Town Crier - North Toronto Today Spring 2010

NORTH TORONTO Today

Spring 2010

VOCAL LOCALS Residents’ groups rock

Do-gooders in the ’hood

The people who keep our centres running

Memories

of a Kool community Another MulticomMedia Publication

Dear Town Crier Reader

O

ver the last three years in the Town Crier’s North Toronto Today publication we have explored what makes up a community.

This year we’re looking at community activism and engagement in your neighbourhood, because, after all, North Toronto is a highly involved place.

It is home to a number of active residents’ groups whose members are dedicated to protecting and enhancing their communities through their volunteer work in these organizations.

In our lead story we introduce you to a diverse group of residents from a handful of these associations, and tell you a little bit about them, what they do, and their challenges and successes.

We also visit two of the many community centres in North Toronto and chat with a few of the people who donate their time to make these centres tick.

A community is also about the built environment. That is why we tease out some of the issues about development in North Toronto in our discussions with long-standing residents who are involved in real estate and development.

ON THE COVER: Residents’ association members, from left, Helen Oakes, Jordan Applebaum and Lauralyn Johnston. photo by francis crescia

Another

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Lori Abittan, Publisher

DO-GOODERS IN THE ’HOOD

The people who keep our centres running

MEMORIES

of a Kool community MulticomMedia

Kelly Gadzala

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And of course we couldn’t look at North Toronto without taking a look at some of the organizations that support this great community.

Residents’ groups, community centres, houses and developments, and various associations and organizations. A community is all this and more, but most of all, it’s about the people who make all of these things possible.

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For a limited time only, you can also find this guide on our website: www.MyTownCrier.ca 101 Wingold Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6B 1P8 Tel: 416 785-4300 Fax: 416 785-7350

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People power

francis crescia/town crier

CELEBRATION: Helen Oakes, left, and Jordan Applebaum of the Eglinton Park Residents’ Association were pleased to see the developer who had been buying up properties on Montgomery Avenue has started to sell the homes after the Ontario Municipal Board turned down its application to put up a highrise on the site.

Neighbourhood activism Residents stand up for their communities

I

Kelly Gadzala

t’s the second week of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Jordan Applebaum is doing a victory dance of sorts. Ashleigh McIvor has just won the gold in the women’s ski cross event, and a for sale sign just went up at 70 Montgomery Ave. The two incidents seemingly have nothing in common. But for the 100 or so households that are members of the Eglinton Park Residents’ Association, which Applebaum chairs, that for sale sign represents a victory as poignant as winning gold.

It was a win a year in the making for the residents’ association formed specifically to fight a proposed highrise project on Montgomery Avenue by Top of the Tree Developments. The group took its opposition all the way to the Ontario Municipal Board and won, halting the development and causing the developers to sell the resi-

4

NORTH TORONTO ToDAY 2010

dential properties it had bought in hopes of redeveloping the block.

“We never expected to win,” says Applebaum of going up against a developer.

But win they did.

Residents’ groups in North Toronto are as plentiful as they are powerful. There are at least a dozen in the area, dating as far back as the 1930s.

Though the official mandates of these groups may differ, generally they keep an eye on development, planning, traffic, safety and general quality of life issues within their communities.

Like Eglinton Park, that advocacy can entail fighting a proposed development all the way to the Ontario Municipal Board — a costly endeavor in terms of time and money — but also means dealing with more utilitarian issues like dislodged power lines, snow clearing and abandoned homes.

Meet the neighbours Who are the people in these groups who advocate for your neighbourhood? The work is strictly volunteer, so anyone who has the time — or time-management skills — and an interest in their community can get involved.

“We’re just normal people,” says Applebaum who adds that his organization

is full of talented people with complementary skills including Helen Oakes who says she’s always been involved in some form of community advocacy or residents’ group.

Oakes was with the North Toronto Historical Society for 10 years and that historical knowledge about her ’hood came in handy during her presentation to the Ontario Municipal Board over Top of the Tree’s proposal.

“They said it was my speech that cinched it,” says Oakes.

Then there’s Lauralyn Johnston. In her mid-30s, she is a board member with the Lytton Park Residents’ Association, and chair of the Eglinton Task Force with the Federation of North Toronto Residents’ Associations.

Johnston found her volunteer work with the Lytton Park group so interesting she went back to school and earned a master’s degree in urban planning and now works as a planner with the City of Vaughan.

She wrote her thesis on how community organizations work with councillors and city planners, and since she can see both sides of the coin, she often advises groups on how to approach city officials and what to ask for.

“We never expected to win.... We’re just normal people.”

Strong voice comes from working together “I’m the reality check,” she says. “I’m the rain on the parade sometimes.”

Getting the job done There’s no blueprint for how residents groups operate. Most have 10 to 15 board members who meet on a monthly basis, along with residents who pay a small annual fee to be members. On average groups represent a couple thousand households.

Applebaum says his association had to learn quickly how city council works, and how to work with the planning department.

Having a good working relationship with the councillor in the group’s ward and with city officials is essential, but he says the relationship goes both ways.

“We’re actually a liaison and important resource for our community councillor,” says Applebaum.

Johnston agrees. “If you can’t work with the councillor in your area you can’t get anything done.”

But groups shouldn’t just sit back and wait for city officials to do things for them, she suggests. Sometimes getting the city’s attention takes some proverbially pot stirring.

“The city’s resources are limited and divided,” Johnston says.

“If you see a need in your neighbourhood you need to agitate for it.”

Often groups whose boundaries are close or overlapping come together on hot-button issues affecting their communities on a larger scale, such as RioCan’s proposal to cover over its open courtyard at Yonge and Eglinton.

However, sometimes getting your own group to agree on what action needs to be taken can be tricky.

Johnston says there was never a consensus in her group as to what RioCan’s application meant. Some thought open space should be enclosed; others thought open space crucial to the community.

But everyone agreed the application submitted by RioCan needed work.

“We all agree it sucks,” she says. “We all agree it’s important (and) that’s BEYOND Page 6

francis crescia/town crier

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Reputation reality check Residents’ groups sometimes have to contend with negative perceptions of who they are and what they do.

“There’s this conception that residents’ groups are made up of NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard),” Applebaum says. “There’s that stereotype that we’re made up of people who just say no.”

While development issues have traditionally taken up much of residents’ associations time, that is changing, says Avenue Road Eglinton Community Association’s Patrick Smyth.

Lately, the group arranged for a safety audit at Eglinton Park after hearing complaints from area residents. Smyth says he did a walk about with officials from Parks and Recreation to point out the potential safety issues, and each and every concern — from overgrown laneways and stairs to burnt out lighting — were immediately fixed after the audit.

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CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Patrick Smyth arranged for a safety audit of Eglinton Park which resulted in the city fixing up the problems that were found.

Looking forward Though Johnston wishes more people were involved in residents’ groups, she says 10 percent of the 2,220 households the Lytton group represents are members. That’s a very good ratio, she says.

She sees North Toronto groups becoming even more diverse as baby boomers retire and have more time for such involvement, and as condo developments and associations start coming into the neighbourhood.

For her, community engagement is crucial.

“Residents are the on-the-ground users of the infrastructure,” she says. “We’re the people who talk in parks and know what’s going on.”

Smyth isn’t pleased with what he sees as the diminished role of residents’ input in developments, but he’s thinks that will change.

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THANKS A LOT: Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre’s volunteer coordinator Ruth Lebar, left, hugs Edythe LeClerc who volunteers at the centre’s welcome desk.

Volunteers drive our community centres

A

Kelly Gadzala

retired senior leading a play group and a 17-year old student answering the phone. A 30-something man with a British accent booking appointments. A foreign visitor learning some English s kills.

Welcome to the world of community centre volunteerism.

With six community centres in the area, most of which rely on volunteers to run their operations and hold special events, volunteerism is alive and well in North Toronto.

Step inside the Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre and you may be greeted by volunteers Michelle Baumgartner and Edythe LeClerc on the welcome desk.

“The need is there and it’s nice to be able to fulfill it,” says LeClerc, a retired senior who has volunteered with the centre for five years. “You can’t keep taking and not giving.”

Even though it would be easier for her to help out somewhere closer to her current home, LeClerc makes the trek from her Lawrence Avenue and Bathurst Street digs to her gig once a week because she says the area is her home.

Getting out also keeps her active, she says, and connects her with people. She used to be a receptionist before she retired and as a result she says she needs people contact.

“I’m also getting something for myself.”

Meanwhile Baumgartner, a 17-year old high school student at Bishop Strachan School, is in her third year working at the centre. She began volunteering once a week after school to get a head start on the 40 hours of volunteer work required by the Ministry of Education.

“It started off as an obligation,” she says. “I guess now it’s a passion.”

Baumgartner estimates she’s clocked 90 hours a year working at Fair-

Helpers come in all ages lawn. By the time she graduates she hopes to bank 300 hours, which would qualify her for a gold level community service award at her school.

Recruiting, training and overseeing volunteers at the centre is Ruth Lebar, Fairlawn’s volunteer coordinator. She began her affiliation with the centre as a volunteer shortly after it opened in 1997.

Lebar finds and schedules volunteers to staff the welcome desk and recruits volunteers for annual events such as the Dining with the Stars in May — an event that sells 350 tickets and requires at least 60 volunteers to run.

“Without volunteering we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” Lebar says. “Our volunteers pretty much feed into the success of this place.”

Although she says it’s crucial to always thank volunteers and provide them with training and constant support, she expects something in return.

“If they’re not committed, I’m not committed.”

She says she asks for a promise of three to four month worth of work for welcome desk volunteers, and if it’s not working, she sometimes has to fire people.

“It’s quite a responsible job out there,” she says. “We depend on them to do that job correctly.”

She finds students call her at the last minute to try to squish in their 40 hours of volunteerism before they graduate.

“I won’t do it,” she says. “I don’t have time for that.” Investing the time training a person who’s going to put in only 40 hours and then leave isn’t worth it, she says.

For those who are there for the love of it, Lebar says it’s a joyous job.

“If they didn’t enjoy it they wouldn’t come back.”

Further southeast at the Central Eglinton Community Centre, the centre’s annual tax clinic is in full swing.

Running from March 1 to April 24, the clinic requires 63 volunteers to run effectively, says volunteer coordinator Mary Neeson. This year she received 240 volunteer applications for the clinic and interviewed about 30-40 people to replace past volunteers who won’t be returning. Many people seek out unpaid work with the clinic for experience, Neeson says.

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Photo courtesy Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre

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section of the types of volunteers the centre attracts. Visitors from other countries on short-term work assignments who want to improve their language skills often act as translators for clients, Neeson says.

Like Lebar, Neeson is one of the few paid people at the centre and it’s her job to find and retain volunteers for the centre’s monthly events, which typically require about 30 volunteers each. She also recruits for the programming and fundraising committees.

But sadly volunteers don’t last forever.

“I have regular volunteers who are glued to here,” Neeson says. “Then they start to age and I lose them.”

One such lady is 94 and is moving into a home after volunteering for a decade, Neeson says. Her legs are bad so she can’t make it to the centre anymore.

“She used to come to every bazaar and she would barter with people,” she says, to get a better price for items she was selling for the centre. As a result her table always did really well.

“She’s just a pip,” Neeson says fondly.

But it’s not just seniors who have the volunteering bug.

Wilmar Kortleever got involved with the Central Eglinton Community Centre when he starting taking his son to baby programs a few years ago. Since then he’s sat on the program committee and is now a board member for the centre, working on average 10-15 hours a month.

And where Daddy goes, his son is sure to follow.

“I have regular volunteers that are glued to here.”

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HAPPY JOB: Wilmar Kortleever and Mary Neeson enjoy their volunteer work.

“There’s a joke around the centre that he’s their youngest volunteer,” says Kortleever. “He does little things like setting up.”

Volunteering also runs in the family for Anne Leonard, who says her mother always volunteered.

“You did it out of a sense of how this would help someone, not how it will help your resume.”

Leonard says she’s always volunteered, but when she retired from her bookkeeping job five years ago she wanted to do something that would keep her active that was somewhat familiar.

Since she used to do all her family members’ taxes, she was a perfect candidate for filing returns for new immigrants at Central Eglinton’s tax clinic. She also works once a week in the centre’s toy library, a play area where caregivers can sign out toys for their little ones. That work fills a spot in her heart, she says, as she misses babysitting for her goddaughter, who is now in school.

Leonard says she loves being around the younger children.

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francis crescia/town crier

COFFEE TIME: Mark Cohen says that more highrise development in North Toronto would add another layer of personality to the area.

vertical growth.

Cohen was involved in early design and marketing of the condo development at Avenue Road and Fairlawn Avenue about 10 years ago, which is being developed now.

It’s the first condo that’s gone up in the neighbourhood for 25 years, he says. Historically, there’s always been an effort to keep things low to the ground in North Toronto, but Cohen says this new development will set a precedent.

“It’s necessary and logical,” he says. “It will add another layer to a neighbourhood that has a lot of personality and heart.

“It’ll be good for the retailers. It brings more street life.”

Condominium developments will also attract more single people and empty nesters to the area, he says.

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photo courtesy north toronto baseball association

LEARNING THE GAME: Coaches help players improve their baseball skills.

North Toronto Baseball Association

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Angelo Elia

atter up!

For the last 25 summers the North Toronto Baseball Association has been giving youth a chance to have some fun and to hone their skills out on the diamond.

“We’ve had a number of kids who

have gone out to play in decent all star teams,” said Sue Williams, the league’s registrar.

The association caters to players from 6-18 and has seen its membership double to over 1,000 members in recent years.

However, the sport’s popularity comes at a price.

“Our biggest issue is park space,” said Williams. “We do our best to accommodate people.”

Williams said that she’s a big fan of the game because of what it can do for those who play it.

“It’s great for youth development,” she said. “(And) it keeps them off the street.”

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Going home

Custom then and now Francis crescia/town crier

Lucille Chenoweth has seen it all

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Kelly Gadzala

ucille Chenoweth has probably set foot in more North Toronto homes than the cable guy.

The realtor with Bosley Real Estate in Lawrence Park has been with the business for 25 years, and has been a North Torontonian since moving to Broadway Avenue when she was 12 and returning when she got

married 35 years ago.

North Toronto, she says, is probably the most diverse area for houses.

“There’s everything from soup to nuts.”

First there are the custom-built homes in Lawrence Park, which were designed by various architects in the early 1900s. Chenoweth herself lives in one such home on Lawrence Crescent. In fact, she once met the niece of the man who had the house custom built.

Then there are the tiny bungalows built during and after the Second World War and, of course, the mammoth houses.

But in the last 10 to 15 years Chenoweth says she’s seen a lot of changes in housing — many are tearing down or topping up bungalows. Single-storey homes that sell for $400,000–500,000 are now morphing into huge houses going for a couple million, she says.

“Every time a house gets sold these days it gets torn down or refinished.”

On Blyth Hill Road, the newer homes are worth about $2.5 million and can go all the way up to $7 million, she says.

“Every living breathing house on the south side (of that street) has been torn down.”

Though she says the demand for housing in the area is high — such construction improves property value for one — Chenoweth admits it’s becoming harder for people to buy in North Toronto because of the high cost.

She says that those young families who can afford it are buying the larger homes vacated by empty nesters who are in turn moving south of Lawrence Avenue to smaller homes.

On the other hand, sometimes it’s hard to let go of a good thing.

“A lot of people just stay.”

There’s not a lot of high-rise development in the area yet, but Chenoweth says the

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NORTH TORONTO ToDAY 2010

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francis crescia/town crier

LUCILLE Chenoweth loves the diversity of North Toronto.

Parks haven’t changed

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Yonge and Lawrence intersection, which she deems the city’s fourth busiest intersection after Yonge and Bloor, Yonge and Eglinton, and Yonge and Dundas, is a possible candidate for future condos.

Some residents’ groups in the area trying to get the older homes designated heritage by the city to forestall such development, she says.

“That certainly holds up construction for sure.”

What has remained unchanged are all the parks in the area, she says, and the way we use them. People still get their marriage photos in Muir Park, for instance.

The flowers have changed and the trees have grown, she says, but that’s about it.

“Lawrence Park is really in a park area,” she says.

“Not too many areas have that.”

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NORTH TORONTO ToDAY 2010

francis crescia/town crier

HOOKED ON THE ’HOOD: Margaret Hayes says once you’ve had a taste of North Toronto you won’t want to live anywhere else.

Margaret Hayes remembers a long-gone North Toronto

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Kelly Gadzala

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ife in North Toronto isn’t a box of chocolates for Margaret Hayes.

It’s actually more about donuts, lollipops, and especially Kool Aid. The realtor with Royal LePage at Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue has lived just north of her office for 28 years, and she says that once you become a North Torontonian, you don’t go back to wherever you came from.

“It’s weird,” Hayes says. “Every one stays. You drink the Kool Aid and you’re here for life.”

Hayes married a North Toronto boy and raised three kids in the area, first on Cranbrooke Avenue and then Melrose Avenue. Her kids went to school in the area, and now so does her grandchild.

She has many fond memories from when her children were growing up in the 1980s, involving shops that are now long gone.

There was here was the Dip n’ Sip donut joint where the McDonalds is on Melrose Avenue.

“That was a landmark where the mommies took the kids for sprinkled donuts,” says Hayes.

Then there was the Moon Glow Restaurant, where every one used to go to, she says. And a place called Crumbs was really popular for croissants and sandwiches.

But some things never change.

For one, Hayes’ husband has been going to Corallo barber shop since the dawn of time.

“I think he’s had the same haircut since he was eight,” she says.

And so, apparently, have other North Toronto men. Hayes describes walking down the street one day and seeing a man come out of the barber shop with the same cut as her husband, and he was sucking a lollipop the gents in the shop give out after haircuts.

“That’s so Corallos.”

As a real estate agent Hayes says she finds that those who were raised in North Toronto are now having families and wanting to come back to the neighbourhood to buy their own homes. Some of them can’t always afford it — the average price in the area is $700,000, she says — but for those looking to buy moving somewhere else is just not an option.

“They tell me, ‘We want to be at the centre of the universe,’ ” she says.

“I think if you’ve had a happy life why would you not come back? We have everything here.”

As for the spouses of those wanting to buy homes in the area, who may not be familiar with North Toronto, well — they’re kind of like Hayes was when she first moved to the area almost three decades ago.

“They haven’t had a sip of the Kool Aid yet,” she says.

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Splish splash Photo courtesy John Beebe

POOLS are important places to bring people together, says Heidi Wilson.

North Toronto Aquatic Club

T

Angelo Elia

he North Toronto Aquatic Club has been making a splash with the community for over 20 years.

The non-profit club was founded in 1986 by North Toronto residents with the goal of getting kids from 3-18-years old

in the water.

“We provide swimming lessons to local children to complement what’s available to alternative swimming schools,” said Gail Kelly, the club’s general manager.

Not surprisingly, the group was involved in the recent fight to keep the Toronto District School Board’s pools from closing.

“Pools in communities across Toronto help bring the community together,” said Heidi Wilson one of the aquatic club’s board members. “It’s opportunity for all members of the family, all ages and genders, to come together and enjoy fun together.”

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Photo Courtesy North York Women’s Centre

3393 Yonge St. 416.322.2200

VOLUNTEERS Karen Lourdes, Nancy Bardecki and Rubaiyat Karim have worked for the North York Women’s Centre for a total of eight years.

A friendly place North York Women’s Centre offers support

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t has been 20 years since the North York Women’s Centre opened its doors to women all over Toronto.

“It’s women supporting women,” said Iris Fabbro, the centre’s executive director. “It’s about coming to a place where you won’t be judged, (and where) people are going to listen.”

The centre focuses on areas with high needs and while Fabbro said that on the surface the North Toronto area may seem like a middle-class neighbourhood, there are pockets of real poverty.

“We are working with women to build a community together,” said Fabbro.

In the last two decades the centre has created a community development approach where they not only provide information and resources to women but also go into the communities where they need help, she said.

The centre works with individuals to help them make positive changes in their lives.

“We had a woman who hadn’t left her apartment in three years and the first place she came was here. That’s massive,” said Fabbro Women can find programs on many subjects such as domestic abuse, selfesteem, and stress as well as a Women’s Family Law Legal Clinic located at the centre.

Other services include a bridging course with York University for women who wouldn’t normally qualify for post secondary education and a women’s fitness program.

“The philosophy is women are strong, capable, and have skills but sometimes just need a little support to getting from point A to point B,” said Fabbro.

The North York Women’s Centre has only three staff members but over 100 volunteers, mostly who have been former participants.

MOVING Page 21

Moving soon Cont. from Page 20

“Our volunteers have gotten a lot out of (the services) and want to give back,” said Fabbro.

Located on Lawrence Street, east of Bathurst Street, the centre shares a space within a church with other community groups. “(The church) have given us space at very, very low rent for the past 20 years as a way of supporting the community,” said Fabbro who added that the centre is not affiliated with the church as a religious institution.

In May, the centre will be moving to Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue West as the church is closing.

“We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” said Fabbro.

Photo Courtesy North York Women’s Centre

AISHA Heywood-Delpeache, here with her daughter, Alina Delpeache, helps out at the centre.

Photo Courtesy anne johnston health station

Primary care

Health station keeps North Toronto well

T

Matthew Cohen

here’s a health centre in North Toronto that cares for those who might have trouble getting looked after elsewhere.

The Anne Johnston Health Station provides primary care for people living in North Toronto, in particular, youth, seniors and people with physical disabilities.

The centre opened its doors in 1992, and later expanded to provide services for people with disabilities across Toronto.

The health station, named after a former city councillor, currently has 35 people on staff with a team of social workers, doctors, nurses and other health professionals who provide medical services to the North Toronto community.

“There’s quite a broad mix of programs and services that are clinically-based and many programs that address what we call the social determinants of health (including income, education, transportation and social isolation),” says the station’s executive director Brenda McNeill.

The health centre’s programs include disease prevention, health promotion and exercise classes for seniors and is funded through the Ministry HELP Page 20

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Photo Courtesy anne johnston health station

MANY different people get assistance at the Anne Johnston Health Station.

Help for those who need it Cont. from Page 21

of Health. All of the centre’s services are provided free of charge. Unlike hospitals and doctor’s offices, the health station will care for people without OHIP coverage.

Besides administering health services to the North Toronto, McNeill says the Anne Johnston Health Station serves as a hub for its clients.

“Not only does it promote the well being of our clients but it also has built very healthy communities. It’s a place where many of our clients come to not only have their healthcare needs met but to socialize with friends and contribute back to the community.”

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