Indeed, what a shocking development this turned out to be...people sleeping in the lounge chairs and using the washrooms for unsavoury activities, 2 blocks from the drop-in centre. Who could have seen this coming?
This whole East Village revitalization/gentrification idea seems ill fated from the beginning. Firstly, who in their right mind is going to buy a condo for upwards of $350K down there? The drop-in centre isn't going anywhere, nor are the low-income housing towers closer to 9th Ave. The neighbourhood will never fully gentrify, as there will always be the element that the drop-in centre brings along with it in the area. You can add all the lighting and police patrols you want to the area, but the bottom line is, many people will be uncomfortable walking around that area, especially at night. I for one know that I won't be comfortable letting my wife go down there to meet the girls for drinks when restaurants and bars are opened.
I think that it would be better to focus the area on better servicing the population that is already in the area. Add more low-income housing, relocate social services to the neighbourhood, etc. Of course, when I propose this, my NDP voting friends accuse me of creating a ghetto, and ask if I want to put up electrified fences to keep the population contained. I don't think that's necessary at all. Razor wire has the same effect at much less of a cost.
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