King Neighborhood Association’s testimony to the Portland City Council about the Portland Playhouse’s appeal of a staff decision denying them permission to stage theatre productions at 602 NE Prescott, delivered by KNA Co-chair Nora Diver in person on March 1, 2012:

Subject: Portland Playhouse Survival in King Neighborhood

(LU Case # 11-187799; HO Case # 4110034)

Dear Commissioners:

602 NE Prescott is more than just a dot on the zoning map, more than just a structure on the corner. It is a gathering place with deep roots – part of the history of many members of our community. For over a century at this address, neighbors have shared appeals to god, heartfelt interactions, and a commitment to compassion and interracial justice. Meaning has been created at this place. The Portland Playhouse has upheld this tradition through community programming and its performance themes exploring racial experience and social justice. The Playhouse cannot exist without the plays. For this reason, the King Neighborhood Association asks you to allow the Playhouse to continue in our neighborhood by approving all components of their Conditional Use Permit application.

Many current and former neighbors have testified to the integral role the Portland Playhouse plays in our community. The Playhouse has opened their hearts wide enough to create performances that resonate deeply with the people who live here and opened their space to other uses that fill community needs. I have seen former residents returning to the neighborhood to see plays that have touched and inspired them. I have witnessed the neighborhood kids hold impromptu band performances there, and have seen how thrilled they were to be playing up there on the stage. I am sure you will hear many more stories about how the Playhouse serves a vital niche by providing a community driven cultural experience. This is the kind of art that stems from and connects with the people who live here, and that is why it is so important the Portland Playhouse be allowed to continue operating where it has been.
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Occupy Northeast meets at Reflections Coffee on Saturday afternoons. From their facebook: ” We are seeking out Black people threatened by foreclosure so that we can fight back. We need help forming committees to process all of the requests we are receiving so anyone interested in this type of activism work is encouraged to come to our meetings and play an active role.  Anyone experiencing foreclosure is encouraged to contact us.”

N-NE study group on “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander

Saturdays, 11-noon, Talking Drum Bookstore,446 NE Killingsworth
Beginning March 31st, ending May 5th

A six week, chapter by chapter, book study of Michelle Alexander’s powerful analysis of how and why a majority of young Black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or labeled felons for life. Alexander argues that racial caste in our country has not ended but has been redesigned. Through the War on Drugs, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control.

Participants will take turns summarizing and asking questions about each chapter. This is a N/NE group. Other study groups are happening elsewhere in the city. Books available for sale in hard and soft cover at Talking Drum.

Please sign-up by e-mail or phone
Jamie Partridge

503-752-5112 jamiep7206@aol.com

Another 24-hour convenience store in our neighborhood? Do we need a 7-11 of our own (so close on the heels of the 7-11 Corporation’s decision to open a store two-thirds of a mile away, in the Vernon neighborhood)? Join us tomorrow evening for a community discussion about 7-11’s plans to build and open a store at MLK & Sumner, and hear how neighbors on Sumner Street would like to see their street develop instead.

Also, folks in our neighborhood will be talking about the projects they’ve created to build a healthy and connected neighborhood. We welcome everyone!

King Neighborhood Association Board Meeting

King Neighborhood Facility, 4815 NE 7^th Avenue

http://kingneighborhood.org

March 14, 2012 – 6:30 to 8:30 pm

KNA Board meeting: Building a Healthy, Connected Neighborhood.  

6:30    Welcome and introductions; approval of minutes and agenda; announcements.

6:40    The Portland Playhouse, and its application for a conditional use permit to use the building at 6^th & Prescott: an update.

6:45     Diego Gioseffi & Van Bogner: King school ground planting project.

6:50     [REDACTED]: Easter egg hunt in Two Plum Park?

6:55     7-11’s plans for a store in King – how does the neighborhood respond?

7:25     Update from the Portland Police Bureau.

7:35     Jeff Scott: Update on Jackson’s GNA.

7:40     Katy Kanfer: From Soil to Soul: food security and the King Neighborhood.

7:45     Brian Weaver: the 2012 King Neighborhood Clean-up.

7:50     Teri Phillips: neighborhood garage sale in 2012?

7:55     Emily Wilson: Two Plum Park bench project.

8:00     Katy Asher updates us on the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhood’s work in the larger inner N/NE neighborhoods.

8:05     How can the KNA operate/be structured to best serve our neighbors ?

8:25    Quick hits:

• No tree inventory this year for King; next year?
• brochures & publicity for King.
• Fundraisers?
• A change to 2012 board elections?

The King Neighborhood Association meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 in the King Neighborhood Facility at 4815 NE 7th Avenue, unless another location has been designated ahead of time. Our next meeting will be held on April 11, 2012.  You can subscribe to our electronic newsletter and check out our community calendar at www.kingneighborhood.org. You can send us an email at info@kingneighborhood.org. Find us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kingneighborhood.