The Avon's Dulgarian said that matinee numbers are hurting due to patrons not wanting to deal with meters during a movie. Photo: WikiCommons/Phelan
Multiple former Thayer Street businesses are saying that they closed due in part to the addition of parking meters by the City of Providence -- and dozens more in the commercial area by Brown University on the East Side are calling for their removal.
Real estate professional Kenny Dulgarian provided a letter from Donald Sommers with Advanced Communications Technologies who was a Verizon Premium Retailer, who told Dulgarian when he severed his contract that parking meters were the primary reason he had to terminate his lease at 216 Thayer Street.
“I have seen a number of changes take place involving the City of Providence but never have I seen such a poor decision to add parking meters to a section of the city where it is hard enough to find parking and get your business done in two hours,” wrote Sommers. (See More BELOW).
Lois Hollingsworth, who had owned dress shop Zuzu’s Petals at 288 Thayer Street for over twenty-five years, said that parking meters were the “last straw” in her decision to shutter the Providence location and focus on stores in East Greenwich and Barrington.
“I’m so sad. When we opened on Thayer Street, we thought we’d be there forever,” said Hollingsworth. “I had no idea the meters would be like this. It’s terrible for small businesses. There’s absolutely no reason for them to be there.”
On Sunday, Dulgarian shared the letter he had received from Sommers, in an effort to convey the impact that meters have had on local businesses.
“When the parking meters were installed, it became a real deterrent for my customers to shop in my area. They would much rather go to University Plaza or Providence Place Mall, where they could easily find parking [than] to battle on-street parking on Thayer and Waterman,” wrote Sommers. “Then, to throw salt in the wound, they made the metered parking ridiculously difficult to figure out, which ultimately led to the downfall of my business. On a daily basis we would get people poking their head in the door just to ask how and where they would be able to get the ticket for their dashboard! When we initially moved in, we were doing approximately 65-75 phones a month. In the next couple of years we grew the business to between 150-175 phones a month but today, I’m lucky to see 50 phones a month with nothing else to attribute the loss in sales but what the customers are saying about the metered parking.”
Several former Thayer Street businesses have attributed closing their doors to the addition of parking meters - and dozens more are calling for their removal.
“In talking with some of the other small businesses in the area, they too say that business is down due to metered parking,” wrote Sommers. “I hope that you can do something about this change so that other small businesses won’t be forced to move out of the area. Every day I see Governor Raimondo on the TV stating that she’s talking to other businesses to get them to open in Rhode Island. How about some help for the small businessman trying to afloat in the capital city?”
Zuzu’s Petals’ Hollingsworth said she had multiple examples of customers telling her they wouldn’t come to Thayer Street with the meters, prompting her decision to shutter the location.
“We had a good customer come in from East Greenwich, and she couldn’t figure out how to work the [parking meter kiosk],” said Hollingsworth. “She got a ticket, of course. She called me up afterwards, and said to me, “I’m not coming back to Thayer Street.”
“It’s just so distressing the way the city did this to small businesses who are struggling,” said Hollingsworth. “There just seems to be a disconnect between who’s making the decisions and who it’s impacting.”
Businesses on Record Opposing Meters
Dulgarian and the Avon have an online petition calling for the removal of parking meters from Thayer Street that has garnered over 3,300 signatures (as of June 5); Dulgarian also circulated a separate petition to business owners to sign, which includes the following businesses calling for their removal:
* Antonio’s Pizza
* Spectrum India
* Brown Bookstore
* Paragon
* Thayer Metro Mart
* Au Bon Pain
* Skewers
* Tealuxe
* Chipotle
* Francesca’s
* Kabob and Curry
* Johnny Rockets
* CVS
* Tech MD Providence
* 2nd Time Around
* Supercuts
* Sneaker Junkies
* Mike’s Calzones
* East Side Pockets
* Shanghai
* Meeting Street Cafe
* Andreas
* Growlers
* Providence Tattoo
* Berk's
* Ben & Jerry’s
* Santander Bank
* East Side Vision Care
* La Creperie
* Nice Slice
* Facing Thayer
* Flatbread
“It’s so overwhelming, it’s sad, they’re hurting. It’s so heart wrenching. It’s mortifying, and I’m not an emotional guy,” said Dulgarian. “I’ve actually given some of them a hug. These people have children in schools, colleges, car payments, and I’m actually thinking they’re better off closing up and working for someone else rather than deal with this as business owners."
“As far as the city goes, there’s no vision here. You've got to think out of the box, you can’t hide your office,” said Dulgarian. “Whoever sold [the city] on the idea of meters didn’t account for this, for hurting businesses. This isn’t an autocratic society, [the city] needs to be respond. You’re working for us, we’re not working for you.“
Main photo: Flickr/Snodgrast
Related Slideshow: 10 Biggest Issues Facing Providence in 2016
The battle that started last year spills over into 2016. After Mayor Elorza announced he was going to reorganize the Fire Department from four platoons to three with a condensed shift schedule, the firefighters took the battle to court — and callback costs soared with injured firefighters out on leave. Elorza said the change could save the city “as much sat $5 million” in the next fiscal year (FY17) -- but the city is currently seeing red. "Through the middle of December, fire fighter "call back" expense has been $4.7 million, which represents almost all of the $5.05 million budgeted for the entire fiscal year," reported Councilman Sam Zurier on Sunday. "Should this trend continue, the cost of this line item could exceed the budget by $5 million by the end of the year."
Now it all rides on the outcome in the courts. If it ends in a negotiated settlement, the crisis could be averted. If not, firefighter union head Paul Doughty has said that Elorza can “hand over the keys to the city" for bankruptcy.
From the West Side to the East Side, residents across the city in 2015 were organized and mobilized to demand action from the Elorza Administration on crime in the city. GoLocal reported at the end of 2015 that over half of the police department is eligible to retire — and the city still needs to get a new class of officers underway as budgeted. Tensions were high following a Dunkin’ Donuts worker writing #blacklivesmatter on a police officer’s cup (and the Black Major Movement continuing to call for a black major in the department).
Councilman Seth Yurdin announced this week that he is introducing a resolution to establish a special commission to review relations between the Providence Police Department and the community it serves. The Special Commission on Community-Police Relations will review current public safety practices and create opportunity for public input.
It’s been a mild winter so far, so perhaps at least one of the two scourges of the city will be mitigated this coming year. But addressing the conditions of the roads continues to be an issue for Providence. Last year, Mayor Elorza made a public display of commitment to addressing problematic potholes, and also pledged to respond to the rampant graffiti issue in the city that has seen the property destruction spread to private houses.
City Councilman Michael Correia recently put up a $1000 reward to find who was tagging properties in his district. Residents of the city want to feel safe, and that includes driving on roads that won’t inflict damage on their cars (or take out runners and bikers) and that their personal property won’t be destroyed. Graffiti continues to crop up, and it needs to be addressed quickly when it does.
The city’s commercial tax rate might be frozen — for now — but there are a lot of moving pieces. The $36.75 per $1000 rate on commercial properties is among the highest in the country -- a point well-known in RI circles.
“Providence has a problem with the commercial tax rate,” said developer Colin Kane. “With new construction or significant rehab -- the costs aren't supported by current rent.” The property revaluations expected shortly will shed some light how the city will move forward addressing tax rates, but in the meantime, the TSA extensions before the Council are the 600 pound elephant in the room. “The City Council is looking for nickels in the couch cushions because of the fiscal challenges facing the city,” said Kane. “And they weren't caused by this council or mayor, but by the fact that they were kicked down the road. And now we want to malign people like Buff Chace who made the city what it is?”
The owner occupied residential tax rate could be in the crosshairs as the city looks to address revenue issues in the coming year. “Everything’s on the table,” Aponte told GoLocal. And with the revaluation, things could be in flux for the current owner-occupied rate of $19.25 per $1000 .
“Suppose you had a city where there was a wild appreciation of real estate values — that used to happen here, Providence has seen 10% before. State law says you can only increase the levy unilaterally by 4 and a quarter,” said City Counciman Sam Zurier. “So supposed you have a situation where your values go up 10% and you want to collect 4 — you have to reduce the rate by 6%. "
"If values go up enough — even 5% - then the city will get additional money without raising the rate. During a [revaluation] year - you have to get into tax bills versus rates. And when you factor in commercial and non-owner occupied values and rates, it’s tricky.
Providence Schools face a tall order ahead of them. The search is on for a new superintendent following the departure of Dr. Susan Lusi. The current School Board President is stepping down at the end of the month. Providence High Schools scored among the worst in the state following the release of the first year of PARCC test scores. Current School Board member Nick Hemond is slated replace outgoing President Keith Oliveira, but question remains for the choice of the new super. Council President Aponte told GoLocal this week that stability in leadership in the school department is one of the greatest challenges facing the city moving forward. Can that be achieved in 2016?
Lights have been spotted on recently in the Superman Building - i.e. Industrial National Bank Builcing — but the fact remains that the city’s iconic skyscraper remains vacant, which former Mayor Joseph Paolino called one of the biggest issues facing the city (stating that the fact that it remains empty cost him a mortgage from a top bank for an adjacent property).
Citizens Bank is eyeing a new corporate campus somewhere in Rhode Island, and while indications point to one most likely going in the suburbs, a number of business and community leaders are hoping Superman isn’t ruled out completely. Previous efforts to get state support to turn the building into apartments fell flat, and Providence residents are gun-shy about any project looking for public support. But the fact remains that the empty anchor is an eyesore for the city, and getting a tenant — or tenants — in should be a top priority in 2016.
Providence needs more cranes. The city has seen its first one in a while by the Jewelry District with developments at Johnson and Wales, which is a good sign — but the city needs more.
“Owners and property developers want to be treated fairly and play on a level field. Providence does not have a business friendly reputation. This is why there are few cranes in the sky in Providence and very few new businesses coming to the city or planning to expand in the city,” URI Distinguished Professor of Business Edward Mazze told GoLocal earlier. So in order to get the construction equipment in — Providence has to figure out how best to lure businesses here in the first place.
Providence needs a win — or a least a path to victory. Whether that be getting a tenant in Superman, bringing in a notable business, or articulating a concrete plan to move Providence forward, residents want to feel that the city is on the right track.
The City Council recently announced that it received the results of its cluster analysis study to identify where opportunities lie — and now we need to see results. The Mayor made multiple trips abroad in 2015. He campaigned on a promise of doubling exports from Providence in five years. What results will we see from those overseas meetings? Providence wants a concrete vision moving forward.
“Absolutely not,” said City Council President Luis Aponte, as to whether the city could go into receivership in light of its current precarious financial condition.
“If the city loses, Elorza can hand over the keys, because the city will go bankrupt,” has said firefighter union head Paul Doughty regarding the firefighters legal battle over the Mayor’s platoon reduction.
Financial advisor and GoLocal MINDSETTER Michael Riley said receivership is almost a certainty.
“Essentially Providence is bankrupt and insolvent. It is only by illegally borrowing from the pension fund the last 10 to 15 years that have saved them from being sued by creditors, and the lies continue,” said Riley. “Until Providence goes into receivership nothing else can happen — no railroads, no Superman, they are sunk. I consider everything else irrelevant.”
