April/May 2010
1. A
Message from the Chair
2. Clean & Safe Security
3. Clean & Safe Maintenance Program
4. West Side Community Court Program Updated
5. Sidewalk Ambassadors
6. PDX Pop-Up Shops and Retail Incubator
7. ICSC Conference
8. Dining Guide
9. Country Food Fair Coming to Downtown Portland,
June 10
1.
A Message from the Chair
 In
the past eight weeks, we have seen a group of individuals,
who some refer to as "Road Warriors" or "Summer Travelers,"
begin to return to downtown Portland. They are approximately
18 - 30 years old, can be very unkempt, often have unlicensed
or unleashed dogs, and regularly engage in illegal or aggressive
behavior. They are not homeless; this is a lifestyle choice.
Compounding the problem, when this group comes to town, we
regularly see suburban teens come downtown to hang out with
them and panhandle, in hopes of obtaining alcohol and drugs.
This is a nationally connected group and they normally frequent
Portland in the summer months, but for some reason they have
returned to the city earlier than normal this year. As Chair
of the Clean & Safe District, I share the same concerns that
many of you do, so I want to share with you several things
occurring now to deal with this issue.
First,
we have been working with Mayor Adams the past few months
on a new Sidewalk Use Ordinance, which was passed by the Portland
City Council on May 6. The plan designates an eight-foot wide
travel zone on sidewalks wider than 10 feet, and a six-foot
wide travel zone on sidewalks narrower than 10 feet, where
individuals are not permitted to sit or lie from 7:00 a.m.
- 9:00 p.m.
The zone
is based on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act requirements
and the necessary space for the blind and people in wheelchairs
to safely use the sidewalk. The zone extends from the building
face outward. Individuals, however, are still allowed to sit
or lie in the "street furnishing zone" on the curbside of
the sidewalk. This ordinance allows individuals with disabilities
the opportunity to use the sidewalks without unnecessary risk
of harm. It also gives the police a tool to deal with this
situation, and these contacts often result in arrests and
citations for related criminal behavior they see during their
conversations. I urge you to thank Mayor Adams and Commissioners
Saltzman, Fish and Fritz for their support for the ordinance
last week.
Second,
Central Precinct Commander Dave Famous has instituted a "zero
tolerance" program to deal with individuals committing livability
offenses downtown, which worked very effectively last fall.
In addition to regular patrol officers, he has reassigned
members of his Street Crimes Unit and Neighborhood Response
Team so they can focus their efforts on sidewalk disorder.
Commander Famous is very committed to this program and advises
me that it will continue until the problem is effectively
dealt with. Please call 9-1-1 whenever you or your employees
observe criminal behavior in progress so the police can track
the complaints and respond. For other nuisance behavior, call
the police non-emergency line at 503-823-3333.
Third,
as a result of pit bull attacks on guide dogs for the blind,
the police and others, we are hoping to partner with Portland
Mall Management, Inc. on a contract with Multnomah County
to assign Animal Control Officers on overtime to patrol downtown
on a more frequent basis. The county informs us that there
are only nine Animal Control Officers working county wide,
and it is difficult for them to patrol downtown for statutory
and code violations. This is a very serious issue, so we are
currently in negotiations with the county and hope to come
to a resolution in June.
Fourth,
at the request of Commissioner Nick Fish we are working with
his staff to locate a space in the central city for homeless
individuals to store their property during the day. This will
hopefully help alleviate some of the overcrowding issues on
our sidewalks while also making it easier for the homeless
to access services and meet with social services providers
with the goal of ending their homelessness. We hope to have
a facility open and running by mid-June.
Lastly,
the Clean & Safe Program has 42 armed and unarmed security
officers, many of them retired police officers, working in
downtown. To report security issues and other types of disorderly
or suspicious behavior, please contact our central radio dispatcher
from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 503-224-7383 and an officer will
be dispatched, with arrival times normally at three minutes
or less. Downtown Clean & Safe also contracts with the Portland
Police Bureau for four bike officers to patrol downtown using
our radio dispatch system, as do the officers assigned to
the Mounted Patrol Unit.
Our umbrella
of services has played a significant role in the reduction
of overall crime in downtown by 35 percent since 2005, so
please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank
you,
Michelle Martin
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2.
Clean & Safe Security
Clean
& Safe security officer Louis Pelligrino was recently patrolling
near a building at NW Second Avenue and Davis Street. He came
upon an individual who was attempting to break windows along
the south side of the building with a sock full of rocks.
When approached by Pelligrino the suspect told Pelligrino
that he was attempting to break in. Police arrived shortly
after and took the person into custody. Good job, Louis.
Clean
& Safe security officer Darrel Schenck observed a bicycle
thief after being contacted by the victim near the Rite Aid
store. The suspect attempted to flee through the store and
Officer Schenck went around to the Sixth Avenue side and intercepted
him as he emerged from the store. Clean & Safe police bike
officer, Lisa Fort, was there to assist and arrest the suspect
for theft. Thank you, Darrel.
Clean
& Safe security officer John Woodard contacted the Sunglass
Hut at Broadway and Alder, in response to a theft. He was
shown a video of an individual stealing a $300.00 pair of
sunglasses. Officer Woodard recognized the individual and
within five minutes found the suspect in downtown and walked
with him back to the store, where he promised he would return
the sunglasses. The suspect failed to return the property
so the case was forwarded to the District Attorney's office,
and warrant has been issued for the suspect's arrest. John,
thank you for your service.
During
April, Clean & Safe bicycle police arrested 59 people for
crimes and violations within the Business Improvement District.
According to Captain Mark Kruger of Central Precinct, crime
continues downward in the BID and the current focus is livability.
Coordinating with Clean & Safe Security, Multnomah County
Animal Control and many other partners, public safety is at
the forefront, so all who make downtown their home, work and
play place, can do so uninterrupted. As an example, Clean
& Safe police bicycle officers put together a quick drug mission
near SW 6th and Morrison Streets in April. Working with the
Mounted Patrol, they netted three felony arrests for possession
and sale of morphine, possession of heroin and possession
of marijuana in less than three hours.
Clean
& Safe security was also busy with capturing a theft suspect
from Banana Republic. The manager of Banana Republic mentioned
that it was faster to call Clean & Safe than it was to call
police. This is a small example of the more than 10,000 business
and citizen contacts our security program averages every month.
Clean
& Safe security patrols made over 21,855 citizen contacts
in March and April. These include:
- 6,577
business assists and referrals
- 10,556
pedestrian contacts
- 101
arrests
- 212
exclusions
- 127
enforcement problem solving activities.
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3.
Clean & Safe Maintenance Program
On March
22, representatives of the Mustard Seed Society, a homeless
advocacy program in Calgary, Alberta, Canada visited Portland
to study Downtown Clean & Safe. Mustard Seed is a program
similar to Central City Concern and their representatives
were interested in the close partnership between Central City
Concern and the business community in downtown. During the
meeting they reported that Clean & Safe is internationally
recognized for our "Homeless to Work" program, and they hope
to replicate it in Calgary.
The Clean
& Safe supervisor reports that in the past few weeks several
employees of the homeless to work program have been asked
to interview for jobs at locations that included Aramark and
Fed-Ex.
Cleaning
Statistics for April and March:
- 4,773
graffiti tags removed (Public/Private and Tri-Met)
- 3,564
bags of trash
- 1,630
citizen cleaning responses
- 2,278
needles and items of drug paraphernalia
- 3,190
restroom inspections and cleaning.
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4.
West Side Community Court Program Updates
Neighborhood
Based District Attorney Update: The Neighborhood District
Attorney assistant reviewed 408 cases in March and April,
issued 388 cases and declined 20.
West
Side Community Court statistics for March:
- 455
defendants were ordered to community service
- 200
defendants were in compliance
- 211
defendants working toward completion
- 44
defendants unsuccessful and facing additional court sanctions.
- 71
Jail days saved by the program
Westside
Community Court Work Crew statistics for March:
- 2034
block faces covered
- 145
bags of trash removed
- 2,080
street cleaning hours
- 61
drains cleared
- 260
people reporting for crew
Theft
Accountability Class: In March the Theft Accountability
Class reports:
- 122
persons were sentenced to attend
- 54
open cases
- 35
persons were successful
- 14
failures that await additional court sanctions
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5.
Sidewalk Ambassadors
The Ambassadors
were busy assisting visitors with information and questions
answered on the recent warm weather days in downtown. When
not providing wayfinding assistance, they updated the downtown
restaurant count for the new Dining Guide, adding 20 new restaurants;
staffed the kiosk, which had 4,091 person contacts in March
and April and manned the new mobile bicycle kiosk, speaking
with 1,327 curious people about the BID.
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6.
PDX Pop-Up Shops and Retail Incubator
The City
of Portland, Portland Development Commission, and Portland
Business Alliance are working on the next wave PDX Pop-Ups,
an initiative developed out of the 2009 Portland Downtown
Retail Strategy. The pop-up shops created retail opportunities
for local designers to showcase their products downtown, furthering
the city's goals for job creation and economic development.
The partners anticipate releasing a RFP in the next few weeks
for interested designers to apply for the available retail
space over the summer and fall seasons. PDC is also exploring
the feasibility of creating a retail and fashion incubator;
a workspace, production facility and retail showcase to give
local promising designers a chance to grow their business,
offering participants additional business resources including
mentorship and ongoing educational opportunities.
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7.
ICSC Conference
TThe Alliance's
Downtown Retail Manager Lisa Frisch and Downtown Retail Advocate
Cori Jacobs will attend the International Council of Shopping
Centers (ICSC) annual real estate convention slated for May
in Las Vegas, and will continue the push for retail and restaurant
recruitment in the downtown retail core. Updated packet materials
that will be distributed at the conference include a demographic
analysis of the Portland population segmented into customer
types created by Buxton Company, a nationally recognized provider
of customer analytics and retail site selection, as well as
a section devoted to the Downtown Retail Strategy and Downtown
Portland management organizations.
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8.
Dining Guide
The Alliance's
2010 Annual Dining Guide brochure listing all 450 plus restaurants
located in downtown Portland will be released in May. The
Downtown Portland Dining Guide is the one brochure focusing
solely on restaurants in downtown Portland; members advertising
in the guide this year include McCormick's and Schmick's Restaurant,
Elephants Delicatessen, Ringside, Old Town Pizza, Typhoon,
Carafe, and Portland Spirit. 50,000 copies of the guide will
be distributed over the next 12 months to downtown workers
and visitors by the Alliance's Sidewalk Ambassadors, at Oregon
Convention Center, through Travel Portland, and at downtown
hotels.
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9.
Country Food Fair Coming to Downtown Portland, June 10
A Country
Food Fair is coming to Downtown Portland on June 10 from 5:00
p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The fair, hosted by Country Natural Beef,
will take place at Director Park, located behind the Fox Tower
between SW Park and SW 9th to the east and west, and SW Taylor
and SW Yamhill to the south and north. The family-focused
fair will feature cowboy activities, music and a cookout with
Country Natural Beef partners including Burgerville, New Seasons,
Whole Foods Market and Bon Appetit. The Burgerville Nomad
mobile kitchen will serve favorites like the Country Natural
Beef Tillamook Cheeseburger, as well as veggie burgers. The
other partners will be serving an assortment of delicious
food, all featuring Country Natural Beef.
More
Information >>
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