Critics say crackdown on DTES sidewalk vendors ‘redistributes’ them to other areas

City of Vancouver, police crack down on street vendors in the DTES

City workers and Vancouver police approached a group of four homeless men on East Hastings Street on Thursday morning, instructing them to turn off their blaring speaker and remove their belongings, including a lawn chair and backpack, from the sidewalk.

The exchange was part of a plan the City of Vancouver announced the day before, aiming to take a “firmer approach” to enforcing its bylaws against sidewalk vending. The goal is to curb illegal sales and improve public safety in the 000-block of Hastings Street between Carrall and Columbia.

The men — gathered in front of a low-income housing building in the middle of the block — turned down the volume on their portable speaker and began recording the interaction with their cellphones.

“We were filming them with our cellphones because we know they’re not above picking up one of us and throwing us to the ground,” said one of the men, Jeremy Rait, 35.

According to the city, the block — where second-hand and stolen goods have been peddled openly on the sidewalks for years — has become a hub for organized crime networks exploiting low-income Downtown Eastside residents. This has compromised the safety of business owners, employees, and shoppers, while also causing a dangerous spillover onto the streets, threatening both pedestrian and driver safety.

However, critics including board chair Steve Johnson of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, say the city’s recent enforcement action merely displaces the problem.

“What we’re seeing and what we’ve seen is that when the city takes a zero-tolerance approach to vending, it doesn’t stop the vending. It just redistributes it to other areas,” Johnson said.

On Thursday morning, Postmedia observed that the street vending had simply shifted one block east to the intersection of Main, where unlicensed vendors were seen hawking designer clothes, non-prescription meds, electronics, and food on the sidewalk.

While the Business Improvement Association does not support the selling of stolen goods, Johnson believes that “redistributing the problem with this type of enforcement does not address the root causes of why people are vending. It’s a symptom of poverty.”

“What the city needs to do is to work on a comprehensive community economic development plan that recognizes income generation as an important way to lift people out of poverty,” Johnson said.

Previously, a sanctioned Downtown Eastside market operated by the non-profit Binners Project had operated in a lot along the block. However, the city moved it to a smaller indoor space at 305 Main St. last summer, and it is set to relocate again soon.

For homeless residents of the Downtown Eastside, such as Mark Ealey, selling merchandise is a means of survival.

“I used to have a 9-to-5 job as a window glazer, but it didn’t take much to end up living on the street,” said the 36-year-old vendor.

“I wish I had a positive role model that showed me another way, but I moved out of my aunt’s house when I was 14 because she was an alcoholic and have been doing things on my own ever since.”

Vancouver police said that, as of later Thursday, no arrests had been made as part of the municipal enforcement action.

However, in cases of non-compliance, some items had been impounded, according to deputy city manager Sandra Singh, who confirmed Thursday that there were vendors who refused to clear the sidewalk after multiple attempts by city crews.