Groups oppose property ordinance

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Several groups want Providence's mayor to veto a revised ordinance approved by the City Council that targets chronic nuisance properties.

Under the newly worded ordinance, police can issue a $500 fine if they have to intervene to deal with a property deemed a public nuisance more than once in six months. A public nuisance is a gathering where illegal activity creates a "substantial disturbance."

In a letter to Mayor Angel Taveras (tuh-VEHR'-us), the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and other civil rights groups call the ordinance "dangerous" and say it may encourage racial profiling by landlords.

The groups say it's impossible for landlords to find tenants who won't ever interact with police and that most discriminate against would-be tenants "who look a certain way."