Category: NPB News

  • Oregonian OpEd: “Emergency” Response to Old News

    By William Russell – Executive Director of Union Gospel Mission  reposted from Oregonian 9/24/15 On Sept. 23, Mayor Charlie Hales declared a “homeless state of emergency,” with plans to aggressively combat homelessness in Portland. The announcement felt surreal, as if someone were announcing in 2015 that President Obama had won the 2012 election, or reading a…

  • KGW Feature: Cleaning Up the North Park Blocks

    PORTLAND, Ore. — People who live and work near Portland’s North Park Blocks, north of Burnside Street, are relieved that a massive homeless problem has dwindled. Link to KGW story Over the summer, men and women took over the park and created multiple problems. Michelle Cardinal watched it develop from her window at work. Cardinal is the…

  • Summer of ‘Lawlessness’ Gets Portland’s Attention

    From The Oregonian Sept 15, 2015 Cardinal said she’s happy that Hales and City Hall are paying attention and that more officers are patrolling. Fewer people linger in the park all day, she said. But she expects the situation outside her window is “here to stay.” She’s told Hales as much. “I said, ‘Mayor, the…

  • Oregonian: Neighbors Organize to Halt Park Chaos

    A big thank you to the Oregonian Editorial Board for the thoughtful essay on how the North Park Blocks organized in response to months of illegal and menacing activity in the park. Read the full editorial here (and be sure to continue on to the comments). Frustrated neighbors, park-area businesses, PNCA and Emerson School officials banded…

  • Enhanced Security in North Park Blocks

      A big thank you to Mayor Hales and the Police Bureau for the increased Police presence in the North Park Blocks this week. We’re grateful our collective voice is being heard. The Neighborhood response van was a much welcomed sight to see here yesterday and throughout the day.  (Especially in front of the Emerson School.) The…