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Death of Clubland (aka: Is Adam Vaughan trying to kill the Club District?)
- Thread starter unimaginative2
- Start date
grey
Senior Member
This might become a small problem for Vaughan. Anyone can easily make his completely reasonable agenda look like some sort of right-leaning "Christian values" censure of the club district (search terms "vaughan" and "crusade" together yield 7 results). I think he needs to spin this idea better when he talks to the papers because it's incredibly easy to express interest in improving an area that only a complete douchebag could walk through without wanting to punch at least three people (this is not aimed at anyone here).
With or without Vaughan's help, change is already happening, as I pointed out earlier.
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BobBob
Senior Member
It's going to be an uphill struggle: "vaughan" and "awesome" yield over 700,000 results.
syn
Senior Member
I have no idea. I guess we'll find out.
syn
Senior Member
No one needs to twist anything. He's managed to make his agenda look unreasonable on his own.
If he had gone about all of this with some tact, club owners might complain, but no one would really pay any attention. Instead, he's basically declared war. His obvious contempt for the industry and the people who frequent such establishments has really drawn attention to the issue.
As I've said before, I have no problem with a greater variety of uses in the area. But Vaughn doesn't just want that...he wants the clubs gone.
Isn't that a bit harsh?
I rarely ever go to a club and I think we all know there are a lot of clowns in the area, but I don't think I've ever gotten that irritated simply by being there.
Are Vaughns' antics even necessary then? A lot of people have suggested the neighborhood has to evolve naturally, but I'd hardly call Vaughn's intervention natural. Change will occur. If the remaining clubs are willing to help improve the area and are doing good business, why try to force them out?
I'm not really into that scene anymore (and never really was that into it), but it's always disturbed me when politicians use public office to pursue their own personal agendas, whether or not I agree with their stance.
grey
Senior Member
I think it's the other way around. Vaughan is adopting a stance shared by local residents groups in order to secure his position in public office through popular support. This isn't his own agenda.
Edit: I also thought I'd point out the hypocrisy of people (not you, syn, just in general) who complain about Vaughan's "blanket statements" about entertainment district riffraff and then proceed to accuse him of being a hack reporter who swindled his way into politics, ignoring his Jane Jacobs-ish track record.
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adma
Superstar
To (re)emphasize: the only palatable, electable alternative to Adam Vaughan I can foresee would likely be the next Olivia Chow/Helen Kennedy NDP standard-bearer--and I can't say an anti-war-on-clubland stance would be central to their platform...
syn
Senior Member
I couldn't see a war-on-clubland stance central to the platform either.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
At election time get rid of the king and the rest will fall.
T.O.Fanatic
Active Member
Before I begin my comment on this whole issue, I would like to point out a few things, before I am categorised as a 'rowdy suburbanite'.
I love going clubbing, as opposed to bars or pubs, which I find mindlessly boring. I also live at Eglinton and Bathurst, and so am not a suburbanite at all. I go to university (York to be specific) and want to become a professor. There, now thats ironed out, here I go!
City Council always likes to brag about the fact that we have a 'world class city' but Adam Vaughan seems to have forgotten that world class cities include world class nightlife! He claims not to be declaring war on dance clubs, but on the City planning website, you can see that the entire area is slated for new condo development. I mean, people get knifed at bars on Queen East, but the dance clubs get picked on.
Of course, patrons can be rowdy and rude, and sometimes criminal, and I want all of those individuals dealt with, so that the majority of clubbers can simply enjoy a fun night of dancing.
I love going clubbing, as opposed to bars or pubs, which I find mindlessly boring. I also live at Eglinton and Bathurst, and so am not a suburbanite at all. I go to university (York to be specific) and want to become a professor. There, now thats ironed out, here I go!
City Council always likes to brag about the fact that we have a 'world class city' but Adam Vaughan seems to have forgotten that world class cities include world class nightlife! He claims not to be declaring war on dance clubs, but on the City planning website, you can see that the entire area is slated for new condo development. I mean, people get knifed at bars on Queen East, but the dance clubs get picked on.
Of course, patrons can be rowdy and rude, and sometimes criminal, and I want all of those individuals dealt with, so that the majority of clubbers can simply enjoy a fun night of dancing.
confusion
Active Member
The fights and drunken rowdiness that happens on Queen East or West is much different than the drunken rowdiness of Richmond. There is a different behaviour on the street.
christiesplits
Senior Member
I would hazard to guess that over one half of the Club District is attended by people outside the city proper, particularly late teens early 20s 905ers. It should be no surprise that Vaughan is siding with local neighbourhood groups -those that elected him into office.
gei
Active Member
Electing Adam Vaughn was unarguably a tremendous mistake, and I make it my personal mission to see him kicked out for the next term.
Regardless of who's visiting the clubbing district - be it international tourists or suburbanites, the point is they are bringing their money with them. I know tourists who come to Toronto JUST for the partying. Go talk to some random drunk person on a saturday night at 2am and ask them where they are from.
If we destroy that (which old man vaughn is trying to do) we will destroy a huge portion of our tourist industry with it.
For example, I was at the raptors celtics game a while back here at the ACC, and was having a talk with some boston guys who were up here cheering on their team. They said they would have driven straight back home after the game, but since our partying here was so "crazy", they decided to spend the night in a hotel and go home the following morning.
Regardless of who's visiting the clubbing district - be it international tourists or suburbanites, the point is they are bringing their money with them. I know tourists who come to Toronto JUST for the partying. Go talk to some random drunk person on a saturday night at 2am and ask them where they are from.
If we destroy that (which old man vaughn is trying to do) we will destroy a huge portion of our tourist industry with it.
For example, I was at the raptors celtics game a while back here at the ACC, and was having a talk with some boston guys who were up here cheering on their team. They said they would have driven straight back home after the game, but since our partying here was so "crazy", they decided to spend the night in a hotel and go home the following morning.
voxpopulicosmicum
Senior Member
At election time, slap down the surburbanites and right wingers so hard that the NIMBYs learn to STFU.
If only...
Seriously, though, I think Vaughan has done a great job in his ward, although I have seen him quoted as saying some things about clubgoers that are offensive and reactionary. He's obviously captive to the burghers who run the local ratepayer groups and his actions are largely dictated by the need to appeal to their suburban sensibilities.
But I think a lot of the problems in clubland stem from the fact that it was essentially a fiefdom of corrupt police for many years. The city needs to make sure that the police are well supervised and prosecuted when necessary. Already, in the few years since 52 division's entire drug squad was disbanded because of rampant corruption, the area has improved. Why not give this process a chance instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater?
If only...
Seriously, though, I think Vaughan has done a great job in his ward, although I have seen him quoted as saying some things about clubgoers that are offensive and reactionary. He's obviously captive to the burghers who run the local ratepayer groups and his actions are largely dictated by the need to appeal to their suburban sensibilities.
But I think a lot of the problems in clubland stem from the fact that it was essentially a fiefdom of corrupt police for many years. The city needs to make sure that the police are well supervised and prosecuted when necessary. Already, in the few years since 52 division's entire drug squad was disbanded because of rampant corruption, the area has improved. Why not give this process a chance instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater?
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