The SlickChick 

The PRP.... People's Republic of Parkdale

I sat down in my local café, Mitzi’s, on the corner of my street to write this essay. The guy at the next table, Michael Keith, musician and music teacher, says to me,

"Mattie was just showing us his sexy back"

Mattie waits tables in and around the neighbourhood. I make him show me of course, he pulls off his shirt, he is sporting a beautiful new Haida inspired tattoo. Welcome to my neighbourhood. The PRP, the People’s Republic of Parkdale.

Toronto is a city made up of neighbourhoods. Each with its own characteristics, charm and issues. I tend to think mine is merely more colourful than most. I share my neighbourhood with the haves and the have nots, the blacks, the whites, the brown, the yellow, the mad and the sane, the good and the just, with the hookers, the pimps and the Johns, the drug dealers and the cops, the straight and the gay. There is a little bit of everything here in Parkdale. It is the kind of neighbourhood that teaches you to be open minded and thankful for what you have. If you loose touch with the humanity of your neighbourhood, you loose touch with not only reality, but empathy and understanding as well.

Location, location, location, that is the mantra of the real estate savvy. We have everything going for us here, we are close to Lake Ontario, which keeps our tree lined streets cool during the hot summer days, High Park with its 500 acres of green belt space, the major transportation routes as well as frequent and dependable public transportation and close proximity to the downtown core. This should be the most popular neighbourhood in the city, yet we have a bad reputation, which quite frankly, most of us relish in.
We are surrounded by architectural evidence of a past affluence and prosperity. My house is one of the newer houses on my street, its construction began in 1911, and was completed in 1914. Most of the houses are built butted up against the next, or with minimal space between them. My house is 48 inches from my neighbours on each side. The houses have deep porches were the neighbours sit with watchful eyes.

Everything I need is within walking distance of my house. There is the baker, the banker, the candlestick maker. There are fine dining restaurants as well as casual pubs. There are antique shops, that bustle with trade on Sunday afternoons. It is a happening and hip neighbourhood, filled with artists and musicians, which can be seen having brunch at Easy or The Cadillac Lounge. Live music is always available, and a strong community spirit surrounds the ‘open Mic.’ nites at the local bars.

For me, moving here was either the ultimate fiscal foresight or just dumb luck.. I now reside in a neighbourhood I that I could no longer afford to move into as a first time home owner. If I can’t afford it, how do the poor and the mentally ill afford it? And how will that change the face of Parkdale?

There is an ever increasing gentrification of my so called ‘ghetto’ neighbourhood going on. We have Timothy’s and Second Cup now, ‘the man’ wants to serve us coffee. Even Starbucks has opened here, apparently we have arrived. I try my best to avoid them at all costs. I prefer the quirky little independent cafes owned and operated by the people who live here and raise their children here.

The recently renovated Drake Hotel has become a hot spot of our neighbourhood, or so we are told by the ‘uptowners’ coming down from their ‘white bread’ neighbourhood to slum it here in Parkdale. Don’t get me wrong, I think the place is ecstatically beautiful, and certainly far superior to the crack den that was there before. It show cases the work of many Parkdale artisans, unfortunately that is where the Parkdale link ends. It is only here geographically. It has neither the heart or the soul of Parkdale.

It is impossible to objectively look at my neighbourhood without touching on safety and crime. I feel very safe here. The streets are busy with pedestrians, shops and eateries. If you don’t go looking for trouble, its not likely to come looking for you. As to the crime, most of it is directly related to vice, drugs and prostitution. I remember my shocked naivete years ago, when I realized that the busiest hours of the day for the working girls are between 7:00 and 9:00 am. Their trade is predominantly minivan drivers commuting downtown from the suburbs. Kissing their wives and kids good bye, then grabbing a quick blow job on the way into the office. Spare me the white picket fence suburban happiness, please.

Someone asked me recently, "do you really think it is safe to raise your kids in Parkdale?" I wasn’t sure how to respond without offending, but all I could think was, is it better to teach them the materialism of the more affluent neighbourhood? After all, the $200 Nikes for the uptown/suburban child, is a weeks groceries for a large percentage here in Parkdale. It is important to me that my children are not shielded from the distasteful. Poverty is not something we should be afraid of, instead, perhaps a little shame will make us more empathetic human beings, and in turn, we will try to do something about it, rather than turn our backs. There is vice and danger in all neighbourhoods, not just mine.

This neighbourhood has one of the largest new immigrant ratios in the city. With that, comes diversity of culture. Immigrants bring new flavours and ideas to Parkdale. Eating and shopping for food here in Parkdale is an everyday international experience. People live here from all over the world, creating a neighbourhood that is as diverse as it is eccentric.

Writing this has reminded me of the importance of ‘my village’. To look at the fantastic details on the buildings, to see the many faces that pass me on the street. It makes me aware of the sounds, the foreign languages, the rattle of the street cars. I have deep feelings for Parkdale. It is like a small town in the middle of a large metropolitan city. I walk down these streets like I own them, and I smile at my good fortune to know that I live in a neighbourhood filled with interesting characters and caring individuals.