By MARK SILBERSTEIN
With cracked asphalt pavement at his feet and weeds sprouting
several feet into the air, the only backdrop Cong. James Langevin
(D-RI) had for a press conference at Rocky Point Tuesday morning
was the charred remains of the Big House, a former dormitory for
seasonal employees at the long-abandoned amusement park.
Last Thursday, the equivalent of a three-alarm blaze gutted the
building, one of many that makes up the 124-acre parcel in Warwick
Neck that remains in limbo while the U.S. District Court in
Providence deliberates its future. Vanderbilt Capital, LLC of
South Carolina has offered $25 million for its purchase. The U.S.
Small Business Administration holds the lien as the property’s
receiver.
While Langevin praised the Warwick police and fire department’s
for their swift response to the scene last week, he also took the
opportunity to put the court on notice that he wanted them to make
a decision sooner rather than later on approving the proposed sale
in order to give a potential developer and the city the green
light to begin eradicating any potential hazards to the community.
Langevin called Rocky Point as it exists now, “a threat to
Warwick residents, and a burden to public safety officials,”
expressing concern that the issue was lingering in the courts.
Instead of offering the public scenic views of Narragansett Bay,
Langevin said instead the park was a “target of vandals” and “an
arsonist’s playground.”
Invited guests gathered nearby before Langevin’s address, many
reminiscing about the park’s former glory. State Rep. Peter T.
Ginaitt (D-Dist. 22), looked on in disappointment at the old
Palladium, its once brightly lit sign above the doorway hanging in
ruin. “Remember all the fun we had in that place?” he asked of
colleagues gathered around. “It’s sad to see it in the condition
that it’s in,” he said.
Steps from where Langevin was speaking, the Windjammer hall was
locked up tight. Some Rocky Beach neighbors who admitted they’ve
been able to peek inside recalled the interior looked like a
wedding party had taken place and the scene was left frozen in
time. Plates were stacked on counters, drinking glasses rested on
a bar, and streamers flowed downward from the now brittle ceiling.
Ginaitt, a Warwick Fire Department Rescue Captain, said that
the city was imperiled last Thursday when the fire occurred,
requiring all of the available firefighting resources be
dispatched to Rocky Point to douse the flames. As a result, if
another serious emergency occurred at the same time elsewhere in
the city, both property and lives could have been at risk.
Chief John “Jack” Chartier said that an investigation into the
cause of the fire was ongoing, but confirmed that it appeared as
though every other cause had been ruled out except “the human
factor,” he said.
Sen. William A. Walaska (D-Dist. 30), who lives just blocks
from the waterfront property, expressed urgency about “moving
along with the rebuilding of this park,” adding that the federal
court needed to “proceed at a more rapid pace” in order to resolve
the park’s fate.
“We see it crumbling; we see graffiti on the walls,” lamented
Walaska following his own recent tour of the property. From
swastikas to profanity, spray-painted slogans and derogatory
images were evident on just about every structure that remained
standing.
The SBA’s acting regional administrator, Mark Hayward,
acknowledged that more security would be added to protect the
remnants of Rocky Point from further vandals, declining to be
specific about how many personnel that would entail, and how often
they would patrol the property.
Hayward agreed that his agency was “late” in its decision to
add more security until after the fire occurred. But he also
defended the process underway in court to approve a buyer for the
property, telling one reporter, “When the court is ready to reach
a decision, it will.”
The SBA, Hayward detailed, was appointed receiver for Rocky
Point and several other properties formerly owned by Moneta
Capital after the company defaulted on a federal loan. The case
was transferred from U.S. Bankruptcy Court to District Court when
the SBA sought control of the land.
Hayward said that his agency hopes to recover an undisclosed
amount from Moneta and its principal, Arnold Kilberg, for money
that was borrowed on a host of failed ventures, including one in
the Virgin Islands.
But Providence Realtor Peter Scotti charged on Tuesday that he
is also owed money and claimed the SBA has backed out of an
earlier agreement to guarantee his payment. Scotti said that when
attorney Andrew Richardson was originally appointed by the
Bankruptcy Court to be the trustee for Rocky Point, Scotti’s firm
was employed to locate a potential buyer and/or developer. Scotti
said he did, and it was Vanderbilt Capital.
Under a brokerage agreement, Scotti estimates his services were
valued at $1 million, although the final amount he would be paid
rests with the court. Judge Ronald Lagueux was expected to hear
Scotti’s motion for compensation yesterday.
“We’re not trying to torpedo the deal,” Scotti said, adding
that he just didn’t want to have done all the work to find a buyer
and then allow the SBA to take credit for the deal without paying
him for his services.
Another potential roadblock was also scheduled to be reviewed
yesterday before Lagueux. Homeowners who have been leasing a
portion of the land at Rocky Point are opposed to a demand by
Vanderbilt that they purchase their property rights for $11
million. Legal counsel for the Rocky Beach Association entered a
motion to intervene, a tactic that could further stall attempts to
advance development of the area.
Mayor Scott Avedisian said that his administration has had
discussions with Hayward and the SBA about a plan to demolish the
remaining midway, but emphasized that nothing concrete has been
worked out. If the court should approve Vanderbilt’s offer, the
mayor said that he would like to see at least some of the
landmarks of Rocky Point restored and integrated into any
development plans. At least two that he said would be important in
those plans — the Shore Dinner Hall and the park’s main entrance
sign on Rocky Point Avenue.
“The City of Warwick remains committed to seeing this property
reused in a positive way,” Avedisian said, promising that his
administration would help to speed the issuance of any necessary
permits once the sale is complete and a plan to develop the land
is in place.
Vanderbilt’s President and CEO Arnold Goodstein made the trip
up from South Carolina to look over the property his company hopes
to own, with a desire to construct at least 350 residential units.
Most of those are expected to be condominiums.
With a heavy southern accent, Goodstein joked that the real
reason he came to Rhode Island was to check up on his son, a
junior at Brown University.
“We think it’s a beautiful place,” Goodstein said, explaining
the viewpoint his company had for backing the purchase offer for
Rocky Point. He added that while a decision was pending in court,
Goodstein suggested that the surrounding community also had a role
to play in preventing future vandalism or arson at the park by
contacting the authorities if they spot trespassers.
Goodstein also said that even though Vanderbilt has made a
multi-million-dollar offer to the SBA to purchase the land, there
was nothing stopping other companies from outbidding Vanderbilt
for the development rights. Hayward said that the South Carolina
firm’s bid was just a portion of what the SBA loaned Moneta.
City Council President Joseph J. Solomon had been invited to
join Langevin at the press conference, but he was not present and
did not return a phone call to explain his absence. Langevin’s
office said they were informed by Solomon that he couldn’t attend
due to prior business obligations.
Another invited guest who said afterwards that he was unable to
attend was 5th Ward Councilman Carlo E. Pisaturo, Jr. Reached on
his cell phone, Pisaturo explained that he was still an employee
of Garofalo and Associates, a Providence engineering firm, and was
sent to a job in Canton, MA. “I wanted to be there, but I’ve got
to eat, too,” Pisaturo said.
“What the hell is taking so long?” Pisaturo fumed about the
court’s delay in reaching a consensus to award the purchase to a
developer for Rocky Point. “I know the government moves slow, but
this is ridiculous,” he said.
