John Dirga is visiting us from Cabbagetown in Atlanta, Georgia where he operates the Carroll Street Café and is active in the Neighbourhood Improvement Area. Like our community, his Cabbagetown is a heritage district that has been rescued and revitalized by people who love its history. John has spent some time with us already and plans to return for a walking tour on Saturday.
Panhandling
New ideas for tackling our panhandling problems are emerging from City Hall. In the summer of 2007, the staff at Streets-to-Homes studied panhandling and its impact along Yonge Street, in Yorkville and in the Entertainment District. They’ve come up with some innovative ideas that may help all of us to solve the problem.Their report will be made officially at City Council’s Executive Committee on Monday morning. After being debated there, it will travel on to a full Council meeting at some date in the near future.
This report calls for a concentrated program of personal contacts between City staff and individual panhandlers. This will be a one-on-one approach with case workers identifying and working with individuals to figure out their problems and to point them toward help. Solving the problems caused by panhandlers will become a social service focus and not a police issue.
Streets-to-Homes is known for its direct, repeated approach to individuals in need. People are not forgotten or treated in some assembly-line fashion. That determination will be used with panhandlers as well. Case workers will be on the job at least sixteen hours a day and in the summer, they’ll be on the streets even longer. To supplement this, there will be a hotline where we can call to notify them when a panhandler becomes a problem.
Cabbagetown will be one of the neighbourhoods included in this focused, intense coverage by the case workers. The BIA pushed for this last year and it’s good news to us that problems in our area will be one of the priorities for the project.
We’ve had an “Oops” moment
But …
The Solid Waste folks at the City of Toronto have been upset about it. Apparently, we got carried away. Despite the volume and the surprise of it all, the crews on the trucks tackled those big piles and got them away safely. So this is both an apology and a heartfelt thank-you to the people at Solid Waste who helped us over Saturday and Sunday night.
It seems that several items that were pitched out should have been discarded in some other way. Appliances, for example, can be picked up throughout the year with a simple telephone call to Solid Waste. Bricks, boards and other construction materials need to be handled through private disposals. We’re reminded to look at the calendar sent out by the City – it lists telephone numbers that can be used on a daily basis to arrange for a pick-up and go to the official web site at www.toronto.ca/garbage/index.htm.
So, in 2009, we’re going back to basics: litter only. We’ll clean public spaces and be ready to sort and recycle wherever possible.
On top of all this, we still need to keep up the community spirit and enthusiasm that has made this day so successful for us up to now.
It’s going to be a busy weekend…
The Forsythia Festival is here: Sunday, May 4. Riverdale Park (Sumach & Winchester) and Wellesley Park (east end of Wellesley.) Face painting and twizzlers at 10 am at Riverdale. 10:30 am – parade from Riverdale to Wellesley. Festival in Wellesley following the parade.
Art Exhibition at The Residence in Riverdale Farm. Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5, 10 am to 4 pm. This promises to be a real treat. The people who are jurists for Art & Crafts in the Park (the annual show held during the Festival) are presenting their own works. It’s a celebration of the show’s twentieth anniversary. These jurists are the artists whose dedication and good judgment guarantees a high-quality event each year.
Momentum 2008 is our chance to see tomorrow’s dancers today. Performances take place at the Winchester Dance Theatre (80 Winchester) over two weekends: May 1 to 3 and May 8 to 10, at 8 pm. A gala performance and fundraiser happens on Friday, May 7. $15 ($12 for students, seniors, CADA). You can contact the box office at 416-967-6887 and info@schooloftdt.org
In mid-May, the Farmer’s Market will reappear in Riverdale Park. Every Tuesday, starting on May 13, the market will open from 3 to 7 pm.Driver wanted
A local Cabbagetown business needs a driver for a van for 3 days/week (with the possibility that the job will grow to 4 days/week), 8 hours a day, $14/hour. You must have a clean driving abstract. Some lifting will be involved - your deliveries will include boxes that weigh up to 25 pounds each. Call Graeme at (416) 925-4643.
The Forsythia Festival is here and it’s a sure sign that Spring has reached us. Sunday, May 4. Riverdale Park (Sumach & Winchester) and Wellesley Park (east end of Wellesley.) Face painting and twizzlers at 10 am at Riverdale. 10:30 am – parade from Riverdale to Wellesley. Festival in Wellesley following the parade.
Art Exhibition at The Residence in Riverdale Farm. Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5, 10 am to 4 pm. This promises to be a real treat. The people who are jurists for Art & Crafts in the Park (the annual show held during the Festival) are presenting their own works. It’s a celebration of the show’s twentieth anniversary. These are the artists whose dedication and good judgment guarantees a high-quality event each year.
The new Wing Machine restaurant hosted the meeting. It gave us a chance to introduce their wings and pizza (both recommended) to the crowd and to show off their impressive renovations. Many thanks for the fine hospitality.
With her fabulous new raffia hats and bags, handmade in Madagascar at a woman’s co-op. They come in wide and medium brim, bucket and cloche. You can select hot summer colours or subdued pastels. They can be conveniently folded for travel and the matching bags finish the touch to glam up any outfit. (503 Parliament, 416-963-9426)
Just opened at 538 Parliament. This is a tidy, bright room in an interesting part of Cabbagetown. Nora is offering a 15% discount to everyone who visits her salon for the first time. Of course, we welcome her and wish her all the best in her new location.
Cabbagetown’s largest English-language school, TLP is located at 386 Ontario just south of the corner at Gerrard. Since 2006, over 500 students from twenty countries have passed through its doors. This year, enrolment will increase even further and is expected to double within the month. These lucky young people are all being introduced to Toronto and Canada through the eyes of Cabbagetown – wow! Cabbagetown residents can host students during their stay here. Check out the website at 
Flowers are back
Saturday, April 23 – 9 am to 2 pm
The proposal to build a retail power centre at Leslie and Eastern Avenue has been opposed by the City of Toronto. The developer, SmartCentres, has appealed the City’s decision to the OMB. Local residents and business groups are supporting the City’s stand in the OMB hearing.
Soup (6031/2 Parliament, just below Wellesley) is holding a pre-Mother’s Day, beginning-of-spring sale. Their goodies certainly qualify as “great stuff” – handcrafted jewelry, silk screened clothing, preserved and pressed flowers in glass, and amazing specialty greeting cards from Branch Out. 10 am to 4 pm. 
The rush is on at Cycle Solutions, getting bikes ready for everyone for the spring season. You can avoid the line-ups by making an appointment (444 Parliament, 416-972-6948). A small refundable deposit will reserve your desired time slot with next-day delivery back to you. Spring tune-ups are now available at $45.
Enbridge is installing new gas mains along Parliament from Winchester south to Shuter. Their work is happening in two stages. First, they’re digging a trench along the street, putting in a new pipe and then temporarily filling it. In the second stage, individual buildings will be connected to the big pipe and the road and sidewalk will be given a more permanent repair. This work is scheduled for April with an early May completion date.
A beautiful office in a very friendly building is available on June 1. Ideal (but not necessary) for someone in A/V or digital media. Call George or Neale at Number 9 Audio Group (416-348-8718, 222 Gerrard St E).
Some of our most creative people work together at Soup Inc. So when they hold a big “one-day sale”, it’s guaranteed that there’ll be lots of beautiful gifts that you can scoop up for Mother’s Day (and for yourself.) Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, April 12th.
They’ve moved – from their small takeout location near Carlton to a spiffy new spot at Parliament and Spruce. Our neighbourhood gets a lot of benefits from their relocation. They’ve cleaned up a site that was previously riddled with disruptive drunks and drug dealers plus they’ve turned a shabby corner into an inviting new eatery.
JAM has been making a lot of Cabbagetown diners very happy since their opening last Fall. They’ve now added a “Street Car Special” to their regular calendar.
First of all, a grateful nod to Bill McDiarmid (238 Gerrard St E) who was a generous donor to the Cabbagetown Festival last year. Bill has a real sense of community service. McDiarmid & Associates provide tax service, financial accounting and statements, business plan development and a variety of other important financial services. You can learn more at www.cdnaccountancy.com and (416) 962-7540.
A few days ago, the BIA was asked about the diversity of the people living near Wellesley and Parliament. Once we started to list the stores and businesses serving this neighbourhood, we were amazed by the range that’s offered there:
Yarl's Superstore was reviewed and praised in the New York Times ("just like being in a Sri Lankan Village except for the frost on the windows").
