Talking Trash | Reader Letter

We received this letter from a Pearl resident in response to an article in the Jan/Feb issue of the neighborhood newsletter. It's printed in the current issue of the neighborhood newsletter. Unfortunately, we didn't have room for the full response from the Pearl District Business Association, but we do have the full response below.

I read with interest the article written by Stanley Penkin in Volume 1, Issue 3 of Neighborhood Notes in the Pearl District, concerning the litter on our streets. I agree in part that it is the citizen's responsibility to pick up after himself/herself. Most of us do. However, there are the few who drop litter either intentionally or unintentionally while walking on the sidewalks and those, in particular, who leave empty cups and wrappers at the street car stops before boarding. This is totally unacceptable since there are trash receptacles at many corners and adjacent to the stops. My main issue, however, is a concern with certain building owners who never clean up their sidewalls in front of or around their property. Take a look at 24 Hour Fitness, for example. The sidewalk on NW Johnson is a mess. The leaves from last fall, along with trash, are still there. It would be so simple if building owners or merchants simply swept their building or store fronts at least once a week. The restaurant Manzana does this and sets a good standard for neighbors to follow. I applaud Manzana. You make our neighborhood feel better.

We contacted the Pearl District Business Association and this is their response:

Dear Lynette:
We appreciate the letter from your reader and agree that it is everyone’s responsibility to be diligent about keeping our streets and environment clean. The less impact we have and the more we strive to leave a neutral carbon footprint the better. I believe that many of our member businesses work especially hard to keep their street fronts and parking areas clean and presentable – after all, it is just good business to create a clean, presentable entrance and parking lot to your customer. However, it never hurts to send out a gentle reminder to our membership to remind them to help and we will do this in our next member eNewsletter. I have also reached out to Joan Pendergast of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association regarding the upcoming neighborhood clean-up. During this effort volunteers go street-by-street and clean up trash, leaves and refuse - and, to date, it has been primarily driven by residents, I believe members of the business community would also like to get involved and help – as well as to help feed and demonstrate our appreciation to those volunteering to clean up the Pearl District. As the next street clean up nears, Ms. Pendergast said she would have Lynnette Fusilier and Ken Aaron contact me so that my staff and our members can get involved – as I think this would be good for all involved. Thanks for the suggestion – the PDBA is always interested in ways to promote the positive lifestyle of our neighborhood.
Warm Regards,

Joshua Ryan
Interim Executive Directors, Pearl District Business Association

Update: The PDBA has sent out three eNewsletters to its business community members since we received this email from Mr. Ryan. There has been no "gentle reminder" as promised. Maybe it will be in the next eNewsletter?

Kudos to Manzana (1203 NW Glisan) and its efforts to keep the neighborhood clean. Great job! We're also happy to report that 24 Hour Fitness has cleaned up the sidewalk and I'm sure they will be working on the curb area soon.

We'll keep you posted.

Update (3/12): The PDBA sent out its newsletter yesterday with the following gentle reminder to its members. Kudos to PDBA!

POLISH THE PEARL

Our annual spring cleaning event is coming in May. Stay tuned for details on how you can help Polish the Pearl.

In the meantime, we wanted to send all PDBA business owners a gentle reminder to keep the sidewalk in front of their buildings swept and clean. Parking spaces and common areas are important as well. If you have a particularly challenging parking area or public space, please let us know! We want to make the Pearl District proud by keeping our streets, sidewalks, common areas and neighborhoods presentable and clean. Happy Spring Cleaning!