Next American Vanguard: Setting a New Agenda for Urban Leaders

Are you a grassroots activist making a difference in your city? Are you a community leader, providing a voice for your neighbors? Are you heading an organization geared toward making change? We want to meet you!

http://americancity.org/vanguard

Announcing NEXT AMERICAN VANGUARD: Setting a New Agenda for Urban Leaders!

Next American City is proud to host its first annual conference geared toward bringing together the next generation of urban leaders. For the two-day event on May 20-21, 2009 in Washington, DC, we will be inviting 30 inspiring individuals from across the country to step up as Vanguards and discuss their role in shaping the future of cities. By creating this Vanguard network, Next American City will be paving the way for our future generation of leaders to connect with one another, offer support and resources and learn real-life lessons from their counterparts.

If we have piqued your interest, we want to hear from you! Tell us about who you are, the work that you do and why we should select you to participate in this conference.

To apply for Next American Vanguard, please visit americancity.org/vanguard. Deadline: April 1, 2009.

Downtown Bridge Design

check out the discussion on Greater City: Providence about the design of the new Pawtucket River bridge

New Downtown Signage

The new street signs are a big improvement downtown. It’s a move toward helping people navigate the area more easily – even if they do little to explain the history of how Main + Main can meet at a 90-degree angle. Locals can save that for when someone stops them to ask for directions. (My typical response, park the car and just walk!)

Thank you City officials!

Any interest in a PADS meeting to discuss the implications for downtown?

Pawtucket prepares bankruptcy scenario
09:21 AM EST on Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Michael P. McKinney
Journal Staff Writer

PAWTUCKET —- If the city runs out of money around mid-April —- what Mayor James E. Doyle calls a worst-case scenario —- bankruptcy is conceivable.

The city might then have to impose a supplemental tax increase —- something Doyle and Finance Director Ronald Wunschel said they are loath to do in a city that had the highest percentage increase of Rhode Island mortgage defaults in the fourth quarter of 2008, a Journal analysis shows.

The city is not on the verge of bankruptcy, yet, Wunschel said yesterday, but “I’m afraid of the perfect storm … everything hitting us at once.”

Among the ideas the city is considering to deal with its $10-million projected deficit:

*A five-day furlough that would be carried out over time by having employees leave early on Fridays.

*Seeking a tax-anticipation note, where the city would borrow $3 million to pay bills then pay that back within a 90-day period using tax revenue from the next quarter. The City Council has not supported such a move.

*Outsourcing some services, such as crossing guards.

*Closing City Hall a day or two per week.

*Selling Dennis Lynch Arena, a hockey rink that loses some $300,000 a year. The city has been seeking buyers, Doyle said.

About 40 municipal workers have been laid off this year and additional layoffs have not been ruled out.

Wunschel said he does not know whether federal stimulus money could be used to substantially close some of the School Department’s projected $5.2-million deficit.

“I think it’s a little bit foggy right now how it’s going to be used,” he said.

mmckinne@projo.com

Proof of Life on Main Street!

We at PADS are huge fans of The Grant and all they have brought to our little Main Street, oh so full of potential and empty storefronts! But, never satisfied with status quo we are glad to report the intrepid downtown development will no longer feel the burden of sustaining the whole street.

The Village Restaurant will hold its grand opening this weekend (January 3, open 10 a – 10p and January 4, open 2-10p). Located at 200 Main Street (across from the Visitors’ Center), this restaurant serving African and American cuisine will hopefully be the first of many new developments along Main Street in 2009. Check it out – and then let us know how you like it.

Come celebrate the newest restaurant in our neighborhood

Grant Christmas Vendor Fair

Just learned that the folks over at the Grant are hosting a holiday bazaar this Saturday, December 13 from noon-6. More information available here – http://www.gcpvd.org/2008/11/27/buy-art-bucket-edition/

New CVS / Old Wounds

Anyone who has driven by the recent CVS construction on Broad Street might not know about the history surrounding this site development or think much of a new pharmacy going into a busy area, but when I look at the new building and the historic building behind it, I see it as a mockery of Pawtucket’s past and an insult to our city.  

Any building built should reflect its time– old buildings remind us of where we’ve been and new buildings should tell us where we are now and maybe even where we hope to go.  The historic buildings we love so much were NEW when they were built, they expressed their time and place. If we only mimic buildings of our past in our new architecture what does that say about us? That we have nothing to contribute and that all we can do is look wistfully back at a mythologized history? 

The new CVS is a disappointment in many ways:
• It blocks the view of the historic station, primarily with an electrical transformer.
• It superficially mimics the facade, but with cheap materials and bad proportions.
• The fake windows on Broad Street are an insult to our active urban environment.
• The entry is not on the street, but rather right into the parking lot.

Our train station was a place full of people, local activity and community ambition connecting it to a larger world. The cheap lookalike next to it is about corporate commerce in a local place and suburban logics in an urban setting.  

We should demand better design. We, as a community, have a variety of cultural and artistic strengths that we should express to tell our story of the time and place in which we live.  

Blogger Posts Candidate Profiles

Definitely worth reading no matter who you’re voting for… one blogger’s take on the candidates in our upcoming local elections -  The Bucket Blog

Apology for Recent Postings

Sorry for all the long posts straight from other sources — we haven’t been very active in awhile and we thought it best just to seed the blog with the facts and leave it up to our readers to comment (we are first and foremost an information clearinghouse after all). Lots of food for thought here now; let the discussions begin!

Pawtucket Open Studios This Weekend

Taken from the RISCA blog — what do people think about that last paragraph on revitalization?

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PAWTUCKET MILL ARTISTS & BUSINESSES
CELEBRATE OPEN STUDIO WEEKENDFriday, September 19,  5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday, September 20, 11:00AM – 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 21, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Over 80 mill artists and businesses at ten locations throughout the City of Pawtucket will open their doors to celebrate “Pawtucket Open Studios” on Sept. 19 – 21, 2008 as part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival.

Locations include:  10 Exchange Court,  75 Montgomery St.,  225 Main St., 545 Pawtucket Ave., 250 Main St., 1005 Main St., 1088 Main St., 250 Esten Ave., 560 Mineral Spring Ave., and 404 Roosevelt Ave., Central Falls. This event is free and open to the public.

Visitors may shop at the artists’ studios and view a variety of fine art, photography, designs, demonstrations, performances, and are encouraged to meet the creative community of artists, architects, graphic designers, and other professionals who are making Pawtucket a “Renaissance city”.  This is also an opportunity to learn more about the revitalized mills and buildings that have found new meaning for the City’s inhabitants.

Free maps for this self-guided tour will be available as of September 1, 2008 at:
Blackstone Valley Visitor Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, can be downloaded and will be available at each location as well as at the participating studios and businesses.

Shuttle bus will be available on Saturday and Sunday at the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center and will loop around to all locations. Handicap bus will also be available. The Open Studio Weekend is held as the final weekend of the Pawtucket Arts Festival.  Visit www.PawtucketArtsFestival.org for additional information on all events.  Event sponsors include the City of Pawtucket, the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, and Rhode Island Commercial Industrial Realty (RICIR).For more information about open studios:  www.PawtucketOpenStudios.com

About the Revitalization
Pawtucket is on the verge of a Renaissance as it becomes populated by artists and businesses eager to occupy the refurbished mill spaces.  Len Lavoie of RICIR is revamping and renting work and live-work studios in the mills throughout the city.  Because space is plentiful and the price is right, artists have been eager to move in and get working.  Other mill conversions, such as the Bayley Street Lofts, Riverfront Lofts, and 595 Mineral Spring Ave., have provided live-work spaces for lease or purchase by artists and those supportive of the arts. Together, the mill conversions make many opportunities for the arts community to grow and to expand Pawtucket’s horizons in a positive way.  This vibrant community of artists are planning gatherings and monthly open studio events, helping networking throughout the community.