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Originally Posted by MonctonRad
You obviously haven't been in downtown Moncton recently have you?  |
I have, actually. I do have to take the occasional break from my ivory tower in Toronto every now and again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad
Take my word for it. It is more than simple "conjecture", and I resent your implication that I am making this up or exaggerating the situation.
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I think there's a difference between exaggerating the situation and blaming every plight Moncton has on a singular issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad
The entire ground level facade of the Subway Block is now boarded in to get rid of the doorway encampments FFS!!! Panhandling can be aggressive. Downtown retail employees are frequently intimidated or threatened by drugged out vagrants wandering into the stores wanting to use their "facilities" or to warm up.
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A keen eye will note that this isn't a problem exclusive to Moncton - Canadian cities across the country are battling with this same issue, from Halifax to Toronto to Winnipeg to Vancouver. On one hand, these sorts of urban issues are part and parcel of becoming a bigger city and growing larger, but on the other hand this issue is being exacerbated by the pandemic and a lack of affordable housing options for the most needy and at-risk people in our society. I could fill this thread with anecdotes of Toronto and Ottawa homelessness - of stepping over the same people every day on the sidewalk, of having the front door of my apartment broken into last week - but the stores here stay open, and i'm cognizant of the fact that not every business has shuttered on my street despite their presence, and that if they are closing it's likely due to the pandemic or other related business reasons.
Lamenting or ignoring this problem doesn't make it go away. Gentrifying an area simply moves lower-income people away from their homes to outlying, different areas. Homelessness, vagrancy, and general addiction cannot be eradicated without improved housing options, social options, and better community support.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad
Downtown Moncton is at particular risk. There are precious few middle to higher income individuals living within walking distance of downtown. In a place like Toronto, the toxic influence of the vagrants is diluted by thousands of other pedestrians wandering the downtown streets from adjacent neighbourhood. This is generally not the case in Moncton (although I would dearly love it if the situation were different). In Moncton, suburbanites remain in the suburbs to consume their services. Downtown has developed a reputation, and it will take a long, long time for this to be overcome. The opening of the Avenir Centre was beginning to have a positive influence on the downtown core, but then the pandemic struck, and there are currently no events at the centre to draw downtown crowds.
It's all very sad............
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I think it speaks volumes to where your priorities lie if you're more saddened by the loss of revenue for businesses and the downtown lacking 'higher income' residents than you are for the pandemic-related plight of many of your fellow residents. The homeless, drug-addicted, and generally poor are still people afterall, and the key part of living in a city is the interaction to be had with
all of its residents - including those you may look down on.
Adam H. Johnson had a great tweet in reference to the San Francisco homeless encampments in November:
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In American media the outrage is not that extreme poverty exists, it’s that it’s adjacent to rich people. The victimized party being centered here isn’t those living in squalor it’s those in luxury condos who have to see them.
https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonNYC/s...49546526646272
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