Jump to content

Wither Federal Hill?


Cotuit

Recommended Posts

oh there's a game plan for atwells. it is called "Atwells Only, Screw all the other people who are trying to live there" That has always been the plan. There's a reason why they don't sign on to Main Street USA, or have the street declared historic, because they don't want to comply with any rules. They already get whatever they want (valet parking with out a permit--sure! Need a parking lot? Just tear down affordable housing! Want to have tables out on the street--no problem! Hey--Do you want to use a public park as part of your restaurant, and park your ravioli truck there on a regular basis? I don't see why not!) but the extra rules of Main St and Historic District would just be an inconvenience. And no one wants to inconvenience that crowd of business owners.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 86
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Medditermafio has expanded their outdoor seating half way down the block. I make a point of walking as close to the diners as possible and looking over their shoulders at what they are eating when I walk by.

Hey, did everyone hear Medditermafio lost their 5 star rating?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It isn't just the restaurants (although they are the main culprit) there is just this pervasive culture up there that says "f*ck everyone else, I'm getting mine" that always turned me off about Atwells Avenue businesses.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pastiche and Scialo Brothers were the only organizations I would frequent (once a month maybe) on the hill in the almost 10 years i lived up there. and it is really too bad because it really could be this awesome neighborhood asset, but it doesn't care about the neighborhood. It just cares about Atwells Avenue, and the parking behind and everything else be damned.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh there's a game plan for atwells. it is called "Atwells Only, Screw all the other people who are trying to live there" That has always been the plan. There's a reason why they don't sign on to Main Street USA, or have the street declared historic, because they don't want to comply with any rules. They already get whatever they want (valet parking with out a permit--sure! Need a parking lot? Just tear down affordable housing! Want to have tables out on the street--no problem! Hey--Do you want to use a public park as part of your restaurant, and park your ravioli truck there on a regular basis? I don't see why not!) but the extra rules of Main St and Historic District would just be an inconvenience. And no one wants to inconvenience that crowd of business owners.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK ok, I'm being cranky, let me say something nice about Federal Hill.

Uhm....

Let's see...

OH! I know!

Federal Hill is the only neighborhood in the city that features free public toilet facilities, they are otherwise known as the side of my house.

hooray!!! I said something nice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is the key question. How long have we all been hearing, "Everything will be much better once we have good zoning and land use regs."

So exactly when do those come and how now? I'm with Cotuit... I'm tired of the charette process, which is increasingly feeling like fiddling while Rome burns. I mean, that initial charette kickoff at the RW Casino feels like it was a lifetime ago. We've had a boom and bust in the economy in that time, lost several historic buildings, and seen others go up. We have promises of master plans for the 195 in about a year, all before any new regs are in place.

Think about it: What's happened in your personal life since that RW Casino kickoff and what's happened with the city's land use policy in that time?

- Garris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be fair, the new zoning ordinance was IN PLACE and ready to go, but because the mayor promised (during the campaign, i think) there would be a neighborhood by neighborhood process, getting input. And then that promise was scuttled, and everyone panicked about what was going to happen without any kind of public input (although there would have been plenty in zoning and cpc meetings, but I totally understand the communities' fear). I believe it was a very big PR gaff, and now you're stuck with it, unfortunately. Don't make promises you can't (or don't want to keep) because someone will always hold you to it... (Hopefully)

That said, there's no way we needed to lose so much ground in the last three years. NO way in hell. buildings that came down and parking lots that came up--no one really tried to stop those things...Grove St School? Old Safety Complex? Grants Block? yeah, right. Who really tried (Besides the non profits and community groups) to save any of those? the list goes on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But it seems the people who are taking part in the charrette process are only taking part because they don't trust 'the City.' Everyone else either doesn't care or doesn't know this process is happening. I'm not really understanding who this process is appeasing. Were there enough voters who would have walked and made Cicilline lose the election had these promises not been made?

Conspiracy theorist thinks the developers wanted this process to allow them time to burn Rome while the activists were sitting in Rec. Centers playing with legos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But it seems the people who are taking part in the charrette process are only taking part because they don't trust 'the City.' Everyone else either doesn't care or doesn't know this process is happening. I'm not really understanding who this process is appeasing. Were there enough voters who would have walked and made Cicilline lose the election had these promises not been made?

Conspiracy theorist thinks the developers wanted this process to allow them time to burn Rome while the activists were sitting in Rec. Centers playing with legos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But the rest of the state doesn't care what happens in Providence. If the charrette process is only keeping a small minority of the city happy (and I'm not sure it is doing that), and the rest of the city doesn't seem to care, and the rest of the state doesn't give two sh!ts about the city or its residents or what they think, then who the hell is being appeased by this process and what exactly is the political gain?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But the rest of the state doesn't care what happens in Providence. If the charrette process is only keeping a small minority of the city happy (and I'm not sure it is doing that), and the rest of the city doesn't seem to care, and the rest of the state doesn't give two sh!ts about the city or its residents or what they think, then who the hell is being appeased by this process and what exactly is the political gain?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.