The BAC Board has voted unanimously to oppose a proposal to divide a parcel of land located at 3523 SE 13TH Avenue.
This was a difficult decision for our organization to make. Unlike many other neighborhoods in Inner Southeast Portland, the Brooklyn Action Board generally supports residential infill development. Increased residential density reduces suburban sprawl, revitalizes nearby commercial areas, and helps to provide much needed affordable housing.
photo credit: Trevor Blake
The nonprofit group Friends of Trees is bringing its tree planting expertise back to the Brooklyn Neighborhood. Volunteers will be planting street trees in the neighborhood on November the 22nd. However, property owners must sign up by September 26th. There is very little cost for property owners, but the benefits of addiing trees are significant.
Residents and owners of property between SE 16th and 17th Avenues are strongly encouraged to attend the next BAC General Meeting. Trimet staff will be present to talk about future plans for the addition of MAX light rail to SE 17th Avenue. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September the 24th at the Thelma Skelton Loaves and Fishes Center starting at 7:00 PM.
The 2008 Brooklyn Ice Cream Social was bigger and better than ever. The weather was sunny and darn near perfect. We had several new organizations present this year, and this helped us draw more people than ever.
Planners at the City of Portland’s Bureu of Planning are hard at work on a much-needed update to the Central City Plan. The plan was last updated in 1988, and much has changed since that time. It seems that mixed-use development and urban revitalization has happened along just about every major commercial street in the city. However, very little has changed in Brooklyn’s commercial districts. The new Portland Plan just may be our chance to change that.
Portland City Commissioners have voted to spend $6.3 million dollars to help jump start the planned eastside extension of the popular Portland Streetcar. Current plans call for a new line to be built from the existing line in the Pearl District, across the Broadway Bridge to the Rose Quarter and the Lloyd District before heading south on MLK Boulevard and Grand Avenue to OMSI. Discussions area already being held on the idea of a future extension along Milwaukie Avenue so that streetcar service could be extended to the Brooklyn and Sellwood-Moreland Neighborhoods.
Commuters in and around the Brooklyn Neighborhood found an even worse than usual evening commute on Thursday, July 31st. A large water main at SE 11TH Avenue and Tacoma streets, broke and caused an emergency closure of the aging Sellwood Bridge. Traffic along Tacoma Street, Milwaukie Avenue, Powell Boulevard, McLoughlin Boulevard, the Ross Island Bridge and the Hawthorne Bridge came to a near standstill. One can only wonder if this is an omen of what future commutes will be like if the Sellwood Bridge is closed permanently.
Chester Yeom, the former operator of Brooklyn’s Milwaukie Market, has passed away. Many area residents will no doubt remember Chester for his keen sense of humor and his collection of Polaroid pictures that he had taken over the years of his regular customers.
As of June 24th, the local approval process for the planned MAX light rail extension from Downtown Portland to the City of Miwaukie is complete. Over a year of planning and public outreach work went into the formation of a new Locally Preferred Alignment (LPA).
Portland Police’s traffic enforcement team was out in full force at the east end of the Ross Island bridge on the evening of Tuesday, July 29th. Over a dozen officers participated in one of the largest traffic saturation patrols to ever come to the Brooklyn Neighborhood.