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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1981)
Arbitration Report Problems at J e ff Northeast Development PORTLAND OBSERVER O ctober 1, 1981 V olum e XI, N um ber 51 25C Per Copy PDC targets Northeast area Part II: Who gets the money? by Catherine Siegner CHRISTOPHER LEWIS HOLLIWAY Hopefully, the students will join together so we won't let this heppen again." DENALAND "It's the kind of thing thet cen heppen et eny school." It’s easy to look at the lack of re habilitation and development in the inner Northeast area o f Portland and blame it on the current state of the economy. A fte r all, interest rates are zooming higher every month; the money supply is getting tighter and fewer industri s are wil ling to risk investment, especially in an historically depressed part of the city. Perhaps th at’ s true today, but wha, about in the past, before mon ey go, so tight? Wasn’ t money tar geted for this most blighted par, of "JOHN WAYNE" Portland? The answer is yes, plenty "They're up here meking the of it, but somehow it didn’t get to police run around here like we're the roo, of the problem. This week a bunch of animals. Wa're notl" wc look at how much money was (Photos by Richard J. Brown) targeted, par, of the story of where i, went, and where it’s going now. As par, of the "G reat Society" program of the 1960s, attempts were made on the federal level to resolve social and economic problems of in this happen again.” ner cities of the country by throwing Dena Land says, " I don’ t feel money at them. For Portland, that that it was within the school. Most translated into the Model Cities started outside the school. I think Comprehensive Development Plan the press might build it up more drafted in 1967. It was indeed com than it is. I think Jefferson’s a good prehensive, including plans to incor school and there are always students porate land use, transportation, who will get involved in anything if housing, training, education, recre- they can. It ’s the kind of thing that can happen at any school.” The only student that was really there who stepped up is called John Wayne by the students. And throughout this incident he showed The desire of the Humboldt com a lot o f heart. " T h e day before I men hanging around the corner of munity to clean its neighborhood of heard that one Black dude got beat Williams and Killingsworth, open the evils of prostitution, drugs end up by a couple o f white boys. The gambling and drug sales on the gambling met with the reluctance of next day they ran and jumped on streets. She explained that the neigh the police establishment which some white dudes. I had slopped borhood needs to work out a plan blames constitutional rights and them two times. Now it has sim with the City to control this beha permissive attitudes for its inability mered down because they call them vior and that Humboldt wants "to to deal with ihe problem. selves getting even. It ’s a big prob be considered an average district in In a meeting with police officials lem with people hanging outside the stead o f a sensational source o f and community members, H u m school because there're always news.” boldt Neighborhood Association going to be people inside who know Sharon McCormack, director of president Madeline Nosbush de them. A Io, that hang out here call "Neighborhoods Against C rim e,” scribed prostitution in the neighbor themselves little pimps so they come said prostitution is not the greatest hood as a "sudden epidemic” which and try to catch the girls. High-sid problem, but it is the most visible. needs to be treated as such. The in ’ and speeding up and down the Jimmy "Bang Bang” Walker ex neighborhood is plagued with pros street. They can go to the park to do plained that there is open gambling titution on Killingsworth and Inter that. Instead they're up here making by young people, with four or five state streets, large groups of young the police run around here like we’re games going at once in the neigh a bunch o f animals. W e’ re n o t!" Wayne pulled the Black youth o ff of the white youth and suffered no re percussions. Everything cool at Jefferson Grassroot News, N. W. — Last Wednesday, Jefferson High, ihe only high school In the Black com munity, was rocked with a fight that involved both Black and whites. Be cause members o f the two races went to "duke cly,” the spectators polarized behind Black and white. One youth who was standing out side gave a rundown of what hap pened as seen through his eyes. " It was about third period and 14 brothers were on the outside. Two ( aucasians began to spray mace on the brothers. They were riding in a white car and the brothers began to enforce theirselves.” “ Some white dudes sprayed some Blacks with mace and that’s what caused it. And the Blacks went cra zy. It happens like this every year when school starts. It ’s all kind of fights." A young lady told Grassroot News o f a gang-up " F o u r Black girls asked this white girl for a cigar ette. And she said that she wouldn’t give you niggers anything. And all four began to slap her. The white girl went and got her boyfriend. He then brought some o f his friends and the Black girl got some Black young dudes, none of them going here. Both groups started fighting with chains and from my under standing guns were brought out. That’s when I left.” " I heard that it really started over weed. Some Black dudes played some whites o ff over some weed. I think it could have been prevented if the whites wouldn't have the weed here in the beginning." The administration of Jefferson feels that the fights were intensified by outsiders. Robert O ’ Neill, vice principle, said, " It began involving a Black kid and a white kid. It grew and it got to Ihe point of more than one Black kid and more than one white kid. On Wednesday, at noon on the mall, there was a disagree ment between two kids and some mace was sprayed. Away from the school there were kids in cars from PCC and some who didn’ t go to school at all. Some of the kids went to those cars and a problem arose between those students on the street and in the car. By now most of the kids had gone inside and we had 30 of 40 kids who basically refused to go to class. Inside the school by this time rumors began to float around and we had kids afraid. Since that time the whole thing has died down.” Christopher Lewis Holliway, stu dent body president, said, " I feel that it got a lot of people excited. Hopefully, the students will join to gether so we won’t let nothing like ation, day care, youth programs, neighborhood involvement and other aspects into one progressive package. Although it was a good idea, lack of coordination and adequate fund ing spelled failure for the majority of the Model Cities program. How ever, some $15 million in housing rehabilitation and public improve ments was spent over a ten-year pe riod. According to the Portland Devel opment Commission, the following amounts were spent under the N .E. Housing and Community Develop ment Program between 1975 and 1980: Acquisition and demolition and relocation, $434,520; Public works, $1,369,300; Housing reha bilitation and related, $11,775,000; Parks, $230,000; Community facili ties. $97,300, and economic devel opment, $551,000. The more than $11 million spent on housing rehabilitation and re lated (meaning new residences) translates into 39 structural rehabili tations in the Boise/Humboldt area (and 75 new units); 100 rehabs in K in g /V e rn o n /S a b in (and 94 new units) and 87 rehabs in Woodlawn (including 84 new units). Construction under this program includes the Unthank Plaza (80 units for elderly), the 635-unit devel opment on N .E . Colum bia Blvd. and 33rd, the W oodlawn C ondo miniums and the Reynolds A part ments on N.E. Union and 7th Ave. Compared to the volume o f pro jects completed then, the just over $1 million in various forms available to the Northeast area this year for economic development looks paltry. Part of the reason is "Reagonom- ics” and a general end to the relative prosperity and federal gravy train of the late 1960s and early 1970s. But part of the reason lies with city pri orities as demonstrated by the Port land Development Commission’s fiscal 1981-82 budget. The inner Northeast area doesn’t come out a winner in the PDC bud get. Only $21,636 in a technical as sistance grant and $85,000 for staff ing and operating the PD C ’s Union Ave. office are definitely going to the Northeast area, and the PDC is now considering closing the Union Ave. office. This contrasts bleakly with $14.7 million PDC has targeted for the downtown Morrison St. pro ject (incorporating some of the for merly proposed Cadillac-Fairview property), and $2.5 m illion the agency intends to spend developing the South W aterfront project (in cluding $5.6 million in publicly fi nanced improvements). So where does the $1 million fig- (Please turn to page 14 column I) Humboldt asks police assistance borhood of Jefferson High School. They are not students, and the games involve a lot o f money. A t the corner of Williams and Killings worth there are groups o f 15 to 20 youths, hanging around. There are people coming out of the taverns, hanging around the street, making their buys. Bud Fuqua, director of the Salva tion A rm y’s Moore Street Center, said the use and peddling o f drugs around the center has interfered with its program for neighborhood children. He added that older peo ple are afraid to walk on the street or to wait at bus stops. (Please turn to page 2 column 3) Youth center offers alternatives by Nathaniel Scott • • • r • • » fe * ______ AVEL MAYFIELD (Photo: Thomas Goldan) but because o f budget cuts now funded by the Department of Labor Avel L. Mayfield is the director of through the N ational Urban the Urban League o f Portland a League, to assist young people who three youth service programs in are out o f school to gel back in Northeast Portland. school or obtain jobs. The Urban League’s programs M ayfield said the Northeast are located in the King Neigh Youth Service Center program gets borhood Facility and have an its referrals from the police, courts, operational budget for 1981-82 of schools and families and that it is a approximately $190,000 o f which 90-day to one year program. salaries and fringe benefits for 10 "W e close out most cases in 30 staff members total some $ 150,000. days but, we do follow up for one The Northeast Youth Service year.” she said. " I n August of Center program (fo r youth who 1980, we implemented a community have gone afoul of the law) is but restitution program.” one o f five that were founded by The community restitution and located in the City of Portland, program allows youth (with paren i he other youth service programs tal consent) to contribute three are in North, Southeast, Southwest hours upwards o f community ser and Outer East Portland. vice work as a way o f returning The other two Urban League something positive to the com programs are: I) Youth Leadership munity that he/she may have taken and Development Program which from it by running afoul of Ihe law, trains youth to serve on boards and she said. commissions and 2) a Summer Oc Services are administered through cupational Awareness Program dispensing flyers, aiding senior (originally funded through C ETA (Please turn to page 13 column 5) I Thia youngstar is at the aga whan dacisions about hla futura will ba mada. Will ha racalva tha community support to maka tha right daclaiona? Saa aariaa on paga 9. (Photo Richard J. Brown)
