Sheri Matthew, who has owned Finch’s Tea House at the corner of West Pender and Homer Streets for 18 years, was one of the victims. “This will cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000,” Matthew told CTV News. Matthew says she usually gets four to five broken windows a year, but last week, she suffered her second of the month. “Every time my phone rings after dark I find it very distressing because at least half the time it’s the alarm company calling,” he said. While insurance was once an option, Matthew says the premiums are simply too much. “The assumption a lot of times that small business owners have insurance for this is, ‘well the insurance will cover it,’ but we don’t, so it just comes out of our pocket,” he adds. Just down the block on West Hastings is the newly opened Laughing Daughters Gluten Free Bakery & Café, which unfortunately has a recently broken window. “It’s really disappointing,” said cafe manager Caoimhe Heffernan. “We’re trying to make a good impression here and get our name out there, and that turns off a lot of customers,” Heffernan said. While some businesses try to replace windows as quickly as possible, others have resorted to another method. Dressew Supply took to Twitter to say that constant vandalism in the area has led to them leaving their windows closed for over two years. With the issues seemingly worsening in Vancouver and beyond, BC’s Business Improvement District is calling for action. “Over the past two years this has become a front-line issue not only in Vancouver but in communities across the province,” said BIABC President Teri Smith. He says they’d like to see all three levels of government work together and stop deflecting their responsibilities, starting with those running for mayor next month. “We really challenge all of our mayoral and council candidates to commit to supporting key funding issues at the street level,” says Smith. “Whether it’s programs to boost street lighting, sanitation and reduce graffiti, or to increase policing resources.” Smith says they’d also like to see the province step up funding for mental health and addictions. Earlier this year, the NDP government launched an independent study on repeat offenders, looking specifically at the causes of increases in property crime and random assaults. The findings are expected to be announced later this month.
