Five weeks after a five-metre panel of an ox, deer, cranes and peonies were spray-painted as part of a Vancouver Mural Fest piece by local artist Carolyn Wong, they were defaced by a tagger at Main and East Pender streets.
Fixing the recently defaced mural cost the association about $1,000 of its $500,000 budget, which the city allots for graffiti removal each year.Article content Since the 1970s, parts of Chinatown, on the outskirts of the Downtown Eastside, have been designated heritage areas by the city and province. As of one Canada’s oldest neighbourhoods of its kind, it was established in the 1890s when Chinese seasonal migrant workers set up shop in the urban centre.
Important considerations for the heritage designation are protection and management efforts made for applying properties, according to UNESCO guidelines. Along with a considerable rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, which started to climb during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vancouver police report a 300 per cent increase in graffiti in Chinatown this year.
“Graffiti is all over the place now and it’s making look like people here don’t care,” said Eng. “Not to mention, it’s property damage costing business owners both their time and money.”Article content
Not surprising given the antisocial lowlifes that live next door in the Downtown Eastside.
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