Chinatown residents say elected officials still aren’t listening

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A group of Chinatown residents said that despite the increased police presence, they still feel unsafe in their neighborhood and that elected officials are not listening to them.

The new residents’ association will be formally announced on Wednesday, and Fo Niemi, an adviser to the association’s steering committee, said the association wants to ensure residents have a voice and are consulted on issues such as tackling homelessness.

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Niemi, whose organization, the Center for Action Research on Race Relations, has served as a resource group for Chinatown merchants and residents, said encampments set up by homeless people can still be found in the area, and some individuals who frequent the area exhibit violent behavior.

“People are still filled with fear,” he said.

Damage from the fire was found on the exterior of a local daycare center Tuesday morning, he said, adding that a fire also broke out outside a home in the area just days earlier.

last week, A naked man holding a knife They broke into a nearby home.

“I think the residents want to be taken more seriously. They want to be heard, they want to be listened to, they want to be consulted,” Niemi said. “One of the things we heard, by the way, not only from people in Chinatown but from people in Milton Park and from people in the Gay Village, is that the city’s approach to homelessness is too focused on working with the homeless and the community organizations that serve them, but local residents and merchants are not involved and are not consulted, and in their view, are the ones who bear the brunt of all the negative effects of the ‘cohabitation policy.'”

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Niemi said advocacy by Chinatown residents built relationships with police and resulted in more frequent patrols, but elected officials failed to listen to their concerns.

“Despite people’s calls since last year, elected officials at the federal, provincial and municipal levels have not really met with them,” he said.

He said Chinatown is home to about 2,500 residents, with a wide range of ages, races and income levels.

He said the association wants to work with local businesses, who face their own challenges — including that their area doesn’t qualify for a city program that provides businesses with compensation for lost road maintenance.

“What happens in Chinatown reflects the entire downtown region on public safety, local democracy and consultation, public health, and more importantly, how all of this will affect the economic and cultural vitality of the downtown area,” Niemi said.

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