Month: May 2015

This security video from a car repair business on York Mills Rd. shows the flight of a black Subari as it comes hurtling out of the next door service station. The drop in the height of the property levels differs so the Subari was easily airborne as it crashed through the service station fence. The repair company property appears to be as much as six feet lower. The consensus seems to be that the driver mixed up the pedals. He is in hospital in serious condition. The video is remarkable not only for the flying car but the graphic efforts of rescuers, smashing windows and ultimately, sawing off the roof of the car to extricate the man. Stay with it to see CTV video of later events. All of this occurred about 11.30 a.m in the rain at the normally un-exciting intersection of York Mills Road and Leslie Street.

The east-west subway was temporarily shut down today (Sunday, May 31, 2015) as colourful short circuits hit the Bloor viaduct. Sparks and electrical explosions punctuated the small hours until repairs were made.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s “Becel Heart and Stroke Ride for Heart” takes over the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) for most of the day on Sunday. The Gardiner will be closed from Carlaw Avenue to the Humber Bridge, while the DVP will be closed from Highway 401 to the Gardiner from 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. South Bayview residents should note possible overflow onto street like Bayview Ave during the morning and early afternoon.  More than 14,000 cyclists are expected to take part in the 28th annual event, which starts and finishes at Exhibition Place. The foundation hopes to raise $6 million for heart and stroke research. “The ride is a really great example of an activity that we can participate in as a single person, as a family, at any level, and really reap the benefits and help us prevent these diseases,” Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Teresa Roncon said. Good luck to all riders.

Much-needed rain arrived inconveniently Saturday afternoon for the ceremony to begin the PanAm Games Torch Relay. Organizers and athletes persevered however. On Manor Road near Mt Pleasant wires down caused a brief blackout.

The peacock was out all night and by mid-morning still uncaged, having spent the dark hours in a tree in the the Roncesvalles neighborhood. Pictures show a nice grab shot of the bird by Tom Podolec via Twitter and the growing body of trained peacock keepers who are trailing the bird. There is a feeling that it would like to rejoin fellow peacocks back at the High Park Zoo but bird homing systems are not as precise as we might like. Twitter     “Oh boy, wow” as Peacock thrills Roncesvalles residents

The young Leaside lawyer, Robert Ellis, who spearheaded the fight against 27 Fleming Crescent has forged a community group which is tackling other non-conforming homes in the vicinity of Bayview Ave. and Fleming. In recent days, Mr. Ellis and his friends have triumphed at Committee of Adjustment with respect to an oversize house at 73 Donegall. just around the corner from his home on Fleming Crescent. In the Donegall hearing as Mr. Ellis notes in mail copied to The South Bayview Bulldog the house was “framed up in January/February and is hugely over-sized between two bungalows.” Ellis reports the team did a lot of preparation and was able to show that the owner of the structure did not properly disclose the applicable variances. He tried to get a deferral, but we refused and forced the issue to proceed to a decision and victory. The tower house is history. A story published earlier about the illegal eyesore at 27 Fleming is found below.

First published May 2, 2015. The illegal home at 27 Fleming Crescent will be demolished, The South Bayview Bulldog has learned. The knock-down will be accomplished just as the many neighbors and Leaside residents who complained about the house had demanded. Robert Ellis, the lawyer who lives next door at 29 Fleming, received word that Hy Hirshberg, whose son Jonah is the owner of record, has agreed to knock down the building.

It was built by a previous owner in 2013-14 and has stood closed-in but unfinished since the City slapped a stop-work order on it last year. This word comes as opponents prepared for another round of battle at Committee of Adjustment (COA) on May 7 at 3:30 pm. Mr. Hirshberg wrote to Ellis and others revealing his decision last night (May 1, 2015). Demolition of the present structure however brings a new challenge for neighbors as the owner will be requesting permission to build a  two-story home with variances.

Mr. Ellis wrote to the many Leaside-area people who support him that he will ask COA to require detailed plans from the builder and a comprehensive zoning assessment by the City with opportunity for ratepayer comment. He will also ask for a community consultation meeting on a mutually agreed date not less than 15 days after such plans and zoning assessment are provided. Finally, he will ask that any Committee hearing date is scheduled with proper notice (ideally at a time and date as mutually agreed with the immediate neighbors).

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CNN report by Jake Tapper pulls no punches over working conditions in Qatar. It is an easy target in a number of contexts. Qatar is also said to have many wealthy supporters of ISIS.