GoLocal Investigation: The Condition of Providence’s Recreation Facilities - East Side Broken
Monday, July 18, 2022
One of the most recently rehabbed Providence public schools is now another example of broken and unsafe recreation facilities in disrepair.
Nathan Bishop Middle School was rehabbed by the Providence Public School Department just a little more than a decade ago.
The rehab was heralded and it cost taxpayers cost more than $35 million.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn 2009, the Nathan Bishop Middle School opened as a High-Performance Historic “Green” School Building.
As the first renovated historic school in Rhode Island to be certified a "Green" school using the Northeast Collaborative, the rehab won numerous accolades.
In October 2009, the rehab received the prestigious “Rhody Award for Historic Preservation” from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.
Today, Nathan Bishop states its mission: "At the home of the Cougars, we envision a school where we work together to provide grade level and standard-based lessons, social and emotional supports, expect high expectations, and encourage our students to achieve academic excellence and personal growth and satisfaction."
READ ABOUT THE CONDITION OF PROVIDENCE'S HOPE HIGH'S FACILITIES
When asked about the condition of the facilities, Providence Public School Department officials have repeatedly refused to respond to questions. Providence Schools are controlled by the State of Rhode Island, but maintenance and contractors are overseen by the City of Providence.
Victor Morente of the Rhode Island Department of Education wrote in an email to GoLocal, "Aramark manages facility maintenance for Providence Public Schools. Because this is a public outdoor facility, the upkeep is more difficult with constant public use."
Morente added, "Cleanup and maintenance is done periodically, however, this is outside space that is impacted by weather conditions and frequent use. We apologize for the appeared condition and are addressing this with our vendors to rectify."
Last week, GoLocal wrote about the lack of maintenance and broken-down conditions at the Hope High facility -- one of the largest recreational facilities in the city and the sports facilities for the high school.
Nathan Bishop Changed From Basketball to Tennis Courts
For decades, the basketball courts at Nathan Bishop attracted some of the best city basketball pickup basketball games in the city.
Top college, high school, and streetball players would play pick-up basketball, but when the school was rehabbed, the majority of the basketball courts were eliminated.
Neighbors wanted basketball gone and pushed for the shift to tennis.
The recreation facility was changed from having three basketball courts and three tennis courts to just one basketball court and five tennis courts.
All Broken
Today, the five tennis courts and one basketball courts are in disrepair.
Only two of the tennis courts have functioning nets.
All of the courts are cracked -- some as wide as two inches.
The basketball court has multiple cracks.
Like Hope High Schools's facilities, the condition of Nathan Bishop's broken and tattered facilities is due to a lack of city maintenance.
Just 13 years after the $35 million rehab, much of the outdoor recreation facilities are unusable.
NEXT WEEK: GoLocal visits another Providence recreational facility.
