Some perspicacious person has responded to the 'wowser' story (I think ironically) pointing out that anti-cluster laws against Convenience stores are wowserish too.
I don't like convenience stores much either -- but rather than banning them, Council should be working out why they proliferate. The market should decide these things, not Council repression. After all, what's next? Banning gay shops because someone doesn't like them? Or bookshops carrying political literature? We hear there are moves to 'improve' the retail mix in Oxford St along with the 'upgrade' they are about to get.
Who has the right to crush someone's livelihood? I thought it was a free country. Small business is being beaten about the head by out-of-control bureaucrats. This can only have the effect of reducing diversity in favour of yet more of the same franchise operations you see everywhere, who can leverage off national advertising and have the bucks and resources to pressure councils.
Jane Jacobs makes much of this -- for example she says a responsible civic authourity should ensure that a healthy mix of older low-rent buildings remains so marginal yet often interesting businesses can survive, along with low-income people in the housing market.
This is not one of the criteria of our Council. The low-cost housing debate has been relegated to a Housing Commission thing, which does nothing to slow gentrification or to help the 'working poor' such as artists, writers and students.
And in reply to the person who commented that all the 'classy' people and artists etc hang out at Fox Studios, I was just in Coles having a yak with a local filmaker and a practising artist, while last night I went to a fundraiser where two local writers spoke. Try walking into the Trop and shouting 'Who wants a million bucks to make a film' and see the response you get. I doesn't happen in North Sydney, I can assure you.
16 comments:
As a child I went with my parents to the Cross. We went for dinner , or during the day we just went for tea. There were lots of other kids there. The area attracted whole families and on Saturdays the restaurants were packed during the day. By night the streets were packed, whole families were here. Not today, I have a family and I would not dream of going up there.
Everyone who loved the Cross as I do, remember what it was. It was full of café’s and elegant restaurants, a fabulous mix. Today there is a glimmer of hope. Look at what is happening in Bayswater Rd and Mcleay St. This is the Kings Cross I knew.
Darlinghurst Rd is a disaster . It was once fabulous fun now depraved and despicable. Even the Salvo’s have given up on the place. Once it had character. The only redeeming feature is the train station. It helps you get away, fast. Unfortunately the train does not stop at Fox Studio.
The Cross I knew had movie theatres. I saw Hair there. It was fantastic. Today the place is dying and not even the frequent ambulances stopping there seems capable of reviving it. Killed by corruption and stupidity.
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The past won't come back. And crushing any remaining life out of the place won't help, either. There are simple, inexpensive ways to revive the Cross, but they require positive action and imagination, something our council completely lacks. We know The Cross was wonderful some other time, but even then the same forces were at work crushing it. Read the story above this one for some evidence. The above comment reminds me of those travellers one meets in Asia who go on about how wonderful it was 20 years ago. I would have liked to see it then, too, but I still have a fantastic time there now. I still enjoy the Cross as well, in fact. If I didn't, I would move.
When I first came to the cross in the 60's the dominant language was English and a spattering of Italian.
Today in the Cross it is mainly Arabic,Greek,Chinese and English.
Don't you just love multiculturalism ?
For sure the Cross will not come back. Let’s have the best retail shops by day and the best night life as well. So what if you can go to 100 shirt shops within 5 minutes walk. If you can succeed with a shirt shop in the Cross , or a good Telco, fine.
The market will eventually sort this out. Look at the dirty and run down shops that litter the streets. Its like the back streets of Asia 20 years ago. If Bangkok ,Hong Kong, Singapore and China are any guide, the trashy back streets are vanishing and elegant is coming in.
"Today in the Cross it is mainly Arabic,Greek,Chinese" and Indian and Japanese.
And look at the grubby little shops they brought with them. More suitable for a market bazaar. Bohemia? No way. Bring back the Cross of old and support the anti clustering of poorly fitted out shops.
Walk through the Cross and say I have a bag full if smack and see what response you get. I don't care how you want to kill yourself (prohibition or not).If you want to fill your veins with all sort of chemicals that’s your choice.
But why let them destroy our area and drive us away.
I am tired of meeting so many people who think the area is disgusting. It is, and its indefensible.
As a previous writer said, the hotels closed because the area lost it appeal. Local and international tourists voted and the choose to go elsewhere. I don't particularly care if the editor loves the area . Very few others do.
To say if there are enough people around you won’t notice the junkies. The reverse is the case . There are so many junkies around that you don’t notice the straight people. And that is a fact. I pass Roslyn St when I am returning from the office and I am offered smack.
I’m sick of it and when I can I’m getting out.
Now that's the right idea. There are a couple of other people who seem to hate the Cross too. Could you take them with you?
Good News. Good News.
A smart new cafe is opening on Darlinghurst Rd. It will be opposite the Crest Hotel. Don't leave yet . We can revive the strip. And the more smart shops we get the more smart retailers will follow. There is hope yet. Just wait.
Decent people just don't give up. We will win and brighten up the area. Forget the greasy adult shops. We want kids shops as well. The adult precinct is only a recent thing. We want families and kids of all ages here once again.
"And in reply to the person who commented that all the 'classy' people and artists etc hang out at Fox Studios"
Sorry but I cannot find the use of the word classy in that posting. That is your word.
I use to come to the Cross for ambience. Well all I find is a lot of dead beat’s wandering around with glassy eyes. Do they have a disposable income ? I doubt it . What’s this crap about diversity. A street full of broken dreams, broken souls and broken hearts. Give me a good café any time surrounded with decent retail .In other words bring back the Cross of old or shut it down permanently.
Stuff sitting in the Gold Fish Bar. Bring back Sweethearts, Pinocchio’s and the fantastic Spanish restaurant where the newsagent is or the American coffee lounge. Bring back alfresco dining where the Rex is. The Cross had great café’s and some of the best restaurants in Sydney.
I could not think of a more characterless and soulless place than it is now. I loved coming down to Sydney at Show time. But now the Cross is not worth a pinch of shit. It’s a vast land of the Zombie. Stuff the crap about neon signs. Its okay if you are stoned, bright lights are necessary. For those of us who have our wits, good food and good music are the pleasures. Forget the drugs.
Remember those fabulous art galleries which were up there. Well there is only one left. Michael Nagy Art moved our a year ago to Paddington because no one wanted to come up there.I don’t care how much the Editor argues, the people have voted. The verdict, stay away.
When it come to prohibition about drugs that is not the issue. It will be a long time before that takes place. A very long time. The issue is the present situation. It is positively horrible.
There are many interesting places to go. What's the hang up about the North Shore? Who cares if they have money or not. Just see all the people from other suburbs visiting from Mosman to Manly.
If you want a taste of the Cross of old go to Bondi Beach. Great location,great ambience. Good music, good food and lots and lots of young attractive people.
When it comes to murder, Bondi is significantly more safe than the Cross. Seven da
I use to come to the Cross for ambience. Well all I find is a lot of dead beat’s wandering around with glassy eyes. Do they have a disposable income ? I doubt it . What’s this crap about diversity. A street full of broken dreams, broken souls and broken hearts. Give me a good café any time surrounded with decent retail .In other words bring back the Cross of old or shut it down permanently.
Stuff sitting in the Gold Fish Bar. Bring back Sweethearts, Pinocchio’s and the fantastic Spanish restaurant where the newsagent is or the American coffee lounge. Bring back alfresco dining where the Rex is. The Cross had great café’s and some of the best restaurants in Sydney.
I could not think of a more characterless and soulless place than it is now. I loved coming down to Sydney at Show time. But now the Cross is not worth a pinch of shit. It’s a vast land of the Zombie. Stuff the crap about neon signs. Its okay if you are stoned, bright lights are necessary. For those of us who have our wits, good food and good music are the pleasures. Forget the drugs.
Remember those fabulous art galleries which were up there. Well there is only one left. Michael Nagy Art moved our a year ago to Paddington because no one wanted to come up there.I don’t care how much the Editor argues, the people have voted. The verdict, stay away.
When it come to prohibition about drugs that is not the issue. It will be a long time before that takes place. A very long time. The issue is the present situation. It is positively horrible.
There are many interesting places to go. What's the hang up about the North Shore? Who cares if they have money or not. Just see all the people from other suburbs visiting from Mosman to Manly.
If you want a taste of the Cross of old go to Bondi Beach. Great location,great ambience. Good music, good food and lots and lots of young attractive people.
When it comes to murder, Bondi is significantly more safe than the Cross. Seven days and nights Bondi Beach is packed. That include the winter. You know it also has a very strong retail presence with telco shops. I cannot remember if it has neon signs. What it does possess is a fun atmosphere.
OK, so looking forward, what practical and legal things would you suggest be done to bring back this glorious past? Besides shutting the place down permanently, that is.
It has shut down. Has been for a long time.
Looks pretty permanent to me.
My suggestion to bring back the glorious past.
Find a suitable person to run for state parliament who has a perception of what this community wants rather than running their own personal agenda.
Someone who is not beholden to religious zelots wanting to cash in on the drug business.
Someone who understands why people moved into the area 30 years ago when it was absolutely fabulous.
Someone who understands that there is a balance between business and retail.
Someone who understands that you do not allow brothels and drug facilities in the main street of a tourist precinct.
Someone who can effectively take on State Government liberal/labour to actually do something for the tourist precinct.
Someone with management experience
Someone who commands respect from both sides of politics
Someone who is preferably from one of the major parties ( look how they cleaned up Cabramatta )
Someone who supports reasonable development.
Someone who is cultured
Someone who writes their own speech and present it without reading it
Someone who is not pre occupied with the gay areas of this city
Someone who understands how to deal with the arts community
Someone with a creative bent
Someone who understands the area
Someone who does not pander to minority interests
Someone who understands how nice it is to sit in a club and listen to cool live music
Someone who knows what its like to sit in a cafe on a cold winters day having a hot chocolate and playing chess
Someone who knows that to be a diverse and interesting tourist precinct that children must be welcome
Someone who realizes that you must not allow pin ball parlours to line the streets
Someone who realizes that you must not just appeal to the lowest common denominator
Someone with commercial experience
And someone who will CLEAN THE FUCKING PLACE UP.
That's a pretty big wish-list, and I suspect the person you describe does not exist. What we need are practical suggestions on how to move forward positively. Once we have them, we persuade Council to act on them.
Coming in with jackboots and removing everyone and everything you don't happen to like is not a solution. It's fascism. And beware of that -- tomorrow it might not like you -- or me -- or anyone else. And that's the problem with it.
In Cabramatta, by the way, the zero-tolerance only succeeded in moving the problems to Wetherill Park and Liverpool according to Tony Trimmingham.
What's wrong with brothels? In some countries, the brothels ARE the tourist district.
You are right. This area is a brothel but its no longer the tourist district.
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