LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 1
No. 12 • December 2012
Page 30
Leaside Life leasidelifenews.com
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GROCERY, Page 7
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Not too long ago Leaside had just three grocery stores, all along Bayview Ave. When Whole Foods opens a location at Bayview and Broadway, expected sometime in 2015, we will have seven major grocery retailers. And, for better or worse, many expect that the SmartCentre North development on Wicksteed will eventually include a Walmart, which would also sell groceries. That would be eight big ones, all in an area that has seen little population growth in the past 20 years. And it makes us different. Some rough comparisons, because it’s hard to set the size of a community: Don Mills has three large stores, the Yonge and Eglinton area just one with a Sobeys a bit away on Mt. Pleasant. There are three stores for Lawrence Park, Riverdale and Deer Park. Two for Leslieville, High Park, Willowdale and the Beach. What’s the big deal with Leaside? Let’s look at several answers. “Canada has some of the strongest and most stable returns for supermarkets in the world,” says Don Marleau, a Standard & Poor's credit analyst covering the Canadian retail sector who is familiar with Leaside. “One of the key strengths of Canadian supermarkets – and other leading retailers like Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart,” says Marleau, “is their attractive locations in increasingly dense urban areas.” We’re not increasingly dense. But
B LE VA EN GL Y VIE BA
By ALLAN WILLIAMS
VD BL
LE VA EN GL
S BE
So many retail grocery stores in Leaside
LE VA EN GL
E WE’R
PARKER: We’ll soon know if we have a fight Councillor John Parker says we may have a fight on our hands if the developer of the Post Office site at 2 Laird does not cut down plans more than those presented at a community working committee meeting Oct. 29. (See his column on Page 23.) In the developer’s new proposal the number of suites has been reduced from 98 to 73. Parking spaces have been cut to 98 from 116 and the building height is still eight stories with balconies. Gross floor area is now at 80,000 square feet reduced from 85,000 square feet. At a September community meeting neighbours expressed concerns about traffic, visitor parking, height, density and transition. Brenda Berge of Krawchuk Lane said then the proposed development “would have my house facing a 15-foot wall”. Other residents said the proposed building is out of place and context at an entry point into Leaside. n
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 2
GREAT GIFTS For Nature Lovers of All Ages
Leaside Life, December 2012
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Construction and fund raising for Leaside’s second arena are on schedule, despite October’s heavy rains when no work could be done, says Expansion Committee Chair Paul Mercer. "We've run into the minor delays and issues typical for a project of this scale – the underground service drawings from 50 years ago don’t show as much detail as we might have hoped, and that kind of thing – but so far nothing we haven't been able to work through," said Mercer. He’s optimistic the new arena will be ready in time for the start of hockey and skating season next September. The fund-raising goal now, after successfully getting to $2.5 million this past January, is for $3.5 million by September 2013 when the doors open.
"The good news is that we've already passed the $3 million mark," says Mercer. The new money "would cover some necessary costs not part of the construction contract, reduce the amount that has to be borrowed and so keep financing costs down, and ultimately keep ice rates as low as possible in the future.” Donations of any amount can be made through the East York Foundation by contacting the arena. There are also naming opportunities, including for the new rink itself. When the double arena opens, the existing rink will be known as the Bert Grant Rink following a major donation from a local family. "If someone out there would like the new rink to be named for your company or in honour of a family member, please get in touch," says Mercer. "We'd love to hear from you!" n
OUR Neighbour Neighbourhood, hood, YOUR Realtor
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Gathering with family and loved ones to celebrate the season reminds me of how truly grateful I am for the support I haave received in my real estate business, and the frriendships I haave forged within this wonderful neighbourhood of ours. I am proud to haave been in nvolved in so many local initiatives over the past year, and to haave contributed to the exciting Leaside communittyy proje j cts planned for 2013. I look for ward to wh hat lies ahead! I send you my thanks, and from my home to yours, my sincere wishes for a magical holiday and continued health and prosperity in the coming year.
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 3
Subject: Planes flying overhead I recently read your article(s) about Leaside residents complaining to various levels of government about this supposed issue. I live on Bayview (nearest intersection Parkhurst Blvd.) and the traffic noise most times of the day is high. But you don't see me complaining about it. Do the people of Leaside have nothing better to do than stay up past 1 a.m. to listen for planes flying overhead? It's NIMBYism to an extent I did not think possible. A quote from Peter Malozewski: "It is clear to all the residents affected by this intolerable noise issue that this is the first step in a larger fight, a fight to protect our rights to enjoy the peace of our communities we have worked so long and so hard to build...We did not buy into this issue preexisting. We were not consulted. This was simply done to us and we won't sit back quietly and take it."
leasidelife@gmail.com I suppose these so-called builders of Leaside would prefer that the planes fly over Scarborough or some other less pristine community. I'm appalled that my tax dollars are going to John Carmichael spending his time listening to these elitist snobs who probably have flown on some of those planes flying overhead. The people complaining are likely the same ones who complain about their lattes at Starbucks on Bayview or one of the other coffee shops in the area. The selfishness is mind boggling. I read a story like the one about Sarah Jordan and I feel a sense of pride in the community. I doubt Sarah is wasting her time belly aching about planes overhead. She's too busy making a difference. John Carmichael should be spending his time helping Sarah do more. Instead he's sitting in on whining sessions. This story represents the worst of Leaside and some of the people that live within it. Will Ashworth Bayview Ave.
Harder to get complaints heard I was interested by your readers’ complaints of increased air traffic. Aircraft noise has always been a huge concern for me. My complaints to the Harper government’s Ministry of Transportation (now Ministry of State Transport) met with stock responses, citing out-ofdate research figures. One interesting development was an increased difficulty in locating someone to hear complaints. The original hotline number in the phone directory’s blue pages mysteriously disappeared. Recently, a phone number appeared under an Internet listing, unavailable to those without Internet access. Office hours for this number are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which limits access for someone wishing to complain in the middle of the night, hoping for immediate relief. I found this option extremely frustrating. Barbara Falby Heathbridge Park LETTERS, Page 4
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LETTERS
Leaside Life, December 2012
The selfishness over flights is mind boggling
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 4
Letters From Page 3
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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Sadly, building fails to deliver Re: John Parker’s article, Laird had become a back alley (November issue) I am thrilled to see John’s emphasis on enhancing Laird Dr. with, among other things, pedestrianfriendly store fronts. He quotes the new TD Bank at 211 Laird as an example. Sadly, on close inspection. this building fails to deliver. Go and have a look. It, like all the others, has turned its back on Laird. The only entrance is around the back through the parking lot. We’ve made a start but there is much more to be done to force developers to consider the community and not the car. Phil Penney Millwood Rd.
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 6
Leaside Life, December 2012
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 7
Grocery From Page 1
east of Laird came open for redevelopment. When First Capital Realty proposed the Leaside Village site, says Anthony Longo, president of Longo’s, he was intrigued by the idea of working with a heritage building. But his company had to do its own research first. “We looked at our nearest location – York Mills and Leslie – and found that 9 per cent of our customers there were making the drive from Leaside. That told us that Leaside fit our demographic target, which we describe as ‘families that are food-involved’.” The longest continuously-operating grocery retail store in the area is Loblaws, at Moore, opened in 1963. Valu-mart at Millwood opened in the mid-‘70s and has been run by Rob and Jesse Tremblett since 2007. The former Dominion store at Eglinton was rebranded as a Metro store in 2008. In the early 1990s Loblaws opened a second area location on GROCERY, Page 8
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Leaside Life, December 2012
we have other attractions. Janice Chan, Ontario marketing team leader for Whole Foods, says that when considering locations for a new store they “look for an area with a large number of college- or university-educated residents, which Leaside has.” And, she adds, “A significant percentage of shoppers at our four existing GTA stores – especially at our Yorkville location – were from M4G,” the first digits of Leaside’s and Bennington Heights’ postal code. When Rob Tremblett was thinking about buying a Valu-mart franchise, he too did his demographic research. But he also saw opportunity in the market he refers to as Leaside-Davisville for less tangible reasons. “It’s a real niche area with a small-town feel within the city of Toronto. This is the kind of place where building relationships matters – and that’s critical to small business success. I’m very happy with our decision to choose Leaside.” Longo’s looked at Leaside because the former industrial lands
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:19 AM Page 8
Check
www.johnparker.ca
Leaside Life, December 2012
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for news and updates
e Best wishes of th
season.
Councillor
John
Parker WARD 26 ¡ DON VALLEY WEST
councillor_parker@toronto.ca Toronto City Hall 100 Queen Street West, Suite A13 Toronto ON M5H 2N2 www.johnparker.ca
Grocery
PremierTorontoCentral.com
From Page 7
Redway Ave. and there things stood until 2010 when a Sobeys opened at the new SmartCentre on Laird. Longo’s arrived this past summer. If Walmart brings the number up to eight large grocery retailers in the area, will something have to give? Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys so far have larger floor space so can offer a wider selection of products. And because they are big chains they can compete for shoppers on price, freshness, loyalty programs and convenience. What strategies will the challengers adopt to attract and keep customers? Longo’s consumer spokersperson Rosanne Longo says, “We work to build relationships with our local farmers and we take our in-store experts on field trips to meet our producers and suppliers around the world so they can learn about the produce, meat and cheeses and answer shoppers’ questions.� She adds that the Leaside location offers GROCERY, Page 29
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Champs for four years in a row By BETH PARKER They are champs once again! For the fourth year in a row, the girls grade 6 slo-pitch softball team at Rolph Road Public School won the city championships under coach Brian Deeks. Joining them this year as champs, the school’s grade 6 boy’s slo-pitch softball team, with coach Duncan Gallop, won for the first time. The championship games were held at Centennial Park at the end of October, with finalists from the four conferences of the Toronto Board of Education slo-pitch league (TBSSAA). The girls, students from grades 4-6, were particularly anxious to keep up their winning streak. Deeks, a grade 6 teacher at Rolph Road, has coached the girls every year. He begins recruiting and training in
June. For girls who have never played before, he starts them practicing with rubber balls until they get the hang of it. “We even got the girls together a few times during the summer,” he says. “Then I pick as many as I can and make sure they all play in at least one game. At the final game, however, the goal as a team is to win as a team.” “It is particularly rewarding to see their interest in baseball grow,” he adds. “The girls were very, very excited,” said Beth Pierson, whose daughter, Molly, was one of a handful of grade 4 players on the girl’s team. “Girls particularly get focused on the team aspect,” she adds. “Even doing the cheers becomes very important! “But they are taught to display good sportsmanship and not to go overboard when they know they are
winning.” Pierson’s two older daughters played on previous winning teams and for the past four years she’s been involved herself, supporting the team and helping to coach the bases. “Baseball is certainly alive and well in Leaside,” Pierson says, noting the many activities in the community. Pierson credits the dedicated coaches as well as the kids themselves, who practised every morning, five days a week, since the first day of school. Deeks has seen many who’ve played on the school’s slo-pitch teams go on to play more organized baseball in Leaside. Each player received his or her own medal. And a banner for the boys’ team and a fourth one for the girls’ team now hang in Rolph Road School. n
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 11
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 12
By BETH PARKER Michelle and husband Mitch used to drive through Leaside long before they owned a home here to “pick out” what they wanted. They were looking for a community where they could leave their car parked in the driveway on weekends and walk to buy groceries, go to restaurants and visit parks. They found what they wanted on MacNaughton Rd. and enjoy the family focus in the neighbourhood. Shortly after moving in Mitch was so happy here he jumped in as a volunteer to co-chair the annual street fair. A teacher with a specialty in special education, Michelle has always had a passion for physical activity outdoors. It was one of the main reasons behind setting up her own private school, Gradale Academy, 12 years ago. Gradale operates out of two locations: Rosedale and the Brick Works area. In keeping with Michelle’s personal philosophy of how children learn best, the school emphasizes the importance of the outdoors in education, and what she describes
Leaside Life, December 2012
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Why Michelle started her own school MEET YOUR NEIGHBOUR
How did you end up founding a school? My father was a principal and my mother was a teacher, so I guess you can say that teaching is in my bones. I really did have a dream for a school with an emphasis on the outdoors—and that has come true for me. Just knowing that kids, including my own and my nieces, have the opportunity to learn and explore the great outdoors in the heart of the city has made my dreams and goals feel complete. What do you like about the neighbourhood? Everything we need we can get to on foot!
as “the physical well-being of children in a creative way.” One of her young boys is a student there. The other attends St. Anselm. Any family in the area? My sister lives nearby with her husband and two daughters, both attend my school at the Brick Works.
Favourite spots? We love the restaurants like Vero Trattoria and Riz, because they are so welcoming and friendly, especially to our kids. The staff even recognized us when we walk by! Anything you’d like to change? How about more clothing stores on Bayview for young women? n
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Leaside Life, December 2012
Leaside 100 From the Leaside 100 committee: Mark your 2013 calendar: Our gala evening to celebrate 100 years since the incorporation of the Town of Leaside will be Saturday, April 27. You won’t want to miss this party. We have chosen what might seem like a most unlikely venue, but wait until you see the location on the night. All Canadian Self-Storage on Laird Dr. will be transformed for the evening. We have a 22-piece band for dancing and entertainment after dinner, and another ensemble to entertain with 1913-style music and dance before dinner. Tickets will be available soon. Elaine Fujiwara is our volunteer curator for an Archival Exhibit. She is looking for the loan or donation of artifacts, documents or images associated with Leaside’s history. Please contact her directly at curator.leaside100@gmail.com. Are you the oldest person whose residence has been Leaside for your entire life? Or a member of a family with Leaside connections going back to 1913 or before? Or might there be a baby on the way to be born around April 23, 2013? We are looking for you. Please get in touch. www.leaside100.com leaside100@gmail.com
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 14
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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Sundays during Advent, Dec. 2,9,16 and 23
HOLLY COMMUNION
Nursery care is available at the 8 and 10am services. ChurchKids at 10am.
Saturday, Dec. 1 5 – 7 pm p
ADVENT ADVENTURE
Make an advent wreath and stay for dinner. $20 per family covers it!
Saturday, Dec. 15 – 11 am
CHRISTMAS MEMORIAL SERVICE
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Monday, Dec. 17 – 7 pm
CAROLS WITH FRIENDS
A neighbourhood tradition! Donations of non-perishable food for the Flemingdon Park Food Bank are gratefully received.
Monday, Dec. 24
St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church
CHRISTMAS EVE CELEBRAATTION
,he 9 []d]ZjYlagf _]Yj]\ lg ^Yeada]k oal` [`ad\j]f 0 he ;Yf\d]da_`l =m[`Yjakl
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Tuesday, Dec. 25 – 9 am Sunday, Jan. 6
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Nursery care is available at the 8 and 10am services. ChurchKids at 10am. 4:30pm CHORAL EVENSONG followed by reception.
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 15
Can we preserve a whole street? Leaside Life, December 2012
“We’re at Ground Zero” was this column’s headline in June. Ground zero referred to 68 Parkhurst Blvd.’s role in the effort to protect Leaside’s residential-built heritage. This house is still threatened with demolition and replacement. A new application for minor variances required for a replacement house will come forward to the Committee of Adjustment Dec. 13. Neighbours can only hope that the new house’s style, massing, height and materials are appropriate for the area. Back in April the Committee of Adjustment deferred indefinitely the application, to allow time for the neighbours to hear from the applicant with more acceptable plans. At the same time a heritage nomination for listing and designation was submitted to the city. Since then, the planning and heritage processes have continued along independently. One of them, planning, may be ending soon. The other, heritage is still in process. A heritage evaluation report on the property has not yet been presented to the Toronto Preservation Board. However, based on recent experiences in Lawrence Park with comparable houses, it appears unlikely that the house will be evaluated by Heritage Preservation Services as worthy of listing and designation. In those cases the houses were deemed not to meet any of the criteria in the Ontario Heritage Act, not even the contextual value. In fact, context is a big part of what this is about – the street context. 68 Parkhurst is a representative example of “Leaside character”. It is part of an uninterrupted block of houses similar (but no two being exactly the same) in scale, massing, height, design and materials. There is rhythm and beauty in the streetscape context of the properties, not just in the individuality of wellproportioned homes. So it appears that barring a miracle we will lose 68 Parkhurst to demolition, but what of Parkhurst neighbour Renee Jacoby’s concern that “If the demolition occurs this would… likely kick-start an irreversible transition of the street and neighbourhood”? How can we move forward with protection for the street? The Leaside Residential Character Preservation Guidelines for House Renovations, Additions and In-Fill Development in the Community of
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Geoff Kettel
Saving old Leaside Leaside were prepared by the City of Toronto and the Leaside Character Preservation Advisory Committee in 2003. They define objectives under four elements: pedestrian realm/ streetscape; front entrance and parking; mass and scale; and building elements that if conformed with by owners and developers would maintain the “Leaside character”. Unfortunately there is no legal imperative requiring that this be done. The Leaside Property Owners’ Association regularly requests in its submissions that the Committee of Adjustment enforce the guidelines in its rulings on minor variance applications. But, to no avail. There is also a provision in the Ontario Heritage Act that can be used to provide protection for streets. A heritage conservation district is an area comprising more than a single property, that offers protection from demolition and alterations that are unsympathetic to the district character. Heritage conservation districts allow for a holistic approach to managing change. The same criteria apply as for a single property designation (design or physical value, historical or associative value, and contextual value) plus two additional values: social or community value, and natural or scientific value. If this is all about the street, does Parkhurst merit consideration as a
heritage conservation district? Consider this except from John Bentley Mays’ The Strangest House on Parkhurst Boulevard, in his book Emerald City – Toronto Visited (1994): “Shady under its old hardwood trees, East York’s Parkhurst Boulevard is a comfortable modest street of family homes, none grand but none particularly mean, arranged side by side on narrow lots with mid-size aprons of lawns fore and aft... “Like that of countless other suburban streets in Toronto, the architecture of Parkhurst is an artifact created in response to trauma, As the first houses began to go up, the Great Depression was still a vivid, terrible memory. The last houses were completed in the years immediately following the Second World War. The architects of Parkhurst showed how well they knew their clients when they crafted a street of small, oldfashioned homes redolent with memories of happier times. “The result was a kind of hospital disguised as a street of homes, instituted for the healing of souls damaged by some fifteen years, first of economic breakdown… and next, mechanized warfare. In the closely related styles and closely aligned sizes of the houses, the street speaks of a uniform commitment to an idea of family life from the earlier twentieth century – the benign, companionable patriarchy which succeeded the more rigorously hierarchical Victorian one. By offering a continuation of the suburban building styles of twenty years before, the builders proclaim the street’s continuity with the pre-crash, pre-war world of the buyers’ childhood.” STREET, Page 17
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 16
January deadline: DECEMBER 10 leasidelife@gmail.com
Leaside Life, December 2012
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LEASIDE GIRL GUIDE annual bazaar, Leaside United Church in the gymnasium, Saturday, Dec. 1, 10-1. Crafts, Christmas treats and fun items made by the girls and their leaders as well as a snack bar. CAROLLING IN THE PINES, Northlea United Church, a unique experience, Sunday, Dec. 9, 7-8 p.m., 125 Brentcliffe Rd. Accompaniment by Scarborough Citadel Salvation Army Band, collection to support their Christmas Appeal, with Santa for the children and hot chocolate provided by the Scouts. Bring flashlights, dress warmly. SWEDISH FOLK DANCE & Christmas event, Friday, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m., Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury, 1847 Bayview Ave. Tickets $20, Children 12 and under $5, available at the door. ADULT BADMINTON, Leaside United Church, 822 Millwood, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-2:30 p.m., mixed round-robin for all abilities. $80 for season or $5 drop-in. Ann Dunlop, 416-425-3768. KIDS’ CLUB, Leaside Presbyterian Church, 670 Eglinton, Friday, Dec. 7, 9-4 for children JK-Grade 7 with youth in Grade 8 and up appreciated as helpers. Music, crafts, baking, outside play and more. To volunteer or register, Rev. Angela or Phyllis. LEASIDE LIBRARY, 165 McRae Dr., 416-396-3835 Chess in the Library, Saturdays, Dec. 1–29 (except Dec. 15) 12–1:30. For children, teens and adults. Registration required. - National Film Board Film Club, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2 p.m. Drux Flux (5 min.) and Surviving Progress (87 min.) - Customer Appreciation Day, Saturday, Dec. 15, 11 a.m. Hot chocolate and goodies. - Create Your Own Snow Globe, for tweens and teens, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 5 p.m. Bring your own medium-sized transparent container with a lid. Special assistance and subsidized spaces with strict confidentiality.
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 17
The natural, social, architectural and historical dimensions of Parkhurst Blvd. described by John Bentley Mays suggests it is a “cultural heritage landscape,” under the Ontario Heritage Act. So should Parkhurst be considered for Leaside’s first heritage conservation district? We say again what we said in June. “This is still a work in progress.” n
Leaside Life
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From Page 13
Leaside Life, December 2012
Street
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 18
Leaside Life, December 2012
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And now for something a little sexy By BETH PARKER Leaside may seem a long way from Saskatoon, but for this rising star—and local resident—it’s one of the reasons she loves our community. “I’m from Saskatoon, and used to a small town feel,” says Melissa Veszi, “This neighbourhood (Bayview and Eglinton) reminds me of home.” Although only in her 20s, Vezi (whose stage name is HunnyB) is making a big impact as a Canadian actress, model, dancer, and singer/ songwriter. She’s just finished gigs in Las Vegas and the Empire Lounge in Yorkville, and released two hit singles on iTunes: Jack and The Unknown. Jack quickly climbed to the top of the charts and has become a hit on international dance floors. This Dec. 1, she’ll release a third, Home for Christmas. “People love my music,” she says, “I bring lots of energy and emotion to what I do, but most of all, it’s all relatable. So many people have gone through what I write and sing about at some point in their lives.” Described by some as a sexy and sassy performer, Veszi’s pop/R&B style is mostly directed at those under 40. Young teens particularly love her music, although she warns, “One of my songs should probably be rated 18-plus. Canadian-born, Veszi adopted the stage name HunnyB because her first name Melissa means honeybee in Greek. "I just loved the translation," said Veszi, whose parents are actually of Hungarian and Trinidadian descent. Veszi initially trained in musical theatre in Edmonton but came to Toronto three years ago to get closer to the music industry. Since then, she’s performed across the country, sung the national anthem at MLB games, entertained audiences at the National Ballet, and become involved in both film and television. Apart from a trip to England in November to perform, Veszi is spending the next few months in a Toronto recording studio working on her debut album, The Time is Now.
By producing the CD under her own label, HunnyB Entertainment, she feels she is better able to maintain complete creative control. “I’d love to have my label picked up by a large record company,” she
says, “But only if it’s the right deal.” In the meantime, anyone interested in listening to her vibrant style of pop with a mix of soul, can check out her mix tape on line at www.hunnybentertainment.com. n
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 19
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:20 AM Page 21
Most have noticed fencing at the northeast corner of the SmartCentre at Laird and Wicksteed. The area is being prepared for a larger LCBO store, the last building to be completed on the site, and will open in June with about 12,800 square feet of retail selling area. Sobeys will expand into the space currently occupied by the current LCBO store. Big shout out to Leaside Movember team members. By growing moustaches, Movember men raise funds and awareness during November for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. The Leaside team is 27 strong and except for the two female members are growing moustaches. Supporting the effort with sponsorship are eight local merchants and service providers: Grilltime Gourmet Meats, SupperWorks, Leaside Fox & Fiddle, Tremblett’s Valu-mart. Direct Repair Auto Collision, Patrick Rocca, Smokin’ Cigar and FLOKA Salon & Spa. At this year’s annual meeting the Leaside Garden Club honoured former president June Murdoch with a
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By BETH
Leaside Life, December 2012
In our Hood
pin for 25 years of service. President from 1993-2001, Murdoch was a driving force in helping to grow the club (no pun intended) and continues to be an active member and volunteer. Two other Leaside members, Dave Money and Edna Beange, received 25-year pins earlier this year. It’s been a holiday feature for at least 40 years—the annual Girl Guide Holiday Bazaar featuring all local Leaside groups (Guides, Brownies, Sparks, etc.) To be held Dec. 1, the event is now at Leaside United Church because it grew so much they needed the space. Barbara Ann Smith, Leasider and long-time Guide volunteer with the 259th Toronto Guide Unit, tells us, “The Bazaar is particularly good if you are on a tight budget,â€? noting the wide variety of quality crafts, dĂŠcor and gifts for sale. King for two days; Local resident Dave Moffat is thrilled to play one of the Three Kings in one of Toronto’s longest running Nativity pageants. Held at Little Trinity Church (downtown) this year marks the event’s 75th anniversary. “I get to wear a huge gold cap and crown and march up and down the isles,â€? says Moffat. Moffat hopes that other Leaside residents who may have been in the production over the years will come out for this year’s event, Dec. 7 and 9. n
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:21 AM Page 22
Leaside Life, December 2012
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2 Laird Dr. Former Postal Station R. Another development site. Another condo application. Does it have to be this way? I have been told that Leaside residents don’t want their city councillor to explain things to them. They want their city councillor to tell them how he intends to fight to protect their interests. Let’s try a bit of both. About a decade ago the city adopted an official plan in accordance with provincial law. That official plan designates 2 Laird – the former post office site – as suitable for mixed use development. Which means, essentially, that the property owner is entitled to pursue a range of development options (residential/ office/retail/etc.) or a combination thereof. It also carries with it the expectation that any development on the site should provide a suitable “transition” to its neighbouring land uses. The new owner of 2 Laird has de-
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clared its intention to build a midrise residential condominium. Its goingin proposition was for five stories of brick construction that would generally match the height of the existing multi-residential buildings in the area, and three glass-walled levels above that. My comment to the applicant at the time was, “Well, of course that will fit right in with all the other eightstorey buildings in Leaside, won’t it?” (There aren’t any.) “But did you happen to notice the two-storey single family dwellings on Malcolm immediately to the north of your property, and the three-storey town houses on the other side of the laneway to the west?”
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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I have told the applicant and I have told the community that the present application will not fly. I have invited the residents of the immediate neighbourhood – Malcolm Rd. and Krawchuk Lane – to join me in a working group to respond to the applicant’s proposal. I have encouraged them to make the community’s priorities and concerns known. The issues centre on matters of traffic (of course), size and bulk, shadowing, management of building systems (e.g. garbage collection challenges), overall appearance, and relationship to neighbouring dwellings. For my part specifically, I have told the applicant that I want a total height no greater than the highest level already in the vicinity, generous setbacks and landscaping, terraced townhouse-type treatments facing across from the existing townhouses on the lane, and ample setback and terracing to buffer the impact of the development from the first home on Malcolm to the north. I have also told the applicant that I favour fewer, larger units rather than more, smaller ones. (As it turns out, the intended market - Leaside empty nesters - has delivered the same message. This is a good sign.) I have put forward a few other demands. For example, the existing townhouses facing Krawchuk Lane open directly onto the lane itself, with no sidewalk. I don’t know how that design got approved. I want the new development to accommodate a reconstructed laneway that provides the sidewalk that should have been there in the first place. The ball is now back in the applicant’s court. We will soon find out if the applicant got the message, or if we have a battle on our hands. n East York, Ontario - The East York Agnes Macphail Recognition Committee seeks nominations for the 20th Annual Agnes Macphail Award. Agnes Campbell Macphail (1890 – 1954) was the first woman elected to the House of Commons (1921) and the first seated in the Ontario Legislature (1943). During her years in office, Agnes Macphail focussed on issues of equality rights and social justice. Each nominee must be a resident of the former Borough of East York and an outstanding contributor to community life, Nomination forms are available in public buildings in East York. The deadline for nominations is midnight, January 31, 2013.
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:21 AM Page 25
Alan Redway Former East York mayor and federal cabinet minister
Who would buy this town hall? You have seen the sign. The former Leaside Town Hall at the corner of McRae and Randolph is for sale. But who would buy a former town hall attached to a fire hall, once the home of the Leaside Fire Department, then one of three East York fire halls and now one of 92 Toronto fire halls? Although Leaside was incorporated in 1913, its fire department was not organized until 1929 by which time the town had a population of 605 residents and a total of only 15 industrial and commercial buildings. The Leaside Volunteer Fire Department was established at a ratepayer meeting held at Leaside, now Bessborough, school. The 44 people who were present elected a chief, 3 deputy chiefs and 18 firefighters from among those attending. The first chief was D.J. Bell, the father of the late long-time Leaside and East York Fire Chief Ernie Bell. His volunteer fire brigade held practices once every two weeks on Saturday afternoons. They recorded fire locations on a blackboard so that late arriving volunteers would know where to go to fight the fire. The original fire equipment was all donated. Durant Motors, then on Laird, gave the first fire truck. The CNR donated the first fire hose. Canada Wire and Cable gave the first fire hose reel, as well as providing free parking for the fire truck in one of its garages at the corner of Laird and Wicksteed. Unfortunately Canada Wire had a number of identical garages. Sometimes the truck was moved from one garage to another resulting in a significant delay answering an alarm while volunteer firefighters tried to locate the truck. The original fire alarm was a piece of railway track tied to a tree and struck by a hammer. Between 1929 and 1941 the truck was stored in a number of different locations including: the corner of Laird and Markham, Chief Bell’s REDWAY, Page 26
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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home at the corner of Bessborough and Parkhurst, and a metal garage at the corner of Hanna and Sharron across from Bessborough School. That was important because fire calls were made to the school caretaker who would run over to the garage to sound the siren mounted on its roof to summon the volunteers. In 1941 the town purchased another fire truck moving both to the Supertest gas station then at the south east corner of McRae and Millwood. In 1949 the present fire hall was built as part of the town hall. At the time of the 1967 merger with East York, Leaside was employing 53 full time firefighters, all of whom became part of the East York Fire Department. The town hall but not the fire hall was declared surplus in the late 1970s and sold to long time Leaside resident the late Herb McGroarty who subsequently stood for and was elected to East York Council. The town hall has changed owners more than once but thank goodness the fire hall and our excellent firefighters are still there to serve and protect our community. n CORRECTION
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You are not a safe distance away Many Leasiders believe that their homes are located “a safe distance away” from any of the currently proposed local development projects, so they will not be affected. They are wrong. They think that because their homes aren’t in the immediate FRIPP, Page 27
LeasideLife issue 12 nov_LeasideLifev1 12-11-20 11:21 AM Page 27
vicinity of, say, the proposed SmartCentre North mega-mall at Laird and Wicksteed, or of the former Leaside post office at Laird/Millwood and Malcolm (currently proposed to be replaced with a huge condominium), these developments don’t pose any danger to their own quality of life, the safety of their streets, or the values of their homes. The truth is, we are all affected, both as individuals and as a community. All of us will see increased traffic on our streets if these developments take place, and a less safe environment as a result. All of us will notice the decline of the Leaside “brand” as new, high-density forms replace the scale of our neighbourhood. All of us will find that unwelcome building types and activities, if approved by the city, can be used as precedents for permitting similar unwelcome developments elsewhere in Leaside. This erosion of our community is not inevitable. But it is much more likely to happen if Leasiders are either uninformed or uninvolved. Sometimes working groups have been initiated by our city councillor, these groups composed primarily of those local neighbours living closest to the development in question (for instance a working group of people most immediately affected by a massive proposed eight-storey condominium on the site of the former Leaside Post Office). These working groups, which also include representatives of the developer, are important, and raise valuable perspectives. But valuable though they are, they are not a substitute for full and open public consultation. The Laird/Millwood/Malcolm corner is the gateway to Leaside, and deserves maximum exposure to comments and suggestions from all Leasiders, to ensure transparency and neighbourhood-acceptable solutions. This is why it’s important to be members of your local ratepayer group, the Leaside Property Owners’ Association, and to contribute to LPOA and to Leaside Unite, a subcommittee of the LPOA, who are coordinating the fight against the other big local issue, the SmartCentre North shopping centre. Both have websites with news updates, organize public meetings, and raise funds FRIPP, Page 28
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Leaside Life, December 2012
Fripp
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Fripp From Page 27
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As noted in my earlier columns, LPOA and LU met with city staff in the summer regarding the SmartCentre North application. Recently we have started to receive copies of new reports from SmartCentre’s consultants, as well as comments from city staff. At this point it looks as if it will not be before sometime early in 2013 that the application reaches North York Community Council for a vote. As we go through the reports we will keep you informed, and will want to represent your comments and suggestions. ______ Contact LPOA by attending our monthly meetings (7:30 p.m. first Wednesday of each month at Trace Manes) or write to us: LPOA, Sunnybrook Postal Outlet, 660 Eglinton East, PO Box 50055, Toronto M4G 4G1. You can also e-mail Leaside Life with your comments: leasidelife@gmail.com. n
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over 300 cheeses with a pairing expert available for advice. Janice Chan of Whole Foods says, “We want to educate our staff so they can tell you about the fruits and vegetables and where they came from. We put the local farm location right on our signage.” Whole Foods also aims to be a trusted source for natural organic products and food for persons with special dietary needs. Rob Tremblett takes a different tack. His Valu-mart store is competitive on quality, freshness, selection and pricing, but he always comes back to building relationships. “I work with the local hockey and baseball teams, the Rotary Club and their annual corn roast, the schools and all their activities – like Sarah’s Food Drive at Thanksgiving. Being part of the community means giving back – it’s a two-way street – and I believe that if you support the community, the community will support you in return.” Tremblett’s Valu-mart has been a generous supporter of the arena expansion project, as has Longo’s, which announced a major donation deal when it opened its Leaside store in August. There is a concern for the future. “The landscape in Canada for food retailers is relentlessly competitive and dynamic,” says retail expert Marleau. “Fast-growing discounters pressure margins that currently rank ahead of U.S. peers.” What that means for Leaside, translating the industry jargon, is that even those stores that compete for shoppers with higher-quality product, knowledgeable service and community engagement can’t afford to let their prices get too far out of line with what consumers could find in a No Frills, a Food Basics or a Walmart. So it seems Leasiders will continue to enjoy a wide range of grocery-shopping options at least in the short term. But with “destination stores,” both high and low end, locating here and drawing customers and their vehicles from further afield, especially for Walmart, what benefits the consumers of Leaside in prices may force the residents of Leaside to pay a price in traffic increase. Sobeys, Metro and Loblaws were each invited to participate in this story but none responded to requests to provide a spokesperson to be interviewed. n
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HOMES MUST SELL Leaside Life, December 2012
Grocery
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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Thanks to all readers and advertisers Happy first birthday to us! First off, thank you for your encouraging words and interest in our newspaper. And thank you to our advertisers, for without those advertising dollars, there would be no paper. In putting together a paper that comes out once a month, we have to figure out what you will want to read in a few weeks’ time. Much as we’d like to, we can’t be on top of breaking news, because our cycle is too long. This could be solved with more frequent papers, but all of us involved have other things we enjoy doing – so don’t look for a weekly version of Leaside Life with our names on it. We really would like to include more sports stories, and have more news from schools, especially if written by students. So far, that’s not happening, but if someone comes along with skills and time… One of what we thought was an interesting idea that went nowhere was the offer to place a free ad for a garage sale. On the other hand, our free event listing section has usually been at least a column long. Thank you to everyone who contributes to bring that local information to your neighbours. I was surprised at how few letters we’ve received. We have actually printed most that have come in. We welcome constructive criticism, comments on the most recent issue, and ideas for future stories. We also know that you read the paper carefully. We have at least three sets of eyes proofing each issue, and still we miss something. Sometimes, it’s a typo, and sometimes the facts are wrong. The goof I best re-
Lorna Krawchuk Publisher Leaside Life
member is one of mine, where I had trees giving off carbon dioxide. And of course, last month, we had a perfectly good word, but the wrong one, in the first sentence on page 1. As some of you know, our distribution is split between Accurate Distribution for houses, and Canada Post for apartments, condos and businesses. After a somewhat rocky start with Canada Post, we got agreement that as a community newspaper there was an obligation to deliver to all addresses we requested because we are not to be considered as junk mail. I know it’s difficult to report something that hasn’t happened, but if you haven’t received Leaside Life by the start of a month, please let us know so we can follow up for the next run. The only place we drop multiple copies is at the Leaside Library. We hope you appreciate that we now have the paper printed on a higher-quality, whiter paper than when we started. The web version of the paper is coming along. Look for us at www.leasidelifenews.com. Our aim is to have the web version up at the same time, or maybe even a bit before, the print edition is being delivered. That would mean you could get a sneak peak, or even let friends out of the neighbourhood know how to keep up with Leaside. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there. I mentioned our advertisers at the start of this column. To complete
the circle, we hope that you will patronize our advertisers, and let them know you saw their ad in Leaside Life. To write to us: leasidelife@gmail.com ______ A number of you have asked how Leaside Life got going, and why. The how part is fairly simple when you realize that Ruth and Harry Goldhar have many years of newspaper experience in their backgrounds, partly as the original owners of the Town Crier chain of newspapers. Before last summer, Ruth and I had a conversation about whether there would be a place for a very local newspaper. That conversation percolated over the summer, and by the end of September, we had hauled in my neighbour, Andrea Villiers too. And thus, it began. And the why? In some ways, that is harder to answer. Ruth, Harry, Andrea and I have lived in Leaside for more than 100 years altogether. We know that Leaside is a very special community within the big city. It’s really hard to know how to inculcate that sense of neighbourliness with the changes that have happened since we were a sleepy little inner suburb. And that’s what we’re hoping you’ll feel when you read this paper – that you are a part of a community – and that, as such, you have a part to play in its overall life. We hope you will realize that it’s more than okay to smile at someone you don’t know as you pass on the sidewalk. And it’s really okay to check on your neighbour whom you haven’t seen for a bit. n
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Leaside Life, December 2012
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