London's SoHo -- which stretches from Adelaide to Clarence and Horton streets to the Thames River -- may be the city's biggest challenge and opportunity. It's a working class neighbourhood that's struggled with street crime and the prospect of a methadone clinic -- but also has riverfront property that could be developed when South Street Hospital closes. Its former leader has left out of concern for her children. Her replacement says such concerns are overblown. Here are their stories:
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IT'S SAFE
To those who claim only gritty neighbourhoods such as SoHo have problems with drug addicts and dealers, Mark Woodward says this: “Your cocaine drives around in a BMW.”
Born in SoHo 50 years ago, Woodward has spent most of his life there, including the past two decades. In the last year he’s become the leader of the neighbourhood community group, taking the reins after Marie Claire Bylik left.
He knows some in the community complain about feeling unsafe and tell stories about drug dealers running amuck and break-ins being rampant.
But he doesn’t buy it.
“It doesn’t happen nearly as often as hysterical people would lead you to believe,” he said. “It’s not any more dangerous than any place in London.”
Woodward says he’s taking the community group in a different direction than Bylik, who stressed the artistic potential of the neighbourhood and helped organize events that celebrated local artists.
“She was trying to turn it into Wortley Village,” he said.
Londoner's telling tales to disparage methadone patients, say it ain't so.
Londoner's would never do that. I've never seen a Londoner resort to hyperbole and lies when discussing methadone clinics, that would never happen. No way. Except when it Does.
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