PAWTUCKET STATION THREATENED

[bloodyrocker]

Is there enough of the building on the Pawtucket side to make it viable as a train station -- or anything for that matter -- if the portions in CF are torn down?

I just ran over there and took some pics.. here is one with the damage done yesterday included. Looks like they took off the left corner and were ripping out the insides even further. Nowhere to be found are any numbered/labeled bricks. I'm no architect but I'm hopeful that Pawtucket has stopped this scumbag in time to save the building (assuming all goes well at city hall tonight..we'll see).

[runawayjim]

awesome pics, thanks for that!

[frymasterspeck]

I also hope that the CF people who approved this kind of demo be dismissed from their posts for reasons of overwhelming incompetence.

Check out the third photo down in my Bucket Blog post. The guy on the cell phone is Todd Olbrich, CF building inspector. The very same Todd Olbrich who, when serving as a Pawtucket building inspector years ago, bogusly issued the Certificate of Zoning Compliance to the Trashfer station developers that we're now fighting in court.

You can't make this stuff up.

I also posted photographs to the Pawtucket Flickr Group.

[bloodyrocker]

Speck I was just checking out your blog and I think you say it perfectly.. nicely done. Everyone that has not done so should head over and check it out.

Bucket Blog

this pic sums it all up

Edited December 6, 2006 by bloodyrocker

[brick]

I also posted photographs to the Pawtucket Flickr Group.

Those are great pics.

I would love to know what Olbrich's pockets are lined with. Then again, maybe he is just an idiot or someone who wants to follow the path of least resistance.

[MikeR]

The very same Todd Olbrich who, when serving as a Pawtucket building inspector years ago, bogusly issued the Certificate of Zoning Compliance to the Trashfer station developers that we're now fighting in court.

You can't make this stuff up.

I also posted photographs to the Pawtucket Flickr Group.

Money changing hands. Happens every time.

why would pawtucket have to sign off on it? I mean, they wouldn't be able to demo the rest of the building on the pawtucket side, but they sure could make it unstable which was and is clearly the point!

Amen.

[bloodyrocker]

Update from PADs:

PADS: Final Appeal for the Meeting TONIGHT

CVS will either be at the City Council meeting tonight or aware of

its contents. There is some indication that if the community shows

great opposition to what the Station developer is proposing in

tearing down the station or their participation on this property,

THEY WILL RE-EVALUATE THEIR DEAL. In other words, if no one opposes

it, CVS will proceed, if they see opposition, they will move to

change their relationship with the property!

Please join other PADS members to express your view at the 7:00 PM

meeting tonight at Pawtucket City Hall.

[runawayjim]

how many of us are going to be there?

EDIT: unfortunately, i cannot make it due to previous engagements, otherwise i would be there. i will write a letter if someone can tell me where to send it though. pawtucket is a possibility for me moving if i ever get priced out of providence, which may happen when it comes time to buy a home.

Edited December 6, 2006 by runawayjim

[bloodyrocker]

how many of us are going to be there?

My wife and I will be there for sure.. I'm thinking about making a small cardboard sign that reads REBUILD + RESTORE but I'm afraid it might be overkill?

I'm posting on this issue more than any other but I just feel like this is one of the most important fights Pawtucket faces for the future.. I used to live on the west end of Providence and I saw first hand the lies and deception that developers can deliver to a community that is against the wrecking ball (Feldco vs Eagle Square).. once they get that building down its all over.. we have to show up to city hall in force to make our point. This is our last chance.

btw, I just got an email back from Paul Wildenhain thanking me for my input (I sent an email to the councilors last night).. none of the other city councilors have sent replys nor did I expect it.. Wildenhain is for the restoration of the building right?

-Jason

Edited December 6, 2006 by bloodyrocker

[eltron]

hm. i read that to say that "work" cannot begin, but demo certainly can...at least on the CF side. If it was illegal for CF to issue a demo permit and for scumbag developer to start demoing on the CF side, i would think that Judge Fortunato would have done more than just issue an 8 day injunction.

I think that the law is a little fuzzy here...I think that the law dictates that a parcel and structure that straddles municipal lines must recieve all approvals and permits from each jurisdiction. Demo permits are NOT that easy to get...there are many steps that have to be taken (dig safe, asbestos removal, rodent baiting, utility shutoff verifications, etc.) - There is no way that you could partially demo this particular building and satisfy all of the check marks PARTIALLY, thus the need to have both signoffs for ANY demo.

[brick]

I will be there.

I am slightly worried that the demographic in support of preservation is not the same as the demographic of the neighborhood, though, and we will just be seen as carpetbaggers even if we have Pawtucket addresses.

[runawayjim]

I will be there.

I am slightly worried that the demographic in support of preservation is not the same as the demographic of the neighborhood, though, and we will just be seen as carpetbaggers even if we have Pawtucket addresses.

that's the feeling i got when i watched the news story.

[Cotuit]

I think if CVS is there, people should bring their CVS cards with them, and hand them to the CVS rep.

[jencoleslaw]

i will bet a dozen donuts that the CVS rep won't show, and if he/she does, he/she doesn't make him/herself known to the public.

and yes, on the carpetbagger thing. which is why people should stick to the facts...If it was indeed an illegal demo (and it sure sounds like it) and if the VHB folks say this is the best place for a train stop, then just talk about that. Folks who live in that neighborhood who will be there to say "tear it all down" are not going to want to hear people from PVD say that the train station should be saved...So chose your words carefully!!

I know from experience at PVD's City Plan Commission meetings that if you are from a different neighborhood and speak out against (or for) a project, you are practically stoned by the abutters.

[MikeR]

I think if CVS is there, people should bring their CVS cards with them, and hand them to the CVS rep.

Also remind them of all the state lawmakers they've bought and and them if Todd Olrich has been bought too. Remember Bill Irons and John Celona?

http://www.turnto10.com/politics/2784086/detail.html

http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2005/02/cvs-...-lawmakers.html

[bloodyrocker]

and yes, on the carpetbagger thing. which is why people should stick to the facts...If it was indeed an illegal demo (and it sure sounds like it) and if the VHB folks say this is the best place for a train stop, then just talk about that. Folks who live in that neighborhood who will be there to say "tear it all down" are not going to want to hear people from PVD say that the train station should be saved...So chose your words carefully!!

Good point Jen.. I know you've done alot of this type of thing and are an expert at dealing with this stuff.. I'm nervous about speaking out but as a Pawtucket homeowner I am a ten minute walk from the station and I commute to Boston for my job. This station impacts me directly. Do you think I should say something?

Edited December 6, 2006 by bloodyrocker

[Cotuit]

Do you think I should say something?

YES!

[runawayjim]

Good point Jen.. I know you've done alot of this type of thing and are an expert at dealing with this stuff.. I'm nervous about speaking out but as a Pawtucket homeowner I am a ten minute walk from the station and I commute to Boston for my job. This station impacts me directly. Do you think I should say something?

YES! you are exactly the type of person who would be directly affected. you should definitely speak up. mention the study that called that station the top priority for a new commuter rail stop. mention how your commute would be that much easier if you could walk to the station and hop on a train to boston to get to work.

[JimmyGreaves]

Good point Jen.. I know you've done alot of this type of thing and are an expert at dealing with this stuff.. I'm nervous about speaking out but as a Pawtucket homeowner I am a ten minute walk from the station and I commute to Boston for my job. This station impacts me directly. Do you think I should say something?

As nervous as I'm sure you're feeling, you can bet that the City Council is feeling just as much if not more pressure, because they know they are about to face a storm of opposition tonight. Just speak about the benefits that eminent domain will bring to the city and how you and your fellow residents will benefit. That's all you can do.

[eltron]

Good point Jen.. I know you've done alot of this type of thing and are an expert at dealing with this stuff.. I'm nervous about speaking out but as a Pawtucket homeowner I am a ten minute walk from the station and I commute to Boston for my job. This station impacts me directly. Do you think I should say something?

Jason, definitely, definitely say something...

this is NOT a neighborhood only issue - it is a city, and to a lesser extent, state issue, as well as a neighborhood issue, and I made a little headway in my brief discussion with PCDC on the issue.

I will be speaking as a city stakeholder and also as a board member of PCDC. It should get interesting, but I think its important that if you really feel passionately about this, SAY IT!

[Recchia]

I can't wait to see how the meeting tonight works out. Unfortunately I have a different meeting to attend or I'd be there. I'm dumbfounded by all of this...

[JimmyGreaves]

I can't make it tonight, unfortunately, but I did e-mail my being in favor of eminient domain to all the councilors that I could find addresses for. Hope it helps.

[brick]

I am a ten or maybe fifteen minute walk there myself. I would certainly use the station as a T station if it opened.

This isn't my concern. Politics is really important here, and if a bunch of middle class white people (no offense but I think that is the largest demographic on this site) show up to oppose a project that the lower income hispanic folks think might be a good idea then there will be a perceived conflict of interest. I also think that low income folks are scared of being displaced by gentrification, and I think this is part of the reason Pawtucket wants the station to remain. I would feel a lot better if more of the neighborhood was behind preservation, but I just don't think they are (or else we would still have the Leroy). I also think there is a significant fear that if the building is taken my ED that it will sit and rot some more. The folks in the neighborhood are surely in the camp of "any development is good development" at this location, for better or worse. (Much worse, IMO)

Also, noone answered my question about the congregation that assembled there regularly. When did they get displaced, or were they squatting? where did they go? Does anyone know?

[JimmyGreaves]

I am a ten or maybe fifteen minute walk there myself. I would certainly use the station as a T station if it opened.

This isn't my concern. Politics is really important here, and if a bunch of middle class white people (no offense but I think that is the largest demographic on this site) show up to oppose a project that the lower income hispanic folks think might be a good idea then there will be a perceived conflict of interest. I also think that low income folks are scared of being displaced by gentrification, and I think this is part of the reason Pawtucket wants the station to remain. I would feel a lot better if more of the neighborhood was behind preservation, but I just don't think they are (or else we would still have the Leroy). I also think there is a significant fear that if the building is taken my ED that it will sit and rot some more. The folks in the neighborhood are surely in the camp of "any development is good development" at this location, for better or worse. (Much worse, IMO)

Also, noone answered my question about the congregation that assembled there regularly. When did they get displaced, or were they squatting? where did they go? Does anyone know?

Brick...You make a good point, and, ultimately, residents of the neighborhood will have to make a choice of what they think is the best way to improve their neighborhood. Did the demolition of the Leroy and the subsequent Walgreens that was built make an overwhelming positive impact? If the answer is no, can the effects of that choice help residents take a step back and maybe consider that a different direction is necessary. If the answer is yes, then you're right, the preservation argument becomes weaker.

[eltron]

Brick...You make a good point, and, ultimately, residents of the neighborhood will have to make a choice of what they think is the best way to improve their neighborhood. Did the demolition of the Leroy and the subsequent Walgreens that was built make an overwhelming positive impact? If the answer is no, can the effects of that choice help residents take a step back and maybe consider that a different direction is necessary. If the answer is yes, then you're right, the preservation argument becomes weaker.

The walgreen's and Wendy's was definitely not a positive impact, other than a slightly more convenient place to get Walgreen's type stuff.

Brick, I see your concern - BUT, as someone who works with this very sensitive issue on a daily basis and is very closely involved with community residents and people working on improving the neighborhood, I think it would be just as wrong to sit back and let this happen. Its all part of the process - ulitmately, I think people in the neighborhood are just frustrated, and if presented with a viable and considerate plan for the restoration of the station and a train stop, they would be all for it.

I heard things from residents that they would like to see a musuem there, or a library. I can tell you, neither of those things will go there if the station is torn down to make way for a CVS.