City Officials Listen to Public Opinion About Last Thursday on Alberta Street

The house was packed Monday night at the Acadian Ballroom as Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Amanda Fritz hosted a public meeting to hear testimony from all stakeholders of the Last Thursday festival held on NE Alberta Street each month. The head count was well over 300—and anticipated due to the media attention this public forum gathered last week with various articles and announcements, event flyering throughout the neighborhood (provided by the Office of Neighborhood Involvement’s Crime Prevention Program Manager, Stephanie Reynolds), and a huge response to the event’s Facebook invitation (nearly 300 replied yes). Given this exposure, it was no surprise that the public showed up en masse to provide their opinions—artists, performers, neighbors, business owners, neighborhood association and nonprofit organization members, even Last Thursday attendees from other areas of the city. People were called in threes to perch at a table set with microphones facing Adams and Fritz. So many wished to voice their opinions about Last Thursday that the meeting lasted well over two hours.

Three at a time, residents shared their thoughts and concerns about Last Thursday.

Last Thursday has been a key concern for stakeholders as it has gained popularity over the past few years, particularly during warm months. The influx of people to the neighborhood has resulted in many serious complaints from neighbors—which run the gamut of trash, noise, parking, safety and public drunkenness violations and concerns. The City has held various meetings with key stakeholders (see our previous coverage of Last Thursday) to try to come up with viable solutions to the negative aspects of the popular festival. A group called Team Last Thursday created a draft plan in July 2009 stating their position on various critical aspects of the event. (A draft of this very same plan was handed out by that team at Monday’s public forum, yet it’s not clear if all elements of this particular plan have been implemented with any regularity, or truly enforced. It is clear, however, that this plan has not been updated since it was first presented by the volunteer group last summer.)

A very crowded house

A Last Thursday monthly costs information sheet was handed out by City officials that shows the City spends upwards of $11,000 to fund the event in summer months. The overall number to put on the event ($14,194) was up for debate throughout the public testimony: NE Alberta Street’s own Binks bar organizes business donations to pay for 12 portapotties, Team Last Thursday pays for some garbage pickup, hauling and disposal post event and county and state taxes cover fees for health and liquor control inspectors, all information which may distort the view of how actual City costs were presented. The fact that no one group is responsible for the Last Thursday event is perhaps the most problematic issue from an organizational standpoint. This is not true of any other Portland street festival, as business and neighborhood associations typically sponsor street festivals.

Adams and Fritz kicked off the meeting by reminding the group that the purpose of the forum was to present “the positives, negatives and everything in between” about the Last Thursday event. “Nothing will be decided tonight…there’s always room for improvement,” said Adams. Fritz echoed this sentiment with “you’ve got two City officials here to really listen to what you have to say.” And with that, seemingly endless commentary about Last Thursday began.

Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Amanda Fritz

The opinions didn’t vary that much, however. Most people spoke of their affiliation with NE Alberta Street, and then launched into all the reasons why Last Thursday is good for the neighborhood, the City, the state and the universe. Nearly everyone presented testimony describing the inspiration they gain from participating in the event, the money their businesses make from being visible to 10,000+ people cruising NE Alberta Street (in peak months), and the artistic, DIY, “organic and spontaneous spirit” the festival models to and fosters among participants and spectators alike. Binks owners Justin and Bianca Youngers both are thrilled to have Last Thursday on Alberta. “Let’s reflect on the magic, money and community of the last 13 years.” Reveler Elise stated: “I love Last Thursday and want it to continue…I would not like to see any vendor costs or permits. It’s a great avenue for barter and exchange and permits would prohibit this. It’s an opportunity for a new model of commerce…and, fun. Fun is good for us, good for the community and good for Portland.” Artist Kay Porter added that “freedom of expression is what Portland is known for worldwide.” These reasons were reinforced and repeated by most speakers, with only a few boldly offering the directive to Adams and Fritz that the City has the responsibility to support this important event bringing Portland local, national and international attention. “Portland is known as being the place where the arts and artists thrive,” said one neighborhood resident, adding that Last Thursday “brings tremendous pride and attention to the City, so you have the responsibility to fund this.”

Numerous residents defended Last Thursday

Aside from endless props, there were not many people present (or perhaps willing to) offer up serious complaints or solutions to the festival’s various problems. Even Fritz noticed this as she said halfway through the evening’s program that we were open to hearing “dissenting views, too.” One skeptical audience member observed: “What better chance do you get than this? Unless you’re committed to feeling that the City doesn’t want to hear you.” Sure, many testimonials provided confirmation of excessive noise, garbage, parking, rough-housing, public urination and open container violations, but only a few neighbors present at Monday’s meeting spoke about their severe distaste for Last Thursday. This has been a common sentiment at previous meetings with stakeholders—multiple neighbors and neighborhood groups have stated that the event is a menace to their well-being. One such vocal neighbor (an ongoing, active participant in the debate) did show up to share his experience. (He also told us that he should be at the hospital with his child who is recovering from heart surgery but that the Last Thursday issue is a critical one, too. Obviously.) He carefully described that there are two Last Thursday events—the NE Alberta Street event, and the event that takes place after festival hours (after 10 pm) on the side streets, often carrying on well into the wee hours on a school night each month. A few other neighbors tailored their critiques of the event in this same way noting that the street closure might make the event safer, but it also encourages bad behavior and excessive drinking. One neighbor and long-time resident Iran Johnson explained that his work as a commercial vehicle driver suffers greatly when his sleep is interrupted by the noise from endless partying. Another resident who recently moved back to the neighborhood after 30 years said she’s “appalled by Last Thursday. It’s not family-oriented. I wouldn’t bring my kids there. There’s no structure. It’s disorderly. It should move throughout the City to become more diversified and include other ethnic groups.”

Iran Johnson shared his concerns about Last Thursday

Jessica, resident for ten years, employee for six, and now business owner on NE Alberta Street, offered that she was concerned about the verbiage from the Team Last Thursday document. It reads: “Our goal is to make Last Thursday an art event that is family-friendly, rather than a flea market.” She boldly replied: “Why limit money making opportunities? This reeks of elitism and snobbery.” A few others agreed, telling the crowd that everyone should have the opportunity to make some money from their art or music in tough economic times. One woman noted that her daughter learns about commerce and art by playing her violin on the street and collecting cash from pleased spectators. Another man said his family spent many homeless years, and the ability to make money by selling art on the street helps keep them afloat. Like the Youngers, most NE Alberta Street business owners think Last Thursday is a positive for the street, the community and their business exposure. The manager of Townshend’s Alberta Street Tea House admitted that working during Last Thursday is a “huge pain in the ass but it’s an incredible platform… good for our property value and business…10,000 people in one night walk by my business so we’ll take it on.”

Rather than cheering or applause, the Mayor asked residents to use "Jazz Hands" to show support for a speaker's statement

Even after exploring Last Thursday’s flaws (though not thoroughly), it felt that nearly everyone in the room supported the event, and was willing to volunteer to pick up trash, self-govern, be quiet and remain positive. Perhaps the media attention this forum attracted last week only reached those in favor of the festival. Perhaps those with “dissenting views” already feel defeated. The event was billed as being a forum for the Mayor and Commissioner to consider options, including: continuing the event as is; continuing with significant changes; or ending Last Thursday altogether. The City advertised that it would like to hear the public’s “opinion on these or other options.” But perhaps because most of the announcing media outlets focused exclusively on "the end of Last Thursday" theme, meeting attendees seemed more prepared to defend rather than propose solutions.

Justin and Bianca Youngers, owners of Binks

The only solutions suggested to combat the many problems that Last Thursday brings to the Alberta Arts District each month were loose and sparse. “Follow the law, work together, keep the event positively moving forward.” Create a committed, self-governed volunteer corps. Involve neighborhood associations. Place donation boxes on the street. Enforce a no alcohol tolerance policy. Charge vendors. Shut the event down earlier in the evening. “Take responsibility to maintain civility.” Move the event to a different hood each month. Perhaps the most creative suggestion of the evening was to implement a $500 tax on every goal made at all Major League Soccer games in town.

There were plenty of moments of levity, not too many of brevity, and nothing decided, as promised. Gino Hill stated early in the evening that “if Last Thursday is to leave Alberta, it is a huge disservice to the community.” We’ll see what our City officials truly have to say about that.

Waiting for the next step

If you wish to voice your opinion or offer suggestions about the Last Thursday festival, please write Mayor Adams and Commissioner Fritz. We encourage you to continue the conversation with your neighbors here, too.

Mayor Sam Adams
1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 340
Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: 503 823 4120
Email: Samadams@ci.portland.or.us

Commissioner Amanda Fritz
1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 220
Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: 503 823 3008
Email: amanda@ci.portland.or.us

Read what BikePortland.org has to say about Last Thursday.