Blatant prostitution along 82nd Avenue has both local residents and Council Commissioner Randy Leonard hot and bothered. After the expiration of the prostitution-free zone along the Ave last September, Leonard has been meeting with police officials to figure out other methods of ending the sex work–in Leonard’s view, the city should use a service coordination team approach that’s used in Old Town. “They need to do something different than they’ve been doing,” said Ty Kovatch, Leonard’s chief-of-staff.
Meanwhile, neighbors are coming together to talk about the big issues behind the prostitution they see in their front yards. Dawn Rasmussen, president of Save Northeast 82nd, is organizing a town hall where – hopefully – people will discuss why prostitution exists in the area, not just how to police it. “What are the causes? Who are the victims?” says Rasmussen, “We want to have a humane approach to the problem… We’re not going to be able to stop the world’s oldest profession.” At the summit, Leonard is slated to sit on a panel with a business association representative, police officers and several prostitution NGO directors.
When Rasmussen spoke about the event at the City Council’s afternoon session last Wednesday, Leonard promised that by the time of the town hall, “We ought to not be coming to you with what we’re going to do, but with what we’ve accomplished. You should see a difference very soon.”
Rasmussen said she’s seen a slight increase in police presence on 82nd since Leonard and the police officials met last week, but the number of prostitutes walking the avenue seems about the same. Rasmussen related the story of a neighborhood association board member on his way to a community block party a few nights ago accidentally made eye contact with a prostitute and was alarmed as she dashed toward his car. The town hall meeting is supposed to deal with these sort of wild and unexpected encounters-what should Madison South residents do if they find a prostitute on their lawn or dashing toward their car?
“I don’t know what the right way to deal with these situations is,” said Rasmussen. So while the police are coordinating major enforcement efforts, the neighbors are looking for small, personal solutions. Rasmussen said she’s started turning on her porch light to try and keep away shady deals going down on her front lawn.
Save the date: Prostitution town hall at Vestal Elementary on NE 82nd, 6pm, Sept. 15th
It seem that the City can apply the same fix to prostitution that it did to day laborers. They might even be able to use the same office to save money. Day laborers in the morning, sex workers at night. It would provide a safe place to advertise the trade, and the customers would be required to pay a living wage.
-Proudwolf
Heh! Bravo Proudwolf, I think you’ve found the ideal solution.
Oh, I say, Proudwolf, old boy! Way to rescue what sounds very much like a re-written press release. Very droll. Quite a nice twist!
Oh, I say, Proudwolf, old boy! Way to rescue what sounds very much like a re-written press release. Very droll. Quite a nice twist!
Sirs:
According to an 1895 report published by a local church association, nearly 10,000 full and part-time prostitutes lived and worked in what was then called the “White Chapel” section of Portland. This, you should know, was at a time when the city’s population was estimated to be 95,000 citizens. Of course, this was eight years before Portland joined with the cities of East Portland and Albina to form the greater Portland we know and love today.
To prevent these ladies from cruising the streets of downtown on their “wheels” wearing short skirts, brightly striped stockings and low cut tops, the city passed an ordinance banning this behavior. I believe this ordinance is still in effect today, though the police find it inconvenient to enforce it.
To clarify, White Chapel was the neighborhood west of what is now N.W. Sixth between S.W. Washington and the river. In other words, today’s Pearl District.
The closest to a solution to this long standing problem came in an 1890’s election, when local businessman Fred Merrill ran for city council on a pro-prostition and pro-vice platform. He won handily.
As you can see, this is an old issue in Portland that requires critical new thinking to solve. Please do not be dissapointed when the same tired old solutions are trotted out again and nothing of substance happens except wasted time, energy and money.
I remain your cranky old,
Jacomus
Somebody shut this jerk up. Holy shit, what a jack ass.
The inability of the city to actual enforce the laws already on the books (Unlawful prostitution procurement, prostitution, attempted prostitution, disorderly conduct) constantly amazes me.
They have this giant book of potential crimes to prosecute and instead of going out and arresting folks they say, “You know what we need? A lengthy process to get community input to come up with new elaborate laws and policies that we won’t really enforce and that will get bogged down in months of litigation!”
I think the onus is on the board member. If he didn’t want a prostitute dashing towards his car, he shouldn’t have made eye contact, accidental or otherwise.
I guess we have to think of 82nd as some sort of wild life refuge. Keep your windows up and no sudden eye contact.
I hope the dashing girl in question wasn’t in trouble and running to his car for help, that would be embarrassing.
“We’re not going to be able to stop the world’s oldest profession.”
I don’t know, Jacomus, if it requires any critical new thinking, or if it requires people to just realize that the best way to really have any measure of control or safety around prostitution is just to make it legal and regulate accordingly.
Let’s just hope Rasmussen’s porch light isn’t red, that could create a wealth of new problems.
As you know the PFZ was lifted in conjunction with the Drug Free Zone (DFZ) ordinance last Sept 2007. Back then, Mayor Potter cited an 18 page research report that he based the sunsetting of both the DFZ & PFZ and if you do a search in that entire 18 page research paper there was NOT one mention of the word “prostitution” in it. We urge you to please re-read that report: http://www.portlandonline.com/mayor/index.cfm?a=169712&c=46244
This to us is at the heart of the problem that both zones ordinances were lumped together.
PFZ should not be lumped with the DFZ
DFZ may have relied on profiling (which is wrong) but PFZ is enforced very differently – the neighborhood officers unfortunately know these women by name/face and they are repeat offenders. So it was enforced very differently then the DFZ. Their visibility was a liability to them when the PFZ was in effect and was a major deterrent. Even in the Mayor’s statement on the link above – this was the ONLY mention of the PFZ: “In addition to the Drug Free Zone ordinance, the Prostitution Free Zone law also will sunset.”
Priority reasons as to why the PFZ should be reinstated:
1. The research that the Mayor cited when lifting the ordinance did not even mention prostitution in the entire 18 pg doc it was lumped with the issues surrounding DFZ’s enforcement.
2. According to the NRT – calls regarding prostitution have quadrupled since last year this time. Cause & Effect – Zone is gone = crime has grown considerably & taken roots in our neighborhoods
3. We the citizens around 82nd Avenue are having our safety compromised each + every day (read our blog to hear comments from your neighbors – how neighborhood women are being threatened, neighborhood young girls/children are being propositioned in broad daylight).
4. Crime from all over is coming to 82nd – it is well documented that the women are being trafficked from Seattle, and beyond to work on the avenue. Also 82 Ave has become a turf war with organized crime dividing up the blocks for both prostitution & drugs.
We truly believe that the PFZ needs to be reinstated immediately under an emergency status to help get a handle on the daily escalating level, since this crime has reached a critical level and affecting daily safety.
We as a city need to react quicker – look at how quickly crime – the pimps took over this area since the ordinance was dropped last September!!! The city needs to start realizing patterns so we are just not pushing this around or letting it reach such a critical level again. Along with the PFZ we ask our elected officials to look at solutions to help the women and truly enforce the johns. If the johns knew there was going to be tougher laws would that help as a deterrent? “John schools”, higher impound fees, posting johns online, what if they have to do work crew – pick up the used condoms/needles in our school yards, or in the parking lot of businesses/churches that we deal with daily, literally clean up 82nd? What if all of the Local Biz’s signed Trespass Agreements put signs in their windows, united in this – would this help, etc – these are all bigger discussions that need to start now. However at the heart of it should be the safety of the residents of this city and that is why the PFZ needs to be instated immediately.
Our city does not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to dealing with prostitution – many other cities have come up with solutions that are working and at the heart of it is dealing with the “demand” the johns. Mr. Leonard and Mayor Potter (but perhaps it should be Mayor-elect Adams due to the upcoming transition?) should truly work closely with Chief Sizer – first & foremost this is a crime and should be treated as such and at the heart of the crime is safety.
MontavillaInAction.blogspot.com
Dear Members of Montavilla in Action:
All you want is the problem out of your neighborhood with no regard for where it goes and what other neighborhoods are troubled.
That, is not a solution. It is passing the buck. The solutions proposed by your group are exactly what is wrong with our society today. Your solutions are short-sighted and, frankly, selfish.
There is a solution, a simple, straight forward solution, but I doubt there is a single community leader or politician in this city with the common sense or courage to suggest it.
Legalize it, license it, confine it to a clearly identified area of the least impact then get over it.
Prostitution is not going away, ever, as long as the conservative, Christian hypocrites who are the most common customers of prostitutes feel they must try to eradicate it by day then use it freely by night.
Legalizing prostitution would free up the time of our fine police force providing them with more opportunity for racial profiling and ignoring ordinances they find inconvenient. (Their words, not mine.)
Legalizing prostitution allows us to get pimps not just out of neighborhoods but out of the business. It gets organized crime out of the business, too. (You are not so naive to think there isn’t organized crime in Portland, are you?)
Legalizing prostitution will help control STDs of all types.
Legalizing prostitution protects the sex worker, too, as he or she can call the police when victimized and not worry about being arrested for plying their trade — which they will ply no matter what we do. At least we can try to afford them some small protections and good Christian citizens, can’t we?
Legalizing and licensing prostitution will provide tax revenues to the city and state. These men and women are going to sell themselves no matter what we do. At least we can make them pay their fair share of the services they use — and they use more than do you or I.
You must face the truth, dear MIA, prostitution is not going to go away.
We can either get it under control all over Portland, or, expect that the problem will just bounce around town causing citizen groups like Montavilla in Action to put pressure on city hall to get it out of their neighborhood and into someone else’s.
Is this a logical solution? No. It is selfish and short-sighted.
Legalizing and controlling it is the best practical solution.
Is legalizing prostitution going to happen? Of course not. Legalizing it makes too much sense, would save us too much money and manpower, would allow us to address far more serious problems.
Ah, I see your point, Montavilla In Action. Better to push the problem off on someone else then turn your back on the problem — which is exactly what you, the caring, Christian members of Montavilla In Action hopes to do. Right?
I remain your humble servant,
Jacomus
Jacomus –
As we stated – we do not want to push this crime around – we expect our city officials to react and see the patterns before it reaches a critcal level.
“We as a city need to react quicker – look at how quickly crime – the pimps took over this area since the ordinance was dropped last September. The city needs to start realizing patterns so we are just not pushing this around or letting it reach such a critical level again. Along with the PFZ we ask our elected officials to look at solutions to help the women and truly enforce the johns. “
>>>You should also please educate yourself on the present issues with “legalized” prostitution –
From Human Trafficking.org / June 03, 2008:
“Europe Reconsiders Prostitution as Sex Trafficking Booms” http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/773
“Trafficking and forced prostitution are on the rise, and the EU countries’ complicated prostitution laws make prosecution difficult.
An aid organization has opened its 12th office in Germany to advise women in need. Some 700,000 women are trafficked to western Europe every year.”
The below is a recent article (July 20, 2008) regarding Amsterdam’s recent crack down on their red light district & policies.
“Recently, six members of a gang led by two Turkish-German brothers were convicted for people trafficking. They were active in the red light district in Amsterdam as well as in Germany and Belgium. Women were beaten, raped and forced into prostitution. Most of the victims were too scared to make a formal complaint against the gang. “
http://www.expatica.com/nl/life_in/feature/Amsterdam-decides-not-to-do-business-with-prostitutes.html
Jacomus perhaps you would like to spend some of your energy & time talking with the residents of this city affected by this crime – like one young mother we met – who doesn’t have the luxury of a car & must walk along 82nd to get her groceries and when doing so with her 3 young children men in cars are propositioning her in front of her kids – just because she is walking along on 82nd as a lone woman during the day. She doesn’t want to move out of her apt nor does she have the money to move or pay another security deposit but she fears for her safety and for her childrens’.
I know many of the upcoming summits are going to have smaller task force groups – perhaps you can share your energies and focus on a particular area that you are passionate about.
Thank you,
Montavilla In Action
Believe me, turning on a porch light won’t do the trick. I’ve caught them on my front lawn countless times–at night when the porch light is on, in broad daylight when I’m taking my child and dog on a walk, it doesn’t matter: They’re blatant, because they’re operating with near impunity.
Made eye contact with a prostitute? You think that’s alraming? I know a guy who was driving with his two kids in, and stopped to let a woman cross the street, and the woman–who turned out to be a prostitute–jumped right in his car (kids ‘n all). You see, prostitution is so prevalent on and around 82nd Avenue, she just assumed he must be a john.
I wonder how he explained all that to his kids….
Jackoffmus:
It’s not selfish to want to be able to step outside your door without scanning your lawn to make sure there aren’t fresh, used, diseased condoms for your dog or child to step on.
Legalize prostitution? Yeah, right; like that’s going to ever happen. The heat needs to be kept on this illegal activity; if it moves somewhere else, then the pressure needs to be redirected there. In the meantime, I don’t see how letting a bunch of bleeding hearts roll out a red carpet for sex slaves, pimps and drug dealers is a good idea. That is, unless uber-liberal pussies like you just want to put the convenience of criminals over the safety of law-abiding citizens (who pay the property taxes that will fund all the social programs you no doubt pine for: paid any sales tax lately?).
fedup et al:
You forgot to mention the used and discarded syringes and needles in the front yard and the pimps cruising neighborhoods looking for new recruits.
I am more aware than you there is no perfect solution to this issue. All you care about is getting it out of your neighborhood, not a permanent solution. That you cannot deny.
Our police department finds it inconvenient, to use their phrase, to enforce laws and ordinances until a group such as yours raises the issues loudly and vocally. Then they push the problem into another essentially powerless community where it festers until those citizens have had enough.
Our fine politicians find it hard to believe that the residents of a neighborhood they view as economically impacted would care. At least prostitution creates jobs. In their venal city-view Montavilla and Lents are the perfect neighborhoods for this behavior because very few major financial contributors to their campaigns live there. And we all know who hizzoner de mayor and the band of four work for. You? Me? Don’t make me laugh.
But take this to the bank every one of you. Prostitution will continue despite all the ranting and raving of your group or some village idiot like me who has seen this issue ignored, swept under the rug and pushed off on other neighborhoods for all of my long life and for one hundred years before that.
Keeping the heat on, fedup, as you so banally put it, hasn’t worked in the the past, it doesn’t work now, and it won’t work in the future. All it does is make you feel better at the cost of your fellow citizens. That is a nice selfish view of things.
If you want a solution then work toward one. YOU have to do it, nots the twits and dolts who work for the city, not the corrupt, graft-mongering cretins you call politicians. YOU.
Get on with it and may God be with you.
Jacomus
PLEASE READ THIS & GET THE FACTS ON THE PFZ:
http://www.thebeenews.com/news/story.php?story_id=119785967051105200
Dear CNTSU et al:
You miss the point. The city, meaning the bureaucracy, police, mayor and city council, and others have been refusing to step up and find a permanent solution to this problem for the entire history of the city.
The point is: Stop allowing city government to push the problem around the city like a hockey puck on ice. It is up to YO to find a final, complete solution that actually protects all citizens across the city. The PFZ and the rest of those alphabet soup solutions are mental masterbation at best.
Get a clear understanding: This issue is a “hot potato” that the bureaucracy, police, mayor and city council, state government and the business interests they represent want desperately to go away so they can go back to business as usual. i.e., so they can pander to the special interest groups that keep them in power. All they are likely to do is placate you by pushing the problem off on some other neighborhood so you will shut the f*** up. They chances of these people stepping up and doing their jobs is about as likely as me — or fedup — or any of you — walking on water. It’s not going to happen.
There is a solution. It is obvious, though distasteful to many and reprehensible to the Religous Right who make up a major part of the customer base of prostitutes. (If Portland had a licensed red light district, someone might take their pictures entereing or exiting a brothel.)
It will take the citizens of the Greater Portland area to find a solution and implement it. If government has not found a solution in the history of this city, what makes your think our current crop of twits, toadies, lackies and venal fools of city government have a clue now. Your faith in them is refreshingly naive.
YOU have to be the solution, in the words of Mohandas Ghandi. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, in the words of Jesus of Nazareth.
Just don’t push your problem off on someone else.
Jacomus
Many, many residents in Montavilla have been standing together against the idea of reinstating the PFZ, and support Mayor Potter’s reasons for ending them.
We want other solutions, solutions which address the obvious problems without pushing them into another neighborhood as a Prostitution Free Zone would do.
We’re not a minority, but Montavilla In Action has been uniform in calling us ‘uneducated’ on the issues (one person suggested that we’re as uncaring as to allow a ‘young woman screaming’ to go unaided). Its this kind of rhetoric which has ensured that the solutions presented by Montavilla In Action are driven by a core group rather than the community as a whole.
We appreciate Randy Leonard’s call for real solutions – and expect that the city will continue making this a top priority.
Ideally, prostitution would not exist anywhere. However, a grassroots band of citizens can only do so much. The PFZ shouldn’t be the extent of our efforts, but it at least sends a message that we as a neighborhood will not tolerate human trafficking in our midst.
Some object that reinstating the PFZ will only move the problem elsewhere. First of all, this is not necessarily true. 82nd Ave. creates ideal conditions for prostitution, and there is no guarantee that shutting down the practice on 82nd will cause it to rise up in equal measure somewhere else. Second, the vast majority of the women are brought in from out of town; they are not even from Oregon, much less Portland. So excluding them from our neighborhood will not create undue hardship, since the only reason they’re here is to ply their trade.
But this is not just a livability issue, it’s a justice issue as well. These are women created in the image of God who, for whatever reason, are selling their very bodies for money. It should grieve us to see our fellow human beings bought and sold like cattle. This is why prostitution should never, under any circumstances, be legalized.
Reinstating the PFZ is only the first step. Once that goal is achieved, Montavilla In Action should focus on lobbying City Council and the Mayor’s office to address the problem of prostitution in a comprehensive, results-based manner. We need to look at successful tactics used in other cities, including harsher penalties for the johns. We’d see a lot fewer girls walking the streets if demand for their services dried up.
I respect people who do not support reinstating the PFZ. Their number one concern is for the women’s well-being, which is admirable. They prefer a more comprehensive approach that rehabilitates the women and gives them options outside of prostitution. They do not want society to merely treat the women as criminals.
The PFZ is not a cure for prostitution, nor will it do anything for the women enslaved by it. The PFZ is merely a stopgap solution, a limited but effective tool to stem the tide of vice on our streets. Once it is down to a manageable level, we can focus our efforts on a long-term solution that puts the women on a path to restoration and wholeness.
P.S. I encourage everyone to visit the following website (copy and paste into your browser’s address bar):
http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/
Thank you, o,now. Another voice of reason.
And, o,now, people tend to call names when they have neither reason or facts on their side. Having nothing to back their arguement, they call names. It is a coward’s tactic, indeed.
Jacomus
Jacomus –
I noticed you glossed over the fact that even under the guise of “legalized” prostitution women & young girls are being trafficked and forced into it. It is a “solution” that too has many issues around it.
You are also telling us “just don’t push your problem off on someone else” – how is it OUR problem when johns are coming from all over this state & WA state? How pimps are coming in from Seattle & LA and beyond since are laws are so laxed. This is not just OUR problem.
“O,Now” – we are not sure how you are supporting Mayor Potter’s reasons for ending the PFZ since he did not state any in particular to the PFZ and his decision was based on NO research on the PFZ, so you are supporting the soon-to-be former Mayor’s lack of informed decision(s) on the PFZ.
You also stated that you support Mr. Leonard’s “call for real solutions” that unfortunately he made that same “action item” statement last year when lifting the ordinance. We are now almost 1 year later – still waiting on those “real solutions” by Mr. Leonard to happen – while crime has hit an all time high in our communities. When your fellow neighborhod women cannot wait at a bus stop without being propositioned – when your fellow neighbor’s young daughters cannot walk alone in their communities since cars are pulling over & trying to proposition them.
Lastly we are not resorting to name calling – Jacomous you are labelling us – casting us a certain religious. We are urging people to educate themselves on all layeres to this complicated crime & get active in whatever aspect they are interested in.
Enjoy the sunshine & have a great weekend,
MontavillaInAction.Blogspot.com
Dear MIA:
Yes, I am fully aware of the facts you mention. You’ve yet to mention anything I’m not fully aware of.
Here’s one for you.
Are you aware that it is the stated, written position of YOUR U.S. Department of Justice that the crime of white slavery not be prosecuted? On any level? Anywhere in the world?
This position was published by your U.S. Department of Justice about one month ago. You didn’t know this? And I thought you were concerned with and up to date on the entire issue.
When queried, Senator Ron Wyden’s office emailed me that they are aware of the Justice Department’s position, and that Mr. Wyden is trying to change the Bush administration’s position on this.
Repeated queries to Senator Smith’s office are yet to be answered, implying that the Right Reverend Senator Smith supports the position of not investigating or prosecuting white slavers in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world, either.
So, your panties are in a wad about the local situation, yet do you know or even care that the federal government of conservative Christian George W. Bush feels that the trade in white slavery is acceptable. And will not prosecute it?
Of course, you didn’t know that, did you? You’re too busy being self-righteous and taking out your anger on the local prostitutes. You’re too concerned with pushing the prostitutes into another part of town, aren’t you?
Am I angry about this whole issue? You are very right, I am. I am furious with your hypocrisy, and tired of it going on for so very long, and up to my gullet with people not being willing to do what needs to be done.
As long as it’s not in my neighborhood. Fuck your neighborhood. I care about the city and men and women who are the true victims of this crime.
I do apologize if my passion and zeal are offensive. We, as citizens of this city, have got to grow up and find a reasonable solution. A permanent solution. We need to find it today. Not tomorrow. I recognize that what I suggest won’t satisfy anyone. I’m a big boy, I know this. But we need a solution that will protect everyone in every part of the city, and that is the biggest issue, isn’t it?
I remain your humble servant,
Jacomus
MIA:
Don’t take my word, here is one link for more information on this issue:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/opinion/11miller.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=White%20Slavery%20US%20Justice%20Department&st=cse&oref=slogin
Jacomus