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Duke Street is not and has never been zoned as a commercial district

Dec 29, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
Forgive our late response which is due to our holiday preparations. We can’t believe that Mr. Gerry Gouveia has the audacity, the unblushing insolence to boldly publish such an article in response to the claims of all the residents of Duke Street representative of the seven houses in that very “Upper district of Kingston” which he describes as a “business district”.
What a thing to do for someone of his status! The deceit is beyond our expectations. As President of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) you should have acted with more class.
Mr. Gouveia distributed individual letters to the residents of Duke Street inviting us to a meeting dated 19-11-09 stating, “Resident of Duke Street, between Barrack and Young Streets, Kingston.
Dear Resident, noise emanating from Duke Lodge Hotel.
The management of the Roraima Group of Companies has read today’s (19.11.09) issue of the Kaiteur News and is deeply concerned about its content. We have at all times tried to operate within the confines of the law when hosting these parties, but at times situations are beyond our control particularly the honking of car horns and the playing of loud music that come to collect patrons attending functions.
As a matter of urgency, we are requesting to meet with you at 17:00hrs at Duke Lodge to discuss your concerns. Please make every effort to attend.
Regards Gerald McKenzie,
Administrative/Human Resources Manager”
At the meeting, he apologised for the ill effects of the parties that he hosted. He also promised to work with us and gave us the assurance that he will do his best to keep the noise down and be more selective with whom he rents his premises to and the events they intend to host.
Then two days later, 21st November, 2009 to be exact, he publishes that misleading letter in the Kaieteur papers.
In addition he continues to host such parties; worse of all was the Hits & Jams “New York party” held on 26th December, 2009 which transformed Duke Street into Main Street Lime.
Maybe I should be a bit more accommodating for the sake of Mr. Gouveia and define what “residents” mean. According to the Collins Dictionary, “The residents of a house or area are the people who live there”.
I believe that definition is self-explanatory enough! Specifically the speaking relevant intelligence stated that Duke Street is not and has never been zoned as a commercial district.
Historically, Duke Street was zoned for residential use, and only allowed small commercial use in the form of corner shops or tiny offices – back then it was called Reserve Zoning.
According to the Georgetown Development Plan, the general area is seen (or supposed to be seen) as a conservation area that celebrates the architectural heritage of the area.
Therefore according to this regulation, Duke Lodge/Disco-tech use is certainly not permissible. When or how has this jurisdiction been changed/altered to accommodate Mr.Gouveia?
Furthermore, Gouveia stated that his “Roraima Duke Lodge is compliant with the requirements of the law”.
When in fact according to Title 14, article 175(1) of the Summary of Jurisdiction Offences act the Laws of Guyana which state that, “No person shall, in any road, street, public place or land or in any building or premises, by operating or causing or suffering to be operated any stereo set, juke box, radio, wireless loud speaker, gramophone, amplifier, automatic piano or similar instrument of music, or by any other means whatsoever, to make or cause or suffer to be made any noise which shall be so loud and so continuous or repetitive as to case a nuisance to occupants of any premises in the neighbourhood.”
Has this jurisdiction also been alerted to suit our “goodly” Capt. Gouvia. In addition he stated that he was “granted all the relevant licences for the operation of Duke Lodge as a Hotel, Restaurant, Bar and hospitality facility.”
He failed to mention of anything about operating as a disco/night club.
Even if that were so, his accession of such licences contradicts the laws of Guyana and the Georgetown Development Plan.
What is going to happen when/if the other building is sold to Mr. Gouveia? Do tell us now if this lawlessness is going to continue and if we have to move out of our homes and allow Mr. Gouveia to take over Duke Street, and truly transform Duke Street into the “business district” as he already envisions it to be to host those obscene parties, break the law and spoil the historical image of Duke Street, all because Mr. Gouveia has to make money?
Resident

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