Community, city closer to approving Mirvish Village development

PHOTO COURTESY WESTBANK PROJECTS CORP.

By Geremy Bordonaro  Read more

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Not just buildings

By Joe Cressy

If you’ve ever made your way to a development meeting in Ward 20, you’ve heard me talk about the need to build community as we grow and change. With almost one quarter of all proposed development in the entire city occurring in our ward, we’d be leading ourselves astray without this focus. This has been my primary focus in the review of the Mirvish Village redevelopment proposal, which continues to evolve after three iterations.  Read more

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PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Dragon City Mall on Spadina Avenue was crowded wall-to-wall for the Chinatown BIA’s celebration of the Lunar New Year on Jan. 28. Representatives from the Toronto Police Service’s 14 Division joined councillors Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina), Adam Vaughan (MP, Spadina Fort York), and Han Dong (MPP, Trinity-Spadina) for a day of jubilation featuring a traditional dragon dance and inking of the dragon’s eyes.

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Should infill take precedence over upward building?

By Brian Burchell

With affordable housing at a premium in Toronto, two councillors are proposing to open up the city’s 2,400 laneways to infill development.  Read more

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Landlord shuts Pacifico Life storefront

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Pacifico Life’s Bloor Street West location remains boarded up. Landlord Yong Jo gave Tamara Hirsh three hours to move her marijuana dispensary out of the building shortly before Christmas.

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Recommendations for mandating community participation

PHOTO CREDIT BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS: Planned by the OMB: College Street is rife with developments denied by the city, only to have been approved on appeal by the provincial agency.

By Annemarie Brissenden  Read more

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Protecting heritage doesn’t mean freezing areas in time

By Joe Cressy

As is often said, Rome wasn’t built in a day. In comparison, Toronto may be a relatively young city, but that doesn’t mean we have no history to speak of — far from it. Preserving our city’s heritage is critical. It tells us something about who we are, who we were, and how we got here.  Read more

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Residents decry loss of green space and heritage impacts

PHOTO BY BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANE NEWS: Uno Prii designed 666 Spadina Ave., which is listed on the city’s inventory of Heritage Properties. The property owner wants to add an 11-storey building and eight stacked townhouses on the site.

By Brian Burchell  Read more

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Phase one to include removal of fence

COURTESY MATTHEW SWEIG/FOREST AND FIELD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE INC.: The proposed plan for converting the unused schoolyard into a green oasis includes planters, an amphitheatre, and a path for crossing the site.

By Annemarie Brissenden  Read more

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Favourites include carol singing, winter solstice

We asked our local representatives how they spend the holidays. Councillors Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) and Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina), Toronto District School Board Trustee Ausma Malik (Ward 10, Trinity-Spadina), and our MPP Han Dong (Trinity-Spadina) shared their favourite traditions, their proudest achievement of the year, and what they are looking forward to working on in 2017. Also, the book they’re looking forward to reading in 2017! Answers compiled by Noelle Defour.  Read more

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Residents glimpse settlement offer

By Brian Burchell

In an effort to bring transparency to the Ontario Municipal Board’s (OMB) mediation process, Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) took the unusual step of bringing a developer’s confidential settlement offer to the community for comment before that offer is voted on by Toronto City Council.  Read more

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Protecting the intangible along with the tangible

By Joe Cressy

Ward 20 is home to some of our city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods — communities characterized by unique and diverse groups of neighbours, businesses, physical structures, contemporary public art, and iconic cultural destinations. And, neighbourhoods that are actively working on initiatives to transform forgotten laneways and green spaces, to protect critical historical value, and to build equitable, fair, and livable communities for all our friends and neighbours.  Read more

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PICTURE BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS
Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina) was among the speakers at a late September Bells on Bloor event celebrating the installation of bike lanes between Shaw Street and Avenue Road. Organizers characterized the communal ride during which cyclists — including activist Albert Koehl, Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), Gideon Forman from the David Suzuki Foundation, and Jared Kolb from Cycle Toronto — rode a ring around Bloor Street, Sherbourne Street, and Queen’s Park Crescent, as a victory lap. For further information on Bells on Bloor, please visit www.bellsonbloor.org. —Annemarie Brissenden  Read more

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