DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE HOTEL OWNER DOING WHAT HE CAN

A buzz of activity surrounds 64-year-old Sam Kim as he stands in his dimly
lit office at the New Wing's hotel in the Downtown Eastside.

Tenants want to borrow the phone, use his keys to get into a room or ask
him to press the buzzer to let a friend in the front door-it's non-stop in
the half hour visit by the Courier Thursday morning.

Kim has owned the 50-room hotel at Dunlevy and Powell streets for 17 years.
And, for the most part, he has run what he considers a functional operation.

"Problems with pot before, but nothing like this," he said.

In the past two years, the drug activity unfolding in his hotel and outside
in Oppenheimer Park has overwhelmed him. Cocaine, heroin and crystal
methamphetamine are now the drugs of choice among tenants.

Addicts and dealers, he admits, are frequently in his hotel. But as one man
working with a few tenants to watch the front door, there's not a lot he
can do, he said.

The soft-spoken Kim, who immigrated to Vancouver in 1967 from Seoul, South
Korea, is not the confrontational type. And after the shooting death of a
man in his hotel Jan. 28, he knows better than to challenge visitors.

"It's almost impossible to control," he said, noting tenants are allowed to
have guests. "I'm not a police officer. The best thing to do would be to
legalize all these drugs. Then you won't need the dealers."

Kim said he knew the victim of the shooting, and barred him about a month
ago because he used pepper spray in the hotel. He also heard the victim,
who hasn't been named by police and was a frequent visitor to the hotel,
was notorious for "ripping off dealers' drugs and their money."

Police have only said they're investigating whether the city's first
homicide was linked to drugs. The victim was shot just after noon.

Berris Ambrose Smith, 26, of no fixed address has been charged with first
degree murder. Smith rented a room at the hotel by the day, about once or
twice a month, Kim said.

The New Wing's has a long history with police, the fire department and the
city's licensing department. Upon the city's request, Kim installed a
buzzer for the front door, a video surveillance camera and a locked gate
halfway up the front stairs.

He's taken building management and maintenance courses, and keeps a tenant
and guest registry-recommendations from city council's business licence panel.

Kim also stays in touch with Barb Windsor, the city's deputy chief
licensing inspector, who has told him to be diligent in running a clean
operation so as not to affect the neighbourhood.

"That's a businessman's obligation to clean up the building. I know that
already, and I'm doing the best I can."

Getting rid of problem tenants isn't easy, he said. The process requires a
hearing before the Residential Tenancy Board and a positive decision.

But if the tenant doesn't want to abide by the order, Kim must pay at least
$500 to a bailiff to remove the tenant. The effort means time and money, he
said.

Prior to purchasing the New Wing's, Kim owned a grocery store near Main and
Hastings. He paid $500,000 for the hotel, which is now assessed at $860,000.

He rents rooms for $330 a month. Tenants have access to common bathrooms
and kitchens on both floors of the century-old building. One tenant has
lived there for 10 years.

In a brief tour, Kim pointed out he has spent $100,000 on renovations,
including a new roof and new floors. Considering its age and problem
history, the hallways, bathrooms and kitchens appeared reasonably clean.

The Courier did not visit any of the rooms.

A police investigation in July at the hotel revealed a video camera trained
on the building's entrance and neighbouring Oppenheimer Park. Images from
the camera were projected on a wall in one of the hotel's rooms, which was
also filled with stolen property.

Police believe the camera was used to conduct surveillance on rival dealers
and police, who had increased their presence in the park to crack down on
dealers.

Though his solution of legalizing drugs to erase the drug problem seems
extreme to many, Kim doesn't believe short-term efforts such as the city's
supervised injection site, prescription heroin or hiring more police will
make a big difference.

In the meantime, politicians have to make changes to the Criminal Code and
put pressure on judges to impose stiffer penalties for drug dealers, he said.

"I see these [dealers] get arrested and then they come right back here."

So why buy a hotel in one of the country's most notorious areas for drugs
and crime?

"A lot of people think the East End looks bad-it does. But the people are
nice here. I've known them for many years, they just have bad habits."

Added Kim: "I plan to keep [the hotel] until I die."