Calls for action on ‘disintegrating’ Downtown Eastside SROs
Posted May 30, 2017 7:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Hundreds of people are looking to the provincial government to do something about deteriorating and potentially unsafe conditions at single room occupancy (SRO) hotels around Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.
People living in the Balmoral Hotel at 159 East Hastings are worried about the fate of their building after inspectors identified significant safety concerns.
According to the City, the SRO is riddled with structural issues. It’s even had to restrict access to bathtubs in the building because of a fear the weight of water on deteriorated floors could cause them to cave in.
Lenee Son with the Carnegie Community Action Project says the Balmoral is in poor condition because the City isn’t enforcing regular maintenance laws.
“The hotel is literally rotting and disintegrating.”
She says hundreds of people are urging the province to take action.
“We want the hotel to be preserved and improved until that housing is available for current SRO residents.”
Protesters are pushing for the government to build 10,000 units of social housing per year, as well as find temporary options for homeless and low-income residents looking for shelter.
Photos from Carnegie Community Action Project of the Balmoral Hotel.
