To the Editor,
Wake Up Providence: Sounding The Alarm On One of The Most Consequential Decisions of The Decade
Balancing Growth and Preservation – Please Make Your Voice Heard on Providence’s Comprehensive Plan
Providence residents, the City of Providence is on the verge of one of the most consequential decisions it can make over the next ten years — the Comprehensive Plan, and we ultimately need residents to use their voices on Monday, September 16, 2024, at City Hall, to share their thoughts.
Today, I’m sharing my thoughts and sounding the alarm on The City’s Comp Plan, given how important this once-in-a-decade plan will be in determining how the city will grow and develop.
The broad-based, one-size-fits-all upzoning that will occur across the entire city could result in a sea of demolitions, especially as developers will be incentivized to make their properties more dense, to accommodate and address an increasingly dire and growing housing crisis.
There is no question that we need to alleviate the housing crisis, and additional supply, and balanced upzoning will help us do so. However, I believe that in the process, we should not destroy what makes Providence so inherently unique—the historic housing, buildings, structures, and architecture that contribute to the vibrancy and fabric of our neighborhoods.
In the 1960s, the Providence Redevelopment Agency led the charge on “urban renewal”, which resulted in the demolition and redevelopment of the Lippitt Hill neighborhood, displacing a predominantly Black and immigrant community. The same thing happened in my neighborhood of Fox Point as well as in places like Mount Hope, and we risk history repeating itself – this time with long-term residents being priced out of their neighborhoods by landlords and out-of-state developers intent on capitalizing on the Providence market.
In Ward 1, we’ve recently seen a wave of demolitions on Wickenden Street, Angell Street, Brook Street, and more to allow for denser developments. Following increased upzoning, I presume that this development pressure will continue to increase, leading to demolitions on steroids and the enrichment of developers in some cases at the expense of our communities.
The proposed upzoning changes of the Comprehensive Plan could very well further threaten the historic character and place that makes Providence so special. As a result of the upzoning, there’s a greater incentive for homes to be razed and demolished, and without design review standards, new developments might not reflect the beautiful architectural and historic fabric that defines our city.
Instead of broad-based upzoning, we should increase the housing supply by focusing on building on empty underutilized land and surface-level parking lots as well as encourage commercial-to-residential conversions and adaptive reuse. We should also propose higher-density developments in places like Downtown without disrupting the fabric of our neighborhoods.
Additionally, without rigorous design review standards, inclusionary zoning, and affordable housing incentives, I worry that neighbors and long-term residents will be displaced. Further, I do not believe that landlords and developers who can command high rents will drastically and altruistically lower prices, even as supply increases.
We can walk and chew gum at the same time, but we must strike a nuanced balance between growth and preservation. We can and should change and grow our tax base, but simultaneously, we must protect our neighborhoods and our people from anything goes, one-size-fits-all development.
If you love Providence and your neighborhood, I encourage you to make your voice heard by contacting your Councilperson and attending the City Council’s second public hearing tentatively scheduled for September 30th. Our future and our city depend on it.
Councilman John Goncalves
To the Editor,
I am grateful to the Snowtown Research Teamfor pointing out the errors in my article “Archaeology Under Our Feet: Exploring Providence’s Past.” I worked as a volunteer on the dig and realize that some of what I wrote came from informal, speculative conversations on the site at the time of the excavation – over 40 years ago- before a full report and analysis had taken place. I also took some information from press reports. As a seasoned archaeologist I was well aware that I needed to check the reliability of the information. I sent the article to two other reliable sources for critical feedback. They provided me with accurate information on everything referred to by the Snowtown Research Team. Alas, this did not arrive in time for the publication deadline, which came up sooner than expected. It is entirely my fault that I did not call for a delay so that I could incorporate the corrections. I apologize for misleading the readers of The Providence Eye about the nature of Snowtown, a mixed-race working-class neighborhood which was never a red-light district, although Providence was not without one elsewhere. Singling out the luxury items found gave an incomplete picture of the overall finds many of which I excavated myself. Evidence of Native American activity on the shores of the cove was present but no any real indication of a summer camp. The real importance of the dig was what it revealed about the lives of those whose stories are not always told in the written record.
Sincerely
Ruth Marris-Macaulay
To the Editor,
Re: “State to Keep Control of Providence Schools for Three More Years” (September 11th, 2024)
I’d like to give readers a personal insight into one aspect of the state’s Turnaround Plan that many may not be aware of. When the takeover was announced in 2019, I learned of the Providence Parent Advisory Council (PAC). The PAC was created to give parents a seat at the table. As a parent of a grade schooler at the time, I joined the council to gain a better understanding of the problems facing the district.
During my three years with the PAC as a parent representative of Nathan Bishop Middle School, the council met every six weeks (it still does). In person, at first, then via Zoom during the pandemic. It included parent representatives and visiting parents from many Providence schools, the Commissioner, the Superintendent and staff members, and the PPSD’s Office of Families and Community Engagement. The meeting agendas covered a wide range of topics related to education in the district. Local and state education officers and administrators were regulars, invited to speak about their work, to present data, to describe ongoing challenges, and to gather feedback.
The meetings were productive.
But one meeting sticks in my mind because it was the first time Sam Zurier had attended. It sticks in my mind because an exchange in the Zoom chat between Mr Zurier and a parent left the room cold. I remember thinking it was needlessly aggressive (and self-evidently counter-productive). He might not remember it but I do—and it only confirmed for me that, too often, decision-makers are arriving with their minds already made up.
The best intentions are meaningless if the envelope is barbed. It’s why most Reddit community rules begin with “Be nice.”
It’s not lost on most of us that state takeovers have a poor batting average. We get it. But that shouldn’t preemptively condemn the fine work—thankless work, to be frank—of state and local employees, community members, and parents who put in the hours and effort to understand the challenges in the hope of solving a few of them. We’re all aiming for the same outcome.
I gained great respect for Ms Infante-Green. Despite the setbacks and wrong turns, her eye is on the ball, you can be assured. Will everything be a success? No. But she’s a shit-kicker, and the district needed one badly. And you will never find a more hardworking and humble school Superintendent than Javier Montañez. Any school district would be lucky to have his energy and focus.
As I see it, the City of Providence had over 25 years since the first Johns Hopkins University report, that identified failures in the district (most of them the same), to address the dysfunction and right the ship. That didn’t happen. Providence schools are a difficult challenge so if it takes a few more than five years for the state’s plan to see the district on firmer ground, I’m all for it.
If you have better ideas, attend a PAC meeting and share them. (And be nice.)
Emlyn Addison
Providence
To the Editor:
The long term track record all across the country of state takeovers of local schools is a failure. That states even consider such things is a sign the politicians are into showboating and power grabbing but the kids still come last for funding. Interestingly there was an interview with several school superintendents in the Boston Globe recently. The Superintendents of most of the districts (all in RI) said what had them worried. The Providence Superintendent started off quoting the mission statement. A sure sign of a Superintendent with no power to oppose the clowns in the state. The takeover has been an abject failure and the state needs to own up to it and let go and the city needs to tell them to go to hell.
Greg Gerritt
To the Editor,
Re Providence Schools: we know that it is vital for class sizes to be small, especially in elementary and middle schools. When there are 25 or more students in a classroom, it becomes crowd control, and little learning happens. Nowhere is this discussed by any of the “powers that be”. All children need a mentor outside of the home and a calm environment so they can feel safe to learn and relax.
Ruth Breindel
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