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WBNA Enews 11/19/09
Upcoming Meetings and Events
- On Nov 20 @ 12:45pm @ the License Board in City Hall there will be a hearing on the Broadway Mart at 447 Broadway on License issues concerning that establishment -Lt. San Lucas
- Sat., Nov. 21, 9:30am-2pm, 75 Marshall Street, Red Planet Vegetables Yard Sale-- greens and herbs and roots for sale (This week is a special "pre-Thanksgiving" sale with herbs for stuffing, turnips for mashing and some precious brussels sprouts. Hope to see you then!
Catherine Mardosa
- Tues., Nov. 24, 6:30pm at WBNA HQ WBNA Crime Watch
- Fri., Nov. 25, Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange (see below for details)
- Tues., Dec. 8, 7-8:30pm at WBNA HQ Community Development Committee - Neighbors will be reviewing the City's draft neighborhood plan for Federal Hill and the West End. Contact WBNA if you would like an advance copy of the plan so you can bring your edits with you
- Sun. Dec. 20, Caroling with WBNA, Leadership RI, and Connect Providence Meet up with neighbors at Loie Fuller's, 1455 Westminster Street, from 5-6pm and depart at 6pm to carol throughout the West Side. All welcome.
Scroll down for updates on many neighborhood topics your neighbors at WBNA and beyond have been working on!
Neighborhood Action
Fall Fun at the Goblins and Gremlins Party Parade
A crowd of neighbors and visitors estimated at 500 came to the 2nd Annual Goblins and Gremlins Party and Parade during the afternoon of Halloween at the Dexter Training Ground. Costumed kids enjoyed face painting, crafts, a magic show by Will Hunter and a chance to launch a pumpkin with the giant trebuchet - a medieval catapult - made and operated by Heritage Restoration. Dog owners were able to enter their costumed creatures in a pet contest and were judged by dog owner and dog park regular Paul Caswell. Our local bars, The Avery, E&O Tap and The Scurvy Dog, brought a new feature to the day with a beer garden with a view of the pumpkin launching. Snacking on popcorn, hot dogs, cider, and baked goods all manned by local neighbors kept us munching. Raffle items donated by Trinity Rep., Hall's on Broadway, Planet Fitness, IKEA, and others raised funds so WBNA can continue to put on these community events. The event concluded with a Parade around the park led by Houligan and Textron, two of the Mounted Command horses, and four Big Nazo creatures. Neighbors went home with Halloween Maps with addresses of neighbors handing out candy to trick or treaters, and kids got grab bags from Monster Golf. If you missed the festivities this year, we hope you'll join in the fun at next year's Goblins and Gremlins Party and Parade.
Special thanks to Councilman Lombardi, Representative Costantino, The Providence Parks Department and the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism for sponsoring the event. Please visit Heritage Restoration's web site at www.HeritageRestoration.net and consider them for your next renovation project. Extra thanks to neighbors Alex Smith Bourget, Shery Principe, Kathleen Rehder, Anja McCall, and John Richard for organizing the event and to those neighbors who baked or volunteered during the day. Please contact the WBNA if you would like to be a part of the planning for next year's event.
Providence's Recycling Initiative
WBNA has received several emails and calls regarding the City's new Green-up Initiative which began on Nov. 2 and, in an effort to increase recycling citywide, requires recycling bins to be put on the curb with the big green trash cans. Opinions seem to vary on the issue. Some email to say they are strong supporters of recycling and are completely behind the effort and feel that there will be some adjustment pains during the first weeks, while others are up in arms in how the new system was communicated and that trash remains on the street. On a positive note, no one we have heard from is opposed to recycling. The WBNA has been in contact with the Department of Public Works to schedule a bin distribution and education day in an effort to help. The date is tentatively set for Saturday, December 5, time to be announced, at the WBNA. Once and if this gets confirmed we will send out word and will look to neighbors to help spread the word.
Trees
Trees were the topic of the last WBNA General Meeting. City Forester Doug Still spoke about the Providence Tree Survey and informed neighbors about city ordinances concerning trees. Did you know Providence has a Significant Tree ordinance that protects any tree (street or in private yards) that has a diameter of 32 inches or more? Trees 20/20 Coordinator Ray Perrault spoke about his program that provides trees at a discount price to neighbors who want to plant a tree in their yard. Trees 20/20 is an effort to increase the tree canopy in Providence.
City Tree Inspector Tom Morra and Providence Neighborhood Planting Program Coordinator Liz Downing explained the street tree program in Providence for which neighbors can come together and apply for street trees if they agree to help plant and to care for the trees planted. The deadline for the application is Dec. 1. Among neighbors in attendance were three residents who are each submitting a street tree application for the neighborhood. Since the meeting these neighbor leaders have met again to coordinate their applications. If you want a tree in front of your house and would like to join on to one of the application, please contact the WBNA at wbna@wbna.org.
The meeting concluded with RISD Adjunct Professor Lalya Gaye who shared her plans for a public art project involving trees on Broadway. Attendees gave valuable feedback and Lalya promises to let us know when the temporary installation will go up so we can all enjoy it. Neighbors also were interested in organizing a neighborhood inventory of significant trees. Please contact the WBNA if you would like to help with this effort.
Marketing and Outreach
WBNA 2010 Calendar Shop Work Eat Live LOCAL coming soon!
The annual WBNA calendar that promotes local business and highlights the great photos of local artists will be out in December. Thanks to support from the US Census Bureau we will be handing out calendars door to door free as a special gift to neighbors. If you would like to help distribute calendars on your street please let us know. Special thanks to neighbor, board members and owner of The Scurvy Dog, Jaime Wolloff for designing this year's calendar.
Working Together
On Thursday, November 2nd, the board of the College Hill Neighborhood Association (CHNA) invited WBNA's board to a gathering of neighborhood associations. It was nice to meet other active neighbors from other parts of the city. In addition to CHNA folks, it was fun to speak with Summit Neighborhood Association and Jewelry District board members as well as Friends of India Point Park. We all agreed it was great and would be good to gather from time to time to get to know each other and to talk about citywide issues of common concern or of common celebration.
Promoting our Local Businesses
The WBNA is developing its first-ever membership card. Card-carrying WBNA members will be able to take advantage of member discounts at participating local businesses. Are you a local business that would like to participate? For example, are you a restaurant with a slow night that can offer WBNA members 10% when they dine on that night? We hope that arrangements like this will help businesses and help the WBNA. Working together for the neighborhood! If you would like to participate please contact Chris Sanford at wbna@wbna.org.
Community Development
Grants
Special thanks to Senator Jabour for securing a $7,000 legislative grant for the WBNA. This assistance will enable neighbors to continue to organize, advocate and celebrate our community.
1577 Westminster Street
The economy has dealt several blows to the 1577 Westminster Street project but, after several surprising delays, we are on track once again. Once constructed, this project will be a "green" building that will provide supportive housing on the 2nd and 3rd floors by Spurwink RI and a commercial space on the first floor that will be the home of Urban Greens Cooperative Grocery Store.
A little history: Originally, the upper floors were to be low-income condominiums for first-time homebuyers in the neighborhood. When the condo market collapsed Citizens Bank pulled out of all condo projects and this project lost its bank financing. Fortunately, Spurwink RI stepped in to "save the day" and came with a substantial grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). That change saved but delayed the project as modifications to the construction drawings were necessary as was the submission of lots and lots of paperwork to HUD. Early this fall, the fire and building permits were finally obtained and a closing date with HUD was set for September 30th. Everything finally seemed to have fallen in place. Unfortunately and to our great dismay and surprise, the project and the contractor fell victim to the economy once again. Forty-five minutes before the closing, our contractor called to tell us he was unable to get bonding which HUD requires, he had had a "bad year" just as so many small businesses have. The closing was postponed and we regrettably had to say good-bye to our contractor.
Where we are now: The permits remain in place and now a little over a month later, the project team has a new contractor who is finalizing his paperwork to submit to HUD. HUD tells us that they will require at least a month and a half to review the paperwork. With the holidays near and our past experience with timing on this project, it seems wise to estimate longer than that. As soon as this closing occurs, construction will begin immediately. We apologize to the neighborhood for the delays, as so many of us have been anxiously awaiting the possibilities of this new building. When completed, 1577 Westminster Street will be a dynamic building with exciting uses. Out of respect to the patient, surrounding neighbors of 1577 Westminster Street, the WBNA would like to schedule a general clean-up of the site. Please contact Kari (kari@wbna.org) if you would like to help.
West Broadway Elementary School News
On Tuesday, October 27, a group of neighbors including Bryan Principe of West Side Public Education Coalition (WSPEC), Megan Heinze of New Moms and Dads for Schools (NoMADS), Karen Jessup of the Providence Preservation Society (PPS), and Kari Lang of WBNA met with Superintendent Tom Brady. Elected officials Senator Jabour, Councilman Lombardi and Councilwoman DiRuzzo also attended. The meeting was very positive. Superintendent Brady heard the neighbors of the West Side when we expressed our strong feelings about reopening West Broadway Elementary School. He explained that to move forward on building decisions, he needs to be able to build a case factually and that is why during the month of November there will be follow-up public meetings with the consultants who had held meetings in October regarding the future of Providence school buildings. At these November meetings, the consultants will present the demographic and other findings (the factual stuff) to the audience and present several options for neighborhoods. Superintendent Brady said that he will work with the neighborhood on these options so that the best decision is made. He also agreed to include West Broadway Elementary School as a facility in the Central zone (while it is a facility in the Central zone, it was left out at the October meetings). So far, the meeting dates have not been posted on the School Department's web site. We will send out word as soon as we get these dates. It is important to have a strong showing of families and neighbors at these upcoming meetings.
Grove Street School
The Building Board of Review held a hearing on Thursday, November 5th regarding the Grove Street School. Building Inspector Kerry Anderson had ordered the building's owners, the Tarros, to secure the building for public safety's sake. They claimed that securing the building would be cost prohibitive and in excess of $545,000. At the hearing it was clarified that securing the building meant putting plywood over holes in the floor, 6 foot chain link fencing around the building, that sort of securing not a wholesale renovation. The board voted to give the Tarros time to get revised pricing and the matter will be reheard at their next as yet unscheduled meeting.
No matter the outcome of the hearing, the larger question of the renovation of the building remains unanswered. The WBNA has a feasibility study that includes a historical study by Anne Tait, architectural drawings by Charles Hagenah Architects, Inc., and a structural report by engineer Wil Yoder. This report is available to interested developers of this significant, historic neighborhood property. Did you know that the Grove Street School was built in 1901 and was one of five grammar schools constructed in Federal Hill at that time to meet the fast-growing population of mostly immigrants? The Grove Street School is the last existing of these five schools.
Cranston Street Armory
Thank you to those who responded to the WBNA E-Alert and blog regarding the installation of chain link fencing into the drill hall floor at the Armory and its being used as a storage facility. Thanks to your emails our elected officials, Representative Costantino, Representative Williams, Senator Jabour, and Councilman Lombardi kindly set up a meeting at the State House on this matter. Marco Schiappa and Ron Reynaud represented the Department of Administration. Also in attendance was State Fire Marshal Jack Chartier, Bob Raposa from the State Board of Elections, and Ted Sanderson of the Rhode Island Historical and Heritage Commission. The State Board of Elections intends to use the Armory's drill hall for 18 months to 2 years as a temporary location while they secure the funds and retrofit a more appropriate facility at The Pastore Center for the State Board of Elections (Building 79 & 80). This use of the Armory will save the state the $48,000 a year that they were paying to lease storage space. Everyone agreed that utilizing the towers of the Armory for office use and the drill hall for public use was preferable; however, until the upper floors are renovated to have an elevator and a second staircase, offices cannot be in the towers. A portion of the Drill hall may still be used for public functions if applied through the proper channels of the State Properties Commission.
Everyone at the table was reminded that, because the Armory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Ted Sanderson's office (RIHPC) must by law review any work that is done to the inside or outside of the building. The recent chain link fencing was not reviewed.
It was also made clear that the State has set aside $1.3 million for fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013. These funds will be used to make exterior repairs that include repointing and masonry work to the upper towers, and replacing copper work. Please thank our elected officials for securing these funds for the Armory and encourage them to continue to do so and/or to increase that amount. The sooner exterior repairs can be completed on the Armory, the sooner the State can move inside to do code work so that one day the "castle for the people" can open back up for the people. The WBNA will be working to get some more frequent public access to the building in order to rebuild the constituency of people who care for the Armory.
Rhody Awards
Representative Costantino, Senator Jabour, Councilman Lombardi, Jessica Jennings and the WBNA were awarded a John H. Chafee Public Service Award by Preserve Rhode Island and the RI Historical and Heritage Commission at the Annual Rhody Awards for work done on the gas meter initiative. This was quite an honor. Thank you to those neighbors who have donated funds towards the purchase of awards that will be presented to our elected officials at the WBNA Annual Meeting.
A&P Auto, 334 Carpenter Street
A&P Auto has been the subject of many neighbor complaints over the years. From blocking traffic on Carpenter Street with overflow cars to be repaired on the street, to suspicions of stolen cars and use as a salvage yard, to overcrowding of cars and illegal dumping. For some reason, complaints have never gone through the proper channels and mysteriously nothing was ever done. Enter Lt. San Lucas. He noticed some untoward happenings and upon researching the situation found that A&P Auto did not have an auto repair license, was not zoned properly and had no permits. Again, mysteriously, before he was able to shut them down, the license was renewed. A&P Auto was given 90 days to resolve the confusing zoning situation. Last month, A&P Auto came before the license board and when they said they had not yet resolved the zoning issue, there was almost a move to give them more time. But then it was pointed out that they had had 90 days and their license was temporarily suspended. On Monday of this week, the case was reopened and a new hearing was held. Kerry Anderson of the Building Department testified that A&P Auto is a legal non-conforming use. The Board of Licenses voted to reissue the license but will review the case in 90 days and again in another 90 days to ensure the owners are acting as better neighbors and a good business to neighbors. If you are a neighbor who has expressed concern over the years, please monitor the situation so that we can report back in 90 days.
13th Annual BUY NOTHING DAY and WINTER COAT EXCHANGE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27
13th Annual Buy Nothing Day
On November 27th - the busiest day in the American retail calendar and the unofficial start of the international Christmas shopping season - thousands of activists and concerned citizens in 65 countries will take a 24-hour consumer detox as part of the annual Buy Nothing Day, a global phenomenon that originated in Vancouver, Canada. Some see it as an escape from the marketing mind games and the frantic consumer binge that has come to characterize the holiday season and our culture in general. Others use it to expose the environmental and ethical consequences of over-consumption. In Providence as part of International Buy Nothing Day, we hold a winter coat exchange on the lawn of the State House directly across from Providence Place mall. There are over 60 co-sponsors of this event - community organizations, places of worship, civic, and environmental groups. Volunteers are needed to help with this life-affirming event.
Winter Coat Exchange, 10-2PM
If you have a coat to give, please drop it off, and if you need a coat, please pick one up.
State House lawn (directly across from Providence Place mall). Rain/snow site: Cathedral of St John, 271 North Main St., OR Pawtucket Visitors Center, 175 Main St. Pawtucket
Contact information:
Providence - Greg Gerritt at 331-0529 or gerritt@mindspring.com. Phil Edmonds at 461-3683 or philwhistle@juno.com.
Pawtucket - Arthur Pitt at 724-8915 or kingarthur02940@yahoo.com
Newport - St Paul's Church, 12 West Marlborough St. / Maggie Bulmer at 849-3537.
Woonsocket - St Ann's Arts and Cultural Center, 84 Cumberland Street / Roger Bonin at 728-8328
Wakefield - St. Francis Church, 114 High Street. 10AM to noon. Tom Abbott at 364-0778
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