RE: “The Joyce Hotel Is Closing” [News, Jan 27], in which Shelby R. King reported on the eviction of the downtown building’s tenants. “The 90-bed loss will create a service gap,” King wrote, “for some of Multnomah County’s most underserved and vulnerable residents.”
If Portland can do without tax revenue for years when subsidizing “development areas” for retail housing, then they damn sure can spring to buy this place and re-open the Fish Grotto as a services and meals locus. Or, conversely, take the under-employed and use them to rehab the entire building and bring it up to standard and apply for federal aid. All I see is hand-wringing and woe-is-me bullshit spouting from every talking head while hoping another homeless camp will ease the pressure on a simmering situation. At what point does the status quo sicken the populace so completely that something concrete gets done?
posted by olddavid
