An East Vancouver business association is hoping to shake off the stigma attached to the Downtown Eastside by rebranding an area of Hastings Street the "East Village."
The newly-minted neighbourhood runs 12 blocks, from Commercial Drive to Renfrew Street, and features dozens of eateries and businesses that the Hastings North Business Improvement Association wants potential customers to view in a new light.
"There's certainly a stigma with saying you're on East Hastings. People sometimes react to East Vancouver without realizing there's this eclectic bunch of neighbourhoods," said BIA executive director Patricia Barnes.
There are "East Villages" in cities around the world, most notably in New York, and Barnes said Vancouver's already fits the trendy mold.
"We're not trying to be New York, of course, but we do feel we're sort of a funky, hip neighbourhood… and we have that village atmosphere."
The East Village moniker applies only to Hastings Street, and won't impact other areas of the surrounding Grandview-Woodlands or Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhoods.
Street banners boasting the new name will be put up at the beginning of April, and Barnes said the NHBIA is meeting soon to discuss a possible party to drum up buzz for the new name.
