A HALF DOZEN MEN sat around a flimsy folding table in the center of the Miracles Club on NE MLK last Wednesday afternoon, September 10, playing one of the more raucous games of dominoes Portland has ever seen. “It’s vicious, it’s like the Thunderdome of dominoes,” called out one man, slapping a piece on the table.
Miracles Club is a place Portlanders with addiction problems have come to for safe and sober socialization for 16 years—stopping by all day and into the night for card games, poetry readings, and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. When their boxy retro building was sold to high-rise developers two years ago, Miracles Club secured city funds to help build a new space right nearby. Now, the recently elected King Neighborhood Association leaders want to build a fence between Miracles and the rest of the street.
It’s easy to see why neighbors might get annoyed living next to Miracles. On breaks from dominoes and AA meetings, the club members smoke cigarettes on the street outside and carry on loud, shouting conversations. Some weekend nights, the club hosts high-volume dances. But for its members and others, the club is an important service in the neighborhood around NE MLK and Shaver, providing a space for 21 support groups to meet weekly and 100-200 recovering addicts who hang out daily at the club.
While discussing Miracles’ move into a planned four-story building topped with transitional housing for people in addiction treatment programs, the King Neighborhood Association recently demanded the design include a fence along the back of the property, arguing a fence was necessary to control car traffic at the club.
Gary Marschke, president of the North/Northeast Business Association, sees the neighborhood split on the subject of Miracles. “Older neighbors see it as a service and an asset. They’re a safe and supportive environment that’s kept the folks who come to them off the street,” he says, believing that new neighbors are more inclined to find the club annoying for three reasons: “It’s loud, it’s black, and it’s smoky.”
Miracles supporters say the desire for a fence would physically segregate the recovering addicts from the community. Celeste Carey of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods believes there “are better ways to mitigate traffic problems that would work just as well” and a fence could damage the cohesiveness and visibility of the community. But Herman Bryant, Miracles Club director, says they will change the design to include a fence. Bryant takes his cues from the 12-step program and says being conciliatory with neighbors is better than “rocking the boat over cultural differences.”
“We’d be spending all of our will on showing that we’ve got the money and power to do it,” says Bryant, holding a giant black binder of development plans under his arm. “What I’m interested in is getting a stable community for Miracles.”
King Neighborhood Association did not return multiple requests for comment by press time.
Ms Mirk,
Your recent article regarding the Miracles Club is woefully inaccurate with regards to the King Neighborhood Association. You state that “the recently elected King Neighborhood Association leaders want to build a fence between Miracles and the rest of the street.” The board of the King Neighborhood Association consists of nine members. Of those, only one, Chairman Charles Boardman, has professed a desire for a barrier between the new Miracles Club and Grand Avenue.
Charles Boardman was elected in May to replace our previous Chair who was stepping down. He ran with no professed platform and was elected as he ran unopposed as were all of us who were elected at that meeting. At the following meeting, Mr. Boardman’s immediate neighbors who live adjacent to the new development raised their concerns and fears about the project.
Your article states: “King Neighborhood Association recently demanded the design include a fence along the back of the property.” Since this is not an issue that affects the neighborhood as a whole, it was deferred for discussion between the club and the neighbors on Grand. That group, working together came up with the recommendation to close the exit to Grand.
With the parties in agreement, it was put to the Board to support the wishes of a diverse group of Grand Avenue neighbors to close the exit to Grand. The board voted in favor as there appeared to be no controversy.
Finally you state “King Neighborhood Association did not return multiple requests for comment by press time.” I’m not sure what form these requests took but we are not that hard to contact. I know that you did not try to contact myself, our secretary, or our info link from the KNA website.
In short, the King Neighborhood Association is a group of dedicated volunteers charged with the responsibility of representing the interest of a group of 6000 citizens of our city. Mischaracterizations and generalizations of this kind hurt our mission. The King Neighborhood Association has supported the Miracles Club’s mission for many years and has helped resolve the conflicts that have arisen in the past. Your article serves to do just the opposite.
Trace Salmon
Treasurer
King Neighborhood Association
trace.salmon@kingneighborhood.org
As a neighbor who is not involved with the KNA, but who has an opinion… There was a petition that went out to all the neighbors affected by the proposed development and they ALL signed it – new and OLD RESIDENTS – many who have lived here longer than the Miracles.
As far as I know, the only neighbors who are thrilled about the Miracles moving up the street (one block) are the neighbors who live across the street from them now. They had a good neighborhood agreement with them, too, and they still had to call the police repeatedly because of the noise issues.
Facts:
1. Miracles has never managed housing before.
2. The new Miracles has propose 38 units and 15 parking spots.
3. Miracles has a broken track record of respecting neighbors rights to sleep. (portlandmaps.com)
4. Miracles has smokers out front at their current facility most of the day.
5. Miracles has received money from tax payers.
6. Miracles agreed to the fence.
7. The traffic that would go through MLK on to Grand street would change the entire dynamic of the neighborhood – making it a big parking lot with lots of cars driving up and down the street where kids currently play.
8. Miracles is a respected agency of change in this neighborhood and people (the neighbors of Grand street) value their work.
Myths:
1. This has anything to do with comments like “it’s black.”
2. This has anything to do with “cultural differences.”
3. This has anything to do with fencing people out.
The reality is that we just don’t want the inevitable overflow of cars – that will spill out regardless – from residents, members, staff, visitors, and the many who will attend Miracles’ functions to create chaos on our funky little street. We like our street and we deserve respect as human beings. The fence is simply our only option to get there. Every other aspect of this plan we have ‘accepted’.