Mayor’s News - December 2006
I Love Hackney
Last week I opened a new exhibition at Hackney Museum entitled ‘I Love
Hackney’. It was a great event, full of people who have a very deep sense of
affection and loyalty for the borough, and who welcomed the opportunity to
celebrate everything they love about Hackney.
The exhibition is made up of objects chosen by local people from the museum’s
permanent collection that represent to them what is special about Hackney. It
was inspired by a Channel 4 property programme that cited Hackney as the
second worst place to live in the whole of the UK. Local people were furious
about this misrepresentation of the borough, and let staff at the museum know
how they felt. So the staff decided to do something to redress the balance and
tell the world why Hackney is such a great place.
I would be the last person to deny that Hackney has had, and still does have,
some significant problems. I know that despite the progress we have made over
the past few years, we still have a long way to go before Hackney reaches its full
potential. There is still serious poverty and inequality of opportunity in this
borough, unemployment is still too high and there are far too many families living
in insecure and overcrowded accommodation. Although crime is falling, there is
still a fear of crime, and keeping the streets clean is a daily battle. The Council
has a huge role to play in improving quality of life in the borough, but so does
everyone who lives and works here. It’s really important that people take pride in
Hackney, so that when we clean the streets they stay clean and so that dumped
litter, fly tipping and graffiti become a thing of the past. I want everyone who lives
in the borough to love the place where they live and treat it with respect. That’s
why this exhibition and the sentiment it expresses is important. It’s about
engendering civic pride in all our residents, and about encouraging people to play
an active role in the life of the borough.
There is so much to be proud of in Hackney. You may have read about the
Mayor’s Business Excellence Awards where I presented awards to the best of
the borough’s small businesses. Like the exhibition, this event was an
opportunity to celebrate some of the best things about Hackney. The winning
entries were a real showcase of the talent and innovation that exists in our
business community. It was also great to see students from Skinner’s Company
School receive an award for the best new business idea from Hackney’s most
famous entrepreneur, Sir Alan Sugar.
Another exciting thing happening at the moment is the building work on the new
London Fields Lido which is set to open next year. After months in the planning
stages, the building work has now started, and when the Lido opens it will give us
yet another reason to take pride in the borough. The London Fields Lido will be
the only 50 metre heated outdoor pool in London and will have a seasonal roof
for the winter months. It will attract visitors from all over the capital, as well as
providing a fantastic service to local people.
The I Love Hackney exhibition is running until 20th February at Hackney Museum
and I would urge as many of you as possible to visit. The exhibition, serves as a
reminder to all of us of how lucky we are to live in this unique and exciting place,
so please show it your support.
Mayor Jules Pipe