Bombed-Out Rowhouse Swagger (RR)
onetet
1,754 Posts
add on... 
onetet
1,754 Posts
add on...
Comments
This past Friday a dead ringer for this kid
Jumped in front of my (moving, rapidly towards him) car, threw his hands in the air and yelled "Fuck yew!"
Ahhhh, (c)Harm City...
i own this one
Shit was deep...
thanks for the advice though
roof before:
after:
little by little
I really love this record.
Where in the city is your house? Nice to see the work coming along.
coming along nicely, dun! that's whats up
the bowels of the place had to get extreme makeover too.
the facade has progressed a lot since those last pics, but i havent gotten the camoflauge paint on yet!
This needs it's own thread. Something like Extream Bombed-Out Rowhouse Make-Over.
Dungeon
Raid finds squalid Parkdale 'Dungeon'
Lack of affordable housing, predatory landlords blamed as police uncover 'deplorable' flophouse
COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR
Police, fire and public health officials raided this Parkdale building on Queen St. W. last month and found men sleeping amid mice and waste. The basement area where they lived is now condemned.
Jan 18, 2008
Donovan Vincent
city hall bureau
On the street it was known as The Dungeon.
The basement of the three-storey Parkdale building was strewn with debris and live and dead mice. The seven or eight men who reportedly paid $10 a night to sleep there on mattresses and sleeping bags got their heat from a hot plate and an open oven with the elements on. An extension cord that ran through the ceiling powered the oven.
Residents shared a bucket in place of the toilet, which was overflowing with human waste.
That's the shocking scene that greeted Toronto police, fire, public health and municipal licensing officials when they paid an unannounced visit last month. Ward Councillor Gord Perks, who had heard about what was going on at 1398 Queen St. W. before the raid, described the basement as a "Dickensian'' flophouse.
It was condemned just before Christmas, and the rear entrance the men used was boarded up. They have since relocated.
The property is listed under the name of Michael Arjune Singh. The top two floors are residences and the ground floor used to be Downtown Savings, a store that sold discounted mattresses, furniture, gifts and toys. The sign and goods remain, but not the business.
There's a "sold'' sign out front, though a real estate agent representing Singh says the deal hasn't closed yet. Singh did not return the Star's calls.
The owner has been slapped with compliance orders for violations of structural, electrical, building and fire codes. The fire department issued orders to install smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
"It was just so deplorable,'' said Toronto police Const. Jim McFedries ??? "pretty much the worst I've ever seen."
The community relations officer at 14 Division was there the morning the officials came in and found residents congregated in one room, talking.
"They were sleeping in little rooms carved out of nothing,'' according to Joe Magalhaes, an investigator with the city's municipal licensing and standards department who described the men as "socially challenged." McFedries said some were crack users.
After being turfed out of the Dungeon they were offered emergency shelter, but some refused, McFedries said.
It's unclear how long the men had been living there, but he believes it was a few months.
Hard as it is to imagine such a place existing in Toronto, Perks said it's a product of the lack of affordable housing in the city.
A task force in his Parkdale-High Park ward, which includes members of the local Business Improvement Area group, residents' associations and fire, police and public health departments meets every six weeks or so to deal with "problem properties."
It learned of the basement flophouse after hearing complaints.
Perks said one aim of the task force is to crack down on "predatory landlords.''
"We're trying to bring the housing stock up to standards, by bringing them into compliance,'' he said.
The Parkdale neighbourhood has been challenged for years by its cluster of substandard apartments and rooming houses.
Police with 14 Division also deal with problem addresses through their Project HOME (Helping Others Maintain Enjoyment).
Supt. Ruth White started Project HOME there in February 2006 when she arrived from 33 Division, which had a similar program.
She said those desperate for a place to stay are often willing to accept almost anything if it's cheap enough.
That makes them easy prey for slum landlords, she said.
But the program is largely complaint-driven, she said.
"If we don't hear the complaints, often we don't know about it."
___________________
--Nearly 65,000 households in Toronto are on a waiting list for affordable housing.
Advocates blame the problem on the lack of a federal housing strategy and high rents.
--According to a report presented at last year's City Summit Alliance, more than 33,000 rental units became unaffordable between 1996 and 2005.
--Municipal licensing officials have been asked for input on ridding the city of slum landlords.