NEW: Cianci Announces Providence Neighborhood Revitalization Plan
GoLocal News Team
NEW: Cianci Announces Providence Neighborhood Revitalization Plan
"I want families to walk out of the zoo and eat at one of these restaurants," Cianci said during a press conference Monday morning at campaign headquarters, of the proposal specifically for Broad Street.
Cianci unveiled two renderings of proposed changes to Broad Street from the I-95 Bridge, as well as Broad and Public. The Cianci campaign paid for the renderings, which were done by Sakasi Associates.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRemoving Blighted Properties
Cianci addressed his plan to remove blighted properties from the city, including initiating a program to acquire tax titles to vacant homes and lots and clear titles by foreclosing all rights of redemption under the existing applicable state statute.
Cianci said he would propose legislation that would "allow the city to assign this inventory of once cleared of titles and liens blighted properties to the Providence Redevelopment Agency for resale at a nominal cost to local developers, new homeowners, or adjacent property owners."
In his plans unveiled Monday, Cianci also offered his proposals for safer streets, protecting the historic character of neighborhoods with historic tax credits, addressing graffiti with a tracking system, supporting neighborhood libraries and urban farming, and using GPS tracking for school buses.
Broad Street Focus
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Cianci spoke to creating programs for businesses to establish here, and creating microloan programs to make it happen.
"This is just the beginning of the conversation," Cianci told the crowd assembled on Monday. "We've done it before with Federal Hill. The formula is there, we can make it happen."
Cianci was questioned as to the project costs -- and politics behind it -- at the press conference Monday morning.
"South Providence is the biggest support group I have," said Cianci, when asked if the proposal was a way to get votes. "This isn't about wards. This is a neighborhood that needs help."
When asked how much the project would cost, Cianci said the costs would "depend."
It's the beginning of a vision," said Cianci. "We didn't know what Capital Center was going to cost," referring to the major renovations completed in Providence in 1996.
Buddy Cianci in the National Media
The Economist
The Economist took a shot at Cianci and the city of Providence, referencing Cianci as a "gangster" and referring to Providence as "New England's armpit."
“Even Mr Cianci’s critics concede that he loves Providence and wants it to do well,” the article states. “But his reputation could deter businesses from moving to the city, which was once known as the ‘beehive of industry.’ Not all comebacks are welcome.”
The Boston Globe
"He’s been the anticorruption candidate and the convict, his city’s savior and its sad laughingstock—sometimes simultaneously," quipped Boston Globe staff writer Nestor Ramos.
The Globe's piece on Cianci "auditioning one more time for a role he’s twice given up in disgrace" recapped each of the former mayor's first 2 stints in office, as well as noting his ability to stay relevant without holding public office.
The Daily Beast
"Can America's Favorite Ex-Con Mayor Win Again?" the Daily Beast's David Freelander asks.
"In the Museum of American Political Scandals, if it ever gets built, there will be exhibits on Bill Clinton and Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner and Larry “Wide Stance” Craig and Marion Barry. And there should be an entire wing dedicated to The Buddy Cianci Story," Freelander writes.
The piece, linked again here, chronicles the ups and downs of Cianci's stints as mayor with playful references back to Freelander's hypothetical museum wing.
Washington Post
"The most interesting man in Rhode Island is running for office. Again," states Jamie Fuller of the Washington Post.
Dubbing him "The P.T. Barnum of Providence," the Post details dozens of notable events from Cianci's tenures as mayor, from zoo breakouts to political scnadals to his stay in prison.
The Wall Street Journal
"In Providence, Mr. Cianci, an Independent, is widely viewed as having an almost supernatural gift for retail politics, wrote Jennifer Levitz of the Wall Street Journal. "The long-standing joke was that at least one cliché was written for him: Buddy Cianci would attend the opening of an envelope."
New York Times
The New York Times identified Cianci as "the garrulous and polarizing former mayor of Providence, R.I., whose two stints in office collapsed in felony convictions."
The NYT's Jess Bidgood wrote Cianci startled "those who assumed that his protracted public weighing of a mayoral bid could not possibly be serious. They are now left to contemplate the fact that a victory by Mr. Cianci, in a crowded field and with a devoted following, is not entirely out of the question."
Business Insider
Business Insider called Cianci "The Poster Boy of U.S. Political Scandals" in their mostly AP-driven short on the former mayor's decision to run again.
Business Insider's Colin Campbell noted "there's no shortage of political baggage that could impede his comeback."
Associated Press
"Under his watch, the city transformed from a down-at-the-heels urban center with a dwindling downtown to an arts and culture hub. He often boasts that he literally moved rivers to improve the downtown," wrote AP reporter Michelle Smith. "He was the city's biggest cheerleader, and joked that as mayor he would attend the opening of an envelope. Stories abound in the city of times when Cianci would show up unannounced and uninvited to the smallest event, including neighborhood cookouts."
The AP story on Cianci's candidacy was picked up by many top political blogs and news outlets.
Meredith Vieira
East Providence native and former Today and View star Meredith Vieira spoke with the Boston Herald about Cianci's return
“I think it’s fabulous,” Vieira said of Cianci’s decision to run. “He’s just part of Providence. He’s part of the fabric of Rhode Island history.”
Viera told the Herald her late mother "would be first in line" to vote for Cianci, recalling conversations they'd had in the past about the mayor.
“I’d say, ‘Mom, he’s kind of a crook isn’t he?’ She’d say, ‘I don’t care. The city is run beautifully,’” Vieira recalled. “And he did so much to turn that city around. I give that guy a lot of credit. Now, he does know where every body’s buried, clearly, but ...”
