So am I the only one who has noticed that over the past few months Gottingen Street has become wose.
Maybe its the summer weather that brings all the crazies out but wow.
I have lived in Vancouver and have seen East Hastings in the day and the night. Being a small town girl up until that point my eyes were forced open and I witnessed things I would never have imagined. Homelessness, drug addiction,and prostitution are a common occurence.
I was delighted to get home after my years away to a safer place where although we had homelessness, drugs and prostitutes they seemed to be tucked away and weren’t so visible.
Working shifts I find myself on the way home or to work early in the mornings and I often take Gottingen St to avoid traffic. I am saddend to see that we are catching up to bigger cities in all three of the above mentioned subjects.
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2008.
Gottingen St has been so bad for years that it could not possibly get any worse. The best thing that could be done is to bulldoze the length of it and make an expressway into downtown.
I walk down Gottigen Street at least twice a day, sometimes many more times. I’ve never had any problems. Sure, there are some folks that have had a rough time of it, but I’ve certainly never been in any danger. In fact over the last couple of months there’s been a neat little scene developing. Maybe the problem is you’re driving through rather than meeting people in person.
I didn’t say anything about being in danger Tim. I do meet these people on a daily basis as I work in the downtown area. I also lived in the thick of it for 8 years. It is getting worse.
I didn’t say anything about being in danger Tim. I do meet these people on a daily basis as I work in the downtown area. I also lived in the thick of it for 8 years. It is getting worse.
So basically, Juicy, you were content living with blinders on your eyes? These problems have always plauged metropolitan areas since as long as they’ve been around. I think it’s a little naive to believe its only gotten worse recently.And Keith, bulldozing won’t do a damn thing except force the undesirable characters into other parts of town. I think you know that.
I worked at a Gottingen Street business in 1974 and, believe me, it hasn’t changed all that much.
I didn’t say anything about being in danger Tim. OK, re-reading your post I can see that. So, you’re complaining about homelessness, drug addiction and prostitution. Well, sure. Let’s support those groups that try to address those problems, and let’s develop sensible public policy around them. All three have lots of variants, in terms of cause and how to address them (being a drug addict or a prostitute probably isn’t the best thing in life, but such conditions can be managed for the best of the person involved). Too often I worry that people, as one commenter posted, just want to “bulldoze” the problem away. That’s never worked, either for the people involved or to make the problem go away.
as i understand it, gottingen street was once the vibrant heart of the city… so what happened?and somewhat related, let’s not forget about the destruction of Africville, whose residents were displaced to make way for the bulldozers, and were ‘resettled’ in various public housing projects scattered about the city, including gottingen streetexpropriating nova scotia’s blackshttp://archives.cbc.ca/society/racism/topics/96/stolen from africvillehttp://stolenfromafrica.com/stolenfromafricville/?page_id=4wiki articlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville,_Nova_Scotia
So am I reading this correctly, as long as homelessness, drugs and prostitutes are tucked away and not so visible, it’s okay? But because these people are more visible. we have a problem? And they’re undesirable characters because of their misfortunes? So bulldozing the problem away might work if not for driving them into someone else’s backyard? I’m not sure what to say to that, except wow.
To Tim and Jon who have obviously taken a comment that I have posted and changed it to fit their own ideas.. listen up.I didn’t say that I wanted the street bulldozed over and I didn’t say I was content to live with blinders on. What I did say was that the situation is getting worse. I think that you are living with blinders on if you don’t realize that our city is begining to have a major problem. I would love to see Halifax take more steps to help these people who are obviously falling through the carcks of our social programs but they arn’t. Just the other day while at work I for the second time ran into the same young woman that I had to call an ambulance for because she had taken her daily dose of methadone and 15 valium. Only this time this young woman was visably PREGNANT and completly high. Very sad.Open your eyes up guys and if you are content to say that these people are okay and are good people then good for you but your not helping anyone with your self serving attitudes.Try doing my jod for a few days and then you will really see the state in which downtown has become.
But because these people are more visible. we have a problem? And they’re undesirable characters because of their misfortunes?Prostitues and drug addicts HAVE NOT had a problem with misfortune. These people made a personal choice. Therefore they are undesirable because they are weak willed drains on society, spreading crime and disease throughout halifax. Although they may have been brought up in an unsavoury position it was still their choice to stick a needle in their arm or suck dick at the casino for nickle tokens. They didn’t accidentally trip on the sidewalk and land lips first into a crack pipe, they made the conscious decision to do that. Misfortune does not play a part in that. I no longer live in Hali, or NS for that matter but where I do live I recently read a newspaper article that made me shake my head. There was a homeless guy who got fined for public intoxication. He was mad about that, very mad. What did he do, he went to the newspaper and complained that it was unfair for the police to target him and fine him when he can’t even afford a place to live. That’s funny to me, the police unfairly targeted him for doing somthing illegal? He can’t afford a home or a fine but he can afford to be drunk at 9 in the morning. With an attitude, and habits like that I’m utterly surprised he has no home or job.
I wouldn’t worry about it. In ten years Gottingen will be a whole new street. Buildings on the surrounding streets are being torn down and replaced with condos and surrounding apartment prices are rising.Local business’s are being pushed out for more profitable ones.
I’m not sure this is the place to post this, but i just saw an article about Winnipeg and reading the comments reminded me very much of Halifax. I guess we’re not the only down-in-the-mouth, ultra negative, no-can-do city around:http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/09/05/wpg-sign.html
‘bulldoze it away’ … reminds me of what the HRM did to Africville. (not saying Africville and Gottigen St have anything in common)