September 2022

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe's has a new dispatch number! For safety or cleaning services, call 503-388-3888.

If you are a retailer or property owner located within the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District, please refer to our new number to receive help from our cleaning crews or safety coordinators.

Our SAFETY coordinator,

can help with:

• Disorderly behavior
• Public drinking
• Individuals sleeping in doorways or blocking access
• Advice on a security issue

Our CLEANING crew,

can help with:

• Cleaning the sidewalk
• Removing graffiti on the building walls facing the street, no higher than 8'
• Picking up needles or other biohazards

Hours of operation:

7 Days a Week, 24 Hours a Day.

For an emergency, you should call 9-1-1 immediately. Call Clean & Safe AFTER you have confirmed a police officer is on the way to your location.

For non-emergencies, call the Portland Police at 503-823-3333.

The Downtown Portland Clean & Safe team traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia last week for the International Downtown Association (IDA) Conference on September 21-23. The conference was a great way to connect with other downtown business improvement districts from across the U.S. and Canada and gain perspective on the challenges that all our cities are facing.

The team also had the opportunity to connect directly with the conference co-host, the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA), to share best practices and gain insight into how they support the 7,000 businesses and property owners in Vancouver’s downtown core.

On Friday, September 10 the Downtown Clean & Safe team had the opportunity to lead Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson on a walking tour through the Downtown business district. The Commissioner had the opportunity to connect with several business managers and small business owners who have been operating in the district prior to and post-COVID-19. Courtney Posey, the General Manager of Nordstrom, shared the news that after a few difficult years, her organization was finally fully staffed with 300 employees. Courtney also shared her appreciation and excitement for Downtown Portland Clean & Safe’s new 24-hour safety services.

Making up a significant portion of our city’s downtown businesses, we also had the opportunity to connect with several small business owners including, Wyatt Savage of Pallet, Martin Martinez of OROX Leather, Alshiref Eskander of Amity Artisian Goods, Katsu Tanaka of both Compound PDX & Kiriko Made, and Torie Nguyen from Crafty Wonderland. Five of these small businesses opened post-COVID-19 and Crafty Wonderland, the one business open prior to 2020, very recently re-opened its space after an extended closure. The unique array of products these business owners are bringing to Portland is well worth keeping an eye on and we encourage you all to visit next time you find yourselves in the heart of our city.

Photo courtesy Integrated Avian Solutions

This October, trained hawks will begin their seasonal patrols through downtown Portland, humanely assisting in the movement of hundreds of roosting crows to Waterfront Park. The program is part of a seasonal crow abatement service provided by Integrated Avian Solutions and is in its sixth year partnering with Downtown Portland Clean & Safe.

The urban falconers work with a small team of trained Harris Hawks to assist with the abatement of hundreds of roosting crows within a 72-block area of Downtown Portland. For more than a decade, crows have been gathering throughout the fall and winter to roost in downtown Portland.  

• This roost has been gradually growing over time, currently, it can exceed 15,000 birds.  
• Many Portlanders have fallen in love with our city’s roosting crows – making the trip downtown to see this amazing site.  
• Portland is currently setting a national example for living with crows in an urban environment. 

Urban falconry teams will be downtown four nights a week, starting at dusk, and the program will run from October 2 until April 30, 2023.

We’re happy to re-share the following message from our friends at

Apply for a Local Small Business Repair Grant

The Local Small Business Repair Grants are one-time emergency funds allocated by City Council to provide support of up to $10,000 to local small businesses needing immediate repairs. Grants are available throughout the city where businesses have sustained physical damage – such as broken windows or doors, graffiti, or sign damage – since March 8, 2020.

Businesses must have a current City of Portland business license and be registered with the State Business Registry. Even if your business had previously received Prosperity Investment Program grants from Prosper Portland, you may still be eligible for this program.

August Pedestrian Counts in Downtown

Prior to the pandemic, Downtown Portland’s pedestrian traffic was evenly distributed across each day of the week. With the impact of remote work and other post-pandemic changes, high pedestrian traffic shifted to evenings and weekends tracking with national trends. Surprisingly, our latest pedestrian data, showed a new trend taking place during the month of August. Wednesdays brought the most pedestrian traffic when combining traffic for visitors, employees and residents. We also saw traffic increase by almost 16% from the same month last year. Though we have not fully recovered to 2019 traffic levels, we are heartened to see the steady increase of traffic as people return to our city’s core.

Fall Back in Love with Downtown:

Artists Takeover

Downtown Portland is partnering with Gallery Go Go for a Fall 2022 Art Show Competition. As part of the campaign, we issued a call for photographers and/or photography enthusiasts interested in participating in the Fall Back in Love with Downtown Portland: Artists Takeover. This campaign doubles as an art show contest that aims to capture the beauty, essence, and spirit of Downtown Portland – for a cash prize.

Submissions for this contest are now closed but original works will be displayed during October at Gallery Go Go, located at 700 SW 5th Avenue in Downtown Portland’s Pioneer Place Mall, and the month-long art exhibit will be open to the public.

“I am thrilled to host the Fall Back in Love with Downtown Portland: Artists Takeover. The best ideas for the future come from the creative community,” says Azure Attoe, Owner of Gallery Go Go.

So much is happening in Downtown Portland! In case you missed the news on these special activities, we’re happy to re-share:



• August Street Beat Newsletter
• 2022 PDX Pop-Up Shops Program: Calling All Makers
• Welcome to our new Retail Advocate, Chase McPherson!
• 2022 Spring Pedestrian Counts in Downtown Portland

Portland is a hotbed of innovation and economic growth. A center of culture and creativity. A gathering place for Portlanders and visitors. It’s also the center of national attention for issues related to houselessness, safety, and tourism. Here’s what’s new:

• Downtown Portland music venue gets new name courtesy of PNC Bank, Sept. 26
• Kassab Jewelers CEO Noha Kassab on 'not giving up on Portland', Sept. 23
• Dedicated police unit will return to Old Town entertainment district, Sept. 20
• Shake Shack hiring for downtown Portland restaurant, Sept. 16
• Photo competition open to capture fall in downtown Portland, Sept. 12
• Portland businesses impacted by changing landscape of downtown, Sept. 12
• Building at 'one of the best retail corners' in downtown Portland sold, Sept 6
• Downtown Portland office workers' return slightly outpaces Seattle, Sept. 1

Learn the Latest from our Affiliates

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe is a private, nonprofit organization that contracts with the Portland Business Alliance to provide enhanced cleaning and security services, marketing and economic development programs to downtown property owners.

The Downtown Portland Clean & Safe District provides extraordinary essential services to the people, places and businesses within a core 213-block area of our unique city. Operating since 1988, the district is one of the oldest, largest and most successful enhanced service districts in the nation.

Hours of operation:

7 Days a Week, 24 Hours a Day. 

Download District Map (pdf)

For service, call 503-388-3888.