Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2001)
IJ Iti ;i I avi 4-1 ìnews W est S ide S tory Young activist encourages community members to get involved in the planning process by T om Stev en son Schedule your appointment today with: of Portland, inc. hen the Portland City Council meets Sept. 26 to discuss the future of the West End, a num ber of people will he watching, includ ing a young activist who has been feverishly involved in the project for several years. Jacob Brostoff, 26, became inter ested for a number of reasons. Part of it is his inherently activist personali ty. Part of it has to do with his profes sional interests. And part of it has to do with the fact that he is a member of Portland’s gay community, which could see the Burnside Triangle change dramatically in the coming years. For all of those reasons— and many more— Brostoff is not only actively helping shape the future of the West End, he also is encouraging other sex ual minorities to get involved. “This neighborhood matters to our community as well as to residents of Jacob Brostoff says his mother, Phyllis Mensh Brostoff, affordable housing and to small busi raised him in a progressive political environment nesses,” he says. “We have an obligation as a concern about the West End also because of the community to ensure our visibility in the city professional and personal ethics he adheres to. and to make things better for the next genera “As a professional city planner, 1 have an tion of queers. Community planning happens ethical obligation to ensure that all groups that when communities make it happen; communi are affected by planning decisions understand ties get political power by demanding it. If you the implications of those decisions and can chcxise silence, do not expect anyone to speak make their voices heard,” he says. “As a queer, my community’s visibility is very important to for you." Brostoff says a “perfect” West End planning me. Visibility comes in many forms, including personal visibility as well as geographic visibili process would recognize and build upon the many assets the area already has. Among those ty. My concerns about the West End and the Burnside Triangle stem from the intersection of assets, he notes, is a “strong, safe and visible sex my professional and personal obligations: the ual minority presence.” Brostoff’s passion regarding the project professional obligation to he an ethical planner ignited in part because of his professional and the personal obligation to ensure the safety, background, which includes city planning. health and visibility of my community.” He is the transportation advocate at 1000 Brostoff says when he first examined the Friends o f Oregon, hut he previously served as West End proposals, he quickly realized some a planning assistant with the city o f St. members of the community were definitely not Helens, working through the Resource A ssis heard from in the planning prcxress, including tance for Rural Environments Am criCorps the pmr, the homeless and sexual minorities. program out of University o f Oregon. He also “The West End is a place that showcases Port served as a staff assistant with the city o f Port land’s diversity and has important historical sig land Office of Transportation and as an intern nificance to sexual minorities,” he adds. for Portland City Com m issioner Jim Fran- Keeping the West End at least partially cesconi. O n top o f all that, he is finishing his intact is an important issue for the gay and les master’s degree in urban and regional plan bian community for a number of reasons, according to Brostoff. Among the functions he ning at Portland State University. believes the neighborhoxxJ serves: Brostoff’s activism goes even further hack. • Providing a safe place for gay men and les He was raised in Wisconsin and grew up in a bians to congregate, with a strong community “very political environment, surrounded by Midwestern Catholics, Protestants and Jews policing presence. who were active in the labor movement and • Providing a place for questioning and clos politics, starting with civil rights-in the 1960s.” eted people to he around others and explore the “I remember licking envelopes with the visible community. father of the current mayor of Milwaukee during • Providing examples of successful longtime gay-owned businesses. the mayoral campaign and hearing stories about how this Norwegian Lutheran minister was That all could change, which is why Brostoff beaten and jailed marching in the South,” he is encouraging everyone who thinks the issue matters to make their voices heard. says. “My parents had lots of stories about living in Washington, D.C., in the 1960s, being on the The P ortland C ity C ouncil will meet 2 p.m. Mall during the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and Sept. 26 at 1221 S.W. Fourth Ave. To testify call watching the city hum from the rooftop of their 503-823-4082, fax 503-823-4571 or send e-mail apartment building in Dupont Circle. I grew up to kmoore-Ln>e@ci.Portland.or.us. being among the first generation of kids to he bused to integrated schw ls in a city deeply T om STEVENSON is a Portland free-lance writer divided by race and class. All of this made quite and a full-time Porthnd State University student an impression on me.” Tcxlay, Brostoff says he has a great deal of u'ho can be reached at ruralunn@yahoo.com. W n i l I A T E Q IL M L i s a C o s t e llo theraPeutic 503 256-3700 I C O exercise - Private & semi private lessons Small group mat classes Teacher training center 503/248-4483 • 852 SW 21st www.bodiesinbalance.citysearch.com R EY R E E C E D E A L E R S H IP S ISUZU-VOLKSWAGEN-USEO 122nd & East Burnside www. reyreece. com vdublisac(ff hotmail.com 25 years of professional expertise in representing your best interests... Deborah Betron B ro k e r, CRB, GRI O ffic e : 0 0 3 / 2 8 7 . 9 3 7 0 v m a il: 3 0 3 / 6 9 9 . 8 0 6 1 ^ www.bridgetownrealty.com " ¡ .s BBS T N / 'll R K A I I Y 20 to 30 years from now you may than k us © hen we help you put together a retirement or a college savings plan, we’re thinking ahead. We believe long-term success is based on planning, patience and consistent performance, not the daily stock market roller coaster. Your personal financial advisor from Waddell & Reed will take you through a step-by-step process to create a plan specifically tailored to your family’s needs and goals. Then we can offer you a full range of mutual funds and other investments to help you reach them. Call Waddell & Reed. You may be thanking us for years to come. __ .WADDELL Financial Services jn w addell.com * M em ber S I P C Eric Brown, District Manager 500 NE Multnomah Portland, OR 97232 503.238.6036 In v a plan.“
