One-on-One With Smiley at First Year: More Housing, Murders Increased, Taxes Up and Superman
Wednesday, January 03, 2024
In a one-on-one interview with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, he discussed his first year in office.
The one-hour conversation covered everything from crime to taxes to housing — all of which went up.
Smiley opened by saying he thought his first year was a success.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"I think the first year went well, and I'm pleased that the accomplishments that we were able to have as an administration were really exactly what I had promised as a candidate," said Smiley. "One of the ways, I think, [was to] restore confidence in government and elected leaders — people doing what they say they're going to do. So from that respect, I think we delivered on a lot of the promises that were made and are making progress towards the others."
On Crime
Smiley was less enthusiastic regarding the issue of crime in the city.
“Overall, we're doing okay despite a proliferation of guns and a sort of changing nature of crime. Our overall crime statistics are actually slightly lower than the year before. We've had more homicides this year than last year, but we're in line with the five-year average on homicides and you know really, the violent crime numbers are really related to the gun crimes and the proliferation of weapons in our community,” said Smiley.
Murders jumped from 9 in 2022 to 14 in 2023 — a 55% increase.
Smiley tried to blame Washington for the lack of action on gun legislation but had no criticism for the General Assembly’s Democratic leadership who has refused to pass a ban on assault rifles.
He said that he personally continues to advocate for a ban.
On hot spots for crime like Federal Hill and downtown at Burnside Park, Smiley said, “First, Federal Hill, some of the crime that we've experienced on Federal Hill is, you know, crimes of opportunity, and the reason it's a hot spot is that there's a lot of people there so the geographic size isn't the issue. We had a couple of carjackings — people with means and someone looking to rob someone. We've also had some nightclub issues…it is an entertainment district.”
“Kennedy Plaza is an entirely different situation because of because it is sort of a crossroads or a central meeting place. It becomes a gathering place for people… most people are not meeting there for picnics. You know that we have a drug problem in the park,” Smiley added.
When asked why not rethink the entire space and its usage, he said, “Kennedy Plaza absolutely needs to transform into a healthier and contributing public space.”
Police Staffing
Smiley said the city is trying to rebuild the police staffing levels.
Under previous Mayor Jorge Elorza and City Council leadership under John Igliozzi as the chair of the Finance Committee and then as Council President, Providence Police staffing fell to its lowest levels in 50 years. Smiley said he is going through the process of rebuilding the Department with one class having graduated and another being recruited.
Superman Building
With the redevelopment of the Superman Building moving slowly at best and the project being underfunded by the developer, the future of the redevelopment is in question.
Smiley was noncommittal on when the city and the state needed to rethink its strategy.
"I’m not providing a deadline or a drop dead date by which we need a change of course of action to occur. There are opportunities or ideas or federal programs or potential new partners that pop up regularly and we run every one of them down,” said Smiley.
Smiley said he himself is the point person for the administration for the Superman building project.
“The downside risk is it's like an anchor, and if that building sits empty for another decade, it will drag down the other buildings around it, and so it is it is worth the investment, and it is that important to Providence,” said Smiley.
Deal with Brown
Smiley continued to defend his deal with Brown University and the other non-profits. The deal provides for Brown to pay just a fraction of the amount that Yale University is paying the City of New Haven.
A GoLocal editorial blasted the agreement.
Food Court by Developer Marsella and other Development
One big success for the downtown is the development of the food court at the old train station by developer Chris Marsella who is undertaking the project without subsidies.
Smiley also pointed to development now in the pipeline on the 195 Commission land.
Housing and Construction
While voicing concern about the housing shortage, Smiley also pointed out that the city has issued building permits for more than 3,000 units.
Schools
Smiley said the Providence Schools need to revert back to the city’s control, but did not set a timeframe.
“I'm not asking for the keys tomorrow because if we just go back to doing what we're doing, what we had been doing, that wasn't working either, and some of that is in the schools, but some of that's in this building,” said Smiley, referring to City Hall.
Some issues that were not specifically discussed during the interview were:
ATVs
Smiley’s decision to establish a dedicated unit within the Providence Police Department put a dent in the ATV activity in 2023. Hundreds of illegal ATVs were seized and the activity decreased, but by no means disappeared.
PVDFest
Elorza’s PVDFest was moved and changed by the Smiley administration. The festival suffered as a result of the new design — few attended many of the events and the weather washed out the second half of the programming.
Smiley’s Biggest Fights with the Council Has Been Over Special Deal for Buff Chace
In July, just prior to the Providence City Council authorizing outside counsel Max Wistow to pursue recovery of potentially tens of millions of dollars from developer Arnold “Buff” Chace, Smiley sent a scathing letter.
Smiley claimed in his letter, “In addition to wanting to continue our joint negotiation efforts, I also wanted to share my concerns about the City Council's recent fee agreement with Attorney Wistow.”
Smiley’s letter continued, “Opening litigation at this stage would stop all of our joint efforts to renegotiate a better deal; the agreement rewards Attorney Wistow for lengthy litigation and provides a bonus of up to half of the City's anticipated recovery (potentially up to $1,400,000); a 50% contingency fee is highly unusual for this type of representation and does not require substantive work by this attorney.”
After Wistow won a significant court decision allowing the City Council to proceed with the case, Smiley announced he would appeal the council’s victory. If the Council is successful, it is anticipated that the city would recover as much as $42 million.
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- One-on-One With Smiley at First Year: More Housing, Murders Increased, Taxes Up and Superman
