Font Size

It’s Emo Night at the grungy bar at Bathurst and College known for its Nachos Supreme: 

Toronto’s nightlife is faltering. Here’s how some are working to make it worthy of a world-class city: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontos-nightlife-is-faltering-heres-how-some-are-working-to-make-it-worthy-of-a/article_43560528-9f54-11ee-b4f9-0fe8a1bddf0d.html

This isn’t a dead city. There doesn’t seem to be much creativity at the top. It seems to me that Toronto has kind of a split personality, a civic schizophrenia. On the one level there’s the spirit of individuals and small groups who do things, what you might call the vernacular spirit. This is all very informal and genius, quite romantic and full of fun, a great deal of fun but it seems to me the official spirit of Toronto is, ‘Stamp out fun.’ Pompous, impressed with mediocrity if it’s very, very big and expensive.”—Jane Jacobs, 1969. CBC interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YonLUG7gRyY ,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqlqWyZFka8

Toronto was not a dead city in 1968 when Jane Jacobs arrived here.

That has changed dramatically as we head into 2024.

A couple of weeks ago Ed Keenan wrote an article titled, ‘What happened to Yonge Street?’ Quashing Toronto’s character is the city’s mistake: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/what-happened-to-yonge-street-quashing-torontos-character-is-the-citys-mistake/article_8ccf071e-937d-11ee-8abc-939a927e9932.html

The answer lies in a previous column from 2017:  500-per-cent property tax increase will change the face of Yonge St.: Keenan https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/500-per-cent-property-tax-increase-will-change-the-face-of-yonge-st-keenan/article_9beea0d9-d94c-5fd8-82b9-4adaca0cc1a8.html

A friend was asked by an old landlord to move back in. When he lived there the rent was $900.00 a month. Today the rent is $3,000.00 a month.

People who study the writings of Jane Jacobs at university often say they have a hard time understanding her ideas.

Speaking with her son, Jim, “I said, “The reason people have a hard time understanding your mother’s ideas is tjhat she wrote her books from the perspective of the dirt poor.”

Said Jim, “Yes. We were dirt poor when she wrote THE DEATH AND LIFE OF GREAT AMERICAN CITIES.”

As the city’s streets and parks becoming home to the homeless and the desperate I am watching the disintegration abounding around me.

“Dark ages come because people forget,” wrote Jane in DARK AGE AHEAD.

Yes, they do.

By the same token THE TORONTO STAR, which moved from its landmark building at One Yonge Street to less expensive digs is a dying newspaper. https://www.thestar.com/initiatives/santa-claus-fund/proudfoot-corner-memories-of-1-yonge-st-as-toronto-star-prepares-to-move/article_897fd44d-f7aa-543f-9060-80dbcb1bc540.html

Don’t ask where to move. This disintegration is global.

In a culture that needs us to exhaust our wealth on nothings to exist  it is wise the remember the words of Andy Warhol, who like me arrived in New York, dirt poor. “Think rich. Look poor.”

The problem is that too many of us think poor and look rich.

Years ago a journalist called saying he was writing a column on where different Toronto celebrities dined.

I said to myself, “I guess I’m a celebrity.” I replied, “My kitchen.”

He asked, “Where is that?”

I said, My kitchen.”

Again he asked, “Where is that?”

I stopped eating out after particularly rude service. I said to myself, “For the amount of money I am spending on myself I could feed a bunch of people and they would be grateful.” Here, at a dinner in my home, are left to right, Graeme Kirkland, myself, Chester Brown, unknown, John Smialek, unknown, , Seth, and Joe Matt who passed away this year.

This continued until I explained I used to eat in restaurants but one day after particularly rude service I thought, “For the amount of money I am spending on myself I could feed a bunch oif people and they would be grateful.” I stopped eating out.-

“Where do you shop?”

“Value Village.”

The journalist said, “You are the only person I have talked to for this column who makes sense.”

-Reg Hartt  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAUuAQUgKEE

Is it possible to create an environment that gives birth to artists, poets and musicians and messiahs? Yes, it is. I AM is doing it in Toronto.

That real order struggling to exist is found at the lowest among the city’s poor. They are the ones whose lives are destroyed when the Robert Moses of City Planning look to bulldoze down neighbourhoods to build their dreams which turn into our nightmares.

Why property tax revenues don’t rise with inflation: Keenan  Your annual tax bill doesn’t necessarily rise just because the value of your house did. It might even go down. Confused? Here’s an explanation. The increase is based on the potential value of the land. For small business owners that means if a 40-storey condo is built next door, they are taxed as if they had a 40-storey condo.

Dopes: Wonderful school teachers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-8WF_Ke1_8

We are mislead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcipVOZsdJw

Incompetent by time we are prepared: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUQYpbqHXE4

https://reghartt.ca/cineforum/?p=35996

Jane Jabobs on writing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlhX3oQkmOE&t=24s

Speak about what you want

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymeD-jRVZV8

The economy of cities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_M8cuMK_zY

Death And Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVHvqTNxtFw

Cities and wealth of nations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEabVr7IQ_Y

 

« »