BIZ issues public graffiti challenge

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This article was published 17/05/2010 (5702 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stung by criticism it manipulated surveys that measured public perception of safety and cleanliness, the Winnipeg Downtown Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) is issuing a challenge: Report any graffiti in the downtown area between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. today and it will donate $20 to Siloam Mission.

Stefano Grande said the Downtown BIZ has launched several programs to clean up the area’s image over the last four years.

"We want to engage our community and we want people to be part of the solution," Grande said. "If it’s a problem with graffiti, aggressive panhandlers or public drunkenness — give us a call."

Grande said if anyone finds graffiti today, he or she should call the BIZ at 958-4640 or email a photo to stefano@downtownwinnipegbiz.com. Each call and complaint will be posted on the BIZ’s Facebook page (Downtown Winnipeg BIZ) and each complaint will be worth $20 to Siloam Mission.

On the safety survey, Grande said it was conducted by one of the BIZ’s customer service volunteers on Portage Avenue during the day, because the organization wants to gauge public perceptions on the safety issue before and after it launches a series of programs this summer.

"We know there are (safety) problems in some areas and that those concerns might be greater at night," Grande said. "We’re not trying to mask anything."

The Downtown Watch operates 24 hours a day, he said, adding its members will escort people to their cars at night or even wait with people at a bus stop.

Grande said problems with public drunkenness and aggressive panhandling are tied to some of the single-occupancy hotels in the area.

Those hotels are a blight, said Grande, who believes government should work with the private sector to convert those establishments into safe affordable housing and eliminate the sale of liquor.

"Those places attract scruffy-looking people… They’re in groups smoking on the sidewalk, asking people for money, getting into fights."

Grande said its Downtown Watch has the powers of arrest and can pick up drunks.

Leo Cholakis thinks the Downtown BIZ is doing a good job. Cholakis is a lawyer and landlord and owner of the 17-storey Kensington Building at the corner of Portage and Smith Street.

"I’ve been here since 1963 and I’ve never experienced any incident in all those years… and I’m here every day," Cholakis said. "I find the downtown quite clean. I think it’s pretty safe."

As a downtown property owner, Cholakis is a member of the BIZ and acknowledges that some might think his comments are self-serving, but the businessman has earned a blunt, tell-it-like-it-is reputation.

"I’m a landlord and I hear all the complaints," he said. "Most of my tenants park in Marlborough parkade (around the corner on Smith Street) and they go out of this building through the front door or into the back lane, and we’ve never had any incidents of anybody being confronted or frightened."

When it comes to cleanliness, Cholakis said he marvels at the BIZ’s crew that scour the streets every day.

Grande said the BIZ clean team has several programs that target graffiti, bus shelters and overall litter. The BIZ also employs individuals sent to it by Siloam Mission as part of its clean team programming.

A polling firm conducted the cleanliness survey, he said. Pollsters contacted 800 Winnipeggers at random in a telephone survey, and its results are considered accurate to within 3.46 per cent.

"Over 60 per cent thought downtown was cleaner than in the previous three years, with women and those who visit regularly reporting even higher at 70 per cent," Grande said.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

Do you see any graffiti in the downtown today?

For every complaint received by the Downtown BIZ between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., $20 will be donated to Siloam Mission.

Email a photo of the graffiti to Stefano@downtownwinnipegbiz.com or call 958-4640.

Each call and complaint will be posted on the BIZ’s Facebook page (Downtown Winnipeg BIZ).