Swans, Tents and Murder threats in Finsbury Park.

kreuzkav · July 2013

@ Idoru, I think most of their parents didn't give much thought to giving birth to them and bringing them up. Zombie land!

krappyrubsnif · July 2013

Shall we ask the council. And FOIA them if necessary?

ADGS · July 2013

Ghastly little oiks. Having myself been raised with repeated reminders that swans can break your arm, you know, I'm very disappointed that these particular swans didn't prove that in their own defence.

twinspark · July 2013

The money from events in the Park used to fund kids summer holiday activities - day camps for a mixture of sport etc. at FP athletic track and at New River etc. A councillor that lived in Scarborough Rd sorted it - also residents of Vic. Terrace, Perth Rd . etc. got free tickets for noise nuisance.

gardener-joe · July 2013

...

Detritus · July 2013

Council logic, my old council up north would not come and fix the fence at my mum and dads house after a council van had driven into it. This was a council house after I phoned up to complain I was told I should come and fix it after I pointed out I was living in LA they then said I had no right to moan. I wouldn't trust a local councillor as far as I could throw them.

pie eater · July 2013

The park police can often be found in Hamlet cafe....

ChangN4N6 · July 2013

We should a go there and talk to them . My landlady Joyce knows them well. Chang

DillysDad · July 2013

I'm afraid that I have been on at the council and MPS Haringey for 2 years about the problems In the park. Park staff have been cut by over 50%. The guys you see in the park are responsible for all of the greenery in the borough. This includes Queens Wood, Parkland Walk, every park and 'green space' on every estate. Veolia aren't contracted to touch any litter in our green spaces. Needless to say that park staff are feeling somewhat hard done by. Lewis, the head guy in Finsbury Park is a lovely chap and I honestly get the impression that they would love to do more ... This is impossible (bearing in mind that 4 people used to do Lewis' job). I have spoken to the Haringey Borough Commander and he shares the same disdain for litter, ASB etc and keeps telling me that the SNT (safer neighbourhood team) will have more of a presence. This hasn't happened. I use the park for at least 2hrs every day (walking Dilly). I have only ever seen our SNT on a few occasions. These are: assisting the traffic police dish out fines to motorists, assisting the new dog wardens (which in principle I agree with but the wardens should also be responsible for litterers and other park ASB) and last week (having complained about the tents, litter, rough sleeping, prostitution and human faeces for the umpteenth time) I saw a van of police drive in (which at the time I thought was a result, until I saw them turn around and drive straight back out again.) So, the problems we have are a combination of the council cutting park staff and the police not foot patrolling the park and people thinking it's their right to act in whatever manner they see fit. Both institutions are burying their heads in the sand, leaving us, the public to pull people up for ASB. I have politely accosted several people for urinating, BBQ-ing (sounds daft but disposable bbq's are ruining the grass and are never properly cleaned up after) and littering ... Most of the time time this has resulted in confrontation. Good on you lot who continue to try to educate some of the more selfish types in our borough (and beyond). We'll get there in the end. And if we don't, well, at least we've found some like minded people to start a commune with in the event of an apocalypse.

Mirandola · July 2013

That's the spirit.

Detritus · July 2013

The way of the world is it will only change when a serious assult happens, it is not fucking good enough.

DillysDad · July 2013

According to park staff, someone got stabbed in the park a couple of Saturdays ago. About 7pm on a hot evening when the park was packed.

Detritus · July 2013

And yet nothing happend, sorry but exactly what use are local councillors? Apart from getting their name noticed so they can run for mp. Feathering their own nest as most in the political world do.

ChangN4N6 · July 2013

Agree about the inactivity of the Clrs. This sounds like a crisis - stabbing, fires, prossies, harrasment. Can't Cllrs pull together and have a meeting? Chang

Detritus · July 2013

They can't do that chang it might lead to change. The status quo will never change. They don't want to work just get the glory, thats how it feels.

Mirandola · July 2013

Glory? C'mon. Councillors from all parties are by and large hard-working, well-intentioned and badly paid. Standing for council for the glory is like becoming a solicitor for the thrills.

Arkady · July 2013

Nor do councillors have much influence over the Met. Also our local councillors do not run the council, more's the pity.

Detritus · July 2013

Once bitten... I can only go on what I know from up north but freeloading, backstabbing, inept, greedy and tossers are words that spring to mind when thinking about them. Let them prove me wrong by actually doing something about the Park and I will gladly apologies.

krappyrubsnif · July 2013

Arkady - can you explain to us how councillors don't run the council? I agree, they obviously don't. But why not? Isn't that what we elect them to do?

Detritus · July 2013

What do they do?

Arkady · July 2013

I meant that our Stroud Green councillors are among the opposition to the failed state that is Labour-run Haringey.

DillysDad · July 2013

I've always gone through Lynn Featherstone. She has written a few good letters re: the park. The problem is, they always end up on poor Lewis' desk and left for him to answer. The problems are above him. On the subject of LF, it's very tiresome that every time you mention anything wrong with the borough she does the standard 'yeah, Labour are rubbish' response. I find this tiresome. I couldn't give two tosses who is to blame, not sure any of us care, surely we just want shit to work? Also, couple of non FP things I have approached her about, she has always voted with the party whip. Not once has she voted against party policy. So it's a bit of a waste contacting her about anything that goes against Lib Dem policy.

Arkady · July 2013

"Liberal Democrat Minister in 'tends to vote for Lib Dem policies' shock". Someone tell the Ham & High. Forgive me @DillysDad, but isn't your 'I just want sh*t to work' position a teensy bit naive? MPs are elected to represent their constituencies at a national level. They - quite rightly and deliberately - have limited influence when it comes to influencing local govenrment, especially when that local government is controlled by a different party. If you want to make a difference, and help to shake-up the useless council, then there will be a good opportunity to vote Labour out in the May 2014 local elections. @Detritus: http://www.beacouncillor.org.uk/whatdo/ - note that you are in Islington, and the park is in Haringey, so your local councillors have close to no influence at all on what happens in the park!

Ali · July 2013

The Featherweight vs West general election battle should be interesting. Could well be change of MP around here as we all know the "Torys can't win around here "

quince · July 2013

I wouldn't count out Lynne Featherstone. She's ferociously well-organised. When I lived on the Haringey side, there would be Lib Dem stuff through the door every week or so; now, on the Islington side, I barely see anything. They don't seem to want for funds.<div> </div><div>Several local (Haringey) councillors are active on the ladder mob forum. Be careful what you wish for.</div>

DillysDad · July 2013

I don't think it's naive to represent constituents thoughts. Take the badger cull for example. Way more people contacted LF to oppose the cull than in support of it, you should have read the rubbish email she sent back! And my point about wanting 'shit to work' is in reference to the then and us tactics that all MP's favour.

Arkady · July 2013

I would like to see that email, actually. We have a representative democracy. All politicians must balance between their constituents' views (taking into account that email campaigns often give a distorted view of those views) and the party line. In addition, it's also very difficult for ministers to go against the party line without surrendering their influence in government, due to the convention of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_collective_responsibility">collective cabinet responsibility</a>. Your view of democracy seems to be somewhat populist, where politicans might ideally be replaced by referenda on every single issue. But in a representative democracy politicans are entitled to reach their own view after appraising the evidence and taking the views of others. If their constituents don't like those choices then they they can vote them out. Ali's implication that Ms Featherstone is not a serious politician - despite her succesful and term-defining bill to bring in gay marriage - is not credible.

miss annie · July 2013

@ADGS Oh, that would have been glorious. So local council experts, any ideas wherethe park pimping money goes now the sports facilities are in private hands?

Papa · July 2013

I think the 'just want shit to work' comment is actually pretty much spot on for much of the electorate's general view of things across the political spectrum and at national and council level. It might be populist but the general desire for our reasonably high level of taxation and state-directed spending to actually translate into roads, parks, schools, hospitals, name your poison, that are up-to-the-job and looked after is spot on. As a nation we've watched business and public sector executives grow increasingly rich and shareholders milk our 'public services' for dividends, while being saddled with a mountain of public and private debt. And yet nothing bloody works properly: our roads are falling apart, our parks are dirty, our schools are substandard, our hospitals are closing, our public transport is overpriced and slapdash, our police are noticeable by their absence, etc. That stuff matters whether you read the Daily Mail, the Guardian or the Morning Star. It's about time we started demanding better value for money - and holding MPs and councillors personally responsible for not getting things changed rather than allowing them to hide behind the party machine. A campaign to demand where the money from pimping out the park has gone sounds like a decent way to start chipping away at some of this. At the same time we should demanding from Islington where the Emirates Stadium pimping money is going and what residents are getting in return for their inconvenience.

Ali · July 2013

Quince the problem is that the LibDems are same as same as in their messaging so you tend to stop hearing the message

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Swans, Tents and Murder threats in Finsbury Park.

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