PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Portland’s City Council is expected to accept the new Storefront Support Program on Wednesday. The program aims to help nearly 3,500 businesses across Portland succeed.
City officials say the program will identify the challenges business owners face and develop solutions to address them.
“Portland’s storefronts are the heartbeat of our neighborhoods, and this plan makes clear that their success is inseparable from the success of our entire city. I want to thank the Portland Solutions team for moving this work forward and helping ensure storefront owners know they are not alone and that their city is showing up for them,” Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement to KATU News.
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Business owners told KATU News they deal with a variety of issues every day. Some report burglaries and crime inside and outside their businesses.
“We’ve had a lot of people come in who are our customers that we can’t control or deal with. We have to call 911, and they don’t come, and security can’t even deal with them,” said Bianca Youngers, co-owner of Binks Bar.
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Youngers said the creation of the program is a positive step and hopes it will open the door for better communication between business owners and the city, and lead to faster responses when needed.
