by Billy Kepner | Mar 14, 2020 | Community Engagement, Council News, Press Release, Ward-1, 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
Dear Neighbors,
The Members of the City Council have been in constant communication with the Administration, the Providence Emergency Management Agency, the Providence School Department, and Public Safety officials to assess and ensure the safety of our residents during these trying times.
As you are aware, yesterday Governor Raimondo moved the spring vacation of all public schools in the State of Rhode Island to begin on Monday, March 16, 2020. Since that announcement, the Providence School Department has worked to put mechanisms in place to ensure that no student goes hungry.
Beginning on Tuesday, March 17, there will be eight sites across the City where Providence Public School children can access “Grab & Go” lunches for that day and breakfast for the following day. The locations will be open from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm Monday – Friday during the duration of the break, and will continue if the State decides to keep schools closed for a longer period to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Service lines will be located at the front entrance of each school. No families will be allowed in the buildings. Sodexo staff will hand each student pre-packaged meals. To qualify for meals, students must attend a Providence Public School and be personally present at the distribution site.
The Eight Sites Are:
Asa Messer Elementary School located at 1655 Westminster Street.
Gilbert Stuart Middle School located at 188 Princeton Street.
Providence Career and Technical Academy located at 41 Fricker Street.
Mt. Pleasant High School located at 434 Mt. Pleasant Avenue.
Alvarez High School located at 375 Adelaide Avenue.
E-Cubed Academy located at 812 Branch Avenue.
Juanita Sanchez High School located at 182 Thurbers Avenue.
Hope High School located at 324 Hope Street.
During this time we ask that everyone continue to practice safe hygiene by washing their hands, coughing and sneezing into their elbows, using hand sanitizer, and staying indoors and at home if feeling sick.
Every student present in Providence schools on Friday – in grades 3-12 – was sent home with a Chrome Book so that they can access online learning and other tools. Here is a great selection of sites that have waived subscription fees during this period: Online Learning
The City has implemented a 100 person rule for restaurants and bars and has closed all City buildings and many of our cultural sites to protect against the spread of the virus. Today, the City launched a website with information for residents on COVID-19 and our response: Providence COVID-19.
The City is also working with utility companies to ensure that if someone is unable to pay their bill due to lack of income, that their services will not be interrupted. As we know more about these programs we will share them in later updates.
As of now, we are awaiting direction from the Attorney General’s Office regarding public attendance at the City Council meeting on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 pm. Due to the advice of the Rhode Island Department of Health and the City to implement “social-distancing” we encourage you to watch the meeting on our YouTube Channel or Facebook Page where it will be livestreamed.
For more information on what you should do if you feel that you may have contracted COVID-19, or come into contact with someone that could potentially have COVID-19 please visit the Rhode Island Health Department’s website or by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 401-222-8022.
Sincerely,
City Council President Sabina Matos and the Members of the Providence City Council
by Billy Kepner | Mar 10, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-1, 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
The Providence City Council unveils updated website honoring our long and storied history
centered on our neighborhoods and community engagement
Today, the City Council unveils an updated user-centric website and a rebrand of its communications that pays homage to the City’s storied and diverse neighborhoods.
Council President Matos stated, “Providence residents love and are proud to represent the neighborhoods they come from. The rich history of our city could not exist without the great contributions made by generations of families who hail from every corner of this city. Wards and ward boundaries change over time. What anchors people to Providence are the memories made in settings like Federal Hill, Mt. Hope, and Washington Park. The story of our city is a story of neighborhoods.”
Providence is made up of 25 neighborhoods represented by 15 City Councilors. Those neighborhoods are Blackstone, Charles, College Hill, Downtown (Jewelry District), Elmhurst, Elmwood, Federal Hill, Fox Point, Hartford, Hope ( Summit), Lower South Providence, Manton, Mount Hope, Mount Pleasant, Olneyville, Reservoir, Silver Lake, Smith Hill, South Elmwood, Upper South Providence, Valley, Wanskuck, Washington Park, Wayland, and the West End.
President Matos continued, “We are extremely excited to have our neighbors interact with our new website. This new site is easier to use, navigate, and find relevant information about Councilors and meetings. Most importantly, from the landing page the site establishes a reverence for neighborhoods.”
In addition to the website, the Council will also begin livestreaming Council Meetings beginning in April on both Facebook and the Council’s YouTube Channel.
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.
by Billy Kepner | Nov 6, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-7
At tomorrow’s City Council meeting Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. (Ward 7) will be introducing a resolution in support of the Pro-Democratic protests in Hong Kong and will be asking the City of Providence to avoid buying items for city use from China – whenever possible.
Since March of 2019 the City-State of Hong Kong has been embroiled in mass protests surrounding the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill known as the Anti-ELAB movement. The law would allow local authorities to detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. The law has been of concern for many pro-democratic residents of Hong Kong because they believe the law would subject residents and visitors to mainland China jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the region and its civil liberties.
“President John F. Kennedy once said that, ‘Democracy is the superior form of government, because it is based on a respect for man as a reasonable being,’” stated Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. “China has been known to have incurred, and continues to incur, many human rights violations over the decades, and the pro-democratic residents of Hong Kong are rightly concerned that this is another step towards a lack of government transparency and a violation of their basic civil rights. As an elected official I feel it’s my responsibility to call out injustice when I see it – not just at home, but abroad as well. If there is something we can to show support for the residents of Hong Kong I believe it is our moral obligation and duty to do so.”
The pro-democratic protesters in Hong Kong have laid out five key demands, which include the investigation into the alleged police misconduct and resumption of democratic reforms, which are promised in the Basic Law but have stagnated since the Umbrella Revolution of 2014.
Since June, protesters have been holding some of the City-States’ largest protests on record. Including the protest on August 18, 2019 where an estimated 1.7 million people attended a rally condemning police brutality – inspired by the Baltic Way – protesters created a human chain of 50 kilometers long to create the Hong Kong Way.
Councilman Igliozzi continued, “As the riots continue, as recently as this past Sunday, it is clear that the residents of Hong Kong are being ignored, and it seems to be at the hands of the Chinese government. As a City Councilor, I believe that we can help show support for this pro-democracy movement by working to eliminate our dependence on products made in China as best as possible. I realize that’s a tall order, but we have to start somewhere to help amplify the voices of those fighting for democracy.”
The protests are nearing the six-month mark because of their distrust of the mainland Chinese government, and their belief that the counter-attacks on protesters have been orchestrated by the Chinese government. The City Council of the City of Providence stands with the residents of Hong Kong who are resolute in their desire for a pro-democratic government.
by Billy Kepner | Oct 23, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Uncategorized, Ward-7
This afternoon Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. (Ward 7) joined Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Council President Sabina Matos, Council President Pro Tempore Michael Correia, Superintendent of Parks Wendy Nilsson, Janet Coit from RIDEM, Ed Raff from the Met School, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, Kevin Essington from The Trust for Public Land, and Sheila Dormody from The Nature Conservancy to officially open the new Woonasquatucket Adventure Park located at 117 Glenbridge Avenue in Providence.
The new Woonasquatucket Adventure Park extends to Merino Park, encompassing nearly 28 acres of green space, play space, fields, and multi-purpose trails. The project has transformed a once vacant and underutilized piece of land along the Woonasquatucket River into a new beautiful, and active recreational space, complete with amenities that will attract residents from across Providence’s dense and diverse neighborhoods.
“This new Adventure Park is a great addition to the neighborhood,” stated Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. “It will provide residents with access to amenities like picnic areas, a parkour course, a bicycle pump track, and a multi-use trail system which connects to Merino Park. I am grateful for the community support we have received to make this investment for not just our young people, but for residents of all ages.”
Over his tenure, Councilman Igliozzi has invested nearly $1M in Merino Park and the new Adventure Park. At Marino Park, he funded the rehabilitation of the basketball court, created a soccer field, a playground, added new parking lights, a new parking lot, security cameras, and brought water to the park for the first time.
Councilman Igliozzi continued, “I strongly believe in investing in our City parks, and in my years in office, I have made that a priority. Everyone deserves access to nature and places for exploration and space.” In FY 2020 Councilman Iglozzi has earmarked another $80K in funding for neighborhood park projects.
The Woonasquatucket Adventure Park was made possible through funding from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the City of Providence, City Council of Providence, Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Pisces Foundation, Hydro Flask, McKee Foods, and The Nature Conservancy.
For more information on the Woonasquatucket Adventure Park or Woonsquatucket River Watershed Council, visit them on the web: WRWC.
by Billy Kepner | Oct 22, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-7
Tomorrow Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. (Ward 7) will join Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Superintendent of Parks Wendy Nilsson, Janet Coit from RIDEM, Ed Raff from the Met School, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, Kevin Essington from The Trust for Public Land, and Sheila Dormody from The Nature Conservancy to unveil the new Woonasquatucket Adventure Park located at 117 Glenbridge Avenue in Providence at noon.
The new Woonasquatucket Adventure Park extends to Merino Park, encompassing nearly 28 acres of green space, play space, fields, and multi-purpose trails. The project has transformed a once vacant and underutilized piece of land along the Woonasquatucket River into a new beautiful, and active recreational space, complete with amenities that will attract residents from across Providence’s dense and diverse neighborhoods.
“This new Adventure Park is a great addition to the neighborhood,” stated Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. “It will provide residents with access to amenities like picnic areas, a parkour course, a bicycle pump track, and a multi-use trail system which connects to Merino Park. I am grateful for the community support we have received to make this investment for not just our young people, but for residents of all ages.”
Over his tenure, Councilman Igliozzi has invested nearly $1M in Merino Park and the new Adventure Park. At Marino Park, he funded the rehabilitation of the basketball court, created a soccer field, a playground, added new parking lights, a new parking lot, security cameras, and brought water to the park for the first time.
Councilman Igliozzi continued, “I strongly believe in investing in our City parks, and in my years in office, I have made that a priority. Everyone deserves access to nature and places for exploration and space.” In FY 2020 Councilman Iglozzi has earmarked another $80K in funding for neighborhood park projects.
The Woonasquatucket Adventure Park was made possible through funding from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the City of Providence, City Council of Providence, Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Pisces Foundation, Hydro Flask, McKee Foods, and The Nature Conservancy.
For more information on the Woonasquatucket Adventure Park or Woonsquatucket River Watershed Council, visit them on the web:
WRWC.
