HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
City plans call for our neighborhood to host what could be the first of several large encampments for people who are homeless. The Board and other residents of the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood are actively focused on the proposal, with its myriad of ramifications. Along with the Brooklyn neighborhood and the Central Eastside Industrial District, we are working on a coordinated response.
Central City Concern’s Karibu residential/outreach effort is now up and running at SE 21st Ave. and Powell Blvd. The HAND Board and other interested residents are anticipating an update on a proposed tiny village project at SE 19th Ave. that would be run by WeShine. Good Neighbor Agreements are one of the tools residents have for setting limits and stating expectations. We are busy helping craft a template that might work for HAND with these three new service providers.
Another tool we have is making local, city and state decision makers aware of where we stand. In February, Mary Proveto, of Neighbors for Clean Air, asked us to support two pieces of legislation in Salem. We voted to encourage our reps in Salem to support the group’s legislative proposals. Also, after hearing details about TriMet’s plan to reroute a part of the #70 bus line, we decided that Cleveland students should be let off at the school rather than on SE 21st Ave, seven blocks away. And we agreed to support Southeast Uplift’s stand asking the city to replace park lights that were recently removed and not remove others.
Linda Nettekoven told us about a group she works with on lower-SE issues and suggested someone from HAND might want to join. The Sustainable SE Community Coalition is organized to help where help is needed.
On a larger scale, Vadim Mozyrsky of Neighbors West/NW, citing disarray in the neighborhood system, convened a citywide gathering of NAs to share concerns. More than 100 people attended, with 65 NAs represented. Folks from HAND reported back that many residents share our concerns, including crime and assorted issues with trains.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 18, 7 pm on Zoom. We are slowly moving toward sharing space in person.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association
By Louise Hoff
Glisan is shining more brightly in the evenings thanks to a joint City/MNA/METBA project to make our streets more inviting and safer. Portland Parks has a separate project to remove light poles and lanterns in many of our city parks and Montavilla Park is on the list to have six lights removed and replaced.
TriMet is expanding between April 16 and May 6 and a number of their Montavilla routes will be re-routed.
Communication between residents and the city is focused on several issues right now. There was a neighborhood association summit of all 66 neighborhoods and there was general consensus we need to be more in touch with each other as well as with City Council.
Southeast Uplift represents all of our neighborhoods in SE and they too are developing programs to increase communication between neighborhoods and residents. One of their goals is to inspire residents to collaborate on more projects. They are also addressing the historical lanterns which have been removed in Mt. Tabor Park.
Houseless shelters are in the works! The county has hopes of developing several along 82nd Ave. in Montavilla and the city is developing one as well.
Environmental Services is hosting several Rate Study Technical Discussions pertaining to business as well as residences in the city to look at new pricing programs for water and sewer. Montavilla residents will benefit from the proposed tiered system of smaller homes paying less than the current flat rate. If you have a chance, let them know! Visit portland.gov/BES/aligning-rates-and-charges for ways to do so. More people need to learn about the good discounts for Clean River Rewards involving stormwater runoff. This can include rain gardens, as well as rain barrels.
Our next Board meeting is Monday, April 10, 6:30 pm on Zoom. See montavilla.org for more info.
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
By David Petrozzi
MTNA hosted our regular monthly meeting March 15 via Zoom. This year’s neighborhood cleanup will be held Saturday, April 22 at the Unity Church parking lot, located at SE 47th Ave. and Stark St. Please stop by to dispose of those pesky household items that aren’t fit for normal trash pickup in a safe and environmentally conscious way. We also heard from the Sustainable Southeast Community Coalition, a newly formed nonprofit uniting several neighborhoods in advocacy for projects to improve livability along Hawthorne Blvd. Discussion ensued regarding the city’s plan to potentially remove several historic lamp posts from Mt. Tabor Park and MTNA will be drafting a letter to the city asking them to reconsider.
Meet your neighbors and get involved! Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 19, 7 pm via Zoom. Please find links for this and all of our meetings under the “Meetings and Events” tab of our website, mttaborpdx.org.
North Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Kim Kasch
The North Tabor and Mt. Tabor neighborhood associations have teamed up to offer a Neighborhood Cleanup Saturday, April 22, 9 am-1 pm at a new location, Unity Spiritual Center, SE 47th Ave. and Stark St. To volunteer, contact cleanup@northtabor.org and for more information check our website at northtabor.org.
North Tabor Neighborhood Association is working to create a new digital newsletter for the community and is asking for banner art to liven-up the digital look. If you are interested, submit your concept art to board@northtabor.org by Monday, May 1. The Board will be reviewing submissions to select a finalist.
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Ann Sandvig and Allen Field
The Richmond Neighborhood Association (RNA) held its monthly meeting March 13. Meetings are held the second Monday of the month 7-9 pm except January.
Starting with our April 10 meeting, the RNA will be meeting in person at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. Meetings will be hybrid (i.e., people can still participate via Zoom). The link to pre-register for Zoom is on the agenda, which is posted to richmondpdx.org and the RNA Announce listserv. To be added to the listserv, email richmondnasecretary@gmail.com.
At the March meeting, Albert Kaufman (albertkaufman.com), a candidate for Multnomah County Commissioner, District 3 position, gave a presentation and answered questions. We also had Morgan Towie, Neighbors for Clean Air (neighborsforcleanair.org), who gave an interesting and concerning presentation on Multnomah County’s toxic air issues.
The RNA board election will be May 8 and 9, 6-8 pm, at the entrance to Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. There are eight open board seats for two-year terms. April 10 is the deadline to announce candidacy, which can be done at the April 10 RNA meeting or by emailing richmondnasecretary@gmail.com by end of day. Everyone over 18 and who resides, owns property or a business in Richmond can run for the Board and vote. For more information, visit richmondpdx.org/may-8-2023-board-election-process.
We have two Richmond Collection Events coming up. May 19, 1-4 pm, Household Hazardous Waste collection is at Peaceful Villa, SE 46th Ave. and Taggart St. Batteries (including lithium-ion and rechargeable not cordless tool batteries), sharps and epi-pens, prescription medication (pet meds too) and compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) but no broken bulbs or fluorescent tubes will be accepted. NO chemical, cleaning supplies or automobile liquids.
May 20, 9 am-1 pm, Richmond Spring Cleanup is at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. Bulky waste, recycling (metal, electronics, block styrofoam and peanuts) and reusable items for the U-Price-It rummage sale will be collected. There will be a huge plant sale too.
To volunteer at the Cleanup, get paid $20/hr to transport items with your truck; if you are a senior or disabled and want pickup service, contact richmondcleanup@gmail.com. Go to richmondpdx.org/may20richmondcleanup for more information.
South Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Cathy Kudlick
The South Tabor Neighborhood Association resumed in-person meetings in February and March 2023 at the Hindsight Taproom on SE Powell Blvd. We’re moving forward with planning for our annual neighborhood garage sale/garden visits Friday, June 9. We also discussed safety concerns related to a couple of recent shootings and tensions at the Powell frontage parking areas and are exploring partnerships with nearby neighborhood associations to work for positive change.
Other initiatives include a tree-planting workshop and creating an online map of the many little home libraries that dot our neighborhood. If you live or work in fabulous South Tabor, join us at our next STNA meeting Thursday, April 20, 7 pm (location TBD). That’s the third Thursday of the month, as always. To sign up for updates and learn more about us, visit southtabor.org.
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
By Gloria Jacobs
Our March meeting featured a presentation from the Metro Climate Action Team about their efforts to turn Portlanders towards more sustainable methods of cooking and heating. We learned about heat pumps and induction cooktops. To learn about these, visit olcv.org/metro-climate-action-team. The IRS has an FAQ about credits and rebates available at irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2022-40.pdf.
At the upcoming April Board meeting we will discussing the new committee charter that the Land Use and Transportation Committee has been working on, as well as planning our Board elections at our May 11th meeting, 7 pm at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main Street). We have four Board seats on the ballot. No experience is required and our fun and friendly Board will help you figure things out. It’s a great way to get involved in your community and have a voice. If you live or work in the Sunnyside neighborhood, you are eligible to run. We are looking to fill one- and two-year terms. Meetings are on the second Thursday of each month and commitments vary depending on your interests and passions. If you are interested in learning more, or to send in a brief candidate’s statement, email us at board@sunnysideportland.org.
A few Sunnyside Shower Project (SSP) members participated in a lively policy conversation on houselessness and public safety sponsored by Portland Forward. Leaders from Street Roots, H4All and other organizations were present, as were the DA and a former mayoral candidate. Big ideas identified included increasing pay for social workers, ending the commodification of housing stock and using Neighborhood Associations as a way to build community amongst unhoused and housed neighbors.
The next SNACC meeting will be Thursday, April 20, 6:30 pm at SE Uplift.