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
• •
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r
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»
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)