Mayor worries that Stadium Fred Meyer will close
Issue brings urgency to his mission to end unsanctioned camping
If you are concerned about the future of Fred Meyer’s stadium store, you are not alone. Mayor Keith Wilson admitted at a public meeting Monday that he worries daily that company officials will call with the unwelcome news that they are pulling the plug on this troubled location.
Although company officials have ignored requests from the NW Examiner to comment on the possibility of closure, Wilson said he has regular communication with those officials who tell him the store is losing money amid an environment of shoplifting, crime, vandalism, camping and drug dealing on and around the premises. Measures have been taken, including heightened security staffing, elimination of on-site bottle returns (except the green bag program) and installation of security gates. Airy public spaces in the prominent southeast corner are now off-limits to the public due to problems created by long-staying noncustomers.
Wilson, speaking to a gathering of about 30 people at the proposed city shelter at 1435 NW Northrup St., mentioned the Fred Meyer situation to illustrate the urgency of prompt action by the city to manage public spaces.
Unbelievable that there is "worry" when this neighborhood has been PLEADING for over a year for help!
Fred Meyer sits in the most dense neighborhood in Portland. A neighborhood that deals with syringe hand out-- not exchanges -- which exacerbates drug use, crime, broken into cars and apt. buildings, closing retail (18 to date!). AND illegal camping in front of homes, stores, apartment buildings!
"WORRY"????? Save it! DO SOMETHING TO SAVE THIS COMMUNITY FROM THE CHAOS CITY / COUNTY HAVE ALLOWED / ENABLED!!!! Stop wringing your hands with empty "worry" and use the freaking common sense you were supposedly raised with!!
1.) STOP gutting this neighborhood with unsanctioned camping!
2.) ARREST AND DETAIN illegal drug use, drug dealing.
3.) PATROL our streets - HEAVILY!!! 24/7
4.) Treat this crisis like the gd human crisis it is!!! Apply triage strategies ala Eli Arnold
5.) STOP taking advantage of THIS already stressed out community that now is:
5a.) Scooping up human sh*t / garbage / needles / clothes / etc. from junkies and campers.
5b.) Paying for broken car windows, break ins, home and RETAIL theft.
5c.) Protecting our CHILDREN from the mayhem the City/County FORCES upon us in the name of Harm Reduction!!!
5d.) WAKE the fu*k up!!!! This isn't "Harm reduction" this is community gutting-- and the city/county are excelling.
STOP with the stupid words and SAVE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD!!!!!
I shop at Stadium Fred Meyer nearly every two days so I am familiar with the store. Any problems with vagrants around the entrance during the daytime are nearly zero thanks to Security, for me the Green Bag bottle return has not been a problem for a couple years, and any shoplifting is under control because security guards check receipts of departing customers. I think the bottom line is that Fred Meyer gambled a decade ago when it expanded the store and added amenities like the wine bar and the sushi restaurant, both of which no longer exist. I think that for such a huge store, the actual customer count has not grown sufficiently to make such a large store pencil out. Would it make sense for Fred Meyer to shrink the Stadium supermarket space to match the existing customer count, and then sublease the surplus space to compatible retail neighbors, like a bakery??