Re: “Portland launches campaign to clean up West Bayside” (Aug. 8):

I was disappointed that staff writer Randy Billings didn’t research this story more.

With all the coverage the Portland Press Herald has given the Bayside neighborhood over the last 15 years, the paper is very aware of the issues here. And the Press Herald has never written about the part that the Preble Street Resource Center and its director, Mark Swann, have played in creating those issues.

The Oxford Street Shelter has never been as much of a facilitator of criminal behavior as the Preble Street Resource Center has been. The recent sale of Bayside land to Federated Cos., and the redevelopment of Schlotterbeck & Foss, are minor reasons for the city’s recent action named “Operation Bayside.”

The real motivation for the city is the development value of the Portland Public Works site less than two blocks from the Preble Street Resource Center in Bayside.

The request for proposal for this downtown property is imminent. And the current conditions in that area limit the potential for the property’s sale and subsequent redevelopment.

Jay York

Portland