Death of Clubland (aka: Is Adam Vaughan trying to kill the Club District?)

[syn]

That incident was one of the more colourful examples of the "a lot" I was referring to. I live here and fights break out every single night, no exceptions. Yes, it's a minority (for whatever that's worth). They're usually just harmless drunks stumbling around screaming at each other, knocking over news boxes, etc. and they rarely involve the police (who seem to miss a lot of the good stuff). You'd be amazed how many times the guys remove their shirts.

There are other solutions to this than simply shutting the entire district down. Eliminating last call is one excellent solution.

Once Vaughn declared war on the Club District, it was inevitable that it would decline. It isn`t so much about the tastes of today`s generation, as it is about club owners who simply moved on to more lucrative areas.

 

[grey]

There are other solutions to this than simply shutting the entire district down. Eliminating last call is one excellent solution.

Once Vaughn declared war on the Club District, it was inevitable that it would decline. It isn`t so much about the tastes of today`s generation, as it is about club owners who simply moved on to more lucrative areas.

Eliminating last call would help reduce crowding and unfortunate encounters, but it doesn't address a lot of the problems that make the current scene a steaming pile of trash -- in particular, the district's homogeneity, which is a result of high concentration as per Hotelling's theorem.

A more widely distributed and comprehensive club scene would appeal to a wider demographic and vitalize neighbourhoods that otherwise die after business hours with all the benefits of nightlife, culture, and extended hours. I see no reason why one small section of the city should hog it all to the point of being an embarrassing annoyance of degrading quality. This is a city of neighbourhoods, after all, and I think a scene that reflects that reality would be healthier and beneficial to all parties involved.

 

[gristle]

A more widely distributed and comprehensive club scene would appeal to a wider demographic and vitalize neighbourhoods that otherwise die after business hours with all the benefits of nightlife, culture, and extended hours. I see no reason why one small section of the city should hog it all to the point of being an embarrassing annoyance of degrading quality. This is a city of neighbourhoods, after all, and I think a scene that reflects that reality would be healthier and beneficial to all parties involved.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Clubs won't disappear in the area, but the concentration will be diminished to a point where a lot of the bad reputation and practices will be diluted. The AGCO seemed to banged more than a few bad venues over the head before easing off to see what effect that would have on other operators, and Municipal Licensing and Standards seems to be taking enforcement more seriously. Unfortunately, some clubbers can't resist behaving like complete asses.

There really is no reason for squeezing so many look-alike clubs in one location.

 

[syn]

Eliminating last call would help reduce crowding and unfortunate encounters, but it doesn't address a lot of the problems that make the current scene a steaming pile of trash -- in particular, the district's homogeneity, which is a result of high concentration as per Hotelling's theorem.

A more widely distributed and comprehensive club scene would appeal to a wider demographic and vitalize neighbourhoods that otherwise die after business hours with all the benefits of nightlife, culture, and extended hours. I see no reason why one small section of the city should hog it all to the point of being an embarrassing annoyance of degrading quality. This is a city of neighbourhoods, after all, and I think a scene that reflects that reality would be healthier and beneficial to all parties involved.

I don't have a problem with that. Vaughn has a problem with clubs in general, not that there's too many of them in the neighbourhood. If it was up to him, they'd all be gone.

 

[adma]

Don't blame Adam Vaughan. Blame Jeff Stober.

 

[OttoSchloss]

I agree, eliminate last call (I don't understand why it's not a municipal rather than provincial responsibility anyway) and also yes, it was a mistake to concentrate a lot of the clubs in one district in a city this size. It's not some college town.

 

[BMO]

I agree, eliminate last call (I don't understand why it's not a municipal rather than provincial responsibility anyway) and also yes, it was a mistake to concentrate a lot of the clubs in one district in a city this size. It's not some college town.

The clubs would have concentrated there regardless of whether it was promoted or not. It's an area easily accessed by GO, TTC subway/ streetcar, and by highway. There will always be clubs in this area due to the easy access.

 

[jeff316]

The clubs would have concentrated there regardless of whether it was promoted or not. It's an area easily accessed by GO, TTC subway/ streetcar, and by highway. There will always be clubs in this area due to the easy access.

Plus clubbers need clubs to be concentrated in a particular area due to the drinking aspect, unless they're gonna cab it from place to place over the course of a night.

 

[grey]

Yeah, you can't really blame Adam Vaughan. His position makes sense as councillor of the neighbourhood. Keeping the clubs in compliance is no small task (huge police and EMS presence, multiple ETF raids, AGCO hearings, etc). There's a serious problem with ongoing infractions -- this isn't some personal vendetta against people having fun, or whatever the club operators' line is these days (it used to be "we were here first!" and "the Entertainment District was a bombed out ghetto before we got here!").

The people to blame are scumbag nightclub operators, like Peter Gatien. Obviously not all of the owners are degenerate tax evaders complicit in drug trafficking, but a good handful of them are and they're ruining it for everyone. They directly caused the populist backlash, which was established years before Vaughan was first elected.

 

[tkip]

I don't have a problem with that. Vaughn has a problem with clubs in general, not that there's too many of them in the neighbourhood. If it was up to him, they'd all be gone.

Indeed. Vaughan just doesn't like clubs, periods. He is the personification of that crusty old man who yells at the kids to keep it down outside at 7 in the evening.

 

[lvteos234]

Its interesting to note who was there first, the clubs or the residents.

If residents moved into an areas that has clubs, they should not turn around and complain that the area -surprise surprise- has clubs. Just like someone who buys a house next to the airport then complains of airplane noise

 

[GraphicMatt]

Playing devil's advocate, though, what benefit does a concentrated clubland like we saw in the middle part of the past decade bring to the city? From an economic point of view, aren't we better to have a healthy mix of residential and commercial in that area?

 

[TrickyRicky]

I was never a clubber, although pretty well everyone at some time between the ages of 17-25 goes through some kind of a club phase. I think many of the comments here speaking about club quality and music quality kind of miss the point. Most people don't go to clubs to listen to music or even dance. They go to clubs because of sex. Not necessarily sleeping with someone, but being involved in the process of sex that involves looking, pursuing, loss of control and inhabition, the pursuit, seduction, manipulation, danger, the unknown, violence, touching, as well as actual sexual acts. People get hammered and do drugs and barf and get in fights and dance to music and yes even kill each other because all these activities are about sex. There seems to be some kind of suggestion here that some people are above this kind of activity. Bull.

 

[grey]

Its interesting to note who was there first, the clubs or the residents.

If residents moved into an areas that has clubs, they should not turn around and complain that the area -surprise surprise- has clubs. Just like someone who buys a house next to the airport then complains of airplane noise

The "we were here first" argument is b.s. There have always been residents in the Entertainment District, and they were able to coexist for a time. They didn't form a residents' association until ~2004 in response to skyrocketing club density and the wonderful side effects that came with it. The number of residents and businesses have doubled and quadrupled since then and continues to rise. Big surprise: nightclubs and mixed-use development don't mix.

Instead of adapting or moving, some of the nightclub operators hired publicists and formed lobby groups. Some actually went the extra mile of installing extra soundproofing and obeying AGCO codes of conduct in order to be good neighbours. But with such a high concentration, if you throw a few irresponsible club operators into the mix, there's not really much the good ones can do.

 

[BMO]

The "we were here first" argument is b.s. There have always been residents in the Entertainment District, and they were able to coexist for a time. They didn't form a residents' association until ~2004 in response to skyrocketing club density and the wonderful side effects that came with it. The number of residents and businesses have doubled and quadrupled since then and continues to rise. Big surprise: nightclubs and mixed-use development don't mix.

Instead of adapting or moving, some of the nightclub operators hired publicists and formed lobby groups. Some actually went the extra mile of installing extra soundproofing and obeying AGCO codes of conduct in order to be good neighbours. But with such a high concentration, if you throw a few irresponsible club operators into the mix, there's not really much the good ones can do.

THIS...I've yet to do business (while DJing) with a respectable club owner...They basically just want to make as much money as they can wihtout retrofitting or improving their club up to standards...then when it gets shut down they restart the whole process. This all because clubs go in and out of style so quickly the owners don't actually see a club as a longterm investment but as a short term one.