By MARK SILBERSTEIN
During the Depression, Pegee Malcolm’s grandmother ran a small
grocery store on Carpenter Street in Providence. When the
vegetables she sold began to wither, Elizabeth Malcolm would just
give them away to those in need. One man, a recipient of her
charity, was so grateful that he repaid her in an unusual fashion
when he returned to prosperity.
Ever since the 1920s, the Malcolm family has enjoyed the tiny
cottage at Rocky Beach they were given as his expression of
thanks.
But for years, Pegee Malcolm has been living an uncertain
future in her seasonal getaway. Since the land is part of the
former Rocky Point Amusement Park bankruptcy proceedings, the U.S.
Small Business Administration is the current receiver. They want
to sell the land to recoup millions lost in unpaid loans the SBA
gave to the failed Moneta Capital and its principal, Arnold
Kilberg, and eventually hope to put the waterfront acreage back on
the Warwick tax rolls. The SBA has included Rocky Beach in
drafting any purchase and sales agreement.
Two weeks ago, a federal court judge in Providence ruled in
favor of Malcolm and other Rocky Beach homeowners, granting their
motion to intervene in the sale. The ruling by Judge Ronald
Legueux gives the residents and their legal counsel a voice in
court on any discussions relative to the proposed transaction,
currently an offer made by South Carolina based Vanderbilt
Capital, LLC to acquire the entire 124-acre parcel for $25
million.
A single gate is how residents of Rocky Beach get to their
homes, the other access points through Rocky Point long since
sealed off due to the ongoing legal battles. With a combination of
asphalt pavement and dirt drives worn into the ground by the
weight of vehicles that have driven in and out of the property,
visitors pass tiny wooden homes bunched in close to one another.
Some are empty, abandoned and in disrepair. Malcolm said it’s
because some homeowners passed away, while others couldn’t afford
lawsuits when the bankrupt and previous landowners threatened to
kick them out.
Rocky Beach, explained Malcolm, accounts for 28.6 of the 124
acres up for sale, facing Narragansett Bay on a slope. From her
screened-in porch she can see the water and the homes of her
neighbors, many who, she said, she’s known at least 15 years. Of
the 74 homes in Rocky Beach, 48 are occupied, and only 16 have
year-round residents.
Malcolm said that the SBA has not been looking out for the best
interests of the homeowners. She scoffed at the agency’s demand
that residents come up with $11.5 million to buy the land their
homes are on if they want to stay. In addition to giving their
lawyers a say in court, Judge Lagueux also granted the resident’s
motion to object to the sale, a tool Malcolm agreed they would use
if they had to in order to protect their rights.
A small sign hangs on a lamppost outside Malcolm’s home that
says “Thistle Dew.” She said that the cottage was given its name
by her mother, who was Irish. Malcolm, who said the cottage was
her parents’ first home when they were married in 1941, recalled a
saying that her mother had that explains the origin of the name.
“Until we get a better one, Thistle Dew,” Malcolm said with a
laugh.
Inside, the accommodations are sparse and the rooms are small.
A main support beam in the 100-year-old structure rests on a rock,
Malcolm said. From age, and perhaps weight, the floors lean in one
direction or another. There’s a half-bath inside and a shower
outside. All in all, Malcolm said she appreciates what she has and
muses about the days when as a child before indoor plumbing their
was an outhouse.
After the Hurricane of 1938, Malcolm said that members of her
family collected pieces of homes that washed ashore from Conimicut
and added them on to their cottage. She’s spent summers there
since she was born in 1951 and has owned the cottage since 2000,
when her father died.
Looking out at the bay, Malcolm said that on a clear day she
can see the Town of Warren. As she reminisces about growing up in
the area, Malcolm spots the Providence to Newport ferry sailing
past in the distance. Birds chirp and flitter everywhere outside.
There are no sounds from traffic or loud radios. Just peace and
quiet. It’s where Malcolm admits she likes to go to just watch the
world go by, or read a book, or do absolutely nothing at all.
“We don’t own the land. We could be out at any minute,” Malcolm
said, adding that she felt a little more confident now that the
courts have recognized that homeowners should have a say in what
might happen.
Wind chimes play various melodies as a light breeze whips
through her porch. A string of scallop-shell lights adorns an
exterior window. There’s a nautical theme throughout Malcolm’s
home. Pausing to take it all in, she said that there’s no way to
attach a price to its value. Defiant, Malcolm said that she would
continue to do what she has to do to keep from losing her home.
Vanderbilt’s preliminary plans call for a 350 unit residential
development. Seventy units would be built in Rocky Beach, another
280 at Rocky Point. In the meantime, Malcolm complained that the
SBA has failed to communicate its intentions with homeowners,
leaving them in the dark.
The acting regional administrator for the SBA, Mark Hayward,
disagreed with Malcolm’s comments, but wouldn’t elaborate.
Instead, Hayward said that the matter is before the court and
that’s where the issue of Rocky Beach would ultimately be decided.
“It’s a lovely area. I’m fortunate to be here,” said Malcolm.
“I love my house. I love my neighbors,” she added, repeating her
willingness to keep fighting to stay where she is, no matter what
it takes.
In a related matter, Judge Lagueux also ruled on a matter
relating to realtor Peter Scotti’s motion seeking at least $1
million from Rocky Point’s receiver for brokering the deal to find
a buyer for the property, Vanderbilt Capital.
Scotti’s attorney would be allowed to file an administrative
claim with the SBA seeking payment for his services. If the agency
rejected his claim, Scotti said that he could return to Judge
Lagueux who could then ultimately rule on the matter.
“It’s a terrific plan,” Scotti commented on Vanderbilt’s
proposal for a residential development, including the land at
Rocky Beach. He said that the project would preserve open space
while creating some high-end dwellings that would produce
substantial property tax revenues for the city of
Warwick.
