seniors |

Fire that sparked on roof of Chinatown seniors’ home under investigation

Jordan Jiang, CTV News Vancouver, May 1, 2019

A small fire on the roof of a seniors home in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood was quickly knocked down by firefighters early Wednesday morning.

“Flames were visible about eight feet in the air,” said batallion chief Brian Bertuzzi.

The fire broke out at around 3 a.m. at a property on Keefer and Carrall streets. There were roughly 100 seniors inside the home at the time, and Bertuzzi said the fire was upgraded to a second alarm as a precaution in case they needed to evacuate the residents. Read more…

Firefighters are working to determine how a fire broke out on the roof of a Chinatown seniors’ home early Wednesday morning

Opinion: Vancouver’s Chinatown and redrawing the lines in the ‘City of Optimists’

Andy Yang, Vancouver Sun,June 26, 2017

In the reverberations following the 105 Keefer St. rezoning rejection, the hearings lay bare the painful realities of city life in Vancouver. Amongst the gleaming towers and $6 lattes, life for many Vancouverites is increasingly vicious, indifferent and cruel. The public hearing became a sign of the growing frustrations and shortcomings of civic governance.
However, 105 Keefer offers lessons from which a person could even develop a sense of optimism.
What can be learned? Read more…

Opponents of the Keefer Street rezoning celebrate City Hall’s decision not to let a tower be built in Chinatown. ARLEN REDEKOP / PNG

‘Seniors can stay’: Historic May Wah Hotel sold to Chinatown Foundation

Lien Yeung, CBC News, Mar 17, 2017

Future of low income tenants, mostly seniors, was in jeopardy when building was put up for sale. New owners of Chinatown’s historic May Wah Hotel say its senior residents will be able to remain in their homes after it was sold to the Chinatown Foundation for $9.8 million. “We just want everyone to feel comfortable that not much is going to change,” said Henry Fung, a board director. Read more…

The May Wah Hotel is a City of Vancouver-designated heritage building that houses more than 100 low-income tenants. (CBC)

Chinatown seniors protest city plan

JOHN MACKIE, November 21, 2016

The City of Vancouver said about 80 people attended two open houses about an “economic revitalization update” on Chinatown on Oct. 22 and 25. But a group of Chinatown seniors say the open houses were so poorly advertised, many Chinatown residents didn’t know about them, and didn’t go. Moreover, those who did go said there were weren’t enough Cantonese or Mandarin signs or translators for non-English speakers. As a result, they couldn’t figure out what the architectural drawings the city posted on boards meant. Read more …

Mrs. Kong, Mrs. Luu, and Ms. Chan protest Vancouver’s policies toward Chinatown at a press conference Monday outside a new high-end grocery store at Main and Georgia. JOHN MACKIE / PNG