The Providence Licensing Board's approval of a 24-hour 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store near Eagle Square, at Atwells Avenue and Harris Street -- in spite of opposition by an unusually broad group of neighbors and city officials -- has critics questioning whether the board is placing out-of-town corporate interests ahead of local residents.

Opponents describe the plan for the former Harris Lumber site as a bad idea since two 24-hour gas stations are already located a block away, at Atwells Avenue and Valley Street; 24-hour businesses tend to serve as a magnet for loitering and crime; and because, with the upcoming construction of Feldco Development's shopping center in Eagle Square, the 7-Eleven will introduce even more traffic and noise to the area. Among those opposing the 24-hour license were then-Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr., then-Council President John J. Lombardi, Ward 15 Councilwoman Josephine J. DiRuzzo, state Representative Steve Constantino, the Federal Hill Business Association, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, and the Monohasset Mill Project.

On a 3-0 vote, the licensing board nevertheless voted over the summer to approve the round-the-clock license for the 7-Eleven. Licensing chairman Andrew Annaldo and board member Alan Constantino abstained, while vice chairwoman Arlene Feldman, and board members Margaret DeFelice and Gordon Fox, the state representative who chairs the House Finance Committee, voted in favor.

License administrator Richard H. Aitchison says the five-member board "took all the issues, pro and con, into consideration . . . They take the business community concerns, the community concerns -- they weigh it all and they have the discretion to grant or not to grant." Aitchison notes the licensing board can hold a review hearing if a licensee becomes a problem.

Critics of the 24-hour 7-Eleven, however, are flabbergasted that it met with approval, considering the depth of the opposition. "No one wanted it," says Jennifer Cole Steele, who monitors development issues as Rhode Island coordinator for the Conservation Law Foundation. "Everyone was concerned about what would be going on in the parking lot at 3 a.m. down there . . . It just seems like a really bad idea and I can't help but think there were some other forces involved in getting this pushed through with [there being] so much opposition. It's not very often that you have so many people that don't normally agree on things all on the same side and they still lose."

The applicant for the license, 7-Eleven Inc. of Dallas, was represented by Thomas V. Moses, a former director of planning and development during the Paolino administration, whose downtown law firm, Moses & Alfonso, includes former lieutenant governor Bernard Jackvony. Moses did not return a call seeking comment.

A city official familiar with the project said it was unusual for the proposal to pass with opposition from so many elected officials. "I think, frankly, it's duplicative -- we already have two large gas stations [nearby, which are] recipes for hanging out," the official adds. "You've got the Fast and the Furious racing crew on Harris Avenue every other weekend. This is going to add to it. It's putting the temptation for robbery right next to the onramp [for Route 10]. With 10 to 12 pumps, I can understand it's wise from the gas-selling point of view, but it's not wise from the community point of view."

An appeal to the 24-license has been filed on behalf of several opponents, including the Monohasset Mill Project, Olneyville Neighborhood Association, and the Holy Ghost Church. Meanwhile, the envisioned 24-hour 7-11 is among a short list of "worst development projects" that activists plan to present to David N. Cicilline and other mayoral candidates for their feedback.

Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.

Issue Date: September 27 - October 3, 2002