[FreeGeek] Potential Location

[ifny]

i live 6 blocks from there, i love that neighbourhood, & it is indeed
poorly understood by many vancouverites, not to mention vancouver
institutions. we certainly need to take access to DTES residents into
consideration.

unfortunately, a lot of people would not feel comfortable coming to
our store or our classes there. i'm not only referring to privileged
elites. we're talking about women, young people from other
neighbourhoods (not to mention their parents), etc.

this space is right across the street from the main & hastings gong
show. i don't think we're equipped to normalize the neighbourhood. it
would jeopardize our project too much & make it inaccessible to many.

it hurts me to think like this, as i am passionate about the DTES. but
we can always do work there without having our primary space at main &
hastings.

if this space was just a few blocks away, deeper in chinatown for
example, the daytime action would clash less with our services'
accessibility.

but hey, we should follow as many leads as we can, as other
opportunities can emerge in the process. & i'm curious about what the
deal is with this place.

~ifny


On 1/11/07, Mike Cantelon <mcantelon at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Aaron makes some excellent points.  However from a business stand
> > point, I think it may be a poor choice. Our thrift store will probably
> > end up covering a good chunk of our budget.  I personally don't
>
> I agree... the DTES is not the most central of locations. Scott and I
> were involved in a community tech space years ago that was located
> near the DTES and was extremely underutilized.
>
> Mike
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