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Support for $1 Million in funding for public bathrooms

The BNA understands how important safe, accessible public bathrooms are for people experiencing homelessness, and worked with city manager Jon Jennings in 2017 to add new, outdoor bathrooms at the Oxford Street Shelter, and during the pandemic in 2020 advocated for the new portable toilets that have been placed in locations convenient to social service delivery sites.

Now we are hoping our Senators will support additional safe, dignified bathroom facilities to benefit all Portland residents and visitors. 

We were asked to support the City’s request for $1 million in funding from the Senate Appropriations Committee. Our letter is below. We also supported a previous request to Representative Pingree for help from the House appropriations committee, which was sadly unsuccessful. 

Dear Senators King and Collins,

I am writing today to voice the Bayside Neighborhood Association’s wholehearted support for the City of Portland’s Community Project Funding request of $1,000,000 toward the new construction of safe, accessible public restrooms.

The BNA represents the Bayside neighborhood, greater Portland’s hub of social services and homeless shelters. More than perhaps any other neighborhood, Bayside understands the community harm that comes from a lack of accessible and safe public bathrooms.

For those experiencing homelessness, it’s not just an inconvenience, it’s a profound indignity that compounds their struggles. For the surrounding neighborhood, it’s an ongoing public health crisis, as Senator may recall from his tour of the Bayside neighborhood in 2018. For years, the unsanitary conditions on walking trails, playgrounds, private property, and sidewalks in front of homes and businesses have eroded quality of life and decreased business revenues.

That crisis only escalated with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of service providers and other public institutions, which were no longer able to admit community members for whom public restrooms are their only indoor option. The strain of the pandemic may ease, but the problems that existed prior will not be alleviated without funding to install clean, welcoming, and safe public bathrooms.

Providing humane bathroom access supports community members at all economic levels and grows strong, inclusive, and vibrant neighborhoods where everyone feels valued. The BNA respectfully requests that you support Portland and the Bayside neighborhood by submitting the City of Portland’s Community Project Funding request to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Sincerely,

Sarah Michniewicz
President, Bayside Neighborhood Association

Recording of Zoom forum for at-large charter commission candidates

On Tuesday May 17 the BNA, along with four other peninsula neighborhood associations, co-hosted a forum for the at-large candidates for the 2021 Portland Charter Commission.  The recording of the forum may be found here.

BNA Spring Community Cleanup & Raffle Roundup – thanks to all our volunteers and sponsors!

Advocating for Trees in Bayside

The BNA is advocating for fees in lieu of planting trees generated by the proposed 171 unit residential
development at 52 Hanover Street be earmarked for use exclusively in Bayside. Read our letter to the Planning Board here.

First Tuesdays: BNA Monthly Meeting

Monthly Board meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. As of April 2020 meetings have been held remotely via Zoom. This will continue until CDC guidelines, Portland mandates, and vaccination levels make it safe to meet once agin in our traditional location, the community room at 24 Stone Street in Unity Village.

Meetings are always open to the public and we encourage new friends to attend. All are welcome! This is a great way to find out what’s going on in Bayside, and learn how you can contribute to a safe, vibrant community.

Check the BNA Facebook page for month-to-month changes of time or location and latest news and events.

BNA Virtual Meetings

In compliance with CDC guidelines, monthly meetings (first Tuesday of the month) are currently being held virtually (via computer/internet) to keep attendees safe and healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Check the BNA Facebook page for month-to-month changes, and email us for a meeting link.  These meetings are always open to the public and we encourage new friends to attend. This is a great way to find out what’s going on in Bayside, and how you can contribute to a safe, vibrant community.  All are welcome!

Bylaws

On October 17, 2020, the BNA board voted to adopt new bylaws.  The new bylaws clarify and simplify concepts in our current bylaws, remove some specifics that will be defined in policy documents, and are written according to nonprofit best practices, with input from the full BNA board.