Black History Month + Community Updates

Hello Friends & Neighbors,

I hope that this note finds you well & dug out after yesterday's snow. February is Black History Month. We will be celebrating Black History Month at Providence City Hall on February 25th at 5:30pm -- but I encourage you to learn about the important Black History and history-in-the-making in all of our communities. Stages of Freedom hosts black history walking tours. Spend time learning about important Rhode Islanders including Billy Taylor, Danny Lopes, Edward Bannister, Christiana Bannister, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, and more -- and save the date for the opening of the Rhode Island African American Museum coming up on April 4th!

There's so much going on - so jumping right in!

Upcoming Meetings & Events: Keep up to date with what's going on in your government!

• Monday, Feb 9 at 5:30pm, City Hall 3rd Floor- Special Committee on the the Environment meets to review and vote on an amended ordinance to require more transparency from utility work under our streets and sidewalks.

• Tuesday, Feb 10th at 5:30, City Hall 3rd Floor - Finance Committee (agenda on open meetings portal)

• Wednesday, Feb 11th at 5:30pm, City Hall 3rd Floor - The North Main Street Task Force will meet to discuss implementation progress & 2026 action plan!

• Wednesday, Feb 11, Zoning Board of Review, 444 Westminster St: The Zoning Board Agenda includes a review of an application for a special use permit at 1100 North Main St ("the old Benny's") to establish a cannibis retailer as part of the property.

• February 15th - late morning: Save the Date: East-Side Wide Rent Stabilization Listening Session hosted by Councilors AnderBois, Davidson & Goncalves. We know our constituents have input on the proposed rent stabilization ordinance that was introduced to Council earlier this year - and not everyone can get to City Hall for the official public hearing. (Click here to see the proposed ordinance). This will be a listening session to hear from constituents -- like a public hearing but in the community. More info coming soon on location! You can also email me your thoughts anytime or have them submitted into the public record by emailing the Clerks at cityclerk@providenceri.gov.

• February 18th at 5:30pm: The HOPE Committee will hold a Public Hearing on Rent Stabilization in the Council Chambers. (I am on this committee). Come share your input! For folks who have never spoken at a public hearing before - it's a simple process! Plan to arrive a little early -- you sign in to testify (there are different lists for "support", "oppose" and "neutral") that are on a table just inside the short fence that separates Council desks from the rest of chambers. Each person will be called up by the Chairman, stand at the podium, and asked to share their name for the record. You will be given 2-3 minutes to speak. Please plan in advance what you might want to share so you don't get cut off before you finish. Everyone who signs in will be given a chance to speak on the record. If public speaking isn't your thing, you can also submit written comment to CityClerk@providenceri.gov.

• February 25th, 5:30 - Celebrate Black History Month at City Hall!  More details coming soon!

• Multiple dates:  North Burial Ground is once again hosting a year-long book club! Check out the upcoming books and dates and join our neighbors and friends in interesting reading throughout the year!

Important Topics:

• Community Meeting Follow up!

Thank you to John Marion at Common Cause for joining us at our community meeting to discuss open government and ways Providence and the State could increase transparency in government!  

We referenced a few resources in the conversation that I wanted to share! You can find Common Cause's Demystifying Democracy trainings at this link. The Council's Policy staff Miguel Youngs did a great video on how an ordinance becomes a law here. The City's open meetings portal is found here. The City's lobbyists rules and registration forms can be found here.

I also heard a request that especially in inclement weather, we should offer meetings via zoom. I will host my next Ward meeting in March via zoom, and will aim to switch back and forth between Zoom & in person.

• Snow Response:  

  
  

I have heard from an overwhelming number of folks in the community who were negatively affected by the City's storm response. As a representative of the City - I apologize and want to commit us all to do better. The Council's Public Works Committee met this past Tuesday to ask questions of the Dept. of Public Works (you can watch the recording here - my questions are near the end), and I joined several of my colleagues in sponsoring and passing a resolution asking for a formal report from the Administration on storm preparedness and response. I am also looking into the ordinance that levies the fines/fees for noncompliance from businesses with clearing sidewalks, because while our independently-owned businesses on Hope Street were out there immediately making our sidewalks safe -- across the City, we saw many corporate landlords and tenants not making the sidewalks accessible and receiving no penalty.

• New Trash Carts:

You might remember that the City is replacing all of its existing trash carts. Your old trash and recycling carts will be picked up and replaced with the new carts when you put them out for trash pick up. The replacement will begin March 16th, and all carts will be replaced by the end of June 2026. If you have questions, check out this website. We will also have representatives from the Administration at our next Ward meeting to answer any questions.

Overall updates:

• Standing in Solidarity with Minneapolis: At our last Council meeting, I sponsored (and we unanimously passed) a resolution standing in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis and condemning the actions of ICE and federal agents who have murdered Americans and terrorized residents. You can read that resolution here.

• Miya Brophy-Baermann Memorial Square: I also sponsored and we unanimously passed a resolution to create the Miya Brophy-Baermann Memorial Square at North Main and Olney St. Miya was an extraordinary young woman who was taken from us too soon from gun violence on our streets.

• Operation No One Dies: I want to highlight a new initiative that started this winter - Operation No One Dies. We are seeing a surge of neighbors experiencing homelessness in our community during a winter of dangerously low temperatures and dangerous conditions. The RI Council of Churches and Harrison Tuttle (and a team of volunteers) have created new warming shelters in existing church facilities and are working to ensure no one dies this winter. To learn more, listen to Harrison on Bartholomewtown Podcast.  You can also help them out by buying supplies on their Amazon wishlist here. (I just bought a cot at Harrison's request -- and there are plenty of things on the list at all price points).  

• Congratulations Andrew Bramson: Ward 3 resident Andrew Bramson was just sworn in as our next Region 1 School Board Member! He joins Ward 3'er Corey Jones, who is our elected school board member! Thank you both for your service!

Campaign news! Our campaign for Lt. Governor is off and running! We are visiting and meeting voters in every corner of our state -- and folks are responding well to our message of a government that isn't afraid to stand up for what's right - and understands how to get things done and delivers actual results -- not finger pointing or excuses.  Big gratitude to everyone hosting house parties during this chilly winter season (photo below from Meg & Bob's house in North Kingstown). If you are interested in hosting a house party - I would love to meet your neighbors and friends! - just reply to this email and we'll get it scheduled!

We are hustling every day to meet our fundraising goals to share our message across the state to win this election! Please consider a donation at this link to help keep us going!

Gratitude

As always, I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve you -- especially during these turbulent times for our city, state, and nation. Please reach out any time - and also keep in touch between newsletters by following me on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

With Gratitude,

Sue AnderBois