Will Removing Basketball Nets In Troubled Areas Reduce Crime?
 

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_28871.aspx

Community leaders are always stressing that youth need more extra curricular activities to keep them from the deadly grasp of guns, drugs, and gangs. But one city councillor is taking the opposite approach. Giorgio Mammoliti (York West) wants to remove basketball nets from his ward, claiming that instead of encouraging exercise, they merely attract drug dealers.

"It's going to send the message and that's what we're trying to do here - send a message," he said while removing a net from Strathburn Park in the Weston Rd. and Albion area. "Drug dealers are not welcome in Ward 7. They're not welcome to hang out in the parks. They're not welcome to hang out in our basketball courts."
Councillor Mammoliti's plan is simple. If there's trouble around the basketball court, remove the nets and you remove the problem.

"We've had gang markings and there's a lot of drug dealing happening after school and in the evening and some sexual activity and other nasty things happening," notes Sandra Farina, Humberlea Ratepayers Association.

"It's a shame because there's so many kids around here that want to use it," adds long time resident Gordon Kerr. "And even though it gets sort of overrun at times with outsiders, there's still a lot of kids in here that still use it."
Mammoliti says by removing basketball nets he is simply trying to remove what some residents feel is a magnet for trouble.



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I'm not sure how this will work...

that wont fly, you will never eliminate drugs

Giorgio Mammoliti, the guy with the most questionable purchases with his City issued credit card. This guy is clearly a dumbas$. I still dont know how he can look at the people of Toronto with a straight face knowing he fuks them as much as possible. Ordering Taxi's every time he goes out for a drink because he drank too much (we paid for it) and then we have to pay for the taxi to get him home. Then you got all the Italian deserts and food.
man I hate this guy. So now lets take basketball nets away from kids because of drugs. I see every time the ball passes through the net it rains weed and crack.... what a donkey! Just because basketball nets are gone, doesnt mean the drugs are.

what ? Basketball Courts = Crime LOL what the hell is the Guv smoking this time ?

"youths need activities... so yea lets take away the ball courts .. good idea Jim ... **puff puff pass to Steve **

maybe he should take all shoes off friggin electric wires .. cause we all know thats a sign of drug dealers near too right ... dumb ass

Yea it sure is a pretty stupid idea.

The crime might just go up as the kids got no recreation facilities now.

I don't see the point in that. They're not there to shoot hoopsies. Mammoliti wasting our tax dollars agin.

A park that I designed in Vaughan was scheduled for a half-court basketball court, the idea and design was passed during the community meeting. Two months later, a resident who's backyard faces the park (and directly at the court) claims that it will attract unwanted activities, that basketball equals crime. My director and I replied that it is not the source of crime. Most of the time, it is a wrongful portrait from the media.

Eight months later, he ultimately complained enough and started a petition against the court (who also thought that a "senior playground" is a playground for seniors...) and the fact that basketball court will endanger the senior users while using their playground. Doesn't make sense, I know.

So the petition came in, with signatures from twenty somewhat households - with 19 that didn't attend the initial community meeting. So the question was, where were you when the meeting was called?

He complained enough and eventually, the ward councillor got involved and was forced to hold a second community meeting, just for the basketball court issue - whether is it to remain or not. Then a second invitation was sent out to the residents (over 400 households, the same households as first meeting) and only a handful who attended the first meeting came back, and a majority of new faces who has nothing else to say except the court issue showed.

Debate went back and forth, and a vote was cast after. At the end, those who didn't want the court won by 2 or 3 votes. This new decision pissed off a lot of people because those who wanted it in the first place ended up losing it due to a few comments, out of 400 households - so minority represents majority. They also got pissed because the City held the second meeting, which made the first one seemed obsolete.

I ended up remove the basketball pole and using the credit to plant more trees; but still kept the asphalt surface for hopscotch and whatnot.

So this little story is to let some of you who haven't worked in public sector know that a lot of decisions are driven by a few local residents who only thinks about themselves, not the actual community. Also majority of people don't care what actually goes on in their neighbourhood, as proved by the attendance after more than 400 invitations were sent out, a month ahead of time. Last but not least, councillors care about their post so to ensure they get re-elected the next round, they have to retain their voters and keep them happy.

Of course, my experience doesn't represent every councillor's decision or what actually goes on in each community and ward. But one thing you can be sure is that, if you bi4ch and complain enough, you will get what you want eventually.

thats wack...but its true a basketball court is a place to hang out on the block even if ur not playing basketball...

just have more cops patrol the areas

Why don't they go one step further and just remove the troubled areas?

Simple solution: a couple of good pad locks and metal chain links only cost $20.

basketball courts = black people = government courts

?

they want it completely gone...they dont want any loitering around the parks and basketball nets because it looks bad...so they wanna completely eliminate it...

things don t disappear they just go somewhere else. The public sector is to worried about appearance to focus on attacking the problem at the root cause.

i think the truth of the matter is kids do stupid things, people prey off stupid kids, and without proper parenting and a culture that promotes proper behavior, you're gonna get people doing 'bad' things.

imagine what a proper education class on drugs and crime might do to a younger generation.

"dealing cocaine might be very ludicrous in the short run, but you will likely end up in jail, crippled or dead."

i think the same idea lead to the extinction of the video game arcades... =(

and its not even big drug dealers they are talking about, its those stupid ones that drug deal for the title...its cool to be a drug dealer so they call them selves that and chill at the parks and **** like they used to in the states 30 years ago...the ones that go to jail for a personal bag of weed and come out the next day bragging about how they went to jail...because its cool...supposedly

Trouble will always find a place to go.

ditto