Vargas. If anybody is here to testify and you haven't filled it out yet, we got a testify sheets in there. You can put your name on it and all depends on which, case you wanna work on it. We can bring new pens for you though. Don't take it.
Good. It's 05:30. We're going to start a public hearing today. It's only a public hearing. We're now we're now going to make decision.
We're now going to be voting. Just just listen to the concerns and the constituents. That's why we are here today. I want to welcome everyone. Thank you for taking the time and be here present.
Call a meeting for order. Today is Monday, 09/28/2026 at 05:30PM. Say which meeting members are present. Thank you for being here, Councilman Justin Royers and Councilman Miguel Sanchez, your busy schedule. Welcome.
This time, I would like to take item number seven out of order. Ask the clerk to read the item seven into the record, please.
You. Petition from Jeffrey Padua Esquire Padua Law LLC, 1 Park Grove Suite 5, Providence, Rhode Island 2903 requesting to abandon the northerly portion of Utah Street starting at the intersection of Spruce Street and running south towards Atwells Avenue.
Thank you. The petitioner has requested that this matter be withdrawn and no testimony will be taken at this time.
I have here two letters from the petitioner and plus an email that we're going to put in the record that they want this matter to withdraw for today. And that's being said. Now, madam clerk, can you please read number one into the record? Yes. And I wanna ask the city sergeant to bring up the sign in sheet for item one, please.
Petitioner for Mark Reposa, Assistant Vice President Providence College, 1 Cunningham Square, Providence, Rhode Island 2908, requesting to abandon self portion of Cumberland Street from Sandingham Avenue, abutting Lots 196, 197500, all owned by the Providence College.
Thank you. I don't have anybody for number one. No. That's number one. Nobody to testify.
That's okay. Can you please Sergeant, can you please bring me number two?
Number two is petition for Mark Reposa, assistant vice president, Province College, 1 Cunningham Square, Providence, Rhode Island, 02908 requesting to abandon a south portion of Dante Street from Ventura Street, abutting Lots 28197235, also owned by Providence College.
Thank you. There's no number. Anybody for number two? I guess it's the same person. We don't have anybody neither, so can you please read number three?
Number three is petition of Kelly Morris Salvatore Esquire, Dowell Everitt LLP, 1 Turks Head Place, Suite 1200 Providence, Rhode Island on behalf of 888 Eddie Street LLC and nine zero eight Eddie Street LLC, owner of the real property located at 888 Eddie Street Providence, Rhode Island requesting with abandoning a portion of Divine Street.
Thank you. Sergeant, can I have the sheet for number three, Thank you?
Please state your name and where you're from for the record please.
Thank you. Good evening Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. My name is Joseph Baxter. I'm an attorney here representing the applicant from Darrow Everett LLP.
I'm standing in attorney Kelly Morris Salvatore Stead who submitted this application on behalf of our client. So I assume the the committee members of course have received the petition and just by way of brief explanation, I just wanted to generally describe the the plan as proposed for the abandonment of two portions of Devine Street both of which are paper roads, one part being paved, that's the part looking at the map and the survey provided in the petition. That would be the portion of Divine Street that is below Oxford Street. So that is currently passable but only services you know, my client's lot as well as the abutters lot directly. Both representatives from the the applicants the two applicants who have joined in the one petition are here as well.
And also going on to the portion of Divine Street that we seek to abandon above Oxford Street that is currently covered by vegetation and it's not passable at this point by any vehicle traffic. As you'll also see in the CPC letter that they forwarded after their hearing on this matter, they do recommend approval of this petition for the abandonment noting that it likely won't have any adverse outcome as far as traffic goes or utilization of these portions of Divine Street. One last point I'd like to note as well, the portion of Divine Street below Oxford that is passable or that it is paved. Currently it's just kind of accumulating debris, a couple of mattresses and other things like that. But again it's not servicing, you know, servicing as a roadway or anything like So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions of the members or introduce either of the applicants if they'd like to hear from them as well.
Any question for the council? Consul Morales? That's yes. Consor Espinal? Yes.
I talked to him today. Yeah. He's he's aware. Consor, do you know that they have they had to pay some some money for this property. Right?
Yes. I did speak with the the clerk's office regarding that, and it was indicated that we would
Goria Gauran? Sorry if I don't pronounce your name right. So sorry.
It's okay. I'm not surprised. It's pronounced Goria Ran. My name is Dan Goria Ran. I own Hookfast Specialties, which is on Seymour Street between Divine Connects, Seymour and Oxford.
Hookfast is a 100 year old company. We've been at location on Seymour Street for sixty years. Is Divine Street is just below Eddy Street. It is an access point for us, my 22 employees, my suppliers, my customers, to get quick access to Allens Avenue, to go 95 North. Eddy Street in the afternoon is blocked.
It's a traffic you know, it's it's a it's a parking lot in the afternoon. So it is one block from Divine Street to Eddy Street. Eddy Street is blocked traffic. Every one of my staff goes Divine Street and goes down Oxford to get to Allens Avenue. So this is a critical piece of street for us.
So closing it, yeah, you're gonna add minutes every day. We've been running in that location for sixty years. We wanna be good neighbors. We know the owners. I don't think we should close the street.
It's too important to us. It's a critical artery for the operation of my business. So I'm pleading with you not to close it.
Any question for mister Okay. This Questions for me? Yeah, got a question. This little street you're talking about is, I was there yesterday, It's a paper street behind the buildings. It's it's two Buildings, 8888 and 908.
Correct. This is one part. This is the only part of Divine Street that connects Seymour to Oxford. It's an actual street. It's paved.
It's maintained. Now, I understand the frustration of trash being dumped on that street because I deal with Public Works all the time. I'm on Seymour Street, which is a dead end street. Our street gets dumped on all the time, and I work closely with Public Works and they're great. They come and pick up the trash.
My staff goes out there and picks up debris on the road. We handle all the plowing of the street before the city gets there usually because we have to have staff coming in. Again, have 22 employees on Seymour Street. This is really important to us for our operation.
Thank you very much for your testimony.
Thank you for your consideration.
Can you please read? We have you on here?
I'm I'm I'm not. I'm one of the applicants. My my name is Jason Sister. Didn't I didn't sign on that because I was the applicant.
Thank you very much, mister Jason.
Good evening. My name is Jason Sisto. I'm one of the applicants for 888 And 908 Eddy Street. With respect to the section of Divine Street that the previous gentleman was just speaking to, that street is constantly filled with debris. There there have been boats, trailers, mattresses.
We've had numerous calls into DPW. They do not respond. We've actually been fined both myself and the other applicant have been fined. You can check the records because we actually go there, take all the stuff from the streets, put it on the sidewalk so that way our vehicles can pass and people can pass. As far as access, that street is pretty much a dead end.
On one end of the street is Meeting Street School. So you can't go I mean, you only go from Meeting Street School to the opposite side of the street, is the other side that we're we're abandoning. So to get back and forth to Allen's Ave, you would go up one of the other side streets. You would not go through Devine to get to Allen's Avenue. There's no direct access to Allen's Avenue from Devine.
So abandoning this really would less of a burden on the city, less of a burden on DPW and us. I mean, we're at the point right now where the trash is just enormous. And it gets to the point where we're forced not to pick it up and not to clean it and let the street just be overburdened and let DPW deal with it as they so wish. And we've tried not to do that. We've been good neighbors.
We've spent thousands and thousands of dollars of our own money in cleaning up the street and cleaning up that area. So I would compel you guys to actually look at it from that perspective that and and this is gonna be put back onto the tax roll. It's gonna be a much better use than what it currently is versus having somebody be inconvenienced, as he said, a few minutes out of the way. So thank you for your time.
Thank you very much. K. Madam Craig, can you please read number four?
