Afforable Housing
I picked up this morning's ProJO and there on the front page an article about how RI trails the rest of the country in housing construction.
Our state came in dead last with only 1505 units added, nearly half of the 2nd to last state, Alaska, and 3rd to last, Vermont.
One so called expert quoted (Barnet from Rhode Island Housing) explained the declining numbers by blaming communities: "Most communities are wary of new housing, and that has constricted supply to the choking point," Barnett said.
I wonder if that is really an accurate statement. Are communities wary of building new housing, Or is Barnett speaking in code, when what he actually means is that most communities are wary of building affordable housing and sometimes affordable housing advocates use the term 'affordable' when they mean both 'affordable' and 'subsidized'.
Here is how this article defines affordable:
Housing is considered affordable when a household spends no more than 30 percent of its gross income on the rent or mortgage, taxes and insurance. To be affordable in Rhode Island, a housing unit must sell or rent at a below-market price, made possible with a government subsidy.
Let's do some math: in 2004 the median sales price of a home in Providence was $262,000 (the median price is the middle price in the range of all home prices where an equal number fall below the median and an equal number place above the median. The median price is considered more accurate than the average price because averages become skewered by extremely high and extremely low prices.)
The median wage in RI was approximately $45,000, per year in 2003 according to the Census Bureau, which breaks down to a monthly income of aprox $3,750, per month. If you put 30% of that toward housing you would be paying $1,125, per month for housing. For a home buyer that $1,125 would have to include mortgage (principal and interest), taxes, and insurance.
Using these figures a household with the median income of $45K would qualify for a home loan of $130,000. That price is $132,000, below the median home price in Rhode Island.
A 30 year loan of $130,000 at 6% interest would require a monthly payment of principal and interest of $779, leaving $346, dollars for taxes and insurance, and with rising taxes and the rising cost of insurance, that $346 may barely be enough.
Try to find a house in Providence for $130,000 today, and you can understand the problem people earning around the median income of $45,000 would have in buying a house. That figure is $132,000 below the median single family home price.
Let's look at that $45K wage: given a rigid 40 hour work week the wage earner would be making aprox $23, per hour. I think many people make far below that figure per hour and would in fact be happy to make 23. Imagine how difficult it is for people who make half the median, or $11, per hour. It would take a two income household making $22,500 each to equal the median wage, and they would still be hard pressed to find a home in the price range for which they qualify.
That is where the many programs for first time home buyers come in and where subsidized housing becomes so important.
Let's look at these figures another way; let's look at them from the angle of the median Rhode Island house price, $262.000. What income need be earned to qualify for that median priced house?
Working backwards, a 30 year loan for $262K @ 6% interest would require a monthly payment of $1570, and your taxes and insurance would run another approx $400, per month for a monthly total housing cost of $1,970, per month.
Let's see, if $1,970 = 30% of X, X would then = $6,566, per month or a yearly income of $78,800, that is $33,000 or 43% higher than the median income (the Median Income is 57% of the income needed to buy the Median Price house.
Let us now table these figures for easy reading.
-- Median house price in RI -- $262,000
-- Income needed to buy Median priced house -- $ 78,800
-- Median income in RI -- $ 45,000
-- Mortgage for which median wage qualifies -- $130,000
-- Difference between Median Income and
income needed to buy median priced house -- $ 33,000
-- Percent difference between the Median
Income and the income needed to purchase
a Median Priced house -- 43%
-- Median Income is what percent of income
needed to buy Median Price house -- 57%
-- Difference between the Median Price
house and the house for which a
Median Income qualifies -- $132,000
-- Percent difference between the Median
priced house and the house for which
a Median Income qualifies -- 50%
(Anyone wish to buy half a house?)
Of course these figures are approximate and calculated on a cheap desk calculator using statistics readily available, thus they should be considered only ballpark figures. Still I believe they are accurate enough to give a snapshot of the wage/home prices dichotomy.
I'm sure it is possible to build attractive and financially feasible affordable housing. I just wish that anyone debating housing would be careful to differentiate between affordable and subsidized and Mixed Use housing (both affordable and subsidized in the same development). Communities are tired of housing developers and housing advocates trying to pull the wool over their eyes by mixing up the terms.
The difference in impact on a community between affordable housing and subsidized housing is huge.
I'm no advocate of the government getting involved in our lives, but maybe it is time for govt. to step in and devise a comprehensive plan for building affordable housing that is both attractive and affordable.
We've seen what affordable looks like when left to private developers: ticky-tacky, unattractive homes, cheap construction, and diminishing property values in the immediate surrounding area.
We can do better than that with our tax dollars.
To read the ProJo article, click on link below.
R.I. trails the rest of the country in housing construction
To comment, click link below.
Posted at 06:53 PM | Issues | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Camp Sinkhole Fixed!!!
Quick Fix
The city fixed the big sinkhole just before Woodbine,northbound, in the middle of Camp Street, with asphalt fill.
Infamous Camp Street SinkHole
Tremendous response, and I’d bet we have our District 8 boys (and girls) to thank for the quick action. Or whoever, thanks.
I think the DPW will have to return soon enough, though, as the asphalt seems to have already sunk in; it sure shivered me timbers pretty good thisafter when I drove over it: disaster.
John
Posted at 08:10 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
School Bus Ruckus II
Troubling behavior – decisive action
ProJo reported today, Tuesday, details about another bus incident that happened . . . last Thursday —- just a five day lag in reporting the incident.
This time arrests were made after a teacher from Hopkins Middle School, who pulled alongside the bus while it was under attack by rocks thrown by six middle school students who also opened the rear emergency door but were unable to enter the bus, identified the assailants. More arrests are expected. Kudos to that teacher for looking out for the kids on the bus.
New School superintendent Donnie Evans promised further action at last night’s School board meeting. It seems that the Providence School Department is now doing a better job of keeping parents informed of ongoing developments after this, the third or fourth incident.
Linda Borg’s ProJo report below provides full details.
Arrest is made in latest assault on a school bus
School officials are once again confronted with violent behavior by a group of youths at the corner of Branch Avenue and Hawkins Street.
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 24, 2006
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Six students attempted to force their way onto a Bishop Middle School bus on Thursday afternoon, the latest of three similar incidents over two weeks.
The incident Thursday occurred one block from Hopkins Middle School, at the intersection of Branch Avenue and Hawkins Street, where the previous incidents had also taken place.
According to a school spokeswoman, six Hopkins students approached the bus as it was taking students home and began pelting it with rocks. A Hopkins Middle School teacher pulled alongside in her car and told the students to go home. She later identified all six students to the police.
Meanwhile, the bus driver called the police. Officers arrested one youth and charged him with disorderly conduct.The police are continuing to investigate the incident; more charges are expected.
School spokeswoman Maria Tocco said the students opened the rear emergency door but were unable to get onto the bus. No one was injured.
Tocco said that one of the six students had been involved in the first bus incident, on Jan. 9. On that day, several students stopped and boarded a bus carrying students from Nathanael Greene Middle School. As the bus drove down Branch Avenue, the youths opened the emergency door, hit a middle school child and fled.
The next day, a large group of teenagers surrounded the same bus, also on Branch Avenue, and began pounding on it as the bus was driving children home to the East Side.
One of the students involved in the bus boarding incident has been expelled and sent to an alternative school, according to Andre Thibeault, director of school operations.
At last night's School Board meeting, School Supt. Donnie Evans described what school officials were doing to curb the violence. Bus monitors have been assigned to both buses and the police have assigned additional patrol officers, including undercover officers, to the neighborhood.
"The School Department is taking this very seriously," Evans said. "We're working hand-in-hand with the police."
Evans said he drove to the intersection last week and waited while buses carried students home from Hopkins Middle School. He also said that he has asked the principal and the assistant principal of Hopkins to be more visible at that corner after school.
"We intend to be proactive," he said, adding that school officials would speak with parents and students at the middle schools in question. He did not specify what school officials have planned for those meetings.
Evans also said that the School Department was looking at other options, including altering bus routes and changing school start and end times.
Meanwhile, the schools are making an effort to keep parents informed. On Friday, the principal of Bishop Middle School sent a phone message to all parents, explaining what had happened and what the School Department was doing about it.
lborg@projo.com / (401) 277-7823
Online at: http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_20060124_bus24.dac43d8.html
Posted at 07:47 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
School Bus Ruckus
Two bus incidents & a brawl
Another incident involving our school children occurred last week but was not reported by the Providence Journal until today. The Journal used a similar approach earlier in the year when they belatedly covered the near riot down at Kennedy plaza.
Last week’s incident involved children being bused home to the East Side from the Nathanael Greene School and took placer on Branch Av. Also reported in a related incident was a brawl involving “dozens of students” outside the Brooks Pharmacy at Branch and Charles Streets.
It seems some parents are upset about being left out of the loop without answers from the City and School Department.
For the complete background details read Linda Borg’s ProJo article, below.
Attacks on school bus rattle parents
Bus from Nathanael Greene first boarded, then jostled by group of youths
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 18, 2006
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Two dozen parents packed the library at Nathanael Greene Middle School last night to find out what school officials are doing in the wake of two assaults last week on a middle school bus.
On Monday last week, at least two students stopped and boarded a bus on its way from Nathanael Greene to the East Side. As the bus was heading down Branch Avenue, the youths opened the emergency door, punched a middle school child, then fled as the bus driver tried to grab them, according to school officials. Some parents had heard that one of the youths tried to commandeer the bus, but school officials couldn't confirm that.
The next day, a group of teenagers surrounded the bus, also on Branch Avenue, and began pounding on it as it was driving children home. The size of the group varies, depending on the witnesses. One child reported seeing 40 teens attack the bus; school officials say the crowd was much smaller.
Adding to the confusion, a brawl involving dozens of teenagers broke out in front of the Brooks drugstore on Branch Avenue last week, and Nathanael Greene students on the same bus witnessed the incident; some thought it was aimed at their bus. Sgt. Kevin Lanni said that two youths have been arrested on charges related to the fight outside of the Brooks drugstore.
As the story of the attacks spread, parents became upset that the school wasn't giving them any answers. (Principal Nick Amaral sent a letter to parents on Friday describing what had happened and what the school was doing to prevent the incidents from occurring again.)
Last night, the leaders of the Parent Teacher Organization invited school officials to explain what steps they were taking to protect the children.
But school officials didn't appear to be on the same page. Amaral said that the bus driver couldn't identify the perpetrators, but Deputy School Supt. Frances Gallo said four youths had been identified.
She said the ringleader is a former Nathanael Greene student who has a grudge against the bus driver because he was allegedly involved in her expulsion from Greene. According to Gallo, the girl planned the incident and persuaded two boys from Hopkins Middle School to board the bus.
The girl is in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, and is being held at the Rhode Island Training School.
The two middle school boys have been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. A fourth student has been identified, but he no longer attends public school. He attends a privately run school for students who have been expelled from public school.
Last night, school officials said they were taking all three incidents very seriously. A school bus monitor has been temporarily assigned to Bus 81, and an unmarked police car follows the bus on its way home from school. In addition, the Police Department has beefed up patrols in the North End and assigned undercover officers to monitor the neighborhood.
Although the parents last night sounded calm, they were concerned that school officials get to the bottom of the violence. One parent wanted to know what Hopkins Middle School was doing to deal with the issue. Another asked whether closed-circuit cameras could be installed on the bus to record any future incidents, and a couple of parents wanted to know why the bus route couldn't be changed.
Gallo said she would ask the director of transportation to meet with middle school parents to discuss the busing issue.
Then, a middle school boy who witnessed the attacks spoke up:
"Every time they attack the bus, there are 40 kids at least," he said. "If there are real cops in the area, wouldn't that make these kids avoid the area?"
Lanni said the department has assigned marked and unmarked cruisers to the neighborhood.
"Why don't we use this as a teachable moment about how to process these emotions, this fear?" said Karina Lutz, whose daughter attends Greene. "I asked my daughter if she wanted me to drive her to school and she said no, because she didn't want them to win."
Gallo cautioned parents to keep these incidents, terrifying as they might seem, in perspective.
"It's not one school against another," she said. "I don't want it to become that. This young lady carries a lot of baggage. It's a shame that one individual could coerce others. We need to work on this as a school, as a family and as a community."
Amaral said he would speak to the children on Bus 81 today to see how they are feeling and answer questions they might have.
"What can we do as parents?" one parent said.
"Talk to your kids," Gallo said. "Tell them to report any rumors."
Posted at 12:24 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
BusStop BonanZa
It's been easy pickings for car thieves.
An informative Journal article on Wednesday, of interest to Mt. Hope residents, compiled some of what has been going on at the Bonanza bus terminal. Our own District 8 police feature prominently in the story and again illustrate how on top of the game our guys remain in protecting Mt. Hope.
Security improvements are planned in the parking lot to make parking there safer both for riders and for vehicles.
“Through the first eight months of 2005, 30 cars were reported stolen from the lot and 19 more were broken into.”
"These numbers are extremely high for one business location in the city of Providence," said police Lt. David Schiavulli, commander of District 8. "It was crazy."
It’s great to see action being taken to thwart thieves and to make the terminal lot safer; it’s about time bonanza made a move in that direction: we don’t need our District 8 police resources being used as security for the bus company when adequate security measures are the company’s responsibility.
Read the entire article below or at ProJo.com.
-
Submit a blog entry: BlogEntry
-
Bus parking lot a bonanza for thieves
"I hate to put it this way, but a lot of it is their own fault because they leave the stuff in the vehicle," says Lt. David Schiavulli.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 11, 2006
BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Driving to the Bonanza bus terminal and leaving a car in the parking lot has been a gamble for a lot of people.
They just didn't know it.
Through the first eight months of 2005, 30 cars were reported stolen from the lot and 19 more were broken into.
"These numbers are extremely high for one business location in the city of Providence," said police Lt. David Schiavulli, commander of District 8. "It was crazy."
The police and Bonanza Bus Lines officials are now working together to make parking a less dicey proposition. At the urging of the police, Bonanza has erected a fence topped with barbed wire around two-thirds of the lot and has improved the lighting.
Other plans will mean the end of free parking.
The company intends to install electronic gates and to station an attendant around the clock at the lot, and to begin charging for parking to cover its costs.
Until now, the pickings have been easy for car thieves, according to Schiavulli. They could slip into and out of the lot through surrounding woods or merely walk in the main driveway.
"They know that these people are going to be away for a day, or two, or three" and that a theft won't be noticed for a while, Schiavulli said. Aside from the cars themselves, the thieves are mostly interested in stealing stereo systems and radios.
"Those are just the reported ones," he said of the statistics that he developed. "A lot of people don't even report a larceny from the auto because they don't have insurance."
Despite stepped-up police patrols, Schiavulli said last month, the thefts have continued, albeit at a slower rate, since he stopped compiling statistics as of Aug. 28. Marked police cars cruise in and out as a deterrent, and undercover police have been posted in the lot.
"Any cars assigned to that area are being told to make as many passes as they can in their tour of duty," Schiavulli said. "We're giving it as much attention as we can."
Not only has the lot been a magnet for thieves looking to steal a car, he noted, it has been a spot to dump a stolen car, too.
On the weekend of Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, for example, a car was reported stolen and two more were broken into. Another stolen car was recovered.
"People leave laptops in the front seat, pocketbooks in the front seat, leather coats in the back seat," Schiavulli said. "People have to learn to leave their valuables in the trunk, out of sight. I hate to put it this way, but a lot of it is their own fault because they leave the stuff in the vehicle."
Some of the losses occur because a door has been left unlocked, though if the doors are locked, the thieves break a window, he said. The thefts have not been concentrated at any particular time of day.
Bonanza has had a surveillance camera but its picture is not clear enough to identify any culprits and its field of view did not take in the tree line, according to the police. Most of the losses in Schiavulli's compilation involved cars parked near the woods' edge.
The police came close to catching one of the thieves on Sept. 4, when a man returned with a Jeep that he had stolen from the lot two days earlier. The owner's husband had taken a bus and nobody knew that the vehicle was gone.
The thief "was probably going to break into some cars, using that vehicle," Schiavulli said.
It was 1:15 a.m., and two officers were watching.
The Jeep circled the lot and the driver got out, they reported later. He tried the door handles on three or four cars, and when the officers approached, he jumped back into the Jeep and hastily drove out of the lot.
They chased him to Evergreen Street, about 12 blocks from the terminal, and the man "bailed" out of the Jeep while it was still in drive, according to the police.
The vehicle rolled down the street and smacked heavily into a utility pole in front of 14 Evergreen, causing several wires to fall.
"Our surveillance did work to a point, but unfortunately the apprehension was not able to be made," Schiavulli said. "I don't think he'll be back."
The lieutenant sent a letter to Bonanza Bus Lines about the crime problem, recommending specific remedies, including the installation of a fence 6 feet to 7 feet high, better lighting, electronic gates and a ticketing system for entry and exit, and a highly visible, roving security guard.
"We have their attention now," Schiavulli said. But even with safeguards, he cautioned, the thefts will not be eliminated.
"The problem was more severe than we knew," said Charles Bradshaw, Bonanza safety manager. Theives "will always take the path of least resistance."
The nearly 16-year-old bus terminal has a lot that can accommodate 250 cars. Customers come from throughout the region to the terminal, off Exit 25A from Route 95 north and Exit 25 from Route 95 south. Bonanza runs a free shuttle downtown to Kennedy Plaza.
In addition to Bonanza and its parent company, Peter Pan Bus Lines, of Springfield, Mass., some tour bus companies use the lot as a staging area.
Given the free parking, people have been in the habit of leaving their cars there for weeks or even months at a time.
A Mercedes-Benz, for example, protected by a canvas cover pulled taut with cords, is in the lot now. Bradshaw said it seems as if the owner intends to leave it there for the winter.
"We get a lot of [stolen car] dropoffs here, too," Bradshaw acknowledged. "So maybe we can put an end to that as well" with the security upgrades.
If a car has the appropriate registration plates on it, or if it has not been reported stolen, there is nothing the police can do even if the auto has been there for two months or more, Schiavulli said.
To bolster security, Bonanza has cut back trees and underbrush by about six feet around the lot, installed a 6-foot-high fence with barbed wire around two-thirds of the lot, added lamps to the poles that carry floodlights, and installed more poles with lights.
Bradshaw would not discuss the surveillance camera and if the company plans to upgrade it.
However, Bonanza has been in negotiation with a company to manage the lot and to have a 24-hour attendant on duty. Bradshaw said yesterday that entry and exit gates and an attendant's booth are expected to be constructed next month.
When the installation is complete, Bonanza will begin offering to escort passengers from their bus to their car at night, although it is only a short distance. Either a minivan or a golf cart would be used, Bradshaw said.
The fees will be less than those to park at the airport in Warwick or the train station in Providence, he said, and will be scaled according to use. There will be one charge for commuter parking, one for overnight, and a discounted charge for people who purchase a bus excursion fare.
"We're hoping for some good changes" regarding service and security, Bradshaw said.
gsmith@projo.com / (401) 277-7334
Posted at 12:32 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Tax Education
Mayor sends Letter to Gov!
Mayor David N. Cicilline again addressed the relationship between education costs and property taxes to Governor Carceri, the Providence Journal reported.
The Journal quoted a letter Mayor Cicilline wrote to the Governor: "I am asking that, in your budget recommendations, you put an immediate halt to the recent trend of shifting a greater percentage of school costs to local property taxpayers
A newly released study from Education Week gave our state a D in funding public schools. RI was ranked 5th from the bottom.
Interestingly enough RI ranks among the tops for spending per pupil, a fact that the Governor’s response team was quick to jump on: “"spends with the best but often performs with the worst," is what Jeff Neal said, according to the article. Seems that our state greatly underperforms on the nationwide test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
This debate has been ongoing for some time with both sides making compelling arguments for their point of view. Providence does get a large chunk of state spending for schools and our schools do perform poorly statewide.
The ProJo article below, Mayor to governor: Property taxes cannot support schools mentions more of the ideas being tossed around.
JT
-
Mayor to governor: Property taxes cannot support schools
Mayor David N. Cicilline urges "an immediate halt to the recent trend of shifting a greater percentage of school costs to local property taxpayers."
01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 6, 2006
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Mayor David N. Cicilline yesterday urged Governor Carcieri to stop what he called the recent trend of relying on property taxes to pay for public education.
Cicilline cited the latest study from Education Week, which gave Rhode Island a D for failing to adequately pay for its public schools. Only four states -- Vermont, Montana, Idaho and North Dakota -- received grades lower than Rhode Island's in Ed Week's annual report, Quality Counts. New Hampshire also received a D.
Although Rhode Island ranks among the highest in per-pupil spending, at $10,349 per student in 2003, Ed Week gives it poor marks for resource equity because it has no statewide financing formula for education.
"I am asking that, in your budget recommendations, you put an immediate halt to the recent trend of shifting a greater percentage of school costs to local property taxpayers," Cicilline wrote in a letter to Carcieri yesterday.
The mayor quoted state Education Commissioner Peter McWalters, who said that "the city is kicking in an increasing share each year through raising property taxes, and the kids are needier every year."
Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal countered Cicilline's comments by saying that Rhode Island "spends with the best but often performs with the worst," referring to the state's typically lackluster performance on a nationwide test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
"Our per-pupil spending is among the highest in the country, and Providence gets a heavy share of the state school funding," Neal said.
This year, he said, the city will benefit from the sale of the Dunkin' Donuts Center, which will provide about $28 million that the city could spend on education.
Cicilline also asked that Carcieri help bring about a far and equitable formula to finance public education. In March 2004, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, a public policy group, announced a plan to create a state property tax to pay for public education. RIPEC's proposal also called for establishing a minimum per-pupil spending level, which would even out financing disparities between rich and poor districts.
Although the legislature created a joint committee to study the issue in the spring 2004, the idea languished until recently. Now, the committee is preparing to seek bids to hire an expert to determine what an adequate education might cost.
ProJo.com
Posted at 08:38 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Section 8 v Market Rate
Housing Crunch — Who’s getting crunched?
An interesting conflict of interest is in the process of arising in South Providence, as reported in the Providence Journal in their article by Ms. Davis, Tenants want to maintain homes under Section 8.
The conflict has arisen because the developer wishes to exercise her right to terminate her HUD contract when the 20 year time limit is up. Under these contracts developers were guaranteed favorable financing and they in turn were obligated to provide subsidized housing for 20 years.
The tenants would all be eligible for Section 8 vouchers if the units were converted.
But now that the obligatory 20 years are up the tenants and subsidized housing advocates wish to force the owner to maintain the units as subsidized housing instead of letting her exercise her rights to convert the units to market rates.
Someone even suggested taking the units by Eminent Domain—doesn’t that just make you shudder.
What good is a contract if both parties aren’t obligated to honor said contract?
It reinforces my philosophy of not ever doing business with the government, because it seems that if you do, you forfeit quite a few rights.
The article quoted one tenant, who has lived there for 13 years, who had to use an interpreter to speak to the ProJo reporter, who said that with what Section 8 paid she should live in a penthouse. That’s puzzling to me.
We do have a housing crunch and we do need a solution. But the government also needs to honor its contracts. If the government's side of a contract can be negated, leaving the developer having fulfilled their obligations but without rights, what developer in their right mind would enter into a future, similar program to provide subsidized housing?
I’ve heard people in Mt. Hope express the fervent wish that the units between Doyle and Pleasant Streets would go to market rates since they were probably built under similar circumstances. Their management’s inability to control the crime emanating from there has given the units a bad name. Rest assured there will be a battle royale there if and when that developer wishes to exercise their contract.
The cost of housing versus income in Rhode Island is alarming and growing worse, and still taxes rise, driving up housing costs even more.
John Twomey
Read the Projo article, Tenants want to maintain homes under Section 8,
below.
-
-
Tenants want to maintain homes under Section 8
01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 6, 2006
BY KAREN A. DAVIS
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- After living for 17 years in the federally subsidized Barbara Jordan I apartment development, Sonia N. Rodriguez is afraid that she will have to leave if the landlord opts out of the affordable-housing program and leases the apartments at market rates.
Rodriguez and other members of the Barbara Jordan I Tenants Association are working with a tenants-rights advocacy group to prevent the 193-unit Section 8 apartments from losing the federal subsidies.
At a news conference yesterday, members of the Rhode Island HUD Tenant Project explained that they fear that the Barbara Jordan I Apartments -- which consists of one-, two- and three-family scattered-site housing in South Providence -- could be converted into market-rate housing, said Alex Moore, project coordinator.
If the conversion took place, residents would be eligible to receive Section 8 vouchers, which would enable them to to shop for affordable, private housing. But tenants say that vouchers are not the solution, given the state's housing crisis.
The Barbara Jordan I project was one of many developments nationwide that used mainly public financing to pay for affordable housing in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. Under 20-year contracts signed by private developers and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the developers were obligated to keep the units as Section 8 housing, which requires qualified tenants to pay no more than 30 percent of their income in rent.
After the contract expires, however, the developer is allowed to decide whether to remain in the subsidized program or opt out.
The contract for the Barbara Jordan I Apartments expires in August, Moore said, and tenants have reason to believe that principal owner Katrina Griffin, of SCHS Associates, plans to opt out of the program. She is expected to decide in April.
Griffin -- the daughter of the late Lloyd Griffin, developer of the project -- sent a letter to tenants in August giving them a one-year notice of her intent to terminate her contract with HUD, as is required under federal law.
However, advocates note, Griffin did not the tenants or Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Financing Corporation a two-year notice of contract termination, which state law requires.
Moore said the state should enforce its law on the two-year notice and consider taking the property by eminent domain or amend the law to require private owners to offer to sell the property to the tenants, Rhode Island Housing or a nonprofit organization.
Tenants and advocates want to lobby politicians and state and federal housing officials to ensure that the development does not abandon its mission to provide affordable housing.
"What I want is . . . for the landlord to sign the contract [with HUD], have a nonprofit buy it and give us the maintenance that we have not had for many years," said Mayra Carrasco, who has lived in the development for more than 13 years. Carrasco spoke to the audience with help from a Spanish interpreter. "We don't want vouchers. . . . With the way things are going, one day [President Bush] is going to take the vouchers away, and we'll be living on the street."
As a mother who raised her children in the development, Carrasco said she has pledged to fight on behalf of other single mothers who need affordable housing.
Furthermore, Carrasco said, "We are living there and the houses are not being taken care of. For the high rent that Section 8 has been paying, we should be living in a penthouse."
City Councilwoman Balbina Young said the Barbara Jordan I Apartments "have been problematic since its inception."
Young was joined behind the podium by Representatives Joseph Almeida and Grace Diaz, both Providence Democrats, and Noreen Shawcross, director of the state Office of Housing and Community Development.
Almeida vowed that legislators would do what they could to ensure that the development remained affordable to low-income residents.
"We've got enough problems on the South Side. . . . Don't take away our homes," he said.
Moore said his group and Almeida planned to meet with officials from the Rhode Island Housing next week.
Chris Barnett, spokesman for Rhode Island Housing, said the development could be saved from going market rate.
He said his agency has been "rescuing apartments like Barbara Jordan."
Under a program called Preservation, the agency has offered favorable financing to owners in exchange for a commitment that the property would be used only for affordable housing for the next 40 years.
"We are confident that the residents will not lose their homes," Barnett said, noting that thousands of units have been rescued statewide in the last few years. Among them are 294 units at Rumford Towers in East Providence.
http://www.projo.com/metro/content/projo_20060106_pjord6.1d2065e7.html
Posted at 03:01 PM | Issues | Comments (3)
Mugging for New Year's!
Catching up on the Local
Lot's of interesting news lately that has or will impact us locally here in Mt. Hope: housing, corruption, City Council action, education & taxes, crime.
One item of interest is the Pro Jo article a few days ago about the City's spate of violence over the New years weekend. Why it was only reported days after the fact, you'll have to ask Pro Jo.
Of local interest is the person who was attacked from behind by two armed assailants, just off of Camp Street, around 11 pm last Thursday and ended up in Miriam Hospital with serious head wounds.
The article can be read below.
-
New Year's weekend brings violence
Four stabbings and a shooting occurred Thursday through Saturday.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, January 4, 2006
BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- One man was shot and four others were stabbed in separate incidents as part of a violent outburst in the city over the long holiday weekend.
The incidents were less serious than three others that have been widely reported, including what the police said were two homicides early Thursday morning and Friday night and a stabbing late Friday night that left a man in critical condition.
The outburst began Thursday with the shooting death of Tonea "Nutt" Sims, who died at about 1:30 a.m. after he was shot repeatedly while sitting in the kitchen of a house in South Providence.
At about 11 p.m. Thursday, the police went to Miriam Hospital, where Santana Vicente, 24, of 61 Wendell St., in the West End, was being treated for what a doctor described as serious but non-life-threatening head wounds.
Vicente told the police that he was attacked from behind as he walked on a side street in Mount Hope, near Camp Street. The attacker hit him on the head with a metallic object and a second assailant stabbed him in the head with a metallic object, he said.
The victim managed to get away after wrestling with his attackers and called his brother, who drove him to the hospital. Vicente suffered five or six deep scalp cuts, according to the police.
The victim said his attackers said nothing and took nothing from him.
The next morning, shortly before 5 a.m. Friday, Robert Ruotolo, 51, whose home address was not disclosed, met the police at Branch Avenue and Charles Street. He said someone had stabbed him with a screwdriver as he was lying on a couch.
Ruotolo, whose head was bloody and who had puncture marks on his arms, was treated at Rhode Island Hospital, according to the police.
At about 5:30 a.m. Friday, the police went to 58 Dora St., Silver Lake, for a report of a shooting. Wendell Gwinn, 39, of that address, said that as he was walking on Whitehall Street near his house, a car drove by, he heard some popping noises and he suffered a leg wound. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.
Later Friday, at about 10:15 p.m., Johnny Jiminez, 32, of 17 Burnett St., Elmwood, was found shot to death on Cornwall Street in the North End. Detectives consider it the city's 22nd homicide of 2005.
About 45 minutes later, Pedro Natareno, 20, of 78 Lawn St., Mt. Pleasant, fell to the street at Sears and Rangeley avenues, Mount Pleasant, stabbed in the chest.
The police said yesterday that Natareno remains in critical condition after surgery, and that he very nearly became Providence's 23rd homicide of the year.
At the scene, the police quickly arrested David Contreras, 20, of 46 Sears Ave., who was standing nearby wearing a blood-stained white hooded sweatshirt, and charged him with assault with a dangerous weapon.
Contreras was arraigned yesterday in District Court and he entered no plea on the felony charge. Chief Judge Albert E. DeRobbio set cash bail at $50,000. Contreras also was arraigned on a charge of violating a suspended sentence in a previous District Court drug case, and DeRobbio ordered him held without bail on that count pending a hearing Jan. 17.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, Donald W. Turmel, 47, of 162 Broad St., at Crossroads Rhode Island, told the police that two men had accosted him and demanded money as he stood in front of the Crossroads building. One of the men stabbed him in his left side with a pair of scissors, he said.
When officers arrived, the scissors were still embedded in Turmel. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.
In another stabbing that morning, the police said Antonio Gomes, 44, of 396 Pawtucket Ave., Pawtucket, complained that his girlfriend stuck him in the chest with a steak knife at her apartment in Washington Park after he refused to have sex with her.
Dionne Smith, 38, of 145 Babcock St., was charged with felony domestic assault and was arraigned in District Court yesterday. An assistant public defender representing Smith said she claims self-defense.
Officers were dispatched to her apartment at about 7:30 a.m., where they learned that an argument began in the bedroom and moved into the kitchen, where Smith allegedly knifed Gomes.
In another violent incident, which was neither a shooting nor a stabbing, Christopher Dyment, a 26-year-old professional hockey player for the Providence Bruins, suffered a serious eye injury in a fight on the East Side early New Year's Day.
gsmith@projo.com / 401-277-7334
http://www.projo.com/
Posted at 12:40 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Mt. Hope Snow Poll
Again the City reacted to a snow situation. Were you impressed or underwhelmed?
On my street the plows came early and often, which I see as an improvement, though there was little snow to remove.
On Camp Street, I shoveled a sidewalk early, there was only an inch and a half of accumulation, but then the snow plows came at high velocity and threw up on the sidewalk about 5 inches of heavy, wet snow, garbage and leaves, which I then had to remove a 2nd time.
Why can't the plowers use common sense and a modicum of skill to remove street snow without making the sidewalks worse. Is it neccessary to plow at high speed, thus sending all the street snow onto the sidewalk, instead of proceeding with care and finess and not sending the snow flying to cover the sidewalks worse than the snow falling from the sky"
I ask, how was it in your neck of the woods?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
POLL
The most recent poll on the City's performance in Snow Removal showed improvement, in a definite upward trend. Let's hope that trend continues and is not just an anomaly due to the benign nature of the recent snow fall. Not one respondent thought that the City's response was "Hopelessly Inept", and that is kind of a backhanded vote of confidence.
Let's hope they can keep up the improvement.
Posted at 11:24 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Heads Up . . . Shots Fired!
Police investigate 7 shootings . . . Mt. Hope connection!
ProJo reported on 12-20, “ . . . James _______, 16, of 19 Pleasant Court, Mount Hope, was standing at the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent, when six shots were fired from a gray Nissan Maxima.”
The ProJo article stated, “Detectives are looking for connections among some of seven shootings in recent days, one of which occurred on a corner in Mount Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.”
Now, August seems not so long ago: when I re-read the August 19th blog post, Warning Shots, the August 18th, blog post, Police Respond to Mt. Hope Crime, and the August 17th blog post, Shots fired – Crime Watch Time!, I’m reminded of the need for all Mt. Hope residents to remain vigilant and well informed about what is going on in Mt. Hope.
Luckily, our Police Department is right on top of the situation and responding appropriately to protect Providence citizens. And you know you can count on our own District 8 police to do their best in Mt. Hope.
Still, it would behoove Mt. Hope residents to be aware of their surroundings, to remember, that although Mt. Hope is a wonderful, diverse neighborhood, certain problems present certain dangers, here, in Mt. Hope and to take precautions for themselves and their families when driving in areas where known drug dealing occurs; for these are the likely locations for potential drive-by shootings.
We do not need to read about some innocent victim shot in a crossfire because of a drug or gang feud which most Mt. Hope citizens have nothing to do with and know little about.
When ProJo uses sentences like “. . . on a corner in Mt. Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.” And, “ . . the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent . . .” then I guess that drug dealing in Mt. Hope has come out of the closet and is no longer the community’s dirty little secret to be whispered about in shame and embarrassment, lest someone acknowledge the problem. I’m neither embarrassed, nor will I live in fear, yet I do recognize the need to be aware and alert to my surroundings, and to acknowledge the type of people we live among.
Read, Police examine possible links in city shootings from the ProJo below.
Police examine possible links in city shootings
Shots were fired in seven incidents over seven days beginning Dec. 10; six people were injured.
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, December 20, 2005
BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Detectives are looking for connections among some of seven shootings in recent days, one of which occurred on a corner in Mount Hope that the police say is notorious for drug peddling.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday, Markise Wilson, 23, of 150 Fillmore St., Wanskuck, was walking on June Street, near the Chad Brown housing project in his neighborhood, when several shots were fired from a passing car, the police said.
Wilson told the police that he ducked, but he was hit twice in the lower left arm. He was treated at Rhode Island Hospital.
Witnesses reported that a gray Pontiac Bonneville with Massachusetts plates left the area at high speed.
About an hour later, James Goddard, 16, of 19 Pleasant Court, Mount Hope, was standing at the corner of Pleasant Street and Pleasant Court, where drug sales are frequent, when six shots were fired from a gray Nissan Maxima.
Goddard was hit once in the hip and once in the buttock. He was treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital, according to Lt. Hugh Clements, detective commander.
Those were among at least seven shooting incidents over seven days, beginning Dec. 10. There may be connections among five of them, Clements said.
The first in the rash of shootings, in which two Providence men were wounded, occurred on Yorkshire Street, Wanskuck, on Dec. 10. Inside an apartment nearby, the police found a toy polar bear stuffed with cocaine.
Late on Dec. 13, about five gunshots were fired at a moving car on June Street, near the Chad Brown complex. A 21-year-old Providence man was wounded.
When asked last night, Clements said some of the shootings might have been related to inter-neighborhood feuds.
"Over the years there have been many feuds. We are investigating whether these recent shootings are connected in any way, which ones are connected and how they may be connected," Clements said.
"We have received information on which we can follow up," he said.
At least two of the attacks were drive-by shootings.
Another shooting occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Tyrone Way, 26, of the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, was shot in the left leg near 12 Osborn St., Smith Hill.
Way told the police that he was helping his girlfriend's uncle move out of his apartment when an unknown assailant shot him from behind. The victim was treated at Roger Williams Medical Center.
There were two more shooting incidents Thursday and Saturday, but nobody was injured.
On Thursday, no more than a half hour after Way was shot, the police raced to the vicinity of 14 Ledge St., in the North End, for a report of shots fired. Witnesses told the officers that they saw two males in dark clothing run away on Gillen Street.
Patrol Officers Theodore Michael and Michael Pattie apprehended two males at gunpoint behind 23 Gillen St. The officers said they found a 38-caliber, Taurus brand handgun with three rounds expended, in the snow nearby. The suspects were an 18-year-old from Opper Street, also in the North End, and a juvenile whose name the police withheld.
There was at least one bullet hole in a minivan parked at 14 Ledge St. It was not clear last night whether either suspect has been charged with a crime.
The seventh shooting occurred Saturday on Thurbers Avenue in South
Providence, but the police apparently do not see a link between that incident and the others.
At about 3:30 a.m., shots were fired through two of the windows of an apartment occupied by Kiki Mitchell, 29, of 259 Thurbers Ave. The police said eight other bullets apparently penetrated a vacant apartment next door.
Neighbors recovered 11 spent 9mm shell casings in a parking lot behind 247 Thurbers Ave.
Mitchell told the police that her brother is feuding with some unknown individuals.
Posted at 12:38 PM | Issues | Comments (1)
TaxPayer Poll
Vote your concscience or vote your pocketbook -- but vote!
Another blizzard hit the hills of Mt. Hope, just as it hit the hills of College Hill: which hills do you think were cleaned most quickly and effectively?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE VOTE IS IN!
POLL: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MT. HOPE SNOW REMOVAL?
90.63% were Disgusted.
9.38% were Happy.
Posted at 04:39 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Stuck in the Middle With You!
Not enough lawyers per square mile?
My car was stuck half way up on Cypress street last winter. If I have to leave the house during a snow storm, I come back via Olney, then Camp. Try that.
I was trapped in my house yesterday, because I live on a side street, and it is not a priority for snow removal. However, it is a very hilly street, so even if you manage to get out of your driveway, after that your car will slide downhill, and do not count on good tires and new breakes, gravity will do its trick on a slippery surface. All you have left is to pray that you will not collide with another car at the bottom of the hill, because it is a T-intersection.
I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, so I had to call David Pontarelli at ONS and to beg for help. Forty minutes later my street was ploughed. Thank you, David.
My question is why did I have to call David at all. We live in the North East, and every winter we have snow, we can count on that like we can count on a tax bill from the City. Why don't we have a reliable system in place that would insure adequate snow removal in our City?
And by the way Cypress Street is a major street and it is on a hill, it should be on the priority list for snow removal so that people unfamiliar with Mt. Hope shortcuts should be able to use Cypress Street at all times.
And why year after year College Hill streets are being cleaned much better than ours? Is it because we, in Mt. Hope, have fewer lawyers per square mile who could raise hell if the streets are not ploughed?
Irene
Posted at 10:17 AM | Issues | Comments (2)
Mt. Hope Massage
Is this good news or what!
Here’s some good news. The City of Providence has begun a crack down on the proliferation of Massage Parlors operating as brothels that have sprung up in the city, two, I think in Mt. Hope: one behind Benny’s and the other on N. Main Street
The Oriental Garden at 776 N. Main Street, in Mt. Hope, was raided last week and the owner sent a letter by the City Solicitor warning of further consequences if the proprietor of the brothel was not evicted.
Most of these so called Massage Parlors employ Asian immigrants, some here illegally, who must work in the sex trade to pay off the cost of immigration, inside sources have revealed. These exploited women often sleep ten to a room in the brothel, are intimidated and kept isolated, and in reality are little more than victims of the sex slave trade.
A victimless crime: not on your life.
A loophole in Rhode Island law has allowed these businesses to operate, as the law bans prostitution on the streets but not inside buildings. This loophole has made it more difficult to prosecute the operators, so now the nuisance laws are being brought into play.
Read Cathleen Crowley’s ProJo article on the subject from yesterday’s paper below.
-
Landlord tells spa owner to vacate
The city says The Oriental Garden Spa is being used as a "common nuisance for lewdness."
01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 5, 2005
BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- In response to a stern warning from the city, the landlord of The Oriental Garden Spa has ordered the alleged brothel to vacate the property at 776 North Main St.
Carl D. Corrow, the registered agent for VCC LCC, which owns the building, sent a letter to the spa owner, Robert Kwait, on Thursday.
The letter, which was faxed to the Providence city solicitor, told Kwait to leave the building immediately.
Corrow wrote that he was unaware that police had conducted an undercover investigation at the spa and had issued a warrant for Kwait's arrest. Kwait is wanted for allegedly operating a massage parlor without a license.
The city's letter to the property owner stated that the spa was being used as a "common nuisance for lewdness."
Corrow warned the spa owner that he had violated his lease and if he failed to vacate the building, VCC would take further legal action.
"This appears to be the first step in the right direction," said City Solicitor Joseph M. Fernandez.
VCC bought the building and took over Oriental Garden's two-year lease on Sept. 20.
The solicitor's office also sent warning letters to Midori Spa, 112 Union St., and Central Spa, 76 Derry St. The letters stated that if the building owners didn't take all reasonable, lawful measures to eject the massage parlors, they could be subject to fines, imprisonment or court injunctions. The property owners were told they had five days to comply. Only VCC has taken action.
Staff writer Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at ccrowley@projo.com or (401) 277-7376.
Posted at 11:10 AM | Issues | Comments (2)
"Impact Players"
How to deal with "Impact Players"
If you follow regional news at all you are aware that just north of us the City of Boston, right now, experiences a horrendous problem with gun violence connected to gangs and drug dealing. Boston recently recorded it’s 66th homicide of 2005, and the city’s huge number of shootings grows daily.
Goodness graciousness, what happened? It seems like yesterday that they were bragging of the Massachusetts Miracle and low crime rates, and Bill Bratton was a hero to Police Chiefs around the nation.
Boston's crime fighting solution was held up as a national example of how to succeed in the fight against youth violence and drug crime: zero tolerance to quality of life issues, community based out-reach by church ministers and community groups, aggressive prosecution of gun and drug violence, and strict sentencing by the courts.
That was way back in the early 90’s, way, way back . . . almost ten years ago. Well, that’s certainly not an eternity, not ancient history.
Of course now, Boston blames it all on New Hampshire, because many of the guns haunting Boston streets were purchased in New Hampshire, whose guns laws are more lax than those in Massachusetts.
Com'on Guys!
What bothers me . . .
I don’t know what’s to keep this growing problem from traveling down Route 95 to our fair City of Providence. Now is the time to think of addressing the problem before it grows into a crises like it has right now in Boston.
Thankfully, Providence has a visionary Police Chief in Col. Esserman who has already taken a proactive approach to guns. He has made taking guns off of the streets of Providence a priority, and Providence gun violations are prosecuted federally, resulting in longer sentences and sending a strong message to would be perpetrators.
McGrory’s Column
I read columnist Brian McGrory in Friday’s Boston Globe, and I appreciate his point:
“They can start all the midnight basketball leagues they want. They can have outreach programs until they're blue in the face, create another 50,000 summer jobs in the mailroom of State Street Bank, allow ministers to pitch tents on city streets.
But there is nothing that will stop the senseless violence across this city quicker than the simplest solution of all: Put gun-toting punks in jail.”
McGorory spoke with the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, and the D.A. and all three agreed that the “impact players”, i.e. the bad guys, must be put behind bars.
“They didn’t get the message of intervention and prevention, so they have to be treated harshly.”
I’m all for getting the Mt. Hope “impact players”, the bad guys who just don’t get it and insist on dealing drugs on our streets and breaking into our cars and homes and vandalizing our property, rounded up and put behind bars. No sympathy for them from these quarters. One night last week, my wife and I were woken from a sound sleep by the sound of 17 gun shots from up on Camp Street!
You can read all of McGrory’s column below.
-
Solution lies behind bars
By Brian McGrory, Globe columnist | December 2,
2005
They can start all the midnight basketball leagues they want. They can have outreach programs until they're blue in the face, create another 50,000 summer jobs in the mailroom of State Street Bank, allow ministers to pitch tents on city streets.
But there is nothing that will stop the senseless violence across this city quicker than the simplest solution of all: Put gun-toting punks in jail.
The liberals, of course, are aghast at harsh action. How dare anyone hassle young victims of broken families trying to survive the streets of an increasingly mean city? We ought to be guiding them, not incarcerating them.
Yeah, well, sorry. Most of those liberals aren't living in Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury. They're not lying in bed at night listening to gunfire crackle in the near distance. They're not sending their kids to a grammar school on a road that's raked by bullets during recess.
How bad is the problem? I was talking yesterday to Barry Mullen, head of a neighborhood association in Fields Corner, and he was marveling that people in Dorchester know the difference between the sound of gunshots and fireworks. ''Isn't it disgraceful?" he said.
As bad, Mullen said, is the lack of police response. ''I go to two crime watch meetings a week, and I hear it again and again, that our 911 calls aren't answered," he said. ''The police do the best they can, but they're overworked."
Over in Codman Square, Bill Walczak, the head of the Codman Square Health Center, spoke of a new gang in the neighborhood, an increase in robberies, gunfire in the night. Then he offered a strategy with Mark Twain-like simplicity: ''Some bad guys need to go away."
As I was asking Walczak and Mullen about the problem, Mayor Thomas M. Menino was behind closed doors in City Hall with Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley hashing over solutions. They emerged with a laundry list of ideas: sweeping hardened criminals off the streets with existing warrants, pushing for a gun court, putting more emphasis on witness protection. In separate telephone conversations, all three struck the chord that Walczak already had: Put bad guys behind bars.
''You have to calibrate between prevention, intervention, and enforcement, and we obviously need more enforcement right now," O'Toole said.
''The term for these guys is impact players," Conley said. ''They're out there causing serious problems and wreaking havoc in some of our poorer neighborhoods. They didn't get the message of intervention and prevention, so they have to be treated harshly."
This meeting was an excellent first step, and credit to the mayor for acknowledging the breadth and depth of the problem. But it is just one step.
Back in the crime-fighting heyday of the mid- and late 1990s, when murders were at a notable low, judges seemed to have worked out a private agreement not to grant low bail or light sentences to gun-wielding punks from Boston.
At the same time, the police commissioner, the district attorney, the attorney general, and the US attorney worked in lockstep, indicting the worst thugs in town. If prosecutors had the chance to send a punk to Leavenworth for 20 years rather than South Bay for 20 months, they pushed the case into federal court. Word spread on the street pretty quickly.
People like to talk about all the outreach in the 1990s, but most of the success was because authorities put criminals behind bars. This same coordination needs to happen again -- immediately. O'Toole, Conley, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, and US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan need to make this their collective priority. I know all about the rising number of juveniles and the decreasing number of cops. I know all about the flow of convicts being released from jail.
But I also know that good people, innocent people, hard-working people are living in constant fear in their homes.
Boston has handled this before, better than any other city in America. It needs to spare no effort to get there again.
Brian McGrory is a Globe columnist. His e-mail is mcgrory@globe.com.
Posted at 07:39 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Boston's Crime Cameras
If it's good enough for Boston...
Today's Boston Globe features a front page, below the fold, story about the City of Boston's plan to install digital surveillance cameras in high crime areas and mentions the intent to allow the police drug unit to access the cameras if requested.
Digital Crime Camera - Lane Turner/Globe Staff
The globe quotes Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole: “We hope to be creative," she said in an interview. ''If the drug unit wants to monitor cameras in the areas where there's been drug activity, they can do that."
Of course the usual debate got underway among the usual suspects:
“Sarah Wunsch, a staff lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said yesterday that cameras have not been effective in combating crime in Britain, where they have been commonplace since the 1990s. She also said the public should be concerned about the cameras' power to give the government more information on individual habits.”
'We're talking about the government and the police choosing to use high-powered surveillance cameras out in public, where people think the government is not spying on them,’ Wunsch said. 'We will turn into a very different society . . . ' Who are you meeting with? What book are you reading?' Americans ought to think about it.”
O'Toole said she has been responsive to the ACLU's concerns, saying the department agreed to dispose of tapes from the cameras after 90 days.”
In Boston, shootings are up 28% and the police force is down nearly 200 officers from 5 years ago. Chinatown will be the first Boston community to get the cameras.
Could it be good for Mt. Hope?
I know where I would put cameras in Mt. Hope. But let’s let our bloggers debate the issue. Would you put cameras in Mt. Hope? Why? Why not? Where would you put cameras in Mt. Hope. What type of crime would you like to deter? Would you contribute funds toward cameras if the money went only to Mt. Hope law enforcement? How long do you think the records should be kept. Do you think cameras would deter drug dealing in Mt. Hope? What if perps wear hooded sweatshirts, shades and caps and thus cannot be identified on camera. Thugs are smart and have thus far learned to operate successfully right under the police’s nose. Would cameras really be effective in Mt. Hope?
Read the Globe story, High-crime areas to receive cameras, below.
Peter Cassells & John Twomey contributed to this post
Cty to use cameras in bid to fight crime
Chinatown, other sites to get device
By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff | November 19, 2005
By January, Boston will install about 40 sophisticated surveillance cameras in Chinatown, along Boston Harbor, and in high-crime areas, probably including Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday he believes the digital cameras can be an effective tool against crime. ''Any technology or any operation that we can use that will help us combat violence in the streets of our city, we're going to look at very seriously," he said in an interview.
Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole said yesterday that the city eventually plans to link its cameras with others already in transportation hubs, housing developments, and private businesses to help stem a surge in crime.
''We hope to be creative," she said in an interview. ''If the drug unit wants to monitor cameras in the areas where there's been drug activity, they can do that."
The cameras to be installed in coming weeks were purchased for and used during the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, but have been shelved since. Police originally said the cameras would go up in Chinatown in February.
The delay, officials said, involved getting permission from businesses and homes to mount the cameras, as well as the technical difficulties of wiring the cameras.
Civil libertarians, however, said Boston should keep the cameras on the shelf.
Sarah Wunsch, a staff lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said yesterday that cameras have not been effective in combating crime in Britain, where they have been commonplace since the 1990s. She also said the public should be concerned about the cameras' power to give the government more information on individual habits.
''We're talking about the government and the police choosing to use high-powered surveillance cameras out in public, where people think the government is not spying on them," Wunsch said. ''We will turn into a very different society . . . 'Who are you meeting with? What book are you reading?' Americans ought to think about it."
O'Toole said she has been responsive to the ACLU's concerns, saying the department agreed to dispose of tapes from the cameras after 90 days.
On Halloween night, Chelsea became the first Boston-area municipality to activate a digital camera surveillance network. It plans to install 27 cameras to cover the entire city.
In Chinatown, some residents said they are happy to be the first community that would get the cameras. Officials said the neighborhood will get eight or nine cameras in the next month.
Karen Chen, a community organizer with the Chinese Progressive Association, said residents are concerned about possible privacy infringements, but most are more worried about their safety.
A preliminary count of two homicides, 211 robberies, and 292 aggravated assaults through Nov. 13 in the police district covering downtown and Chinatown has left residents unnerved. Citywide, shootings increased by 28 percent through Oct. 23, compared with the same period last year.
Others said cameras aren't enough to fight crime.
''I think much more police officers would be helpful," said Tim Ruan, the former administrative director of the Chinatown Residents Association.
The department's patrol force of about 1,300 is down nearly 200 from five years ago, a decline the city attributes to federal and state funding cuts.
Police Superintendent Robert Dunford, who is spearheading the camera project, said the technology is intended as a tool to help police prevent and solve crimes.
''If we had a crime and we knew the area had been under surveillance, obviously we would pull the tape and we could identify who had been in the area prior to the event," he said.
Dunford said the cameras will also be used to help determine police deployment. He said there are thousands of cameras in the city to potentially link with, and he cited Chicago as a model.
Jennifer Martinez, a spokeswoman for the city of Chicago, said there are roughly 2,000 cameras in Chicago's network, which covers housing developments and transportation centers, but not private businesses.
Andrew Velasquez, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications in Chicago, said city officials believe the cameras, which were installed starting in 2001, are partly responsible for a decline in crime. Chicago reduced its homicide rate by 25 percent last year, resulting in a 38-year low.
''Having that extra set of eyes and ears out there has contributed to the Chicago Police Department's crime-fighting strategy," Velasquez said.
Two dozen cameras are outfitted with gunshot detection software. ''There are acoustic sensors built into the cameras, so if there's a gunshot detected within the vicinity of the camera, that camera will focus on the area where there has been a shooting," Velasquez said. ''There will be an alarm or an alert to tell the person watching."
O'Toole said she hopes to buy more cameras for Boston soon and is looking for ways, including donations from businesses, to pay for them, since federal homeland security money only covers the cost of the 19 cameras to be placed along the harbor to help guard tankers carrying liquefied natural gas against terrorist threat.
She said she only wants to put cameras in areas where there is strong community support for them.
However, she said the issue is raised at most crime watch meetings, suggesting widespread interest.
Posted at 01:44 AM | Issues | Comments (4)
Landmark Providence Lawsuit
Young v Providence
Why does the Providence Journal keep burying the coverage of the Cornel Young Jr. wrongful death suit deep inside the Rhode Island section of the paper? I would think that most people consider this lawsuit front page news in Providence and throughout Rhode Island.
The Journal prominently covers a party at the Brown student center on the top of the front page yet they bury a landmark legal case in the City’s history. Once again I wonder if Pro Jo functions as an arm of City Hall or as a de facto Providence Chamber of Commerce.
The article is even difficult to find in the on-line version of the paper, not featured in any of the teasers that lead readers to prominent stories.
I e-mailed the writer of yesterday’s piece Edward Fitzpatrick to ask this question.
Today’s article below.
John
Prignano defends 'on-duty' policy
Providence's former police chief testifies in a testy appearance on the witness stand.
01:00 AM EST on Thursday, November 17, 2005
BY GREGORY SMITH
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Former Providence Police Chief Urbano Prignano Jr., in a combative appearance in federal court yesterday, defended the policy that led Sgt. Cornel Young Jr. to intervene in an armed confrontation in 2000.
Young, who was off-duty, died when he pulled his gun and tried to quell a disturbance outside Fidas restaurant in the Valley neighborhood. He was shot to death by two police colleagues who mistook him for a suspect.
In a policy that Prignano inherited but stoutly believes in, the Police Department required off-duty officers to carry their department sidearms and to take action when "time is of the essence to safeguard life or property." In shorthand, it is known as the "always-on-duty policy."
Officers should have their guns with them at all times in case they encounter a criminal with a weapon, especially a "bad guy" that they had "put away" in prison, Prignano contended.
Leisa Young, Cornel Young Jr.'s mother, is suing the City of Providence in U.S. District Court for violating her son's civil rights.
She claims that the department did not train Patrol Officer Michael Solitro III, one of the officers who shot her son, and other officers on how to handle confrontations between uniformed and off-duty officers.
Her lawyers have sought to portray the department as having been isolated and behind the times, compared to other law-enforcement agencies, for clinging to the always-on-duty policy.
Since Young was killed, the policy has been changed.
Prignano, who prided himself on being a streetwise policeman with a knack for burrowing into organized crime, served as chief from October 1995 to Jan. 31, 2001, when he left amid controversy.
Now retired, he came to the witness box draped in a blue sport coat and a white shirt. Due to his heart condition, the lawyers had agreed to limit the duration of Prignano's testimony for any single sitting.
Although Leisa Young's lawyers called him to the stand, he was not a friendly witness.
Even as lawyer Nicholas Brustin would pose questions, Prignano would plow ahead with extended answers, talking over Brustin. Their awkward Q & A appeared to be complicated by Prignano's being hard of hearing. For a while, they sparred over the meaning of the term "common sense."
Several times Judge William E. Smith Jr. admonished Prignano to give only "yes" or "no" answers when the questions called for that and, in general, to restrain himself.
Prignano insisted that he needed to give explanations.
"It looks like I'm a police chief who doesn't care. And that's not so," he declared.
As Prignano persisted in his assertive responses, the exasperated judge finally remarked, "Maybe we should just break for the day."
Among the points Prignano made: If he was still chief, he would still require off-duty officers to carry guns and intervene in crimes if they were able.
While he was chief, he believed that officers were trained about how to show their badges if they had to pull their guns and act while off-duty. Cornel Young Jr. has been faulted for not showing his badge before he was shot.
While he was chief, he should have instituted a general order specifically instructing officers how to show their badges when they pulled their guns while off-duty.
Prignano is scheduled to resume his testimony this morning.
The other witness yesterday was Sgt. Michael Harris, who was assistant director of the police training academy from which Solitro graduated.
His wife, former Sgt. Tonya King Harris, was in the audience as a gesture of support, as a lawyer for the city relentlessly challenged him with questions.
Harris said that in Solitro's academy, there was no training on how uniformed officers should handle themselves during confrontations with off-duty officers and vice versa.
Harris testified that the Rhode Island Minority Police Officers
Association, of which he was vice president, was quite concerned about minority officers disproportionately being targeted as suspects, and shot, by on-duty officers across the country. Young was black and the officers who killed him are white.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged, neither he nor the association proposed at the time that police training be improved regarding misidentification of off-duty officers.
"Obviously Jai would still be here" if the training was better, Harris said, using Cornel Young Jr.'s nickname.
Online at: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20051117_young17.170dd86a.html
Posted at 12:25 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Grafitti in Mt. Hope
Grafitti is back with a vengence
A member reports that the City has only a two man crew assigned to grafitti removal and that that is not their only duty. Does that make sense to you?
Community Garden Sign
This is the sign for the Community Garden. Who would deface their own community? Who teaches these kids their values, anyone?
When you look at this expression, in one way you are looking at the expression of ignorance. Chances are the parents or relatives of the kid who did this use, and love, the Community Garden.
BTP Retaining Wall above garden
Retaining Wall
The retaining wall above the Community garden. Believe, me it looks much worse in reality than it does framed in my photograph.
Cypress Street Overpass
Grafitti is back beneath the under pass of the Cypress Street Walkway. This time it looks more ominous. I do not know how to interpret these symbols. Is it gang related? You tell me.
Overpass Sidewall
SideWall
Two shots of the sidewall of the Cypress Street Overpass. Somebody feels comfortable enough of not being caught by the police that they stand there for some time to deface our city property in this way.
A Disturbing Trend?
Last, but not least, the most disturbing grafitti I found, the grafitti on a person's home on Knowles Street. It is more disturbing because it entailed an invasion of private property and vandalism of private property, a Mt. Hope tax paying citizen's home.
Grafitti on Mt. Hope home (Private Property)
Can anyone tell us what this symbol in red means? What does the perpetrator mean by the words "Black Fam"? It looks to me like the grafittier was writing "Black Family" when he/she/it had to run away and leave the word incomplete, "Fami . .". But what's it all mean. The house is owned and occupied by a long time, caucasian Mt. Hope resident.
If it bothers you . .
If the growing incidents of grafitti defacing property in our community, including private property, disturbs you, you should contact the people whose job it is run our City and to police our streets: your Councilman Jackson, your Police Chief Col. Esserman, and your Mayor, David Cicilline.
John Twomey
Posted at 04:17 PM | Issues | Comments (1)
Pleasant Street Drug Dealing
Suspected Drug House Identified
Crime Watch members report a great deal of what looks like alleged drug related activity at 107/109 Pleasant Street.
Most of the activity involves the second floor tenants. Crime Watch reports that cars are pulling up all hours of the night, beeping, people yelling up to the windows, going up to the the apartment, staying a short time then leaving. Soon, another car pulls up, and the sceniario repeats itself.
Some seemingly related activity is alleged to also take place in the first floor unit.
Can we find and contact the owners to notify them of the illegal activity on their property?
Crime Watch reports no police activity or visibility on Pleasant St. around this location or during this activity.
Crime Watch reports that another house poetntially involved in drug related activity, 117 Pleasant, has become much more careful in their activities since the Crime Watch first reported the location but that their activity still looks a lot like drug dealing.
Crime Watch is reporting the activity to Disctrict 8 Police and asking them to notify NOCD to investigate.
Anyone having any information to add e-mail Crime Watch
John Twomey
Posted at 03:29 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Incident on Lancaster?
Incident on Lancaster -- any word?
Around 11:00 pm last night I heard a woman screaming outside my house. I checked the corner of Camp and Woodbine Streets (the usual suspect for noise) and saw nothing. The screaming continued and I finally located it somewhere behind my house.
I opened my window and I could make out that she was screaming words, "Help me! Help me! He's raping me!" Shaking, I quickly grabbed the phone and called 911. As I was on the phone I continued to hear her screaming, along with a man's voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but she was screaming "He's lying!" The operator transferred me to the police where they took all my infomation again and then told me I could hang up.
I listened to the screaming for a several more minutes before I saw an officer drive by on Camp Street and the woman screamed for him. He turned down Lancaster Street and the screaming stopped. I'm not sure what happened after that. Anyone else in that area witness this last night?
Posted at 11:28 AM | Issues | Comments (5)
Re: Eyewitness Report
Eyewitness Report
As an attendee at last week's Greater Camp Concerned Citizens meeting, I have to agree with John's assessment. I was dissatisfied with the Lt's reaction to our concerns about the open air drug market we deal with at the Crossroads. To say that the area is not the worst in the city and saying that drug dealing occurs even on Blackstone Blvd. is not the answer we expect from the police. It is the same as saying, "Well, everyone's doing it. You have it good here."
I have signed on as a member of the group's Transition Committee even though I have my condo on the market and intend to leave the neighborhood as soon as it sells. My rationale: At least perhaps the neighborhood will be better after I leave if we take action to demand the elimination of drug dealing, which is responsible for the increase in break-ins. It certainly will make it easier to sell the place if the drug dealing is eliminated.
And, it looks like the graffiti has returned to the Cypress Street underpass. Can't they put a graffiti-resistant paint on the underpass so that it would be easier to erase it?
Or do we have to go all out to get the city to remove it every other week?
Peter Cassels
Posted at 02:17 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Murder, Violence, Police
FRESH OFF THE WIRE:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) --
Providence police say a 42-year-old woman who died in a hospital yesterday was murdered.
A maintenance worker found the victim, Lucy May Daniels, inside a second-floor apartment in the city’s Mount Hope section around noon. She was taken to Rhode Island Hospital and pronounced dead four hours later.Her death is the 19th homicide in Providence this year. Police say no one lived in the apartment where Daniels was found. She lived elsewhere in the city, but police would not say where.
No arrests were made in the case by last night.
- - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - -- - - -
Submitted by Uri Baver
- - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
EYEWITNESS REPORT:
A resident reported a big, big, violent bru-ha-ha outside the nightclub across from the Shell station on North Main Sunday Morning between 12:00 and 1:00. The scene drew at least 3 Police cars, two ambulances, and one fire truck.
Don't expect to see anything about it in ProJo or in the Police Stats.
Because this type of thing is better kept underneath our "Pollyanna" hats. Just ask City hall. That is where they keep it. And they know just where to keep "It".
We, in Mt. Hope, want to keep things "positive" in Mt. Hope. We don't want to offend the "POLICE."
Spoken with sarcasm:
And because we want to give prospective home buyers the impression that Mt. Hope is a great neighborhood, and because if more white, middle-class home buyers buy in Mt. Hope, it will drive all of our property values up, and because the quicker our property values go up the sooner we can all sell and move out of Mt. Hope . . . the better!
End sarcasm
Because, after all, who would want to live here?
Who want's to see junkies every day? With their zombie eyes?
Who want's to see drugs sold every day?
Who want's to live in fear of their home getting broken into?
Who want's to fight a battle every day, that they should not have to fight: to live in peace, to live in a neighborhood where the laws are upheld?
Not I.
You?
John
Editors note: The above post reflects the feelings, experiences, or the opinion of the writer (John).Blogs are a medium for people to express their indivdual viewpoints and these should not be construed as being the viewpoint of GCCC or of the Mt. Hope Community Website.
Posted at 08:31 AM | Issues | Comments (1)
Crack User on Doorstep
Crack user on my doorstep
It is just after 2 p.m. and I went out to retrieve my mail. I spotted a young man sitting next to the building Dumpster. He said hello. I went inside, looked out the window and saw him smoking crack. This is next to the convenience store at Cypress and Camp (which ought to be closed because of the element it attracts).
I thought the cops had cleaned up the drug problem in our wonderful tony neighborhood.
Peter Cassels
Update:
After I wrote that blog entry, I then went around the corner to see if someone was in the police station. As I did so, I spotted the same guy doing a deal next to the entrance to the convenience store.
Luckily, the Lt. was in the district station, but no one else. I described the guy, who was white (green jacket and blue jeans, very very thin). The dealer was a young black guy. By the time he [Lt.] got off the phone, the guy and the dealer were gone. The Lt. did "take a walk" though, but came back empty-handed.
The thing that bothers me the most is that it happened next to the district station, in broad daylight (the smoker and the deal) at about the time school gets out and the intersection is filled with kids on their way home.
What can we do to shake up the cops to do more than they are doing?
For one thing, it seems to me that a concentration of undercover drug detectives could clean up the Crossroads in a matter of a few weeks. Undercover stings would send the message that drug dealing will not be tolerated in Mt. Hope.
Peter Cassels
Editors note: The above post reflects the feelings, experiences, or the opinion of the writer (Peter).
Blogs are a medium for people to express their indivdual viewpoints and these should not be construed as being the viewpoint of GCCC or of the Mt. Hope Community Website.
Posted at 02:41 PM | Issues | Comments (1)
Lancaster Break-in
Break in on Lancaster
Long time resident Fernando came home Saturday at 7:30pm to find his home had been burglarized. He had left the house at 6pm. They stole a 19 inch TV, video games and jewelry. Fernando is most upset about a bracelet with charms that he has had for many years. He has filed a police report and continues to ask for leads for the return of his bracelet.
Naama Gidron
Posted at 02:50 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Mt. Hope Real Estate
Energy & Real Estate . . . and Hurricanes.
In conversing with numerous people this week, what seems to be on everyone’s mind, what everyone seems to want to talk about, is real estate and energy prices, and of course hurricanes.
I wish the Providence Journal could get its act together and publish the complete list of recent sales in the Saturday Real Estate Section as they used to. I always enjoyed reading about the House of the Week and then scanning the listings of what houses sold in my neighborhood. Lately, they've been dropping the ball with the sales listings, doing kind of a sloppy job.
“Where is the housing market?”, people are asking, “How high will prices go?” “Is there a bubble; will the market collapse and prices fall” “Has the real estate market in Mt. Hope peaked; are prices as high as they are going to get?”
What about condos, I hear people wonder, how do you make condos in a multi-family?
What about the rental market, is the rental market flat on the East Side, I’ve been asked. I don’t know. I looked and saw many 2 bedroom units advertised for rents as high as $1200 to $1600. I do think that with all the renovations that have been done that there may be a greater number of more attractive units available now.
Selling prices are high right now as far as I know. I know a single family house on Camp Street near Locust sold for around $439,000 and we all heard about the “Holy Cow! & Wow!” houses further north on Camp that went for a combined $850,000.
A very nice single family near Cypress and Camp just went on the market in the high 3’s.
I see a lot of renovation on Camp Street, just past Cypress, at least 3 multi-families undergoing extensive renovations. I have no idea what those houses were sold for or what plans are in store for them.
I’ve heard conflicting rumors about the brick apartment building on Camp & Cypress: one rumor has it being converted to condos, the other has it going all Section 8.
I see lots of condos for sale. I don’t know much about the condo market, what are condo prices like, are the units moving?
Everyone complains about gas prices; just driving your car has become another major expense. Reports say that fuel prices will stay high affecting different segments of our economy but all of our pocketbooks.
For instance, I’ve heard scary news reports saying brace yourself for record high heating bills whether you heat with gas, oil, or electric.
I’ve also read reports about insurance costs rising for home owners as a result of the big hit insurers took during this hurricane season: even people far from hurricane country may get hit with a 2 to 3% increase in the cost of their policy.
Blame it all on Katrina and Rita, at least that's what we’re being led to believe,
Real estate has become a national fascination and everyone has a story: what’s yours?
John Twomey
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thanks for the link Rich: the comments feature does not allow clickable links so here it is: http://www.newenglandmoves.com
Posted at 05:06 PM | Issues | Comments (1)
Knowles & Abbott Action
What are they doing in there?
Several users have entered our site using search engines inputting the following terms: Mt. Hope Land Trust and Knowles and Abbot Providence land Trust.
In driving by the corner in question I see much clearing and what looks like construction preparation.
Rumor has it that they are preparing the area for a subsidized housing develpoment.
I have no additional information.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Note: This link was provided by Jenniffer in her comment: /sub_housing_files/membership_subpages/production/reach.pdf
I could not access the page referenced.
I could accesss the home page: http://www.housingnetworkri.org
Posted at 01:19 PM | Issues | Comments (4)
A Little Off the Top
Our Tree Got Trimmed
I do not know if anyone remembers, but the tree in front of our house was in desperate need of a trim. (See my post of May 15, 2005 Tree Trimming City, with John's stunning photograph.)
After over 3 months of calling the city I finally got the tree trimed!!!! The City sent someone out this week, and they trimmed the tree.
Actually, I called 3 times last week and the Parks Dept got fed up with me and finally just sent them.
Happy plugging everyone.
Ellen B.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- --
Follow up, follow up, follow up, it's almost as good as location, location, location!
If that isn't a Yogi Berraism, then it sure sounds like one.
Congrats, Ellen, you just proved an old adage that I made up:
Perserverance Pays Off!
You can't get things done by making one phone call, wiping your hands, patting yoursef on the back, and saying to yourself, "Well, that's taken care of."
You need to follow up, follow through, and stay consistently on message! Like you did.
Good work.
John Twomey & Ellen Baver contributed to this post.
Posted at 03:41 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
Touchy Ouchy Subject!
Check out this item from the Pro Jo today, right in line with the downtown news and the potential gang war E v S.
Teenager shot near Wanskuck housing project 01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, September 13, 2005
PROVIDENCE -- A 16-year-old girl was shot in the right buttock shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday near the Chad Brown housing project, according to the police.The girl and a 16-year-old, female friend said they had been at the Living Room nightclub earlier in the night, and that fights had occurred involving young people from the East Side.
An unidentified male companion said that "East Side kids" probably fired the shots, according to a police report.
Teenagers from the East Side and the South Side brawled in the streets at several locations in Providence last week, but the police said there does not appear to be any connection between those brawls and the shooting.
Sunday morning, the police went to the vicinity of June and Suffolk streets in Wanskuck, near the Chad Brown housing project, where they found three shell casings left behind.
Officers interviewed the 16-year-old victim, who was shot once, at Hasbro Children's Hospital. She said she had been shot while sitting in the male companion's car.
Shot in the BUTTOCKS, OUCH, but of course there is NO CONNECTION!!!!
Uri Baver
Posted at 09:17 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
I Sympathize with Unanimous on This!
Okay, I don't get to check this everyday, but the more I do the more chatty I am feeling.
Anyway, Jen, I don't think we have met, but I just want to say I am sorry about your bike for your and your daughter and about the rudeness you experienced trying to get answers/help. When we were broken into the police actually made us feel like it was our fault for not having a security system. But given how they came in, it wouldn't have even mattered if we did have one. They just would have been in and out so fast through the window. I remember just feeling like total crap. They took my daughter's peter rabbit musical jewelry box, it didn't have any jewelry in it, just some change, but the box itself was sentimental. It wasn't even worth anything, just a kid style jewelery box. But she got it when she was a baby. They took camera's, money, other stuff, but that actually got me the most, along with a sweet sixteen ring my grandmother gave me, again, not worth a ton a money, but just special.
It's more than just the material things that are taken, it's the memories that go along with them, and the sentiment behind them. And the fact that we are working our A@#@'s off to make a living, makes it even more frustrating to see our things just go "poof" into the hands of some junkie who pawns it off down the street for a quick fix. And then it is a pain in the A@# to replace these things, even if insurance did cover it, it's just more paperwork and frustration. It's also having to go to pawn shops to look for your stuff, which is not the most pleasant experience. I gave up looking for my stuff, which I regret, but it just made me relive the experience and go through the disappointment all over again each time I checked. They might call drug abuse/dealing a victimless crime, but it sure is not a victimless crime.
I don't think befriending these people is the answer. Befriending them is their way of working us I truly feel. Substance abuse treatment, jail, community intervention whatever that means, GETTING THE DEALERS OUT OF HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. I have no idea what the answer is, but the theives here in Mt. Hope do not want to be our friends, they want to steal our stuff to get drugs/alcohol or money. It could be even the dealers breaking in, but I doubt it.
So, I hope you can find out who did it, and get your bike back. I have a bike if you ever want to borrow a bike. I hope that these types of crimes will stop in Mt. Hope, I know that is idealistic, but I still hope for it. What can we do to make all this stop?
Jessica K.
Posted at 09:10 PM | Issues | Comments (1)
Specific Displeasure with Police -- Jen
I will voice my specific comments about my displeasure with the police after my most recent break-in. I was out of town when the break-in happened, and was contacted by my alarm service. I called my upstairs neighbor, who had just arrived at the residence, only to find that the police were there investigating an alarm going off in our basement. After the premises was cleared, the police went through the basement with my neighbor to make sure nothing was missing. There was no sign of forced entry.
I spoke with the police, and they were very cordial and helpful, explaining the situation. I have to say, they responded very promptly, and if they were in the mindset that it was actually a crime, rather than a false alarm, they may have actually caught the person(s) responsible. They told me when they arrived that both my motion lights were on. They only stay on, without movement, for about five minutes.
In talking further with my neighbor after the police had left, we discovered that my bike had been stolen. I called Providence Police, trying to explain the situation, and was transfered to so many different people and was treated so rudely I was nearly in tears. Finally, the last person I talked to understood the situation and was willing to help me out. I did not get his name, but I thanked him profusely for his time, respect, and understanding.
So what did I want? I wanted them to come out and issue a report and I wanted them to finger print the basement door. My neighbor told me that there had been an open house at our residence that day. The door that was used to steal my bike was *never* used by either one of us and had been locked. I wanted them to investigate. I wanted them to DO something. It never happened. They came and issued the report. They refused to fingerprint, saying there would be too many other fingerprints to rule out. The police officers'? Perhaps my neighbor's and mine? I was disgusted.
The thing that gets me is that I went to a MNC meeting this summer to hear Dean Esserman speak. He said one thing that really struck a chord with me. Nearly all of the property crimes committed here are committed by your neighbors, by people on your street. And he said (and I feel pretty confident that I can quote him), "I can guarantee you two things, we have caught them before and we will catch them again." So who do you think stole my bike? I don't know, but I'm willing to bet two things: it's one of the known petty thiefs around my neck of the woods and their fingerprints are on file. Somebody knew that bike was there, and that person knew we weren't home. I wanted them caught.
I know, it's only a bike. I know that's how the police see it. It wasn't a violent crime. Hell, it wasn't even a "break-in"; it was a "larceny." You can call it what you want, but someone CAME IN MY HOME and took something from me. Sure, I have insurance. Does it cover a bike? Absolutely not, it's under the deductible. You know what that bike was to me? It was spending time with my daughter. It was saving a little money on gas, helping out the environment, and getting exercise. It was feeling like a kid again. And it's gone. And yes, I'm mad about it.
-Jen
Posted at 10:46 AM | Issues | Comments (0)
RE: Woodbine Break-in
Very Interesting Response Reported From District 8
I find Rich's comment on the Woodbine break-in very interesting.
I called the substation in regard to the break in on 69/71 Woodbine St. [A policeman] called me back and told me "It's an issue for a detective to work out, we just take reports". I could not get his ear to what was going on around here; he did not want to hear it. This is the 2nd time for us.Very frustrated with the police.
Editors note: The above quote reflects the opinion and viewpoint of the writer, (Rich) not the opinion of the Mt. Hope Community Website or of the GCCC organization. It should not be taken as fact.
Blogs, generally, are the site of emotional and heated expressions of opinion and invite heated and argumentative debate.
What Rich did not tell us is this: what specific complaints does he have about the police. This is very important. Exquisite detail is needed here. It is very frustrating to be the victim of a crime. The way the police respond should not exacerbate that frustration.
Criminals ply Mt. Hope: that is why we wish to change the culture of Mt. Hope and change the way the City Administration thinks of Mt. Hope.
For one, I'm surprised that Rich claims that the police were not more helpfull. Isn't it the function of the District 8 police to oversee all the police functions going on in District 8? Don't they do that?
If the Detective unit is handling the case it is the duty of our District 8 Police to act as the liasion between that unit and the victim. Is that not correct?
That is how I understand the duty of community police as explained by Col. Esserman and Mayor Cicilline. The District 8 Police function as the Local Police Czar to the citizens of the district.
I know that our District 8 Police take their responsibility very seriously, and I would urge you to speak with them again and voice your displeasure with the police response as specificly as you can.
If you get no satisfaction, call Maj. Fitzgerald, the head of the Uniform Division at 243-6102, he is the boss, and if he doesn't help you out, call Col. Esserman, the Chief, at 243-6109 or 243-6110.
Believe me, these guys are accessible, they want to do a good job, it gets overwhelming to them at times, but once they know that you are serious, they will respond to you.
But remember this, it is not the police's fault that you were the victim of a crime, nor is it your fault for living in Mt. Hope.
If you are angry express your anger by writing to Mayor David Cicilline about what is going on in Mt. Hope. When only a few express their anger, they are easily marginalized as crazy, ner-do-well mal-contents, but when a neighborhood rises up en masse to express their displeasure with the city's handling of affairs, the politicians listen.
You see, they want to get re-elected, and they don't want to be embaraassed.
That is why writing hard copy in conjunction with this website is so important. Write to the mayor and write to ProJo and the ESM.
Get the facts out there, because the facts are embarassing.
We are in a fight. Anyone who wants to win will join the battle. It's either that or move to a neighborhood where these punks, thugs and scumbags won't try to ply their trade because the City Administration will not allow it in certain neighborhoods.
When Col. Esserman took the job as Police chief, he bought a house on the East Side. How different would Mt. Hope be today if he had bought a house in Mt. Hope?
I think very different.
Don't tell me we have to live like this. Don't lie to me.
John Twomey
Posted at 11:27 PM | Issues | Comments (0)
August Break-in on Woodbine
Dismayed and Disbelievin'
I was dismayed to find out that there was a break in 3 WEEKS ago at 69/71 Woodbine St. The break in took place in the early morning hours while residents were asleep. The basement was broken into and bikes, tools, musical instruments were taken.
The owners did file a police report and expressed frustration with the police. They actually found one of their bikes at the pawn shop on North Main St but were having problems negotiating its return . . .
Naama Gidron
Posted at 07:19 PM | Issues | Comments (3)
East Side -- South Side Riot
Down