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Homes on Benefit Street in Providence neglected


Many of the massive old homes on Benefit Street in Providence have been converted into multiple units for students, with several of them run-down. (WJAR)
Many of the massive old homes on Benefit Street in Providence have been converted into multiple units for students, with several of them run-down. (WJAR)
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Benefit Street on Providence’s East Side is one of the city’s major attractions.

The state website says it’s “the most impressive concentration of original Colonial homes in America. Beautifully restored houses, churches and museums overlook the city's historic waterfront.”

Resident Vincent Buonanno agrees.

“I think it’s the most beautiful street in Rhode Island,” he told NBC 10 News on Friday.

An amateur architecture historian, Buonanno said it’s the variety of buildings -- from three centuries and multiple styles -- that make the street unique.

It’s also on College Hill, which makes it a natural locale for off-campus housing for Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.

But that’s where the problem comes in, as many of the massive old homes on Benefit Street have been converted into multiple units for students. Several of those houses are also run-down.

“We want people who are running basically commercial entities, basically buildings that you stack kids in, to live up to the standards that are right for this area,” Buonanno said, speaking on behalf of a neighborhood group that has recently formed.

They have enlisted the Providence Preservation Society to bolster their complaints about missing windows, broken molding, siding in disrepair, and other obvious violations of both building codes, as well as Historic District guidelines.

“We are receiving complaints from neighbors and we are passing those along to the city,” Providence Preservation Society Director Brent Runyon said, adding that he agrees with the complaints. “We have property owners who perhaps are not giving the same level of care to houses that they deserve.”

A spokesman for Mayor Jorge Elorza told NBC 10 in a statement that the city’s Department of Inspection and Standards was recently made aware of the issue.

“They will be sending an inspector to look into it,” he said.

Meanwhile, neighbors are hoping for not only a crackdown on building violations, but some investment into the street lights and sidewalks ion the famous thoroughfare.

“This is one of the most visited streets in the city,” Runyon said. “More attention needs to be paid to it in terms of not only do people live there, and businesses are there, but it’s where tourists come.”

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