4/13/2021
Tom Greene, second from left, is pictured here conversing with members of the Historic District Commission and developer Shane Piche back in April of 2019 after the commission blocked the requested demolition of the old Brayton School in Centredale. Greene has resigned from the HDC and asked town officials to dissolve it. (Breeze photo by Ethan Shorey)
NORTH PROVIDENCE – The town’s official historian has resigned his longtime role as a member of the Historic District Commission, describing membership on it as “a joke” and saying the commission makes decisions only to have “someone other than commission members” make the opposite decisions.
Thomas Greene, the most respected local voice on historic preservation over the past few decades, and the author of multiple books on the history of North Providence, submitted his resignation letter for acceptance by the Town Council last week, saying the work is a “waste of time” and urging the council to “dissolve the commission immediately.”
Though the resignation was read into the record with little comment, other than Council President Dino Autiello describing it as unfortunate, Greene later explained the circumstances around his abrupt resignation as secretary of the committee.
“I decided that I just didn’t want to be part of it anymore,” he said, telling The North Providence Breeze that it was a pair of incidents related to one home in the Fruit Hill neighborhood that really soured him on the work. “I’ve been on it for a long time, and it’s time to step down.”
The home at the center of the controversy is a 1906 home at the intersection of Olney Avenue and Second Street, said Greene. He said Building Inspector Mike Carnevale approved a permit for replacement of siding on the home with vinyl siding without coming to the commission about it despite the home being located within a historic district. When confronted about it, said Greene, Carnevale said that he’d forgotten that it was in a historic district.
Years ago, said Greene, the owners of that same home, which was originally built by famed Rhode Island landscape artist H. Cyrus Farnum, were allowed to enclose the porch on the house, again without asking the HDC. A similar excuse was given at that time as to why the HDC wasn’t consulted, he said.
The town had designated Fruit Hill as a historic district so that even homes that aren’t on the National Register of Historic Places have a degree of protection, Greene emphasized.
“What is the point of me voting on anything if someone is just going to disregard it?” he asked, noting that state preservationists don’t condone the use of vinyl siding.
Greene added that his work as town historian is totally separate from the HDC and he plans to continue with it, but “I’m not going to be involved in the preservation of old houses” as he’s done since the 1990s.
The family that owns the house does not appear politically connected in any way, Greene said, so there’s no reason to believe there’s something nefarious going on here.
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Carnevale said this week that Greene’s departure from the HDC is a “big loss for the town.” He acknowledged that he should not have approved the permit for vinyl siding installation without going to the HDC first, but told The Breeze he probably would have ended up approving it anyway. He said when he was alerted to the issue of the home being in a historic district, he visited the property to make sure workers were only covering over the old siding and leaving the decorative woodwork and accents around the windows and roof exposed to be repainted. He said he also made sure that the siding underneath was not destroyed.
Carnevale said he’ll take full responsibility for the approval, which he said he did not recall when he was notified of it.
“I didn’t do this purposely,” he said.
As for closing in the porch previously, Carnevale said the owners had the right to do that to maintain their privacy.
Carnevale said he found five other homes on Olney Avenue that also have vinyl siding. It may not be right, he said, but those ones were also sided during the tenure of other inspectors.
As for the home in question, he said, for years it was abandoned and falling apart. No one on the HDC ever called to register a request to urge the town to do something about its condition, he said. The owners had previously tried to paint the home, he said, but it was difficult to cover over decades of wear and tear with paint. They have invested substantially in bringing it back to a quality state, he said.
Carnevale said he’s been proud to work with Greene and others on a number of projects, including making sure five new homes on Fruit Hill Avenue had input from him and other preservationists. He said current HDC Chairwoman Ruth Bucci has been a joy to work with and he would do anything to help her or any other member of the commission.
“I feel bad about Tom, I like working with them,” He said. “We’ve come up with some great ideas, and I wish he’d reconsider.”
Asked what he’ll do if he sees another permit application for vinyl siding for a similar property, Carnevale promised to “pay more attention,” but said it will be hard to refuse such requests.
“That one got by me,” he said. “It was just a mistake.”
Bucci this week said Greene is “a great historian, a great mentor, and a great person,” and he’ll make up his own mind on what he thinks should be done.
“It’s not an easy job, but I feel we’ve done some good,” she said, including giving input on the preservation of the Brayton School and getting an assessment done on the Old Town Hall building in Centredale.
“He’s been very good to the town and me,” she said. “It’s an important thing to preserve our history. He’s done so much for the town. He’s following his own ideas, and I support him in everything he does.”
Mayor Charles Lombardi said Monday that he was disappointed in how things went down, saying his administration always had a great relationship with Greene.
Lombardi said he had a good chat with Carnevale, who assured him that most of the house in question still reflects guidelines for historic homes. Carnevale had told him that he didn’t think it was right to have the property owners rip down the vinyl siding, said Lombardi.
Going forward, said the mayor, he believes Carnevale has learned a valuable lesson. He said he expects every possible step to be taken to preserve older features of homes in historic districts, including avoiding vinyl siding whenever possible.
The Link LonkApril 14, 2021 at 02:11PM
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Greene exits Historic District Commission, calls it 'a joke' - Valley Breeze
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