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BlushesandGushes t1_jca78c2 wrote

Reply to comment by Parlor-soldier in Yoleni’s in Downtown Providence has closed by lovecraft_401

I lived on Westminster Street in 2008 a block from Yolenis. Moved to MA and returned last September to the same block. 2008 there was a fraction of the empty store fronts that there are now. It is pretty crazy, and sad to see.

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beta_vulgaris t1_jcbwwcs wrote

The financial crisis hit Providence really hard. When I moved here in 2010, downtown was a ghost town (with the exception of the many strip clubs). It got nicer and nicer every year since then. Covid disrupted that, but there are some really positive things happening more recently. For downtown to meet its full potential we need to increase housing density and create more reasons to be there besides dining- festivals, entertainment, vendor fairs, etc.

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