Close X
Monday, November 18, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver Shuts Down Downtown Eastside Residence Due To 'Deplorable Negligence'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Jun, 2018 10:20 AM
    VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver is shutting down a decrepit residence on the Downtown Eastside, where some of the city's most vulnerable have been living in what the CEO of a non-profit housing society said are mould- and feces-ridden conditions.
     
     
    Janice Abbott, the CEO of Atira Women's Resource Society, which took over management of the Regent Hotelabout three months ago, said the building is in horrific condition.
     
     
     
    An order was issued Wednesday giving the occupants eight days notice to leave the building and the province is offering tenancy at one of two nearby buildings it recently purchased.
     
     
    Atira Women's Resource Society was in negotiations with the building's owners, the Sahota family, for about 18 months before reaching an agreement to take over management of it, Abbott said.
     
     
    While the building appeared relatively clean each time she visited it during the negotiation period, Abbott said it was a different story once she was able to visit without giving advance notice and had the opportunity to meet people in their rooms.
     
     
    It's still difficult to estimate how many actual tenants there are, because there were about 100 extra people sleeping in hallways, stairwells and elevators, she said.
     
     
    "There was mould in the rooms, ceilings had collapsed under the weight of water ingress, people were living without health care or attention from the health-care system," Abbott said. "So unrelated to the shape of their rooms, they would be living in their own feces, urine-soaked mattresses."
     
     
    This, in addition to rampant violence against women, assaults and cases of tenants being forced out of their rooms by others who wanted to rent them out, Abbott said.
     
     
    Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the Regent Hotel has been the subject of more than 1,000 outstanding bylaw violations, including 445 that were referred for prosecution.
     
     
    "After many years of deplorable negligence by the owners of the Regent Hotel, the city and province must intervene for the safety and well-being of tenants," Robertson said in a statement.
     
     
    The city's chief building official determined that, due to decades of underinvestment and mismanagement by the building's owners, structural and life-safety deficiencies constitute unsafe living conditions.
     
     
    About 80 residents will have the option to move into one of two buildings called the Jubilee Rooms on nearby Main Street, which the province recently purchased for $12.5 million.
     
     
    With the support of Atira and other service providers, including RainCity Housing, approximately 50 Regent tenants already have moved to other locations in the past several weeks.
     
     
    The Sahotas could not immediately be reached for comment.
     
     
    Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Burnaby Seeks Appeal Over Tree Cutting Permits Involving Trans Mountain Pipeline

    Burnaby Seeks Appeal Over Tree Cutting Permits Involving Trans Mountain Pipeline
    BURNABY, B.C. — The City of Burnaby wants to appeal a National Energy Board decision that exempts Kinder Morgan from local land and tree clearance bylaws in the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

    Burnaby Seeks Appeal Over Tree Cutting Permits Involving Trans Mountain Pipeline

    Justin Trudeau Won't Meet With Capt Amarinder Singh Behind Sikh Separatist Controversy

    Justin Trudeau Won't Meet With Capt Amarinder Singh Behind Sikh Separatist Controversy
    Capt was to accompany Trudeau to the temple and a nearby museum.

    Justin Trudeau Won't Meet With Capt Amarinder Singh Behind Sikh Separatist Controversy

    Pattullo Bridge To Be Replaced With Province-Owned $1.4 Billion Bridge

    Pattullo Bridge To Be Replaced With Province-Owned $1.4 Billion Bridge
    Replacing the Pattullo Bridge between Surrey and New Westminster will cost $1.37 billion and will be funded solely by the British Columbia government.

    Pattullo Bridge To Be Replaced With Province-Owned $1.4 Billion Bridge

    Vancouver Police Say The City's Sixth Homicide Of 2018 Was A Targeted Shooting

    Vancouver Police Say The City's Sixth Homicide Of 2018 Was A Targeted Shooting
    A 32-year-old Surrey man was found critically injured on a street in the city's Kerrisdale neighbourhood.

    Vancouver Police Say The City's Sixth Homicide Of 2018 Was A Targeted Shooting

    Wheels Up For India: Justin Trudeau Takes Wing On Trade Mission To India, Where Sikh Politics Loom

    Wheels Up For India: Justin Trudeau Takes Wing On Trade Mission To India, Where Sikh Politics Loom
    India is the world's second-largest country by population and one of the world's fastest growing economies -- one that's expected to overtake Great Britain later this year to become the fifth largest in the world.

    Wheels Up For India: Justin Trudeau Takes Wing On Trade Mission To India, Where Sikh Politics Loom

    B.C. Ride-hailing Report Makes 32 Recommendations To Pave Way For Regulations

    B.C. Ride-hailing Report Makes 32 Recommendations To Pave Way For Regulations
    An all-party committee in the British Columbia legislature is unanimous in supporting a provincewide plan for ride-hailing services in the province.  

    B.C. Ride-hailing Report Makes 32 Recommendations To Pave Way For Regulations