The Noise Project surveys ballot-qualified candidates for Providence offices including mayor and City Council, as well as state offices, and surveys independents after party primaries. Our endorsements are based on candidates’ responses, public statements, and direct communications with our organization, and are focused on noise issues. We do not take positions on non-noise city policies or political issues.
Ward: 1 • 3 • 4 • 6 • 7 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13
(Ward 1) John Goncalves — It’s worth noting that the Fox Point incumbent was the only City Council member to return our survey, which says a lot about the culture of noise in Providence. (His opponent, Miguel Martínez Youngs, did not return it either.) Goncalves previously sponsored a 2021 unanimously adopted resolution on noise policy, issued a call to “de-normalize” noise, and supports noise cameras.
His survey noted vehicle noise and over-amplified audio as the predominant sources in his ward, along with commercial entertainment venues (and their early trash collection), and house parties, and said he’s received “an increasing number of constituent complaints regarding excessive noise.” [emphasis added]
Goncalves supports developing and publicizing an official noise policy, measuring city sound levels to collect actionable data, and he is the only sitting Providence official — and one of two candidates besides David Morales — to publicly support noise enforcement by a civilian unit (like parking control). His survey response also said he’s working on ordinances to address modified mufflers and “pop-up” parties.
His survey answers say all the right things, but as is true of the mayor, we’re wary of conflating rhetoric with action. We have no doubt that Goncalves works to get the city government to act against noise on behalf of his constituents, but he seems hesitant to “evangelize” for more comprehensive and consistent noise reduction, including among his Council colleagues — all of whom have noise issues in their wards.
Residents need Council members who understand the urgency to move beyond PVD’s “whack-a-mole” approach to noise — including by using their positions as a platform to campaign for better policies, as some members do on other issues, many of which are not nearly as directly relevant to their constituents.
Based on his record, we’re not prepared to fully endorse Goncalves, but we do want to acknowledge his efforts to address noise up until now, such as they are. We think there’s a lot more that he could do if re-elected to drag Providence noise policy into the 21st century, but we’d even settle for the late 1990s.
(Ward 3) Jason Kashdan was the only candidate seeking to restore the integrity of Council member / Lt. Gov. candidate Sue AnderBois’ seat on the Council who responded to our survey. He’s lived for four years in a three-family building in the Mount Hope neighborhood, and that noise has increased during that time — mostly sporadic vehicle noise during the day in Spring and Summer, and late at night from about 10:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. He said he also hears from friends and neighbors about noise.
His highest noise-related priorities on the City Council would be vehicle noise, leafblowers, over-amplified audio systems, and commercial trucks. His second-tier would be house parties and commercial venues. He said he doesn’t report noise because, “It’s not clear that the city has designated staff … to handle the amount and diversity of noise-pollution sources, and reporting to police doesn’t result in immediate relief.”
Jason is a health practitioner who encounters noise at work on Broad Street, and has tried to insulate his workspace to reduce external noise. He supports an independent panel / consultant to study noise in PVD and develop a city noise policy, formally designating a city official (other than the chief of staff) to implement that policy, formally designating noise as a public-health issue, and “studying the feasibility of integrating citizen monitors into the city’s Nuisance Task Force to increase reliable data capture.”
He also supports a public-education campaign on the adverse health effects of noise, and “will proudly use my role as a health practitioner to roll out, monitor, and evaluate” it. He promised to sponsor a Council resolution urging the School Board and RIDE to incorporate noise into public school health education, as well as lobbying the mayor’s Board appointees and Council’s HOPE Committee to do so.
Jason further supports ongoing measurement of noise and regular public reporting of noise levels and actions to address them, working with community organizations, increasing tangible metrics of enforcement, using technical means such as noise cameras, and a civilian unit to help reduce noise. He said he would vote to ban the sale and installation of modified mufflers, but did not answer a question on his support for replacing the director of public safety, police chief, or members of the Board of Licenses.
On the basis of his responses to our candidate survey, the Noise Project endorses Jason Kashdan in the Ward 3 primary for City Council.
(Ward 4) Joe Casoli lives in a single-family home in the North End, and has lived at various addresses there for decades. He said noise from loud music and modified mufflers (which he has reported to the city) in the early evening has gotten worse, and that his friends and neighbors “hate” it. He previously worked as a Providence police dispatcher, so he knows how that system works — or doesn’t — and specifically noted the adverse effects of excessive noise on domestic and wild animals.
As a Council member, Joe’s highest priorities would be the vehicle noise noted above, along with house parties and fireworks. His second-tier priorities would be commercial vehicles and entertainment venues (bars, clubs, etc), and landscaping equipment (leafblowers and lawnmowers). He said he would publicly advocate to replace some members of the Board of Licensing before their terms expire.
He supports an independent panel / consultant to study noise in the city and develop a PVD noise policy, formally designating a city official (besides the chief of staff) to implement its policy, designating noise as a public-health issue, a public-education campaign on the health effects of noise, measuring noise on an ongoing basis, regular public reporting of noise levels and steps to address them, working with community organizations, increasing tangible metrics of enforcement, technical means (noise cameras, etc), a civilian unit to help reduce noise, and banning commercial sale / installation of modified mufflers.
Incumbent Councilmember Justin Roias did not respond to the survey, so we cannot endorse him. He has demonstrated some involvement in noise-reduction in the past term, but seems unwilling to publicly advocate for better enforcement, which is not what most residents want from their City Council member.
On the basis of his responses to our survey, the Noise Project endorses Joe Casoli in the Ward 4 primary election for City Council.
(Ward 6) In addition to her responses to our survey, challenger Jenny Mercado expressed concerns with noise at the PVD Eye candidate forum. She has lived in a multi-family building in Mount Pleasant for 14 years, and notices vehicle noise, over-amplified residential music, and fireworks, mostly in the evening and on weekends. She says both the volume and frequency (rate of occurrence) have increased. She said that she has heard her neighbors complaining about those sources as well.
In response to a question about reporting noise, Jenny said that she had to call the police because of an ongoing noise problem in her neighborhood years ago, but that the issue was resolved after the people involved moved out. “That experience helped me understand how much excessive noise can affect families and neighbors,” she wrote, adding that it “showed me why residents need a clear process, timely follow-up, and consistent enforcement.” (If only Mayor Smiley could experience something similar.)
Not surprisingly, her top priorities for addressing as a Council member are vehicle noise, over-amplified audio, and fireworks. Her second-tier priorities are commercial entertainment venues (bars, clubs, etc) and commercial trucks, construction outside of permitted hours, and illegally disruptive use of car horns.
Jenny supports an independent panel / consultant to study noise in the city and develop a PVD noise policy, provided it has a clear scope, meaningful community participation, transparent costs, and realistic recommendations. She wants an “actionable” noise policy with clear responsibilities, measurable goals, public education, and consistent enforcement. “Residents should be able to see whether the policy is actually making a difference.” We couldn’t agree more, and have lamented the current lack of such data.
She also supports formally designating a city official to implement PVD noise policy (i.e., other than the chief of staff), saying that “Accountability matters. Residents should know which department or official is responsible for implementing the city’s noise policy and following up on complaints and results.” Similarly, she would vote to designate noise as a public-health issue and a quality-of-life issue. No argument there.
Jenny further supports a PVD-led public-education campaign on the health effects of noise, as well as age-appropriate education about environmental health (including noise) in public schools, “developed collaboratively with educators and school leadership so it fits within existing health education.” Amen.
She is in favor of collecting sound data on an ongoing basis, “beginning with targeted monitoring or a pilot program, reviewing the results and cost, and then deciding whether city-wide continuous monitoring is justified.” (If elected, she should offer to have Ward 6 serve as an area for such an initiative.)
She also supports annual reporting of sound-level data for transparency and accountability. “The City Council and the public should be able to see where noise problems are occurring, what actions the city is taking, and whether those efforts are actually producing measurable results.” We wholeheartedly agree.
Jenny said she’s in favor of working with community organizations, “clear and measurable” enforcement metrics (but didn’t mention increasing ones), “responsible use” of technical enforcement such as noise cameras with adequate privacy protections, “appropriately trained civilian enforcement or inspection roles where useful,” and would also consider legislation prohibiting the commercial sale or installation of illegal mufflers, consistent with state law — and thinks existing muffler laws need to be enforced more diligently.
Incumbent Miguel Sanchez has no record of addressing noise on the Council (other than voting for short-term Councilmember AnderBois’ can-kicking leafblower ordinance), and said he was too busy to fill out the survey. In response to audience questions, he indicated a willingness to consider reducing noise, but not a strong inclination. We think Jenny Mercado is far more likely to address noise than Sanchez.
On the basis of her responses to our survey questions and history of civic involvement, the Noise Project endorses Jenny Mercado in the Ward 6 primary election for City Council.
(Ward 7) David Marshall was the first City Council candidate to return his survey, but unfortunately it was only the first page, and try as we might, we couldn’t find a way to get the second page. For that reason, we cannot endorse him. It’s worth noting that he attended the PVD Eye candidate forum, where he noted issues with entertainment venue noise. Ana Vargas did not attend, and did not respond to PNP’s survey. In our view, she seems to be relying on name recognition and charter-school donations to get re-elected.
(Ward 9) — We did not send independent challenger Diego Arene Morley our survey prior to the primary elections, but he’s already pledged to fill it out in the general election. Democratic challenger and former Councilmember Carmen Castillo did not fill out our survey or appear at the PVD Eye forum, and seems to be relying on name recognition to defeat incumbent Councilmember Juan Pichardo in the primary.
Pichardo didn’t respond to our survey, and has a record of dismissing noise as an issue, but participated in the forum, where he indicated new concern about noise that we’ve never witnessed previously. Yet his answers to noise-related questions were broad, vague, and seemed to lack genuine sincerity. If he’s re-elected and actually addresses noise, our organization will be happy to issue a revised view of his efforts.
(Ward 10) — Challenger Aubrey Planitz told us she would fill out our survey, but when we finally received her very late response, it was not answers to our questions, but rather a short noise-related statement rather than actual answers to our survey questions. For that reason, we cannot endorse her.
Her statement noted that “one issue I hear consistently from neighbors from all walks of life is noise. People talk about trucks, loud music, and vehicles creating excessive noise late into the night, with little to no response when they call police.”
She said that “people deserve to be able to enjoy a peaceful home and neighborhood. When excessive noise becomes a regular part of daily life, especially late at night, it affects quality of life and makes it harder to create the kind of welcoming, stable communities where families want to live and stay.”
She concluded by saying that “a big part of the frustration is that we already have noise ordinances on the books, but residents don’t feel they’re being consistently enforced. I’m open to exploring tools that could help to objectively measure and document noise, depending on how the technology works, what information it collects, and what privacy protections are in place.”
Her opponent, incumbent Councilmember Pedro Espinal did not respond to our survey, or even attend the PVD Eye candidate forum, and has dismissed noise issues as unimportant in the past — despite PNP receiving noise complaints from residents in his ward. We think voters should consider the effects excessive noise has on their daily lives, and not reflexively re-elect Espinal based on name recognition.
(Ward 11) Dwayne Keys was the only one of four Democratic candidates in his ward to fill out our survey. He said he has lived in a three-story apartment building near I-95 in upper South Providence for 22 years, and has previously lived in Washington Park and Wilmington, Delaware. The only noise he says he hears there is rush-hour highway traffic, and it has increased. He says the neighbors and friends he interacts with regularly don’t complain about noise, but didn’t comment on those he knows less well.
As a Council member, his highest-priority noise sources to address would be car alarms, followed by other vehicle noise such as modified mufflers, over-amplified audio systems, engine-revving, illegally disruptive use of car horns, emergency vehicle sirens (police / fire / ambulance), and commercial trucks. His second-tier sources would be leafblowers, fireworks, and individual or events on public property such as city parks, schools, and street-closure events, whether permitted or so-called “pop-ups.” House parties and commercial entertainment venues were rated lower, but not as low as 9 or 10.
He said he’s only had to call the police twice in 22 years to report a nighttime establishment nearby making excessive noise after 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday night when he and neighbors needed sleep for the next day. We assume that as a Council member, he’d be sympathetic to residents exposed to noise more frequently. When asked if he’d ever had to address noise as a resident of volunteer, he said no, but as head of the South PVD Neighborhood Association, we’re almost certain that noise came up as an issue.
Asked if he would vote for an independent panel / consultant to study noise and develop a city polic to reduce it (as the Council voted unanimously in 2021), he said only if it’s already been passed, which we interpret to mean that he wouldn’t support doing so otherwise. Regarding creating a noise policy, he wants to ensure that potential “disparate impacts” (especially to predominantly low-to-moderate income and communities of color) are significantly prevented with such a policy. We took this to mean that even if sound levels are excessive there, he doesn’t want those causing them to face significant repercussions — which effectively means perpetuation of the status quo, including “disparate health impacts” of noise.
Asked if he would support designating a PVD official to oversee implementation of a city noise policy, he said “it depends on the scope of work and methods of implementation deemed appropriate.” Similarly, asked if he would support designating noise as a public-health issue, he said he’d want data and input from Ward 11 residents about how noise has negatively impacted them, and especially those who have historically been excluded from such decisions that should have their direct feedback, if not approval. We’re not sure how this differs from inviting anti-vaccination residents to shape or approve that policy.
Dwayne did indicate that he would propose and vote to fund public education on noise-related issues, in the same way the city currently spends money to promote residents’ understanding of other policy issues, saying that “all such matters should begin with public education.” This implies that there’s actually an issue to educate residents about, which in his answers to other questions wasn’t at all clear. Similarly, he supports including noise in the public-school health curricula only if students and parents think it’s worth learning. We’re not sure if this standard applies to other subjects (e.g., English, history, chemistry).
He surprised us by saying he’d vote for continuous measurement of PVD noise levels “as a means of public education and awareness,” but reversed a bit on requiring annual reports from the mayor on noise levels, his steps to reduce them, and the results, saying it would depend on public-education outcomes and community demand for such reports. Yet there’s no point in measuring noise if you don’t report it.
Dwayne supports collaboration with community organizations to lower noise, but said he remains undecided and needs more details on the implementation of increasing the metrics of enforcement, technology such as noise cameras that doesn’t require police interaction with residents, and a civilian unit similar to parking enforcement to enforce noise regulations. We appreciate his open-mindedness.
And he shares the confusion of the Noise Project and most Providence residents regarding the legal sale and installation of modified mufflers that are illegal to use under PVD and RI law: “If something is already illegal, how is it allowed to be installed and / or sold?” he asked, but didn’t say what he would do about it.
Lastly, he said he needed more information before he could say whether he supports replacing the Commissioner of Public Safety (who is currently Smiley himself), police chief, and / or some or all members of the Board of Licensing before their terms expire. We think a potential City Council member should have thoughts on those things, even if he doesn’t want to commit to giving a yes or no answer.
We don’t know how Dwayne’s responses to our survey compare to the views on noise of his opponents, but on the basis of his answers, we cannot endorse him in the Ward 11 City Council primary election.
(Ward 12) Robert Ricci has lived in a multi-unit residential building downtown for 14 years, and previously lived in Ward 4, which gives him insight into noise in both types of areas. He said he hears vehicle noise (modified mufflers, engine revving, over-amplified audio) mostly at night, that it’s gotten more frequent and disruptive over time, and that the neighbors in his building bring it up as well.
He said his top noise priorities as a Council member are the aforementioned vehicular sources, and his second-tier source are over-amplified audio from commercial entertainment venues and events on public property (parks, schools, street closures, etc), and leafblowers. He ranked house parties, fireworks, and highway traffic as the least important sources to address — probably because the first two are not very prevalent sources downtown, but are in most of the rest of Ward 12. Voters should take note of that.
He said he would support an independent panel or consultant to study noise and develop city policies to reduce it to healthy levels (as the Council unanimously voted in 2021) as long as it has a clearly defined scope and does not unnecessarily duplicate existing city functions. Those are obviously good conditions. He said he’d support an “active noise policy with measurable goals and regular evaluation of results,” with a “clearly designated [PVD] official responsible for coordinating implementation and accountability.”
Robert said he would support formally declaring excessive noise “as both a public-health issue and a quality-of-life issue,” and would propose and vote to fund public education on noise-related issues, as long as the program is “practical, cost effective, and compliments enforcement of existing noise laws. Similarly, he supports “age-appropriate” public-school curricula that includes “hearing health and the adverse effects of excessive noise, developed with educators and public-health professionals.”
He also supports “ongoing [sound-level] monitoring in areas with recurring complaints, with publicly available data used to guide enforcement and policy, as well as issuing “annual reports [that] include noise complaints, enforcement actions, monitoring data, specific policies implemented, and results.”
He further supports collaborating with community organizations to reduce noise levels, increasing tangible metrics of municipal enforcement, technology such as noise cameras, and suggested that the city needs to “improve coordination among police, licensing officials, and city staff” and have “clear procedures for repeat offenders.” He would support legislation prohibiting the sale and installation of illegally modified mufflers, but not creating a civilian unit to handle most enforcement.
Regarding replacing the Commissioner of Public Safety, police chief, and some or all members of the Board of Licenses, he said the Board needs “tools to combat noise and support for them from the Police Department,” and that he can’t say how he would view the decision to do so in advance, but that he does not “rule out” supporting thee appointment of a new police chief from outside of the Providence Police.
Robert said that he has made “stronger and more consistent enforcement of existing noise laws” and holding city officials accountable for it part of his campaign, and thanked the Noise Project for its efforts on the issue. “It is time for the City Council to treat noise as a serious issue, which it is,” he concluded.
Incumbent Councilmember Althea Graves has demonstrated some concern with noise issues in the past, and asked us to re-send the survey to her, but then never sent it back to us, so we cannot endorse her.
On the basis of his responses to our survey, the Noise Project believes Robert Ricci will be responsive to resident complaints about house parties and fireworks, and we endorse him in the City Council primary election for Ward 12.
(Ward 13) Connor Blier is one of two candidates seeking the seat thankfully vacated by current City Council president Rachel Miller, whose record on noise issues is fairly dismal and won’t be missed. He has lived in a multi-family building since 2022, and before that lived in multiple apartments downtown. He has also spent brief stints living in Boston, LA, and NYC for work, so he knows what cities sound like.
Connor says he sleeps with earplugs, and “can often overlook loud noise.” He says the biggest noise source he notices are vehicles, “particularly those with loud music.” He said the ambient sound level has increased, “particularly vehicle and late-night noise near high traffic areas like Atwells and Broadway,” and that it’s “a frequent quality-of-life concern” he has heard from Ward 13 residents while campaigning. He hasn’t reported noise in Providence, but did do so regarding construction noise while living in NYC.
The noise sources he would give the highest priority to addressing as a Council member are vehicle noise (mufflers, over-amplified audio, engine revving) and over-amplified residential sources (house parties). His second-tier sources are commercial entertainment venues (bars, clubs, etc), emergency-vehicle sirens, and to a lesser extent, commercial vehicles (garbage trucks, delivery / cargo trucks, etc).
Connor said he would propose and vote to fund an independent panel / consultant to study noise and develop policies to reduce it to healthy levels (as the Council voted unanimously in 2021) if a preponderance of Ward 13 residents indicated they wanted to do so, and if it could be done “within the confines of existing taxes.”
He used the exact same wording in response to formally appointing a city official to coordinate the implementation of noise policy (which is a role assignment, not a budget line-item), designating noise as a public health issue, funding a public-education campaign on noise, and measurement of noise levels. Conversely, he supports including adverse health effects of noise in public-school curricula “in an age-appropriate manner,” and requiring the city to issue annual reports on noise levels (though it’s not clear where the data would come from without measurements), actions to reduce it, and the results thereof.
He further supports the city’s collaboration with community organizations to reduce noise, increasing tangible metrics of enforcement, technological enforcement such as noise cameras, and creating a civilian unit to enforce noise regulations (akin to parking-enforcement officers), which shows leadership.
Not unlike Ward 11 candidate Dwayne Keys, Connor answered many survey questions by saying he would support only what Ward 13 residents want, which seems quintessentially democratic but omits a public official’s role in providing leadership, in terms of identifying salient issues (nascent or endemic) and proposing and developing solutions incorporating constituent input and broad agreement. In lieu of such leadership, all public policy could be determined by referenda — and we wouldn’t need the City Council.
That said, we know residents are exposed to excessive noise there, because we hear from them about it through our Community Noise Survey and contact form — and both Connor and his opponent indicated that they heard the same thing from people they spoke to while campaigning — and we’re confident that he’ll act on their requests that it must be addressed more effectively than it has been under Rachel Miller.
With that proviso, and on the basis of his more informative answers to our survey, the Noise Project conditionally endorses Connor Blier in the Ward 13 primary election for City Council. We urge its residents to share their experience of unhealthy noise with him, and insist more be done to reduce it.
His opponent, Annajane Yolken, declined to fill out the survey — despite noting in her responses to both questions from the PVD Eye itself and from residents at its candidate forum, that noise is an issue for the residents in her ward. In our view, that indicates a willingness to put her personal ideology ahead of the needs of one’s constituents (including on issues other than noise), and a reluctance to be forthcoming about her views on it. For many Providence residents, “woke” has multiple definitions, and none is good.
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