by Billy Kepner | Aug 21, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-14
In recent weeks, violence has risen in our City to an unacceptable level. We have had five deadly shootings in two weeks. Sin Bakery in Providence’s Federal Hill Neighborhood was robbed, and thousands of dollars were stolen. A home on Hawkins Street in the Wanskuck Neighborhood was robbed of 52 firearms in addition to an early morning homicide inside of a smoke shop. Gun violence and other crimes have occurred in almost every corner of our City. As an elected leader in the City that I love, I won’t sit idly by and watch this happen.
I have been calling on our state and federal leaders to enact legislation that would make it harder – not easier – to access a firearm for those that would do harm to a fellow resident. I have called on our leaders to follow the lead at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recognize gun violence as a public health crisis, and to reinstate funding for research and other programs that would protect communities like ours. Congress has to get off their hands and stop looking to the NRA and start listening to their constituents.
We can debate the issues of the root causes of this deadly public health crisis. Still, we know they stem from systemic racism, poverty, access to affordable housing, organized crime and in some cases, an individual’s mental well-being. Change has to come, and not just from the top down.
If we are to succeed in stemming the violence and addressing this public health crisis, we must do so together.
We must work with our community members who are in need; we must work with our schools and those entrusted in our care; we must work with our colleagues in government to affect change that can serve the many and not the few and demand that important legislation like prohibiting renter discrimination based on source of income get passed out of committee and become law; we must work with our social service agencies who have their boots on the ground and provide them the support they need, and we must work with our police department to ensure that they have the resources and skills to work inside our culturally diverse communities while holding those accountable who wish to inflict harm on our community.
Until we take this public health crisis seriously and demand that leaders at all levels address the systemic issues at hand, we won’t be able to stem the violence.
I pledge today that I will continue to advocate and work with my colleagues to ensure that we can do whatever is within our power at the local level to keep our city safe from violence. We will continue to urge our state and federal leaders to make change a reality and to invest in finding solutions to this ongoing public health crisis.
David A. Salvatore
Providence City Council
Councilor – Ward 14
by Billy Kepner | Aug 21, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
Our City has suffered five homicides in the last two weeks alone.
In the throes of a global pandemic, as we as a City wrestle with the resulting economic fallout, and as we as a nation confront centuries of systemic racism, we are witnessing widespread frustration manifesting itself in many ways.
Cities all across the country are experiencing a spike in homicides indicative of deeper-rooted issues that have led some to turn to senseless violence.
There isn’t a single agency, organization, elected official, or municipal department that can quell this surge alone.
The remedy will require a community-wide response that holistically addresses the causes and not the symptoms.
We must support our diversion programs and non-violence advocates like our City partners at the Nonviolence Institute. We must continue to work towards increasing the affordable housing stock in our City, so no parent turns to desperation to pay their rent. We must strictly adhere to mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines to help fully reopen our economy as soon as possible and get our community members back to work. We must fully commit to a long-term school turnaround plan if we want to provide our youth with new pathways for success. We must support legislation that reduces the number of firearms that end up on our streets.
We must do everything possible to pull in our most at-risk community members and instill in them a sense of purpose and dignity and not push them away when they need us most.
Violence is the manifestation of lack of resources in our community and a sad reminder that we are all connected and like the virus, requires that all of us take part in the process to eliminate it.
Sabina Matos
President-Providence City Council
Councilwoman-Ward 15
by Abigail Appel | Aug 20, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-1, Ward-10, Ward-14, Ward-3, Ward-6
Several years ago, the City of Providence asked taxpayers to borrow $40 million to repave some of our worst roads. Included in the road improvement program was Admiral Street, which was repaved by the City of Providence. In short order, National Grid completely destroyed the street. I have been asking politely for years that National Grid fix the street that they have torn up repeatedly.
If this were a City issue, I would have had it fixed the day it happened. National Grid has an obligation to fix this street, and after years of me asking and demanding, they must comply.
When the City Council returns in September, I will be introducing a resolution demanding that the City of Providence cease issuing National Grid permits to conduct work on our streets until they repair the damage they have caused.
Per their permit agreement with the City, National Grid is required to return streets that are opened to their original composition. Admiral Street was newly repaved when they first began the work there, and I expect nothing less than a curb to curb complete re-pavement from beginning to end.
David A. Salvatore
Providence City Council
Councilor – Ward 14
by Abigail Appel | Aug 19, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-4
This morning the ninth homicide in the City of Providence occurred in Ward 4 at a business located on Branch Avenue. This is an alarming trend, and my residents and I are clear that we are not in favor of defunding the police department.
I’m calling on the City to implement a training academy as soon as possible to help get more officers on the streets and in our neighborhoods.
As an elected official, we take an oath to serve our constituents, and by defunding the police, we are breaking that moral pact. Taxpayers expect that their police department will be able to protect them and their properties. When we cut their budgets and ask them to serve the same constituents with fewer officers and less funding, we are making Providence the “wild west.” I won’t stand by and let that happen on my watch.
The constituents that I have spoken to are outraged that there is even a call to defund the police, and I agree. No one is critical of increased training around cultural competency and/or anti-discrimination training – that is not only reasonable but warranted in a multi-cultural city like Providence.
What happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis was deplorable, but we are not Minneapolis. Our police officers put their lives on the line every time they put on their uniform, and if one commits a crime or uses unreasonable force, I trust that our Chief will act accordingly, and he has.
I stand with our men and women in uniform and pledge that I will not vote on any budget that defunds the police.
Nicholas J. Narducci, Jr., Senior Deputy Majority Leader
Providence City Council
Councilman – Ward 4
by Billy Kepner | Aug 17, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-9
I want to be very clear that as a woman of color, I fully support the Black Lives Matters movement. I also agree that we need to enact reforms and training for our Police Department to ensure cultural competency and to educate our officers on racial biases.
This past weekend, a video was shared that did not show the totality of my statement. After watching the video, I had a conversation with Nika Salazar and asked her to please retract and put out my full statement. She apologized and promised to solve this misunderstanding and put out the full video, which so far has not happened. That’s why I decided to give this statement today.
To be clear, I stated that I could not support defunding the police in the way that I was asked. I do not agree at this time to give the police department more funding for their pensions. We need to look at the police department’s pensions and some of the wage increases they’re asking for and possibly make cuts in those areas. Still, I am not in favor of completely defunding or abolishing the police department.
My neighborhood needs more police officers, not less. I pledge to examine the budget and see areas where we could eliminate unnecessary costs and redirect them to affordable housing and education. Having said that, I sincerely believe that we need to fund our police department so that they can do their job safely. The area south of Providence is diverse and beautiful, but crime and violence remain a problem. As Councilwoman for Ward 9, I am committed to protecting the quality of life of my neighbors, and that means supporting public safety.
As a member of the Committee on Finance, I am in support of Chairman Igliozzi’s desire to create a social services unit that would be devoted to responding to calls that the Providence Police Department doesn’t believe would warrant an armed response. I agree that we need to repeal the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights so that our Chief of Police can readily act when an officer is accused of a crime.
I stand in solidarity with those calling for reforms and working towards the goal of ensuring anti-biases within our police ranks.
Carmen Castillo
Providence City Council
Councilwoman – Ward 9
by Billy Kepner | Aug 10, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-1
Early this morning, the “Like A Buoy, Like A Barrel” art installation located in the Point 225 Plaza in front of CIC Providence at 225 Dyer Street was destroyed by fire. The art installation created by New York-based artist Steven Siegel in 2019 was not only a work of art but a reminder of our dependence on single-use plastics and what they can do to our environment. Furthermore, the heart and soul of this piece was about our rapidly changing climate, and its symbolic call for raising environmental consciousness is something that shouldn’t be lost on any of us.
While this is an active investigation, we don’t yet know the details of the cause of the fire. What I do know is this: our community will not stand for the destruction of public or private property. I am thankful that no one was hurt.
As the Councilman for Ward 1, where this installation is located, The Avenue Concept, Wexford, and myself remain committed to public art in this location and across the city given the power of art to heal and bring people together. I know how much work The Avenue Concept, who, along with the building owners, commissioned this work of art, went through to make this stunning and thought-provoking art piece part of our community and I am deeply disheartened by this fire.
As such, my office has reached out to both the police and fire departments, and as I learn more, I will share it as I am able.
I look forward to seeing what comes next in this great space. If you have photos of the installation, The Avenue Concept is asking that you share on social media with the #AvenuePVD. If you would like to learn more about The Avenue Concept please email hello@theavenueconcept.org. If you wish to make a donation for the rebuilding of this project, you can do so by visiting their website at www.theavenueconcept.org.
If you have any information regarding this incident, you are encouraged to call the non-emergency police line at 401-272-1111.
John Goncalves
Providence City Council
Councilman – Ward 1
“Like A Buoy, Like A Barrel” by Steven Siegel at the Point 225 Plaza in front of the Wexford Building.
