Picozzi Showcases Conimicut Point Swimmer Alert System

On July 13, the treacherous currents spelled tragedy for Nicolette Biber, 28, of East Greenwich, who visited the sandbar with a friend late at night and swam off the point, drowning before rescuers could find her. In 2021, weeks after weeks after Yoskarly Martinez, 10, of Providence and Valentin Cardona Sanchez, 35, of Central Falls, who tried to rescue her, died fighting the currents, Mayor Frank Picozzi announced warning signs would be installed to alert people to the danger.

But Picozzi wanted a better system in place. He noted that most of the drowning victims there weren’t local and were unaware of the dangers of the sandbar, he said.

“I was with Yoskarly’s family when her body was brought ashore and they identified her. I’ll never get that image out of my head, sometimes it keeps me awake at night. The family wasn’t familiar with the dangers of the sandbar. I know that if we had a system like this back then, that tragedy would not have happened. I was determined to find a way to try to prevent another tradgedy. This was a team effort!” he said.

Monday morning, Picozzi demonstrated a new system at the Sawtooth Building, 65 Centerville Road, which he has been working on for more than a year. When the tide and currents are predicted to become dangerous off the sandbar, an alarm will sound, and red and blue lights set into a pole at the beginning of the sandbar will start flashing, followed by a verbal warning in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, Picozzi, explained on his Facebook page Monday.

“Attention. Attention. Dangerous tide waters approaching. Please exit the water immediately,” the warning sounds in English. A new recording will be made for the warning when the system is finished, Picozzi said.

The lights will begin flashing at the announcement and will continue flashing until the system turns it off when the tide has gone back out enough that conditions become safe, Picozzi said. Signs with graphics warning people to stay off the sandbar while the lights are flashing will also be put up in the area, he said.

Picozzi, renowned prior to his time as Mayor for his elaborate Christmas light displays, said he’s been working on the system, which will allow remote updates, for more than a year. The Police and Fire Department will also have access to the system.

“I have a greater knowledge of electronics and technology than the average person but eventually I had to turn to someone that’s a lot smarter than I am for help, our IT Director Phil Carlucci. He’s a brilliant man and started working on the project with me. I also got input into the implementation of the system from police Captain Bob Hart and fire department Captain Justin Vale who are in charge of water rescue operations in their respective departments. They are experts on the sandbar and tides,” Picozzi wrote.

Picozzi said the system is waiting on a weathertight enclosure and a mounting pole to be delivered. The signs are being designed, and the conduit and wiring for electricity to the area was run about two months ago.

Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.