Nuisance Meeting
A very productive meeting took place today in which GCCC members met with Police Department representatives, Code Enforcement, and the Attorney General's Office.
All pertinent agenda topics were covered in depth and to our satisfaction.
Special thanks to the police brass who came down and gave us their ear and to our own District 8 officers who really can and do make a difference on a daily basis.
Anyone who would like an in depth report on the meeting can contact me at john@mthop-eastside.org to arrange for details.
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at 02:12 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
More Crime on Woodbine
Our fledgling Crime Watch learned of yet more crime today from residents who reported yet another break-in theft from a car on Woodbine Street. This time valuable items were stolen and the car vandalized. An abandoned, stolen car was also towed yesterday.
Of releated interest we have also recieved complaints from at least three homeowners in the area about open drug dealing right in front of the house on the Corner of Camp & Woodbine, address, 234 Camp Street.
Drugs almost always bring other crimes, especially break-ins, that is why it is so important to report drug dealing whenever you see it.
The department in the police responsible for drug enforcement is the NOCD, Narcotics & Organized Crime Division, headed up by Lt. Verdi, who has attended several GCCC meetings and is familiar with our plight and is in fact sympathic to our cause.
The NOCD phone number is 243-6418. Call them to report drug dealing, and always, always write down the name of the person you spoke with and the date of your call. Documentation of these facts is very important in getting action from city departments.
If you have any info about either the break-in or the drug dealing in front of 234 Camp St. get in touch.
Also, let the Crime Watch know whenever you contact the police so we can monitor the police response.
We deserve good service for our high taxes.
Contact: john@mthope-eastside.org
Posted at 02:11 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Police Do Job
Hats off to Col. Dean Esserman and the Providence Police Department for taking six guns off the streets and a number of "bad guys".
Today's Journal reported on the brass's press conference yesterday, projo.com.
It just goes to show what our Police Department can do when they make up their minds to do something.
Why haven't they made up their minds to shut down the Open-air Drug Market in the East Side's Mt. Hope neighborhood.
Have you noticed the crazy drug selling on Camp and on Pleasant during the police's shift-change, between 2 and 4 pm, on a daily basis depending upon the availability of drugs. It takes place in broad daylight!
It seems the drug dealers can out-smart the police simply by knowing when the shift-change occurs and Mt. Hope is for all practical purposes virtually empty of police officers.
I can't wait for the press conference when Col. Esserman announces, "We have shut down the Open-air Drug Market in Mt. Hope!"
I hope we don't have to wait too long.
John Twomey
Posted at 02:09 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Lead Paint Panel
An interesting article on the new lead paint legislation appeared in todays Journal, Projo.com.
Two points of note: (1) lead poisoninings dropped 80% in Rhode Island during the last decade: (2) 45,000 property owners will be affected by the legislation, but only a small number of those property owners, 195, bear responsibility for the vast majority of lead poisonings.
The panel debates when to put the legislation into effect.
Posted at 02:08 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Nuisance Update
Update to the March 22, 2005, post, Local Nuisance Task Force.
Arrangements are being made for the described meeting this week or next depending on the various scheduling snafu's that keep arising: from vacations to hospitalizations, Murphy's Law is definately at work.
We will be in touch with the parties who expressed concnern with these, police and nuicance, issues about the meeting. Any one else interested, contact us.
We are also collecting the addresses of sites that regularly pose a nuisance to the community, esepcially those sites where illegal activities such as drug dealing occur on a regular basis. Residents can e-mail nuisance sites to me and I will pass the info to the task force at the meeting.
john@mthope-eastside.org
Posted at 02:06 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Easter Egg Hunt
The Annual Greater Camp Concerned Citizens Easter Egg Hunt for kids will be held Saturday morning, March 26th, at the atheltic field at Hope High School, off Olney Street. At eggactly 11:00 am, the hunt beggins
See what you can find, kids: eggsiting prizes for all. We wish you all eggceptional luck, and eggstra best wishes.
Good luck, and good hunting. Find all the Easter Eggs or Horace will get eggsasperated!
Posted at 02:05 PM | GCCC | Comments (0)
Mt. hope Housing Meeting
A meeting of significant importance will be taking place Wednesday night, March 30th, 6:30 pm, at the Rochambeau Branch Library.
The topic discussed and the actions proposed may have an impact on Mt. Hope for many years to come.
Mt. Hop-ing for Healthy Affordable Housing
Someone is “ready to devise an Action Plan for the Mt. Hope neighborhood.”
And they say "We want YOU to be involved in taking the next steps towards making Mt. Hope the neighborhood you want it to be!"
Have all the taxpayers and residents been consulted?
Attend this meeting and learn who wishes to bring more affordable housing to the Mt. Hope neighborhood and why.
Read more on this topic by reading the March 18th blog/thread, titled, Call for Position Papers which outlines some pertinent questions, and the March 10th blog/thread HOUSING: Mt. Hope-ing You Get Involved! Residents brought up some good points and raised some good questions. Read even more on the March 10th blog/thread and on the February 13th. Be sure to read all the "Comments" on these threads. That is where the action is.
Below is the announcement for the meeting:
Hello,
Thank you so much for joining us in the "Mount Hope-ing for Healthy Affordable Housing" series at the Providence Public Library, Rochambeau Branch. We have learned a lot from community members and policy makers during the three sessions, and are ready to design an action plan for the Mount Hope neighborhood. We want YOU to be involved in taking the next steps towards making Mt. Hope the neighborhood you want it to be!
Come to an Action Planning meeting on Wednesday, March 30th at 6:30 p.m. at the Rochambeau Branch Library, 708 Hope Street, Providence. We will be providing pizza for dinner. Please RSVP by replying to this email or calling Sarah Weed at (401) 455-8111 so we know how much food to purchase. If you will need child care or a translator please let Sarah Weed (455-8111) know by Friday, March 25th. Thanks! We look forward to
seeing you on the 30th.
Sincerely,
Ruth Lindberg
Outreach and Education Coordinator
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
RI Department of Health
3 Capitol Hill, Room 302, Providence RI 02908
Phone: (401) 222-7681
Fax: (401) 222-1442
I believe that all Mt. Hope homeowners, renters, and residents should make it their business to attend this meeting and let their opinion be heard.
Posted at 02:03 PM | Politics | Comments (0)
Local Nuisance Task Force
We are in the process of arranging a meeting with the local nuisance task force we convened last fall, consisting of the District 8 Commander, a rep from the AG's office, a rep from Code Enforcement, and GCCC members, to address specific problematic locations in Mt. Hope that consistently present a nuisance to residents and to address specific (not general) complaints residents made at our March 17th meeting about recent police performance and response.
Any member who wishes to add their input should e-mail me at John@mthope-eastside.org or use the blog submission form addressed to John, Subject: Local Nuisance Task Force.
Posted at 01:58 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Position Papers on Issues
Calling for members to contribute to position papers on issues members have identified as important to the community.
Green Space in Mt. Hope,
Code Enforcement, Zoning, and Preservation of Historical Character in Mt. Hope.
GCCC cannot advocate for issues that members have identified as important with out performing due diligence on each issue and outlining a position and a plan of action.
We need the members who feel passionately about these issues to research the subjects as they pertain to Mt. Hope and to present their findings to the group for deliberation.
So far no one has answered the call for the other position paper we called for, New Affordable Housing in Mt. Hope: perhaps some members would be willing to form a Working Group to tackle a comprehensive overview of the three topics.
If no members step forward to work on these issues, these issues will not be part of GCCC's 2005 agenda.
Any members who wish to contribute to the Working Group should contact me:
john@mthope-eastside.org or use the blog submission form addressed to John, Subject: Working Group
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at 01:57 PM | GCCC | Comments (0)
Unhappy With Police
Last night, at the GCCC meeting, Mt. Hope residents expressed displeasure with the recent performance of our District 8 police officers!
We will be elaborating on what we learned from residents at last night's GCCC meeting, but in a nutshell here are a few complaints heard more than once.
Too much sitting around in the Sub-station!
Not enough patrolling in cars up and down our streets.
Not a quick enough response to calls.
Unable to respond effectively when defied by local punks who refuse to respond to officers request.
Too long a hold time when phoning dispatchers.
We think these complaints are all easily fixable. Lt. Kohen has always been very responsive to the community's needs and has a good rapport with the men and women under his command. I predict an improvement when these fine officers realize the extent of residents unhappiness with the policing situation. It's been a long, tough winter for us all.
We will be contacting Lt. Kohen for a meeting and he will be invited with his officers to our next meeting within three weeks.
We pay the same high tax rate other East Side neighborhoods pay, and we expect the same quality of service!
Posted at 01:55 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
New Positions Created
At their March 17th, meeting last night, the members of Greater Camp Concerned Citizens voted to create two new positions: The Members Secretary and the Political Liason Officer.
We will be introducing you to these new officers shortly.
The Members Secertary will be charged with the duty of increasing the GCCC membership by vigorous recruitment. He will also be developing the enrollment of local businesses as corporate members and devising a cost benifit relationship between GCCC and its corporate members.
The Political Liason Officer will be spending some time down at City hall learning the ins and outs of the political process as it relates to what is going on in Mt. Hope. He will become adept at doing a title search, or researching a code violation, or tracking funding moving through the City Coucnil. He will get on a first name basis with members of the Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services and with the employees of many city departments. I hope we don't overwork this poor officer.
We will be announcing the names of the people who were elected to these newly created postions in the near future.
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at 01:53 PM | GCCC | Comments (0)
Call for Position Papers
Announcing: A call for Position Papers
Members have named some of the issues they claim are important for them and of critical importance to the Mt. Hope Community either now or at some point in the near future.
This is a call for members to participate in the preparation of position papers on a number of these subjects:
New Affordable Housing in Mt. Hope,
Green Space in Mt. Hope,
Code Enforcement, Zoning, and Preservation of Historical Character in Mt. Hope.
I will outline some points that I think each position paper should cover but to which they are not strictly limited.
New Affordable Housing in Mt. Hope (NAH)
This paper should cover the following:
Is there a greater need for more affordable housing in Mt. Hope compared to other East Side neighborhoods? If someone or some organization has identified a need, upon what statistical evidence is this need based?
A Statistical analysis of housing in Mt. Hope: number of Section 8 tenants, number of subsidized units, number of tax subsidized units targeted toward low income buyers, percentage of SH/AH units in Mt. Hope compared to other East Side neighborhoods.
An annalysis of income demographics in Mt. Hope and the impact of adding more affordable housing to the existing stock of affordable units on the population of Mt. Hope and on the income demographics of Mt. Hope.
How do the people/organizations proposing more "afordable housing" in Mt. Hope define “Affordable Housing”. By "affordable housing" do they also mean "subsidized housing."
Do planned/proposed affordable housing projects include plans for buyers or renters. If they include units for renters, would they include units available for section 8 vouchers. How many section 8 units would be included in such porposals?
Would the proposed affordable/subsidized housing be permitted, zoned, or designed to make them compatible with the historical character of the existing Mt. Hope housing stock?
Who are the people/organizations proposing New Affordable Housing in Mt. Hope? Do they live in Mt. Hope? What is their stake in the neighborhood? What is their motivation?
Where will the money come from for NAH in Mt. Hope.
And don’t stop there. Be as thorough as possible in examining the pros and cons of having more affordable housing added to the Mt. Hope housing stock.
Much data is out there to be mined. Our new Political Liaison Officer may be called in to help guide the authors research, but first we need to identify members willing to form a working group to tackle this position paper.
I will next post guidelines on the other topics.
If interested in contributing you may use the comments tab or call or email me or you can PM me (private message) by using the white submission box on the blog; just be sure you write "Private Message, not for posting" at the very top.
If no members are willing to take on this task we will drop this issue from the GCCC agenda for 2005.
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at 01:50 PM | GCCC | Comments (0)
GCCC Meeting Ruled!
A very special thanks to all GCCC members, Mt. Hope residents all, who helped make our meeting a resounding success.
Thanks to State Rep Gordon Fox and AAG Laura Pisaturo, our very special guests, for their strong contributions.
In the coming days we will be reporting on the meeting in depth and planning for our next meeting, sometime in the next three weeks.
Follow through is very important.
Thinking, meeting, and talking constitute the easy part of any plan, then comes the execution, the actual work, the hard part.
Let the fun begin.
Posted at 01:49 PM | GCCC | Comments (0)
COMMUNITY ARTS
We’re not just about Problems & Politics.
Politics and Problems -- We’re not just that!
We want this website to present the entire range of activities taking place in our wonderful Mt. Hope community, from our children, our gardening, loving our pets, renovating our homes, our work, our play, our hobbies, our artistic expressions.
Someone has to be first, so I guess I’ll be the first brave soul to post a work of art to the Community Arts page. It is a slight piece, my contribution to the post-modernist ethos. I call it, Firemen Working on Knowles Street: Altered Image with Poem.
You may view it at Community Arts.
You can provide me with criticism and comments below.
The Mt. Hope Community Website wants your contributions. Don’t be shy.
We want to know about your home, your kids, your pets, and about what's important to you, and what you may have to share with the Mt. Hope community. You may share all that on these web pages. Let us know what you want; this is your website.
I think we can have a great resource here in this website, but in the long run, we must use it or lose it. I'm all for using it to the full extent of it's capabilities.
Posted by John Towmey
Posted at 01:47 PM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Questions On Mt. Hope Youth
Katie said in the post, Mt. Hoping . . .,
"I attended the last of the three Mt. Hope-ing for Affordable Housing meetings last night. In attendance were members of the Planning Department, Rochelle Lee of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Land Trust, Peter Simon, and representatives from the Mayor's office and RIHMFC.
Much of the discussion centered around what to do with our youth. A few interesting points came to light. For instance, Peter Simon says that out of approximately 700 teenaged children living on the east side, only about 300 attend school. CATCH has done a survey that found that the majority of kids do not feel "accepted" at the Mt. Hope Learning Center or the MHNA. It was suggested that a larger more inclusive teen center is needed."
Questions:
What are the 400 East Side teenagers doing who do not attend school. Why don't Mt. Hope teens feel "accepted" at the Learning Center or at the MHNA. Do they have programs appropriate for teens?
A new teen center would cost an enormous amount of money. Where would it be located?
Some things to ponder.
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at 01:45 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Crime Watch
CRIME WATCH / COMMUNITY WATCH
What do we as residents need to do to get a crime watch/community watch started A.S.A.P.
Posted by Dennis
Posted at 01:43 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
WELCOME
Welcome to the Mt. Hope Community Website.
If you're just joining us feel free to browse around and check out our features. A nice photo-essay just went up under Mt. Hope.
If you'd like to use the Blog/Forum to write something you will find clear instruction in the FAQ.
If you wish to comment on an existing entry click on the Comments tab below that entry.
Welcome.
Posted at 01:42 PM | Website | Comments (0)
Mayor Cicilline's Newsletter
Want to keep abreast with city politics and what our Mayor is doing (at least what he wants us to know about, :) then sign up for his Newsletter that will be delivered to you by e-mail each week.
Visit City News and scroll through the news and at the bottom of the page there will be an option to subsrcibe.
It's on http://www.providenceri.com/ under Public Notices.
If you want to know a little about what's going on in the City Council check the City Council Press Releases or download the entire council meeting at City Council Meeting Dockets.
Vedy interestink.
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at 01:40 PM | Politics | Comments (0)
More Green Space
More Green Space
Abbott and Knowles lot would be a great community garden. We need more green space and this would be a chance to grow veggies and flowers and bring people together.
Posted by ( ) anonymous
Posted at 01:39 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Extremely Fustrated Resident!
Some neighbors and I have been after the city for almost a "year" through Anthony Nunez, John Nicholson, and the Office of Neighborhood Services trying to get this land [Mt. Hope Land Trust Abbott & Knowles lots] cleaned.
Frankly, they're sick of our calls, letters, and emails, and still nothing happens. With this new information that the state will be developing the land, I suppose it puts the city in a strange situation: can the city cite and fine and put a lein on property being developed by the state?
I'm so angry about looking at filth through my front window I'm probably going to have a stroke, and all our efforts to hold SOMEONE responsible are for naught. And it's WAY worse than I've ever seen it - probably because I've given up picking up the garbage. Any advice would be appreciated about where to go from here.
posted by KL
Posted at 03:18 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Breaking News: Dead Body on Woodbine
We just recieved a call, at 4:20 from a Woodbine St. resident, that a dead body has been found at the bottom of Woodbine Street.
I am leaving in my 4-wheel drive to investigate.
Will post what I learned later.
Update: After a slushy slog through the ice & snow I got to Woodbine St. from N. Main, and there, on the left side of the street (the north side) perhaps 5 or 6 houses up, a policeman was holding up a tarp (presumably to cover a corpse) on a Woodbine St. front porch.
It did not look like a crime scene to me so, not wanting to invade anyone's privacy in a moment of grief, I did not stop.
This incident helps illuminate how useful a Crime Watch could be and how important a network of citizen communications can be.
Anyone with more info please fill us in on the ongoing situation.
CRIME WATCH, PEOPLE, CRIME WATCH!
Posted at 01:36 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Woodbine House & Car Break-ins
This just in: in a related matter it seems that the mini-crime-wave also hit Woodbine Street, as we just recieved this posting from a resident in that area.
"The house break-in happened Thursday, Feb 17th, around 5-6pm, the ground floor apartment. Cash and jewelry were stolen.
Two cars were also broken into last week, radios and other electronics stolen.
Of course, alarms can be effective, but I suggest also calling LT Kohen and asking him what is being done about the situation.
Don't close yourself off, but rather, getting involved and getting those reports will help.
Posted by Naama G.
Posted at 01:34 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Lancaster St. Crime Wave
A resident reported to me recently that there was a small crime wave in the Lancaster St. area in the last month involving cars being broken into.
I questioned Lt. Kohen our Sub-station Commander about it at the Mayor's State of Your City Meeting last Wedensday, and he said that it seems to be going in waves. The thieves seem to target certain streets where there will be a rash of break-ins, and then it will be quiet a while, then another rash of car break- ins on another street. Several arrests have been made.
A few months ago I heard the same compliant from residents of Jenkins Street.
The thieves have gotten away with several lap-top computers, cameras, purses and stereos. Why anyone would leave something of value in sight in their car is beyond me. It is just not smart. Of course, it's wrong to blame the victim, but we should all be smart and try not to make ourselves victims un-necessarily.
Don't leave anything in sight in your cars. Lock and alarm your cars.
Keep an eye out, and report anything suspicious to the police and always, always get the officier to give you an Incident Report Number. Don't take "No" for an answer. The responding officer is required to provide you with the Incident Report Number at your request.
Sometimes they [the police] feel it is too much trouble for them to call it in. But statistically speaking, if no incident report number is generated, the incident you reported, for all practical purposes, never occured.
Always get documentation whenever you can to support our case for more and better police presence in Mt. Hope.
Once again, another strong case for instituting a Mt. Hope Crime Watch.
Posted at 01:27 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
HOUSING: Mt. Hope-ing You Get Involved!
Final Mt. Hope-ing Meeting
I attended the last of the three Mt. Hope-ing for Affordable Housing meetings last night. In attendance were members of the Planning Department, Rochelle Lee of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Land Trust, Peter Simon, and representatives from the Mayor's office and RIHMFC.
Much of the discussion centered around what to do with our youth. A few interesting points came to light. For instance, Peter Simon says that out of approximately 700 teenaged children living on the east side, only about 300 attend school. CATCH has done a survey that found that the majority of kids do not feel "accepted" at the Mt. Hope Learning Center or the MHNA. It was suggested that a larger more inclusive teen center is needed.
Other issues discussed included the vacant property at the corner of Grandview and Camp, and the need for attractive and historically sensitive mixed-use development on Camp Street and along North Main Street.
The purpose of these meetings, according to Peter Simon, is to "revitalize" the Land Trust, and to get city and state agencies together to get more affordable housing into Mount Hope. We need to get more people to these meetings to make sure the character of our neighborhood is maintained. There has been talk of changing zoning and building high-rises.
There will be another meeting on March 30 to begin drafting a plan to put some ideas in effect. What those ideas are depends on who shows up.
Katie Laferte
Please click on Comments, below, to discuss.
Posted at 01:25 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Mayor Cicilline's State of Your City
Report
I've just come back from Mayor Cicilline's "State of Your City" forum which was held tonight at MLK Elementary in our neighborhood. At the forum, Cicilline set out to highlight for the 60 or so attendees some of the improvements he's seen in the City since his election, as well as some of the big challenges to come in Economic Development, Crime, Road Maintenance, Parks, Affordable Housing, and most importantly for him, Education and Property Taxes. Some of the important members of his administration also came out to show their support. At the end, citizens were able to ask questions directly of the Mayor.
I've summarized the issues brought up at the forum below:
Economic Development: Cicilline described how transparency in government is so important to businesses and developers wanting to move and build in your city. He said that the improvements since the previous administration in that regard have led to business investment in the Westin, the Holiday Inn, and several large residential towers in Downcity. He described these as a "turning point" for Providence, not only because of the way these projects will generate construction jobs and eventually be important factors for bringing people back to downcity, but also because of the huge tax base (and unlike previous projects, they are not subject to tax stabilization) these projects will generate for the city when they are built.
Crime: The Mayor cited lower statistics, improved trust in police since the previous administration, the introduction of community policing, substations, and foot patrols, and said that the police (Both Police Chief Esserman and Lt. Kohen were there today) are now going to turn the focus on to "quality of life crimes", such as burglaries, car break-ins, and graffiti.
Roads: Mayor Cicilline recalled how he was shocked when he came into office and found that the Department of Public Works (DPW), a "multimillion dollar city agency" did not own a single computer to help it keep track of all the road surfacing issues. He described how he has been working on modernizing the DPW by making sure they develop a "road resurfacing system" to address the road problems.
Another point he made was that Providence is shafted (see Press Release) when it comes to state money for maintaining and plowing main roads in town. All the other cities in the state receive 100% of the funding they need for plowing and maintaining their main arterial roads from the state. On the other hand, Providence is unfairly required to pay 60%. In other words the City dips into its own budget to pay for maintaining N. Main St., for example, but once it turns into Pawtucket Ave. or Main St. on the Pawtucket side, Pawtucket doesn't have to pay anything to maintain the road. Correction: Pawtucket actually pays about the same as Providence to maintain its roads. Most municipalities, however, such as North Providence (Douglas Ave. was actually the Mayor's example) have their major arterial road maintenance paid for by the state.
Parks: The Parks Department has undergone a major reorganization under Parks Superintendent Alix R. Ogden to bring the focus onto neighborhood parks. We've written about it previously in our Parks section of our blog.
Affordable Housing: The mayor only mentioned that affordable housing has doubled (we have the feeling that double a small amount is still a small amount) in the last few years, and acknowledged that there was a long way to go.
Education: Finally, the Mayor came to his biggest topic of the night which was education. School achievement statistics are going up somewhat, and Providence has now received important funding from the Wallace Foundation for a new initiative called the Providence After School Alliance (ProJo Article); however, the financing of public education in Providence is in dire need of help. First, Providence has had to demonstrate to the State that it can be trusted with money (unlike, as the mayor said, the previous administration) in order to get funding. This has meant $22 million in "tight budget cuts" that have cut our public school system "almost to the bone".
Secondly, two statistics were brought up - that no other state but Hawaii relies more on property taxes to fund public education than Rhode Island, and that only in 6 states does public education have less support from the State than in Rhode Island.
What does this mean? Because (1) property taxes are a big source of funding for schools, (2) schools don't get enough funding from the State, and (3) Providence's schools serve an urban environment with all its intrinsic problems, the citizens of Providence end up paying property taxes that are prohibitively high. Because of the high rate of property taxation, senior citizens are priced out of homes they've owned, residents who can't afford to live in Providence move out of the city and contribute to suburban sprawl and traffic jams on I-95, and businesses don't want to build or relocate.
His solution is to transfer more of the burden of public education funding to the State. Michigan is a great example of where this has worked, after people there voted on a referendum to pay 1% more in income taxes in order to save on property taxes. Guess how much property taxes went down in Michigan? Because of the economies of scale involved in public schools buying materials (books, etc.) in bulk as a State, residents were able to save 30%!
The governor and legislators from other communities, however, are reluctant to support it. The mayor called on Providence citizens and citizens of other communities to try to put pressure on legislators (especially the non-Providence legislators) to support and pass this tax/financing reform, and has hired Stacey Jordan (Email: sjordan@providenceri.com) to coordinate the effort. The Mayor also talked about being successful in getting a formula for school funding passed last year which will help the financing situation in the long term. This topic was a big item of discussion during the question and answer session as well, and most people in the audience seemed supportive of the Mayor on this.
Question and Answer Session
Besides the items above, here were some of the issues that people had on their minds:
Waterfront industry: A woman representing Sprague Energy expressed her company's fear that the Allens Ave waterfront might be redeveloped, and Cicilline eloquently described how he respected the opinions and needs of industries on the waterfront. However, he couldn't help thinking about that for the greater good of the city, the prime location of the waterfront could be a potential opportunity for redevelopment for public use and recreation, helping to bring up the neighborhoods around it. He stressed that it was just a thought and that discussions with all stakeholders would be an important step before that happened.
Neighborhood Planning: In response to a question from Summit Neighborhood Association President John Howard, Cicilline described how the city is developing, with citizen input, 25 Neighborhood Plans for each of the 25 neighborhoods in Providence. To go along with it is a zoning revision process. This can be found in more detail at the Zoning Commission Website.
Snow removal and Parking bans: It seems that Parking Bans need to be better communicated and better enforced (other City News as well). In addition, GCCC's own Al Martin brought up how, years ago, a grandmother was hurt and a baby killed on the corner of Doyle and N. Main because a car couldn't see around a pile of snow, and that it could happen again because the big piles of snow are there again today. He also called on the mayor to fix the sidewalks for the sake of senior citizens and the blind (the mayor referred him to MONS director Rita Murphy) and to teach the "taxman down at City Hall" some customer service skills.
More education: It is no secret that federal support for education and community block grants has dwindled in favor of anti-terrorism spending and the war in Iraq, and it is no secret that it is a big reason that the states are squeezed for cash as well. Cicilline agreed, but said that getting reform through President Bush and the Republican Congress would probably be a lot more difficult than convincing the State first. Also, Cicilline was confident that talent was lining up for Supt. Melody Johnson's position and that Providence would easily get a talented replacement.
Posted at 01:23 PM | Politics | Comments (0)
This just in: Photo Essay on North Burial Ground
GCCC member Gordon Dowsett submitted the first member contribution to our Mt. Hope page, a brief history on the North Burial Ground in Mt. Hope.
Mt. Hope
Enjoy it.
We're looking for more contributors.
Got ideas? Contact us.
Posted at 01:21 PM | Website | Comments (0)
Speaking of Potholes . . .
Speaking of potholes, I hit one today that shook my fillings and rattled my brain, not to mention drove my old car insane, it bent my tie rods and flattened my tire,GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT POTHOLES OF IRE.
You can run into it on Branch Av. travelling west (that's toward North Providence) just as you pass the entrance to the Stop & Shop parking lot off of Branch.
Look out.
Posted at 01:19 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD . . .
Welcome all GCCC Members and Mt. Hope Residents to the Mt. Hope Community Website..
Of course, we apologize for the inconvenience, for we're still under construction.
However, our basic architecture is stout, strong, and structurally sound and should provide a firm foundation for a good time to come.
Of primary interest, please, our Mt. Hope Weblog/Forum.
Communication is key. Post early and often by using the white box on the right side of the blog, and feel free to comment on existing posts by clicking on the comment tab below each posting.
Also, avail yourself of our Vital City Links to contact the appropriate government agency of your choice, and please avail yourself of our Media Links to local print and broadcast media outlets.
Still under construction are the Site Map (all links) and the FAQ, both of which we hope will be completed soon.
Comming soon, Mt. Hope History, including Photo Essays on the Old North Burial Ground and on Mt. Hope Architecture and pages devoted to community input, including pages devoted to photos of. . . Your Pets, Your Kids, Your House, and pages for Community Arts, Visual Arts and Local Literature, as well as a page devoted to Local Business Talent.
Special thanks to Doc in training and GCCC member Roy Kao, our resident web-developer (a former pro), to Oriana Diaz, member, technical assistant and professional web-developer, and to John Bazik of Summit Neighborhood Association for putting us on the right track.
Remember the words of that great Speaker of the House, T.I. P. O'Neil:
All politics is local.
Posted at 01:16 PM | Website | Comments (0)
Providence Survey Results
The complete tally: Providence Residents Survey Results
Mayor Cicilline commissioned the ETC Institute, (Press Release) a market research firm, to conduct a statistical survey measuring resident satisfaction and to analyze the resulting data from surveys filled out by randomly-chosen residents of Providence. The results are in now.
Some of the more interesting results revealed that residents felt a bit less safe, but had a little better opinion of the police. A good number saw improvement in police visibility. Nevertheless, as always, the results showed much room for improvement.
The survey revealed 3 areas that Providence residents feel most concerned with and in most need of improvement:
1) Street maintenance, including snow removal, remains the city service in most need of improvement;
2) traffic management (including enforcement of existing laws);
3) and fostering economic development in the city, for job growth.
Wouldn't it be nice to see how, specifically, Mt. Hope residents weighed in on these city issues. We could even do our own survey. In fact, be on the lookout.
Update: Stay tuned for more analysis from John Twomey, who went to the Mayor's presentation of the survey on Monday.
John's update: Irene and I, as representitives of GCCC, recieved an invitation from Mayor Cicilline to attend a meeting at the Rodger Williams Park Casino. At the meeting, the Mayor, and an analyst from ETC, presented the results of the first ever Providence Residents Survey. In addition the Mayor went over the City's legislative package for 2005, a package that stresses property tax relief by asking the state to assume more of the financial burden for education.
On the survey, Mayor Cicilline stressed that because this is the first survey, its greatest value will be to serve as a baseline on which to compare future survey results. Because no previous survey reslults exist, it is important to understand that some areas of improvement won't be apparent. Read here, the Executive Summary.
Here are a few results from the survey:
City Services
Percent of respondents who were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" (as opposed to "neutral" or "dissatisfied") with...
water and wastewater services: 68%
public safety services: 66%
the stormwater runoff system: 51%
parks programs/facilities: 51%
customer service from the City: 41%
services for seniors: 40%
city code enforcement: 40%
city communication: 38%
the city's efforts to promote economic development and jobs: 36%
traffic flow management on city streets: 31%
street and infrastructure maintenance: 28%
In fact, a majority (52%) were dissatisfied with the maintenance of streets and infrastructure. It was chosen by 58% percent of residents as one of the top 3 most important city services to improve over the next two years, followed by economic development (42%), public safety services (30%), and traffic flow (30%).
Quality of Life
Percent who were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with...
Overall quality of life in Providence: 60%
overall image of life in your neighborhood: 56%
image and appearance of the City: 53%
value you receive for city tax dollars: 23%
Providence as a place to live: 64%
Providence as a place to work: 54%
Providence as a place to raise kids: 38%
Public Safety
Percent of respondents who were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" (as opposed to "neutral" or "dissatisfied") with...
fire protection: 79%
local ambulance service: 75%
response times: 63%
assistance from fire inspection: 62%
local police protection: 56%
visibility of police in retail areas: 44%
neighborhood police visibility: 43%
traffic enforcement: 41%
homeland security efforts: 39%
The most dissatisfaction was with the (lack of) visibility of police in neighborhoods (31% were dissatisfied), and police protection in the neighborhoods topped the list of the most important and immediate items. When it comes to safety, most people feel about the same as they did one year ago (61%), but there are more people who feel less safe (20%) than those who feel safer (14%) than they did one year ago. At the same time there were more people who had a better opinion of the Providence Police (18%) compared to one year ago, than those who had a lower opinion (14%). Most felt about the same. Also, 33% thought that police were more visible compared with the 12% who felt that the police were less visible.
There is much more detail about Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Public Safety, the Arts, City Ordinances, Customer Service and Communication, and Demographics. The complete results can be found here.
I found an interesting Rhode Island political site, BlackWhiteLeftRight blog), which also contains links to several other interesting Rhode Island political blog sites.
Posted at 01:14 PM | Politics | Comments (0)
