Mayor Cicilline Launches City's Graffiti Task Force for Spring Clean Up

With mild weather, three Graffiti Task Force vans hit the streets as Police continue to crack down on graffiti vandals

 

Watch the video of the press conference at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16mZaBHCDFw
 

Calling graffiti an “assault on our neighborhoods,” Mayor David N. Cicilline today launched the Graffiti Task Force for the 2009 spring season.  He made the announcement outside a Westminster Street business where Providence Police recently caught a graffiti vandal in the act of vandalizing the building.

“Let me be clear, if you’re caught vandalizing our neighborhoods with graffiti, you will be held accountable,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “However, Police cannot do this alone, we need the public’s help in reporting these offenders to the Graffiti Task Force Hotline so that Police can stop them in their tracks.”

Mayor Cicilline created the Graffiti Task Force to combat graffiti through a combination of aggressive enforcement, graffiti abatement, enhanced public awareness and rewards of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest of vandals. 

Following the news conference, the Mayor joined members of the Graffiti Task Force as they removed graffiti from a building on Westminster Street.  The juvenile allegedly responsible for the vandalism was caught in the act on March 21, and quickly taken into police custody.  Police seized a spray cap and observed wet, red spray paint on the suspect’s hands.

Security from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) helped nab a graffiti vandal on February 17.  Their security surveillance system caught a suspect tagging a building on Benefit Street.  Providence Police arrested the suspect and a RISD security officer is now eligible for a $500 Graffiti Task Force award. 

Early in his first term, Mayor Cicilline worked hard to amend the Graffiti Ordinance to increase the penalty for graffiti offenses from $200 to up to $1000.  The provision also calls for restitution for damages and 200 hours of community service.  In addition, anyone who sells aerosol paint containers, broad tipped markers, etching equipment, paint sticks or graffiti sticks to a minor without written permission from a parent or guardian may be held criminally responsible.

Residents are urged to call 800-TAGGERS to report graffiti or to have graffiti removed from their property.  They may also file a report online at www.providenceri.com/graffiti.
 

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Mayor Cicilline mentioned in New York Times editorial addressing the importance of investing federal education recovery dollars as they were intended.

To read the full editorial, click here.

  

 

 

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 Providence Takes First Step Toward Achieving Operation Opportunity Goals
Mayor Cicilline signs executive order to spur green job growth as Providence positions itself for the 21-century economy

Watch the video of the press conference at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XNARsg1Jlk or click on the image below:

 
Surrounded by state-of-the-art solar panels at the construction site of the Providence Career and Technical Academy, Mayor David N. Cicilline checked off his first Operation Opportunity goal in his ongoing effort to strengthen Providence’s economy.  The Mayor signed an executive order requiring that all new municipal buildings are LEED or CHPS certified, nationally accepted benchmarks for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. 

 

“As we rebuild our economy for the 21st-century, there will be a serious emphasis on renewable energy and sustainable design,” said Mayor Cicilline.  “This is about ensuring that we make smart decisions about school construction and municipal office space while creating green-sector jobs for our residents.”

 

Mayor Cicilline launched Operation Opportunity in February during his State of the City Address to create the climate for residents to access good jobs as Providence repositions itself for the 21-century economy.  The economic action plan holds the City accountable for 30 measurable goals that can be achieved in 18 months, including the executive order mandating that all new City buildings meet strict environmental and sustainability guidelines.

 

Providence Career & Technical Academy model in green design
The Mayor made the announcement on the roof of the Providence Career and Technical Academy, a model in green design that features state-of-the-art solar panels, solar-thermal hot-water system, high efficiency boilers and chillers, high efficiency lighting fixtures that make extensive use of daylight and extensive energy recovery ventilation units.  The school will also contain an advanced, interactive, web-based “Education for Sustainability” system that will enable instructors to use the sustainable design features of the facility as part of the Academy’s educational curriculum.

 

Nathan Bishop Middle School, which is currently under renovation, will also meet CHPS standards and is slated for completion in August of 2009.

 

For more on Operation Opportunity, go to www.providenceri.com/opportunity

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PEMA & RI Health Department to Conduct Public Health Emergency Exercise
May 21st emergency preparedness drill to simulate the mass distribution of medications or vaccines to the public 
 

The Providence Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Health, will conduct an emergency disaster exercise simulating a response to a public health emergency on Saturday, May 21 from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Dominica Manor, 100 Atwells Avenue.

 

PEMA Director Peter T. Gaynor said the purpose of the Medical Point of Dispensing (M-POD) exercise is to provide emergency response personnel with the opportunity to test their ability to bring together resources, activate a POD location and distribute medications and vaccines to residents as quickly and effectively as possible.  Local response agencies and volunteer organizations, integral to the preparation and execution of a POD, were involved in the planning of the exercise.  During the exercise, they will have the opportunity to perform their roles as they would during an actual emergency. 

 

The exercise is expected to involve approximately 150 participants from various state and local agencies.  Funding for municipalities to develop and revise their Point of Distribution plans and conduct these exercises is provided by the RI Department of Health utilizing federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) program.  

 

For more information on the upcoming drill, contact PEMA at 228-8000.

 

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Feature: My City
On Building a Green Revolution

 

Why would a photography graduate of RISD like John Jacobson venture into the challenging world of real estate development seeking to rehabilitate century-old buildings in Providence and turn them into high performing, state-of-the-art, eco-friendly green spaces? Jacobson would tell you that ‘any good art school will teach you to think critically and learn basic design principles across the board.’ 

 

Adding to his RISD education, Jacobson spent much of his childhood on construction sites, coming from a long line of contractors and engineers starting from his great grandfather from Sweden down to his father, who provided impartial construction advice to his son during Jacobson’s green venture in Providence.

 

Through his company, JTJ Investments, existing buildings like 28 Wolcott (nestled on the borders of the Promenade District and Valley Street) now stand as beacons of what is to come in the future of green architecture and design.  As Mayor Cicilline signed an executive order that will require all new municipal buildings in Providence to be LEED or CHPS certified, Jacobson envisions the capital city along the Woonasquatucket River – once home to the Industrial Revolution – coming full circle and usehring in a new era of green industry. 

 

City News caught up with Jacobson for a tour of the 28 Wolcott Eco Office, which just garnered the 2009 John H. Chafee Conservation Leadership Awards this week.

 

What was your thinking behind starting this independent venture to rehab 28 Wolcott, an old mill building in the Promenade district, into an eco-friendly space?
When I was involved with New Urban Arts in Providence, they had a search committee looking into the possibility of finding a permanent home, buying it and fixing it up.  I’ve also been around Providence as an artist for a long time and I know there had been a number of issues around finding decent artist housing.  So we started to look at buildings, in particular these mill buildings.  Pretty much everyone I talked to said that you couldn’t do anything without historic tax credits, that it wasn’t possible.  I thought that was one route to go but I never thought it was impossible to do it otherwise. 

 

So, my approach was to find buildings that were not historic.  They could be old but they weren’t deemed historically significant.  Then we’d go in and do deep energy retrofits, which basically means, in my case, using spray foam Icenyne insulation to create really efficient building envelopes, using day lighting, high efficiency lighting like LEDs and fluorescents, and hot water on demand – things that require very little to maintain.  My first project was an affordable artists’ housing loft in an old cinderblock garage on Washington Street, right around the block from the police station.  Some of the artists I knew were living in that neighborhood and then walking down into Olneyville for studio space, or in some cases, were driving to Pawtucket.  So I thought, well, wouldn’t it be wise to try to bring studio space into that neighborhood?

During that time, I also had my eye on this building (on Wolcott Street).  There were no historic tax credits attached to this building, and even if there were I wasn’t interested in them.  With every building project I’ve done it’s important to me that they’re sustainable, green and high performance, but what’s more important is that it’s less expensive than what it would cost to build new.  The rents are also competitive with the types of spaces they are.  I wanted to prove that things like zero-net energy buildings and high performance buildings and highly sustainable architecture could be done and arguably, in my opinion, the way to do it is by using existing structures. 

 

Please describe in simple terms what a “net-zero” energy building is.  
The concept of net-zero energy is based on a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) scale.  So you basically have building code that’s 100, energy star is 85 (15% better than building code), and then all the way down to zero.  When you get to zero that means that over the course of a year, the building produces as much energy as it needs through renewable resources.  Zero net, or net zero, is something of a buzzword amongst building science people and sustainable design people. 

 

I can’t make the claim that the Wolcott Eco Office Building is a total net-zero building until I have an occupant because it’s dependent on what kind of energy needs they’ll have.  But I’ve designed it to be a net-zero space.  Let’s say though that an occupant requires a giant net server to go into their office space; obviously they’d need a lot more electrical panels than the 3.2-kilowatt system that’s in the building now.  But one of the great things about the building is that it’s earth-sheltered.  It has great southern exposure for passive solar gain to the windows and the building is shoved onto the side of a hill in the north face.  The space will almost heat itself through the occupants and the machines in the space.  That’s how energy efficient it is and any other needs will come from the sun. 

 

During the day, the sun comes into the space, and heats it up.  In my apartment, for instance, on the second floor of the building, you can watch the thermostat turn off at around 9:00 a.m. in the morning on a sunny day.  It will come back on at 7:00 p.m. to heat.  What happens is that through thermal hot water storage, I’ve got these vacuum tube collectors on the roof that are heating water from the sun and then storing it in tanks.  That energy is what is released at night for space heating. 
 
What are some other materials and supplies you used to green up this building?
Most often, for better or for worse, people think about the sexy stuff in green design like photovoltaic or green roofs, solar panels, and crazy futuristic designs.  But really any home can be a green home.  It doesn’t matter what it looks like per se.  Most of what makes a home green happens behind the walls.  You don’t see it.  The first line of attack is to make the building as energy efficient as possible.  This happens with doors, windows, walls and insulation and making sure there’s a good separation with the outside and the inside, especially in climates like Rhode Island.  My building is enveloped in spray foam Icenyne insulation.  We take these measures so that these alternative heating solutions don’t have to work very hard.  The best return on your money is with these energy efficient items for the home. 

 

The other category is lighting.  Very popular now are the compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).  That’s a great way to make a huge impact.  It’s very simple.  Payback is quick.  What’s happening beyond the CFLs and we’ve used a lot on Wolcott Street is LED lighting.  That’s where we’re going to be in the foreseeable future and in fact for some products the LED has already replaced the CFLs.  I think they’re better performing, more pleasing, and it’s much better in many ways and can do things that incandescent light just can’t do. 

 

Mayor Cicilline this week, as part of his economic action plan Operation Opportunity, signed an executive order that will require new municipal buildings to meet LEED or CHPS benchmarks.  As someone that’s already successfully ventured out on their own to meet green standards in building, how do you think this impacts the larger efforts to attract more renewable energy or green industries to Providence?
I’ve read the Mayor’s Greenprint report and I think that it’s great that he’s always thinking of new ways to boost this industry in Providence.  As far as new construction and mandating LEED and CHPS with municipal buildings, it makes a lot of sense to have buildings that illustrate to the community what can be done and should be done with buildings.  Hopefully too it will help educate a lot of contractors that work for the city and get them up to speed and kind of help jumpstart the whole industry here in Providence.

 

In terms of the private sector, in my building for instance, I didn’t pursue LEED certification.  It was too expensive and complicated.  I’m a relatively small project, but what I did was build up to LEED standards.  I looked up what the world was doing not just LEED.  There’s a ton of programs out there and I asked myself what would be the best and make the most sense for my business and I did it.  The LEED program itself makes a lot of sense, but not everyone can afford that right now. 

 

In your opinion, what makes Providence ripe for these kinds of project?
As soon as we see a little uptick in the economy and we get a commitment from commercial companies who want to occupy these kinds of spaces, or a little more demand, we have a situation in Providence where we have an existing building stock namely in the form of mill buildings, particularly in the Promenade area, where we’re seeing the prices of them going down to $10-$15 a square foot.  This is well below land cost and as long as you don’t have environmental remediation issues with the site, you can do amazing improvements – like state of the art, net zero commercial space – for less money than you can do for new construction.  Arguably, it’s much more sustainable because of the embodied energy involved with new construction.  With rehab you already have an existing shell.  So that makes us more competitive than places like Las Vegas or Florida – places that just don’t have a lot of existing building stock.  Providence can go to people and say, listen we can create these buildings cheaper than anywhere else, at least for the foreseeable future while these prices are still low in existing buildings.  It positions us in a very unique place and time.  For people who want to get involved in it in Providence, now’s a great time. 

 

Also symbolically, along the Woonasquatucket River lies the birth of the Industrial Revolution – which is also the birth of a lot of the problems we’re seeing now.  So what better place to return to create a green revolution?  There’s almost no better place in the country to do it. 

 

As you develop other properties in Providence, do you plan to integrate the use of renewable energy and eco-friendly materials into them?
My next project is a building I’ve acquired behind the Coca Cola plant.   My plan right now is to look for people who want these kinds of buildings and partner with them, create solutions for them, so that I’m not just building something on a hunch, which we’ve done a lot of in the past.  I’m going to find my end-user this time before the construction starts.  It’s a healthier way to start a building and you get a better result.  For instance I can go and install state of the art renewable energy windows and get a video company as a tenant, and they say, well we don’t really have a use for those windows.  So if we have a tenant in mind, it will help us prioritize better where we can best use design and renewable energy. 

 

And is this a trend you hope to see more of in the capital city?
Unquestionably I’d love to see a lot more of this.  Clearly, the public conscience is there already.  If you look around the Woonasquatucket, I can name over twenty businesses that are in the green business sector.  So it’s already happening in Providence.  I definitely think there’s a future for the green sector here.  And now also with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), that’s definitely going to drive things towards this way and I would say this – if we don’t do this, and fossil fuels and gas prices go up again, and we don’t do anything about it, it will stop business dead in its tracks.  When companies have to figure energy use into their bottom line, and they can go to a state or a city with energy efficient buildings to save costs, they will.  So we absolutely have to take on these cost-saving, energy-saving measures to keep businesses alive in Providence.  We have to.

For more info go to http://jtjinvestments.com/wolcott.html.

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