduction and appointment of Drew Crawford as the new Senior Inspector
• Mr. Crawford graduated from Hartwick College and immediately entered the field of public health.
• At the Brookline Department of Health, Mr. Crawford has made a significant impact in his role as Senior Public Health Inspector.
• He has strengthened public health protections and modernized regulatory operations.
• In this role, he independently conducted inspections and enforced Massachusetts public health regulations across food safety, housing, environmental health, and water quality systems. He played a key role in interpreting regulatory standards, issuing violations, and coordinating enforcement actions in collaboration with department leadership and town counsel.
• In addition to enforcement, Mr. Crawford emphasized education and community engagement by investigating complaints, providing technical assistance, and promoting sustainable compliance among residents and businesses.
• Notably, he designed and implemented an Excel-based inspection and compliance tracking system, which improved scheduling efficiency, documentation accuracy, and regulatory transparency. He also supported the department's transition to enhanced digital records management.
• Prior to joining Brookline, Mr. Crawford served as a Public Health Specialist with the Saratoga County Department of Health, where he contributed to the county's transition to a full-service health department. His experience included inspections across diverse facilities, environmental health investigations, and regulatory compliance under New York State law.
• Mr. Crawford remains actively involved in professional organizations, including the Massachusetts Health Officers Association, and holds multiple certifications in food protection, environmental health, and pool operation.
• Mr. Crawford has been a welcomed addition and has demonstrated an ability to contribute effectively from day one.
• Motion to appoint Drew Crawford as Senior Inspector made by Mr. John Colangeli, seconded by Dr. Kunwar Singh. Motion passes 3 -0.
• Introduction and appointment of Tai Nguyen
• Mr. Nguyen earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
• He began his career as a case manager at Mystic Valley Elder Services, where he supported Vietnamese-speaking older adults with medication management and care navigation.
• He later served as a Registered Nurse with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.
• Mr. Nguyen then worked for the City of Melrose as a Regional Public Health Nurse, serving multiple communities, including Malden.
• This role represents a natural transition, as he has already been supporting tuberculosis (TB) case management during the vacancy in the previous Public Health Nurse position.
• Motion to appoint Tai Nguyen as Public Health Nurse made by Dr. Kunwar Singh seconded by Mr. John Colangeli. Motion passes 3 -0.

Directors Report

• Janz Kitchen
• Janz Kitchen was visited by Food Inspector Peter Finn on March 26 at that time Mr. Finn left a notice to contact the office that day, Ms. Janz, owner of Janz Kitchen, reached out to Mr. Finn.
• Mr. Finn explained that he had been contacted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Food Protection Program regarding Ms. Janz social media advertisement of apparent food cooked in a home kitchen for sale.
• Mr. Finn provided Ms. Janz written definition of 590.001(C):FC 1-201.10 (B)
• Ms. Janz has since moved into her home business and is operating out of Mixx 360 Nightlife a fully licensed establishment located at 655 Broadway, Malden, MA
• Senior Center
• On March 3rd the Chinese New Year Celebration took place
• 52 Tax returns were processed for free through the Tax Assistance program sponsored by AARP in March
• On March 9th, 16th, and 18th, the Chinese Cultural Connection provided 3 fun and engaging workshops from 12:30 PM until 2:00 PM.
• March is National Kidney Month. On Wednesday, March 11th from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM, Tufts Medicine presented on Kidney Health and Diabetes in the Senior Center's Dining Hall
• Tuberculosis # of Active TB (Tuberculosis) cases: 9 (2 non-pulmonary/7pulmonary)
• Total number of Male: 5
• Total number of Female: 4
  • Age 1-10 = 0
  • Ages 11-20 = 0
  • Ages 21-30 = 26M
  • Ages 31-40 = 32F, 40F
  • Ages 41-50 = 46F
  • Ages 51-60 = 51M
  • Ages 60+ 71F, 72M, 73M, 77M, 80M
• Travel information - none
  • Country of Birth
  • Vietnam = 2
  • Haiti = 4
  • El Salvador = 1
  • Marocco = 1
  • Ethiopia = 1
  • Asian not determined = 1
• Teen Center
• State of the City Address hosted by MTEC
  • The youth helped with serving food, giving tours, and gave out brochures with general information about the Center and what we offer
• "Her Space", a female exclusive club at MTEC in collaboration with the YWCA
  • They view and discuss different female-led mediums of work and how it impacts our modern society
• Rice Crispies Baking Class
  • Derick Yu led the class and made both regular treats plus Peanut butter style Rice Crispy treats using Frosted Flakes as a base
• Language access support was utilized 45 times including walk-ins and language line

In-Person

Spanish 8

Portuguese 2

Chinese 5

Phone Line

Haitian Creole 4

Mandarin 4

Cantonese 2

Portuguese 12

Spanish 8

Arabic 1

Operator 2

• 30 Food Establishment inspections
• 27 Food Services Inspections
• 3 Retail Food Inspections
• 98 Rental Units
• 6 Complaints
• 5 individuals were transported to a rehabilitation center in March.
• Our gambling addiction team sponsored a table at the Senior Center, engaging with 52 individuals who participated in a gambling awareness screening.
• The date for next Meeting set for May 20, 2026, at 6:30 pm.
• The Motion to adjourn is made at 7:19 pm by Dr. Kunwar Singh seconded by Mr. John Colangeli. Motion passes 3 -0.

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Laura Vlasuk

From: Peter Finn Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2026 4:57 PM To: Laura Vlasuk Subject: RE: Empanada

No, she complied and stopped operations after my e-mail. I did not see the need to write an order to correct after the violation had already ceased.

Thank you, Peter Finn

Health Inspector Inspectional Services Department 215 Pleasant Street Rm 340 City of Malden Massachusetts 02148 pfinn@cityofmalden.org 781-397-7000 ext. 2075

Office Hours Mon, Weds & Thurs 7:45 AM to 5:00PM Tuesday 7:45AM to 7:00 PM Friday – Office Closed.

From: Laura Vlasuk <lvlasuk@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2026 4:33 PM To: Peter Finn <pfinn@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Subject: RE: Empanada

No formal letter?

Laura Vlasuk

From: Peter Finn <pfinn@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2026 7:28 AM To: Laura Vlasuk <lvlasuk@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Subject: RE: Empanada

Hi Laura,

After the door hanger all communication between myself and the individual has been via e-mail. I have attached a PDF of the e-mail chain.

Thank you, Peter Finn

Health Inspector Inspectional Services Department 215 Pleasant Street Rm 340 City of Malden Massachusetts 02148 pfinn@cityofmalden.org 781-397-7000 ext. 2075

Office Hours Mon, Weds & Thurs 7:45 AM to 5:00PM Tuesday 7:45AM to 7:00 PM Friday – Office Closed.

From: Laura Vlasuk <lvlasuk@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 7:59 PM To: Peter Finn <pfinn@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Subject: Empanada

Was a letter sent to the empanada woman the Chair of the board of health would like a copy of it

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From: Peter Finn To: JANZfoodTravel Vlog Subject: RE: Janz Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:01:00 PM Attachments: Food Service Establishment Application.pdf

Hi Janz,

Unfortunately, in Malden it is not allowed at all to have a residential kitchen permit, it is forbidden by the zoning ordinance. In order to operate legally, you will need to find a commercial kitchen to operate out of. At that point, it would be basically the normal process to get a Food Service permit. If you do find a commercial kitchen in Malden to operate out of, I have attached the Food Service permit application packet. You would need to fill that and submit it to this office for review.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thank you, Peter Finn

Health Inspector Inspectional Services Department 215 Pleasant Street Rm 340 City of Malden Massachusetts 02148 pfinn@cityofmalden.org 781-397-7000 ext. 2075

Office Hours Mon, Weds & Thurs 7:45 AM to 5:00PM Tuesday 7:45AM to 7:00 PM Friday – Office Closed.

From: JANZfoodTravel Vlog <jclaveria1987@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 4:44 PM To: Peter Finn <pfinn@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Subject: Re: Janz

Question. How do i legalized the process? And also what are the requirements to have a residential kitchen. I am willing to get a permit. Also I have servsafe certificate and allergen certificate since ive been working in a restaurant for so long. I am very willing to legalized everything.

On Thu, Mar 26, 2026 at 4:34 PM JANZfoodTravel Vlog <jclaveria1987@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thu, Mar 26, 2026 at 4:29 PM Peter Finn <pfinn@cityofmalden.org> wrote:

Good afternoon Janz,

Thank you for getting back to me. I am a Health Inspector for the City of Malden Inspectional Services Department. I was contacted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Food Protection Program regarding your social media advertisements for Janz Kitchen, which appears to offer food cooked in your home kitchen for sale. This activity is not legal under 105.CMR 590.000 State Sanitary Code, Chapter X – Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food Establishments.

The specific code violations are as follows:

• 590.001(C); FC 1-201.10(B) Terms Defined: Food Establishment.
• (1) Food establishment means an operation that:
  • (a) stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends food directly to the consumer, or otherwise provides food for human consumption such as a restaurant; satellite or catered feeding location; catering operation if the operation provides food directly to a consumer or to a conveyance used to transport people not including farm trucks; market; vending location; conveyance used to transport people; institution; food bank; and,
  • (b) relinquishes possession of food to a consumer directly, or indirectly through a delivery service such as home delivery of grocery orders or restaurant takeout orders, or delivery service that is provided by common carriers.
• (2) Food establishment includes:
  • (a) An element of the operation such as a transportation vehicle or a central preparation facility that supplies a vending location or satellite feeding location unless the vending or feeding location is permitted by the regulatory authority; and
  • (b) An operation that is conducted in a mobile, stationary, temporary, or permanent facility or location; where consumption is on or off the premises; and regardless of whether there is a charge for the food.
• 590.003; FC 3-201.11 (B) Compliance with Food Law: Food prepared in a private home may not be used or offered for human consumption in a food establishment.
• 590.006; FC 6-202.111 Private Homes and Living or Sleeping Quarters, Use Prohibition: A private home, a room used as living or sleeping quarters, or an area directly opening into a room used as living or sleeping quarters may not be used for conducting food establishment operations.
• 590.008; FC 8-301.11 Prerequisite for Operation: A person may not operate a food establishment without a valid permit to operate issued by the regulatory authority.

Additionally, Malden City Code 12.28.030(C) prohibits all commercial food preparation in residences.

Therefore, you must:

• Immediately cease and desist from any food establishment activity without a permit.
• Immediately cease and desist from any food establishment activity in a private home.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this correspondence.

Thank you, Peter Finn

Health Inspector Inspectional Services Department 215 Pleasant Street Rm 340 City of Malden Massachusetts 02148 pfinn@cityofmalden.org 781-397-7000 ext. 2075

Office Hours Mon, Weds & Thurs 7:45 AM to 5:00PM Tuesday 7:45AM to 7:00 PM Friday – Office Closed.

From: JANZfoodTravel Vlog <jclaveria1987@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 3:50 PM To: Peter Finn <pfinn@CITYOFMALDEN.ORG> Subject: Janz

Hi how are you peter? Im trying reaching out through phone but nobody answer. This is janz. You left a note in my house but i was not there. Hope to hear from you soon.

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