Future of vendors uncertain as clock ticks down on Vancouver’s DTES Market – BC | 24CA News
The clock is ticking for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside avenue market, which is being compelled to maneuver out of its present location by the top of the month.
Supporters of the open-air market at 26 East Hastings say it’s a important supply of earnings for a few of the metropolis’s most weak individuals, however critics have lengthy alleged that it features as a bazaar for stolen items.
The City of Vancouver’s lease on the area is up on the finish of August, with the property slated for improvement by BC Housing. What occurs after that continues to be unclear.
“I’m very concerned, because with my situation, being disabled, what I get from the government is not quite enough to be able to meet my needs — I have a young family back home in Ghana who are looking up to me,” vendor Edward Duncan-Williams instructed Global News.
“This market, if it closes, is going to be devastating for me.”
Jason Taylor sells collectibles from hats to Pokemon playing cards and all the pieces in between, and mentioned he additionally depends on the earnings to complement incapacity help.
“This helps with the bills I have and my daughter, so this market helps me quite a bit. If we don’t have it it’s going to hurt not only me but a lot of the other vendors as well,” he mentioned.
Taylor mentioned he was fearful he’ll be compelled to promote on the road if one other market location isn’t sorted out.
“It’s a lot safer for me to be here in the market, because there’s always a high probability of having people steal things from me if I’m not paying attention,” he mentioned.
“The fact that we have security here at all times, plus we have the occasional walkthrough by the Vancouver PD.”
Vancouver police have lengthy had misgivings concerning the market, which they allege fuels crime within the metropolis.
Const. Tania Visintin mentioned final week police tracked gadgets stolen from a vacationer’s automotive to the market, and alleged it’s usually the place gadgets stolen in violent shoplifting incidents find yourself.
“We’ve heard from retailers all over the city how frightened they are to go to work because they never know what they’ll be faced with when it comes to violent shoplifting,” she mentioned.
“We’re talking about shoplifters with knives, with guns — some even real guns. That’s obviously a huge concern because we know from that theft in those retailers they will bring it to the market and it will be sold.”
The market needed to shut down for 2 weeks in June, after a few of the distributors have been focused in a violent incident, and has since reopened with safety.
Sean Miles, director of the Binners’ Project, which manages the market on behalf of town, mentioned the June incident was a uncommon anomaly, and mentioned the distributors are sometimes scapegoated over the stolen items allegations.
“That’s not to say there aren’t stolen goods that get vended potentially here as well as on the street, but I think the reality is that this market is far more supported and has far more eyes on it than someone who is just setting up on a street corner,” he mentioned.
The market works with police, he added, and has carried out an inventory of banned, high-value gadgets with a view to discourage thieves.
In March, the City of Vancouver withdrew a proposal to demolish a close-by heritage constructing to behave as a brief residence for the market when its lease expires. The metropolis says there are at present no publicly-owned areas out there.
“I think what we will likely see is a dispersion of these vendors across the neighbourhood. And as we’ve seen with things like the encampment, there will still be these things happening, they just won’t be as centralized.”
Miles mentioned most distributors relied on gross sales at the marketplace for a “pretty substantial portion” of their earnings, supplementing meagre incapacity or Canada Pension Program funds, and that nerves are frayed about probably dropping that.
“It’s very concerning especially given we’ve seen a bit of an uptick in enforcement of vending on the street being not allowed,” he mentioned.
“It’s not a small thing. For a lot of them, it’s like being shut out of your job.”
In a press release, the City of Vancouver mentioned it was persevering with to search for potential places for the market, together with indoor areas, however that the shortage of obtainable area is “making it difficult.”
“Staff have also been reaching out to community partners to discuss other potential models of vending, including a focus on the resale of donated goods from the private sector or individuals, to enable safe low-threshold income generation and skills development for people living on very low income,” the assertion mentioned.
“This could include dispersing the current market across a few spaces in the DTES, including at indoor sites.”
The metropolis mentioned it’s also excited about listening to from personal landowners that might be keen to lease to the market.
In the meantime, distributors like Taylor are looking for methods to handle the uncertainty of what comes subsequent.
“I just pray and hope we can find another spot, but if we don’t I have to find a different avenue to try and make money somehow,” he mentioned.
“I’ve got to figure out something. I don’t know. At this point I have no idea.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
