Save Newport Creamery & Spirit of Cranston’s Garden City. Petitions, Actions Show Strong Support

The AWFUL AWFUL kerfuffle (def. a commotion or fuss) has only gotten louder since it came out that WS Development will not be renewing the lease of Newport Creamery, which has stood at its present location, scooping ice cream and gathering neighbors and newcomers alike, for 63 years.

Petitions are circulating – people are rushing over for ice cream concerned about capturing that Newport Creamery experience a little longer. The restaurant is not set to lose their lease until Dec. 2025.

Representative Charlene Lima and Cranston Councilman Andy Andujar sent out this press release:

“Representative Lima announced today that she and Cranston Councilman Andy Andujar will fight, in the public, the General Assembly and the City Council, the recent decision of WS Development to rob Garden City of one of its decades-old restaurants, the iconic Newport Creamery. Representative Lima and Councilman Andujar said if WS Development thinks they can pull a Wally Wieners fiasco in Cranston they are gravely mistaken. Councilman Andujar and I will fight them by “any means necessary.”

Councilman Andujar said, “I am looking into any tax breaks that Cranston might be giving to the new owners of Garden City, WS Development, and how we can take any tax breaks away.”  Representative Lima said she will do the same at the state level.

Both Representative Lima and Councilman Andujar both noted that WS Development and its CEO Jeremy Sclar face numerous negative feedback for ignoring community impact in its revitalization promises and the actual impact on local communities showing no concern for displacing small businesses and further ignoring community needs. Some community members feel that WS Development’s projects prioritize revitalization efforts over the needs of local residents, leading to the displacement of small businesses and a lack of community engagement. WS Development has been involved in numerous lawsuits for the way it operates its developments. They filed to evict Forbici Modern Italian Restaurant in Hyde Park over a dispute about seating capacity in the dining area. Forbici’s legal team suggests the eviction may be more about WS Development’s desire to terminate a below-market lease. (from google searches)

Representative Lima said Garden City, in my estimation, has regressed from the care and dedication shown by the old owners. Under WS Development and its CEO Jeremy Sclar, there has been uptick in crimes and violent behavior in Garden City. This shows a lack of respect for the safety of visitors to Garden City and especially Cranston residents. CEO Sclar enjoys his mega million salary and rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful but shows blatant disregard for our local small businesses and hard-working men and women.

I plan to introduce legislation in the next session to require WS Development to hire Cranston Police Officers in Garden City until every facility closes. If WS Development doesn’t care about the financial impact of destroying small businesses and putting local citizens out of work as evidence by their past practices, then I will make sure that they do not receive any tax subsidies in addition to placing restrictions and requirements on their Garden City operation.”  Councilman Andujar said he will introduce similar ordinances in the Cranston City Council.

If WS Development thinks they can terminate an iconic Newport Creamery and bring in a foreign based company like Apple without a fight, think again. Apple has faced allegations of violating labor laws by preventing pay transparency surveys and discouraging unionization efforts,  PCMag. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued complaints against Apple regarding discrimination against union supporters and interrogating staff. If Apple tries to locate in Garden City by destroying Newport Creamery, an original 63-year tenant of Garden City, I, together with the people and elected officials of Cranston, will make sure they receive a very cold and hostile reception. I strongly advise Apple to rethink that possibility and for WS to seriously rethink its decision not to renew the Creamery lease. Locate Apple elsewhere in Garden City.

Despite WS Development public statements about how they care about the local community’s well-being and concerns they have shown a blatant disregard for them in their developments and especially here in Garden City. They do not merit any local or state support and Councilman Andujar and me with make sure they do not receive any in the future unless they renew the Newport Creamery lease.

Please call your local Crantson Representatives, Senators, the Governor’s office and Mayor Hopkin’s office and tell them to help us save Newport Creamery in Garden City.”

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Listen to an interview with Cranston Councilman Andy Andujar on with Gene Valicenti, who originally broke the story, on WPRO:

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Where is WS Development?

Not talking – not, so far, to anyone – no media interviews or statements. Joe Koeschel, manager, has been known to walk the shopping center daily – so maybe an early-bird TV reporter will catch him with a microphone!

Where is Mayor Hopkins?

Not talking! No statements!  Didn’t know about this? Informal meetings having been held, is what we hear.  Apple coming to Cranston is no secret – it’s been talked about for years. But the displacing of Newport Creamery has never been in play – at least publicly.

What do we think we know?

* WS Development has been pressuring Newport Creamery for years to leave.

* Newport Creamery pays approx. $300,000 a year in rent to WS Development.

* Newport Creamery’s success is dependent on evening business – a feature almost unable to be replicated anywhere else in Rhode Island.

* WS Development likes to negotiate leases with “chains” and among its multiple mall locations in Massachusetts as well as Rhode Island

* There is a meeting set for Friday at the city’s auxiliary office on Sockanosset to show the plans – who is attending this – does it meet public meetings rules?

*  WS Development handled this poorly, by any measure. Called “tone deaf”.

* No one knows when Apple’s lease at Providence Place Mall expires.

* One wrong tenant or store location can tip the success of this unique mall – successful in spirit and economy.

* Is LA Fitness worth pressuring out as they are doing to Newport Creamery?

* Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse widely rumored to be going in where Applebee’s burned out carcass has sat for months, not at least boarded up.

How would an APPLE fit in?

Theory is WS Development would use the big swath between Providence Diamond – grey box to the right of the gazebo on this diagram, just under the green icon – and Chipotle – skinny red location to the left of the gazebo and directly under the family icon. That would give enough room for a store and parking. Additional parking would be a concern.

Note that the strip parking area which has recently been repaved behind Garden City Center on Midway Road, across the street from the post office, has been talked about by WS Development for years for a parking garage – much to the chagrin of the homeowners who would live with it directly at their back yards.

But what if Apple is a distraction?

As much as Garden City or Cranston, itself, would like to have an Apple store it you think about Apple customers they tend to be high-tech people mainly based in the city of Providence – along with college students from Brown and PC and Johnson & Wales. So if the Apple is dangling in front of people and it isn’t Apple at all – what could it be?

It could be taking that whole area between Providence Diamond and Chipotle and building a new “section” for development. Garden City likes to develop in sections. How many stores would that hold? 4-5-6? How much rent would that be? $300-400 a piece?  The answer is always MONEY, not necessarily what makes sense to the preferences of a community. Something to think about. Remember, WS Development has been pressuring Newport Creamery to move for years, our sources say.

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Petitions – Over 1,000 signature so far

Rep. Lima says she will begin a petition.

Here is one, already with over 1,100 signatures on Change.Org:

Click on the image to go to it – or click here:  KEEP NEWPORT CREAMERY

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Here is our original story – on WS Development’s AWFUL AWFUL Mistake:

https://2×8.ea2.myftpupload.com/an-awful-awful-mistake-garden-citys-shift-could-break-the-heart-of-cranston/

This is a developing story