Neighbourhood Personality

2011 photo of Sarko, local Yonge/Dundas Personality by Dan Cornin

One of the things I often love about certain places are the neighbourhood personalities. Be they buskers, preachers, homeless, or just plain personalities, they can make places interesting by virtue of being there.

The first one I can think of was the late "NSLC Pirate", Chris Doyle, a fixture in Halifax for as long as I lived there. He would stand out front of one of the liquor stores downtown and trade donations for cards educating people about being hearing-impaired. Despite his wild look (long grey hair, eye patch, and scraggly mumble), he always seemed to have a smile on his face that cut through you. I know Halifax is a little dimmer without him.

In my brief time here in Toronto, I've seen three other individuals that I feel have contributed to the atmosphere here in the Big Smoke. I only know the name of one of them - the next time I see the other two I should ask - but like Chris Doyle, they've made Toronto a more interesting place.

Sarko the Preacher: pretty much everyone who lives/works near Dundas Square knows this guy. If the name isn't familiar, his two common phrases ("Believe in the Lord!" "Jesus is the way to Holy God!") and propensity to scare the heck out of the unsuspecting might trigger your memory. Unlike some of the other religious-types around this area, Sarko doesn't rely on spewing dogma or fancy equipment to try and reach people. He has a simple technique that - after the initial shock - becomes quite charming.

Depending on who you ask, you might hear that he scares people on purpose, but the thing I most enjoy about him is how he subtly reveals who is "new" to the area. Much like those stories of the "newcomer" in a city (who is identified by another character because of some trait), Sarko helps divide the residents from the newcomers. Those who know him are completely prepared for his sudden cry can calmly walk on by. Tourists and suburbanites however, often react with first with a fright (following it up with a laugh as they take stock of what just happened).

I won't  regurgitate my issues with the Yonge/Dundas intersection, but I will note how effective he is in using his space. Most buskers/preachers/panhandlers can't use the sidewalk on the north side of the intersection effectively because it's simply too small. They instead gravitate towards the sidewalk adjacent to the Eaton Centre, or to the north side of Dundas near the subway entrance where there's more room. This means that Sarko has little to no competition, being able to stand near street infrastructure that people would have to walk around anyway.

The Tim Horton's Door Man: there's a rotation of individuals who open the door for customers in front of the Timmy's just north of Yonge and Bloor, but the guy I'm thinking of is tall, has a beard and ponytail, and is often wearing denim. He's part of a kind of unique group of panhandlers I've not seen in Halifax, those who try and provide a service (however small) in exchange for your change. I haven't been in the area much within the last year, but I hope he's still around (if he hasn't found something better).

Like Chris Doyle, this guy always does his job with a smile on his face. He'll offer to watch your dogs while you go in to grab a coffee, and he understands that just because you didn't have any some loose coin on your this time (I'm horrible for taking a few dollars off my debit card for a medium regular and one of their orange-carrot muffins), there's always next time. Even just walking by him can put a small spring in my step; I'm one of those people who are all too eager to hold open doors for someone. It's a level of courtesy that is sometimes hard to find here in Toronto - even if the man's motives are financial in nature.

I've noted that this section of Yonge Street has a miserable sidewalk, but part of what makes this guy work here is his inherent mobility (you can't squat in a place to open a door). There's another guy who regularly sits nearby trying to sell Outreach newspapers, but the logistics of setting up a folding chair on a busy sidewalk sometimes makes it hard for him to be visible against the crowd (I occasionally see him near the Toronto Library to the north, which has more room, but less traffic). Like anything, the way we construct our cities can force people to be creative in order to be heard.

The Loblaws Busker: If you're familiar at all with the Loblaws on St. Clair West (it's on top of the subway station), you can often spy a man there either singing in a baritone voice, sometimes strumming along on a guitar. He's relatively new to the area (that I know of); he started out with just himself and a cup held in his hands, but has since upgraded his performance to include an instrument, and seemingly more "normal" hours (which is, if nothing, some measure of success).

He's honestly kind of a mixed-bag as far as songs go; I thought (given his voice) that he was singing mostly gospel music, but I notice more and more that he has instead taken to singing more crowd-favorite tunes. Of course you'll hear songs from bands like the Beatles, but his quirkiest "cover" has to be his rendition of the Crash Test Dummies "Superman Song". His voice isn't too far away from Brad Roberts, but he sings it with a level of optimism and joy that gives it a very different tone than the original.

The thing I like about this guy he helps animate was is otherwise a pretty miserable section of St Clair West. The Loblaws itself (while in a good practical location) is across the street from subway infrastructure (particularly for the streetcars going east/west into the subway station), and across from it is a park. Nothing against parks, but it causes attention to be drawn toward the large right-of-way. In other words, being on this sidewalk feels like being sandwiched between a large-scale grocery store and a giant road. Not the most pleasant of feelings. Buskers in this area therefore help take your mind off the crushing infrastructure. Given the length of the store, there's probably enough room to have a busker at both the entrance to the subway station and at the entrance to Loblaws, although knowing the city they'd just try and monetize it.

A few general observations:

1. Just because someone is looking to part you from some of your loose change - scruffy looking or not - does not mean they can't add something to the neighbourhood. 
2. The way we build our cities can either enable busking/preaching/panhandling in a healthy manner, or it can inhibit it to the point of crowding performers into a tight space, competing with each other instead of getting their message across.
3. We should never doubt the creativity and ingenuity of people to make the best out of the space they've got. Remember: if the goal is to stop "panhandling" then one must tackle the root causes of poverty, not the outcomes.