The North York Really Really Free Market at The Driftwood Community Center on January 30th Photo Credits: Tahoy James
Vietnamese New Year Celebrations
The TET Lunar New Years Celebrations kicking off on January 16th 2016, sponsored and organized by our local Vietnamese Association in Downsview.
New realities, New vision
The employment area that makes up the newly named DUKE Heights BIA will require a new way of doing business.The strength of the employment area are many. The new subway stations at Sheppard Ave. and Chesswood Ave. and at Keele St. and Finch Ave., the new Finch LRT which will see construction start in 2017, the proximity to York University and Seneca College, the opening of Canada’s first fully digital hospital down the street at Keele St. and Wilson Ave., the revitalization of Dowsnview Park and a number of private projects recently are all bringing new jobs to the area.The unveiling of our reimagined community brand of DUKE Heights on December 7th at the Champagne Centre near Alness St. and Finch Ave. saw the culmination of several years of work. Local businesses, along with City officials have been trying, for some time, to put together a new type of BIA. The night had several presentations, including keynote speaker, Toronto’s Chief Planner, Jennifer Keesmat, the General Manager for Economic Development, Michael Williams, City of Toronto Councillor Anthony Perruzza and IBI Group. Importantly, they are drawing out new ways of defining the inner suburbs, employment lands and city planning.The City of Toronto’s Economic Development Department has partnered with the DUKE Heights BIA to create a new study, which IBI Group is carrying out, in order to create this new framework. I have experienced the honour of being on Toronto’s City Council for 30 years and there are a number of suggestions that the BIA and the City need to undertake to facilitate and expedite growth in this area:1. Approve and implement tax exemption programs to upgrade older and outdated industrial buildings. This will incentivize the transformation of older, no longer competitive industrial building into more efficient structures. Such incentives, for example, could take the form of spurs to raise the roofs in old buildings. Current day manufacturing requires roofs much higher than what we had 50 years ago.2. Establish better links between educational institutions such as York University and Seneca College and local businesses. Not only would it benefit students with possible placement and job opportunities, but it can help businesses find new technologies and help to incubate new businesses.3. Work closely with utilities to ensure fast, reliable services that are a basic requirement of successful businesses. Too often, the existing network of roads, electricity, water and internet are underfunded and it leads to shortages and poor service. We need to do better in the 21st Century.4. Last, but not least, we need planning initiatives that establish urban life hubs where people want to work and live. The young, creative professionals of the new economy demand this in places near where they work. That is why office employment is growing in Downtown Toronto. One such has been recognized by the City at the intersection of Keele St. and Finch Ave., which now allows for mixed used developments.We need to grow this corridor to fasten the process of growth.To learn more about the BIA and its plan on strengthening the community visit:http://dufferinfinchbia.ca/index.html
Cutting the cord on expensive cable
If you hate your cable and internet bill, keep reading this article.Cable and Internet can set you back $100 to $200 every month. Luckily you have some alternatives, particularly for cable. The problem of course is that there are only two major providers. All the smaller cable and internet providers use Rogers and Bell infrastructure so that there is not a lot of competition. It really comes down to a having two private companies with a shared protected monopoly. This explains the lack of service when you call them for anything. It also explains the movement of people that call themselves “cordcutters”.“Cordcutters” are people that got tired of the high fees and poor customer service and looked for ways around streaming content.There are options out there. For starters, pick-and-pay cable is finally coming to Canada. The Federal agency that oversees the cable industry gave all cable companies until March of 2016 to provide a new service. Starting in two months all cable companies will have to provide the following new items:• “basic” bundles for $25• all channels not included in the basic package are to be offered in small packages or individuallyYou want the sports channels, but not the other 200 odd channels that come with it? You will have more options now with traditional cable companies. However, this is not the solution for everyone. For many, maybe cable TV does not offer all you need so many people have now switched to internet media streamers.You can get a lot of content directly to your TV through a media streamer connected to the internet. Through the box you can search for content, order a TV series, download movies, etc. There are dozens of models, but they come in two basic forms: paid boxes and free boxes.The most popular paid boxes are Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. While they provide access to some free programming, they largely depend on consumers ordering content services like Netflix, Amazon, Cineplex, NHL Gamecentre Live, VUDU, etc. Apple TV on the other hand has limited options to free content. The boxes range from about $100.00 and ordering the services you want as opposed to a package with 300 channels you don't watch can save you some money.The free programming based boxes also offer access to some of the same paid content, but they also offer alternatives to watch some of the same shows and live events without having to fork over the money. Some of the most common alternative media streamers are Xbox, PS4, Android TV and Chromecast. These range widely in price. They can go from $50 to $500. Depending on what you need and your budget, you may not need to pay for any services after you buy the hardware but you need a good internet connection.The last method may be the easiest and most economical to set up. It provides you with up to two dozen high definition channel, requires only a one time purchase and installation and requires no monthly payments of any kind, internet or cable. Your trusted old antenna is not your grandparent's antenna any more. By law, all major TV broadcasters now have to provide HD TV over the airwaves. In Downsview a good antenna can get you up to 26 channels from Canada and the US.Have you cut the cord yet?For more information and resources you can go here:http://cordbreaker.cahttp://www.canadiancordcutting.com/
Growing up in the Downsview in the late 50s early 60s
I lived on Regent Road in Downsview from 1954 when I was born until I moved away from home in 1973. Regent Road was south of the de Havilland Aircraft company facility and north of Wilson Avenue -- between Dufferin Street and the railway tracks. I wanted to write about some of the experiences and landmarks that were memorable to a kid growing up in that time and place.Our house on Regent was just up the road from Murray Street. Between Murray Street and the tracks were lumber yards and I would jump their fence late at night and gather up a big bag of sawdust to use in my hamster cage. This was before Teskey's set up their operation. We could bicycle up to de Havilland and ride around the parking lots. There was lots to look at, the big hangars sometimes with Beaver or Caribou planes on the tarmac, the memorial monument and a few plaques. There was one road into the plant area with a sign saying “Do not enter” that I always enjoyed entering. They had an airplane part junkyard at the end where they stored old containers for aircraft engines and such things.Behind Regent was Wilson Avenue and its shops and apartments. At Murray Street and Wilson was Avon Printing where they printed business cards using hand-placed lead type. A friend of mine lived in the apartment upstairs. Going east from there was an empty lot, the house of Mr. Lewis the lawyer, another lot, and then a small plaza. In the plaza was a fish and chips shop where they wrapped the food in old newspapers and then sold you a grape crush to go along with it. Beside it was a shop selling cigarettes, candies, pop, Archie comics, and some dry goods. I used to collect discarded cigar bands just outside. The plaza also had a small grocery store, a hairdresser, and a barber shop with the red and white barber pole. Behind the plaza was a long rickety wooden shed where they kept old pieces of pipe and other useless stuff that as an exploring kid you found so fascinating. Then there was undeveloped field with a large billboard with a heavy wooden structure we used to climb on. That led to the plaza this side of Garrett Street with its delicious Maestro Pizza and another cigarette store. Past Garret along Wilson was the Dominion store, the dentist (what was his name – he had a cord-driven drill and this big black x-ray machine), the doctor (Dr. Fine?), the Toronto Dominion Bank at Lady York, the rifle store, the vacuum cleaner store, …At the southwest corner of Wilson and Dufferin was the Diplomat Tavern. A friend of my father used to frequent there. Across the road, on the northwest corner, was an early McDonalds with its golden arches and its millions and millions served. We loved their fries and milkshakes and wouldn’t think much about healthy food until much later. Further up Wilson was the Mr. Donut with its W-shaped roof and the donut-making machine out front where the customers could watch the donuts popping out of the dough-bin and then float down a curved channel of heated oil. Past that was of Bathurst street.with its curious store-fronts of Jewish bookstores, prayer halls, bakeries, and grocery storesFor some photos from this period, see my early Downsview web site at http://www.michaeld.ca/downsview/
The beauty within Downsview’s history
Winding side streets are lined with sturdy brick bungalows, built during the suburban expansion after WWII. Major intersections anchor the plazas; the parking lots, strip malls and cavernous super markets that emerged as the fated corollary of suburbia. But there are also the concrete towers that rose from the ground to accommodate Canadian newcomers from around the world. And then there are cranes and sleek glass condominiums; the monuments of our present moment.But on Keele St., across from the imposing real-estate sales centre in Downsview Park, there is a red brick home with arched windows and sweeping gables. The “George Jackson House” represents another chapter in the history of Downsview.In 1827, newlywed Irish immigrants William and Jane Jackson purchased 200 acres of land for a £1 an acre. Immediately after their honeymoon, William and Jane packed their wooden carriage with tools, food and lumber. An oxen pulled them along a network of dirt trails that were woefully unsuited for their mode of travel. They got stuck in a ravine, just north of modern day Keele and Lawrence, and the newlyweds spent a restless night under the stars. The next morning a team of local farmers helped William and Jane complete their journey, launching them into their new lives.The land we now call Dowsnview was once a patchwork of enormous farms. The landscape was delineated not by concrete, glass and asphalt, but instead by potato, wheat and corn. The Jacksons’ diligently farmed their land. Despite setbacks – on one trek along the treacherous dirt trails, William toppled a wagon full of hay three times – the family prospered. For many years, William served as a Justice of the Peace and public school trustee.Near the end of the 19th century, William’s son George Jackson and his wife Sarah inherited the land, and they built the redbrick home with the sweeping gables. They parlayed the family fortunes and, like his father, George took up public service as both a school trustee and township Councillor.These are the biographical footnotes that invariably echo through time, but artifacts left behind by the Jackson family afford us a much more intimate glimpse into their lives. What is more, they leave us with impressions of family members who otherwise would have been lost in the fog of time.The daughters of the family, Alice and Bessie, kept a great deal of their school work. One essay, written during WW1, perhaps while they attended Weston High School, argues in favor of women’s’ right to vote. A passage reads “Woman’s property and person are protected by a man’s hand – but why is it necessary when she is able and willing to take her own share in the burden?” The essay continues, “[woman’s entitlement to vote] needs no further comment than the bravery, perseverance, enthusiasm and spirit shown in the present war”.The Jacksons’ lost control of the home in the 1960’s. It became a nursing home and then later an office building. In the 2000’s the flames of re-development threatened to engulf the red brick home, but in 2012 the structure was saved by a historic property designation. Today it still serves as office space, but the history of the Jackson family adorns the walls on the ground floor.Reading into this chapter of our community history raises more questions than answers. What was life like as a 19th century farmer in Downsview? What other chapters of our community history are missing, and how can we recover them? What will remain of our way of life in 120 years? There are no definitive answers to these questions, but one thing is certain. History is a lot like Downsview; the only certainty is change.
Toronto City Council approves traffic light at Sheppard Ave. and Bakersfield St.
When you are travelling north on the Allen Road and are headed for the Finch and Keele area most drivers avoid the journey around what I call the Sheppard Avenue hump by turning north on Bakersfield Street.Bakersfield Street is the first street just west of the railroad underpass on Sheppard Avenue. That route allows you to go due north and then cut across Toro Road in a straight line to Keele Street. It shaves your trip by about 3 kilometers. Unfortunately, the trip cannot be done in reverse because a concrete barrier across Sheppard Avenue prevents you from turning left. To return most drivers turn left at St. Regis Road and access Sheppard via Tuscan Gate.I am happy to report that Toronto Council at their December meeting approved a traffic signal for the intersection of Sheppard West and Bakersfield Street. A new street, called Viti Street will be created by extending Bakersfield Southward to establish the main vehicle entrance to the new subway Station. Bakersfield will be widened at the South End to accommodate the flow of Traffic. That’s good news for everyone except the used car dealership that parks cars for sale all over the street.Bakersfield Street. A new street, called Viti Street will be created by extending Bakersfield Southward to establish the main vehicle entrance to the new subway Station. Bakersfield will be widened at the South End to accommodate the flow of Traffic. That’s good news for everyone except the used car dealership that parks cars for sale all over the street. The new subway station will be an important hub because it will function as a dual TTC/Go transit crossover. The go station for the northwest commuter line from York Region is located just across the tracks on the east side. Now, Instead of having to travel all the way down to Union Station to access Toronto, commuters from the North will be able to disembark at the new Go Station and access the subway system in Downsview. This will take thousands of cars off Toronto streets when people who live north of the City discover that they can now more conveniently travel to work by TTC.For Downsview residents, it means less traffic congestion, better transit access and now they won’t have to travel to the Allen Road in order to drop someone at a subway kiss and ride.
This is called weeding with a wrench
Poetry:
This is called weeding with a wrench.
Bored between conflict here and diamond there,
I dug myself out of the trench;
This is my uprising, like the poor man’s revolt;
Against the hunger and these crooks, squeezing me in my right turns like bolts;
But I should slow down; Take a seat and relax my crown;
It seems-stress can sew fear and loathing;
Clothing for those who oppose;
I’ve been holding back, anger and tears that made my eyes glow;
In the dark I sat, with things on my mind like a hat;
I write it down to cure my frown;
One line at a time like a needle pulling thread;
Scribble scrabble;
Then the ink settles and they marvel;
Our trendy society, do you follow her singular thoughts that she breeds;
Swear to abide by them before I could proceed;
From truths to absolutes she had me crammed;
Sweet Plasma Jam!
I over flowed, grim to the brim;
So I write to take off some, like a trim;
On all five corners of my head;
Quietly hairs fall, and I don’t wait to drop my weight;
Not at all;
Spit it all out I say, it is bad what we ate;
Was it not my body’s need of bread, I would never bother with her dread;
Otherwise I would just be; and my words free;
Out on the sea, there; where no one censors or gets taxed;
But I am in on civilized land, where the majority is walked on like sand;
Careless steps repeated by only a few;
By morning dew and things look new;
This is my chance;
I’m open for a change to be;
Strange at first, the look of things in range;
Rover rolls over clover;
The envious greens;
All eyes on me, and mine on your money;
Rhymes in my sight are bright, all the time, not only when it is sunny;
Weeding through life’s humors, which are not always funny.
Discover the genius within your child
The UCMAS Mental Math Program is revolutionizing the way children are learning life skills through math. These days it isn’t easy to stimulate a child for a long period of time without them reaching for electronics. When children have fun learning while in an encouraging environment surrounded by peers, their brains are given the opportunity to grow and excel in a healthy way. If you are looking for an after school program that will stimulate or child and help them in school then keep reading.UCMAS is a unique program that was developed in Malaysia in 1993 and has been offered in Canada since 2004. It promotes whole brain development by stimulating both sides of the brain. Children are taught time management, memory, concentration, problem solving and how to multitask. Students range between the ages of four to 13 and they learn math with the use of an Abacus.“I grew up in the area so I know that such a program can improve scores in standardized testing, and will definitely have a massive impact on student success in this community,” said Mathan Thava who runs the only UCMAS program in North York (located right at Keele St.and Finch Ave.). “Programs fill up quickly and batches usually start around the beginning of a new school semester (September and January),” said Thava. Each level runs for four months, after completing a level there is a ceremony and children are presented with a certificate of completion and moved on to the next level. Children are encouraged to help one another which promotes self-confidence.“This mental math program teaches a child’s brain to problem solve at a high level using focus and concentration,” said Thava. UCMAS opens the door to a student’s proficiency and confidence in math while laying down the foundation for children to develop fundamental learning skills that will ensure success in school and in their daily lives. “We are teaching kids to utilize their full capacity and levels of concentration to become better at math and use those skills to lead a fulfilling life,” says Thava.Programs are developed by experts in child development as well as psychologists alongside carefully selected program specialists. UCMAS is an ISO 9001:2008 certified program.Contact the Aizen Academy to register for the UCMAS Program today!UCMAS North York @ Keele & FinchAizen Academy Inc. - Mathan Thava1290 Finch Ave West Unit 22Toronto , ON M3J 3K3Cell (647) 990-0864 - Office (416) 665-4756 Present this newspaper to receive a 35 Value Student Kit FREE.
Syrian refugees settling in Downsview at The Toronto Plaza Hotel
The lobby of the Toronto Plaza Hotel, located on Wilson Avenue near Downsview Arena, hums with laughter, conversation and the scampering of Syrian children running and exploring their temporary home. Women chat in groups, many of them holding their pregnant bellies, and the men converse separately; some smoke outside in clusters while five boys play soccer.The Toronto Plaza Hotel will be home to around 400 Syrian refugees until COSTI Immigrant Services can relocate them to permanent housing.As an active and passionate participant of NGO projects overseas, General Manager Rehan Chaudary welcomes the newly landed refugees and is happy to take part in his own NGO project right at home.The refugees arrived earlier this month over a four-day period, in accordance with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to approve 25,000 refugees to live in Canada. The hotel has rented 100 rooms for its uncommon guests and expects 80 more by the end of this week.“It has really been affecting the business,” says Chaudary. “The tourists aren’t used to so many guests and local travelers are not always happy to see the Syrians. We still have walk-in traffic and our banquet halls are open, but right now we are fully catering to our Syrian guests.”The hotel is doing everything they can to accommodate the needs of the refugees.The hotel restaurant, Greenery Restaurant, has Muslim cooks who prepare halal meals for the Syrians three times a day, free of charge. The hotel also has a medical team on standby to assist the pregnant women –one who just gave birth –and tend to the children, which Chaudary describes some as “in pretty bad shape.”Chaudary has hired a few Arabic-speaking employees who communicate with the refugees and who have placed signs written in Arabic around the hotel. The language barrier has been extremely difficult for the staff as almost none of the Syrians currently residing in the hotel speak English.Recently, on January 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., The Clothing Drive [an initiative to collect winter clothes for Syrian refugees] and Let Them be Kids [an initiative to collect toys for Syrian refugee children] held a pop-up shop at the hotel. Volunteers gave the refugees donated winter clothes, toys and other necessities, while COSTI Immigrant Services works to fulfill the refugees’ necessities of permanent housing.COSTI has hired extra staff to speed up the housing process as they have never handled so many refugees in such a short period of time. The agency, however, strives to find the refugees homes, assist them in the employment process and offer them free English lessons.The Syrian refugees at Toronto Plaza Hotel have endured significant hardships these past few years, from losing their homes to watching bombs go off in front of them. It has been a difficult journey for them as they have fled their violence-stricken country to an unfamiliar place where they do not know the language or the culture. The Downsview community, however, has been displaying its generosity through donations, sponsorships and simply by welcoming the refugees into the community.