Category Archives: Community Involvement

City to Hold Spirit of Portland Award Event at Center for the Performing Arts

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newmarkpic2The popular Spirit of Portland Award Ceremony will be held at the prestigious Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA) this year. It will be held Thursday, Nov. 12 from 7 to 9 p.m. City officials have chosen the new evening time so more people can attend.

The event, which usually draws a standing‐room‐only crowd of supporters and well wishers to the Council Chambers at City Hall, will be held in the Newmark Theatre, one of the PCPA’s three theatres. The new venue was selected to comfortably seat everyone who wishes to attend. A reception with cake and beverages in the spacious lobby will follow.
The PCPA is sponsoring this year’s celebration of Portland’s finest and has generously donated the use of their facility. The Newmark Theatre is located downtown, inside Antoinette Hatfield Hall, 1111 SW Broadway at the Main Street intersection.
Celebrated since 1985, the Spirit of Portland ceremony is an important way the city recognizes those who make a positive difference in our community. Please send in your nominations if you know the perfect candidate to receive this honored award. All nominations are due at the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) office by 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18.

Nomination forms are available at ONI, Room 110 at City Hall, 1221 SW Fourth Ave or at any of the seven neighborhood district coalition offices. Forms can also be downloaded from the web at Spirit of Portland 2009.
Phone: 503-823-4519 • Fax: 503-823-3050 • www.portlandonline.com/oni
The Council passed a resolution last year creating the Commissioner’s Spirit of Portland Award. Now the Mayor and each commissioner can select one individual and one group for recognition.
The public can nominate in the following categories: Emergency Preparedness; Public Involvement (city staff or community member); Community Policing/Public Safety (city staff or community member); Humanitarian; Independent Spirit; Community Harmony; Large Business;
Small Business; New/Emerging Community Leader (person or group); Business Association; Non‐Profit Organization; Neighborhood; Outstanding Partnership; Employee Volunteer; and
Youth Volunteer.
New categories this year are Business Association of the Year and New/Emerging Community Leader.
Winners in the above awards are chosen by a Selection Committee made up of representatives from the Mayor’s and City Commissioner’s offices, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, the Neighborhood District Coalition offices, Business Associations, non‐profit community organizations and past award winners.
The PCPA is a premier arts and entertainment venue in the Pacific Northwest. Nationally recognized as one of the top 10 performing arts centers in the nation, the PCPA hosts more than 900 performances and events each year.
Its 880‐seat Newmark Theatre was designed to emulate the Edwardian‐style theaters of Europe. Home to a variety of productions, this theater is refined and elegant, providing an intimate theatrical experiences with no seat further than 65 feet from the stage. The theatre is fully ADA compliant with wheelchair seating and assisted listening devices.
The ArtBar, restaurant in the PCPA complex, will be open for those who would like to have dinner at the theatre before the awards ceremony.

PDC’s N/NE Economic Develpment Initiative Raises Doubts

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Via the Sentinel:

Mistrust, doubt unleashed by N/NE urban renewal
Submitted by Sentinel News Service on Wed, 09/02/2009 – 3:45pm.

“I’m not sure the PDC has the guts to change what’s going on,” said James Poise, owner of the E-Mat Cafe on Northeast MLK Jr. Boulevard. Posey, one of Northeast Portland’s longtime African American residents, stands before a packed room at the Elks Lodge on North Tillamook Street. It’s a sweltering night in August, and over 50 residents have turned out to give the Portland Development Commission a piece of their minds.

“We got nice bike paths, but right down the street we have people living on the streets,” Posey continues. “The priorities are all screwed up.”
One after the other, residents tell the same story: Decades before, urban renewal bulldozed the heart out of this once predominantly African American neighborhood and left only vacant lots and abandoned buildings in its wake. Recently, investment has come, but many longtime black residents don’t see their lot in life improving.

“I’m wondering what PDC is really doing for the neighborhood,” Adron Hampton wondered. “I don’t see a thing done in this community.”

Since last December, the PDC has been considering consolidating or modifying the two vast urban renewal districts that cover North and inner Northeast Portland. Together, the Interstate Corridor and Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Areas (ICURA and OCCURA) comprise some 3,769 acres. This year those zones will set aside approximately $47 million in neighborhood tax dollars for regional and local improvement projects.

On Aug. 19, the first of 11 citizen advisory meetings convened to discuss just how to divide, expand or extend the city’s urban renewal areas in this huge swath of territory.

Read the full story at:http://www.portlandsentinel.com/?q=node/5095

http://www.pdc.us/four/nnestudy/default.asp

Groundwork Portland Turns One

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Groundwork PortlandGroundwork Portland: everyone has a right to a livable community

Almost four years ago, Kevin Odell of OPAL, Clark Henry of the City of Portland Brownfield Program, Connie Ashbrook of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc, Will Newman of Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Landtrust, Jeff Berbetsky of Restorical Research, and Joice Taylor of North/Northeast Business Association bonded over a dream of bringing much-needed resources to Portland neighborhoods overwhelmingly- and unjustly-burdened by urban pollutants, a lack of investment in community-centered development, and the pressures of gentrification.

One year ago, in September of 2008, Groundwork Portland opened its doors to organize low-income communities, communities of color, and youth around vacant land in their neighborhoods, plan for its redevelopment, and access the resources necessary to transform eyesores into community assets like community centers, community gardens, locally-owned businesses, and parks.

Over the past year, Groundwork Portland has been proud to collaborate with many different organizations and communities.

In the spring, Groundwork Portland launched Our Portland, a community-centered engagement program with seniors at Mt. Scott Learning Center to evaluate environmental justice issues in the Foster-Powell Neighborhood. The seniors joined community leaders on tours in their neighborhood to learn about environmental justice issues like brownfields, urban renewal, and gentrification. The program ended with Intersections, the art show they put on in their high school to showcase their photographic explorations of these issues.

While engaging the students in a conversation about environmental justice issues in their neighborhood, Groundwork Portland helped the school take on a project in their own backyard. Volunteers of Groundwork Portland coordinated the transformation of Mt. Scott Learning Center’s parking lot into a lush garden, basketball court, and outdoor lunch area. Over the course of three work days, more than 200 volunteers from the community pitched in to take out parking spaces, plant, paint, and otherwise spiff up this small charter school.

Last winter, Groundwork Portland joined forces with OSALT to begin the cleanup and creation of Emerson Street Garden. This summer, more than 65 kids from the Blazers Boys and Girls Club were the first to get their hands dirty, with a small container garden lush with all the fixings for salsa.

Over the coming year, Groundwork Portland and OSALT will hold garden planning sessions so everyone can chime in about what they want to grow. GeoEngineers, the local engineering firm that’s donating all necessary remediation services, will continue testing and remediation plans to ensure that the garden is safe enough for everyone to enjoy.

In addition, Groundwork Portland helped more than 50 community organizations like churches, schools, and community-centered nonprofits answer questions and access resources they needed for their own work to transform eyesores into assets. We offer a wide range of support to our partners, from research to joint grant applications. Contact Groundwork Portland for a copy of our “What’s in Your Garden?” brochure to help you evaluate the safety of your garden project, or to get more information about partnering with Groundwork Portland.

This has been a wonderful year for Groundwork Portland, and for me, so it is with no little sadness that I say goodbye to all of you. Today is my last day with Groundwork Portland. It has been wonderful working with you. The energy you bring to community-based projects is inspiring; I can’t wait to see what you accomplish next. Feel free to email me and tell me all about it.

Andrea Hamberg
Program Manager
—
Groundwork Portland: because everyone has a right to a livable community
2407 SE 49th Ave
Portland, OR 97206
503-467-4567
info@groundworkportland.org
www.groundworkportland.org

Backpack Drive and 8/29 Taking it to the Streets 2009- Dawson Park Event

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As you’re gearing up to do your back-to-school shopping with your kids, please consider picking up a back-pack or other school supplies for the Backpack Drive that will give a much needed backpack and school supplies to youth in our neighborhoods.

Emmanuel Community Services and Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods are partnering on a Backpack Drive and “Taking it to the Streets 2009” Event to support neighbors in need. We’ll be collecting backpacks (new and slightly used) and a variety of school supplies to give away to kids and families in our neighborhoods! The give-away event will be on Saturday, August 29th. There will also be food and games for the kids as well.

You can drop-off backpacks and school supplies at our office at 4815 NE 7th Avenue, from now until Friday, August 28th. If you have any questions, feel free to call anytime!

http://kingneighborhood.org/Reference_Files/Backpack_pc.pdf

Lauren

Lauren McCartney
Neighborhood Association Outreach Coordinator
Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods
4815 NE 7th Avenue
Portland, OR 97211
P: 503-823-4135
F: 503-823-3150
E: lauren@necoalition.org
www.necoalition.org