THE TALK OF THE TOWN
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Even Spiderman joins in the nightly 7 p.m. round of applause for our frontline workers.
IT’S A CLAPPENING!
At 7 p.m. Carley Honeywell (aka the Vancouver Sax Lady) plays Oh Canada on her saxophone from the top of 710 Chilco Street. Lots of cheering, pot banging, bubble blowing and of course clapping. She has been doing this every night since the lockdown and plans to continue until things are back to normal. Carley is just one of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of West Enders who lean out their windows, take to their balconies, or pause on street corners to salute the front-line workers who have kept our community functioning during the past three months. One West Ende pot-banger called the daily outburst “a clappening”!
It began as a way of thanking the medical personnel at St. Paul’s Hospital and quickly grew to be an acknowledgment of all the people who continued to show up for work and keep our stores stocked, buses running, and streets clean. The shelf-stockers, garbage collectors, park rangers, police, firefighters, clerks, and everyone else who we quickly came to realize are the real “essential workers” in our midst.
And in some ways, it has also become a daily shout-out to all of us from one another, acknowledging that we’ve made it through another day during a difficult time, and thanking each other for staying calm and being kind.
Online debates and polls are now underway to get a sense of how much longer folks feel these 7 p.m. moments should continue. Some folks feel that a grand finalé on July 1 would be an appropriate time to wrap it up. That might be more dignified than just letting it fade away gradually.
In the meantime, here’s our own big thank-you to Carley, to the guy who plays bagpipes, to whoever got the Nine O’Clock Gun and the Oh Canada horns to chime in, to the guy in the Spiderman costume who stands on his rooftop, and to West Ender Rory Richards of the Vancouver West Enders Facebook group for getting the ball rolling.
The West End Farmer’s Market is back, just not as much of a crowd scene as we’re used to. (Tom Pearce Photo)
WEST END FARMERS MARKET RETURNS
Every Saturday
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
1100 Block Comox
The West End Farmers Market was able to open as planned on May 23, rightly seen as an essential service. Full physical distancing and other safety measures are in place – with the theme of “Shop, Don’t Stop!” encouraging folks to use the market to stock up on fresh and prepared food items only.
Whenever possible, organizers ask that shoppers send only one member of their household and keep interactions at the market to a minimum. This will help reduce potential exposure to COVID-19 and cut back on wait times for other shoppers.
They are reserving a 30-minute window of time from 9 to 9:30 a.m. for seniors (65+), shoppers with mobility challenges, and others most vulnerable to COVID-19 a. You can order ahead and save time, and browse a real-time product list from over 50 vendors, place orders directly with each vendor, and pre-pay for your shopping bag before you head to the market. Find out more about the shopping guidelines and pre-ordering here.
Just a bit too bright for comfort! (Deborah Bloat-Hendren Photo)
THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF DAVIE
West Enders welcomed the return of the Davie Street Safeway, but not everyone was excited about the opening night illumination!
The following morning social media was alive with complaints about the brightness of the facade lighting, which was on all night and shone directly into the living rooms and bedrooms of dozens of nearby residents.
It turned out that the bright lights were an error on the part of the contractors, who were supposed to set it at a lower brightness and to be turned off at 10 p.m.
The following night the lights were indeed some 50 percent of the previous night’s brighness, and were turned off when the store closed. Everyone got a good night’s sleep.
When The West End Journal spoke with an assistant manager at the store, we were delighted to learn that about 40 of the previous employees, many of whom had been deployed to other Safeways during the demolition and construction period, had signed on to return. So we look foward to greeting many friendly and familiar faces.
Welcome back everyone!
THE FUTURE OF NELSON PARK
The Vancouver School Board last year agreed to replace Lord Roberts Annex school, next to Nelson Park, with a BC Hydro underground substation. While the project will remove the school and about 40 trees from the site, it will also have major impacts on Nelson Park and the surrounding neighbourhood.
The Parks Board has just released its latest impact study, which you can read and download here
LOOKING FOR, OR WANT TO OFFER, A SAFE SPACE?
Hate and Racism Have No Place Here
We are all aware of the increased incidents of racism that some of our Asian neighbours are experiencing. The Vancouver Police Department recently reported that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a marked rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
In response, the VPD has created a decal for local businesses to display in their windows, letting everyone know that if they are experiencing harassment, threats, or any hateful behaviour and need a safe place to go to, that store is ready to welcome them. Constable Dale Quiring with the VPD’s Diversity and Indigenous Relations Section tells us that many West End businesses are rising to the opportunity.
“If any business or public space is interested in obtaining a decal, all they have to do is visit vpdsafeplace.com and fill out a pledge form. All requests get routed to me and I then mail out the decal.” Dale advised.
PUTTING OUR BEST ART FORWARD
As non-essential businesses across Vancouver were boarded up, local artists have responded by turning plywood into canvases, transforming what was initially an eerily depressing sight into bright, cheerful messages of hope and gratitude. Click on the images to enlarge and read the text.
The Coal Harbour Community Centre, prepared for sheltering the homeless during the pandemic.
HOMELESS IN THE WEST END
Most West Enders are by now aware that the Coal Harbour Community Centre, along with the Roundhouse in Yaletown, were seconded by the City in late March to be used as shelters for the homeless, along with the Buchan Hotel on Haro Street.
Conversations on social media brought out the best and the worst in us. While most were compassionate and understanding of the need to take extraordinary measures during this extraordinary time, they nonetheless expressed their legitimate concerns about the rise in public disorder, petty crime, and sometimes aggressive and threatening behaviours. Others were less charitable in their comments, resorting to abusive language and recommending draconian measures be taken to move the homeless out of our neighbourhood. Another minority slammed those expressing their justifiable concerns and fears, calling them NIMBYs and accusing them of lacking in compassion. Discussions became quite heated at times.
Last month The West End Journal prepared a special report, highlighting the major issues, the lack of transparency on the part of the authorities, and the concerns around not knowing when the community centres might be one again available to resume regular programming. You can find that report here.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much follow-up to report. The City, Coastal Health, and BC Housing continue to dodge questions and point fingers at one another, and community centre administrators are as in the dark as ever.
The only real new development is that we have learned that the committee organizing these matters, whose membership is unknown, have decided that the washroom at the Denman entrance to the West End Community Centre should be opened for access by the homeless, which would effectively ensure that that facility, as well as the Joe Fortes Library, would be unable to open for regular use. It would also potentially impact students at the adjacent King George Secondary School, which shares some facilities with the library and the centre.
No word as to when or if this will take place.
The West End Journal will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on our Facebook page here.
WEST END MOMENTS
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