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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2017)
Just in Time Pools open for summer as warm temps arrive ‘City of Roses’ See Metro, page 9 Smith Draws Support Black leaders say county chair led biased investigation See Local News, page 3 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • June 21, 2017 Volume XLVI • Number 25 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity photo by Z achary S enn /t he p ortland o bServer Rickey Brame is faced with thousands of dollars of expenses and the closing of a barbershop started by his father, Herman Brame Sr., when a property owner next door decides to remodel right up to the property line forcing him to move an electrical meter and trigger new requirements for the entire building be brought up to current commercial standards. Electricity to the barbershop at 543 N.E. Killingsworth St. is scheduled to be cut at the end of the week as plans to remodel an old key and lock- smith shop adjacent to the property into a restaurant has been approved by the city of Portland. by Pinched Development Expansion next door impacts legacy business by Z achary S enn t he p ortland o bServer A black family in business in Portland for generations has been hit hard by some unintended consequences of gentrification, raising concerns about how the city’s build- ing codes and utility regulations can negatively affect a minority business. Herman and Rickey Brame say that the construction of a restaurant next door to their commercial building on Northeast Killingsworth Street is causing them to shutter a barbershop that has served the community for years. Historically, the Brame family has experienced dis- placement in Portland multiple times, beginning with the 1948 Vanport Flood. Their father’s first barbershop was located on Cherry Street, demolished by Urban Renewal in the 1960s to make way for the construction of Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The family’s current troubles are rooted in an electri- cal meter that juts out from the west side of their com- mercial building, which is located at 543-549 N.E. Kill- ingsworth St. The meter must be accessed from the neighboring prop- erty in order to be read. The new developer, however, is c ontinued on p age 4
