Former Constable Seeks City Reappointment After Extended Hiatus
Kilburn Mill Vintage Toy Shop Seeks Secondhand License Residency Waiver
Police Chief Outlines Safety Requirements for Proposed Cigar Lounges
The Special Committee on Special Permits and Licensing met on September 17, 2026, chaired by Councillor at Large Ian Abreu, alongside Ward 1 Councillor Leo Choquette and Ward 5 Councillor Joseph P. Lopes. A communication from Councillor at Large Naomi R. A. Carney explaining her delayed arrival was read into the record before she joined the meeting. The committee first considered the mayoral appointment of Gerald L. Ribeiro as a city constable. Mr. Ribeiro explained his prior experience as a constable from 2003 to 2005 before an accident caused his license to lapse. The committee voted unanimously to refer the appointment to the full City Council with a positive recommendation for ratification on September 24, 2026. The committee then reviewed a petition from Mark DeCambra of Somerset, Massachusetts, doing business as SideQuest Complete at 127 West Rodney French Boulevard in Kilburn Mill, requesting a residency waiver under Section 15-38 of the city code to obtain a license to deal in secondhand articles. Mr. DeCambra explained that he operates a vintage toy and video game shop and recently relocated his residence from Taunton to Somerset. The committee voted to send the petition to the full City Council with a positive recommendation. Lastly, the committee addressed Matter 0179 regarding the feasibility of permitting on-site tobacco consumption (cigar lounges). A letter from Police Chief Jason Thody was read into the record outlining public safety considerations, including operating hours, occupancy, security, age verification, and alcohol service. Councillor Lopes reported conversations with Health Director Stephanie Sloan and City Solicitor Eric Jaikes, explaining that tobacco lounge permitting should be tied to discussions surrounding indoor cannabis consumption. The committee agreed to leave the matter on the table before adjourning at 6:41 PM.
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Council
City Officials
Public Safety
Public / Other
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
0:24I would like to call to order this special committee on permits and licensing.
0:28It is Thursday, September 17th.
0:312026 at 6:30 PM in the New Bedford City Council Chambers.
0:36Note, this meeting is being live streamed and recorded.
0:40City Council and committee meetings can be viewed on the City of New Bedford's homepage under Quick Links, then Meetings.
0:48I am joined by my colleagues in government this evening.
0:50We have Ward 1 Councilor Leah Choquette, Councilor of Ward 5 Joseph Lopes, and myself, Councilor at Large Ian Abreu and chairman of this committee.
0:59Thank you all for joining.
1:00I'll ask the clerk, are there any letters to be read at this time?
1:02There is.
1:02I have one from Councilor Carney.
1:04I'm writing this letter to inform you that I will be late arriving at the Special Committee on Special Permits and Licensing meeting on Thursday, September 17th, 2026, at 6:30 PM due to a prior commitment.
1:16I ask that you read this letter into the record to make my colleagues and the public aware of the reason for my delayed arrival.
1:24Motion received and placed on file, made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
1:28Anyone on the question?
1:29All those in favor say aye.
1:31Opposed?
1:32The ayes have it.
1:33Item number 1 is now before us.
1:34Item number 1 is a communication, Mayor Mitchell, to the City Council submitting the appointment of Gerald L. Ribeiro, New Bedford, as a constable.
1:42It was referred here on July 16th, 2026.
1:451A is the application, which was referred on the same day.
1:471 and 1A are now before you.
1:51Need a motion to receive and place on file.
1:54Made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
1:56Anyone on the question?
1:57All those in favor say aye.
1:59Opposed?
1:59The ayes have it.
2:00Is Mr. Ribeiro here?
2:02Take the podium, my friend.
2:07Give us a little overview of yourself and why you'd like to be a constable here in the city, and then I will open it up to the floor for questions.
2:14Okay, I am formerly a constable from 2003 to 2005, and I let my license lapse.
2:24I was involved in a terrible car accident and So I let it lapse, and a few things happened along the way, and I finally got the gumption to come back and try and do it again.
2:37Okay, thank you.
2:40Uh, colleagues, questions for this applicant?
2:42Chair recognizes Councilor Lopes.
2:43So, Mr. Ribeiro, you answered one of my questions.
2:45You already have the experience as a constable.
2:47Yes.
2:48Are you going to do this on your own, or are you going to work with somebody else as you start up again?
2:53I'm going to try— I'm going to start off on my own.
2:55But I do know a few constables that I'd like to work with.
2:59Okay.
3:00Because a lot's changed in 22 years.
3:02So that's my only thing, is that a lot has changed in 22 years.
3:05So I don't want you to be in a situation where a simple mistake, something that you could do in 2001 or '02, you're no longer allowed to do in 2026.
3:14Yeah, I understand.
3:15That's my only concern.
3:16All right.
3:17So thank you.
3:18You have my support.
3:19Thank you, I appreciate it.
3:20Thank you.
3:20Thank you, Councilor.
3:21The chair would like to acknowledge that we have now been joined by Councilor at Large Naomi Carney.
3:26Thank you, madam.
3:26The chair recognizes Councilor Choukout on his first.
3:28Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
3:29Good evening, sir.
3:31Um, just curious, um, do you have any other, uh, law enforcement experience?
3:36I'm just constable previously.
3:39Okay, no, no, that's fine.
3:40I just— I wasn't sure if there was anything prior that you needed for that.
3:45No, no, sir.
3:46No.
3:47Okay.
3:48All right, um, I have no further questions.
3:51That's it.
3:51Thank you, Councilor.
3:53Anything else from the floor for this applicant?
3:57All right, seeing none, colleagues, a motion referred to the full council for positive recommendations made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
4:08Anyone on the question?
4:10All those in favor say aye.
4:13Opposed?
4:13The ayes have it.
4:14So Mr. Ribeiro, this will be referred out to the full New Bedford City Council for a final ratification vote at our September 24th— Thursday, September 24th, next Thursday— full council meeting.
4:25So you don't have to be here, but if you want to come to watch the final vote, that will make it official.
4:30Okay, 7 PM here on the 24th.
4:337 PM?
4:34Yes, sir.
4:35Thank you, sir.
4:35All right, have a great evening.
4:36Thank you.
4:37Appreciate it.
4:38Thank you, sir.
4:39All right.
4:40Oh, that's okay, Mr.
4:43Clerk.
4:43All right, so we have item 2 now before us.
4:46Item number 2 is a communication.
4:47City Clerk, Clerk of the City Council, to the City Council, submitting a petition by Mark DeCambrous of Somerset, Massachusetts, doing business as SideQuest Complete, 127 West Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, Mass., requesting a waiver of residency in accordance with the Section 15-38 on the city code to obtain a license to deal in junk, old metals, or any other second-handed articles.
5:12It was referred here on August 25th, 2026.
5:15Number 2 is now before you.
5:18Motion made to receive and place this on file, made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
5:24Anyone on the question?
5:25All those in favor say aye.
5:26Opposed, the ayes have it.
5:27I assume you have missed it, DeCambra.
5:30Take the podium, sir.
5:34Similar to the first applicant, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you're looking to do, and then we'll open it up for questions.
5:40So my name is Mark DeCambra of Somerset, Massachusetts.
5:44My business partner and I own a small toy shop in the Kilburn Mill.
5:49We've been open for about 1 year.
5:54I just recently moved from Taunton to Somerset, so I had to reapply for for the waiver of residence.
6:00Okay, thank you, sir.
6:01Colleagues, Councilor Lopes.
6:04So thank you for the additional information that the reason why you're here is because you, you relocated your primary residence.
6:09Can you just give the general public a little brief overview of what you sell at the store and why you need the license?
6:15I'm sorry, can you give an overview of why you need the license to sell the junks and old metals?
6:19What kind of business you operate?
6:20Um, so we're a secondhand toy store.
6:23So we, you know, buy and sell, you know, vintage toys, video games and the like.
6:30So that's what the— how many years have you been there again?
6:33Just one year.
6:34So last August we opened.
6:36Yeah, perfect.
6:37I remember— I thought I remembered the name from last year.
6:40I wasn't 100% sure.
6:41Okay.
6:41Well, thank you for the additional information.
6:44All set, Councilor?
6:45Yes, sir.
6:46Thank you, sir.
6:47Anyone else for this applicant?
6:48Chair recognizes Councilor Chilcotinis first.
6:51Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
6:52Thank you for coming in tonight, sir.
6:53I have a very important question.
6:56Do you sell Star Wars stuff?
6:58I have some Star Wars stuff.
7:00Like this stuff?
7:01Yeah, we have some Pops, Funko Pops, and we have some vintage '90s stuff.
7:06Nice.
7:07Oh, that's cool.
7:08It sounds like your store is one of these places I could go in and just waste 3 hours of my life wandering around looking at all the cool stuff.
7:16Yeah, that's the part.
7:17We have the perfect place for that.
7:20All right, cool.
7:21All right, well, thank you.
7:22Thank you.
7:23Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
7:24Thank you, Councilor Choquette.
7:25Anyone else on their first or second for this applicant?
7:28Make a motion to refer to the full City Council with a positive recommendation.
7:31Motion for a positive recommendation to the full council made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
7:37Anyone on the question?
7:38All those in favor say aye.
7:40Opposed?
7:41The ayes have it.
7:42So, Chair, before you read item number 3, I've talked to Stephanie Sloan as well as Eric Jakes, our city solicitor.
7:48Unless we see motions from this committee to refer indoor cannabis consumption licenses, I'll leave this item tabled for the time being.
7:58All right, so hold on, I will hold it before— no, it's the same thing I was going to say, but then, um, he's, he's gone.
8:07So same thing for him, September 24th.
8:09So Council, before we actually go to that, we do have a We do have a communication that we need to receive and place on file submitted by Police Chief Jason Thode regarding this item.
8:18Make a motion to receive and place on file the communication made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
8:23Anyone on the question?
8:24All in favor say aye.
8:25Opposed, the ayes have it.
8:26I'll ask the clerk to read this just into the record so folks know what the police chief had to say about this.
8:32I am writing regarding matter 0179, a motion requesting that the City Council engage in the appropriate city department heads to explore the feasibility of permitting on-site tobacco consumption, commonly referred to as cigar lounges.
8:45Unfortunately, representatives from the New Bedford Police Department will be unable to attend the upcoming City Council meeting concerning this matter.
8:51We nevertheless appreciate the opportunity to provide input as the city considers this issue.
8:57The police department remains available to work collaboratively with the City Council, the Health Department, Planning Department, City Solicitor, and the Mayor's Office as the proposal is further evaluated.
9:07From a public safety and enforcement perspective, the department would be particularly interested in any proposed regulations addressing the hours of operation, occupancy, security measures, age verification, alcohol service if available, parking and traffic impacts, and compliance with existing state and local laws and regulations.
9:25The department would also welcome the opportunity to review any proposed licensing or permitting requirements before implementation.
9:31We respectively request that this letter be included in the record for the matter of 0179.
9:37Although we are unable to attend the meeting, the department remains willing to participate in any subsequent discussions, hearings, or working sessions regarding the feasibility and regulation of cigar lounges within the city.
9:48Respectively submitted by Jason Thodey, Chief of Police, New Bedford Police Department.
9:52All right, thank you, Mr.
9:52Clerk.
9:53So at this time, I'll recognize Councilor Lopes.
9:54The floor is yours, sir.
9:57As I stated before we read the letter into the record, I had a conversation with Stephanie Sloan earlier today.
10:02I made her aware that since there's no pending motion in front of the body to allow for cannabis consumption or the permitting for indoor cannabis consumptions at this time, we'll table this item.
10:13As to me, they correlate one for another.
10:15If we're going to allow indoor cannabis sales, then we should allow indoor tobacco sales, an equal number of licenses, as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts already allows municipalities through the Board of Health to allow or permit indoor tobacco licenses in their municipality, but that authority falls strictly within the Board of Health's privy, even though it is allowed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
10:37So your motion is to table, made by Councilor Lopes.
10:39Do I have a second?
10:40It's already been tabled.
10:42No, it has not.
10:43Okay, I'm sorry.
10:44Councilor Lopes.
10:45Seconded by— well, you know, it's on the table.
10:49You know what, it's still on the table, so we're going to leave it on the table.
10:51Yeah, we'll leave it on the table.
10:52Leave the item on the table.
10:53We'll leave it on the table.
10:54All right, so seeing there's no other business before us, a motion to adjourn is appropriate, made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Carney.
11:02All those in favor say aye.
11:04Opposed?
11:04The ayes have it.
11:05We are adjourned at 6:41 PM.
11:07Have a great evening, everyone.