PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As some businesses within the central eastside of Portland are on the cusp of calling it quits due to rising crime, local officials have been meeting with business owners to hear their complaints and discuss ideas for potential solutions.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has already promised to bring a 90-day plan to reset the central eastside, increase trash clean up, camp removal and police presence like the city has done in Old Town.
When asked how Friday’s closed-door meeting was going, Wheeler’s office said that proposal will “provide an opportunity for the neighborhood to rebound and recover.”
“Tonight, my team and I will work with the district partners to dig into that work,” he told KOIN 6 News.
Marcy Landolfo, the owner of Rains PDX, recently left a note on her business’s door explaining her reasons for closing and saying the city is in peril. Landolfo said she felt like everyone was finally on the same page during Tuesday’s meeting about necessary changes for the immediate future.
Landolfo said even though it’s too late for her store, she’s hopeful for the business owners that remain in the central eastside and the city of Portland.
“There are businesses all over that have had to close… everyone still needs help,” she stated. “We all need to come together for this one aspect of change, which is crime. It affects all of this.”
KOIN 6 News has asked the mayor’s office who all is participating in Friday’s meeting. We have not heard back as of this writing.
