May 7, 2020 - Office Activity Update
Lt. Governor McKee today held a virtual meeting on reopening strategies with Donna Personeus, Executive Director of Thayer Street District Management Authority; Rick Simone, Executive Director of Federal Hill Commerce Association; Justin Gontarek, owner of Oceanside Graphics; Chris Parisi, owner of Trailblaze Marketing; Lori Giutarri, owner of Visual Thrive, and Michael Solomon, Director of Business and Development to the City of Providence.
The conversation focused on ways that businesses on Thayer Street and Atwells Avenue could operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed ideas included partial street closures on a rotating schedule, partnering with parking lot owners to use the space for outdoor dining, using sidewalks for non-critical retailers, and identifying new parking solutions.
The discussion was prompted by recently announced street closures across Providence which negatively impacted many small businesses that were not notified that street closures would be implemented. Prior to the call, Lt. Governor McKee worked with Director Solomon to lift a few of these closures based on feedback from businesses owners like Hometown Poke located on Camp Street.