Zoning Board says “no” to second driveway
The Providence Zoning Board of Review refused to grant a variance to build a second driveway at a house at 170-174 Fourth Street on August 22. SNA argued against the variance, the second parking-related variance requested and refused for this property in the last year. Former SNA Board member Bonnie Robison mobilized neighbors to oppose the variance. Two neighbors spoke at the hearing and 14 more expressed opposition by letter or petition. Read more
Neighbors form committee on Hillside property
More than 40 residents attended an SNA-sponsored meeting on the future of the former Hillside Health Center between Chace and Hillside Avenues on August 10. The nursing home entered bankruptcy in 2003 and was forced to close its doors in June of 2004. Neighbors are concerned about how future use of the property will help or harm the neighborhood.
At the meeting, neighbors formed a new, SNA-affiliated working committee, chaired by John Smithers of Hillside Ave, to represent neighborhood interests in the re-development of the large complex. The new committee will monitor developments at Hillside, including current court cases and future regulatory proceedings, keep neighbors informed and aware and advocate for re-using the Hillside buildings in ways that are most appropriate to our residential neighborhood.
To learn more about the committee or to share information about the Hillside Health Center, please contact John Smithers: (401) 751-2505 or by email: john.smithers@cox.net.
Read the full notes of the Hillside Committee meetings here. Read more
Picture a Better Providence
As part of the Providence Tomorrow planning process, city officials have asked residents to say what they like and what they would like to change about our city. Pictures can tell the story better than words, so they also want to see your pictures of the good and the not-so-good.
We think this is a great idea. We encourage you to share your pictures of the city with city officials. We also encourage you to share them with your neighbors - to spur discussion, generate enthusiasm for the planning process, and share different perspectives.
We’re using Flickr to collect pictures of things we like about the city and things we think could be improved. Using Flickr, you can:
- Comment on and discuss photos
- Annotate photos
- Tag photos on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis
If you have a Flickr account (it’s free), simply tag your pictures as “pvd_tmrw_good” or “pvd_tmrw_bad”.
SNA is also providing an easy way to submit pictures using email. Simply email one picture at a time to one of the following addresses:
- pvd_tmrw_good@sna.providence.ri.us
- pvd_tmrw_bad@sna.providence.ri.us
Include the Title of the photo as the subject line, and some identifying information in the body of the email. You can even use your cameraphone to send pictures to these email addresses.
You can view the photos and discuss the Providence Tomorrow photos here: