EAST PROVIDENCE — Possibly seeing the proverbial "forest through the trees," or better yet grasping the continued backlash he was facing from the neighboring constituency, Mayor Bob DaSilva said he was ditching a concept to construct a comprehensive concession stand building on the west or water side of Crescent Park.

DaSilva had dangled the idea of not only gaining approval for a plan to build a bathroom/changing room building adjacent to the parking lot in the wooded area across the street from the historic Looff Carousel, but also adding a new concession stand there as well to replace the existing "clam shack" on the east side of the site.

DaSilva posted his comments conceding his change in approach on one of his social media outlets Wednesday, Aug. 21.

"I am pleased to announce that after much deliberation our administration is moving forward with the building of a new clam shack on the carousel side of Crescent Park," DaSilva wrote. "We will also be moving the event tent to that side of the park."

Under DaSilva's now-scuppered vision, the new building would have replaced the existing stand on the east or carousel side of the location as well as meet the mayor's desire to include the bathroom/changing room component, which would allow the city to hire lifeguards for the Crescent Park beach if it were to actually formally be available to the public in two years' time.

Earlier this year, DaSilva joined state and federal officials in setting a goal of officially opening the Crescent Park shoreline to swimmers for the 2026 season, once local health and environmental regulators deem those waters to be appropriate for human interaction.

However, at two recent public meetings, the first held earlier this summer on site at Crescent Park and the other held August 14 at the Senior Center, residents of the abutting "Terrace" neighborhood in Riverside, especially and pointedly, made their opposition to the proposal known. Some also spoke about the matter at recent City Council meetings, including at its August 13 forum.

That same evening, Ward 4 Councilor Rick Lawson, in whose district Crescent Park and "The Terrace" are located, candidly informed the administration with remarks directed at Chief of Staff Patricia Resende that he would not be approving any expenditures for the DaSilva plan. He said he would actively seek two other votes of Councils to oppose the plan.

Lawson claimed the community was "overwhelmingly against" construction on the waterfront/west side of the park, adding, "We looked at it. It just didn't fit there."

He continued, "This is me letting the administration know the community doesn't want anything on the water side. I'm going to listen to them. I'm not going to vote to build anything on the water side. Keep it all on the carousel side, please.

"Why we're not just building it on the footprint of the existing building I don't know. I don't know why it takes us forever to get things done. I don't, but I just wanted to openly let the administration know based on the feedback from the public that should not be built on the water side.

"We want the clam shack, just keep it on the water side. I will not vote and I will be working to get as many votes against anything being built on the water side."

At-Large Councilor Bob Rodericks, who jokingly said he was "kicked out" of The Terrace after previously living there for some two decades, said "I as well am not in favor of adding anything major on the water side."

Rodericks said residents want what he called a "refreshment stand" to be built, though not all the other accessories.

He said he and other councilors may have signaled initial support for a "small restroom, better than just a port-a-john" be built on the water side to complement the band shell there, but not an all-encompassing structure.

"There's enough room on the carousel side to do what we want to do," he said, adding the city doesn't need to build changing stations or to hire lifeguards for a beach.

Of note as well, Ward 1 Councilor Frank Rego also voiced his public opposition to the water-side proposal, saying he would support Lawson and his constituents in Ward 4, particularly in The Terrace.

With all that on the record, DaSilva's social media remarks continued, "This decision comes after two community meetings where we listened to the residents’ concerns and modified the plan based on their input...We are up against a timeline that requires us to move quickly so we have directed the architectural team to move forward with the original plan."

In a follow-up statement on August 21, Lawson said he was "very happy" any notion of building on the water side of the park is being scrapped and that the administration is reverting back to the "original plan."

"I'm glad the mayor finally listened to the people," Lawson said . "We did our due diligence. It was a conversation that we needed to have...Nobody reached out to me asking to build on the west side, the water side. People who I talked to were overwhelmingly against it and not just on The Terrace. It was from all over. They were saying why would we want to ruin openness on that side?"

Rodericks also responded to DaSilva's social media post, saying, "I support keeping the status quo on the water side of Crescent Park. After decades of negligence, Crescent Park has come a long way. From regaining its original name to building a protective seawall and beautifying its grounds, we've come a long way. A larger concession stand and better bathrooms are planned and needed for the carousel side and have my strong support. A carousel area event tent is a good idea but without a cement pad."

The "original plan," long in the works and dating back in some form to 2018 at least, called for the existing concession stand to be replaced, as well as the building of a concrete pad to use as an ice rink in the winter and tented area in the summer along with office/storage space for the Carousel staff.

Elected and departmental officials previously agreed to scrap the seasonal ice rink. Lawson said carousel manager Tracy Johnson has sought to keep the pad, though, for use as a tented area during the summer that can also be rented for special occasions along with regular use.

"I'm all for including the the storage and office space for the carousel. There's some validity to figuring out if there is still a need for the pad. I don't think it's a bad thing to look at doing it without the concrete pad," Lawson said. "We need to figure out what does the pad add, what's the added value? If (the administration) is planning on doing something in the winter with it, tell us. If not, maybe we build a pavilion-type structure. What we want to do is find ways to monetize the park that don't overwhelm the park."

As for the "clam shack," the former operator, Blount Seafood, declined to return to the location once its agreement expired because it was of the opinion the current size and equipment weren't compatible with running a profitable business from its perspective.

The shack as is, however, will be operational at least for the remainder of this year.

The administration, through a request for proposal process and upon approval by the Council, has entered into a contract with local pop-up restauranteurs, Dune Brothers, to operate the existing clam shack for the rest of 2024 until the end of the 2026 season.

A grand opening was held Thursday, Aug. 21. The operation will stay open for the rest of the Carousel season through October.

Any new structure, specifically the allocations to pay for it, must not only be approved by the Council. In addition, with the Crescent Park Looff Carousel designated as a historic site, the Rhode Island Historical Society is also involved in the approval process. The building and its ornamentation must meet RIHS guidelines before construction can proceed.