Lan Su Chinese Garden vandalism addressed in Mayor Wheeler public safety plan

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and other city leaders have announced a plan to address public safety near the Lan Su Chinese Garden and Old Town neighborhood.

On Aug. 16, Wheeler’s office shared a community action plan to address concerns brought to their attention by the Lan Su Chinese Garden at 239 NW Everett Street.

“Lan Su is an incredibly important place in our community, and we are committed to doing all we can to support its prosperity,” Mayor Wheeler said. “The community’s input is critical to helping us find the best path forward together and much more is needed to achieve the lasting vibrancy we all want to see.”

Earlier this month, the City of Portland erected a chain-link fence around the cultural attraction  in response to recent acts of vandalism — including an axe that had been thrown through a window and human feces smeared on garden walls.

According to Garden Director Elizabeth Nye, the garden has not seen as many visitors in the past few years — especially compared to pre-COVID. In fact, she told KOIN 6 News they have seen an 8-10% decline compared to last year’s 100,000 visitors.

But the area surrounding the garden has seen an improvement since the fence was installed, and Nye said they hope to be able to remove it soon with the help of the new action plan.

“It is frustrating to continue to always be in this situation in Old Town,” Nye said. “We have a renewed sense of hope that this time, finally, something can be different for our neighborhood.”

The City of Portland has increased security and police patrols in the area while enforcing street cleaning such as biohazard and graffiti removal. The community action plan also outlines efforts to improve behavioral health outreach and homeless encampment removals.

Nye said she’s glad to see actionable goals from the city after years of vandalism, potential bias crimes and open drug use have led to a drop in visitors.

“When we see over and over and over again that the city and the county continue to allow Old Town to suffer, to not thrive — to the community that feels like disrespect at best, racism the worst,” Nye said.

Multnomah County also issued a statement in support of those security efforts:

The County has continued to urgently step up services in Old Town as we emerge from the pandemic. We are funding more services than ever in the Old Town community, serving hundreds of people a month. We remain committed to working with our City partners to meet the needs of the Old Town community.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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