This is a full blown red alert from the WBNA.  Please see below.

Neighbors,
Please help protect our beloved Armory.  For most of its history it has been known as the “castle for the people” and gubernatorial inaugural balls, high school track meets, car and poultry shows were held in the magnificent drill hall, yet now it looks like the State intends to make it a giant storage facility.  The Cranston Street Armory is a state owned building which means you own a piece of it and have a right to voice your concern.

The Situation
The WBNA recently became aware that yards and yards of chain link fencing has been permanently screwed into the original wood floor of the drill hall of the Cranston Street Armory.  We hear that the State Board of Elections will be storing their voting machines behind this fencing.  We also hear the State intends to pack the parking lot full of vehicles.  This fencing installation is of serious impact to the building and goes against all the neighborhood has been doing to advocate for the occupation and reuse of this nationally significant building since it was vacated by the RI National Guard in 1997. 

The Solution
We welcome the use of the Armory towers for state offices for human occupation and are pleased that the State Fire Marshal is making the Armory their home because people in the building will protect it for the future.  The drill hall would do very well returning to its original use of serving the public of Rhode Island.  The WBNA previously worked with the Department of Administration and found that if the towers of the Armory were occupied by state offices, it would save the state $2.5 million in office leases; however, using a building of this historic, architectural and national significance as a storage facility is inappropriate and not in the best interests of the state.

Neighborhood Goals for the Building
The WBNA will be asking our elected officials and the Department of Administration for the following:
Allocate $2.2 Million in state funds for the Armory in 2010 and each year thereafter until renovations are complete so that state offices can begin moving in, saving money for the long term
Return a public use to the drill hall of the Armory so the public can return to its “castle for the people”
Prohibit the use of the drill hall and towers or parking lot as a storage facility.  There are likely buildings at The Pastore Center in Cranston that better meet the storage needs of the state.
Require that all repair work and potential new users be first reviewed by the Rhode Island Historical and Heritage Commission, the overseer of our state’s historic treasures.

What you can do
Call or email the following people and ask for their help in making the following goals happen:

Senator Paul Jabour 751-3300  sen-jabour@rilin.state.ri.us
Representative Steven Costantino 521-1313  rep-costantino@rilin.state.ri.us
Representative Anastasia Williams 272-8135  staciaaw80@hotmail.com
Ted Sanderson, Executive Director, RIHPC 222-2678  tsanderson@preservation.ri.gov
Gary Sasse, RI Department of Administration, 222-2000 (he is in charge of state properties)
Ron Reynaud, RI Department of Administration, 222-2000
Ask other Rhode Islanders to call and make the same request
cc:  WBNA on your emails

Thank you for standing up for our neighborhood and our castle!
Kari, WBNA

Here is a link to a couple of videos recently taken.

Video 1...Click Here

Video 2...Click Here

Here are some disturbing pics as well.