Virtual Community Consultation Meeting: 503 Eglinton Avenue East
(501, 503 Eglinton Avenue East and 383, 385, 387, 389 Cleveland Street)
Thursday, February 2, 2023 — 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
503 Eglinton East is a proposed 13-storey mixed-use condominium building designed by RAW Design for Sierra Communities on the southeast corner of Eglinton Avenue East and Cleveland Street.
City of Toronto’s Planning Department has set a date for a public meeting regarding the proposed development. This meeting is a chance for neighbours to see the proposal and provide comments. Please plan to attend the Community Consultation Meeting to ask how all the proposed developments along Eglinton Avenue East will impact your growing neighbourhood. All are welcome to attend.
The South Eglinton Davisville Residents’ Association (previously known as SERRA) is a volunteer organization. Please take time to visit their new website and find out more about their many activities.
Michael Erdman (Photo provided by Leaside Garden Society)
Leaside Garden Society will continue their Speaker Series with an on-line-virtual Zoom meeting on February 9, 2023. The special guest is Michael Erdman. The topic is Gardens of Bangkok. The meeting will commence at 7p.m.
Michael Erdman developed his keen interest in gardening and horticulture when he bought his first house in Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood in the late 80’s. Although his grandfathers in Waterloo had tutored him as a child in the culture of roses and growing vegetables, there was a long interlude between opportunities to get his hands dirty. With a blank slate of a yard at his new house and being a researcher by trade, Michael threw himself into learning about perennials, roses, shrubs and within a couple years had no grass left in his yard. In two years, his garden won first prizes in the Riverdale ward and white Rose Nursery’s city-wide garden contest.
Singapore Botanic Gardens /Vanda Usha
Michael moved to the Beach neighbourhood in the 90’s and eventually became president of the Beach Garden Society. Michael co-authored books on perennial gardening and indoor gardening. His garden has been featured in local summer garden tours, and in numerous magazines, newspapers and TV programs. Michael currently heads up the Greater Toronto Bulb Society.
Michael will take us on a gardener’s journey through the amazing parks, gardens & flower markets of the Bangkok and Singapore Regions. His literary includes Singapore’s world renowned National Orchid Garden and Bangkok’s famed Chatuchak Flower Market. A perfect tropical antidote to our winter blahs.
We had a little fun and made a video illustrating the progression of snow accumulation on Bayview this afternoon. Enjoy!
According to The Weather Network, we’re expecting another 5+cm of snow, on top of what we have now. The roads are a mess, be safe, and stay home if you can.
It’s been years since we’ve had clear access to the sidewalks around the construction sites for the future Leaside and Laird Eglinton Crosstown Stations. If this has caused you to avoid the area, you will be pleased to hear that you can now stroll along the sidewalks at the south-west corner of Eglinton and Laird, and the south-east corner of Bayview and Eglinton. Joy! Maybe one day we’ll also be able to catch a train. One can hope.
In 2021 the developer (Gairloch Developments) acquired 5 additional lots to the north and south of the original subject site and resubmitted their plans.
The number of proposed residential units has increased from 123 to 216. The previously proposed ground floor retail space has been replaced by 12 live-work units fronting on Bayview Avenue. UrbanToronto
The cozy patio space at Drink Juice Co. (463 Manor Rd E) has a nice glow at night courtesy of the new(ish) illuminated letters shining down from above. Very snazzy.
Around the corner, you’ll notice that the sign above Verdi Restaurant (1566 Bayview Ave) has been taken down during a kitchen renovation.
The newly opened Bad Blowfish Cafe (1595 Bayview Ave) is looking for local artists to be part of their gallery wall exhibits. If you’re looking display your art, comment on their Instagram post and they will send you the application.
PERSON WITH A GUN: Don Mills Rd & Overlea Blvd 12:26pm – at Marc Garneau Collegiate – reports of a gun being seen – police o/s – school is in lockdown – Valley Park Middle School in hold and secure – no reported injuries #GO144101 ^se
ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022. Or, in simple terms, it’s a computer program implementing artificial intelligence that can create advanced prose that doesn’t appear to be computer generated. Skip down below if you want to learn more about the technology.
A Bulldog reader has generated a great little piece about Leaside bungalows using ChatGPT. We enjoyed it, and thought you would too.
ChatGPT Challenge
Imagine that Ernest Hemingway has returned to Toronto after writing the “Old Man and the Sea” and his editor has to prepare an article about a charming craftsman-style bungalow in the garden city neighbourhood of Toronto? Please write this article in the style of Ernest Hemingway using references to boats and the sea.
ChatGPT Response
The bungalow stood tall and proud, like a sturdy boat anchored in the garden city neighborhood of Toronto. It was a craftsman-style home, with a charming front porch and a neatly manicured lawn. It was like a beacon, a lighthouse, in the middle of the city, calling out to those who valued simplicity and craftsmanship.
As I walked up to the front door, I felt as if I was approaching a dock, a safe haven after a long journey. Inside, the bungalow was like a ship, cozy and warm, with hardwood floors, exposed brick, and custom woodwork throughout, all expertly crafted, like a wooden fishing boat built to withstand the storms of life. The bungalow, like the sea, had a sense of timelessness, of permanence and
endurance.
The homeowner, a friendly man with weathered hands, greeted me with a smile and a laugh, like a sailor returning to port after a long voyage, full of tales and memories. He showed me around the house, where I saw the attention to detail in every aspect of the home. The windows were trimmed with handmade wooden casings, and the light fixtures were crafted from copper and brass, like the shining brass fittings of a well-maintained ship.
I left the bungalow feeling invigorated, refreshed, like a cool ocean breeze blowing through my mind, reminding me of the simplicity and beauty of life, the sea and the land. It was more than just a house, it was a home, a place where memories were made and love was shared, like a home port for a sailor, a place to return to, to rest and to refuel for the next journey.
More about ChatGPT
While the core function of a chatbot is to mimic a human conversationalist, journalists have also noted ChatGPT’s versatility and improvisation skills, including its ability to write and debug computer programs; to compose music, teleplays, fairy tales, and student essays; to answer test questions (sometimes, depending on the test, at a level above the average human test-taker); to write poetry and song lyrics; to emulate a Linux system; to simulate an entire chat room; to play games like tic-tac-toe; and to simulate an ATM. ChatGPT’s training data includes man pages and information about Internet phenomena and programming languages, such as bulletin board systems and the Python programming language.Wikipedia
The 71-year-old woman died in hospital more than a week after she was struck by a light pole that had been knocked over by a truck at Yonge and Hillsdale.
The variation of building tops create visual interest and contribute to a skyline that peaks. (URBAN STRATEGIES INC./City of Toronto)
The Atrium is a weather protected north-south open space that connects transit, office spaces and residents from the corner of Yonge and Eglinton, to Canada Square Plaza. The Atrium will be animated by retail, and incorporate landscaping and opportunities for seating. It will serve as an alternative to the Yonge Street sidewalk. (URBAN STRATEGIES INC./City of Toronto)
Restaurants and retail will animate the new Mid Block Connection (URBAN STRATEGIES INC./City of Toronto)
Canada Square Plaza will create a new focus for activity along Yonge Street. (URBAN STRATEGIES INC./City of Toronto)
Mid Block Connection North Elevation (URBAN STRATEGIES INC./City of Toronto)
Todmorden Mills Heritage Site opened to the public in 1967 as part of East York’s contribution to the celebration of Canada’s centennial. In 1821, the Helliwell family settled in the area and established a brewery and distillery. They re-named the area Todmorden after their home town in Lancashire, England as the landscape of the Don Valley was reminiscent of it. The Todmorden paper mill, now the Papermill Theatre and Gallery, was the first of its kind in Upper Canada to produce machine-made paper. It provided newsprint for some of the colony’s first publications including William Lyon Mackenzie’s newspaper The Colonial Advocate. (Toronto.ca)
Join MP Rob OIiphant and MPP Stephanie Bowman on January 15th, from 1-3pm for their New Year’s Levée and Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Awards Presentation.
Levees date back to the reign of the France’s Sun King Louis XIV (1643–1715). The first levee in Canada was held on January 1, 1656, by the then Governor of New France, Charles Huault de Montmagny.
Although levees are common across the world, the New Year’s Levee is a uniquely Canadian tradition with events held annually across the country. The tradition continues here in Leaside as MP Rob OIiphant and MPP Stephanie Bowman co-host their annual New Year’s Levee on Jan. 15, 2023 from 1-3 p.m. The in-person event will be held at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, located at 777 Lawrence Ave. East.
If you have never attended a levee, it is a wonderful way to kick off the new year, meet your local government representatives and neighbours. The Curious Idler, Leaside Life Magazine
