by Billy Kepner | Mar 3, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15, Ward-6
In light of the two recent presumptive cases of Coronavirus in Rhode Island, our offices have been in communication with our state and city colleagues to ensure a coordinated response.
We want to commend our first responders and our State Department of Health for their swift action and for their levelheadedness.
We want to take this opportunity to reiterate that risk of transmission of the virus is low for Rhode Islander’s, but we should take basic steps to stay safe from all viruses – like the flu – by following these helpful tips:
- Wash your hands, and do so often. In the absence of access to soap and warm water, use a hand sanitizer.
- Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- If you are going to cough or sneeze, do so into your elbow or by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue.
- If you are feeling ill or someone you care for is ill – stay at home. If your/their condition gets worse, you should call your/their primary care physician and ask if you/them should be seen.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces regularly, especially those that are frequently touched like light switches and doorknobs.
- Remind those in your care of the above tips to keep them safe as well, especially children and seniors.
As of now, our public events and meetings will proceed as scheduled until advised to do otherwise by state health officials. As always, the Council will communicate with our constituents should anything change.
For more information regarding the Coronavirus we encourage you to visit the CDC’s webpage: CDC-Coronavirus
by Billy Kepner | Feb 20, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15, Ward-6
Tonight Council President Sabina Matos (Ward 15) and President Pro Tempore Michael Correia’s (Ward 6) amendment to the Code of Ordinances that creates a $40K fund specifically for the support of Providence youth sports programs was passed for the second and final time.
The fund will support funding for equipment, costs associated with travel for sports competitions, and participating in sports-related activities. These funds are in addition to other funding that youth sports organizations may already receive from the City. Any youth sports group that applies for and is granted monies will have to refrain from the practice of “canning” (which is when young people raise money by standing on the corner at a stop sign or redlight and ask drivers to donate monies to their group).
“As a mother seeing young athletes trying to raise money while standing on our busy streets, and looking for donations from drivers at stop signs or red lights causes me great concern,” stated City Council President Sabina Matos. “These young athletes are risking their personal safety to get the funds they need to support their programs. I am glad that we have finally brought this Fund to fruition.”
The Youth Sports Fund & Grant Program will be held in a separate permanent fund of the city and will be held in trust by the City Treasurer. The fund will be administered by the City’s Recreational Advisory Board who will grant funding to Providence-based local non-profit youth sports organizations. The fund will be seeded with $40K annually through an appropriation from the City’s budget.
City Council President Pro Tempore Michael Correia added, “The Council President and I introduced this last November, and I am thrilled that we will now have this fund in place for our City’s young athletes. It is a highlight of my time on the Council that we have found a way to support our local non-profit youth sports programs that do so much for our community and our young people. This fund will provide access to youth sports clubs in every neighborhood of our city, and it will go a long way to ensuring that our young athletes are spending time practicing and not having to raise money.”
The fund will be set-up by the City Treasurer who will work with the Recreational Advisory Board to help implement a grant submission application process.
by Billy Kepner | Feb 20, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-10, Ward-15, Ward-9
At tonight’s City Council meeting Councilman Pedro Espinal (Ward 10) along with his colleagues, Council President Sabina Matos (Ward 15), Councilwoman Helen Anthony (Ward 2), Councilwoman Rachel Miller (Ward 13), Councilwoman Carmen Castillo (Ward 9), and Councilman David A. Salvatore (Ward 14) will call on the City Plan Commission to deny the application of Allens Providence Recycling LLC.
“As the Councilor for Ward 10 it is not my intention to stand in the way of bringing new businesses to my Ward,” stated Councilman Pedro Espinal. “That said, when the business in question could potentially have serious consequences for the environment and the well-being of my constituents, I will speak out. Our residents deserve to have clean air and clean water. I believe that any new business development along the Port should incorporate multi-use buildings and our goal as a City should be to clean-up Allens Avenue and the waterfront and make the area more hospitable for all of our residents and visitors alike.”
The proposed facility could potentially accept, process, and haul 2,500 tons of construction and commercial waste per day. This increase in industrial traffic will undoubtedly cause more pollution along Allens and Thurbers Avenues, in an area that is already considered a “frontline community” by the City of Providence’s recently published Climate Justice Plan.
The neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed industrial recycling location have the highest rate of childhood asthma in both the City and State and are ranked ninth in the nation, along with the highest rates of emergency room visits among children on Medicaid with Asthma in the City.
“I stand with Councilman Espinal in his support for the well-being of the residents of Lower South Providence and Washington Park,” stated Council President Sabina Matos. “I, like my colleagues, are always looking for ways to bring new businesses to our city, but we must do so with an eye on the ramifications of what proposed businesses can have on the environment and the surrounding communities. The proposed location, being so close to the Port of Providence, causes me further concern due to my fears of the potential for further pollution of the Narragansett Bay.”
The sponsors of the resolution have serious concerns with the project’s failure to meet the City’s Comprehensive Plan’s provisions regarding environmental sustainability and their ability to avoid disproportionate environmental burdens on residents. They are also concerned with the potential health impacts posed by the proposed industrial recycling operation in an area that is already highly impacted by pollution. In addition, they have concerns about the long-term impacts that a facility like what is being proposed might have on future development in and around the Port of Providence.
Councilwoman Carmen Castillo stated, “We must work to protect the safety of our residents at all costs. It pains me to know that so many young children are suffering from asthma in this one section of our City. It is a wake-up call that we, as elected officials, need to do more to protect our residents. I ask that the CPC deny this application.”
Upon passage, a copy of the resolution will be sent to Chairwoman Christine West of the Providence City Plan Commission, Director Bonnie Nickerson of the Department of Planning and Development, and the registered principals of Allens Providence Recycling, LLC.
by Billy Kepner | Feb 13, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
City Council President Sabina Matos announces that the Providence Parks Department is making several enhancements to Donigian Park.
“Donigian Park is a special place in Olneyville and is changing the way the neighborhood interacts with nature,” stated City Council President Sabina Matos. “Over my years on the Council I have invested nearly $100K in funding to create a waterpark, play spaces, and now a brand new concession stand that will include restrooms. Being a park along the Woony River Greenway so many visitors come through the park, and having facilities to enhance the park will make for a wonderful visitor experience.”
Currently, the construction of the concession stand and bathrooms are about 85% complete and with good weather will be completed in early spring. In the coming months and years, there will be even more improvements. Through 2019 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding the City will be making improvements to the field including regrading and installation of an irrigation system. In addition, there will be some fence replacement and reorientation along Cutler Street. All projects will begin construction in early summer of 2020.
Council President Matos continued, “I’m very excited to announce that we will begin a design for playground improvements later this year. Those improvements likely won’t come to fruition until 2021, but it is great to see things moving forward. I look forward to seeing my neighbors there this summer, especially for our annual Movie Night at Donigian!”
Much of the funding for improvements in the park have come from Council President Matos’ Neighborhood Infrastructure Funding, CDBG funding, and part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan that was recently passed by the City Council.
Pictured is the new concession stand and restroom facilities at Donigian Park.
by Billy Kepner | Feb 11, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
I share the Mayor’s sentiments that we are a City in transition, yet remain committed to cultivating a Providence that works for all residents both new and old. One cannot argue that Providence is changing. As the mayor proudly pointed out: development in downtown is rampant, city services are now more accessible for residents, and with support from the City Council, we have made a major financial commitment to invest in our communities and to tackle the challenges of climate change.
While the progress the city has made over the last two terms is noteworthy, we have yet to turn the page on our most stubbornly daunting issues. Our education system is the subject of national scrutiny, our unfunded pension liability looms like an incoming storm, and displacement is uprooting generations of families that know no other home but Providence.
As leaders, we have no other choice but to meet the demands of our great city and be optimistic. With hard work and open minds, we can further transform this city to meet the needs of its most marginalized residents. However, before we hastily declare a new era of prosperity, it is imperative that we not turn a blind eye to those who are most at-risk of being left behind.
Sabina Matos, President
Providence City Council
Councilwoman – Ward 15
by Billy Kepner | Feb 6, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-10, Ward-11, Ward-12, Ward-13, Ward-14, Ward-15, Ward-2, Ward-3, Ward-4, Ward-5, Ward-6, Ward-7, Ward-8, Ward-9
Tonight the City Council will introduce a resolution to honor the life and legacy of Michael Van Leesten, a Providence native and a pioneer in the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1960s.
Mr. Michael Van Leesten was a graduate of Hope High School, Rhode Island College, and was a veteran on the United States Airforce. Upon his graduation from Rhode Island College, he became active in the Civil Rights Movement and participated in SCLC SCOPE Project in Choctaw County, Alabama. He along with six other college students, worked doing community organizing and voter registration in rural Alabama during the height of the Civil Rights Struggle. He spoke of his time in the Movement as a “defining moment in my life,” and he believed that this singular experience made him a better person, better husband, better father, and better community leader.
“Michael Van Leesten was my friend, and a ray of inspiration and hope to many. We would talk over the phone and laugh and before we hung up he would also say ‘Nirva, I am so proud of you,’” stated Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune (Ward 3). “He was more than a board member, the executive director of OIC or a father, he was a community citizen, someone who was aware of and understands the broader issues that our community- and his place in the community and his role in effecting change. He was all of these things because he was a community citizen first and took an active role in his community and the people of his community. He was a bridge builder, an architect of connections and that is why it would be appropriate to name the bride after him. Like the new Pedestrian bridge he bridged gaps and created a platform for all to pass through and that gave others permission to do the same.”
Mr. Van Leesten served as the Executive Director of Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of Rhode Island, which he helped found, for more than 15years. He was also a consultant and the owner of Van Leesten Associates, and also served as the Director of Planning and Development in Providence. After which, he went on to be the Director of Public Affairs for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, and then in 2006 he resumed his role at the OIC until his passing. He was board member of numerous organizations including the Board of Regents, Peerless Precision, and Fleet Bank, and was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Roger Williams College, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island.
Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris (Ward 11) stated, “Mike played a very important role in my life. Through his vision as the Executive Director of Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), he was essential to me becoming a welder. Giving me a profession and career that helped me raise my children and provide them with a quality education. His life’s work was ensuring that those living in poverty could find a way to rise up, learn a trade, and we are all better for having had him in our lives.”
Many community members have been working on several different ways to honor Mr. Van Leesten’s life and legacy, and the City Council and its members wish to make that process more cohesive. The resolution that will be introduced tonight and will be sent to the Council’s Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal, and Planning, which is chaired by Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris. There the Committee will work to bring all the relevant parties together to discuss the most meaningful and fitting way to honor Mr. Van Leesten.
