To the Editor,

Mayor Hopkins has been, if nothing else, unimpressive in his capacity to help the Eastern side of Cranston with upgrading of public facilities (schools and parks come to mind), with maintaining the quality of public spaces that our citizens on the East Side use every day.  It is very disappointing.

A great example of this is the basketball court on Pontiac Avenue near Du Temple Elementary School. Even after private money was raised to help fix it up, it has continued to remain in poor repair with no timeline for the renovations to be made. Just as many other important public places have been on our side of the city. The basketball court has needed upgrades and updates for as long as I can recall. And the fact that private money was raised to fix it, and it wasn’t used throws me into a real sense of frustration when I look at all the money that was spent to update other parts of the city - including over $10 million (when borrowing costs are factored) in Cranston taxpayers funding for the recent renovations of Knightsville.

Why has the mayor spent so much of the city’s capital - federal, state, private, and local - on the Western side of the city while ignoring the needs of the East Side of Cranston? Perhaps he thinks that is where his votes are.  And perhaps that will turn out to be true thanks to his choices. We need a Mayor who wants to solve problems for everyone in Cranston.

Rhode Island State Rep. Arthur Handy (D-District 18), of Cranston

Editor’s Note: Rep. Arthur Handy (D) was first elected to represent District 18 in Cranston in November 2002. Handy was named a Deputy Majority Leader in January 2021.