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Diamond Chinese restaurant defies NDC, CH&PA orders to close
A prominent Chinese restaurant in Diamond is coming under fire for refusing to comply with orders by the authorities to close.
The Chinese restaurant in question
According to officials of the Golden Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council, the operation of ‘Georgie’ is totally illegal at this time.
The situation has upset neighbours of the upscale “Million Dollar” house lot section of Diamond, as there are zoning regulations, which bar businesses from being set up.
Former NDC chairman, Bharat Narine, said Friday that the operation is indeed illegal and the Chinese owners were told since last year to close, to no avail.
The situation would highlight how toothless a few NDCs are, with Narine admitting that the council lacks an enforcement arm.
However, the fight was taken to the restaurant owners by neighbours.
According to Saeed Rahaman, who lives next door, he had been pleading with the authorities for relief as he is unable to open his windows. In fact, he pointed out the situation of the drains where the restaurant has been releasing its oil into the water.
The restaurant even illegally built its shed on top of the fence dividing the two neighbours.
‘Georgie’ was stopped since last year January from expanding or starting operations by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
On January 29th, 2018, CH&PA sent a Letter of Refusal, telling owner Jingxin Dai of Lot 1113 Section ‘A’ Block ‘X’, Great Diamond, that his application for the establishment of a Food Restaurant and Malt and Wine Inclusive for the same address, had not been approved.
A neighbour complained about this construction near to his fence
The application was refused by CH&PA’s board on January 19th, 2018, the letter disclosed.
According to transports, the properties in that area are only for residential purposes.
Seven months after the CH&PA letter, the NDC then informed Jingxin Dai that the application was refused.
The restaurant was ordered to cease operations within three days of receiving the notice.
According to the former NDC chairman, NDCs don’t normally refuse the applications for businesses. Rather, the Sanitary Department of the region would check to ensure that the building codes are adhered to, while the NDC would ensure taxes are up-to-date.
The application would then be sent to CH&PA for approval.
According to Narine, owners of the business were called in, but nothing happened.
In October last year, the Environmental Protection Agency wrote the neighbour, Rahaman, informing him that it had ordered the restaurant to install mitigation measures to reduce fumes and soot impact. The restaurant was also ordered to install grease traps and clean these regularly.
However, it appeared that the EPA was not aware that the business had no permission.
According to Narine, there are pockets of places in Diamond where businesses would be allowed, but the property on which ‘Georgie’ was operating is not one of them.
“We have an issue with zoning. We are sorry for that man (neighbour) who picked up on the story. There are laws. We received an objection and we have forwarded the complaint to CH&PA. They (restaurant owners) have gotten no permission…totally illegal…”
Yesterday, Kaieteur News visited the restaurant and attempted to speak to the owners. However, the Chinese personnel there did not speak much English and were not helpful.
Someone did call Kaieteur News later, but was unable to offer much information also.
Guyana has been battling zoning problems for decades, with a number of residents, like in Queenstown, Georgetown, becoming highly vocal in recent years.
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