HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
In a brief August meeting, the Hosford Abernethy Neighborhood Association (HAND) Board voted to approve a Good Neighbor Agreement that includes the Brooklyn Action Corps, Central Eastside Industrial Council and the city in regards to the new shelter site on Gideon managed by Urban Alchemy. Representatives had been meeting for weeks to figure out what it would take for the community to feel comfortable with the Clinton Triangle Temporary Alternative Shelter Site (Clinton TASS). It is hoped the GNA will be a template for subsequent sites throughout the city. It is not a code of conduct, but more a statement saying what the city is willing to give in exchange for inconvenience to residents. It is understood to be a work in progress.
At HAND’s next meeting, Tuesday, September 19, 7 pm at St. Philip Neri, the Board and HAND neighbors will flesh out how a Clinton Triangle Oversight Committee will operate. See the HAND website, handpdx.org, to read the agreement (a work in progress) and for additional meeting details.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association
By Louise Hoff
The 10th Montavilla Jazz Festival is September 1-3. Musicians will be performing in various venues, including Metroarts, 1905 and Rose Theaters and Mt. Tabor amphitheater, which has been their inspiration for new compositions. Check out the program and get tickets on their website, montavillajazz.org, and read about all that they create in our community.
The Montavilla Street Fair was a great success with a huge turnout. Montavilla is becoming a hub for great Portland food as we become home to more restaurants, pubs and food carts. Food is also the main feature at the Montavilla Farmer’s Market every Sunday 10 am-2 pm on SE Stark St.
Montavilla was also the site of the annual International Jade District Festival at PCC. What a turnout….and once again featuring excellent food, as well as booths with crafts, plants, public information, art and ceramics. So many residents enjoyed the sunshine, having lunch on the lawn or enjoying the booths while children were running through sprinklers and eating snow cones.
Berrydale Park was filled with children and families for a pizza party on August 22 to kick off the new school year at Clark School. Leaves are getting crinkly and beginning to turn, spider webs are appearing in the yard and other early signs of fall are here.
Many curbs were updated this summer and we have more lighting along NE Glisan St. A new priority is safety and additional crosswalks along the street.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association had a public meeting at the Robot Room on August 23 and hopes to have another meeting with neighbors soon, both to discuss issues impacting our neighborhood and to learn more about the association and the role we play in our city government. A great opportunity to consider is joining us on the board! Board elections are in October.
Our next board meeting is Monday, September 11, 6:30 pm via Zoom. The public can attend but not participate. Find information on attending at montavilla.org.
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
By David Petrozzi
MTNA hosted our regular monthly meeting August 16 via Zoom. Neighborhood safety was the central topic of our agenda, featuring city officials from the Mayor’s Office, Portland Fire & Rescue, Portland Parks and Recreation, the Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program and the 311 Communications Coordinator. Neighbors were invited to ask any question they desired on the topic of safety, and a highly informational roundtable discussion ensued with special attention to community resources available for reporting issues and addressing problems, including the city’s new 311 phone service, as well as the PDX Reporter app.
Make your voice heard and work to create an even better Mount Tabor! Bring your ideas and questions to our next monthly meeting, which will be held Wednesday, September 19 via Zoom. Please find links for this and all of our meetings, under the “Meetings and Events” tab of our website, mttaborpdx.org.
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Allen Field
The Richmond Neighborhood Association (RNA) held its monthly meeting August 14. Meetings are the second Monday of the month, 7-9 pm, except January. Meetings are now held in-person at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.; people can also 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.
James Crooker, the new Commander for East Precinct, Portland Police Bureau, discussed the challenges in addressing various crime issues and progress he hopes to make. There was extensive Q&A. He hopes to have Neighborhood Response Team officers attend more RNA meetings to interact with neighbors more frequently about crime and safety issues.
Rob Galanakis requested the Board to sign onto a letter expanding a Cesar Chavez Rose Lane project. The Board stated it needed more information on the project, particularly from PBOT, and wanted to see much more community outreach and input before recommending major, and likely very controversial, traffic changes on Chavez. The Board instead voted to send a letter to PBOT requesting information on the Rose Lane project and on traffic calming approaches, and to invite a PBOT representative to attend an RNA meeting.
Heidi Barth and Ann Clack described history and current programs of the Van Veen Heritage Garden (vanveennursery.com) to spread information and awareness of the garden, located at SE 42nd Ave. and Franklin St.
The next RNA meeting is Monday, August 14. Everyone is welcome. Come and check out a meeting and learn about ways to get more involved in your community.
South Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Cathy Kudlick
With summer winding down and school starting up, the STNA has been turning its attention to safety in South Tabor. At our August Board meeting we hosted three city officials–Lt. Israel Hill of the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct, Wendy Cawley of the Oregon Department of Transportation and Tova Peltz of the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Together we discussed the ongoing challenges that have led to several recent traffic deaths along our stretch of SE Powell Blvd., including three deaths in a single street racing incident just two blocks away as we were leaving our July Board meeting .
Lt. Hill focused on efforts to combat the growing popularity of street racing throughout Portland and in particular along Powell west of 82nd Ave. He described this stretch as “a perfect racing street” because there are currently 13 blocks without a central median or signalized crossings.
Discussion turned to members’ impatience with the lack of progress on a TriMet-led pedestrian safety improvements project on Powell and Division that was funded in 2016 and originally scheduled for completion in 2019. This includes adding a number of signalized pedestrian crossings on Powell between the South Tabor and Foster-Powell neighborhoods. We discussed TriMet’s latest project update which shows it pushed back once again, with construction not starting until summer 2024.
Cawley and Peltz shared their agencies’ perspectives and pledged to see how they can expedite reviews and permitting, but ultimately, it’s up to TriMet to keep the project moving.
The convergence of disproportionate traffic mortality rates (10 traffic deaths since 2019 occurring within one to two blocks of the planned crosswalks), the coming start of the school year (accompanied by new PPS boundaries that require students to cross busy SE Powell), and the apparent lack of urgency felt by TriMet to advance this project have inspired frustration and calls for action. If you are impacted by this issue, you can submit public testimony to the TriMet board by email, virtually, or in person at their September meeting (trimet.org/meetings/board).
Our next meeting, like all our meetings, will be in person and open to the public. It will be held on Thursday, September 21, 7 pm at All-City Church on SE 67th between Clinton and Taggart streets. Representatives from Portland’s Safe Streets Program will lead a workshop and answer questions. Join us to improve our neighborhood and meet your neighbors!
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
By Gloria Jacobs
Hi neighbors! I hope you all managed to stay cool during this oppressively hot weather and had a restful summer.
Earlier this summer, librarian Jeanie Diaz was killed by a drunk driver who struck her as she was waiting for a bus on SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. With four lanes of traffic, vehicles traveling at a high speed and narrow sidewalks, this area of Cesar Chavez is extremely dangerous. PBOT has identified a stretch of Cesar Chavez (from I-84 to SE Stark St.) to receive a Rose Lane—a dedicated bus lane—in each direction. Rose Lanes not only reduce delays for bus routes, they keep cars and trucks from driving continuously on the outer two lanes of the road. Cars and trucks can enter the Rose Lane only when turning right onto a neighborhood street. At the August board meeting, we discussed a letter to PBOT that asks for an extension of the Rose Lane south to Division or Powell. The letter can be read in full on Sunnysideportland.org. At our Thursday, September 14 General Meeting, we hope to get your feedback on the specific traffic calming and safety measures PBOT should implement along Cesar Chavez.
The SNA will staff a table at the Belmont Street Fair. Stop by Saturday, September 9 and introduce yourself.
We have a lot planned for our September 14 General Meeting. Continuing the theme of pedestrian safety and traffic calming, both State Rep. Rob Nosse and (hopefully) Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland will share their ideas (and listen to ours) on how we can advocate for, and get, safer streets. Rep. Nosse will also give us an overall update on his work in the legislature, touching on housing, homelessness, addiction treatment and behavioral health issues. Come join us for the meeting, 7-8:30 pm, at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main St.). The agenda will be on the website, sunnysideportland.org, a few days before. There is no SNACC or LUTC meeting this month.