I would have just written:

"Dear Jack,

Yes.

Jim."

Which is why I will never get elected to Portland City Council. He does a good job of explaining the city's rationale behind the project.

I bet the people that TPI helps would prefer block U to get away from all the mean people that live in the Lofts.

Damn. Jack could not have been more clear, and at least Jim was straight up about his response. That's just fucked up, really. I guess I'll just have to keep avoiding Old Town and candidate Middaugh. No biggie, though; Old Town Pizza was too spendy for it's own good anyway.

McCreary comes across as a speculative NIMBY hoping to benefit financially from future displacement and discrimination in Old Town. How exactly does he know that market rate offsets will not be viable?

For him to evoke Cabrini-Green is completely ridiculous and obviously meant to scare his neighbors into agreeing with him. (And it also sounds racist, but maybe that's for a different post.)

Good job to Middaugh for his response.

There are so many differences between Cabrini-Green and the planned center for block 25. If anything, the planned center for block 25 is the polar opposite of the planned center for block 25. I'd repeat myself a third time, but you get me.

Here's Cabrini-Green:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrini-Green

I'm not sure how racist it is, more spectacularly uninformed.

I prefer Sten's rumored title for the development: his "Taj Mahal."

I'd like to hear of just one neighborhood that would jump for joy if a service center pulled up next to their home or place of business. It's not gonna' happen and it doesn't make anyone a racist for not enjoying the smell of pee and drug addicts all around them. It's depressing to watch and even more so for those actually going through it.

The only reason that they won't move into the 'U spot' is that they can make more money off of it because of the lack of the above mentioned service environment. I don't think that anyone is against service centers that help people, it's just the shitty environment that it usually creates. If they could get that tackled, people would probably be cool with it.

schting, the services were already there for a long while before the NIMBYs pulled up next to them and then claimed the services were ruining their neighborhood.

McCreary and some of his neighbors got into Old Town on the cheap and are now going to push to change the neighborhood for their benefit. I don't blame him and I, too, would like to see Old Town gentrify a little bit. But he's not fooling anyone into thinking he has the community's best interests in mind.

I agree with you ho. Old Town has been smelling like pee and full of services for some time now. They tell me that it was far worse in the early 90's, so I don't really feel sorry for the residents that moved into the already existing piss pool, just the Chinese community and the Chinatown that I wish we had near downtown.

It really does seem to me that Portland fosters a culture of free rides for bums rather than the culture of an international city. They really should space those places out for the people that need them and not just downtown where we bring our guests from out of town to impress them. Many of my guests from out of town were puzzled as to why they had built so many around the same place.

Hi,
My name is Richard Walden;
I serve as a board member of the Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood association, work in the neighborhood, live on the boundary, and have watched the changes in Old Town since 1992.

I feel a need to address a couple of statements by Mr. McCreary regarding the proposed day access center on block 25.

"In keeping with the letter and spirit of the OTCT Vision Plan, approved in 1997 by the City Council, we welcome modest development of new workforce housing units and retail opportunities without a net loss or gain of low-cost housing and social services. The current proposal for Block 25 would destroy such balance."

This is simply not true. Since 1997 downtown Portland has lost 691 units of affordable housing. The addition of roughly 200 units proposed for the block 25 project would be a move back towards the balance the city promised to preserve in 1997, nothing more. More affordable housing, less homelessness impacting our neighborhood...see the connection?

"the day care shelter (aka Resource Access Center) would draw poor people from the streets of downtown and other neighborhoods that may be inconvenienced by their presence."

First, calling it a "day care center" is incredibly insulting. People without homes are people too, and deserve a bit of respect. Second, the citizens the day access center is designed to serve are already here, sleeping on the street, drinking on the street, and using the street as a toilet. The access center is designed, in part, to address these problems, as well as provide REAL help and assistance to those who cause them. It will also, from an aesthetics and safety point of view, largely eliminate the waiting lines at Blanchet House and TPI.

Our neighborhood will be the better for this, just as the Pearl was vastly improved by the 8 NW 8th building. Do you remember how disgusting and dangerous the North Park Blocks used to be? I do. Now it's a place where children play and tourists relax; and it's largely BECAUSE of affordable housing, co-located with social services, across the street. The residents at 8 NW 8th take pride in their building and their neighborhood, and actively work to keep it clean and safe. The same would be true at block 25.

"Once a ghetto for racial minorities, Old Town would remain a ghetto of poverty."

This is just silly. Honestly. I must assume you have little historical perspective on the neighborhood, or you would realize that 15 years ago it WAS a nightmare of poverty and crime. Now it is one of the most interesting, vibrant neighborhoods in town. By the way, our Chinese neighbors might object to the "racial ghetto" line.

"Renters wont pay market-rate rents for apartments co-located with shelters and SROs."
Yes. They. Will. The intermingling of market rate and subsidized housing has been proven to work repeatedly, all over the country. It is possibly the single best way to insure that we don't return to the bad old days of "ghetto's".

"A “Cabrini-Green” high-rise on Block 25 would cast a huge shadow on this progress."

Oh come on. The "Cabrini Green" allusion would get thrown out of a high school debate, and is beneath you. Portland has some of the most stringent design requirements in the country, and architects and developers who "get it". Tell me 8 NW 8th reminds you of Cabrini Green, and I'll eat my shorts. Show me ANY building in Portland that reminds you of Cabrini Green and I'll eat my shorts.

Now, no one is saying that the block 25 plan is perfect. There are problems and hurdles to overcome. But we are on the right track. The Joint Land Use committee put an incredible amount of work into looking at options, and this is the one that works the best for the most.

Going forward with the access center on block 25 will be a HUGE asset to our neighborhood, and to the city. It will reduce, not increase the visible impact of homelessness in our neighborhood. It will reduce, not increase, the raw number of homeless in our neighborhood. It will increase, not decrease, property values in our neighborhood. It will provide real, lasting solutions to homelessness, instead of band-aids and revolving doors.

It will simply make Old Town/Chinatown a better place to live.

In closing, I fully associate myself with the work of the Joint Land Use Committee, and with the response of Mr. Middaugh. (ps; Jim, you've got my vote)

I urge my neighbors and fellow board members to look beyond their fears and knee-jerk reactions, and see the day access center at block 25 as the win/win project that it is. Perfect? No. Damned good and a workable solution for all parties? Yes, it is.

Sincerely,
Richard Walden
Board Member, OTCTNA

Thanks Richard. One of the things that I wonder about the access center is how it will provide a place for homelessness without spilling out onto the streets. Many in the city feel that Portland has become a homeless Mecca of sorts and that something like this only promotes coming here to live without having a job. The worry is not of helping them, but attracting them as well. Are the police prepared to step up too? There's a huge controversy over rent-a-cops in the area already, will it strain the department?

Respectfully,

Schting

Many in the city feel that Portland has become a homeless Mecca of sorts and that something like this only promotes coming here to live without having a job.

schting, I have to say, I agree with you to a small (probably very small) degree, but in my experience, people in EVERY city I've ever lived in (Minnesota, Utah, Oregon, California) think that their city has an overly lenient attitude towards homelessness and that it's a "mecca" for homeless people.

It's kind of like the "drivers in my city are the worst in the country" phenomenon. People just don't have a very good frame of reference for these things. I don't think Portland is any more accommodating toward the homeless than San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, or most other major cities on the west cost.

Well said, Richard. As a FORMERLY homeless resident in OTCT I think it is about time to quit moving 'em along, and moving 'em in. People seem to forget That when you tear housing down and don't replace it, What do ya get? HOMELESSNESS. But I notice one thing, they still want us to do the menial work they don't want to do, but just go hide until they need us again. Too much to ask for safe, affordable housing for the working poor

That's great Dale, and it's a perfect example of why these services exist, and I'm glad you made it. My father was an inspector for public housings, so my heart goes out to the situation. I've just never seen such a concentration of services in one area while they've just got to be needed in other parts of town. It seems to have a negative effect in concentration, so why not space it out, both affordable housing and services?

schting, have you ever been to San Francisco? They have armies of homeless people there plus very strong advocates. Portland is nothing in comparison. The practicalities of spreading services out are not what you'd think. Just look at what happened in Milwaukie and Cornelius, both places where the city leadership said "no" to services trying to locate there. At least in old town they have critical mass and history there. That's all they have against NIMBYs.

Yeah, Skinny, I have been to San Francisco and I guess that's what I'd like to see the city of Portland avoid turning into. Ah, the pleasant smell off pee wafting through the air as I step over a passed out bum, covered in flies on my way to catch the BART.

I guess it's just the inevitable though. Maybe it really is best to keep them all there, since I wouldn't like those places near where I work or live. No big deal though, like I said earlier, I avoid Old Town; too many bums smelling like pee, hitting me up for cash.

I remember the "Pearl" from the 1950's. It's remarkable that the income/lifestyle mix is working, and EVERYBODY deserves to have their situation improved. Block 25 is best, it's time to get started, and break ground.