Secret Meeting Theory
I 100% agree with the theory that these meetings are being held on the down low, at the most inconvenient time for the working, tax paying members of Mt. Hope society.
A policeman notified me of the meeting last week, however due to prior commitments I could not attend. I forwarded on the meeting info to many residents on Grand View and Evergreen Street. Even if I had NO commitments I never would have been able to attend as I am not fortunate enough to have a career which allows me to be out off the office by 4 p.m.
I would love to hear what was discussed in this meeting. Anyone who attended please do share your take!!
Dennis Cregg
To submit, click link: Mt. Hope Community Website/Blog Entry
Posted at 11:04 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Secret Meetings
I attended the meeting at the Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association at 199 Camp Street Tuesday that was ostensibly about the June 10 riot and about Community Policing. This was the 2nd such meeting the first being on Tuesday, June 12, right after the Billy Taylor Park Riot.
From what I understand of the first meeting (I did not know about the meeting so could not attend) there was much yelling at the police as if the riot was their fault.
I believe that these meetings have been carefully orchestrated so that working people and people who support strong law enforcement efforts in Mt. Hope either do not know about the meetings or can not attend because they were held at 4:00 pm in the afternoon when most working people could not attend. In addition, only a few people were notified of the meeting, I believe a select few.
I have a lot to say about the meeting I attended Tuesday, but not much time to put it into writing. Suffice it to say, I came away disgusted.
However, there were other people there who witnessed what went on and what was said and who may be able to share their thoughts and analysis of what took place at that meeting.
I urge anyone who attended and who can put their thoughts and experience into writing to post their experience of the meeting on the Mt. Hope Community Website.
Just click on the following link and submit your post:
Mt. Hope Community Website/Blog Entry or use the Comments tab below this post.
There will be more meetings, and I will post the schedule on this blog. The more people attending who represent a rational point of view the more likely our voices will be heard down at City hall and at the Police Department.
Posted at 07:34 PM | Community | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
To Whom it may Concern
To whom it may concern,
I called Rita Murphy 2 days after this horrific event occurred; she was unavailable for consultation at the moment but however, returned my phone call promptly.
When I began expressing my concerns and questioning her regarding the events that had taken place at Billy Taylor Park, she gave me the run around, and attempted to spin all the questions I asked her. In short, I could not get a direct answer to any of my questions. I was quite pleased that she rang me back so promptly; however I was gravely disappointed with her lack of answers to my specific questions.
I have emailed and called Councilman Jackson’s office numerous times (for reasons not only regarding the incident in Billy Taylor Park), and have NEVER received a response.
I emailed the Mayor also, however I have not received a reply.
In addition to my efforts I know some of my neighbors have also called and sent emails and as of the last information I have heard from them they too had received NO responses.
Mr. Twomey,
I could not agree with you more that Mr. Jackson is an ENABLER. I have heard this from individuals, and from Police officers. Mr. Jackson IS one of the primary reasons Mt. Hope is still dealing with issues which have plagued the neighborhood for YEARS!
To all:
Mt. hope is a GREAT place to live. Do not give up hope. In the 4 years I have been a homeowner in the area I have seen MAJOR changes. In the 6 years prior to living in Mt. Hope I lived on the other side of Hope St. (which for whatever reasons has the luxury of abiding by a completely different set of laws and ordinances), but still noticed huge changes happening in Mt. Hope.
Sincerely,
Dennis Cregg
Posted at 11:38 AM | Community | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Make a Contribution?
Anyone who wishes to contribute to the blog simply click the link below, or click on the comments tab below any post.
Posted at 12:55 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Female Phallic -- The Lily?
Can't a Man Just Love a Lily?
The Lily: Female Phallic?
Some people always interpret a flower in bloom as being a female phallic symbol, as they always interpret an erupting volcano as a symbol of female orgasm.
Jeepers, creepers, what will they come up with next!
Oh, by the way, this is just to say: the Lilies are in bloom.
Posted at 11:26 PM | The Arts | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
ProJo Covers BTP Melee
ProJo ran a story in Friday's paper, June 22, about the horrendous June 10th incident in Billy Taylor Park, a near riot actually, in which 4 police officers were injured. The incident resulted from improper permitting by Councilman Jackson, failure to follow their own guidelines and city ordinances by the DPW, and failure to properly respond to calls for service and to investigate whether the event and street closings were legal by the police department.
Click the e-link to read the article. Register for ProJo online if you haven't: it only takes a minute.
http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content/MCMelee_06-22-07_3864023.36846a8.html
Or you can continue reading below for the entire article.
Residents still upset over recent melee in Taylor Park
01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 22, 2007
By Gregory Smith
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE —
“I was shaking. It was just unbelievable,” said Peter Cassels. “It was a terrible melee …”
Recalled John Twomey: “It was a nightmare. I never want to live through that again.”
What occurred in and around Billy Taylor Park in Mount Hope on June 10 still has tongues wagging in the neighborhood. And it has produced a vow by City Councilman Kevin Jackson.
A family cookout that afternoon and evening deteriorated into a wild disturbance in which police officers and employees of the city traffic engineering unit found themselves dodging rocks and bottles. Four officers suffered minor injuries.
Seven people were charged, including at least two members of the family that sponsored the cook-out at the park and a man who allegedly escaped police custody and had someone cut off his handcuffs.
Jackson, D-Ward 3, obtained a street-closing permit from the city on behalf of Michelle Lewis of University Heights, who told him that she wanted to have a cookout for about 50 people to celebrate the end of the school year and to remember her son who died last year. But no one obtained the required permits to use Billy Taylor Park, to have amplified music and to have live entertainment. And no one notified the Police Department, which the police say is a requirement.
About 150 people came, as Jackson understands it, and the event got out of hand. He vowed yesterday that from now on he will only get street-closing permits on behalf of organized groups rather than individuals, to ensure that a legal and orderly event is the result.
“I think they were just overwhelmed with the amount of people that were there,” Jackson said. Lewis could not be reached for comment.
Twomey, acting president of Greater Camp Concerned Citizens, a longtime neighborhood organization, charged that the cookout became intolerably loud, in violation of the city noise ordinance, with profane gangster rap audible from nearby streets, that illegal street barricades were erected and that the event became the occasion for brazen drug dealing.
He complained that an officer who responded to his call to the police that day was not diligent, in part because the officer failed to verify that the people holding the cookout had the necessary permits.
Twomey, who lives at 28 Locust St., adjacent to the park, said that after several years’ improvement in the neighborhood due to police attentiveness, he is worried that Mount Hope is regressing. Twomey was joined in his criticism by Eric Lim and Cassels, another neighbor. Lim, who is a tenant of Twomey’s in a house at Camp and Locust streets, said he intends to move out.
“I don’t even feel safe walking home at night,” Lim said.
Lim said that when he moved some parts of a crude barricade to drive down Camp Street that afternoon, bystanders cursed him. Cassels said that he and other neighbors are upset about how the event spiraled out of control and that he now wants to sell his house and move.
Lt. David Schiavulli, commander of police District 8, said the officer about whom Twomey complained saw that part of Cypress Street was blocked off with city sawhorses and understandably assumed that the event was properly permitted. At that time, the crude barricades that people later put up on Camp Street were not in place, Schiavulli said. Twomey insisted that they were.
Twomey said that a professional sound system was set up in the park, that the noise level initially was controlled, but that it became intolerably loud at about 5 p.m. and continued that way until 8:30, when the violence erupted. Some profane rappers came on, backed by a deejay playing a back beat, with their voices amplified through the sound system, he said. When the sound system was turned off at about 7 p.m., according to Twomey, owners of sport-utility vehicles parked, blocking the street, and played music from their stereos at an excessive level.
Twomey said that he has been unable so far to obtain pertinent city records to prove his allegations, but he also alleged that no one obtained an insurance policy that was required for the event. Such policies are sometimes called for to indemnify the city for financial damages if something goes wrong.
The event began to explode when one or more city workers returned to remove the city sawhorses. They saw the crude barricades and also began removing them, when bystanders began pelting them with rocks and bottles, according to the lieutenant. The police returned, too, and said they saw about 200 people in the park and curbside on Camp Street.
Patrolman Brian Auclair began to write a summons for a noise violation for a man who had allegedly parked his SUV in the middle of the street, with the doors and the trunk lid open and the stereo blasting. People in the crowd began to curse and to menace Auclair and Patrolman Jose Mendez, and assistance was summoned, according to a police report.
Brian Daily, 22, of 82 Cumberland St., allegedly interfered with the officers’ attempts to keep the crowd under control, despite repeated warnings. Mendez arrested and handcuffed him and placed him in the back seat of a police cruiser. Bottles and rocks then began flying, and one rock narrowly missed Mendez’s head and broke a cruiser window, Schiavulli said.
Reinforcements arrived — about 20 more officers — leaving other neighborhoods with skimpy police protection, according to Maj. Paul C. Fitzgerald. Six more arrests were made, but in the chaos someone allegedly let Daily out of the cruiser and he escaped.
The police said Daily turned himself in at police headquarters the next day and handed in the cuffs, which had been cut through. He was charged with obstructing police, escaping custody and malicious damage.
Also charged were: Anthony Souza, 21, of Riverdale, Ga., with simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and malicious mischief; Gregory Bowman, 27, of 59 Lonsdale Ave., Pawtucket, with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct; Preston Laughlin, 26, of 76 Duncan Ave., Providence, with disorderly conduct; and Sheena Gonsalves, 21, of 69 Heath Ave., Warwick, with disorderly conduct.
Also, David Lewis, 19, of 131 Columbia Ave., Pawtucket, and Shanda Lewis, 29, of 3739 Pawtucket Ave., East Providence, were both charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Posted at 09:34 AM | Community | Comments (2)
City Hall Stonewalls on BTP Melle
I finally received a call back on Friday, June 15th, from the head of the Mayor’s Neighborhood Services Office, Ms. Rita Murphy. Her report left a lot to be desired.
Here it is broken down:
1) Ms. Murphy said that she spoke to all parties involved,
a) Kevin Jackson,
b) Dean Esserman,
c) the people who sponsored the event, (City Hall will not reveal their name to me) and
d) Kenny Gross(?) an out-reach worker.
I do not understand how her speaking to these people provides any answers to Mt. Hope or answers as to what is being done to prevent another such horrendous occurrence.
Ms. Murphy assured me that it would not happen again. I was less than convinced since it happened last year during the "Hector" event and unless steps are taken to correct the problem it is sure to happen again.
I asked her who in City government will be accountable for the event going so wrong. I asked her that, since someone apologized to the police for the event, who will apologize to the people of Mt. Hope, who will apologize to me for what I lived through and witnessed and heard.
I asked again if I could get a copy of the permit application and the permit. Ms. Murphy said that she was in the process of asking the City’s legal department if she could release the records.
Everyone knows that those records are public and anyone should be able, by law, to walk into the DPW and request to see the records.
I asked Ms. Murphy if the DPW requirements had been met, i.e. The required insurance binder, the entertainment license, as required in the DPW guidelines and application.
Ms. Murphy grew uncomfortable with this line of questioning. She began arguing with me over whether there was or was not live music there. She insisted that there was no band there. I tried to explain to her slowly, that there was a DJ spinning recorded background music and rappers rapping live over the recordings. After all, I was there. I asked her if she had been there?
When I quoted her some of the offensive lyrics the rappers used, she used that as a pretext to end our conversation claiming that I had offended her. In truth, she had no answers to my questions and was eager to try any type of cheap, manipulative technique in order to distract me and to wiggle out of being accountable for providing real answers.
Today, I received a call from a ProJo reporter doing a background investigation about the June 1oth incident. He was reading from the police report and asking me for corroboration. I'll write more on this when time alows.
Posted at 03:48 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Letter to Neighborhood Services Calling for Action
I sent the following letter via email to the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, Ms. Rita Murphy, on Friday, June 15, 2007.
In this letter I pose a number of questions to which I believe I will never receive an answer from any city official without my taking legal action. However, in a future posting, I will answer these questions to the best of my ability.
I also posit some actions that the City may take in order to avoid a repeat of this incident.
Dear Ms. Murphy,
I've called your office several times the last few days and have left messages requesting you to return my call, but I have not yet received a call back from you. I had a conversation with Col. Esserman this week as well as Lt. Schiavulli, our District 8 Commander. I have been told that you are the person to talk to about the break down in the system that caused the horrible incident, Sunday, June 10th.
I now have a copy of the police report. Have you read it?
What happened is inexcusable. Four officers hurt and the entire community disrupted and shamed. What my wife and I went through that day we never wish to experience again. The event was out of control from 5 o'clock on. With live rappers blasting profane lyrics about "EastSide Niggarz" "motherfucking" this and that, "fucking ho's", and "fucking bitches" while children as young as 5 and six years old milled around and listened to this.
A steady stream of drug deals took place right in front of my house on Locust St. I witnessed 4 transactions where cash changed hands for drugs. Many more took place down the street where I could not see the actual transaction. The ones I saw, I saw from my front windows and deck.
And then Camp street was blocked with over 150 people milling about drunk and high on drugs blocking both the street and sidewalk.
We would like an investigation and a written report detailing just what went wrong, including a time line detailing the following:
1) when was the permit pulled,
2) for whom was it pulled,
3) who pulled it
3) what did the permit allow
4) what type of permit is required for live or recorded music from any type of PA system
5) what is the allowable volume in decibels for music allowed under the correct permit
6) why wasn't the person whose name was on the permit supervising the event.
7) why was Camp Street allowed to be closed off illegally
8) why weren't the police notified of the event when the permit was pulled.
8) why wasn't police action taken after they received numerous calls for service complaining about the event and before the event got out of control and it took over 20 officers to quell the disturbance.
9) were the terms of the DPW permit application met, per insurance requirements, per entertainment license for music, per allowable volume per DPW guidelines as clearly stated on the DPW Street Closing guidelines on the permit application which is available online in PDF form on the city website.
Once a report is completed, we would then like to see your suggestions for protocols to be put into place that would prevent this from happening again, including:
1) a look at the permitting process,
2) a look at the way the police are notified of events,
3) a method for the police to confirm that the proper permits are in place before letting an event commence.
4) is this type of event, commemorating the death of someone involved in criminal activity, appropriate for a public park?
5) And would it be logical to require the person who pulled a permit to be on the site, with the permit in hand the entire duration of the event?
6) Would it be logical to require that the sponsoring party, the permit holder produce the permit at the request of the police?
7) Would it be logical that if a permit is not in order or if the event exceeds what the permit allows the police should shut it down immediately?
And then, after the proper steps have been taken, it would be prudent to distribute written guidelines to each and every officer as to how to handle these types of situations in the future.
I believe that it is possible for the Cicilline administration to put in reforms that would insure that the chances of such an incident happening again in this manner would be slim to none.
Am I asking for anything unreasonable given the seriousness of the problem? Will the administration wait until a policeman or a citizen is killed before acting?
I urge you to consult with Mayor Cicilline and to consider my request and my suggestions. If you disagree with anything I've written, or if you think this is not a serious matter that deserves your attention, then let's set up a meeting so we can discuss these concerns in person.
I urge you and the Mayor both to read the police report.
Ignoring a problem will not make it go away.
Sincerely,
John Twomey
Greater Camp Concerned Citizens
Posted at 03:46 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BTP Melee: Permit Requirements Ignored
The further I investigate this outrageous incident the more outrageous it seems.
Nothing was done legally or correctly, and the Mt. Hope community and the Police Department paid the price when over 20 officers responded and 4 got hurt dispersing an out of control mob in Billy Taylor Park, Sunday night, June 10th.
I just downloaded and printed the PDF file for the Permit Application for the type of permit needed for the event of Sunday, the 10th, a Special Event Street/Sidewalk Closing Permit.
I also downloaded and printed the DPW guidelines for these permits.
I urge anyone who wishes to investigate this incident to go to the DPW page of the City Website and read these documents.
Links:
Here are some excerpts:
Application for Special Event Street/Sidewalk Closing Permit Application Fee: $25.00 (Make check payable to: Providence City Collector) *Proof of Liability insurance and an Entertainment License is required* MUST APPLY TEN DAYS IN ADVANCE OF EVENT*Reason for closure:
Approximate number of people attending: __________ Description of event:
Will the street be obstructed with tables, chairs, bands, rides, inflatable bouncing cages, or any other obstruction?
Circle: YES NO
Will propane be used on street or sidewalk areas? Circle: YES NO
Will food be sold? Circle: YES NO
Will there be loud music? Circle: YES NOYou further agree that you shall obtained an entertainment license from the Board of Licenses (401-421-7740, ext 205) to use in conjunction with this street closing permit. Please note that this permit only grants permission to have the street closed for the event in question during the approved time shown on this document ONLY.
You will have to obtain an Entertainment License form the Board of License in order to use amplified equipment for music or sell food and drinks.
From the DPW Guidelines:
Applicants are required to show proof of Liability Insurance for all Street Closing Permit request that caters to 1-5000 people for Special Events or Construction Street Closings in the amount of One million Dollars naming the City of Providence and it employees and/or agents, and the Providence Parks Department, as additional insured. Over 5000 people at an event require proof of liability insurance in the amount of Five Million Dollars.Applicants who are applying for a SPECIAL EVENTS STREET CLOSING PERMIT are required to obtain an entertainment license from the Board of Licenses (401-421-7740, ext 205) to use in conjunction with a Special Events Street Closing Permit.
Department of Public WorksDIVISION OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
“Building Pride in Providence”
ARTICLE III – NOISE CONTROL
Sec. 16-105.
The commercial and noncommercial use of sound amplifying equipment shall be subject to the following regulations:(3) The volume of sound shall be controlled so that it will not be audible for a distance in excess of one hundred (100) feet from the sound truck.
(4) No sound amplifying equipment shall be operated with an excess of fifteen (15) watts of power in the last stage of amplification.
Count the violations.
And we haven’t even touched on the fact that the park was being used illegally as no Parks Permit was ever pulled.
And still no response from Councilman Jackson, the person ultimately responsible for everything that happened because he circumvented the proper permitting procedures, failing to pull the proper permits, and worst of all failing to notify the police that there was going to be an event in the park.
Soon I will begin posting excerpts from the actual police report.
Posted at 07:48 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Four Cops Injured in Mt. Hope Melee: Park Hijacked!
Why are the people of Mt. Hope so upset about our Billy Taylor Park being hijacked by drug dealers, profane rappers and an out of control mob last Sunday? The police answered the call, over 25 of them converged on the park to disperse the riot. That was most of the 3 – 11 police shift leaving most of the City without police patrols. Four policemen sustained injuries and our City DPW workers life’s were threatened. Lucky no one was killed.
I saw minimal media coverage, nothing in ProJo. I guess it was a non-event. Swept under and out of sight as if it never happened.
But Just Who is Angry
For one, the Police Department is very angry and rightfully so.
The DPW, whose workers were assaulted, is angry.
The Parks Department is angry because a public park was used without their permission, without a Park’s Permit, for an illegal event.
The residents of Mt. Hope especially those who live in the vicinity of Billy Taylor Park are the angriest. And our anger grows each day we hear nothing from the people responsible. And our anger grows because unless responsibility is taken, and an investigation launched, and procedures put in place to ensure there will be no encore, we will be forced to live through this type of incident again and again.
Who is Responsible?
We’ve spoken with City Officials, we’ve learned a lot, but we’ve received no answers. No one has stepped up and taken responsibility for this dangerous fiasco.
We do know this:
1) Councilman Kevin Jackson pulled a permit from the DPW for a block party on Cypress from Camp to Knowles. We still don't know for whom he pulled the permit. So far I have been refused a copy of the permit. We do not know who sponsored the event, only that Kevin Jackson pulled the permit.
2) We know that no supervision existed at the event. We know that Kevin Jackson was not present at the event nor present at the riot where the 4 policemen were injured and the DPW workers were assaulted.
3) We know that the crowd had only a permit for a block party on Cypress from Camp to Knowles, yet they illegally blocked off a 2nd, street, Camp Street from Locust to Cypress.
4) We know that the event was supposed to commemorate the death of a young Mt. Hope man who died last year in an auto wreck while fleeing the police at high speed.
5) We know that Kevin Jackson failed to notify the police of the event, as is required, and that District 8 was shorthanded that day and that the Police did not know about the illegal event or of the lack of the correct legal permits.
6) And most disturbing, we know that this same type of incident happened last year at an event for which Kevin Jackson pulled a permit for an event to commemorate the death of a Mt. Hope teenager, Hector, who was shot to death in a drug related shooting. It's on the public record. Look it up. Pull the police reports from the date on the permit.
What Can We Do?
I sent an email to Councilman Jackson asking him to explain but as of yet he has not had the courtesy to respond.
I spoke with Rita Murphy who had no answers to my questions but who said she would investigate. I put a call in to her today but have not yet received a call back.
The Chief of Police told me that the Police Department received an apology from the person responsible.
I think the Mt. Hope Community deserves an apology and a full explanation from the Councilman and from the Mayor. The buck should stop on his desk. This is Mayor Ciciline’s watch.
If any one wishes to see a copy of the Police Report contact this website or you can obtain it from the PD records Department, ORI #RI0040900, Case # 2007-00068036.
You can email our leaders and urge them to take the appropriate action.
Mayor@ProvidenceRI.com
Rita Murphy, Neighborhood Services
Rmurphy@providenceri.com
ward3@providenceri.com
Thank You
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Providence Police Department for their decisive response Sunday night and for the increased patrols in Mt. Hope since the incident.
Posted at 12:30 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
What we Know So Far
1) Kevin Jackson pulled the permit from the DPW only for a block party on Cypress from Camp to Knowles. We still don't know for whom he pulled the permit. So far I have been refused a copy of the permit.
2) No permit was pulled for use of the park, live music, food, etc. etc.
3) The event was supposed to commemorate the death of a young Mt. Hope man last year who died in an auto wreck while fleeing the police at high speed.
4) Kevin Jackson failed to notify the police of the event and District 8 was shorthanded that day.
5) The trouble started when people at the event began throwing rocks at the DPW crew who came to pick up the street barriers.
6) The police responded to the DPW's call.
7) When the police arrived rocks were thrown at them.
I spoke with Rita Murphy this morning, and this afternoon I spoke both with Maj. Fitzgerald and with Col. Esserman of the Police Department.
So far we have not heard from the man who bears responsibility for this dreadful incident, Kevin Jackson.
Maybe people will now understand why I refer to him as Kevin Jackson the Enabler, because he enables these types of things to happen every year by pulling permits for events that invariably get out of hand
Do ya think the Mt. Hope community will get an apology?
Posted at 07:30 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
A talk with the Chief
A few hours ago I spoke with Col. Esserman, Providence’s Chief of Police. He told me that the Police Department too is also upset and angry since four men were injured during the melee. He told me that he has been in Mt. Hope every night since Sunday and that they have beefed up patrols in Mt. Hope.
I spoke to him about the concept of the District Commander being the neighborhood guru coordinating all the city departments. He said that is exactly how it should be. I asked if there is a mechanism where whenever a permit is pulled a copy is sent over to the Police. The Chief told me that that is how it is supposed to work.
I asked the colonel, so what happened Sunday? He said that they did not know about the event. He said that there had been a major screw up. The permit, he claimed, was pulled late Friday by Kevin Jackson who was supposed to notify the District 8 Commander. Mr Jackson never notified the police of the event. If they had known they would have assigned several officers to monitor the event.
I told the Chief that I understand that they had not been notified, but what about the fact that after I and other neighbors called to complain and an officer was sent to speak with me and inform me that they had a permit for the event in the park the police were then aware of the event. I asked why weren’t officers then assigned to monitor the event. I was told that the officers were needed elsewhere leaving District 8 shorthanded.
I asked what could we do to prevent another such occurrence and he said that is topic for your councilman and for Rita Murphy. He told me that the Police Department received an apology from the person responsible for this horrible incident.
Posted at 07:29 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Rita Murphy, Neighborhood Services
I just got off the phone with Rita Murphy of Neighborhood Services. She had no answers to my questions.
1) I asked her who would take responsibility for the fiasco of Sunday night.
2) I asked her why, if a City Official, Councilman Jackson, pulled the permit, why wasn't a city official, namely the one who pulled the permit, there to supervise the event.
3) I asked her why there were no police there to supervise the event and why the entire police force had to come to quell the near riot.
4) I asked her about Chief Esserman's concept of Neighborhood Policing, because Esserman told the Mt. Hope Community,at a GCCC meeting, that the District Commander would be like a neighborhood czar, a liaison between all city departments, a person who would know everything that was going on in the neighborhood. I asked her why the police did not know about the event.
5) I asked her why no permit was pulled for an event in the park, why the event was held without the Parks Department's knowledge or permission.
6) I asked her if I could get a copy of the permit for legal reasons.
7) I asked her who sponsored the event, who, besides Kevin Jackson, was behind the event.
8) I asked her how many more times will we have to go through this.
Ms. Murphy had no answers for me to any of the questions. She told me that she had not talked to the parties involved yet but that she would get answers for me.
We all know that there are no good answers to any of those questions.
The whole thing is inexcusable. We are lucky that no one got killed up there in Billy Taylor Park.
Posted at 02:15 PM | Community | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Dear Councilman Jackson,
This email will be posted on www. mthope-eastside.com
Subject: Permit
Dear Councilman Jackson,
The DPW informed me that you are the person whose name was on the permit for, what turned out to be, an illegal event in Billy Taylor Park that ended up with 25 policemen responding to a melee on Camp Street after the event was over.
Furthermore, the permit was only for a block party on Cypress Street between Camp and Knowles. However, Camp Street was illegally closed off between Locust Street and Cypress.
Where were you during the event and where were you after the event was over when the entire on duty Providence Police force, over 25 officers, had to respond to disperse the resulting violent crowd.
Why was Billy Taylor Park used, with loud rap music, without a Parks Department permit? I called the Parks Department and they told me that they issued no permit for an event in Billy Taylor Park.
Who is ultimately responsible for this fiasco that disrupted the entire neighborhood and used the entire police resources to quell the near riot?
Where were you?
How can we, the community, with your help, prevent another such occurrence?
Your constituents await your response.
John Twomey,
Greater Camp Concerned Citizens
Posted at 10:32 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I was Sadly Wrong!
Peter wrote.
Until Sunday night's disgraceful melee at Billy Taylor Park, the area had been relatively quiet this spring and I had mistakenly believed the problems there and in the Camp/Cypress Street area had been alleviated.
I was sadly wrong. The District 8 police need to beef up foot and bike patrols in the area now that summer is approaching. Patrol cars driving by periodically aren't enough to deter illegal activities. I admire and respect the work of the officers, but they need to do a better job of communicating and coordinating with other city agencies, such as the DPW, and with neighborhood African-American organizations to prevent such occurrences in the future.
I also thought the drug problem had been reduced through last year's crack-downs, but the drug dealers and their customers are back. It's time for District 8 to once again coordinate with the department's undercover narcotics detectives to beef up surveillance.
Mt. Hope could be a good place to live, but the current environment has to change before that happens. These problems cannot continue to be ignored! It's time for city officials to solve them.
Peter
Posted at 10:16 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Councilman Kevin Jackson Pulled the Permit
I just called the DPW and found out that Councilman Kevin Jackson pulled the permit from the DPW for Cypress Street to be closed off from Camp to Knowles for a block party.
I asked Bernard Levy, of Traffic Engineering, for a copy of the permit, since it is on the public record, but he refused. He said he had to clear it with Rita Murphy, head of Neighborhood Services. Then he hung up on me.
I immediately put a call in to City hall to Rita Murphy and got Rita Murphy's office where they told me that she was not in, but I told them that I was calling for a copy of a permit and they suggested that I call the DPW. When I told them that I had already done that and had been refused by Bernard Levy they got shook and took my number.
So what have we learned:
1) that the only name on the permit was Councilman Kevin Jackson's.
I think City Hall and the Police Department will be going into damage control.
Next I will call major Fitzgerald, at 272-3121, ext. 6102, for the third time hoping to either speak with him or get a call back.
If I don't speak with Maj. Fitzgerald by 12:00, I will put a call in to Col. Esserman, the Chief of Police.
Posted at 09:38 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Dear Ms. Rita Murphy, Head of Neighborhood Services
Dear Ms. Rita Murphy, Head of Neighborhood Services:
The citizens of Mt. Hope want to know what went wrong last Sunday in Billy Taylor Park. Why did the entire police force have to converge on Billy Taylor Park, at 8:30 pm, to disperse a rowdy crowd that should not have been there in the first place?
Do you have knowledge of the incident?
The citizens of Mt. Hope wish to engage in a dialog with City Hall about this incident. Will you be our liaison, as you are the head of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services?
We await your response.
Thank you,
John Twomey,
Greater Camp Concerned Citizens
This email was sent verbatim this morning.
Posted at 05:40 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Media Coverage/Political Fear /Race!
I heard that the incident was featured on TV, but I did not catch what station.
I could not find a mention in ProJo about this major incident in Mt. Hope.
I believe that the incident will be buried because the powers that be are embarrassed about the incident.
The African American Community in Mt. Hope has long been allowed to get away with murder because the powers that be are afraid to be accused of racism, and every time a black drug dealer in Mt. Hope is arrested the African American Community plays the race card as if the police are using racial profiling to target Mt. Hope drug dealers. Our City Councilman, Kevin Jackson, has been the major enabler of this dynamic. I do not state this fact lightly; I believe it is backed up by facts and by legal documentation.
Do your own investigation.
Truth is the drug dealers in Mt. Hope are African American. If you need proof, drive down Pleasant street, or stop by Billy Taylor Park next to 124/126 Camp Street, or go by 206 Camp Street during the police's shift change between 2 and 4 pm, and you will see African American drug dealers selling drugs at those locations.
One of my mentors, Lenny Long, a former President of GCCC, once told me, ". . . don't ever bring up race in Mt. Hope, even though it is the overriding, divisive issue in the community: don't ever bring it up, because it will backfire on you. Do not attempt to have an honest discourse about race because it will be used against you, and you will be accused of being racist."
Enough already!
Let's call a spade a spade! Let's be honest!
It is time for the African American Community of District 8, 13% of the population, to step up and put a stop to the drug dealing, the filth, the ignorance prevalent among the African American population in Mt. Hope. A few knuckleheads should not be allowed to tarnish an entire demographic.
Who are the African American leaders of the Mt. Hope, African American Community? I would like to hear from them. What are they doing to help their own. Are there any African American Leaders in Mt. Hope? If there are, who are they . . . and why are they not doing anything to address the problems of the the African American Community in Mt. Hope, namely drug dealing and other criminal activity?
If anyone wishes to comment on this use the comment tab or click on this link: Blog Entry.
Where are the African American leaders in Mt. Hope?
We need you!
John Twomey
Posted at 04:02 AM | Community | Comments (0)
Update #2: Disgrace in BTP
I called Major Fitzgerald, head of the Uniformed Division of the Providence Police, at 272-3121, ext. 6102, and left him a detailed message asking him what happened and why a uniformed policeman had come to my house and informed me that the event in the park was a permitted event, when the Parks Department had told me this morning that they had issued no permit for any event in the park. I asked him to return my call but as of now he has not done that. I will call him again in the morning.
Then I called the Police at 272-1111 and told the dispatcher that I was following up on a call for service that I had placed yesterday and that I wanted to speak with the officer who answered my call yesterday. She promised to send him to my house to speak with me. I wanted to ask him why he told me that the event in the park had a permit, to ask him if he had seen a permit and if he had whose name was on the permit and what type of event was the permit for.
I have a feeling that all this trouble could have been prevented if our City Employees, the DPW, the Parks Department, and especially the Police had all been on the same page and doing their jobs. Not to mention our City Councilor. Don't get me started on Mt. Hope's Mr. Useless.
They did send an officer to my house this afternoon but not the one who had responded yesterday. However, the one who did respond this afternoon was one of District 8's best, an officer I know pretty well for his reputation for toughness and fairness.
He told me that the incident had been covered in today's shift briefing and that additional officers had been assigned to Mt. Hope today because of the incident.
The most important things I learned from the police officer are these:
(1) the DPW did issue a permit for a block party allowing Cypress Street to be closed off between Camp Street and Knowles Street. (Note that only Cypress was mentioned in the permit, no permit was given to close off Camp Street at all.)
(2) the event was to commemorate the death of a young man who died in an auto accident last year, I believe he died as the result of a police chase of a stolen car or of a police chase the result of a routine traffic stop. I recall the incident, I do not recall the circumstances. I will check up on this,
(3) the officer had no information as to who applied for the permit nor who sponsored the event,
(4) the police officer claimed that the police had no knowledge of the event and that that is why no police were present,
(5) the officer told me that the DPW workers who came to place the road blocks on Cypress and Knowles were assaulted with thrown rocks when they attempted to remove the illegal roadblocks on Camp Street.
So, what have we learned:
1) that the party who applied for the permit intended to circumvent the Parks Department by applying only for a permit for a block party on Cypress Street between Camp and Knowles, all the while intending to use Billy Taylor Park for the event.
2) they illegally closed off Camp Street from Locust to Cypress and from Cypress to Locust.
3) then they illegally hijacked Billy Taylor Park for illegal puropses, They had no permission to use the park for any event. No entertainment license, no license for music, no license for food, and no license for fires in Billy Taylor Park.
In plain english, the event in Billy Taylor Park was totally illegal!
4) Camp Street should have never have been closed at all since
the permit only allowed the closing of Cypress from Camp to Knowles.
5) the Police Department was unaware of any of this and ended up pulling all officers from every neighborhood in Providence to disperse the resulting crowd from this illegal event.
Tomorrow I will be consolidating all of these updates and comments into the original post "Disgraceful Event in Billy Taylor Park"
If anyone has anything to contribute they can comment via the comment tab or send an blog entry to this link: Blog Entry.
I would really like to hear from the Summit Neighborhood Association, the SNA, or the West Broadway Neighborhood Association or the College Hill Neighborhood Association to see how well they support Mt. Hope during this outrageous situation.
Remember, Mt.Hope exports crime to your politically correct neighborhoods. Thank you for your support. Ha, ha, ha!
I will keep you updated.
John Twomey
Posted at 08:35 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I could only roll my eyes . . .
I could only roll my eyes when I saw the sawhorse and boxes blocking Cypress Street yesterday afternoon. Obviously not an official roadblock. I find it amusing at best that a permitless event could block 2 major streets in the city without anyone with authority seeming to care.
Comment by Adam
Posted at 03:06 PM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
UPDATE: Disgrace in BTP
We have learned several things so far.
We spoke with the Parks Department and learned that no permit was pulled for an event in Billy Taylor Park. The person in charge of that park was quite upset and surprised that an un-permited event had been held in the park involving fires, food, and live and recorded music and that Camp Street had been illegally closed.
She suggested we contact the Police Department since they had told us the event was permitted.
I called the police department for more information, because yesterday around 3pm an officer came to my house at my request to answer a call for service that I had put in for a noise complaint. The policeman told me that there was a permit for the event and that it was good until 9pm.
According to the parks department no permit was issued and no permits are ever issued to go as late as 9pm.
I'm trying to contact the officer to learn why he thought that the event was permitted and why he thought it was permitted until 9 pm.
If anyone has any information on this event use the comments tab below or click on this link to send a post: Blog Entry.
I will update this entry as more information is available.
Posted at 01:09 PM | Community | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Disgraceful Event in Billy Taylor Park
For a second year in a row an event in Billy Taylor Park, sponsored by a Mt. Hope neighborhood organization, turned violent, and the police had to be called in force to break up the melee. I walked up to the park to observe the commotion, and I counted over 22 uniformed police officers and a number of plainclothes officers. Several arrests were made as the crowd refused to disperse and made threatening moves toward the police while heaping verbal abuse on the officers.
Myself and several neighbors had called the police several times over the course of the day to complain about rowdy behavior and excessive noise. I personally witnessed three drug deals in front of my house, as this event is used as a cover for drug dealers who make their arrangements in the park then meet their buyers on the next street over.
Someone blocked off Camp Street at the corner of Camp and Locust by pulling an old desk that I was throwing away out of my trash area and dragged it into the middle of Camp Street to block off traffic. It looked so stupid and ridiculous. But that was the level of organization at this event.
The event featured a loud sound system clearly in violation of the city noise ordinance. They predominately featured rap music as the event seemed designed solely to serve the African American community.
I heard live rappers liberally dropping the "N" word in a song a bout "East Side Niggarz" as well as much use of the words "Fuck" and "Bitch". Many young, impressionable children were present to hear the profane music and to learn from their elders.
I don't understand how such lyrics can serve the community or have a place at a community event in a public park. I find it patently offensive and inexcusable.
I would love to hear from the organizers of the event to understand what, if anything, they were thinking. Do they understand how ridiculous they now look, how many people they alienated, how they made Mt. Hope look like a ghetto again and again perpetuated the bad reputation Mt. Hope has for drugs, filth, violence, and unsafe streets. Do they?
At any rate the event was over at 7, but the crowd did not disperse. There were no event organizers there to help, nor were any police present as the event drew to a close. A large crowd gathered on the sidewalk by the park along Camp Street. Cars were parked and double parked on both sides of Camp Street blasting their sound systems. It was impossible for cars or pedestrians to pass. The crowd was very loud, rowdy, and threatening. That is why it took 25 police officers to disperse them.
I do not know the name of the event, who sponsored it, nor do I know who pulled the permit nor what type of permit was granted. It is public record so I will attempt to find out. I will also attempt to speak to the police to find out why police officers were not present to help with crowd control as the event has a history of being rowdy and violent.
I consider it another low point for Mt. Hope's African American community, another black eye. The second year in a row their event turned violent.
I'll be passing on the information about the event as I learn more. Someone should step up and take responsibility for this fiasco. They owe the Mt. Hope community an apology.
Posted at 09:41 AM | Community | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Mourn With Me
When I began this website, my vision for it encompassed the involvement of neighbors, people of the community, people who felt strongly that they had a stake in the community, who cared about something, who were passionate about something, and who would contribute their thoughts and feelings to the community website.
It was an unrealistic vision, something that isn't done, as you can see by visiting all the other community websites put up by all the other community organizations in Providence. They are quite dry compared to the Mt. Hope Community Website. Maybe they are better than our website, I don't know. They all certainly share one characteristic with ours and that is that very few people contribute.
I've learned to my chagrin that people are petty, jealous, resentful, but most of all people are cowardly and fearful. Why, what if you voice your opinion and someone disagrees with you. Wouldn't that just be devastating to your fragile sense of self-esteem. What if you discovered that some people did not like you. Devastating! What if someone ridiculed you or spread an ugly rumour about you? Oh, my god, there is good reason to not ever put yourself on the line. Never express yourself or your feelings let alone your opinion. Listen to your fear.
As you know, I am not afraid, or rather let me rephrase that, I do not let my fear control me.
So, thus, let me ask you all, the Mt. Hope community, including those of you who have spread ugly rumours, those of you who despise me, those of you who ridicule me behind my back, as well as those of you who provide strong support, and those of you who provide silent support, to mourn with me the death of my nephew's son, Jeff, 15, who, in an act of incomprehensible adolescent desperation, took his own life this past week.
Join me and my family in mourning the death of one of our own who died so young by his own hand. And in so doing let us remember the deaths of over 3000 of our sons and daughters who have died in service of our country in the war in Iraq. Senseless deaths all.
Look into the face of this beautiful young man and understand our loss.
R.I.P. Jeffrey R. H. Twomey
Jeff feeding a baby lamb
Jeff got arrested in school, in the early afternoon, last Tuesday. He was caught with three packs of cigarettes and a small wooden pipe he wanted to sell. No drugs were involved. It was the first time Jeff had been in trouble in school. The police put Jeff in handcuffs and hauled him down to the local jail in the small town where he lived. They made a show of it in front of the entire school to set an example. His mother, who teaches in the local public school system, had to leave school to bail Jeff out.
She took Jeff home, and Jeff was terribly upset and disconsolate: he went into his room and crawled into bed. Two hours later, his mother came home from school and and went to Jeff's room. He was nowhere in sight. But she noticed a light on in his closet and went to turn it off. When she opened the door she found Jeff hanging there, dead. He had hung himself!
The principal called Jeff's dad about 6:30 PM to say not to worry, they were not going to press charges, and they weren't going to expel him as it was the first trouble he had gotten in to at school. He asked how Jeff was doing, and when Jeff's dad told him, he broke down completely. He had been out of the office all day.
Jeff had called his father the day before to remind him that he had Church Youth Group Wednesday night, and also to make reservations for horseback riding this weekend ("like you promised") out at the farm. His funeral started about the same time as his horseback riding was to have begin. I can't write anymore about this.
Jeff's funeral was last Saturday. His father, James, sent me Jeff's obituary, which I will share with you.
Jeffrey—1991-2007Jeffrey, ( *Jeffrey R.H. Twomey* ) 15, passed away on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at his home.
Born on August 21, 1991, he was a son, brother, and grandson. He was a freshman in school. looking forward to joining the Robotics competition next year. His career goal was to become an engineer.
Jeff enjoyed computer games (especially StarCraft), soccer, dodgeball, and writing. He was a gifted student and enjoyed beating his father at chess. Jeff enjoyed taking annual kayak trips down the Kickapoo River in Ontario, Wisconsin. He had his drivers permit and was looking forward to getting his full license this fall.
Jeff loved animals. He had 3 cats: Shadow, Ninja and Freakazoid. He also enjoyed spending time at his father’s farm, helping take care of the sheep, goats, and llamas. This spring he experienced lambing season for the first time, even giving one foundling CPR.
Jeff’s favorite television shows were Mythbusters and the Simpsons. He enjoyed classical music and played percussion while in middle school.
He attended First United Methodist Church and a youth group at Immanuel Baptist Church.
He is survived by his mother and father, two brothers and a sister as well as maternal and fraternal grandparents and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his uncle and grandfather.
Visitation will be at First United Methodist Church, with funeral services at 11:30 a.m. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Jeffrey’s name to the Robotics competition would be appreciated.
Jeff with Sheep
I don't remember the title of the song I'm quoting right now, but I remember Bob Dylan wrote it:
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fear, bury the rag deep in your face, for now ain't the time for your tears.
In remembrance of Jeffrey.
Fear: it cripples.
Mourn with me, our loss.
John Twomey
Posted at 10:39 PM | Community | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
