Street Roots editorial
In some ways, the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood embodies the changes Portland has undergone over the past decade. It is the home to both new and familiar residents. It is an enterprising business network, gaining steam. It is the community of social service organizations that work to alleviate poverty and homelessness, to fill the gaps in addiction treatment and health care. And it is the broad shoulders for the people these organizations serve. The neighborhood also has a history and culture of open drug dealing.
The Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association, it’s business and community partners are calling for renewing the Drug Free Zone ordinance, which would give police greater authority to stop, question and search individuals on the street, and allow the courts to exclude selected street offenders from the neighborhood. It was dropped from the city books three years ago under former mayor Tom Potter following accounts of racial disparity and civil rights violations.
We believe, and neighborhoods have proven, that there are more constructive solutions to turning this environment around and taking back our streets. We need leaders in the neighborhood who have vision and can think outside the box.
We offer a few examples that could be used drive out drug dealing during the early morning rush hour, and throughout the day in Old Town Chinatown. We can do so supporting local businesses and promoting a healthy living environment for our neighborhood and the City of Portland.
On the economic front, we need to make our sidewalks vibrant with opportunity, much as it is on many otherwise discarded city blocks at breakfast, lunch and after work.
We should work to create a small number of food carts and other street-side attractions in Old Town Chinatown that would serve neighborhood workers, tenants and tourists. The options are almost endless, including an extension of local establishments, Asian and Latino enterprises, and social-service projects such as Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream employment program through New Avenues for Youth.
These endeavors rely on the neighborhood’s support and vision, including incentives to foster a marketplace for workers, friends and patrons.
As an entry point to many bus and train visitors to the city, Old Town is a ripe location for tourist information and business vendors to set up shop and welcome the stream of people to the city.
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, could set a foundation to launch the projects. In the end, it means celebrating this community, drawing people to, not away from, a destination. We’ve seen it happen in neighborhoods throughout the city, and it should happen here, in downtown’s backyard.
Public safety is equally in the mix. We need officers walking the beat. Not on horses, not in cars, but on the sidewalks, knowing the people who come and go at all hours. It is a presence that has paid off in the past, and can once again, to create a safe environment.
On a simpler note, put in more streetlights. There are stretches of sidewalks in Old Town that suffer from the lack of fundamental illumination. Light the streets.
None of this will change things overnight. But nothing happens if nothing is pursued.