The ThunderBlogs

Dozens of elderly women and men funneled out of a lone stairwell and onto the sidewalk on an overcast and otherwise quiet Saturday afternoon in Vancouver’s Chinatown.  Nearly all in the group held tissues or handkerchiefs to their noses, their words muffled as they spoke to one another.

“It seems the pepper spray got into the vents of the building and forced everyone out,” said Sandra M. Moore, an architect with Birmingham & Wood, who had come with her business partner to have a meeting about proposed renovations of the the Yue Shan Community Centre, the very building the group had funneled out of.  Moore stood out among the commotion, dressed in a grey business suit with briefcase and documents in hand.  When asked if this happens often, Moore smiled and gave a telling nod.

The Yue Shan is a three story building where people in the area – mainly elderly Chinese residents – meet, play mahjong, gamble and relax.  A sign above the entrance reads 370 E. Pender St; one block to the north, a mere two minute walk, runs the most notorious area of East Hastings St., known for some of Vancouver’s worst cases of homelessness, drugs, and prostitution.

Phyon Nguyen, the owner of Mr. Coffee, the cafe directly beside the Yue Shan and part of the actual building itself, provided insight into the incident.  “I know the man who did the spraying.   He is homeless and comes around here often.”  According to Nguyen, the man pepper sprayed the inside of her store out of frustration because she wouldn’t give him any food, which she sometimes does.

Chinatown has “experienced many challenges over the years, including community conflicts, economic hardships, shifting population trends, and the decline of nearby areas,” reads The City of Vancouver’s Chinatown Revitalization Program website.

“Before, there were a lot of homeless here.  “But the police have helped moved them out because of the Olympics,” said Nguyen, who has lived in Chinatown for 10 years.   “But before, I also saw a lot of tourists.  Now not so many.”  Nguyen cited the “negative image” people have of East Hastings Street, among other reasons, as to Chinatown’s economic slump.

Vancouver’s Revitalization program “seeks to preserve Chinatown’s unique heritage while bringing new life into the community.”  And while Nguyen and Moore are advocates of the program, the lingering smell of chemical pepper is a reminder of the complexities involved with an economical revitalization of the area.