City to tighten security at spot favored by gays

MALDEN -- New lights, a buzzer system, and an increased police presence are among the steps officials are considering to improve public safety around a men's bathroom at City Hall that is listed on a gay website.

Security cameras also may be added throughout Malden Government Center, a six-story building in Malden Square that houses City Hall. The commission in charge of the building will meet on March 14 to finalize a new safety plan, an official said.

''We're looking at a number of basic safety measures that we hope will discourage any kind of illegal activity from taking place," said Frank Conway, executive secretary to the Malden Government Commission.

The commission discussed the new safety measures last week with the City Council's public safety committee. The council voted to ask the commission to lock the first-floor men's room, which is open to the public, after learning it is listed as a place for gay encounters on the website.

Instead of locking the bathroom, the commission decided to have staff and uniformed police officers regularly check it. Despite the listing on the website, Conway said he knows of only one reported incident in the last two months involving sexual activity, and police were notified.

Police Chief Ken Coye said the incident was minor. An individual approached a man in the bathroom. The person reported it to police, who tracked the man down and told him not to approach the man again, Coye said.

Police have known about the website listing for almost two years, Coye said. They discovered it while looking online for prostitution sites linked to Malden. ''We've watched it as closely as we can," Coye said. ''Is there some activity there? Yeah, but I don't believe we are a mecca."

In response to an unrelated incident, Malden police have decided to lock a bathroom in the Police Station foyer at 8 p.m. A homeless man sustained stab wounds after getting into a fight in the facility with another homeless man. ''We're not turning the homeless away," Coye said. They will ''just need a key to get in at night."

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.