In December, Parliament approved the Elections and Boundaries Commission's (EBC) 2024 report on constituency boundary changes without amendments.
However, the proposed name change of the Arouca/Maloney constituency to Trincity/Maloney has largely gone unnoticed by residents, who expressed little concern, focusing instead on more pressing community issues.
Along with the Trincity/Maloney name change, four other constituencies were proposed to be renamed, including Pointe-a-Pierre to Claxton Bay and D’Abadie/O'Meara to Malabar/Mausica. While there were no boundary changes in St Joseph, the EBC also proposed to rename the constituency to Aranguez/St Joseph and Lopinot/Bon Air West to Arouca/Lopinot.
Newsday visited Maloney, located in east Trinidad, on January 14. It was evident that the area, home to well-known soca artists like Preedy and Pan-American Games 3x3 basketball bronze medallists Akheel “Small” Boyd and his twin brother Ahkeem Boyd, was grappling with a range of concerns.
[caption id="attachment_1133674" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Building 10, one of the four buildings painted in Maloney Gardens, D'Abadie. - Photo by Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]
The housing community was developed in the early 1980s on farmland before being transformed into an urban residential area. The community was primarily designed to provide low- to middle-income housing for families, many of whom were relocated from Port of Spain. Today, the area comprises 21 buildings with each housing 62 apartments. There is an average of three people living in the two-bedroom apartments to five in the three-bedroom.
Many residents struggled to identify the new constituency boundaries and were more focused on tangible issues affecting their community. However, the following landmarks can help orient someone to Maloney: From the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, turn left at the "Welcome to Maloney Gardens" sign. On the Eastern Main Road and bus route, when travelling along Redhill Main Road, Maloney begins at the T-junction near the barbershop and at La Resource: South side, Maloney begins when you reach the brightly painted pink Seventh Day Adventist Church at the corner of Euphonia Avenue Extension.
At Maloney Mall, Sherma Smith, a local business owner, said she was unaware of the proposed name change and did not wish to comment on it. However, she expressed frustration with the mall's dilapidated state.
With only 20 out of 50 stores occupied, Smith said tenants had to pool resources to replace bulbs. She said despite paying rent on time, tenants received no response when requesting repairs, and a recent meeting by mall management had made promises without delivering any changes.
Smith also voiced concern over the area's growing crime rate and urged young people to engage in positive activities.
“Everybody needs to know God and serve God. Do the right thing: live in love regardless of whether you're a single parent or not. Just do the right thing. Be a leader, not a follower.”
She expressed doubt about the effectiveness of MP C
