Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Is the Crouchendification of Harringay a good thing?
The new Green Lanes bars and cafes opening between Pemberton Road and Effingham Road are beginning to show a clear trend...
New trendy Polish restaurant about to open next to Yasar Halim
Brouhaha doing great guns next door
Passion Cafe with a great new Chef (old Carpet Shop)
New American style Bar and Burger place on the corner (old Obergine) about to open
The inimitable 'Blend' cafe further up
Jam in a Jar bar, food and music venue - now well established
and probably others I've missed...
Next it'll be a delicatessen and a Waitrose....
No complaints provided we don't replace the Mediterranean buzz of Green Lanes with a scene that aspires to Crouch End (& priced accordingly)!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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But as in many formally democratic systems, only formally.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Setz on
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Thanks Michael - I am a bit of a policy wonk so am familiar with the Constitution.
Do you think this is fair:
>>... What the Cllrs are supposed to do is set policy, the 3800 or so Officers who work for the Council are supposed to implement this policy. The trouble is, there are so many other non-Haringey policies to be taken account of, that there are very few actual policies that Cllrs can decide on.
Or, put another way, are any of the policies Cllrs agree to a surprise to any of the officers?
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Or to put it another, the constraints that local government work within mean that local politicians are rarely in a position to surprise anyone.
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"My philosophical conviction is that we did not come to keep the world as it is. We came to the world in order to remake the world. We have to change reality."
— Paulo Freire in a conversation on video a year before he died.
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Exactly - if I were a Cllr, I'd consult heavily with Officers to find out what is practical, legal and, in effect, possible. If you were a long-term Officer (some of whom are paid more than £100,000/yr) you'd surely consider yourself a professional, on top of your brief in the complex world of public administration.
When faced with old Cllrs who are targets for the spleen the Lib Dems so successfully orchestrate here, and young Cllrs who are barely out of University let alone experienced in the realpolitik of local government, the temptation to see yourself as custodians of the long-term interests of the borough must be overwhelming. Palm them off onto a committee. Not only in the borough - there are thousands of them where you can park enthusiasm - government 'initiatives' all.
So, the effect of that is that the real power lies in the hands of the Officers, led by five highly-paid executives - the so-called 'senior management' who are practically invisible in everything we discuss here. If you want anything changed, they're the ones who can quote the statute or best practice that pertains, that must be taken account of. If they are opposed to it, I guess it won't happen or a version modified to suit their view gets rolled out.
Let's take Finsbury Park - who decided to make it into a 'commercial surface' to pay for the upkeep of the rest of the Borough's parks? I doubt it was a Cllr - I guess the Officers in the Parks department saw the £750k profit opportunity at a time of savage central government cuts and 'hey presto' money for nothing and your chicks for free.
Gradually the parks get let out for more and more public events. The negotiations are conducted in secret by Officers. The money starts to roll in. The Cllrs decide it's a desperate financial situation and are grateful to have a little less to cut - the overwhelming logic forces them into agreement and they take it the one step further that politicians are wont to do - they 'own' the policy, going on later to trumpet 'how we saved Haringey's green spaces at a time of unprecedented austerity.
Inspired, everyone looks around for other ways to repeat this 'success' - after all, local residents can object, but what good does that do them when distant residents want the cash spent on their local park? As long as the income is not earned in their own back yard. Those distant residents outnumber the poor sods who have their life invaded by revellers all summer long.
That's my fantasy interpretation - will we ever know the truth?
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Jerry, Gina called at our place early today for her regular Saturday morning chat and private surgery. She tells me she's going to retire soon to spend more time on HOL.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Woods on
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No -= Harringay is better than that!
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Any more info on the Polish restaurant to open next to Yasar Halim? I read elsewhere that a Lebanese place might be opening..
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Is there better olive bread in Hackney than in Yaşar Halim? Do please tell us where.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Yes, Alan Yasar is good for Turkish bread and cakes and when I want Turkish bread and cakes it's where I go (far too frequently, I should add!).
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So, HoL bread fans of all flavours! Please complete the blanks in the following sentence.
When I want -------------------- bread I always go to ---------------- [name and address.]
P.S. Anyone been recently to the Mr Falafel in Shepherds' Bush? Surely among the best in London.
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