Station Street Entrance - A bike rack, peeling paint and an unused entrance in the low income area of Vancouver East side.

The American Hotel at 928 Main St. gave tenants in its 37 rooms eviction notices on August 1st 2006. Bob Woodroff, the hotel's manager, has stated that the hotel has holes in the ceiling where water gushes in and problems with the old electricity and plumbing that would be costly to overhaul. The owner would rather invest in a new building that incorporates condominiums, retail and office space, a pub, a private liquor store and social housing, he said.

So what is to become of the American Hotel? Down Town residents faced the same attitudes by developers before Expo 86 - An excuse to get rid of the low income renters in an effort to raise rent through the roof for a money grab.

Prior to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australian politicians passed a series of laws to criminalize homelessness and panhandling in key tourist areas.

Homeless were targeted prior to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, when 9,000 African-American homeless men were swept away and banished out of site for the sake of tourists.

It's about to start happening here. We as tax payers and working class citizens tend to ignore the plight of the homeless. This sets up a scenario where the Vancouver Establishment is able to remove the unwanted or undesirable without protest.