Mult. Co. installs new lights outside Central Library to combat drug dealing

MULTNOMAH COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) - People may notice a little more illumination around Central Library in downtown Portland this week.

Multnomah County employees strung new lights between the trees around the library’s perimeter in an effort to reduce the amount of drug activity.

Multnomah County Commission Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the lights were part of the 90-day fentanyl State of Emergency that the City of Portland, the County, and the State declared in late January to combat the fentanyl crisis.

“We’ve always had lighting around the library to have outside lighting, but one of the things that came up during the 90-day fentanyl response is the realization that the area around the Central Library…was starting to get more criminal activity, more folks hanging out, more drug dealing going on,” Vega Pederson said.

Tigard police are asking for help identifying a suspect who carjacked a man Tuesday night at a convenience store.

Fox 12 spoke to several businesses bordering the Central Library, and many employees spoke about how nervous they feel working in the area and the drug activities they’ve witnessed.

Amber Jobe with the Skeleton Key Odditorium on Southwest 10th Avenue says the drug dealing used to be a lot more prevalent right outside her business, and it’s moved to the library in recent months.

She said she doubts a string of lights will make much difference.

“I feel that the lights are a very small band-aid to a gushing wound,” Jobe said. “Some of the drug dealers are so blatant that they will deal in front of our windows in broad daylight, dealing across the street in broad daylight, dealing at the library in broad daylight. If they’re doing it under the sun, it won’t deter them from doing it under some twinkling little decorative lights.”

Karolina Hurzhuy has worked for Delux Bridal right across from the library for more than six years, and said at this point, the drug use just comes with the territory.

FOX 12 Investigates got exclusive access to the Portland Police Bureau’s Human Trafficking Unit’s work, joining them in the field for several missions.

“During the summertime I noticed a lot of people come out and sit on the benches,” she said. “I think I’m so used to it that it doesn’t affect me in any way honestly, I’m just used to seeing that all the time.”

“It’s obviously not just about lighting,” Vega Pederson said. “It’s about law enforcement presence, and law enforcement having enough capacity and tools to be able to impact what’s going on.”

Nearby employees told us they feel it is a step in the right direction, and they hope it will help reduce some peoples’ fear of coming downtown.

“We haven’t been able to focus on growing the community center that we wanted to be for like the goth-alt community, we’re now focused on safety and protecting ourselves from small amounts of crime,” Jobe said. “I love Portland and I’m rooting for us so hopefully we can figure this out as a community.”

Vega Pederson told Fox 12 that the County just approved funds for similar lighting setups under bridges on the inner east side of town.

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