Grove Street School Illegal Demolition

[jencoleslaw]

why is good friday significant? it's not a holiday... unless you work for a catholic school.

[runawayjim]

it is a city of providence holiday.

[jencoleslaw]

so because the city has it off, any contractors working for a private entity have to as well?

you know the construction crews working on the westin are working around the clock 7 days a week.

[eltron]

For someone to now try to dictate what that family should do with that property is wrong.

[xine]

Ok, here's the thing about asbestos. It's true that it's not generally dangerous until it's disturbed or loose, and the lung and stomach tumors that it causes seem to be attributed to prolonged exposure, day after day for for years - not random occasional exposure.

However my point is that there are very specific laws in place to regulate asbestos regardless of how reasonable or unreasonable they may be.

If asbestos is discovered in a building about to undergo renovation or demolition, the state requires an Abatement Plan to be filed detailing the procedures to remove or encapsulate the asbestos. For example if demolition is proposed, before it has a chance to be disturbed, any asbestos must be removed in a negative pressure environment and contained so the the fibers don't dissapate into the air. This is not just to protect neighbors and passerby - there's a real concern for construction workers' health.

I have worked with asbestos experts that have told me the one thing that absolutely is NOT allowed is bulk demolition (ie what started to happen to Grove St) before the offending asbestos materials are removed by hand.

I have no idea what the penalties are for violating the RI asbestos regulations, but if there is asbestos in that building, just add it to the list of laws broken here.

I'm annoyed because I go to great lengths to ensure that no laws are broken or codes violated in my work regardless of whether the government is checking or not - as do most people on this board, I'm sure. That's part of living in a civilized society.

Most reasonable people here are saying the exact same thing (and in much larger type): It's not necessarily about the economics or aethetics of this particular building; there are bigger issues at stake, ones that are at the core of our social framework.

[jencoleslaw]

i was on an endless phone call with the National park service yesterday at 4, did anyone go to the PRA meeting?

[jencoleslaw]

City to hire outside lawyer on the Tarro case

[bloodyrocker]

I was told then that Michael was one of the co-owners and I phoned him and asked him if anything was happening with the property. He said that to the best of his knowledge nothing was going to happen, but he was going to check with the rest of the family and let me know.

Tarro called back, and said,To the best of his knowledge, nothing was happening.

[quente]

City to hire outside lawyer on the Tarro case

[commonsenseprov]

Lone ranger and jencoleslaw, I don't have personal messages. I didn't get whatever you did send.

I am also amused at those mature individuals who don't have much else to say besides name calling. That is VERY effective.

Who are the "scumbags" going to be if West Broadway elementary and Mount Pleasant High or other Providence schools are demolished? The city is going to have to find some way to justify that the State reimburse the 80% constuction costs rather than the city pay the whole tab for renovation.

[bloodyrocker]

I am also amused at those mature individuals who don't have much else to say besides name calling. That is VERY effective.

Who are the "scumbags" going to be if West Broadway elementary and Mount Pleasant High or other Providence schools are demolished?

[runawayjim]

Lone ranger and jencoleslaw, I don't have personal messages. I didn't get whatever you did send.

I am also amused at those mature individuals who don't have much else to say besides name calling. That is VERY effective.

Who are the "scumbags" going to be if West Broadway elementary and Mount Pleasant High or other Providence schools are demolished? The city is going to have to find some way to justify that the State reimburse the 80% constuction costs rather than the city pay the whole tab for renovation.

[brick]

michael tarro blatantly violated the law. being a lawyer, he should not only lose his job with the city, but also have his license to practice suspended.

[runawayjim]

Let's no jump too fast on that one. He just denied that he knew. You may not believe him but that's pretty irrelevant - you are neither judge nor jury here. My belief is that Michael Tarro knew what was happening and ignored it. I also think he has plausible deniability and if it comes down to it, his family will testify that they didn't tell him.

Since my opinion (nor the opinion of UP as a while) is not the writ of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, stating that he unequivocably broke the law is at best conjecture and at worst slander.

Bil-ray, on the other hand, should get slapped pretty hard.

[freewilly]

First I thank Urban Planet for the opportunity to express my opinion.

I have checked several dictionaries for the definition of the word "own" and "ownership".

The definitions say, "of or belonging to oneself, something that belongs to one." "This car is my own." "To have or hold as property, to own a home."

What has happened to our country since these words were first defined? No longer does a citizen have the rights for which so many fought so hard. Now a "group of people" can come along under the guise of a society and claim that their rights supersede those of an individual. They just ignore the fact that this individual (or family) has had "ownership" of this property for years and that it is LEGALLY theirs. We scoff at the individual's rights and we tell them what they can and cannot do with what they own. WHO GAVE US THE RIGHT TO DO THAT?

Each of you reading this must be aware that someday one of your rights can be just as easily taken away. We are laying the groundwork. Perhaps the home you grew up in, the home your parents plan to die in will be taken because some group has decided that "Society" would be better served by doing something else with that property, as they did in Connecticut. How tragic.

I question someone saying she would be willing to leave Providence if the building comes down. I say she must not have been very much in love with the city to begin with. The Tarros on the other hand have been on Federal Hill for three generations and the younger generation continues to remain there and refurbish and rebuild because they continue to have love for their roots.

I found this other quote very disturbing. "i was assured by someone high up in city government that the funeral home would not get a variance to increase it size on broadway because" Because why I ask. The statement was left unfinished. Perhaps even though the Broadway area is striving to flourish and rejuvenate, someone "high up in city government" has personal feelings of ill will toward this family and would deny them the same rights as a new comer. How sad that a family business that has been on Federal Hill for three generations would be denied the right to develop and grow and add to the prosperity and beauty of the neighborhood for personal reasons.

It also sounds unethical to me that "someone high up in city government" would share this information with you. Is it not inappropriiate that you know a request would be denied before it was set forth and given the opportunity to succeed? It seems you pick and choose what is fair and what is not.

The sadness is we have sooo many pressing issues confronting the city today; school children without books, murders among gangs, homelessness, low wages for struggling families, and yet the city and many of its citizens have time to dwell on such an insignificant issue as the Grove Street School. Just think about it in the greater scheme of things.

IF WE HAD NOT INFRINGED ON THE RIGHTS OF THIS FAMILY THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN VIOLATION OF ANY LAW.

How incredibly wonderful it would be if everyone would take this same amount of time, dedication, and enthusiasm that they have here and transfer it to working as a mentor, or helping at a shelter, or working for the rights of the abused women and children in shelters around the state. Just to name a few. WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT COULD MAKE.!!!

[runawayjim]

[jencoleslaw]

dear freewilly:

please explain to me how a block long parking lot will add to the beauty of federal hill? All other bullsh*t aside from your post, can you just answer me that?

ah never mind. i'm just adding yet another anonymous Tarro apologist to my ignore list. Keep em coming. It just makes the whole lot of you look ignorant.

[Cotuit]

There are laws in place that define ownership and what owners can do with that ownership. I can own a gun, but laws prevent me from using it to blow people away at random. People own their property, but the government, as representatives of the community decide what owners are and are not allowed to do with their property.

These concepts are all pretty simple and go back hundred of years. There's nothing new about them.

[gregw]

Basically the Tarro apologists are saying that a law should just be ignored when it is not convenient to obey it.

If you don't like a law, you lobby your elected representatives to get it changed. You don't just disregard it.

[freewilly]

Jencoleslaw,

I think I must have provoked you with my inquiry into your "inside information" regarding the funeral home. I feel badly that I might have caused you to resort to language that is not fully printable for public format. I think if you read my post again you will understand my comment about adding to the beauty of the area and that would explain the parking lot.

[runawayjim]

Jencoleslaw,

I think I must have provoked you with my inquiry into your "inside information" regarding the funeral home. I feel badly that I might have caused you to resort to language that is not fully printable for public format. I think if you read my post again you will understand my comment about adding to the beauty of the area and that would explain the parking lot.

[quente]

First I thank Urban Planet for the opportunity to express my opinion.

I have checked several dictionaries for the definition of the word "own" and "ownership".

[mental757]

" ...can come along under the guise of a society and claim that their rights supersede those of an individual. They just ignore the fact that this individual (or family) has had "ownership" of this property for years and that it is LEGALLY theirs. We scoff at the individual's rights and we tell them what they can and cannot do with what they own. WHO GAVE US THE RIGHT TO DO THAT?

IF WE HAD NOT INFRINGED ON THE RIGHTS OF THIS FAMILY THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN VIOLATION OF ANY LAW.

[Liamlunchtray]

First I thank Urban Planet for the opportunity to express my opinion.

IF WE HAD NOT INFRINGED ON THE RIGHTS OF THIS FAMILY THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN VIOLATION OF ANY LAW.

[inProv]

Jen and company: keep up the good work! Providence needs more people that are willing to stand up to those who think they are above the law.

People would be wise to avoid doing business with any company that engages in such blatantly illegal acts.