By Gabe Frayne
North Tabor residents surely have no memory of a crime spree as prolific as that which took place in our vicinity this past Memorial Day weekend. On Friday, a white nationalist on a MAX train approaching the Hollywood Station murdered two good Samaritans who came to the defense of a Muslim woman and her friend when they became the targets of the assailant’s anti-Muslim vitriol. Then, early Sunday morning, a man carrring what was later determined to be a bb gun, forced police to cordon off more than a dozen blocks of the Laurelhurst neighborhood near Cesar Chavez Boulevard. The lockdown lasted almost the entire day.
In light of these disturbing events, North Tabor residents may be interested in joining Susan Pi, a resident of NE 60th who recently had her car stolen, for a gathering of neighbors to discuss “prevention/raising awareness, proactive strategies, safe response to events [and] political action” to counter the recent uptick in auto thefts, car prowls and break-ins in N. Tabor. No time or place has been set yet, but Susan can be contacted via Nextdoor.com.
A 1922 cottage at the corner of NE 56th and Glisan will be the latest N. Tabor rental to have a date with the wrecking ball, in keeping with the city’s push to bring greater residential density to the neighborhood through zoning changes. Plans call for demolishing the cottage and building four attached units with garages. Owner John Reilly agreed to meet with residents to go over the plans, but then canceled for various reasons over the past month.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee has set up a meeting with Sara Wright of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability on June 28 to discuss the zoning changes in N. Tabor mandated by the Comprehensive Plan. A venue is yet to be determined but will be announced on the NTNA web site.
The NTNA is still seeking volunteers to join a Neighborhood Emergency Response Team to assure that North Tabor is better prepared to withstand a major earthquake or other disaster. Contact Joshua Carey, chair@northtabor.org, on the NTNA board if interested.
