The Anarchist Cookbook apparently does NOT include pizza recipes.
This anti-gentrification anti-capitalist anti-whatever buzzword movement that began with the Pidgin protests took a strange turn this week when a group targeted Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria on Commercial Drive and another group, or possibly the same people, stole the butcher sign from Save-On-Meats. (Full Disclosure: I work for Save-On-Meats.)
What?
Joel Schat, a local timelapse photographer, recently made this amazing video of downtown Vancouver that I had to share:
It captures Vancouver living and breathing with a pulse as fast as the one that you get from watching this.
Note: This post has been updated to include quotes from Sam Sullivan
I’ve been diving into the provincial election this week and the two main candidates in the riding of Vancouver-False Creek have really caught my eye. One is a former welfare recipient who lived in social housing, defeated Christy Clark for the NPA mayoral nod in 2005 and is running on his track record of harm reduction programs, ecodiversity and social activism. The other is the head of a burgeoning local digital media company and a former economist for the Bank of Canada that is campaigning to introduce incentives designed to lure the digital media sector back to Vancouver. Thing is, they don’t belong to the parties you’d think.
Some believe every neighbourhood and class should be bashed equally.
Dangerously close to old news by now but I thought I’d throw up my tweets and videos from last Wednesday of the Pivot press conference.
Check it out after the jump.
A packed room of reporters and DTES residents take in the Pivot press conference.
On Wednesday, Pivot Legal Society held a press conference to publicize their official complaint against the Vancouver Police Department for what they deem are unfair bylaw ticketing practices.
The complaint, summarized here, revolves around a freedom of information request that revealed the vast majority of jaywalking and sidewalk obstruction tickets are handed out in the Downtown Eastside. This follows the infamous ticketing blitz of 2008 that became a major political issue in the run up to the 2010 Olympics. The VPD swore to tone down their policies but the numbers obtained by Pivot seem to show the complete opposite.
So what to believe?
What happens when we start caring about the DTES?
The Pidgin buzz has died since the photo-op began a few weeks ago, but the issues and the conflict are at the forefront of the next great debate surrounding the eastside. How do we develop it responsibly?
There’s something brewing. From the restaurants to multi-million dollar SRO renovations to condo developments, the neighbourhood has entered a new phase that began with the renovation of the Woodward’s building and the introduction of idea of the “social mix”.
This has not been without considerable controversy. Pidgin is being picketed, SROs are raising rents and shutting out welfare residents while dealing with significant quality of life issues and housing developments have become the battleground for business interests intersecting with those who would rather see more social housing.
The buzzword, gentrification, is old but the conversation is new, all these issues have blossomed after the Olympics. Far from another feature of how bleak the downtown eastside is (although when Atira CEO Janice Abbott mentions sewage flooding up through the waterpipes…), this is the topic of what happens with this neighbourhood when money is thrown at it. What is bringing businesses and condos in doing to the downtown eastside?
The landmark tenth installment of Seth McFarlane’s talking bear franchise.
We’re fast approaching the TEDxStanleyPark at Robson Square on March 16, the inaugural edition of an event that has a goal of one day actually convening in Stanley Park.
While the event comes hot off the heels of the announcement of the partnership between TED and the city of Vancouver, this is an independent production put on by local entrepreneur Roger Killen.
The theme of the night is thinking the unthinkable.
Youth in the eastside are most at risk when social support expires at the age of 19.
As stated in the press release,
“A new research study will help to improve support services aimed at Canadian youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, announced Dr. Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.”
This is important for Vancouver because the Downtown Eastside is ground zero for homelessness in Canada. It’s a magnet for the homeless population around the nation, due in part to the support services available and in part due to the most sensible weather in the country to sleep outside. I met a girl named Laura on Tuesday night who was crying in the doorway of a closed cafe because she had come out to Vancouver last month from Halifax. She was 18 years old and had moved here because of the mentioned lure of Vancouver and the promise of being able to stay with friends once she arrived. Those friends had abandoned her almost immediately upon her arrival and she now had no place to stay. She feared that her future was now the streets.
The new 17-storey building set to built at 611 Main St in the heart of Chinatown.
Vancouver city council heard public opinion last week regarding the development of a 17-story mixed use building in the heart of Chinatown. The proposal, approved by council, will create 134 new housing units, 22 units of social housing reserved for seniors and a mix of retail and office space at the corner of Keefer Street and Main Street.
Those who spoke were predominantly local business owners who supported the injection of vibrancy and prosperity the project promised in a space currently occupied by a long abandoned casino building or social housing advocates fearful of the city’s new gentrification boogie man.
Notably, the project contains social housing units only for seniors and not low-income residents. While 11 units will be rented at no more than the shelter rate of $375 per month, six units will be rented out at the Vancouver housing income limit of $850 and the remaining will be rented at full market value which is currently about $900 to $950 a month.
When you’re shiny, dense and hang out by the beach the Jersey Shore jokes write themselves.
The proposal before city council regarding the redevelopment of the towers at 1600 Beach Ave had its second public hearing last night.
The public outcry stems from the fact that the 133 new units will be rented at 18 to 27 per cent higher than the average rental rate in the area and that rezoning the area on a case-by-case basis would hinder the ongoing development of the West End Community Plan.
Of the dozens of people who registered to speak at last night’s hearing, only a handful were in favour of the proposal.
Of those opposed, their complaints can be read first-hand on the city’s website.
The City of Glass 