City will save facade and open space of Station K

by  • 

In recent days a plan to save the facade and public space in front of Postal Station K has become apparent.  The new owner of the property, The Rockport Group has agreed to work with city planners and the community to create a re-development which retains the landmark 1936 architecture. A news release from Karen Stintz  (Ward 16 Eglinton Lawrence) says Rockport will build a proposed development “which will provide for the retention and enhancement of the public open space, the retention and reuse of the front portion of the building, the demolition of the rear portion of the building and the construction of a residential building on the property.” Thus it seem the corner of Yonge St. and Montgomery Ave. will be the site of new condominiums. Whether Rockport will want to work in some retail elements is unknown at this point. The height of the structure is also yet to be decided. Some of this was reported yesterday on the UrbanToronto website which has some nice pictures of the bas relief so typical of the “Dominion” buildings of the 1930s in Canada.

Toronto Prep School Open House Sat, Feb 23

by  • 

Toronto Prep School, 250 Davisville Ave., is holding its open house on Saturday, February 23, 2013. As many will know, Toronto Prep School is a university preparatory day school featuring what is called “an extended before and after-school study program and rigorous academic environment designed to challenge and nurture each child.”  The school likes to emphasize small classes and a healthy, active lifestyle. It  is a traditional private, co-educational school for grades 7-12 students surrounded with a Goodlife Fitness club in the school. Students are provided with a complimentary Goodlife Fitness Membership and can also access a sports field, baseball diamond and tennis courts.

Grim scene as woman swept down Mount Royal

by  • 

MONTREAL  –Advice:  Be aware video maker uses the s–t word several times as a woman is swept down McTavish Street on the McGill University campus in yesterday’s incredible water main flooding.  This is an alternate (and clearer) view of the drama shown in the post below. The woman has unwisely tried to cross the raging waters and fallen. This video picks up her grim efforts to stand up (which she does twice, before falling again) and somehow get out of the flood’s current. Her identity is unknown to the news media and there are no reports of injuries in the flooding so we must assume she escaped unhurt. Even so, the last we see of her, she is being swept downtown with no apparent means of rescue. 

Phone theft on the Yonge subway near Bloor

by  • 

Toronto Police Service Report:  A 23 year old male reports that on January 28, 2013 at approximately 1340 hours, he was on a subway train in the area of Yonge Street and Bloor Street East when he was approached by two male suspects. One of the suspects grabbed the victim’s iPhone and the suspects then fled the scene. The victim attempted to get his iPhone back; however, one of the suspects punched the victim in the face and indicated he had a gun although no weapon was seen. The suspect then threatened to shoot the victim. The suspects then fled the scene in an unknown direction. The victim did not sustain any injuries. 

You can help in city census of the needy

by  • 

Jaye Robinson

Local rep Jaye Robinson (Ward 25 Don Valley West) is inviting public-spirited citizens to participate in a one-evening project which counts the numbers of homeless/vulnerable people in the city. It’s a kind of census of those in need. This is a very sensible idea and as Ms. Robinson points out, some 700 volunteers will  help Toronto make useful decisions for the welfare of those who need help. It’s a far cry from a dark past of correctness at city hall when some members opposed the idea saying it was somehow too stigmatizing of the homeless to conduct such a census. Totally hapless. As Ms Robinson says: “This is an opportunity for Torontonians to help some of our most vulnerable residents.  Without hard data on what services people find useful in finding and keeping housing, we cannot be sure that we are making the right investments to help the city’s homeless. Those who volunteer for the Street Needs Assessment are stepping forward to help achieve our long-term goal of ending homelessness, one person at a time.”  Ms.Robinson is Chair of the Community Development and Recreation Committee. City residents 18 years of age or older on April 17 are invited to sign up online at http://www.toronto.ca/housing or by calling 311. No previous experience is needed and there are opportunities to volunteer throughout the city 

Deer Park hi-rise without power overnight

by  • 

Residents in mid-town Toronto in Deer Park and into the area east of Yonge are without lights or heating tonight and Toronto Hydro says it won’t be able to restore power until perhaps 6 a.m. The failure comes after a spectacular hydro vault fire on St. Clair Ave. w. near Deer Park Crescent west of Yonge Street. By mid-evening Monday the  outage spanned from Kilbarry Road to Cottingham Street and Mount Pleasant Road to Walmer Road. Tonight its believed that five apartment buildings are without service;  two are on  St. Clair, two on Spadina Rd. and one on Avenue Road. Above, the president of the Tower-Hill East Tenants Association tells of the hardship of residents, many of whom are disabled. 

Brands 4 Less at 418 Eglinton W. to close shortly

by  • 

The Brands 4 Less pop-up store at 418 Eglinton Ave. West will close barely two months after it opened. An employee at the store said that it had been planned to run the store for at least six months but disagreements had developed with the landlord. Brands 4 Less is a cut rate retailer selling general merchandise and it has four other stores in Toronto, all of them permanent locations. 418 Eglinton was built in the 1930s and served as a grocery store. It is a large building and includes a basement. In recent years it has been a challenge for retailers. It was recently the home of Liv, a spin off of the Au Lit group. At one time, the building housed the Paul Slavens real estate offices which are now located in company-owned premises across the street on Eglinton West. 

Conrad Black will become a Znaimer Zoomer

by  • 

Improbable business associates Conrad Black and Moses Znaimer will collaborate on a talk show featuring Mr. Black. The ever resilient Mr. Black reached the deal with Mr. Znaimer’s ZoomerMedia to host his own weekly, 60-minute current affairs talk show to be called “The Zoomer — Television for Boomers With Zip”.  Zoomer is a term applied by ZoomerMedia to seniors by way of complimenting them. The program will offer the  point of view of those aged 45 and over. Can’t wait.