PROVIDENCE – The Providence City Council is considering ousting the leader of the Providence Public Buildings Authority over alleged racist comments made to a Black city worker.
The council in a unanimous, 12-0 vote on Tuesday agreed to bring charges against Buildings Authority Chairman Stanley Weiss for what the city human resources officer described in a letter as “racially offensive” comments aimed at a city employee. The council under its charter can charge any department head or administrative appointee for “neglect of duty or gross misconduct.” The vote launches a 30-day deadline for a public hearing, after which the council, by a two-thirds vote, can suspend or force the person in question to resign.
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The letter from City Human Resources Officer Emmanuel Echevarria did not include details of what Weiss said or to whom. However, in an Aug. 9 letter to the council, Weiss recounted the conversation with the city’s Director of Public Property, Demo Roberts that prompted the internal investigation and complaints.
According to Weiss, Roberts, who is Black, said “I need room to breathe,” during a board meeting, inferring he was feeling overwhelmed. Weiss responded to Roberts by saying that the board was “not standing on (his) head (neck?).”
Roberts declined to comment Wednesday, citing the upcoming hearing.
Weiss in his letter said his response was born from “extreme sensitivity” to Roberts’ duties, and denied any racial motivation.
“The fact is, I am a child of immigrant Jewish parents who fled the killing of Jews in Russia. I know racism, bigotry and discrimination; that is not who I am,” Weiss said.
He went on to describe the complaint as a “deceitful smear campaign” due to his role as leader of the group that provides independent oversight on city bonds and spending. Weiss, a prominent real estate developer, has served on the building authority board since 1993, according to the organization website.
“It is clear that the city has grown weary of doing business with a PPBA that truly acts as an independent authority and is trying to politically sabotage the person most directly responsible for this,” he wrote.
Asked for comment on the council vote, Weiss in an email on Wednesday continued to refute allegations and insist that the charges were politically motivated.
“We understand the standard has to be ‘gross misconduct’… and that certainly doesn’t apply to me,” he wrote.
The city human resources department has already reviewed the details of the complaint and concluded Weiss’ comments were an “egregious offense” that would “typically result in the removal of an employee in a leadership position,” Echeverria wrote.
LaJuan Allen, chair of the city Human Relations Commission, in a separate letter urged the council to remove Weiss from his position, calling his comments “completely unacceptable and harken back to too many painful instances of deadly and hateful racism.”
The council on Tuesday did not discuss the accusations or Weiss’ response, ending the meeting a mere five minutes after it began. Exactly when the public hearing will take place or when the 30-day countdown began is unclear.
Council members Kat Kerwin, Nicholas Narducci and Michael Correia were absent from the meeting.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
