Activist Harrison Tuttle Issues Statement to Pawtucket City Council on Morley Field
Community Leader Harrison Tuttle penned a letter to the embattled Pawtucket, Rhode Island City Council … in anticipation of tonight’s landmark meeting on the future of the much-villified Tax Stabilization Agreement with Long Island based JK Equities, on the nightmarish reality of the Morley Field “Development”,
Dear Members of the Pawtucket City Council,
I write to you as a concerned community member regarding the proposed economic development around Morley Field and the deeply problematic tax stabilization agreement with JK Equities. This matter exemplifies a failure of public trust—one that threatens our environment, violates federal law, and prioritizes private profit over community welfare.
Proposed “solutions” such as relocating to Riverside Park exemplify the recklessness of this entire undertaking. The site’s documented industrial legacy, topographical unsuitability, and proximity to the polluted Blackstone River corridor make it wholly inappropriate for recreational conversion. Environmental officials have explicitly condemned the city’s proposal as “extremely preliminary” and lacking basic safety assessments—a finding that alone should halt this process. Exchanging one potentially contaminated site for another while forfeiting an established public asset constitutes gross negligence in urban planning.
Furthermore, the continued closure of Morley Field—as detailed in emails sent to you over the past year—constitutes an ongoing violation of federal law by the City of Pawtucket. The Land and Water Conservation Fund’s protections were designed to prevent exactly this scenario: the stealthy alienation of protected recreational land without due process, proper replacement, or public consent. That the city has barricaded this space for years without remediation or lawful conversion reveals contempt for both legal obligations and community needs.
For these reasons alone, it is widely recognized throughout Pawtucket—and indeed across Rhode Island—that the environmental justification for closing Morley Field and entering into an agreement with JK Equities has been thoroughly compromised. JK Equities, an out-of-state private developer with a direct financial interest in this outcome, controls both the contamination narrative and political influence in Pawtucket. This is evidenced by the $1,750 in campaign donations from Jordan Karlik—Principal at Blackstone Distribution Center, LLC, which has come before this council—to Mayor Donald Grebien.
The economic promises of this deal have proven hollow. Three years after receiving substantial tax breaks, JK Equities has failed to:
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Complete construction,
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Secure tenants,
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Remediate the Microfibres site, or
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Demonstrate credible job creation.
Continuing to accommodate JK Equities would:
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Increase truck traffic past Segue Institute, endangering 400 students,
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Worsen air quality,
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Eliminate the only green space in Woodlawn, and
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Undermine Providence’s North Main Street revitalization efforts.
The City Charter (Chapter 363, Article XI, § 363-42.3) and your existing agreement with JK Equities provide clear mechanisms to terminate this failed arrangement. Pawtucket residents will continue to ask upon the Pawtucket City Council to take action on:
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Rejecting any future TSA agreements with JK Equities
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Reopen Morley Field to restore lawful public access
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Commission community centered environmental reviews for any future proposals
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Develop a community-centered plan for 1 Moshassuck Street
Sincerely,
Harrison Tuttle
