Is FPNA Necessary for Fox Point?
In a perfect world, the answer would be no. After all, city and state government is nearby, relationships with elected officials and government services directors are good and residents care about their quality of life.
However, everyone is busy. Through an active membership, the Fox Point Neighborhood Association, (FPNA), is able to keep its mission clearly focused. In short, FPNA watches, supports, opposes and advocates for the continued healthy neighborhood environment that Fox Point enjoys. For a more complete understanding of some of our past efforts on the neighborhood’s behalf, visit the Advocacy section.
Help Us to Help You.
FPNA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that is structured with a board of directors, who meet once month to determine priorities for the neighborhood. The open meetings welcome Fox Point residents, who routinely bring forth issues to the board. Residents, who decide to join FPNA, are added to an e-mail contact list and receive important notifications about events, city council measures and other actions, which might affect them. To join the Fox Point Neighborhood Association, click here.
To be elected to the board, a member should be willing to devote a few hours a month to the meeting and further involvement with an issue of his or her particular interest. Some of the issues we routinely address fall in the following categories:
Monitoring, Advocacy & Opposition
FPNA routinely monitors applications for zoning variances and licensing boards and is ready to oppose any that are not in the best interest of the neighborhood. FPNA board members also attend city, state and other public meetings that affect Fox Point. If a certain situation arises, which requires a response; FPNA’s board directs the executive secretary to disseminate a letter of protest or support.
Beautification
FPNA volunteers lead spring clean ups and have planted over 35 street trees, which are provided by the Mary Elizabeth Sharpe Tree Endowment. To learn more about other efforts, including graffiti removal, go to the What We Do section.
Financial Support
FPNA is given the opportunity, thanks to our senator, Rhoda Perry, to apply for a Rhode Island State funding grant. In the past we have been granted these funds and have used them, along with membership donations, to help FPNA conduct the business of the board. In 2007, the annual budget allowed for a much-needed part-time executive secretary. Foremost, this position facilitates communications and is an organizational asset for FPNA’s advocacy efforts regarding neighborhood issues.
These funding mechanisms have also allowed FPNA to support a number of neighborhood initiatives. Some examples of these efforts include:
- Together with Friends of India Point Park, FPNA helped sponsor a waterfront workshop, entitled “Making a Special Place at Head of the Bay,” presented by Ethan Kent of the Project or Public Spaces, a New York-based non-profit consultant on waterfront communities.
- FPNA’s board voted to contribute $1,000 to an environmental intervention effort by the Vartan Gregorian School’s Parent Teacher Organization, (PTO). The grove of 24 trees, planted between the school’s auditorium and Interstate 195 helps reduce harmful levels of automobile carbon emissions. The trees also provide a shady walkway in the summer for persons approaching the India Point Pedestrian Bridge from the east.
- FPNA also gave generously to the Head of the Bay Gateway Committee to help fund a feasibility study for public use of the Shooters property adjacent to India Point Park.
- FPNA has supported fundraising efforts for other groups like the Fox Point Community Garden. If FPNA has available funds, it sometimes places ads of support in community guides, like the Cape Verdean Festival and the Providence Preservation Society’s Festival of Historic Houses in Fox Point.
Traffic and Parking Involvement
Most recently, FPNA spearheaded a campaign for alternative designs for the restored East Side grid after the old interstate highway is removed in 2010. The original plan, as presented by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, (RIDOT), and the city’s Planning & Development Department, was deemed “overbuilt.” FPNA hosted follow-up meetings with involved architects, foundation representatives, planners and others to seek alternative designs. While FPNA did not get every design change it requested, concessions were made by RIDOT and the Planning & Development Department to make the grid more pedestrian friendly.
Urban Noise
Whether it’s increased traffic noise from the raised I-Way, straight pipe motorcycles or unnecessary urban mechanical noises, FPNA board members seek a quieter neighborhood. Usually, the problem is not enough laws regarding urban noise, but failure to enforce city ordinances regarding them.
Sometimes, noise can result from all-night parties and resulting litter from Brown, RISD, and Johnson & Wales students living in the neighborhood. FPNA routinely calls on elected and university officials to address this type of noise. Board members also participate in quarterly Community Working Group Meetings sponsored by Brown University.
PHOTO: Some kind of Urban Noise
Historic Preservation
FPNA board members, who include past and present members of the Providence Preservation Society, (PPS), support preservation efforts and oppose unwarranted demolitions.
FPNA supports PPS’s efforts for a happy conclusion to the dilemma of the Captain Joseph Tillinghast House, a pre-revolutionary structure at 403 South Main Street in Fox Point. The historic structure is one of the few remaining buildings of the colonial waterfront to survive the 1801 South Main Street fire. For more information on PPS’s efforts, click here.
Library Advocacy
FPNA has consistently supported past efforts to keep the Fox Point Library open. The Fox Point Library, along with the 8 other neighborhood libraries in Providence that were originally part of the Providence Public Library system, now are part of Providence Community Library – while Providence Public Library refers to the building downtown. Related websites:
- Providence Community Library: http://providencecommunitylibrary.org/
- Fox Point Library Friends group: kawise@cox.net
- Providence Public Library (downtown): http://www.provlib.org/