EXODUS ON LEON

Business Fleeing Area Because Of Crime and Drug Dealing

No daytime business will operate along a notorious block of Leon Avenue
once Susan Raulin shuts down her shop this weekend.

The proprietor of Ted's Paperbacks and Coins says her business has been
forced to move after 27 years in the same location near Abbott Street. She
says drug addicts loitering outside her door have driven away customers and
decimated her profits. "Since the summer, it's become frightening. Many of
the few people who show up say they love coming here, but they can't do it
anymore," she said. "It's a pig sty out there. It is so gross." Lawyers
Chris Fraser and Jeff Murray plan in February to pull out of their office
at 260 Harvey Ave., which backs onto an alley near the Gospel Mission.
Thieves have broken into vehicles owned by staff

Fraser, who sympathizes with homeless people, says he's become paranoid
someone strung out on crystal meth will attack him as he gets into his car

"I'm very apprehensive about getting into a situation that may lead to a
confrontation. You have no idea if the person is whacked out or not," he said

Farther down Leon, the Academy of Learning broke its lease last month and
reopened in Westbank. Students agreed to the move because they felt
harassed and, in some cases, endangered

Closer to the lake are empty buildings that landlords can't rent out and
nightclubs or pizza joints that operate only at night

"If you own a property, what will you do with it? Who will you sell it to?"
said Fraser, who plans to set up a bigger office on St. Paul Street. "They
(addicts) don't harass us or get in our way, but they make us uncomfortable
by what they're doing." Witnesses say small groups of people stand in the
alley or outside Splash's nightclub every day shooting heroin and smoking
crack. Dealers pull up in their vehicles and exchange drugs with users.
Clean-cut young men hang out with clusters of addicts for 10 to 30 minutes,
then leave

"I assume they're bringing more drugs to sell," said Raulin, who's moving
her store to Sutherland Avenue. "My boyfriend doesn't want me to come here,
but this is my livelihood." Raulin spoke to one man riding a small bike who
stopped in front of her shop a few weeks ago. When he told her he wasn't
staying, Raulin said no customer was coming in anyway

"He said, calmly and politely, 'Well lady, maybe it's time for you to move
because we're not.' Then he rode on to his buddies," she said

Homeless people have slept at the Gospel Mission shelter for years. But the
recent influx of drug-addled criminals hanging around the shelter has
changed downtown dynamics. Abbott Street residents complain the crime rate
has soared, forcing them to meet regularly with police and fortify the area
with extra security. The city has hired a consultant to work with the
Mission to determine whether there's an option to move the shelter to
another part of town

"We understand the problem. We also understand the Gospel Mission is caught
in this situation as well," said city manager Ron Born. "It's the criminal
element that's causing problems for them and everyone else." The RCMP
stepped up enforcement in the area last summer. By hiring 10 new officers
this spring, the extra police presence downtown should have an impact by
March, said Supt. Bill McKinnon

"I think we'll make a difference. Will we solve everything? No. We can't be
everywhere all the time," he said.