Mayor Olivia Chow's Toronto

[Northern Light]

Indeed.

NT correct me if I am wrong but if this was done normally, would the owner not need to apply for a demolition permit among other things?

Having the City of Toronto do this on an emergency basis cuts out all the red tape with regards to permits, crews, etc.

In a non-emergency, yes, demolition requires a permit. There's also paper work and waits for turning off/disconnecting gas and electricity and so on.

The City can either do these things directly or bring in the utilities and authorize/compel the work.

***

In an emergency, private owners do have some defense of 'necessity' for carrying out certain work w/o permits, but on a scale of unauthorized demolition that would be exceedingly rare.

 

[DSC]

Look at streetview I think the storefronts have always been separate, but I don't doubt there have been compromises made to the support structure, the most significant being that of neglect.

TBH, some properties on the fringes of Chinatown are borderline slum properties including that infamous corner on Baldwin and Spadina, and you can tell that little maintenance and investment has gone into those buildings.

Streetview goes back to 2007 (when it looks as though all were stores with residents above, like now), the buildings are far older than that (1920s??) and my suggestion was the they had begun their lives as (attached) houses but whether they began as stores/residential or were converted to this from 100% residential, there is little doubt they have been 'renovated' several times and likely some major beams have been compromised (or simply rotted).

 

[generalcanada]

somone on reddit was saying years ago they had 50 living up there.
That would be crazy

 

[Jonny5]

Thousands of roaches are gonna be looking for new homes when that thing comes down.

 

[Northern Light]

Demolition underway:

Source: https://toronto.citynews.ca/

 

[toonderly]

There is a survey on the city's website regarding commemorative benches and trees if anyone is interested in completing it.

Commemorative Tree & Bench Program

Share your thoughts and feedback about the Commemorative Tree and Bench Program. The survey is live until August 22, 2024. Take the Survey The commemorative tree and bench program has reached capacity and is no longer accepting applications for the spring 2024 season. Applications are expected...

www.toronto.ca

 

[Northern Light]

The Globe and Mail's Marcus Gee with a column on the weekend lamenting Toronto's ugly Parks garbage bins and highlighting superior options with photos from Montreal, Madrid and London, UK:

How Toronto can do public garbage better

If other cities can figure out how to collect trash without uglifying the cityscape, why can’t Toronto?

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[Northern Light]

Follow-up article on the collapsed building on Dundas W.
A citizen had filed complaints over the structural condition of the building going back years........and as recently as this past January.

While in some cases the City did order work......it appears they didn't carry out any inspection of the remediation, and on a subsequent complaint, no action was taken.

Toronto Building not looking good at all here.

Dundas West building that collapsed was deemed “unsafe” by the city — but case was closed in 2019

City inspections that deemed the building “unsafe” raise questions about Toronto’s ability to enforce its bylaws.

www.thestar.com

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Follow-up article on the collapsed building on Dundas W.
A citizen had filed complaints over the structural condition of the building going back years........and as recently as this past January.

While in some cases the City did order work......it appears they didn't carry out any inspection of the remediation, and on a subsequent complaint, no action was taken.

Toronto Building not looking good at all here.

Dundas West building that collapsed was deemed “unsafe” by the city — but case was closed in 2019

City inspections that deemed the building “unsafe” raise questions about Toronto’s ability to enforce its bylaws.

www.thestar.com

We enforce? If I am cold-hearted I'd say the city lucked out that no one died - or they'd be hauled before an inquiry.

AoD

 

[Richard White]

We enforce? If I am cold-hearted I'd say the city lucked out that no one died - or they'd be hauled before an inquiry.

AoD

It would be helpful if there was legislation to bring things in line with how Condos are run.

With Condominiums, Condo Corporations are able to complete required repairs that owners themselves fail to make within a reasonable time. Those repairs are then charged back to Owners.

Usually the above is enshrined in Condominium Declarations but you get my point. It would be helpful to have legislation that says municipalities or other governing bodies can complete major repairs if an Owner does not give a s***.

 

[Admiral Beez]

This kind of collapse usually happens because, over the years, the building has been altered and major support beams have been cut or rotted. They probably began as homes with small rooms and those on main floor were 'merged' so supports were removed so they could be used as stores.

I’ve seen that on house tours here in Cabbagetown, where “urban professionals” have bought an old semi and ripped out all the interior walls in pursuit of suburban-like open concepts, only to cause the house to lean and shift. OTOH, my wife and I love our warren of 1920s original yet functional rooms.

 

[Northern Light]

I’ve seen that on house tours here in Cabbagetown, where “urban professionals” have bought an old semi and ripped out all the interior walls in pursuit of suburban-like open concepts, only to cause the house to lean and shift. OTOH, my wife and I love our warren of 1920s original yet functional rooms.

Whether one's tastes lean open or closed, if you hire professional architects, engineers and contractors, who pull permits, your structure should not end up leaning!

That's a hallmark of amateurs, and pros who aren't, and are trying to skirt the fees of paying a pro and/or permits.

Sketch work is sketch work.

 

[DSC]

Coming to Service Excellence Committee next week. This committee does seem to ask good questions. Though 311 is pretty good at taking in complaints, they do not actually FIX anything and follwoing up on reports is very difficulyt.

 

[picard102]

311 is such a PITA to file reports if it's not about garbage or a pothole.

 

[DSC]

Not quite sure what is going on but I just heard that Gary Yorke who was the Executive Director of the City's Customer Service Group (and 311) 'is no longer with the City". He seemed to be a live wire with great plans....

311 is such a PITA to file reports if it's not about garbage or a pothole.

If you are reporting something online and they have a Form for it, it is really not too complicated, the problems arise if one wants to report something 'odd'.. There are Forms to report graffiti on lots of City 'things' but if you want to report grafitti on a Bike Box (as I did last week) you are out of luck as it does not have category and they do not have space for "other". Though I understand why they prefer Forms, they really DO need a Form for "other".