Providence City Council Meeting | May 15, 2025

May 15, 2025

Official record

From the minutes filed with the RI Secretary of State on June 06, 2025.

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Attendance

14 present · 1 absent

Present

Council President Miller
Councilor AnderBois
Councilwoman Anthony
Councilman Espinal
Councilman Goncalves
Councilwoman Graves
Councilwoman Harris
Councilwoman Peterson
Councilor Pichardo
Councilor Roias
Councilwoman Ryan
Councilor Sanchez
Councilman Taylor
Councilwoman Vargas

Absent

Councilman Vargas

Also present: Tina L. Mastroianni (City Clerk), Sheri A. Petronio (First Deputy City Clerk), Lauren Gutierrez (Assistant Clerk), Napoleon Askie (City Sergeant), Jeffrey Dana (City Solicitor)

Recorded votes (25)

Journal of Proceedings No. 11 of the Regular Meeting of the City Council held May 1, 2025

APPROVED (WITH VOTE) [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Council President Miller , Councilor AnderBois , Councilwoman Anthony , Councilman Espinal , Councilman Goncalves , Councilwoman Graves , Councilwoman Harris , Councilwoman Peterson , Councilor Pichardo , Councilor Roias , Councilwoman Ryan , Councilor Sanchez , Councilman Taylor , Councilwoman Vargas

Ordinance Amending Chapter 13, "Housing" of the Providence Code of Ordinances to add Article X

READ/PASSED (AS AMENDED) 2X [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 "Administration," and Chapter 21 "Revenue and Finance", of the Code of Ordinances

READ/PASSED FOR THE FIRST TIME [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Ordinance in Amendment of Chapter 27 of the Code of Ordinances to Change Certain Text in Article 19

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Ordinances

Ordinance Amending Chapter 2, "Administration" of the Providence Code of Ordinances to add Article XXIX

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Finance

Ordinance in Amendment of Chapter 27 of the Code of Ordinances to Change Certain Text in Article 17

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Ordinances

Resolution Endorsing and Urging Passage by the General Assembly of House Bill 2025 H-5634, Senate Bill 2025 S-0114, House Bill 2025 H-6046, and Senate Bill 2025 S-0896

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolution Endorsing and Urging Passage by the General Assembly of House Bill 2025 H-6272

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Finance

Resolution Engaging external groups to conduct a Housing Assessment for the property located at 99 Kenyon Street

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolution Requesting an easement on behalf of The Narragansett Electric Company at 438 Hope Street

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Public Works

Resolution Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month

PASSED AS AMENDED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolution to create space for AAPI voices and stand united against discrimination and injustice

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolution Supporting General Assembly Legislation Granting Tax Exempt Status to the RI Business Development Institute

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Finance

Resolution Endorsing and Urging Passage of House Bill 2025 H-5473 and Senate Bill 2025 S-0329

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolutions Authorizing Approval of Contract Awards and Change Order #2 by the Board of Contract and Supply

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolution Endorsing and Urging Passage of House Bill 2025 H-5699 and Senate Bill 2025 S-0799

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

An Ordinance Adopting the Community Development Block Grant Budget for Program Year 2025-2026

READ/PASSED FOR THE FIRST TIME [13 TO 0]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (13)

Councilor AnderBois , Councilwoman Anthony , Councilman Espinal , Councilman Goncalves , Councilwoman Graves , Councilwoman Harris , Councilwoman Peterson , Councilor Pichardo , Councilor Roias , Councilwoman Ryan , Councilor Sanchez , Councilman Taylor , Councilwoman Vargas

Recused (1)

Council President Miller

Resolutions for Honorary Renamings of Laura Street and Camp Street, and Requesting an Easement for Brown University

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Petition from Mark Perrotti, MP General Contractors, requesting the abandonment of Hillcrest Avenue

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Public Works

Petition requesting the abandonment of Hillcrest Avenue and Certificates from City Assessor recommending cancellation

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Claims and Pending Suits

Petitions for Compensation for Injuries and Damages

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Claims and Pending Suits

Communication from Mayor Brett P. Smiley submitting the tentative agreement with Local Union 1033

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Finance

Resolution Extending Congratulations

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Harris

Aye (14)

Resolution Extending Sympathy

PASSED [UNANIMOUS]

Moved by Councilman Espinal · Seconded by Councilwoman Graves

Aye (14)

Resolution authorizing an easement at 675 Plainfield Street on behalf of The Narragansett Electric Company

REFERRED

Referred to Committee on Public Works

Unknown

02:49 - 02:56

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to this Providence City Council meeting on 05/15/2025. Madam clerk, please call the roll.

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02:57 - 03:04

Council president Miller? Present. Deputy majority Whip Vanderboel? Councilwoman Anthony? Present.

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03:04 - 03:05

Majority Leader Espinal?

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03:05 - 03:06

Present.

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03:06 - 03:08

Senior Deputy Majority Leader Gonsal?

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03:08 - 03:09

Present.

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03:09 - 03:16

Councilwoman Graves? Present. Deputy Majority Leader Harris? Present. Councilwoman Peterson?

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03:17 - 03:24

Council president Pro Tempur Pichardo? Present. Councilor Royas? Present. Councilwoman Ryan?

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03:24 - 03:29

Present. Majority Whip Sanchez? Present. Councilman Taylor? Present.

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03:29 - 03:38

Councilwoman Anna Vargas? Councilman Oscar Vargas? Is absent. You have 14 present and one absent.

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03:38 - 03:46

You have a quorum. Thank you, madam clerk. This evening, the invocation will be given by councilor Justin Royes. Will everyone please stand, including our guests, for the invocation?

Unknown

03:48 - 04:23

Thank you, madam president. Colleagues, as we begin tonight's session, I invite each of you to join me in a moment of reflection. However you find meaning, whether it's through prayer, quiet thought, or the wisdom of those who came before you, let's take a moment to ground ourselves. As for me, offer this prayer in the name of Jesus, not the version used to bless power and maintain comfort, but the real one, a brown Palestinian Jew, homeless, unyielding, flipping tables in the temple when the poor were being exploited because sometimes love looks like righteous disruption. So let's pray.

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04:24 - 04:56

Father god, god of the weary of and of the worn, we lift up the people of providence, the ones we don't see on ribbon cutting days, but who carry this city on their backs. The single mother working two jobs and still coming up short. The transgender youth just trying to exist without fear. The person battling addiction who is more than the sum of their mistakes. The undocumented neighbor who prays not to be seen not because they don't love this place, but because they know this place doesn't always love them back.

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04:56 - 05:29

Jesus would have been with them. He he always was. We lift up the unhoused, those living in tents and on the bridges in our city, the ones our city calls problems but you call sacred. May we not just move them out of sight but move closer to their stories, to their pain, and to their hopes. Father god we also pray for the innocent civilians caught in conflict whether here in our streets or abroad on all sides in all places Those who live whose lives are torn apart not by their own doing but by decisions far beyond their control.

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05:30 - 05:55

May we be the voices for peace, for justice, for the protection of those who cannot protect themselves. May we remember that every life is sacred and that the loss of one is a heartbreak no matter which side of a border they stand on. And God I ask that you bless my fellow colleagues who are in this room tonight. Too often we wear smiles in public even when our hearts are heavy. We make decisions in rooms filled with expectations and rarely with grace.

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05:55 - 06:22

Remind us that we too are human, that the tales we hold do not make us exempt or immune to pain or doubt or fear, that the weight we carry is real even when you've been we've been told to hide it. We also lift up our families, the ones who sacrifice alongside us. Father god, bless them for their generosity and sharing us with with the city. They make sacrifices so that we can occupy these seats in many ways. They are city councilors just as much as we are.

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06:23 - 07:04

May we honor their patience, their love, and their unseen labor that makes our work possible. May we remember that vulnerability is not weakness and that justice is not always polite. Father god, bless this council with courage to speak truth even when it's unpopular, to show compassion even when it's inconvenient, and to lead not from polished personas but from honest hearts. Bless this city with the kind of love that sees people, not problems, not liabilities, not numbers, but people. And bless us with the audacity to flip tables when it's required, to shake the comfortable for the sake of the oppressed, to remember to remember that Jesus did not die safely and neither should our conviction.

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07:04 - 07:09

In the name of Jesus, the liberator, the table flipper, and the friend of the forgotten. Amen.

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07:11 - 07:15

Thank you. This evening, the, pledge of allegiance will be led by councilwoman Ryan.

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07:16 - 07:18

I pledge allegiance to the flag To

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07:18 - 07:18

the flag.

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07:18 - 07:28

Of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

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07:29 - 07:32

Thank you. Madam president,

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07:33 - 08:26

councilwoman Anthony, a point of personal expression. I rise to comment on the right raising of the Palestinian flag. I understand the desire to take a stand on behalf of a community that is facing unimaginable violence, But our city government must embrace diverse constituencies with strongly held and often opposing views. Displaying any national symbol other than our own in a moment of political conflict alienates members of our community and draws the council into into disputes beyond our local mandate. These concerns are intensified by rising hate, anti transgender, anti Semitism, anti Arab, anti black, and sadly, in many other forms.

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08:26 - 08:59

In this climate, symbolic actions can make it more difficult for our public body to to fulfill our responsibility to promote civic trust. At a minimum, this action is insensitive to our Jewish community. And given the response we have seen, we know it is deeply offensive to many. These times offer many challenges to both our conscience and our ability to form a more perfect union. Meanwhile, our residents are counting on us to focus on the extreme fiscal challenges their city faces.

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08:59 - 09:08

I believe we need to focus on our local responsibility and find ways to tell all of our residents that they belong. Thank you.

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09:08 - 09:10

Madam clerk, item three, please.

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09:10 - 09:11

Madam president.

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09:11 - 09:14

I just called an item. Okay. Councilman?

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09:16 - 09:17

Madam president.

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09:17 - 09:18

Majority leader.

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09:18 - 09:21

I want you to weigh the reader of item three and move approval.

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09:21 - 09:23

Second, madam president. We have

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09:23 - 09:28

a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?

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09:28 - 09:30

Any abstentions? The motion passes.

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09:30 - 09:41

Madam president. Counselor. Point of personal expression. Unfortunately, I have to do this. This is the second time I've done this in the last three or four months.

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09:42 - 09:56

But, madam president, I rise this evening to raise one very important issue that is plaguing this council. It appears that you and your staff have forgotten the fact that this is the legislative body of the city. The only place where the city

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09:56 - 09:57

council I'm sorry.

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09:57 - 09:58

The only place

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09:58 - 09:58

Counselor, where

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09:58 - 09:59

city council

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09:59 - 10:00

speaks Counselor,

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10:00 - 10:02

I'm sorry. That's my expression.

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10:02 - 10:04

Why can't I do a point of expression?

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10:04 - 10:12

You can do a point of expression, but you cannot make personal attacks on the floor. That is the rule of our body. So I I you're

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10:12 - 10:21

welcome to continue. Where the city council speaks and makes decisions is in this room. If you and your staff wanna stir up controversy, air personal beliefs, or get arrested

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10:21 - 10:22

I'm sorry, counselor.

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10:22 - 10:24

These are personal comments. So.

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10:24 - 10:26

Can you make your statement without referring

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10:26 - 10:45

But please stop. Well, I can't because, unfortunately, I did this last time, majority leader, and it fell on deaf ears because this council is not run by the legislative branch. It's run by all 15 council people here. And then this last thing that just happened, I was not notified. I was not asked if I was to vote for it or against it.