Business owners in Downtown Eastside say tent removals did little to improve sense of safety

Some Downtown Eastside business owners say the recent removal of tent encampments has done little to increase foot traffic in the area or improve their sense of safety.

A number of small business owners in the Hastings-Crossing neighbourhood say they are speaking out in hopes of saving their livelihoods, mental health and bringing about substantive changes to their area.

“I feel like it’s clear it’s been neglected,” said Linda Ly.

In 2015, Ly opened Onyx Nail Salon on Abbott Street, just off East Hastings Street. She says the area has declined considerably since, particularly during the pandemic.

WATCH | Safety concerns remain in Downtown Eastside, say business owners: 

Downtown Eastside businesses say tent removals did little to improve safety

One month after tents were removed from Vancouver’s East Hastings street, businesses near the centre of the Downtown Eastside say little has changed, and in some cases, believe the decampment has made things worse.

She says worries for her and her all-female staff’s safety more than ever, and keeps her doors locked at all times.

“I’ve got spat on,” said Ly. “The [female staff] got chased here.”

Shortly after tents were formally removed on April 5 and 6, she says a naked man chased one of her employees into the salon and kept rattling the door after she ran inside and locked it.

Ly says she wants governments to move quicker in helping people struggling with mental health and drug use, and not just focus on cosmetic changes like removing tents.

Rasa Shadmani says more people have been camping in front of her pizza shop since tents were removed in early April by the city of Vancouver.
Rasa Shadmani says she often works alone and is worried about the disturbances and thefts at her pizza shop just off East Hastings Street. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Her neighbour, Rasa Shadmani, who owns Tanoor Pizza, is pushing for similar action.

Since tents were removed, she says more people have been camping and sleeping outside her front door. 

She tries to help and offer food, but she says she finds most people are rarely hungry. Instead, she believes they need support in other ways.

“They need their space to live, they need home,” said Shadmani.

Shadmani adds that people experiencing mental health and drug use episodes end up in her restaurant at least four times a week. 

It leaves her barely able to sleep, she says, worried for her employees and spending nearly all her waking hours at work.

CBC's Lien Yeung speaks to Justin Hall who sets up shop daily along Abbott Street near East Hastings to sell his wares.
CBC’s Lien Yeung talks to Justin Hall, who sets up shop daily
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