Unfair eviction claims denied by landlord of York Rooms

Downtown Eastside activists claim a landlord has wrongfully evicted at least two tenants from the York Rooms SRO on East Powell and bribed others to leave so he can raise rents. The landlord flatly denies the charges.

York Rooms in the 200-block Powell Street has become a flashpoint in the gentrification debate on the Downtown Eastside since the opening of Cuchillo, a hip tapas restaurant in the building’s ground-floor commercial space.

Poverty activists that have been picketing Cuchillo are now pointing the finger at Living Balance, the development company that bought the building in 2011.

Geoffrey Howes, of Living Balance, said the company recently succeeded in legally evicting a tenant who was a “major drug dealer.”

Howes said there have been two legal evictions. “We have had ongoing problems with rampant drug dealing in the building.”

Howes said dealers would leave the alleyway door propped open, and threaten caretakers and other tenants. “We had strangers lining up in the hallway at all hours, needles everywhere.”

“We got support from the tenancy branch to evict the primary dealer,” he said, offering documentation from the branch. “The fact is, the only people we evict from any properties are for nonpayment of rent or illegal activities.”

Howes said seven tenants have left the building for other reasons.

At a news conference called by Pivot Legal Society on Thursday, antipoverty activist Wendy Pederson accused Living Balance owner Steven Lippman of “harassment and intimidation.”

Pivot housing lawyer DJ Larkin said: “What is happening to the residents of the York Rooms is a violation of human rights.”