I just witnessed two outspoken Montavilla neighbors stage an impromptu takeover of the mayor’s morning press conference. “They invited us to come and stand behind them,” said Montavilla in Action member Liz Sullivan, after the conference dispersed, “and we don’t stand behind this plan.” What Potter unveiled this morning was the basics of his plan to fight prostitution along 82nd Ave. Equally upset neighbor Brian Wong turned up to the conference with two speeches folded in his back pocket — one in case he supported the plan the mayor unveiled and the critical one he wound up reading, unrehearsed, in front of the mic while holding up a syringe he found on the street in his neighborhood.
Just a Neighbor Needling Potter
The mayor, the police, the City Council — everyone recognizes that rampant and flagrant prostitution occurs all day and night on 82nd Ave. Since the city allowed the Drug and Prostitution Free Zones to die last year after investigations showed the Drug Free Zone hinged on racial profiling tactics, reports of prostitution along 82nd have quadrupled. Now, a heated debate swirls around what to do about the problem. A month ago, Commissioner Randy Leonard promised a crack down on prostitution with a Service Coordination Team style approach. The last month has seen series of six major stings along 82nd — in the last two weeks, police have made 36 arrests. Sources at City Hall say that Mayor Potter seized control of the task and today’s conference was a clear sign of that. Potter released information about his plan own prostitution plan, a four-part bullet list that he has yet to christen with a catchy name:
– Increase police pressure on prostitutes, pimps and their customers
– Prosecute prostitutes in Community Court rather than Circuit Court. This means prostitutes would be placed on probation more frequently and allow the police to arrest suspected prostitutes across the city (not just on 82nd) more easily. Potter’s office hopes that prostitution could disappear from neighborhoods as prostitutes on probation would be excluded from specific high-whoring areas.
– Encourage neighborhood foot patrols. Like the border’s Minute Men, but along 82nd and hopefully not crazy and racist.
– Develop treatment options, including putting $500,000 toward solving the economic and social problems that drive prostitution (like addiction and unemployment) and creating a Service Coordination Team for 82nd.
The Montavilla in Action neighbors aren’t digging Potter’s plan. “I pray that this works, but I have a lot of doubts,” says Sullivan, “It’s fraught with ‘ifs’.” She and Wong pointed out that the plan seems to target only prostitutes, not johns and that the city is relying on the prostitute actually showing up in court.
Sullivan, Wong and the other activists have been doing enforcement of their own recently : snapping photos of johns soliciting ladies along 82nd. They want Potter to reinstate the Prostitution Free Zone (PFZ). “There was and has been no study done on the PFZ,” said Wong, noting that the racial-profiling findings that killed both zones were based on data about arrests in the Drug Free Zone. Nowhere in the damning 18-page report is the word “prostitution” or info about whether the same racial disparities existed in enforcement of the prostitution free zone.
John Doussard, Potter’s director of communications, is trying to dig up the research on the PFZ, replying to my info request with an email saying frankly, “The chart I’ve seen is incomprehensible.” In the mean time, he makes what I think is an important point: “The main problem with the PFZ is that no one felt it was a solution to the problems. It simply moved the problem from one area to another. Instead, we need treatment options that really address the issues.” Doussard mentions that a big difference between prostitutes downtown on on 82nd is that out on the Ave, only 30% have current drug problems. The other 70% are driven there by economic factors. Focusing on treatment seems to me to be the most effective way to actually better the lives of women on the street – I hope that $500,000 is put toward things like securing safe and affordable housing for former prostitutes and getting them training for other jobs.
Other Montavilla neighbors are planning a Prostitution Town Hall this Monday to discuss the root causes of prostitution in the area and effective solutions. Sullivan and Wong did not help plan the town hall. Right now they’re not interested in discussion over prostitution’s roots, they’re interested in getting the PFZ back as soon as possible. “We’re at critical red alert on our streets,” says Sullivan, “Our focus is the safety and livability of the residents.” Sullivan told some neighborhood horror stories — before each Little League game, parents have to sweep the field for condoms. Sullivan catching prostitutes and johns “in the act” during a stroll through a park on a Sunday afternoon. Women getting harassed and solicited by male drivers while walking alone down 82nd to the grocery store. “It has changed, the whole 82nd Avenue,” says Sullivan, referring to the time since the PFZ expired, “It’s much more blatant and it’s sad to see these women freely traded.”
Sarah Mirk is a great reporter. She rode 60 blocks in 15 minutes to cover this story.
It’s nice to see the mayor taking responsibility for this expansion of the SCT program at last, not some other city commissioner who may or may not wish to get his paws on the police bureau.
I had the opportunity to find myself driving a short bit on 82nd this last Sunday early afternoon from Fremont north to Columbia. Within 10 blocks near Sandy Blvd, we spotted at least three women who were obviously “working” the street. It was really blatant and really sad. I’d been reading about the problem in various news outlets recently but didn’t “get it” until we made that short drive on the ole 8-2.
I don’t get the #2 point listed. Are they saying that the sheer number of arrests will be boosted by recirculating the same group of repeat offenders through jail?
Sirs:
Imagine my lack of surprise about the city’s plan and the neighborhood’s response. The fine people who employ the people who run our fair city want the pimps, pushers and prostitutes out in the hinterlands and away from their investments. And do “they” care if the citizens in Lents or Montavilla don’t care for the plan. What do you think?
There is a solution, but, as always, no one has the cojones, do they?
I remain your humble servant,
Jacomus
“Prosecute prostitutes in Community Court rather than Circuit Court”
That description of point two is incorrect. The plan involves taking prostitution OUT of Community Court and sending all people charged with prostitution to Circuit Court. That’s good for the lawyers who will get more cases and trials out of the deal. Its good for the probation department and the cops that will have more people under supervision and make them easy to arrest. It’s bad if you are a prostitute that used to be able to quickly get through a community court case and finished without probation.
Thank you Tara for the coverage. We appreciate all of the questions that you asked of us and we hope that you will go to our blog to read our open letter to the City Council. http://montavillainaction.blogspot.com/
On our blog is a link to our rebuttal to the Mayor’s “prostitution talking points” as he refered to them on his website. We do not need talking points, we need a well executed plan that has buy in, adequate funding and addresses the complexity of this crime. The city stated a year ago that they were going to come up with “real solutions” as they abandoned the PFZ (Sept. 30, 2007). Now 1 year later organized crime has moved in and made the Avenue into a criminal “turf war”, where young women are now blatantly & freely traded day & night, neighborhood women & young girls safety is now being compromised, fatalaties have occured, residents safety & livability is effected and now Mayor refers to his talking points as an important begining?
We plan to have our “March on 82nd Avenue to Reclaim Our Neighborhood” on Saturday September 20. Please go to our blog for the flyer & more info.
We also plan on presenting our Petition to Reinstate the Prostitution Free Zone to City Council, to commemorate with the 1 year anniversary (Sept. 30, 2007) of that negligent mistake. We ask that the PFZ be reinstated in addition to all of the city’s proposed plans. We also stress once again that the City leaders look to Seattle and see how they took our law and PFZ ordinance and made it effective. Petition to Reinstate the PFZ – which we will be presenting to the City Council on Sept. 30th to commemorate with the 1 year anniversary of its abandonment.
We ask now more than ever that the City please reinstate the PFZ in addition to the proposal that they have just begun the start of that still does not have approved budget or buy in from all appropriate dept. After seeing all of the “Ifs” and layers to the proposal and were it can all break down, plus there has been no timeline presented to the plan – that we feel now more than ever the PFZ is needed in addition to the plans the City is now working on.
>>>> PRIORITY REASONS AS TO WHY THE PFZ SHOULD BE REINSTATED (UNDER EMERGENCY STATUS):
>>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 the DFZ http://www.portlandonline.com/mayor/index.cfm?a=169712&c=46244
>>2. According to the Neighborhood Response TEAM (NRT) back on 7/23/08- calls regarding prostitution have quadrupled since last year this time. Cause & Effect – Zone is gone = crime has grown considerably & formed deep roots
>>3. We the citizens around 82nd Ave are having our safety compromised each & every day (read our blog to hear comments from your neighbors: how neighborhood women are now being harassed, neighborhood young girls are being propositioned in daylight by johns that circle and speed through our streets.
>>4. Crime from all over is now coming to 82nd Ave – it is well documented that the women are being trafficked from Seattle, LA and beyond to work on the avenue due to our laxed laws. In addition, johns from all over the State & WA state are coming to our neighborhoods – we have taken on both States’ issues..
>>5. Until the city’s “real solutions” are in effect & working, we need to immediately stem the crime that has taken over our communities to bring back the safety & livability of the neighborhoods & their residents.
Thank you,
Montavilla In Action
http://www.MontavillaInAction.blogspot.com