That is what we have been waiting 6 months for, the truth and the facts. Previous postings said that a letter was to go out the next day about what happened with a community meeting to follow, none of which have happened. This is taxpayers money and we have a right to know what is going on. The air needs to be cleared. Enough already! The finger-pointing is not the issue. The children of this community who are being overlooked, again, are the issue!
Some people in the neighbourhood have told us it would be good to have pleasure-skating on a weekday evening. Other people have asked for music during skating. This Friday January 28 Campbell will have a special evening pleasure skating event from 6 to 9pm. There will be a campfire and music. We invite everybody to come out for a skate and hot chocolate by the fire. Campbell has $2 skate rentals (govt-issued ID, eg. driver's licence required). We only have a limited number of skates. Come early to get a pair that fit you.
In light of what has taken place shouldn't the chair and possibly the entire board of directors step down? When are the kids in this neighbourhood finally going to be thought of? Where is the accountability? Somebody needs to look into this.
Then why don't you clear the air instead of trying to cast doubt? Why has the DBGC been silent for so long in light of such serious allegations - perhaps because the allegations are correct!
I think that the Chair of the Board of the Davenport Boys and Girls Club could do better than this for a response (2:13 am?). The club is publicly funded and is answerable to the entire community and the entire community has been waiting for a promised public meeting in our community for 6 months.
The community and its children have been poorly treated and there are many unanswered questions as to how, at the end of the day, 300,000$ dollars plus donated goods and services that should have gone to the children and teenagers of this community was pissed down the drain. How did this happen and who is responsible? Having the the moral courage to face the funders and the community asap would be the role of any Chair of a professional publicly funded organization.
Given the enormity of the money involved, and the lack of transparency, the day that an independent administrator/auditor is appointed to take over the Dovercourt Boys and Girls club to satisfy parents, the community, donors, and taxpayers is drawing closer. That's because the community will demand it.
The last thing I want is South Sterling to be like the Distillery are which is an overpriced tourist destination. We need development that does something for the people that live here. Like having a real Boys and Girls Club clubhouse run by and accountable to this community.
This was very well written! For someone who is currently in the process of moving into the neighbourhood, this article brings light on all the great aspects of the Triangle!
Yasi's Place would love to thank the community. Without the support of the JT for the past 5 years we never would have made it this far. Unfortunately, we've had a string of bad luck over the past few months; sales are down, the building is in quite the state of disrepair and required massive work just for us to stay operational and we had to foot the bill for all those repairs, and the neighbourhood is changing drastically. Sadly, all of the money that had to be put into the place was not coming back at a rate that was acceptable for the owners and they didn't see a way to recover.
The decision was not mine. If I had been able to do anything to save the place, I would have.
We've had amazing support, made wonderful friends and are all happy to have been a part of something that we feel was very special.
If it makes you feel at all better, we donated everything that we could of our surplus goods to The Stop...so in a way, we'll still be helping to feed the community for a while.
I have been wondering about this issue for some time. Would the new mayor be happy with the waste of taxpayers' dollars? It has been quiet for too long. We all deserve an answer to what is going on with the club in this area.
I just got off the phone with Councillor Ana Bailão's office. I wanted to get an update on when and whether the bike lanes would still be going in on Lansdowne Ave. north of Bloor.
It turns out that if enough people call in to express their adversity to the bike lanes they may be able to overturn the approval and not put in the lanes.
I'm debating creating another seperate post about this in the main forums to make everyone aware of the situation.
I urge everyone who supports the bike lanes on Lansdowne to call in to Councillor Bailão's office and voice your support.
My personal opinion is that it would be shame to lose bike lanes that benefit everyone for the sake of saving 74 parking spaces in a soon to be overly congested area.
What are the conditions of the close - doesn't anyone have any more detail on this? Obviously, I would love to see another neighbourhood oriented business there - but maybe there are building / landlord issues than make that location challenging?
I attended and there were about 60+ people there, a real mixed bag of people. Started a little late but budget presentation by financial staff bureaucrats droned on, followed by rightie Mike del Grande budget chief droning on in a folksy manner basically tring to sell and defend the budget. Little time for questions, but some heated ones, with few real answers. Ana did not commit to a lot.
I will be blogging my version of the minutes at http://www.ward18.ca today with more detail.
Most telling thing was that Mike del Grande explained the process of having a series of filters: 1. Staff make budget based on Mayor's guidelines; 2. Committees consider budget, tinker; 3. Executive Committee (Ford's inner circle) tinkers, approves and passes on to Council and public; 4. Last filter is public onsultations (this week). Then goes to council for debate and vote Feb 23.
Isn't it strange that unelected staff set the stage first and public is left to the last?
The promotional renderings were posted last year (check the date). I should have been more clear...I was referencing the article posted yesterday, down at the bottom of that thread. It's all current photos (Jan 12), including some of the yoga/pilates studio.
But yeah, it still seems like most of those places are empty.
TTCchair Karen Stintz Tweeted this Friday night Jan 14,2011
A letter to our #TTC customers about this week's news & my "Route Realignment" comment. Have a safe weekend. http://is.gd/1o7rT9
Interesting in her letter that she refers to us as 'Fellow Customers"... I'd rather be called a fellow rider or a citizen. The whole Ford thing about treating government like any other business and providing the "perception" of customer service is wrong. To me the TTC is an essential service that is necessary to keep the economic and social engine of the city going.
It should certainly be funded more than the 30% governments put into it and decisions on cutting routes should have more to do with meeting community needs than ridership statistics. It's like the old days of railways when governments had to keep poor performing lines open just so citizens and goods could service areas in use.
I just hope people don't have to go out and protest lobby for each little city service they need.
That posting on Urban Toronto reads like a PR piece instead of real information. Most of those spaces are still empty. Why would somebody moving in create full colour images of their new space? That doesn't make any sense. Isnt it coincidental that the outside view is done with the same software ? My spider sense tells me these places are not selling.
We're opening a take-out counter soon!! We'll be offering fresh salads, soups, juices and much more!! I'll keep you updated as to when we'll be opening.
"The adaptable work lofts have attracted a diverse cross-section of businesses to date, including a Yoga and Pilates studio, a medical office, an animation studio, a clothing manufacturer, and a caterer."
The article also has some interior photos of the spaces and the businesses that are moving in.
Yasi's is (was) my favorite brunch spot in the area. Far superior to all those new Bloordale spots and closer to home. I will miss the Benny's cousin and the frenchie special. I don't get it.
That is what we have been waiting 6 months for, the truth and the facts. Previous postings said that a letter was to go out the next day about what happened with a community meeting to follow, none of which have happened. This is taxpayers money and we have a right to know what is going on. The air needs to be cleared. Enough already! The finger-pointing is not the issue. The children of this community who are being overlooked, again, are the issue!
Some people in the neighbourhood have told us it would be good to have pleasure-skating on a weekday evening. Other people have asked for music during skating. This Friday January 28 Campbell will have a special evening pleasure skating event from 6 to 9pm. There will be a campfire and music. We invite everybody to come out for a skate and hot chocolate by the fire. Campbell has $2 skate rentals (govt-issued ID, eg. driver's licence required). We only have a limited number of skates. Come early to get a pair that fit you.
In light of what has taken place shouldn't the chair and possibly the entire board of directors step down? When are the kids in this neighbourhood finally going to be thought of? Where is the accountability? Somebody needs to look into this.
Then why don't you clear the air instead of trying to cast doubt? Why has the DBGC been silent for so long in light of such serious allegations - perhaps because the allegations are correct!
I think that the Chair of the Board of the Davenport Boys and Girls Club could do better than this for a response (2:13 am?). The club is publicly funded and is answerable to the entire community and the entire community has been waiting for a promised public meeting in our community for 6 months.
The community and its children have been poorly treated and there are many unanswered questions as to how, at the end of the day, 300,000$ dollars plus donated goods and services that should have gone to the children and teenagers of this community was pissed down the drain. How did this happen and who is responsible? Having the the moral courage to face the funders and the community asap would be the role of any Chair of a professional publicly funded organization.
Given the enormity of the money involved, and the lack of transparency, the day that an independent administrator/auditor is appointed to take over the Dovercourt Boys and Girls club to satisfy parents, the community, donors, and taxpayers is drawing closer. That's because the community will demand it.
The last thing I want is South Sterling to be like the Distillery are which is an overpriced tourist destination. We need development that does something for the people that live here. Like having a real Boys and Girls Club clubhouse run by and accountable to this community.
This was very well written! For someone who is currently in the process of moving into the neighbourhood, this article brings light on all the great aspects of the Triangle!
Yasi's Place would love to thank the community. Without the support of the JT for the past 5 years we never would have made it this far. Unfortunately, we've had a string of bad luck over the past few months; sales are down, the building is in quite the state of disrepair and required massive work just for us to stay operational and we had to foot the bill for all those repairs, and the neighbourhood is changing drastically. Sadly, all of the money that had to be put into the place was not coming back at a rate that was acceptable for the owners and they didn't see a way to recover.
The decision was not mine. If I had been able to do anything to save the place, I would have.
We've had amazing support, made wonderful friends and are all happy to have been a part of something that we feel was very special.
If it makes you feel at all better, we donated everything that we could of our surplus goods to The Stop...so in a way, we'll still be helping to feed the community for a while.
Thanks,
Laura Gallivan, Yasi's Place
I'd like to know what is going on as well. Or what did go on, it is important to keep an issue like this alive if there is to be any accountability.
I have been wondering about this issue for some time. Would the new mayor be happy with the waste of taxpayers' dollars? It has been quiet for too long. We all deserve an answer to what is going on with the club in this area.
Hi,
I just got off the phone with Councillor Ana Bailão's office. I wanted to get an update on when and whether the bike lanes would still be going in on Lansdowne Ave. north of Bloor.
It turns out that if enough people call in to express their adversity to the bike lanes they may be able to overturn the approval and not put in the lanes.
I'm debating creating another seperate post about this in the main forums to make everyone aware of the situation.
I urge everyone who supports the bike lanes on Lansdowne to call in to Councillor Bailão's office and voice your support.
My personal opinion is that it would be shame to lose bike lanes that benefit everyone for the sake of saving 74 parking spaces in a soon to be overly congested area.
Having lived in the neighborhood for one year, I am so sad to lose Yasi's Place. It was a gem and a special find.
Detailed report on #ward18 Ana Bailao Town Hall here
http://tinyurl.com/47ftsxd
A+ good intentions, C- for implementation
Ken Wood
What are the conditions of the close - doesn't anyone have any more detail on this? Obviously, I would love to see another neighbourhood oriented business there - but maybe there are building / landlord issues than make that location challenging?
I attended and there were about 60+ people there, a real mixed bag of people. Started a little late but budget presentation by financial staff bureaucrats droned on, followed by rightie Mike del Grande budget chief droning on in a folksy manner basically tring to sell and defend the budget. Little time for questions, but some heated ones, with few real answers. Ana did not commit to a lot.
I will be blogging my version of the minutes at http://www.ward18.ca today with more detail.
Most telling thing was that Mike del Grande explained the process of having a series of filters: 1. Staff make budget based on Mayor's guidelines; 2. Committees consider budget, tinker; 3. Executive Committee (Ford's inner circle) tinkers, approves and passes on to Council and public; 4. Last filter is public onsultations (this week). Then goes to council for debate and vote Feb 23.
Isn't it strange that unelected staff set the stage first and public is left to the last?
You can still make deputations/pleas to the powers that be at upcoming meetings:
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/meetingCalendarView.do?function=meetingCalen...
Ken Wood
Anyone attend this meeting? Anything important come up? I couldn't make it but sent some comments to Ana's office earlier this week.
The promotional renderings were posted last year (check the date). I should have been more clear...I was referencing the article posted yesterday, down at the bottom of that thread. It's all current photos (Jan 12), including some of the yoga/pilates studio.
But yeah, it still seems like most of those places are empty.
TTCchair Karen Stintz Tweeted this Friday night Jan 14,2011
A letter to our #TTC customers about this week's news & my "Route Realignment" comment. Have a safe weekend. http://is.gd/1o7rT9
Interesting in her letter that she refers to us as 'Fellow Customers"... I'd rather be called a fellow rider or a citizen. The whole Ford thing about treating government like any other business and providing the "perception" of customer service is wrong. To me the TTC is an essential service that is necessary to keep the economic and social engine of the city going.
It should certainly be funded more than the 30% governments put into it and decisions on cutting routes should have more to do with meeting community needs than ridership statistics. It's like the old days of railways when governments had to keep poor performing lines open just so citizens and goods could service areas in use.
I just hope people don't have to go out and protest lobby for each little city service they need.
Ken Wood
kenwood@bell.net
I follow our Councillor Ana Bailao and city politics at http://www.ward18.ca
That posting on Urban Toronto reads like a PR piece instead of real information. Most of those spaces are still empty. Why would somebody moving in create full colour images of their new space? That doesn't make any sense. Isnt it coincidental that the outside view is done with the same software ? My spider sense tells me these places are not selling.
We're opening a take-out counter soon!! We'll be offering fresh salads, soups, juices and much more!! I'll keep you updated as to when we'll be opening.
Saw this posted in the Urban Toronto forums:
The article also has some interior photos of the spaces and the businesses that are moving in.
Martin Reis (AKA Tino) has a photo set on Flickr of the final day at Yasi's, plus some older photos, including a few pre-Yasi pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinreis/sets/72157625689025311/
Yasi's is (was) my favorite brunch spot in the area. Far superior to all those new Bloordale spots and closer to home. I will miss the Benny's cousin and the frenchie special. I don't get it.
it's such a great place, great mood, fantastic and welcoming staff.... laura is totally cool. i will miss the coffee for sure!
I wonder why they are closing just after they completed renovations? This is a major loss to the community, for sure!