Overlook Neighborhood Update (April 21) – Overlook Neighborhood Association

1) Playground fundraising continues with pizza event on April 29

Friends of Patton Square Park has only six weeks left to reach its goal of raising $28,000 for additional interactive play pieces at the N Interstate Avenue park and playground. So far Overlook neighbors and other supporters have given more than $1,600 through the GoFundMe site. In addition, Aprende con Amigos Preschool Academy, Fairfield Residential and the Overlook Neighborhood Association have donated a total of $8,500. Thank you to all those generous donors!

Please join your neighbors in supporting this important project to improve the usability of the playground, especially for children under the age of five. Many more families with young children are moving into the neighborhood, and these much-needed improvements will make the playground a safe and fun space for them.

You can also support the Patton Square Park playground project by eating Pizza on Monday, April 29. Atomic Pizza will donate a portion of sales that day to the playground project. Atomic is open for dine-in and carryout 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day. Thank you, Jenna!

If you have a storefront or other suitable public space, please print and post the flyer to help spread the word.

2) Bike lane closure on Greeley at adidas

Due to ongoing construction at the adidas campus, bike lanes on N Greeley Avenue have been temporarily blocked. Bikers legally may merge into the vehicle traffic lane or, safer, divert to N Concord Avenue, which is a designated neighborhood greenway. Adidas reports that bike lanes will re-open on June 19 if everything goes to schedule.

3) Accepting applications for community-building grants

Is your organization looking to complete community projects and programs that engage people in the Overlook Neighborhood? Submit your proposal. The Overlook Neighborhood Association will oversee awarding grants totaling up to $2,500 for projects in the neighborhood. Grant awards usually range from $500 to $2,500.

These grants are part of the North Portland Trust Fund. The NPTF goals include increasing connections people have to each other and the places they care about; engaging historically marginalized or underrepresented communities; and sustaining those already involved or strengthening existing programs.

Review the 2019 grant application and find out about the grant program, goals and requirements. Grant applications are due May 15 by 2 p.m.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a free grant workshop on Monday, April 22, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Historic Kenton Firehouse (8105 N Brandon St.).

4) Get on the wait list for affordable housing in Overlook

An affordable housing project has been proposed for the intersection of N Interstate Avenue and N Alberta Street in Overlook. The plans are still going though the city review process, but the developers hope to finish construction by 2021.

Interested buyers must apply for the N/NE Preference Wait List between April 22 and May 3. The application will be available online Monday, April 22 at 9:00 a.m. Learn more about the 5020 Condos here.

5) Watch for runners on April 28

The Rip City Race for the Roses will take place on Sunday, April 28. The half-marathon route briefly enters Overlook on N Interstate Avenue. Drivers that morning should avoid the race route. Traffic on Interstate and over the Broadway Bridge will be affected.

The race has a street permit and will close streets 7:30-noon. Runners will start and finish near the Moda Center.

6) Learn about Vigor’s emissions and clean air in North Portland

Overlook residents are invited to learn more about Vigor’s process to reduce harmful emissions and meet the new Cleaner Air Oregon program standards.

Oregon DEQ officially launched the new Cleaner Air Oregon program in January, and on March 1 the agency released the initial list of 20 facilities that will be subject to the new rules in the first year. A cornerstone of the new rules is the determination of risk that a facility potentially poses to its closest neighbors.

Vigor is not on that list, but for more than five years, the company has been proactively addressing potential nuisance and risk that air emissions from the shipyard pose to its most immediate neighbors. This work was codified in a 2016 Good Neighbor Agreement. Consistent with that, Vigor has voluntarily commenced work to meet the new standards required of the Cleaner Air Oregon program ahead of the state insisting it does. The company also has agreed to share its process with neighbors.

Neighbors of Vigor, like University Park and Overlook residents, concerned about industrial emissions can attend a learning and discussion session at University of Portland, Buckley Center, Rm 104, on Wednesday, April 24, 7-9 p.m.