Happy fall! As I write this in late August, the weather has already changed—we’ve had some overcast days and the cooler weather is definitely welcome. I hope you all had relaxing summers and are ready to get back to school and busy schedules!
We had a fabulous turn-out for the repainting of the Sunnyside Piazza in August. Thanks to all of you who came out for the fun day of painting and getting to know your neighbors—and catching up with neighbors who you haven’t seen in a long time. I was pleased to run into several familiar faces—including our city council representative Tiffany Koyama Lane.
Thanks to all the businesses who donated food to keep us going—from Grand Central Bakery (delicious fresh pastries!) and Old Friends (strong coffee!) to Straight from New York Pizza and Nate’s Oatmeal Cookies. Also thanks to Laughing Planet for refreshing lemonade and iced tea and to Will Grimm at First Forty Feet, who donated snacks. City Repair did an awesome job of keeping us organized and adhering to the paint-by-number pattern so we knew which colors to paint which petals.
Special thanks to SNA Board Member Tim Quayle, who was the project manager of this fantastic community event. He kept us focused, applied for the funding for the paint and other supplies, and solicited donations from local restaurants and cafes. We couldn’t have made this happen without his leadership!
The Sunnyside Piazza was one of City Repair’s first “place-making” projects—it was first painted by local residents in 2000, without the city’s permission! Since then many other neighborhoods across Portland and across the country have replicated this idea. There’s even an academic paper written about our piazza—Google it.
Our first General Meeting of the fall is on Sept. 10th at 7 p.m. We’ll be hearing from Molly Wallace, restorative justice facilitator at Lutheran Community Services Northwest who will be presenting on the free restorative justice services that LCSNW offers to neighborhoods. We may also have one of our City Council members at the meeting; stay tuned to our social media channels to find out who it will be.
We hope to see you there!