It has become a magnet for the homeless and addicted.
New Westminster’s Hyack Square is often a desperate scene resembling Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Drug deals are done in plain sight. Illicit drug use is rampant and theft is also an issue.
At Kelly O’Bryan’s bar, they’ve faced extreme financial hardship as a result of crime in the area, which has included vandalism and theft.
Owner Jen Mackie said, “We’ve had someone break onto our roof and rip our compressors apart for probably twenty or thirty dollars worth of copper, which cost me about $16,000 to replace and repair the damage done.”
Mackie and others believe a nearby injection site and shelter are part of the problem. Housing is another, says one councillor.
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Daniel Fontaine said, “We were promised by the province of British Columbia 55 supportive housing units back in 2021. They just broke ground not long ago and we’re looking at probably another year before just those 55 units are built.”
According to Metro Vancouver’s 2023 “Point in Time” homeless count, there were 203 sheltered and unsheltered homeless in the city.
That same year, BC’s Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction estimated there were actually 341 people living on the street in New Westminster.
Locals say change is desperately needed.
Mackie said, “We need to take a really, really strong approach to correcting the damage that’s been done in the downtown New West area, or I’m not sure what direction it’s going in.”
Action can’t wait, say business owners, or they simply won’t survive.
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