Providence officials tout night culture, discuss safety concerns at clubs

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — City officials gathered Monday night to release their comprehensive analysis of nightlife in Providence.

Mayor Brett Smiley highlighted the importance of late-night bars, clubs and restaurants in the Capital City.

“Life at night in Providence supports nearly a billion dollars in economic activity,” Smiley said.

According to the analysis, there are more than 630 night-life businesses across the city, including roughly 30% of Rhode Island’s clubs and bars.

With that influx of activity come obstacles, and some late-night business owners cited safety concerns as an operational challenge.

“Bar owners, particularly nightclub owners, cited the rising costs of private security as a major operational challenge. According to several business owners, limited police presence has resulted in the need for clubs to hire additional private security guards in recent years to strengthen real and perceived customer safety.”

Just a day before the city’s previously scheduled meeting to unveil the report, seven people were arrested after a disturbance at Motion Nightclub on Broad Street.

The club was ordered to close for three days after the incident, pending a hearing in front of the city’s board of licenses.

“I have confidence in the board of licenses for taking the appropriate steps to ensure that all of all of our clubs live up to their obligations,” Smiley said.

Violent incidents at other Providence nightclubs, including Mezzo Lounge and Saje Kitchen, have fueled some concerns.

“What you end up reading is about one or two or three bad apples,” Smiley said. “When the reality is a majority of the people who enjoy late night experiences here in the city do so safely.”

Providence Art Tourism and Culture Director Joe Wilson Jr. shared strong feelings on the subject.

“If we have a city as populated as New York in terms of nightlife, these incidents, while they’re terrible, this city is doing a damn good job making sure the residents feel safe,” Wilson said.

“A lot of this narrative is based in cultural misperception,” he added. “And I’m being polite here.”

Providence’s downtown sector was also highlighted as an area of concern in the report.

“Many businesses located Downtown cited a lack of consistent foot traffic before 5pm and after 9pm in the area. In addition, many cited a lack of adequate lighting and limited police presence as factors contributing to employee and customer hesitation about walking around Downtown at night. Business owners believe this hesitation ultimately leads to reduced sales.”

Smiley said the Providence Police Department will continue to be present in areas of issue in the past but insisted there is no need for concern.

“I think the stigma is overblown,” Smiley said. “We know the old adage about press coverage and we expect that isolated incidents will get coverage, but we’re gonna keep lifting up and telling the stories and help celebrating the spaces where people find community.”