By Israel Bayer
The following is a short list of examples that could be used to detour and drive out drug dealing during the early morning rush hour, and throughout the day in Old Town/Chinatown.
Open drug dealing has been a part of the culture in the neighborhood for decades. While some of these ideas may be pie in the sky — there's no reason to believe that with a long-term strategic plan that some of these suggestions couldn't work to curb the problem.
If the following examples below were positioned at key locations in the neighborhood, and supported by the larger Old Town/Chinatown community and the city — we could take back four to twelve blocks of our community. By doing so, we would be supporting local business, and promoting a healthy living environment for our neighborhood and the City of Portland.
The resources could be generated from the Portland Development Commission, and working with the Portland Business Alliance, the City of Portland, local businesses and non-profits to create enough income to generate supporting the projects.
Thinking out the box: Economic Development
Knowing that Street Roots staff walk from NW 2nd and Davis to the food carts in SW at least two to three times a week for breakfast, or lunch — we assume other individuals working in the neighborhood must be doing the same.
We recommend working to obtain/create a small number of food carts and other street side attractions in Old Town Chinatown that would serve neighborhood workers, tenants and tourists.
In return the neighborhood association, the businesses and non-profit sector could work together to encourage workers, friends, patrons, etc. to have incentives to support the carts for economic security.
* None of this can be possible without the support of the neighborhood and the city itself working to promote economic viability during the morning, and daytime hours to support the projects.
Carts examples:
— Work with Voz/Central City Concern to have a food cart at a selected location/corner
— Work with the Chinese Business Association to work with local business to create some kind of food cart that would offer Asian cuisine on the go
— Work with a local coffee establishment (p:ear, Stumptown, Backspace) to create a coffee cart and snacks
— New Avenues for Youth/Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stand (summertime)
— Work with a local florist to have a flower stand
— Create a location for a Street Roots vendor that the neighborhood would support
— Create a location for street musicians to play — a soup box of sorts that would allow musicians/theater, etc. to have a designated location
— Work with the Portland Business Alliance and Travel Portland to create a kiosk that is created with traditional Chinese or Japanese art/architecture that would serve tourists at selected times. The kiosk could work with the Chinese Gardens, Japanese and the Jewish Museums, the walking tours and other attractions to offer special incentives at the cart to drive traffic to their locations and other eateries in the neighborhood.
Public safety:
— Two Portland Police officers on different shifts walk the beat. Disrupt drug traffic, make themselves available to businesses, non-profits
— Continue to work with PPI to walk the beat and do the same
— Homeless/Mental health/Addiction outreach workers do the same — ask individuals in organizations at Central City Concern, TPI, Street Roots, Sisters Of The Road, Downtown Chapel, p:ear to make a concerted effort to walk the beat and do outreach during targeted hours
- One of the locations could be the Portland Loo to create a sense of security, and community, while also offering coffee, or something on the go to people getting off the Max and going to train/bus station, etc.