[Summit] Covid-19 Updates & East Side Issues (Hotel, Dorms, Trees) from Councilor John Gonçalves and next Monday's Wayland Sq. Ass’n meeting [Covid News no. 307]

Sun Jun 14 02:10:49 UTC 2020

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From: WaylandSquare Neighbors <waylandsquareneighbors at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 12, 2020 at 10:35 AM
Subject: WSNA Zoom Meeting Monday, 6/15/20 at 5:00 PM
To: WSNA Board <wsna-board at googlegroups.com>, <wayland-square-na at googlegroups.com>

Topic: Wayland Square Neighborhood Association
Time: Jun 15, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 914 3148 6784
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Agenda   
   - Welcome 
   - President's Message
   - South Providence N.A. & All Neighborhood Groups
   - Grow Smart RI's Power of the Place Summit (Wed 7/8) 
   - Proposed Hotel Project: Developer Presentation
   - Noise Task Force ATV's & Motorcycles
   - Re-Paving Wayland Square Sidewalk Project
   - Campers off Wayland Avenue
   - Moving Ahead...Neighborhood Items!

Follow Us!WSNA FB. and WSNA Instagram

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Wayland Square Neighbors (@wayland_squa...
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   ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Councilman John Goncalves <info at johnforward1.com>To:Sent: Friday, June 12, 2020, 08:04:06 PM EDTSubject: COVID-19 Updates, Proposed Ward 1 Development Projects & Tree Advocacy
   Please weigh-in to ensure that your voice is being heard  
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|  Dear David, 
I hope this message finds you well and I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

This e-mail covers four important items: 1) COVID-19 Updates
2) Proposed Hotel Development On Angell Street
3) Brown University Inst’l Master Plan Amendment RE: Brook Street Dorms
4) Tree Advocacy Opportunity & Sign The Petition To Preserve South Main St. Trees

Below are the updates from Governor Raimondo's 1:00 pm press briefing today, Friday June 12th.   
   - There have been 10 more fatalities due to COVID-19 in Rhode Island. This brings the state total to 833.
   - There are 84 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island. This brings the total number of cases in Rhode Island to 15,947. 141 Rhode Islanders are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 28 patients in intensive care.
   - There have been 5,307 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Providence.
   - Governor Raimondo shared the state's "SOS" testing system which comprises of the following factors:
   -   *   Symptomatic- Testing individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19
   -   *   Outbreaks- Controlling and containing outbreaks
   -   *   Surveillance- Frequent testing of individuals who do not have symptoms of COVID-19
   - The State has expanded asymptomatic testing opportunities to restaurant workers and bus drivers. Those who are interested may sign up for a test here: https://portal.ri.gov/s/login/?language=en_US&startURL=%2Fs%2F&ec=302 or by calling the Department of Health at 401-222-8022
   - The state has partnered with United Way of RI and the Rhode Island Realtors Association to start the Housing Now Initiative. This initiative is asking Rhode Island landlords to pledge at least 100 rental units by July 1st to renters who have housing vouchers. In doing so, landlords would receive a $2000 signing bonus for the first unit they pledge and an additional $500 for each additional unit. For more information call 211.
   - The State has launched a transparency portal to share how stimulus money is being spent. This site will be up and running later today at transparency.ri.gov/covid-19
Below are the updates from Governor Raimondo's 1:00 pm press briefing Wednesday June 10th.   
   - Governor Raimondo announced a statewide goal of reopening schools for full in-person learning on August 31st. All schools will follow the same schedule for the year, which can be viewed here: https://www.ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/COVID19/2020-21_School_Calendar_Deck_ENG_6.10.20.pdf?ver=2020-06-10-113123-550
   - School will look different upon return in the fall. Some changes may include frequent cleaning, spaced desks, staggered start times, less children per bus, and absolutely no attending school if a child is sick. Each district must submit a plan for the following scenarios:
   -   *   Full return to in-person learning
   -   *   A hybrid of in-person and distance learning
   -   *   Full online distance learning
   - On Friday, June 19th, guidelines will be shared on https://www.reopeningri.com/ and on RIDE's website (https://www.ride.ri.gov/) regarding how schools can prepare for this. Plans are due from each district to RIDE by July 17th.
   - The state will be allocating $42 million of CARES Act funding to schools in order to assist with the changes and adjustments. The state is also prepared to use additional stimulus money as necessary.
   - On June 15th at 7:00 pm Your Year 2020 will be broadcasted on PBS as a televised graduation celebration for the Class of 2020. Directly following will be a virtual concert called United for Grads. Both programs will feature celebrity appearances!
   - SNAP recipients are now able to buy groceries online from Amazon and participating  Walmart stores with their EBT cards.
   - Recipients of RI Works Cash Assistance will be receiving an additional one-time payment on their EBT cards on June 19th. The payment will be proportional to the size of the recipient's household. More information is available here: http://www.dhs.ri.gov/
   - Home- Rhode Island -Department of Human Services<http://www.dhs.ri.gov/>
   - www.dhs.ri.gov
   - State of Rhode Island: Department of Human Services
The state has released an updated version of the Crushing COVID app. The final version will come out later this month.
Below are the updated from Governor Raimondo's 1:00 pm press briefing today, Monday, June 8th:   
   - Rhode Island has established itself as one of the most advanced states in the nation regarding testing. About 15% of the population has been tested which is 3 times higher than the national average. Moving forward, the state will be continuing to work to further expand testing. This includes a new effort to increase the testing of asymptomatic people.
   -   *   Starting today, close contact workers (hairstylists, barbers, nail salon employees, etc) will be able to receive free COVID-19 testing at any of the National Guard testing sites. You do not need to have symptoms to get tested.
   -   *   Child care employees will also have this opportunity.
   -   *   The goal is to test 900 asymptomatic people a day and to expand the testing to more people over time.
   -   *   To sign up for an asymptomatic test click here: https://portal.ri.gov/s/login/?ec=302&startURL=%2Fs%2F or call the Department of Health at 401-222-8022
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   - Governor Raimondo and the Department of Health are encouraging Rhode Islanders who attended rallies or protests over the weekend to get tested if possible and to avoid close contact with anyone in their life who may be elderly or of frail health.
   - Lastly, a reminder that these press briefings will only be taking place on Monday's Wednesday's and Friday's moving forward.
 On Tuesday, June 16th, there are two proposed development projects in Ward 1 that are on the docket of the Providence City Plan Commission meeting. 

The public will have the opportunity to comment during the meeting through the electronic platform and by telephone.

Please weigh-in to below provide your feedback. 

The meeting details and agenda are also below. Both items are Ward 1 items:

https://opengov.sos.ri.gov/Common/DownloadMeetingFiles?FilePath=\Notices\4752\2020\365899.pdf

Angell Street Hotel Rendering. Learn more about the project here. 

LOCATION: 209, 211-13 and 217 Angell Street (College Hill)
(Across the street from the Wheeler School)
Applicant: Smart Princeton Hotel Group LLC 

The applicant is proposing to construct a five-story, 60.8’ tall, 118 room boutique hotel with a restaurant and internal parking. The lots collectively measure approximately 19,514 SF. The applicant is requesting master plan approval with dimensional adjustments, design waiver, and a variance pursuant to unified development review.   The subject lots are zoned R-P under the I-3 E overlay and the applicant has petitioned the City Council to rezone the lots to C-2. The applicant is requesting a dimensional adjustment of approximately 10.8’ feet to accommodate the proposed height of approximately 60.8’ and five stories where the maximum allowable building height in the C-2 zone is 50 feet and four stories. The applicant is seeking a design waiver for the front yard setback requirement on Angell Street where less than 60 percent of the building will be located within the 0-5’ build-to zone.  A total of 118 parking spaces are required for the rooms and restaurant and 40 spaces will be provided. The applicant is requesting a 50 percent dimensional adjustment of 59 spaces. Pursuant to Section 1902 of the ordinance, the applicant is seeking a dimensional variance of 19 parking spaces from the reduced requirement.  |

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|  PLEASE LOOK AT THE HOTEL PLANS & SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK BEFORE THE MEETING HERE  |

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Brown University Institutional Master Plan Amendment RE: Brook Street Resident Halls
Applicant: Brown University 

The amendment to Brown University’s institutional master plan will focus on the construction of dormitory buildings on Brook Street. The amendment also includes information on changes in land holdings, updates on projects and an update of the transportation and parking plan   |

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|  PLEASE LOOK AT BROWN'S PLANS & SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK BEFORE THE MEETING HERE  |

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Local Tree Advocacy Opportunity This Thursday
(For South Main Street Neighbors):

National Grid is about to undergo a $35 million, and a 3-phase capital project to upgrade about 2 miles of failing transmission lines that lie below ground from this portion of S. Main St all the way to Charles St and eventually the N.G. sub-station on Admiral Street.

There are 7 trees that need to be removed along the route in total, but the most painful removals are these three London plane trees opposite 500 S. Main Street, adjacent to 10,000 suns. In place of these trees, National Grid will plant 44 new trees. I believe we should strive to preserve our trees, especially our mature ones, whenever possible, but according to the City, it is not possible in this case.
Please sign on to the petition! Thank you to all the Ward 1 residents, including Ilona Miko, for her tireless advocacy. Please send me an e-mail if you'd like to sign on or click the link below. Let's do everything we can to save our trees. 

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|  PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE OUR TREES  |

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|  READ MY STATEMENT HERE  |

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PROVIDENCE CITY PLAN COMMISSION AGENDA
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020, 4:45 PM
https://opengov.sos.ri.gov/Common/DownloadMeetingFiles?FilePath=\Notices\4752\2020\365899.pdf
The virtual meeting can be accessed using the Zoom webinar platform at:https://zoom.us/j/92955172927
A computer with a microphone is required for participation.
Those without computer access may participate by telephone using the following numbers:833 548 0282, or 877 853 5247 or 888 788 0099 or 833 548 0276All are Toll FreeDial and enter the webinar id when prompted: 929 5517 2927#

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|  Thank you, 

For City Council, Ward 1 
www.johnforward.com  |

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Stay Connected With Us On Social Media:

Please "Like" us on Facebook: Facebook.com/JohnForPVD
Please follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/JohnGPVD  |

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