HIOW: How cool is Hub2 ?

I'm a sucker for trying to find valid crossovers between virtual worlds and our real world, where the interplay adds to our face-to-face interactions, rather than simply sucking us into our computers.

Along these lines, I had a great chat with Eric Gordon from Emerson College today, who is shepherding an experiment in Boston called Hub2. They are using Second Life environments to reimagine poorly designed public spaces in Boston, then using that to fuel discussion between citizens in the real world. Check it.

Hub2 strives for a Boston where all residents take control and ownership of their neighborhoods, enlisting digital environments and networks to strengthen real-world spaces and relationships. Hub2 invites community members to collaboratively imagine, articulate, and assert a vision for the kind of neighborhood they wish to inhabit. We use appropriate technology to facilitate that visioning process and as an amplifier for grassroots voices articulating their common dreams.

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City News: Daniel Yem, Year Up Apprentice

From the City News interview series...

Young Apprentices Get a Year to Seize Their Future Careers

In August, when most graduating students have moved on from school, are off looking for jobs in their field, preparing to enter college, or relaxing on a summer vacation, a group of young Providence pupils, ages 18 to 24, just received their diplomas on Wednesday, August 1st. Daniel Yem, 23, who came from South Philadelphia to Providence, is one of the twenty-two new graduates of the Year Up program.


The Year Up program, started in Boston in 2002, is a one-year intensive education and apprenticeship program for young, urban adults. It has branches in New York and Washington DC, and in 2005 the program came to Providence. Located downtown, Year Up’s Executive Director Sara Enright believes that in the next five years, thousands more students will transform both the City and the nation by closing what she calls “the opportunity divide” between our youth. She believes that the combination of intensive training and real world work experience in a corporate setting helps bridge that divide while building America’s future workforce.

Sara and Dan caught up with City News shortly after their graduation ceremony at the Westin Hotel.

Why did you decide to enroll at Year Up?

Dan: I chose to join Year Up because I was working a job that had no job advancement. I could not move inside the job. This is an opportunity for me to learn and also get paid at the same time. So it’s a win-win situation for me.

How would you describe your experience at Year Up?

D: My experience was great – never had a negative one at all. Every moment I spent at Year Up, I learned a great deal from all the instructors, all the teachers and I learned more from this experience than I’ve ever learned.

Where was your apprenticeship?

D: My apprenticeship was at West Greenwich at the G-Tech company.

What did you do there?

D: I did everything a normal computer operator would do. I shadowed them. The first and second day I was on my own working, starting my own projects and finishing them off.

What are your future plans?

D: I got hired by G-Tech, and I plan to move within the company as much as possible. I’m thinking about going back to New England Tech for further education.

How old are you?

D: I’m 23 years old.

You know at this age, a lot of your peers have probably already graduated from college and are off working at a job in their field. What is it like for you to start this process later on in your young life?

D: The people that are graduating college now at my age, most of them can’t even find jobs in the field that they (studied) in. That’s why I love Year Up so much because they put us in an apprenticeship. They exposed us to the corporate world and it gives the corporate world fresh talent apart from the graduates from the colleges. Like I said, we spend a year at Year-Up and we have the same opportunities that people spent four years having at universities.

Sara, what makes Year Up valuable to have in the City of Providence?

Sara: Year Up is beneficial in a few key ways. One, it provides outstanding opportunities for Providence young adults to really get their foot in the door. They get six months of intensive training in technical skills, professional skills, and communication skills. Like Dan talked about, they get six months of full time real world, real work experience at a company like G-Tech, like Bank of America, Citizens Bank or CVS. That combination of training and experience and support and guidance along the way is really an unparalleled opportunity for young adults.

At the same time, every employer in Rhode Island is crying out, ‘where is the future workforce? I need people with problem-solving skills, and technical skills, and professional skills,’ and that’s exactly what we’re providing for Rhode Island’s companies.

What do you expect students to take away with them when they graduate, aside from work skills?

S: I think we expect them to gain confidence and most of all gain a sense that they can truly do anything that they set out to do. There are so many young people in this community and across the country who simply can’t see all the opportunities that are out there and don’t necessarily have access to them. So by providing that first sort of foot in the door experience, students are able to see how much is out there for them and how high their potential really is. So our hope is that Year Up is just a catalyst for a lot of future success, and for Dan and all of his colleagues to go on and do big things!

How many classes have graduated since you opened in Providence in 2005?

S: This is our fourth graduating class in Rhode Island.

That’s wonderful. Congratulations. What is the most special thing about this graduating class?

S: Every class is special. It’s hard to put a particular label on it. I think this class is known for its leaders and supporters. There are a number of folks like Dan who have really been leaders in helping their colleagues, guiding and providing that focus on all the great opportunities that are ahead. And they supported one another through a lot of challenges in a lot of ups-and-downs and they’ve really been just a tightly-knit community and strong group together.

Dan, Sara talked a little about young people your age who may not know how to access programs like Year Up, can you tell us how you found out about Year Up and how you’d encourage other young people to do the same?

D: I found out about Year Up through a friend, Ray Martin. Year Up advertises on buses. I mean the best way to recruit people is through word-of-mouth. I’m also on the recruitment team and that’s the best way I do it. I give them the website, they go check it out, and they come join. They experience the program and they like it and they want other people to do it.

Where is Year Up heading in the future?

S: I think the future of Year Up here in Providence is to continue to be a strong program providing great opportunities and creating an alumni base that’s not just Dan and his colleagues but hundreds and thousands more young people to lead their communities.

I think Year Up across this country -- we’ve set out to close the opportunity divide and we’re expanding and are currently looking at San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas as potential expansion cities -- I expect that in the next five years, we’ll have close to 10,000 Year Up alumni. And when you have 10,000 young people like Dan who have set out to do great things, and to be real leaders, you start to really create a voice for all those young people who are on one side of that opportunity divide. So our hope right now is to plant that seed for what is a real national change.

Dan, so now that Sara has knighted you as a leader, what are your words of wisdom for other young people?

To do the best in whatever they strive for. To always keep going. Never give up. Your dreams will come true if you work hard enough.

To learn more about Year Up, go to www.yearup.org or visit them in person at their Providence headquarters at 10 Dorrance Street, Suite 1108.

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Providence #5 for Block Parties

Best Places just named their top ten cities in the US for block parties, and Providence ranked #5. I'm not sure how valid the research methodology was, since it was sponsored by a group of BBQ-centric consumer brands, measuring "the frequency and importance of block parties to the community." But the point is well taken, that block parties build ties between neighbors and social capital.

The sponsors, mealstogether.com, offer a downloadable block party starter kit.

This reminds me that National Neighborhood Day is coming up on Sunday, September 16th. Time to get that block party or neighborhood clean up event planned !

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HIOW: Guerilla Drive-In

Hackable Idea of the Week has been on a bit of a hiatus, but a story on NPR's Weekend Edition caught my ear.

Across the country, citizen-run guerilla drive-ins are springing up in municipal public spaces and vacant lots. A loose collective of folks puts together a showing of a movie projected outdoors on the side of a building, and invites other people to show up. Primarily an urban phenomenon, the drive-ins have an anarchistic edge, with loose organization, word-of-mouth promotion, and an emphasis on reclamation of public spaces with spontaneous activity.

Here in Providence, Cornish Associates, an urban development company, has been running movie nights on Thursdays during the summer, without the self-organized subversive construct of the Guerilla Drive-Ins. Still, props to them for being a catalyst.

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive in offers a DIY guide to starting your own.

NPR' story on the Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive In.

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City News: Ronnie Young, Greater Elmwood

From the City News Interview Series...

GENS Community Building Director Ronnie Young: “The only way we’re going to be able to build a livable, comfortable neighborhood is by getting out there and talking to your neighbors.”

26-Year Old Ronnie Young of the Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services (GENS) knows what it’s like to “Celebrate Providence” and his neighborhood, beyond their popular annual community festival. Ronnie, a Providence-born community builder, knows that underneath the festivities and camaraderie lays a strong foundation paved with an everyday, patient effort to rebuild his community one neighbor, and one home, at a time.


His work combined with the experience of GENS in rehabilitating streets and homes in the Elmwood neighborhood is finally taking shape on Parkis Avenue. An historic block once lined with stately Victorian mansions formerly owned by mill-owners in the 1800s deteriorated over time into a street ridden with drugs, prostitution, and a transient population that simply didn’t care about the neighborhood.

Today, and in the future, Ronnie and his neighbors are working hard to ensure that the neighborhood they’ve taken back will be a place where people from varying walks of life will be eager to live in and raise their families.

Tell us about the idea behind the community festival that GENS is producing through Celebrate Providence.

I’m astounded every day about how much talent we have on this street (Parkis Avenue). We have all kinds of artists and musicians. Getting out into the community and talking to the people has made me realized that we live in a very beautiful place. We just have so much in this community to offer, we just have to bring it out.

This is the second year that we’ve done this and when we did it last year we wanted it to be a performance art event, as well as an art event. We wanted the people and the residents of this community to be able to come and enjoy each other’s company and also bring a piece of the festival home. So we had workshops on top of the performances.

The community wouldn’t have to come up with any funds or any materials, they just come simply to participate in the event and take whatever they can. Like last year, we had mask-makers at the festival. The kids absolutely love things like this.

Are there others that partnered with you to get this done?

We partnered with West Elmwood Housing, the Elmwood Foundation, and with an art teacher from the MET School.

What do you want participants to get out of the festival?

I want them to come out from the community and speak to people in the neighborhood. Being the director of the community-building department (at GENS), I’ve been working with the community for the past two years, forming relationships with resident leaders, community leaders, and residents in general. You can’t have a strong community if the community doesn’t know each other or trust each other or don’t communicate with each other. It’s very important that people, especially the youth and children, come out and get to know one another.

So that was our main focus – to bring people outside, to have a really good time, network amongst each other and we understand that music and art opens up the opportunity for people to dialogue on their creative sides and talk about their interests.

And where is the festival taking place this year?

It’s going to be on the lawn of Knight Memorial Library on 225 Elmwood Avenue. It’s a prime location, right on the main street, so we’re hoping that that’s going to be a good way to draw people in from the community. We want people to just know that this is a community-oriented event. It’s open and free to the public and we want as many people to come as possible.

How does this festival relate to what you do on an everyday basis for the Greater Elmwood neighborhood?

My department is in charge of creating positive social change by putting the responsibility of creating a strong livable neighborhood into the hands of the residents, rather than leaving it up to GENS. In order to do that, we have to hold resident leadership development meetings, workshops on financial fitness, networking events, so this festival is just one of those small pieces. This festival is the ‘fun’ side of bringing the community out into the neighborhood and talking to each other.

We’re in a very diverse neighborhood. Language is sometimes a barrier that comes between people; culture sometimes is too. So being in this diverse neighborhood and Providence being so small, we’re all living on top of each other anyway so the only way we’re going to be able to build a livable, comfortable neighborhood is by getting out there and talking to your neighbors, and breaking down those barriers – whether it’s your culture, your educational status, your social status, religion, or language. So, by hosting this art event, and bringing different people together in one place, we’re all hoping that it help break down those barriers.

Why do you do this kind of work?

I do this work because I’m from this neighborhood. I was born and raised here. I’m from South Providence. I was fortunate enough to get a great education in this neighborhood. I was working for Roger Williams University and I loved it there but when this job opened up and it was in my neighborhood, working for my people, I had to apply for it. And I’m just committed now. I want to see my community prosper.

I want to see people in the community be happy and if there are problems within the community, I want the people in the community to know the correct path to take in order to correct those problems, and not to rely on community development organizations like GENS to correct them. I don’t think it should be that way. I think we should be facilitators and help guide the residents into the right direction and find the resources that they need but I don’t think that it’s our sole responsibility to create community and make things better. I think that’s the community’s responsibility.

So, I really feel that my work is geared towards making our communities stronger so that they can make the change for themselves.

What are some of the best facets of the GE neighborhood? What do you like most about it?

I like the fact that I have a diverse group of residents that have diverse views. So, when I get out there and talk to residents, I learn things every single day. It’s not always the obvious issues that affect people. It’s not always about the drug dealers sometimes it’s about just wanting to put flowers in their gardens! They just need the simplest things sometimes, or just having the outlet to express themselves.

I also like the fact that it’s small, it’s quaint, we all know each other, or it’s easy to get to know people. All of our politicians are very accessible. The Mayor is very accessible, the City Councilors, our State Reps and Senators – they’re all very accessible and willing to work with this community. So I really appreciate that and enjoy that and whenever we need them for anything they’re always quick to step to the plate and help me accomplish whatever I need to accomplish. It makes my job easier and enjoyable.

How has the neighborhood grown over the last five years?

We have invested a lot on this one street, Parkis Avenue. Anyone who’s a resident of Providence knows that five years ago, if you needed something illegal (drugs or prostitution), you’d come to this street to get it. We still have that kind of history looming over us but the residents who have been here throughout that, I talk to them on a daily basis, and one of the things – even though they lived in these old rundown houses that we’re slowly trying to rehab – they always say to me, ‘you know, I love it here because it has changed so much! I love the fact that you guys are actually doing something.’

We formed a tenant association when I started a couple of years ago and I encouraged all the tenants to be a part of it – whether they wanted to or not! We now have monthly meetings and bring the tenants together to talk about issues in the community.

We got the Lieutenant in the area to join our board – he provides his services or the patrolmen – to come to this street and talk directly with the tenants. I set up ride-alongs with the police department so tenants can see exactly what the police have to go through so they can be more responsive in helping the police accomplish their job.

When I first came here, I saw that the tenants were doing what they can to combat the problems and the police were doing what they could to combat the problems but they weren’t communicating with each other. It’s just a matter of creating those relationships so that when a patrolman is riding by s/he knows who lives here and s/he knows what to expect and that when a tenant calls the police about something, they know what to say.

Creating those relationships has changed this community a lot. The residents don’t feel intimidated about talking to the police anymore, they don’t feel intimidated about talking to the property manager. I just feel as though being patient with the tenants, listening, following up with them, all of these things I have made sure we stayed on top of so that the tenants trust us. Now that we have these relationships, we work really well together.

To learn more about Ronnie’s work and of the Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services, or to get more information about this Saturday’s festival, call 401-455-0810 or visit www.greaterelmwood.org

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Citizens for Responsible Parking

Some folks in south Providence have started a grass-roots organization called Citizens for Resident Permit Parking (CRPP), to advocate for a resident parking permit that allows overnight parking on the streets.

Its unclear yet whether CRPP will position itself as a traditional petition and advocacy group, or harness some hackability principles to influence and craft a new-and-better parking approach with the city. The website uses citizen-captured photos of "creative" (and illegal) parking approaches to get around the current overnight parking ban, as proof that the current policy is not working.

This has been an interesting topic buzzing around the city for the past few years. Providence is one of the only major US cities without a resident parking program, relying instead on an overnight parking ban. An overnight parking ban for what? Proponents say it prevents car abandonments, decreases on-street crime, and most significantly prevents illegal overcrowding of multi-tenant units. On-street parking, the theory goes, would allow many more cars to be associated with an address, in violation of housing laws.

Unfortunately there isn't much data to support these hypotheses, or proof that the goals couldn't be as well or better accomplished with a well-managed resident permit program. The continued reliance on the overnight parking ban seems to be as much about resource limitations and a reluctance to change a system that administrators know and are comfortable with.

The well-managed resident parking permit programs I've lived around do well with the on-street goals; preventing car abandonments, protecting parking places for residents, and generating revenue from ticket fines for the city. Additionally, a nominal fee for the permits generates addditional fee revenue. Providence hasn't turned the corner on the realization that fees are more effective than fines, because citizens are paying for something they want.

I doubt that a resident permit program would control overcrowding very well. Resident permits would have some proof of residency requirements, and a limitation per unit on the number of permits. But if you are motivated enough to park in your front yard, you are probably motivated enough to find a way around these limits to get a permit, even if you are the third vehicle in a unit (or renting one of the myriad illegal third floor apartments in the city!).

Housing enforcement, which has barely had a heartbeat in recent history, would have to work a lot harder to enforce zoning laws directly. Today, they rather than relying on the parking ban to reduce housing violations, as they hope for today.

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City News: David Alexis, Providence Sound Session

From the City News interview series...

Providence Sound Session’s Mas Camp Manager David Alexis: “Come on down. Come bring costumes. You’ll have a great time!”

A decade ago, Trinidad native and Providence resident David Alexis had the opportunity to meet Donald King, Providence Black Rep’s Artistic Director, at a theater production at Brown University. They formed a friendship that took them to a place where West Indian and Afro-Caribbean culture was influencing the art and music of the neighborhoods – specifically, Brooklyn in 1997.

David invited Donald to the annual J’ouvert Carnival – a celebration of Caribbean folklore, culture, and religion. The Carnival tradition is based on five disciplines: Steel Pan, Calypso, Soca, DJ-ing, and Mas (short for Masquerade). Its origins date back to the 1800s when emancipated African slaves in the West Indies adopted and reformed the French Mardi Gras festivities into their own celebratory gatherings. Many of them would transform their homes into so-called “mas camps,” a type of headquarters for the costumes they’d don at the parades.


The 4th Annual Providence Sound Session, which kicked off this past Sunday, will conclude on Saturday, July 21, with its own unique, homespun version of this festive tradition. In the parade will be many participants and volunteers from the Black Rep Mas Camp, who have been hard at work assembling colorful attires in honor of this year’s parade theme, “Divine Providence.”

City News catches up with David to talk about the history and the future of the mas camp ritual.

Tell us briefly about the origins of Mas Camp. How did it come to be a part of Sound Session?

I’d go back to taking Donald to Brooklyn for him to witness masquerade and parade, and then taking him to Trinidad where there are big parades and camps where costumes are made. He observed the atmosphere that was built around it and we decided that we would bring that element here to Sound Session with the parade.

The parade and mas camp started three years ago when we just decided to make costumes, jump in the parade, and have fun. In 2006, we decided to be more constructive and have it more organized. So we decided to use downstairs (at the basement of the Black Rep), we got materials and made costumes. People came in and did their own thing, made their own costumes and we entered the parade and had fun!

You’re from Trinidad …

Yes, I am.

What is the historic connection of mas camp to the West Indies?

It goes back to Carnival. It happens many places in the world. It has been said that the French brought it, yes they did, but Africans always had forms of celebration. When African slaves worked in the Caribbean, the French were the rulers, the plantation owners. The slaves observed the festivities that the French had around the Lenten season, which is forty days before Easter. The slaves weren’t a part of it but they observed. These types of celebration were the types of pomp and circumstance, where they showcased the best that they had, go to people’s houses and make costumes.

The slaves were emancipated in 1834, and in 1838 they took to the streets and celebrated – that was August the 1st. It is during that time that they used to celebrate with drums and other instruments that they had. In 1881, they started to celebrate at night and bring torches and drums, but the public did not like that. They didn’t like torches because of fire for one and they didn’t like the noise. So, many tried to stop these celebrations. But the emancipated slaves fought back and started the Camboulay Riots.

Camboulay means “cane burning,” taken from the form of rebellion used by the slaves against their masters where they would burn the sugar cane fields. What would happen is that the masters would call upon other plantation owners to send over their slaves to put out the fires. This, in turn, became a reason for the slaves to meet and gather. They met from different plantations, sang songs, and participated in a celebration. “Cane burning,” or Camboulay is where they met.

So, the festivities in the Caribbean were one, Marti Gras, or the French celebration that took place forty days before Easter and two, Camboulay, by the slaves that was celebrated on August 1st. Eventually, Camboulay was abolished and they were told to join the Marti Gras festivities instead. The slaves wanted to have a whole week to celebrate but they were denied that, and well, the slaves were so eager to celebrate they couldn’t wait until the morning parade, so they began the ritual of celebrating at 12:01 (just past midnight!).

At their camps, (the mas camps) is where they’d get their food and get their costumes. It was their form of separation from the Marti Gras festivities. It is the process for the parade. The parade happened one day or two days but the process (at mas camp) took a long time to build the costumes. Mas is short for Masquerade.

Similar gatherings have taken place in other cities in the U.S. and the Caribbean, what makes the Providence version unique?

Oh! It is unique. First off, most of these parades happen during the day. This one happens at night! That makes it unique in itself.

What is the importance of assembling a Mas Camp today? What does it signify and how does it benefit the participants?

The significance is that it brings people together. It brings families together. First off, the parents are the ones that are sewing the costumes and they bring the kids along and the kids participate and watch what’s happening. Obviously, it’s a place where people come together and they meet new people, they meet new friends.

Making the costumes, sometimes is a strict, stringent type of activity and so for fun, we have volunteers who come and bring food, tell jokes, and you know – make it easier on the workers who are volunteering.

So the significance is bringing people together.

Tell us about the theme of this year’s Mas Camp and Parade, “Divine Providence.”

We came up with that theme because we know that Providence has a history of slavery. Also today, we have a lot of immigrants in Rhode Island here. To them, it’s Divine Providence! Just to come here and to look for a better life that Providence would provide.

Caitlin Beck, who is a graphic designer, did some images for us and came up with a concept for the theme. The concept touches upon Providence with its history of slavery, combined with the symbolism of the water (through which many slave ships have passed). So she took the concept of water as a symbol and so most of the costumes come from that theme.

What were some of the attires/costumes people should expect to see?

We have six different sections; each section comprises fifteen to twenty people. We have three sections of women and three for the men. For the women, the sections are Sirens, Calypso, and Skimp. For the men, they are Sea Warriors, Fishermen, and the Sea Monster. Also, we have people that are coming in doing their own thing. These are concepts that we make but people can come in to the mas camp, use their own materials, and make whatever they want to make; or you can make your costume at home and come to the parade and have a good time.

What goes into making them?

We have some people sewing here with some assistance and people come in periodically and whenever they can to the mas camp to volunteer. It definitely is a real group effort.

How many participants and volunteers do you expect to see this year?

Just for the Black Rep/Divine Providence group alone, we expect to get at least sixty to eighty people here – that doesn’t include those that will be coming in with their own costumes. So this will be very big!

For the parade, we also have a Bolivian group coming with fifty dancers and beautiful costumes. We have a Polynesian group coming – so it’s very diverse. So, this is not just a West Indian-derived thing, it’s all different nationalities coming together doing their thing!

We also do lots of outreach to the community in Providence. Eventually, we’d like to do workshops with them, show them how to make masks, make costumes and come and participate. It is our goal to teach our kids to make masquerades all year long.

Now that a tradition that originated in your native land has finally come to Providence, through Sound Session, how does that make you feel?

I take pride in that. I’m very happy to see that it’s not just a Caribbean thing because most of the people that are working in the camp, some of them have never even seen a West Indian parade! But it’s all a work of art and we are an artistic company here. So I’m happy to see another art form that is accepted at the Black Rep.

What do you want to tell people about Sound Session?

Be a part of Black Rep! Be a part of Sound Session! Come on down. Come bring costumes. You’ll have a great time!

Providence Sound Session is produced by the Providence Black Rep in partnership with Mayor Cicilline and the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism. The festival runs through this Saturday, July 21. For more info on concert schedules, festival events and partners, and the parade route, go to www.providencesoundsession.com.

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Identity in the Hackable City

Over at The Place of Social Media, Eric Gordon is starting a discussion on what the emergence of social media means for cities, communities, and the individuals who live in them. He makes a great point, that "digitally annotated physical communities often rely on the full disclosure of identity for their functionality. For instance, when it comes to neighborhood issues – it is important to know one’s real name and location."

So as we more fully engage with our civic society through digital means, our identities and opinions may be more extensively tracked; an unintended but logical outcome of digital democracy.

At the same time, American cities, like corporations, are glomming onto digital media because of its populist resonances. They are paying attention to online neighborhoods and seeking to aggregate that data into meaningful information. The ideology of digital media – as evidenced in the phrases “participatory media” and “user-generated content” – is accessibility. Digital media directly aligns the rhetoric of progress with the rhetoric of populism. Social web media makes explicit what has only been implied in the recent rhetoric of city governments – that anyone, regardless of social position, can participate in the ordering of city experience and politics.

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City News: Michelle Ahlborg, Federal Hill Commerce Association

From the City News interview series...

Federal Hill Commerce Association’s New President Michelle Ahlborg Monitors Providence’s HeartBeat

Six years ago, opening a business on Atwells Avenue was merely a dream for marketing and communications executive, Michelle Ahlborg, who is thrilled to finally be running her firm, A&M Productions, on the street she calls, “the heartbeat of Providence.” But more than just being a business owner, Michelle carries some passion and vision for the neighborhood business district that is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in the City.

A fresh new outlook combined with a true love for her neighborhood might just have won Michelle her newest role on Federal Hill, as the president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association. Even with a well-established popularity among natives and visitors alike, Federal Hill could just be getting a new sense of vitality and community under Michelle’s leadership.

She talks at-length with City News about current beautification projects underway and encourages anyone who visits or lives there to get out of their cars and start strolling along the Atwells Avenue strip. Based on her experiences, you might still find some of the best-kept secrets in town.

As the new president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, what do you plan to bring to the table?

I have a tremendous amount of goals – both long-term and short-term. In the short term are some of the things you’re seeing out here now: working with the Mayor’s Office and the Neighborhood Markets Program, doing the tree-planting, and we’ll have a total of about eighty hanging baskets by next spring.

We plan on doing large planters on the sidewalks as well. We’re looking to do wrought-iron garbage cans. Those are the surface beautification things but there are many other things that are so much deeper.

Parking is a situation up here. Everyone’s very aware of it and I’m working with Bernard Lebby (City Traffic Engineer) on a site plan to make these streets work better and to better organize the parking situation.

I’m also hoping to work with the Mayor’s office to get compacting dumpsters so we can manage the garbage better. That’s a real important situation for us.

What I’d like to see happen in the long term is to work on storefronts, and to try to keep some kind of historical feel to a lot of the fronts of the buildings up here. This is not to say that we’d keep people from coming in or not coming in but rather to make suggestions on how the storefronts can stay the look of what Federal Hill has been known to be.

Another thing that is very, very important to me is creating a community up here – people working together, people working as a team to better Federal Hill as a whole, to not be individualized but to look at the whole area as an important piece of Providence that we all work together at to maintain what it is, and to keep its reputation as the heartbeat of the City. It’s the heartbeat of Providence and so we all need to put our hearts in to it to make sure that actually happens.

In your opinion, what are some of the facets of Federal Hill that make it so attractive to do business in, to live in, to work in, and to visit?

Federal Hill is an amazing, amazing area. It has such charm and character -- character in individuals as well as visual character. We know we have some of the best restaurants and that’s our thing, but we have some fabulous boutiques and shops and art galleries. I mean there’s so much in this little, tiny space!

It’s easy to access everything. Another goal of mine is to get people on foot up here. Until I really started walking Atwells Ave, I had no idea of these wonderful little hidden shops. What people don’t know is that they’re here unless they get out of their cars and walk.

I’ve always wanted to be in a neighborhood all my life, where you know everybody. You walk in and you can walk into any restaurant and you feel comfortable and you feel safe. As a female going in to any of these spaces by myself – that’s a huge asset to me.

I love the idea that you can buy some of the greatest cheeses in the world, and the best bread – I love on Sundays you can smell it everywhere and people are lining up and they’re sold out of bread by noontime. I mean there’s just so much –and now we’re starting to get music up here.

Where do you see the future of Federal Hill heading?

We really want to bring in more music and art to the district. We want to have it where on Saturdays you’ll see strolling musicians, or saxophone players in the park, artists painting – and then you’ll be able to buy their CDs or buy their artwork. And a lot of these young students or young musicians, these young artists are trying to make a name for themselves. That should be available up here on Saturdays or Sundays, and even during the week, having people up here constantly to decorate the streets with talent.

Again – generating people on foot. We want people to be able to come up here and stroll. There’s nothing better than having good food, hearing good music, and chatting with good people. There’s nothing better than that in a neighborhood and that’s what Federal Hill is but hopefully it’ll have a lot more of it!

Tell us about how the Neighborhood Markets Program worked for you.

The Neighborhood Markets Program is a god-send to us. We were granted $25,000 through them. The hanging baskets, the tree-planting, is all from that. There’s still money left over which we hope to use to buy new garbage cans and to continue to beautify the area. We, on our own, have hired people to water the plants. We’re getting community service people to clean up the streets and we’re buying them t-shirts that say Federal Hill Commerce Association. The Neighborhood Markets program money is so important to us that I couldn’t do any of the things I’m doing right now without it and I look forward to going back when the time comes to get another grant.

There are so many fabulous programs that come out of the Mayor’s Office and the City – people aren’t aware of it and I think it’s important that that message gets out there. That’s why I have that (Neighborhood Markets sticker) on my front door is because I want people to know that there are places for us to go. We can go and ask for help. City Hall can’t manage every little street corner, but you can do it as a neighborhood if you go and say, ‘if you can help get the funds, we’ll do that job.’ That’s all we care about and that’s what the Neighborhood Markets Program does for us.

Federal Hill is one of the more established neighborhood business districts in our City. We all know that there are other similar areas in Providence that are trying to achieve that same vitality in their neighborhoods as well. How does your work extend itself to other neighborhoods or business areas in Providence?

It comes down to one simple ingredient – power in numbers, people working together. If you can work together and really envision your area – whatever it is – as a whole, and not individuals. I think a downfall with many areas is people being too individualized and not seeing the big picture. It’s crucial because the way it works is when everyone works together, comes together – comes to meetings, participates, have an opinion.

It should never be one group running a whole area. It should be one group implementing the thoughts of many. That’s how it has to work. If you don’t form that early on as a foundation, you’re not going anywhere because you have people separated and butting heads and not making those decisions as a group. Once you get them to that point, and you get them on the same page so to speak, it’s endless.

When you have so many merchants in such a condensed area, it takes very little financially from everybody to really make a huge difference. It’s also extremely important for associations to have someone that’s really good at grant writing.

People working together in spite of the differences in business character or offering?

Right. People need to see past that. It’s an issue in every single business district because people are competitive and it’s good to be competitive. Competition is healthy but they have to say, ‘if the area does well, we all do well.’ That’s the key. I know that if we pack this place, we’re all going to be packed but if we start thinking that ‘it’s just about me,’ nobody wins.

Well let’s talk about you. Your business seems to be a unique one in this area, among rows of restaurants and boutiques, here you are, a film/video/interactive media company. Tell us what you do and how you think your business contributes to the character of Federal Hill.

It is an unusual business to have on Atwells Ave. But again, my heart of hearts is on Federal Hill and personally that’s why I want to be here.

A&M Productions has been a part of Federal Hill for five and a half years. We were on West Exchange and my dream was to be on Atwells Avenue. I was so excited when I came in here.

My business is an internal-external communication and marketing firm. If you have a message, we relay it to whatever form of media that is – whether it’s a television commercial, radio, through internet, through website, DVD sales, video – whatever they are – we take that message that you have and we distribute it to the audience that you’re looking to distribute it to.

Me being up here, for the association, the asset is that I’ve created a new website for the Federal Hill Commerce Association, which is going to be fabulous. We’re doing that pro bono, we’re just giving that to the association. And I think that I can help market Federal Hill so that’s what I’ll give back to the community is marketing the community as a gift to them, so to speak.

I hope that it really comes back ten-fold and that people really see a lot more of Federal Hill and how great it really is. If I can reach an audience that we haven’t touched before, I’d be real tickled about that.

People do tend to see Atwells Avenue as Federal Hill.

Exactly and it’s not. Federal Hill is a large area. Broadway is a part of us, even though most of the businesses are professional offices for doctors and lawyers but we’d like to see a few more shops over there. There are some great restaurants over there as well, but we really want to start encompassing Broadway to be more of a part of Federal Hill, even though it is Federal Hill, it sometimes gets separated and we want to pull it back in.

And another thing that is important to me is involving the residents. I want to see residents get involved. We’re trying to form garden clubs, like for people who want to come out and help plant. If we purchase the plants for them, would they come out and plant? And neighborhood clean-ups, getting the neighborhood to take pride in their areas, which many people do – we have phenomenal residents – but we want to see that spread a little more. We’re hoping that everyone kinda’ catches that and wants to really clean up the area. Stop the graffiti, stop the junk that goes on, and just make for Broadway to Atwells, which are the gateways to this area, to make the whole place just be gorgeous.

Even as the interview wraps up, Michelle’s enthusiasm for Federal Hill continues to spill out of her. This passion could just be a testament to how much you can really get done and see while you’re strolling along Atwells Avenue. To learn more, visit www.federalhillri.org.

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City News: Gail Daniel, St. Martin De Porres Senior Center

From the Providence City News Series...

If presiding over 4 children, 14 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren isn’t enough for family matriarch Gail Daniel to keep her on her toes, volunteering and participating in the multitude of daily activities at the St. Martin De Porres senior center keeps this 72-year old busy for sure.

Rooted deeply in Providence, Gail stays very much involved in her community and is well aware of the important role that neighbors and family members play in helping our City’s seniors stay mentally and physically active. Even with an arthritic back and an ailing knee, Gail makes it to the center, as she does almost everyday, to meet and assist her peers.

She takes the time to talk to City News about the value of hard work, keeping active, and doing building relationships with your community.

How long have you lived in Providence?

My whole life -- I’m 72 years old and I was born in Providence and I’ve lived my whole life in Providence.

What neighborhoods have you lived in?

I was born on the East Side and I lived there until I was maybe 22, and then I moved to South Providence. I lived in South Providence until I was maybe 30 and then I moved to Marlborough Avenue (in the Elmwood section) and I lived there for oh! – a lot of years – I don’t remember exactly how many years! And then I moved past Roger Williams Park. I bought a house there and lived there for about 20 years. Now I live with my daughter on Potters Avenue (in South Providence).

What do you like most about your neighborhood(s) and the City?

I worked in the federal court and traveled all over. Providence is my home and I wouldn’t want to live any place else. I like to go to other places on vacation but I want to live here.

Why? What has made it home for you?

Well, for one thing – the four seasons. I’ve been to the south, I’ve been up north. They get a lot of snow up north and they get a lot of heat in the south. Providence – we get hot weather, we get a hurricane every now and then but for the most part the weather is ideal.

The people are great. I remember when we had the blizzard of ’78 and for a week I couldn’t go to work. No matter where you went – up the street, down the block – everybody was very helpful. They talked to you and you talked to them. Storekeepers were very nice. Even if you didn’t have the money, they still gave you the food. After the week was over, they cleaned up everything and people were back to doing what they were doing before but for that week, it was really, really great.

Even now, I find – since I have this arthritis on my knee and I sit on my porch a lot – I find that there are different ethnicities (in my neighborhood). There are Asians there, Puerto Ricans there, Blacks there. I sit on my porch and they go by and wave. I wave to them. My new neighbors introduce themselves to me and I introduce myself to them. I dropped my cane on the ground and the kids came and picked it up for me. So, it’s that kind of stuff that makes it nice to live here. You know. For the most part, I don’t want to live any place else.

What are some of the changes you’ve seen in your lifetime since you’ve lived in Providence?

Oh! A lot of changes!

What stands out the most for you?

I think Mayor Cicilline is doing a good job. He’s come here to the Center and I’ve met him in a lot of different things. He’s done a lot for the City.

I have to say that the one thing I’m really thankful to Mayor Cicilline for is the new garbage bins (The Big Green Can). We had a lot of rats in our neighborhood and I have to say that with his help, it’s been a cleaner city. Because the bins close, the rats have no place to go, no place to eat. I have to say that’s one of the good things that have happened.

How do you stay active as a senior? Tells us about the activities you participate in at the St. Martin de Porres Senior Center.

I try to stay active. I come to the center every day, just about. We have a program called the St. Martin de Porres Family Guild, which started thirty years ago. I wasn’t old enough to belong to the guild at the time but I belonged to the guild because my mother was a senior.

The family guild was made up of children and grandchildren of seniors to help them raise money, do some of their activities – like we ran a bingo for them for a lot of years to support them.

Today, I’m the president of the family guild. I’m also the president of the FACTS committee here and we do a lot of things to raise money for our director at the center and to help her with the budget.

They have a lot of programs going on here: a computer class, exercise class, arts & crafts class, Bible study class. So, every day there’s something going on and it’s a chance to come out and meet with your peers. Rather than sitting at home by myself seven days a week, I can come here five days a week and meet with my friends and we talk about things.

Once a week, they have programs to give seniors information about medical issues, or housing, or whatever so we get a lot of information from our director and her staff. Then, in the afternoon, we play cards. So there’s always something going on here. We enjoy it very much.

I’m on the nutrition council too which is part of Meals on Wheels. We sit down and go over the meals before they’re given out to the centers. Every center is involved in it and I enjoy that. We get to meet the managers of the meal site and tell them what we like and dislike and they’re all very nice.

So, yeah – I’m also on that council. Let’s see what else do I do ….

Oh yeah! I helped with the Mayor’s Night Club at Noon program last week and that was a big success. We had a lot of fun with that. We do a lot of things!

It’s terrific that you are so active in your community. Why do you think it’s important for seniors to remain active?

Coming to the center is one of the things that keep them active. Most seniors live alone. There are some that live with their family like me I live with my daughter but she works two jobs so I’m at home basically by myself during the day anyway.

It gives me a chance to come out and keep my brain and mind active by talking with other seniors and doing something. You know, you sit at home and watch TV all day and after awhile your brain is not working and you get in a rut. I see a lot of seniors that get sick and die because they do that and they don’t come and meet with other people.

I swore when I first retired I was not going to be one of those that came to the center five days a week! Well, I’m here five days a week! My leg feels bad today but I still came today because I can’t just sit at home. I have to get up and move. So I got up and got dressed and came to the center. And that’s the story of my life!

What do you tell your peers about staying active?

I just tell them to come out and join us. We try to do programs here.

Oh! I forgot to say that we do a bingo here three days a week and they get a lot of seniors that come out for that. And I just try to tell them just to stay active, come to the center because we do a lot of things. We try to do a program once a month something different just so seniors can come out and see what we’re doing.

We have one of the larger meal sites here and people come and have lunch. A lot of times when you’re at home by yourself you don’t eat right either but here you get a nutritious meal five days a week and a chance to talk to your peers.

We laugh a lot and play cards a lot! It’s just fun.

What is the wisdom you impart to younger generations about life?

The younger generation is nothing like the older generation, okay?! I have a grandson (I have a lot of grandsons) who lives with me that works at Walgreens. He’s always late but he’s right around the corner from the job. I tell him, ‘you couldn’t work for me!’

In my day, you got a job, you stayed there, you went to work everyday unless you were really sick, and you went to work on time. The generation today they don’t care about anything like time, they don’t care about staying on the job, they move around a lot, but --- I can understand that because jobs have changed.

In my day, if you stayed with a job, you got an excellent pension when you retire. Nowadays, those pensions have changed into IRAs and all that stuff where if you put your money in then you’ll have money when you retire. And so, in a lot of these jobs today, kids don’t feel like they should stay in a job. They hop from job to job to job. This is one of the big changes I see in the workforce today.

So I tell my grandchildren to stay in school, get a good education, and if you’re in the workforce, go to work and go on time and do the best you can regardless of the circumstance. That’s what I instill in them.

Gail had a long career in the federal court system in Providence that spanned three decades, retired, got bored, and got a job as a surveillance officer at the Foxwoods Casino – a job she stayed in for seven years while commuting back-and-forth from Providence to Connecticut, then she retired again. She’s intimated that she’s thinking about coming out of retirement for a second time and is looking to get a new job again! For this active senior, nothing – not even a bad knee – keeps her from making sure her day is jam-packed with stimulating activities, while at the same time, inspires others to do the same.

If you or a member of your family is a senior and are interested in participating at the St. Martin de Porres Senior Center, you can call 401-274-6783 or visit them at 160 Cranston Street.

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