Captain John's Restaurant (1975-2012)

[someMidTowner]

Thanks for the photos. Strange that the commercial lights are still lit.

Yea I was wondering why they were still on....all the interior lights were off with the menus still posted outside.

I was under the impression that the power and water was cut off.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

sMT:

Just water. TO Hydro is arms length - i don't think the city can tell them to cut electricity on property tax arrears.

AoD

 

[MetroMan]

A realtor I work with says that there have been offers to take over Captain John's but the problem has been that the city won't grant any long term leases and nobody is going to invest in the ship without at least a decade of return on their investment. The City and WaterfronTO just want it out of there so they can get on with the redevelopment of the Yonge St. slip. The tax problem is just a fortunate opportunity to kick the Captain out of there.

As for removing the ship, wouldn't the scrap metal be worth a small fortune? If the city were to put out a request for proposals for a salvage yard to come in and take apart the vessel, they'd take it apart at no cost to the city and keep the scrap metal to sell.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Metro:

I think the problem is the possibility of asbestos and other contaminants on the boat, which will be costly to deal with.

AoD

 

[hawc]

Just tow it out and sink it. It's the cheapest thing to do and environmentally it will provide a reef for fish.

 

[MetroMan]

Ah I see. So a tugboat couldn't pull this thing out into the harbour and make it a New Years Eve 2013 fireworks display?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

As expected - from the Star:

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1232426--captain-john-s-owner-refuses-to-budge

AoD

 

[hawc]

Two quotes from The Star comment section that hit the nail on the head:

If he was a restaurant on any street in Toronto and owed the amount of back taxes, etc., they'd shut him down too. Time to move on, Captain. There's no way you can pay what you owe and even if the restaurant had stayed open, the quality and service over the last 15 years had depreciated so much, that you would never break even

Why should Captain John receive special treatment? Anyone else who falls $500,000 behind on property taxes would lose their property, which would then be auctioned to cover those back-taxes. As for the "I'm an immigrant, who worked hard for many years" claim, how is he any different from the millions of other immigrants who worked hard for many years, and still have to follow the rules?

 

[spires]

Apropos of nothing

 

[Admiral Beez]

I think the problem is the possibility of asbestos and other contaminants on the boat, which will be costly to deal with.

This isn't a big issue. There's a ship breaking yard in Port Colborne, ON that that specializes in scrapping old ships and dealing with dangerous materials properly. http://www.internationalmarinesalvage.com/products-services/ship-breaking/

Offer them the ship for nothing but the transport cost and Toronto will be free of Captain John's.

 

[hawc]

Sink it!

 

[cdr108]

is this issue still ongoing? really?!?

the 2 quotes that hawc posted from the star's comments are correct ... why is he being given special treatment?

 

[Urban Shocker]

Sink it!

... and strap those mothballed neon Sam The Record Man signs on either side of it, and get them spinning and flashing like the wheels of a Grand Guignol paddle steamer, before she slips beneath the waters.

 

[hawc]

Agreed.

 

[CapitalSeven]

If they want to sink this sad hulk, I can think of 320 pounds of balast they could start loading it with.