The first instalment of our annual report card on area parks Each year the Annex Gleaner reviews the many parks and parkettes in our coverage area using a variety of criteria. While there is no decisive “winner” of the grading, letter grades are assigned to convey the quality of the parks, considering aspects such as […]

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March was a tumultuous month, including Trump madness, snow removal, March Break, tariff chaos, city staff strike threat, a federal election call, a contentious council meeting and a Yorkville fire that destroyed heritage homes and melted fire trucks.

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On Jan. 26, at approximately 12:36 a.m. Toronto Police Services (TPS) responded to a call for a “wounding” near Paul Martel Park located on Madison Avenue just north of Bloor. This wounding would later become a homicide, Toronto’s first homicide of 2025.  Darapheakdey “Daral” Sovann, 27, was found Sunday morning with life threatening injuries. First […]

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Renowned Indigenous artist brings another masterpiece to the Annex By Rose Haberer Mural maestro Joseph Sagaj strikes the Annex community again with the powerful blow of his allegorical art. The mural, with all its vibrancy, sits atop the eroding steps of Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts. The weathered […]

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Each year the Annex Gleaner reviews the many parks and parkettes in our coverage area using a variety of criteria. While there is no decisive “winner” of the grading, letter grades are assigned to convey the quality of the parks, considering aspects such as upkeep, design, and amenities. The reviews accompanying the grades also let the reader know what makes each space unique. This is the first instalment of reviews for 2024.

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This collection of park reviews contains the first eight parks reviewed this year, with more gradings to come in future editions of the Annex Gleaner.

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Every year the Annex Gleaner reviews the abundance of parks in the Annex using a variety of criteria. While there is no decisive “winner” of the grading, letter grades are assigned to convey the quality of the parks considering aspects such as upkeep, amenities, and accessibility. 

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Joseph Sagaj is Anishinaabe, a residential school survivor, and an artist. A few years ago, he took up gardening as well and joined a group of Indigenous tradespeople and Elders known as the Earth Helpers who made it their mission to bring biodiversity and native species back to Paul Martel Park. As Sagaj weeded and put plants in the ground, he would look up at the bare wall of the TTC station that bordered the park and conjured scenes of what could be there.

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On November 8, 2021, developer First Capital proposed the construction of a building at 320, 328, and 332 Bloor St. W. 

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The Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) held their annual general meeting on April 21 via Zoom. Those in attendance included members of the ARA, residents and representatives from development teams, city council and Toronto Police Service. The most notable discussions were about improving safety on Avenue Road, the West Annex Heritage Project, vandalism at St. Alban’s […]

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RE: GRADING OUR GREENSPACE, Fall 2021 Thank you for the recent edition and in particular the area park reviews conducted by your writer Madeline Smart, I really loved the coverage of our parks. I do wonder, however, why Paul Martel Park has such a bad rating? Have you been there recently? It is just wonderful. […]

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As part of the Gleaner’s annual area park reviews here is Part Two. We grade each park and compare the score with the prior year. We look for amenities, trees, gardens, and cleanliness. We also tell you something you may not know about how the space got its name. 

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