PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Tempers flared Wednesday night at a community gathering over the new look of Old Town/Chinatown.
The Old Town Chinatown Community Association has been working on a re-branding of the area that would include painting light poles and hanging new banners. Names like Japan Town, Skidmore, Ankeny Plaza, Waterfront and Chinatown would be added to the area.
Some feel the re-branding move has bad intentions.
Raymond Wong with the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association says they want to stop the re-branding.
“We don’t want to lose our identity,” Wong said. “We want them to stop the re-branding and we want to save our Chinatown.”
Wong also said many feel like they were left out of the discussion.
The OTCTCA says painting the light poles and putting up banners would bring a new image to a part of town that desperately needs it.
Helen Ying, chair of the OTCTCA says the intention is not to do away with the Chinatown name or suppress the identity.
“I would definitely argue that’s not the case,” Ying said. “Look at me, I’m a Chinese American.”
Ying was upset to hear how some people in the community felt about the re-branding. She says it’s about giving this piece of Portland history a new feel.
“The idea is to really bring vibrancy to the neighborhood,” Ying said. “We do have a lot of gems in this neighborhood that aren’t known.”
