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Mayor John Tory's Toronto

The Toronto media can take a break from wall-to-wall coverage of the Coronavirus that is affecting all of no one. The multiple homicide in the Fort York condo tower last night is getting all the airplay today. Apparently this was an Air B'n'B rental. You can bet that will be the lede for a lot of media outlets. I suspect some politicos will use it as a card to play. A wild Mark Saunders even appeared to supply the horde last night as their Chief Quote Machine for death counts and other not actually useful or relevant information, as usual.
 
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Mayor Tory out announcing the City has found another 6M for the Anti-Gang violence strategy.

This is the strategy that invests in disadvantaged youth.

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I'm busy raising this idea......

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Admiral Beez said:
Does any of this anti-gang strategy stuff ever work?
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Yes. Youth are recruited into gang life during periods when they have minimal or no parental supervision, because their parent is working and they are off school.

Providing a place with something constructive and/or entertaining to do, under adult supervision absolutely makes a very real difference.

IMO, Regent Park has become a huge success, but not because it made life for gang-inclined youth better. No, Regent Park is a huge success in combating gangs because the families of gang-inclined youth are gone, replaced by market value condo owners and new Muslim and South Asian families with very strong family roots and structures. I think all of my daughters' friends are in Regent Park, all very good kids from stable families.

The gang-inclined kids and their families have not changed, they've just been moved out of downtown east. In some cases to housing outside Toronto boundaries, such as Peel Region. Gentrification and integrated public housing in previously gang-infested areas is fantastic for those who can remain, but IDK if it stops gangs.
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With great respect, your 'facts' are completely wrong.

The number of rent-geared-to-income units in Regent Park is unchanged.

The overall tenant mix for those units is unchanged (there has been turnover), but the mix of tenants reflects TCHC's overall mix, as it did in the previous Regent Park incarnation.

Mixed income communities do provide value, but not because they displaced all the low income earners.

Regent Park is becoming more successful because it is more seamlessly integrated into its surroundings, it has fewer blind corners and far more eye-witnesses to trouble.

Regent Park is becoming more successful because it has more employment opportunities, programs have been established providing area youth with employment experience, including many young men receiving construction training, building their own new community.

Regent Park is becoming more successful because of new sports fields, a new central park, and an aquatics centre that help provide the whole community, but youth in particular with useful, safe, supervised ways to spend free time.

Regent Park is also benefiting from mixed-income status because the new owners and tenants are used to a higher standard of living and safety and won't abide BS excuses from the City or from police, their landlord or condo board about problems.

You are again doing something you've done before and letting your 'gut' feeling make a decision for you on how the world is, without first doing research.
 
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TrickyRicky said:
I did some quick calculations based on my own costs of owning a home in central Toronto. Over the last 4 years my property tax increased an average of 4.6 percent per year. Garbage and water costs increased an average of 16.7% per year.
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I've lived in downtown east since 1998 and in that time my property tax bill has more than doubled. My $500 x 6 payments in 1998 would be about $750 today. https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/ But my tax is well over $1,000 x 6 payments. Sure, the property value has more than doubled since then, but I'm never selling. I'm using more services since in 1998 we didn't have the kids we have today, but still. My increased MPAC assessment is being applied in stages, but hopefully as it increases the rate applied will decrease, but still I expect to be paying well more that $1,500 x 6 payments by 2021's tax season. I'd willingly pay more if I could see the fruits of my current tax increases, but the city is shabby, the TPS are invisible, the roads in very rough shape, and homeless needing help, etc.
 
CityStay said:
Speaking of libraries..

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My local library at Parliament and Gerrard is a circus. The bathrooms are utterly disgusting. When my children were small they would be terrified when some rough looking guy would start screaming, muttering or scratching at themselves. I often worried for the staff and sometimes thought they needed a glass partition for protection. We stopped using the local library and instead took the girls to the Leaside branch for children's' story time, programs/activities or just to pick out books. It's amazing what difference a drive of perhaps 7 km from my door to Leaside can make in a library experience.

When we lived in Fredericton, NB we absolutely loved the library. The place was spotless had wonderful programs for the kids and the patrons were almost entirely students, families and seniors. My experience with Toronto libraries, at least in downtown east is the polar opposite. Leaside's library reminds me of Fredericton's library. An oasis of seemingly normal folks and families enjoying some peace and quiet with books and some computer time. I'm not sure that can be replicated in downtown east - perhaps if the Parliament branch was not standalone, but was instead put inside Regent Park, as is the plan I believe.
 
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Admiral Beez said:
My local library at Parliament and Gerrard is a circus. The bathrooms are utterly disgusting. When my children were small they would be terrified when some rough looking guy would start screaming, muttering or scratching at themselves. I often worried for the staff and sometimes thought they needed a glass partition for protection. We stopped using the local library and instead took the girls to the Leaside branch for children's' story time, programs/activities or just to pick out books. It's amazing what difference a drive of perhaps 7 km from my door to Leaside can make in a library experience.

When we lived in Fredericton, NB we absolutely loved the library. The place was spotless had wonderful programs for the kids and the patrons were almost entirely students, families and seniors. My experience with Toronto libraries, at least in downtown east is the polar opposite. Leaside's library reminds me of Fredericton's library. An oasis of folks and families enjoying some peace and quiet with books and some computer time. I'm not sure that can be replicated in downtown east - perhaps if the Parliament branch was not standalone, but was instead put inside Regent Park, as is the plan I believe.
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I'm not certain where Parliament branch is set to be relocated, but that is in the Libraries capital plan.

****

Note, apparently The Admiral has taken deep offense at my post above and decided to block me.

As I'm not so thin-skinned, I will continue to compliment and correct his posts from time to time.
 
That uh extra 6 mill for Anti-Gang Strategy is "cool story, bro" when how many mill are paid to police to in part perpetuate the War on Drugs which is a leading cause of gang activity and gun violence.

It's a waste of money paying to both perpetuate the problem and to try to soothe some of the symptoms. Just saying.
 
SunriseChampion said:
That uh extra 6 mill for Anti-Gang Strategy is "cool story, bro" when how many mill are paid to police to in part perpetuate the War on Drugs which is a leading cause of gang activity and gun violence.

It's a waste of money paying to both perpetuate the problem and to try to soothe some of the symptoms. Just saying.
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We don't disagree. Small victories........very small; ..........
 
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