ward27news.ca » News

Condos becoming part of Toronto’s affordable housing tool box

Alina — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:31:14 +0000

May 21, 2013, The Star.

With more than 70,000 households languishing for years on Toronto’s affordable housing wait list and few public dollars available for new construction, the city is turning to its burgeoning condo market for help.

Half a dozen condominium developers have inked deals with the city and non-profit housing providers to offer low-income families and individuals affordable rental and ownership units in their buildings.

Update on Fire at 914-920 Yonge

Alina — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:45:18 +0000

Updates from Brookfield Property Management

* Brookfield has advised that as of February 22, updates will be provided weekly on Fridays.

The May 17 update is available and can be seen here.

The May 10 update is available and can be seen here.

The May 3 update is available and can be seen here.

The April 26 update is available and can be seen here.

The April 19 update is available and can be seen here.

The April 5 update is available and can be seen here.

The March 28 update is available and can be seen here.

The March 22 update is available and can be seen here.

The March 15 update is available and can be seen here.

The March 8 update is available and can be seen here.

The March 1 update is available and can be seen here.

The Februrary 22 update is available and can be seen here.

The minutes from the February 21st meeting with residents is available here.

The February 19 update is available and can be seen here.

The February 15 update is available and can be seen here.

The February 14 update is available and can be seen here.

The February 11 update is available and can be seen here.

The February 8 update is available and can be seen here.

The February 7 update is available and can be seen here.

To read the February 6 update, click here.

To read the February5 update, click here.

To read the February 4 update, click here.

The townhall meeting minutes from February 4 are now available and can be seen here.

Brookfields has also provided an update on changes to access to the building, available here.

Toronto Water Reports from January 30, 2013

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam submitted an FOI request for the Toronto Water records for 914 Yonge Street, for property owners who are making claims. Below is the result of the request.

Toronto Water FOI for 914 Yonge.pdf

Fire Services Incident Report

Councillor Wong-Tam has obtained the Fire Services Incident Report through a Freedom of Information Request. The report can be viewed here.

The Toronto Water report has been requested and will be posted to this site once it becomes available.

Emergency Human Services Appeals

If you have completed an assessment with Emergency Human Services for continued support and accommodation and have been deemed ineligible, you can appeal the decision. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has submitted a letter to the Chair of the Appeals Committee in support of the residents of 914 Yonge Street. Councillor Wong-Tam has also sent a request to Mayor Ford to also lend his support to the appeals. The letter can be viewed here.

Appeals must be made in writing. Evacuees may submit appeals by email to ssha@toronto.ca, or epunit@toronto.ca, by fax to 416 397-4554, or by mail to Emergency Planning Unit, Shelter Support and Housing Administration Division, Metro Hall 55 John Street, 6th floor, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3C6, Attn: EHS Appeals.

More information on the Appeals Process is available here.

Property Tax Appeals

Councillor Wong-Tam is working with Revenue Services to determine a streamlined process for Property Tax Appeals for all property owners. Information will be posted to this website once further details are available. For information on the Property Tax Appeals Process, please see this fact sheet.

Emergency Human Services Update:

The City of Toronto’s Emergency Human Services is distributing a letter to the residents of 914 Yonge Street with an update on what services will be available after February 18th, 2013. The letter can be viewed here.

If you will need further assistance with housing after February 18th, Councillor Wong-Tam encourages you to register with Emergency Human Services as soon as possible. Information on how to register for an assessment for eligibility for services is included in the letter.

Councillor Wong-Tam has requested a list of hotels that may be able to offer a preferred rate to 914 residents after February 18th and will post this list to the website. If you have questions about your insurance coverage, the Insurance Bureau of Canada provides consumer assistance at 416-362-9528 or 1-800-387-2880 (toll free), www.ibc.ca.

Please note that if you would like to appeal your assessment, please contact the reception centre at 416-676-1509.

Councillor Wong-Tam has requested a copy of the Toronto Fire Services Incident report and will post it to this website once it becomes available.

The Reception Centre at the Toronto Reference Library will be closed permanently at 5:30 pm, Friday, February 8, 2013. For information on how to continue accessing services from City of Toronto Emergency Human Services, please click here.

The Ward: One of Toronto’s more historic, yet forgotten, communities

Alina — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:10:35 +0000

May 20, 2103, The Star.

A week from now, thousands of people will fan out across Greater Toronto to take advantage of a once-a-year opportunity to poke inside intriguing buildings that are often closed to the public. As in previous years, the Doors Open roster includes architectural gems, cultural or religious institutions, and heritage buildings.

But there will be no doors to open in one of the city’s more historic, and yet most thoroughly forgotten, communities — a once dense Kensington Market-like precinct known as “the Ward,” home to thousands of poor immigrants who arrived here between the 1890s and the 1920s. The area, which today would likely be described as a “priority neighbourhood,” later became Toronto’s first Chinatown.

Yorkville Plaza construction site becomes a place for artists to shine

Alina — Sun, 12 May 2013 14:50:37 +0000

May 8, 2103, The Globe and Mail.

A new installation from artists Daniel Borins and Jennifer Marman has dramatically changed the walk down Avenue Road in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood.

Their new artwork was unveiled Wednesday morning on Avenue Road and Cumberland Street, inspired by prominent art movements in history: landscape painting, 1960s abstract and contemporary Day-Glo. It wraps around the future site of Yorkville Plaza, expected to be completed in 2014.

A 2011 campaign by Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto Centre-Rosedale city councillor, resulted in a requirement that condo developers put public art on hoarding boards around building sites. Developers must agree to do this, at their own expense, before their application is accepted.

Pusateri’s would keep Yorkville valet area under city compromise

Alina — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:47:02 +0000

May 10, 2013, The Star.

A “compromise” with city officials would allow Pusateri’s to keep the valet zone outside its Yorkville location — but the local councillor says she still wants the zone removed in order to widen the sidewalk.

Frank Luchetta, the president of the high-end grocer, had said the store’s very existence was threatened by an earlier city plan to eliminate the Bay St. “lay-by.” A lobbying firm pleaded his case to councillors and Mayor Rob Ford.

City transportation officials have relented. Under a new proposal, the lay-by would be retained but made 5.5 metres shorter (19.5 metres instead of 25 metres) and 0.5 metres narrower (2 metres instead of 2.5 metres).

Duly Quoted: Rob Ford on Bixi

Alina — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:47:26 +0000

May 7, 2013, Torontoist.

“It should be dissolved. It’s a failure.”—Toronto mayor Rob Ford speaking to reporters today about the future of bike-sharing program Bixi, which is facing an operating shortfall. Bixi opened in Toronto with some help from the municipal government, which guaranteed the company’s loan.

Newsstand: 1 metre Passing Rule for Cars and Bikes

Alina — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:56:38 +0000

May 4, 2013, Torontoist.

Friday is even more pleasant when the sun is out. In the news: defibrillators could be better placed to save lives in Toronto, the fight over David Dunlap Observatory ends peacefully, one Toronto councillor wants a passing rule for cars and bikes, and Ontario has a new budget.

Extra, Extra: Animal Heads, TV Hosts, and Utility-Pole Wraps

Alina — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:54:26 +0000

May 4, 2013, Torontoist.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) is trying to get city council to allow the Art Gallery of Ontario to install the sculpture seen in the video above—Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads, by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei—in the reflecting pool in Nathan Phillips Square.

Bixi bike program: Developer incentives can help, councillor says

Alina — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:53:32 +0000

May 3, 2013, The Star.

A Toronto councillor is proposing that less space for cars could help save the Bixi bike program.

Kristyn Wong-Tam has tabled a motion for next week’s council meeting that, if approved, would give developers an incentive to set up bike stations in their underground parking.

In return, developers would get to cut the number of parking spaces in their project, saving them $50,000 to $70,000 for every space they don’t have to build.

How Kristyn Wong-Tam plans to save BIXI Toronto

Alina — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:51:22 +0000

May 3, 2013, BlogTo.

Allowing developers to cut the number of parking spaces in new residential developments could saveToronto’s ailing bike share program, says councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. Current city rules allow builders to trade parking capacity for auto share spaces or ring-and-post locks, and Wong-Tam wants BIXI stands added to that list.

In a member’s motion to be heard at city council next week, Wong-Tam will ask transportation services and city planners to investigate the feasibility of expanding BIXI using developer’s money at zero cost to the city. The new stands could be funded out of a pool of money and placed where there’s the most demand for bike infrastructure.