There are 475 vacant properties in Providence, according to Mayor Jorge O. Elorza's office. The U.S. Postal Service says that 16 percent of the apartment and home addresses in the city have not received mail for more than three years as of June. Hello, blight.
Abandoned housing can be a cancer that eats away at the fabric – and the value – of a neighborhood. Homes that are not occupied can become dumping grounds, drug dens or vermin breeding grounds (and often all three). Who would want to raise a family next to such a property?
The answer is obvious, and the implications are unavoidable. A neighborhood starts down a spiral of declining values and more abandonment.
The mayor and City Council recognize the issue and have created new tools, driven by tax- stabilization agreements, to put a charge in efforts to eliminate blight and re-energize neighborhoods.
This is an important effort, and Providence's leaders should not pat themselves on the back until they start to make real headway in solving the problem. •