Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Frank,
Will do. Understand that this trip is not so long, but probably I will be back.
Cal
Vince Lupo
Whatever
The Bike Place, 3096 Dundas St. W., Louis Zammit. His inventory isn't high-end or anything, and it's a small shop, but he's been in business over 30 years and is the best mechanic in the business.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Vince,
It is places as such that are pleasures to visit. Anyways this looks to be a great place to investigate local bike culture.
Cycling kinda changed and saved my life. Really important to me, even though I no longer race. (Never was really competitive, but I liked pushing myself.)
Anyways cycling taught me how to relax and take care of myself. Today I look and feel remarkably young. Simple pleasures...
Cal
Vince Lupo
Whatever
It's an interesting area where he is -- called The Junction. Dundas west of Keele. That still has some old Toronto neighbourhoodiness about it.
Don't forget to visit St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday morning -- any kind of fresh food you want!
emraphoto
Veteran
Bad and run-down areas in Toronto... I do my street photography practice every time I'm in Toronto. From Union station up to Bloor Street, down from Bloor on Bathurst, Ossington to Queen, King St West and back to Union. I walked on Younge from Eglinton to the Bay/Union. And on Jarvis, Spadina from South of the Bloor. I can't find bad. Where are many mentally ill people, hobos, baggers and addicts. Every time you close to the shelter it will be more of them. But bad... I'm visiting Toronto since 2003 and I have to call 911 only once. One guy pulled out the knife on Jarvis near the shelter.
Same for run-downs. It is not Buffalo, Detroit thing. Old low rise areas are all looking as run downs to me after Europe. But not as bad as in USA. Toronto is nice and quiet and this is why it is overdeveloped in some used to be nice for photography areas.
If you want more of Canadian "bad and run-down" flavour take the bus from Union to Hamilton. More run-down areas and more people of welfare... Old industrial now run-down zone is within 10-12 miles walking cyrcle from it. Mix of closed or somewhat functioning steel production and old houses built right on the same streets. It will take almost same time as going to Jane and Finch from Union and ... find what nothing special is where...
Hamilton Downtown and Industrial Park.
agree totally. if you want 'run-down' or 'gritty' head out into Ontario's rust belt. communities like Hamilton, Brantford, St. Thomas and further southwest have been hit very hard by the collapse of manufacturing here. drugs, poverty, urban decay and lot's of unemployment. there are some once flourishing communities here that have turned into ghost towns. shells of their original self.
make sure you pay Stephen Bulger a visit while in Toronto
http://www.bulgergallery.com/
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Forgot another old-ish Toronto restaurant -- The Patrician Grill on King St.
Neat coffee place -- Tango Palace on Queen St. E.
And don't forget to try peameal bacon!
Neat coffee place -- Tango Palace on Queen St. E.
And don't forget to try peameal bacon!
rscheffler
Well-known
Toronto will have more snow and colder weather than NYC. I've been to NYC a few times in November and the leaves on the trees were still turning... meanwhile here in Southern Ontario everything was already bare. Consider also that spring doesn't really arrive until sometime in May and planting season starts at the end of May. That said, Montreal will be colder with more snow. Someone mentioned Edmonton... even colder in the winter! I was there recently and it seems to have its share of rundown/dodgy areas too (a drug bust with drawn guns happened right in front of me, lol). Toronto being right on the lake, it doesn't get as cold or snow as much as it does a bit north in cottage country... but it's probably relative, as in it will be colder than NYC...
I guess if you're already used to the high cost of living. Toronto is on that track. Lots of people are looking for relief from soaring housing prices in places like Hamilton mentioned by Ko.Fe. BTW, I live in Hamilton. It probably wouldn't be a place that would interest your partner so much, but IMO, it's an interesting mix of new, old, gritty, modern, brown fields and green expanses of nature. All in a much more manageable size than Toronto.
I've done the photo-walk Ko.Fe. mentioned, from my car mechanic's place in the northeast industrial area through the north end neighbourhoods, to downtown. Did it most recently during a blizzard in February. It was great.
Hamilton is also a halfway point between Toronto and Buffalo... if you want rundown areas, you should really check out Buffalo, and there are also some really amazing old neighbourhoods. IMO, it's places like Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Gary... that have amazing character (though at least what I've seen in Pittsburgh, there's also a lot of gentrification happening). Maybe similar dilapidation also exists in Canada, but I haven't found it as readily or in such vast amounts.
Weekend getaways to Montreal are easy from Toronto. Either take the train from Union Station, or catch a flight from Toronto Island Airport. Toronto is a great hub for these kinds of trips, given that it's Canada's largest city, there are daily non-stop flights to pretty much every major city in North America. But the rail network in Canada won't really compare to the US east coast. Nor is Toronto's subway system anywhere as comprehensive as NYC's. It gets you around, but you'll probably have to rely on buses more, if you're not riding your bike.
If you're really thinking of immigrating to Canada, you shouldn't wait to get the process rolling... the impression I have is this has all been re-jigged recently and processing times have become longer.
Lastly, you can still shop at B&H and get free shipping to Canada. Seems to take 2-4 days on average.
I guess if you're already used to the high cost of living. Toronto is on that track. Lots of people are looking for relief from soaring housing prices in places like Hamilton mentioned by Ko.Fe. BTW, I live in Hamilton. It probably wouldn't be a place that would interest your partner so much, but IMO, it's an interesting mix of new, old, gritty, modern, brown fields and green expanses of nature. All in a much more manageable size than Toronto.
I've done the photo-walk Ko.Fe. mentioned, from my car mechanic's place in the northeast industrial area through the north end neighbourhoods, to downtown. Did it most recently during a blizzard in February. It was great.
Hamilton is also a halfway point between Toronto and Buffalo... if you want rundown areas, you should really check out Buffalo, and there are also some really amazing old neighbourhoods. IMO, it's places like Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Gary... that have amazing character (though at least what I've seen in Pittsburgh, there's also a lot of gentrification happening). Maybe similar dilapidation also exists in Canada, but I haven't found it as readily or in such vast amounts.
Weekend getaways to Montreal are easy from Toronto. Either take the train from Union Station, or catch a flight from Toronto Island Airport. Toronto is a great hub for these kinds of trips, given that it's Canada's largest city, there are daily non-stop flights to pretty much every major city in North America. But the rail network in Canada won't really compare to the US east coast. Nor is Toronto's subway system anywhere as comprehensive as NYC's. It gets you around, but you'll probably have to rely on buses more, if you're not riding your bike.
If you're really thinking of immigrating to Canada, you shouldn't wait to get the process rolling... the impression I have is this has all been re-jigged recently and processing times have become longer.
Lastly, you can still shop at B&H and get free shipping to Canada. Seems to take 2-4 days on average.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Vivian Maier locally printed in Toronto prints are on the display in this Gallery until September. It is nice street photography photowalk from this location and on the Queen St all way to the Younge St. Sun is behind after afternoon.
back alley
IMAGES
...and i'll be in nyc for first 2 weeks of september...
BLKRCAT
75% Film
What they said.
You could come to my hood on weston rd. First and last time I shot there I was swarmed by ethiopans, apparently threatening me.
Most places suggested are pretty much safe. We recently had some armed home invasions around the corner from my house and you never trust anyone. I wouldn't say I live in the hood, because people don't look at you like you shouldn't be there, but you get the feeling that if you were shooting, people would give you a hard time for everything.
Also queen east isn't as sketchy as most say it is. However Sherborne can be. Lots of drugs in that area, people are unpredictable.
You could come to my hood on weston rd. First and last time I shot there I was swarmed by ethiopans, apparently threatening me.
Most places suggested are pretty much safe. We recently had some armed home invasions around the corner from my house and you never trust anyone. I wouldn't say I live in the hood, because people don't look at you like you shouldn't be there, but you get the feeling that if you were shooting, people would give you a hard time for everything.
Also queen east isn't as sketchy as most say it is. However Sherborne can be. Lots of drugs in that area, people are unpredictable.
rscheffler
Well-known
I take some exception to this one-sided portrayal, at least in respect to Hamilton.
Yes, there are rough and gritty areas here, thankfully, and there are a fair number of people on social assistance (in part because it's the nearest 'real' city with independent social services from Toronto...) but that is not the only picture of Hamilton. Leave the industrial north end and you'll find downtown revitalization (the condo developers are doing their best to follow Toronto's lead) and vast expanses of green space in the west end around the university.... I would not call Hamilton a ghost town or a shell of its original self. Rather, it's in the process of transforming while retaining vestiges of former industrial times when that was the primary economic driver of the community. IMO, it's the range of old, new, gritty, modern, blue-collar and professional in a manageable, non-megaopolis size, that makes Hamilton so interesting compared to neighbouring cities. But my GF does find it boring here, compared to Toronto... (she's from an asian city of several million)Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Bad and run-down areas in Toronto... I do my street photography practice every time I'm in Toronto. From Union station up to Bloor Street, down from Bloor on Bathurst, Ossington to Queen, King St West and back to Union. I walked on Younge from Eglinton to the Bay/Union. And on Jarvis, Spadina from South of the Bloor. I can't find bad. Where are many mentally ill people, hobos, baggers and addicts. Every time you close to the shelter it will be more of them. But bad... I'm visiting Toronto since 2003 and I have to call 911 only once. One guy pulled out the knife on Jarvis near the shelter.
Same for run-downs. It is not Buffalo, Detroit thing. Old low rise areas are all looking as run downs to me after Europe. But not as bad as in USA. Toronto is nice and quiet and this is why it is overdeveloped in some used to be nice for photography areas.
If you want more of Canadian "bad and run-down" flavour take the bus from Union to Hamilton. More run-down areas and more people of welfare... Old industrial now run-down zone is within 10-12 miles walking cyrcle from it. Mix of closed or somewhat functioning steel production and old houses built right on the same streets. It will take almost same time as going to Jane and Finch from Union and ... find what nothing special is where...
Hamilton Downtown and Industrial Park.
Thanks for the post.
I helped gentrify Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Long Island City before they were conquered by hipsters.
One day I hear a sound like someone dragging a refrigerator down concrete stairs, and my girlfriend asked me what was making that sound.
"I don't know," I said, but I lied. I recognized the sound of someone emptying a clip on a hand gun.
One day when leaving my loft in the Southside of Williamsburg I found a shell casing from a 45 on the sidewalk not far from my door.
In Greenpoint by the Brooklyn Queens Expressway I discover a flock of seagulls dead on the sidewalk that were drawn to the location by garbage before they were shot to death. Down the block someone took advantage of the desolate abandon area to check the spread of a shotgun on a stop sign.
In Long Island City by Queens Plaza my Nikon F3 in my right hand using a Nikon AH-4 hand strap was mistaken by a local as a handgun. I only realized this as he ran ducking for cover behind a mailbox.
Also in LIC a truck driver mistook my Gossen Luna Pro as an undercover cop's badge holder. "You finally came," he said to me, and it only become clear when he mentioned that he had dialed 911 twenty minutes ago.
Only twice have I had hand guns pointed at me, and both times were NYPD. Once was a case of mistaken identity where it could of been just like in the song "Heartbreaker" from the Rolling Stones. I remember the song because it came out around the same time that the two cops surprised me with their guns drawn yelling. "Police-Freeze." Had I ran due to fear, a natural reaction to the cop car that almost ran me down and the complete surprise I likely would have been ventilated.
The other time was during a robbery at a McDonald's where I was working. Pre-SWAT Team the cops came in and yelled, "Freeze" with the perp that had been pistol whipping a manager right behind me. Funny thing is no one listened to the cops and all the customers in that McDonald's hit the floor except the perp right behind me and me. If there was a gunfight, again I would likely have been ventilated.
A third possible time was during the robbery of a bakery. The girl working told me she had just been robbed and that the guy just ran out was wearing a hat. What she did not tell me was that the guy had a gun before I ran after him.
Just last summer I almost got pinned against my building by a cab. The driver thought he had the transmission in drive when in fact he was in reverse. When he gunned the gass he jumped the curb, ran over the nose of a Camaro and luckily found himself perched in the air on top of some wrought iron tree fencing, otherwise me and one of my neighbors would of gotten hit standing on the sidewalk. We would have been just another news story.
Two years ago I was targeted by a full water bottle thrown from a Public Housing Project. The bottle and its contents splattered within a few feet of me, and was thrown fro a high story. I think just some kid playing around.
Currently I live in East Harlem where 25% of the population lives in Public Housing, and about half the population receives a government check of some sort. Just down the block is a halfway house that use to be called "The Parole Transition Institute" where ex felons are concentrated.
When I lived in LIC there was the Q100 bus that took you to Riker's Island the prison. Also Queens Plaza happens to be where prisoners are released.
It seems these forsaken places that are wild and are run down are the places I feel most at home. I know NYC and grew up when it was almost like Detroit (bankrupt and abandoned). I think I'm due for a change. I don't think my next move will be into the South Bronx, the next poor neighborhood that is gentrifying.
Basically I want a stable home where I might not get priced out.
Cal
BLKRCAT
75% Film
^^ spoken like a true hamiltonain, "hey! its not THAT bad here!"
Vince Lupo
Whatever
Or "it's not as bad as you remember!"
Though I must say the Royal Botanical Gardens nearby are gorgeous.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Now that I live in Madhattan I use the bus more for shorter trips or when a bus is better service. I think for me Toronto has mucho to offer and seems like not only a safer city, but also more managable in a sustainable manner. The air quality in NYC really stinks, and as I age it bothers me more. The "Q" factor is my fashion blogger girl. Irish, English and Dutch does not do well in tropical humidity and temperatures above the mid 80's. Urban I must go.
It does seem that Toronto is not that far away. Also two decades ago I was an avid surf caster, off shore fisherman, and pin-hooker. I want that part of my life back. Recently bought a fly reel for a fly rod that someone gifted me. I will be trying to catch a reported 5 pound small mouth bass that lives in the Harlem Mews (North end of Central Park) that has been caught and released several times.
Sadly for true urban decay, crime, neglect, mismanagement, and abandonement there is nothing like the U.S. and its cities. Nothing to be proud of.
As far as my medical condition it is the bitter cold that I must avoid where it is arctic cold or severe wind chills. My blood thickens to the point that I loose circulation to my extremities, face, ears, and nose. I basically turn blue like a smurf. This can lead to anemias (low red blood cell counts), but so far I have been weathering NYC winters just fine.
Anyways I am fine with being home by myself, and I do like solitude.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Joe,
I'm going to PM you with my contact info. Will be good to see you again. Lets do some shooting. My gal gets one weekend day, and I am free on the other. Also I have plenty of vacation time so even during the week, but I have to plan ahead.
Cal
dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
Keep all of us in mind if you're going to do (or want to do) a small and/or brief meet - Earl isn't too far (in Rochester), Gene is in Port Credit, Guy is around somewhere as is Pete and Victor.
Cheers,
Dave
Cheers,
Dave
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Dave,
Thanks for the invite, but my gal who is an academic is fried and truly needs a vacation. I'm a bit of a lazy slacker and not so tense.
The world is not so big and we get around. I say there will be a day in the future but perhaps only by chance on this trip.
Pretty recently I set up two Megabus excursions from NYC to Philly. One trip was only me with two other New Yorkers, and we met up with Ben from Philly.
On the second trip a half dozen New Yorkers took the 2 hour ride on the Megabus ($31.00 roundtrip) to Philly again to meet-up with three locals from Philly (Randy and Ben are occasional NYC Meet-Upers) and Gary for the first time.
Anyways we went to Eastern State Penitentiary to shoot. The day was overcast which provided amazing lighting of a prison that was in use for 142 years and abandoned in 1971. Today it is considered "preserved ruins." Anyways the shots of the un-restored parts of this prison are wonderful, and I think I captured enough to complete a body of work.
Please stay in touch if you ever get to NYC. Like I told Joe I got plenty of vacation time to take off and go shooting. Be prepared to walk a lot.
Cal
emraphoto
Veteran
I take some exception to this one-sided portrayal, at least in respect to Hamilton.
of course, no offence meant to any of the communities mentioned. Hamilton is awesome and i am there often.
i grew up in 'east van' (vancouver) a few decades back so gritty and tough just reminds me of home. whenever i mention the neighbourhood i live in now to locals they immediately tell me to be careful. funny stuff