The Cabbagetowner
JANUARY 2018
The monthly newsletter for members of the Cabbagetown Residents Association and subscribers to the newsletter. To unsubscribe, please email us at: info@cabbagetowner.com.
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Bonjour mes petits choux!
We're in the last weeks of the "Year of the Rooster". Thanks to Cabbagetowner Brian Summers, a corporate photographer and videographer, who shared this Riverdale Farm bird on his social media feed, @summerspictures (website: summerspictures.com). While we're a month into 2018, our holiday-decoration-loving neighbourhood still sports many spectacular outdoor light displays, including ones that came out on top of our annual Cabbagetown Lights contest. We have news to share from December and January on development proposals, a wading pool rebuild, new businesses on Parliament Street, and much more. Any news or issues we missed? Contact your Cabbagetowner by email at info@cabbagetowner.com
This month's topics:
Spruce Street gets the Cabbagetown Lights 2017 crown
It was a tight race to the finish, with more than 800 unique votes cast, but this colourful display on Spruce Street by Paul and Thea Sywulych won the 2017 Cabbagetown Lights crown.
Second place was Amelia 3: Richard Latch.
Third place was Sackville/Spruce 1: Michael Smith.
Congrats to the winners!
Volunteer event organizer and CRA board director Tyler Fleming says “we had great participation: almost double the number of votes vs last year (808 versus 423 on the online voting site), and lots of positive feedback. All the photos really showed Cabbagetown well.” Thanks to Tyler for all his hard work organizing and running the contest!
Check out all three winning houses' photos on our website or view the full gallery of contest entries on Facebook.
New day nursery proposed in Sackville Street building
Owners of the property at 461 Sackville St. (at the southeast corner with Amelia) have applied for a minor variance to alter the existing building by converting the uses to a day nursery.
The item will be going to Committee of Adjustment on April 25, 2018.
Review the renovations plans (architectural drawings by RENEWArchitect – opens a PDF).
Residents can attend the Committee of Adjustment meeting hearing and speak to the item, or they can submit comments to the application technician, Daniel De Moissac, Daniel.demoissac@toronto.ca (comments cannot be registered by phone, only mail or email).
Read more about the day nursery proposal.
Wading pool upgrade scheduled for Riverdale Park West
City officials shared plans for a planned repair and upgrade for the wading pool in Riverdale Park West at a public meeting held January 15, 2018, at the Toronto Kiwanis Boys & Girls Club on Spruce Street.
Two dozen residents attended the meeting, including CRA Board Director Carolyn Jarman, where city staff presented three alternatives for design. Plans are to start work on the project in fall 2018, with the new pool open for the summer season in 2019.
Read Carolyn's summary of the proposals and feedback about the new wading pool.
New development proposed for 595-601 Parliament Street
An application has been made to the City of Toronto to redevelop the property at 595-601 Parliament Street to add three storeys of residential space, to create 11 units, above the existing two-storey retail property.
Details can be found through the city’s Application Information Centre. Kelly Sather, Constituency Assistant for Ward 28, says to make sure “Community Planning” is selected. A searchable city map comes up and enter the address “595 Parliament Street”, which will take you to the online documents provided by the developer.
A thorough (24-page) Heritage Impact Assessment (link opens a PDF) prepared by ERA Architects contains a good overview of the project.
Read all the details about this development application on our website.
Pam McConnell Award for Young Women in Leadership
The City of Toronto has created a new award to honour the legacy of Pam McConnell, long-time Ward 28 councillor who died in 2017.
The award is open to young women residing in the City of Toronto, between the ages of 19 and 26 upon the application deadline (February 16, 2018), who:
- Have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills through a proven track record of volunteer and/or paid work in the community-based sector
- Have shown a commitment to social justice work through creating or leading community-based programs or services for vulnerable youth or residents in Toronto
- Have inspired other young women through formal or informal mentorship
Read more about the award and how to apply for it.
Alleged serial killer charged with murder of Cabbagetowner Andrew Kinsman
Bruce McArthur was charged on Jan. 18 with first-degree murder in the death of Cabbagetowner Andrew Kinsman, who went missing in June 2017, and another man. On Jan. 29, police charged McArthur with another three charges of first-degree murder. Among the many articles and broadcasts of this news:
Suspect in killings of Toronto gay men had history of violence (Globe and Mail, Jan. 26).
Bruce McArthur barred from Gay Village as part of sentence for 2001 assault (Toronto Star, Jan. 24)
Andrew Kinsman's sisters remember their little brother as kind and dependable (Xtra, Jan. 19)
Bruce McArthur charged with 1st-degree murders of 2 men who disappeared from Toronto's Gay Village (CBC News, Jan. 18).
Cabbagetown in the news
Other mentions of Cabbagetown in the media:
Inside the Toronto home of Stephan Weishaupt (Nuvo Magazine, January 2018)
Major improvements proposed for Allan Gardens (Blog TO, Jan. 27)
Bullet flies through apartment window as shots fired on Gerrard Street (InsideToronto.com, Jan. 22)
Let not-for-profits take over some Toronto Community Housing Units, city staff say (Toronto Star, Jan. 17)
A living nightmare lurks in Toronto's underground waterways ... waiting (The Cabbagetown Tunnel monster resurfaces in Ranker.com, Jan. 12)
Police searching for suspect after fires set in Cabbagetown (CTV News, Jan. 9).
Power restored after outage hits Toronto's east end (Toronto Star, Jan. 8)
Laneway houses good or bad? It's debatable (Toronto Star Letter to the Editor, Jan. 2)
The music of life flows from a basement (Globe and Mail on Dixon Hall Music School, Jan. 1)
Beautiful skylines, squirrel statues, goats and a profound love of Toronto (Metro News, Dec. 26, 2017)
Cycling rates spike in downtown neighbourhoods (Toronto Star, Dec. 6, 2017)
Business news
We've had several new businesses opening their doors on Parliament Street over December and January. Welcome to:
Parliament Street Fitness gym, 488 Parliament St.
Urban Thai restaurant, 415 Parliament St.
Buds and Blossoms family activity studio, 519 Parliament St.
SF Wireless, 533 1/2 Parliament St.
Safety and security tips: How to face a "break and enter"
Des Ryan, CRA board director and a retired police officer who is our volunteer safety and security lead, shares good advice on how to respond in the unfortunate event that your home or business is broken into.
"Unless you are absolutely sure that no one is in your home or office, do not go in ... Instead, wait outside or at a neighbour’s or a nearby shop until police arrive. Let the officers ensure your home or office is safe to enter. Whatever has been stolen or damaged is already gone. There is no point involving yourself in a confrontation with someone who may have nothing to lose."
Read Des's full advice on break and enters.
Throwback Thursdays
For the past months, volunteer Eric Morse has been reviewing the archives of Seven News, a community newspaper that covered what was then Ward 7 in the City of Toronto, a district that included Cabbagetown. Hearken back four decades to:
January 1978
Dec. 17, 1977
Dec. 3, 1977
Toronto City Council highlights: Dec. 5, 6, 7, and 8, 2017
Read the city staff summary of council decisions made in December.
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