Photo: Destined for demolition

Meet the future site of Sherbourne Park, on Queens Quay East. We were walking by the site that will be demolished soon to make way for public space as part of the East Bayfront project, and thought we'd snap some pictures. The building is partly made up of old rail cars. Not quite history, we guess, but worth getting a last picture of.

Middle ground, anyone? The Porter and Toronto Island Airport divide

There's a hell of a lot of passion when it comes to the Porter Airlines and its expansion at the Toronto Island Airport. Who knows what it is, but there seems to be two main camps. Those vehemently against it, and those who wholeheartedly support it. Okay, fine, there`s a third camp that sorta wonders what the other two are fighting over.

What we find interesting, not too surprisingly we guess, is that people from all over the city are engaged in the debate about the airport. On Monday, as the airline and federal officials were announcing a $45 million expansion and the addition of 10 planes to the fleet, such local luminaries as Adam Vaughan and Olivia Chow, along with the activist group CommunityAir, protested. Later, at an event at the nearby Harbourfront Community Centre, CommunityAir said that a survey of the residents who attend said 47% said their chief concern was noise and air pollution.

The CommunityAir point of view is well documented on their website and you can see their viewpoint on their blog.

So where should one lie as a resident of Queens Quay. There is an assumption that residents of the waterfront are against the airport. We at QQL are pretty much in the middle -- we can see the concerns with pollution but we also realize that we live just south of a major highway and are a few blocks from a major city core and you can`t argue against the convenience (yes, we`ve flown Porter before). We`re just not so sure that there is really a black and white answer to this (as in, no airport or yes airport).

We were interested enough to peruse the comment boards of some of the newspaper online articles for some other opinions. Here`s an interesting sampling.

From the Toronto Star

Porter should be banned: Cannot immagine the pollution this will bring not to mention the total disregard of peace and quiet. Turn the island airport to a city park for all to enjoy. Poeple should be more environmentally conscious.

---

there's no way you can hear them at king st: I worked at wellington and Portland for 3 years, and i've never, every heard any planes from the island. Not once. There's so much other noise between here and the island (the expressway, train tracks, Toronto in general), there's no way.

---
Lived right there at 34 Little Norway facing the airport and the traffic on King Street is much louder (lived there as well). Just becuase you live on the water does not mean you are more entitled to quiet then everyone else. (BTW I love in a house now beside a subway station and the city buses are ALSO louder than any plane I ever heard on the waterfront).

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The planes do make alot of noise. I live at Bathurst and Queens Quay. The traffic is pretty messy too. It's only a matter of time before something bad will happen due largely to poor urban planning. If they had better public trains going to Pearson Airport I doubt this Porter thing would have had much luck.

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My 2 cents as someone that lives close by....First and foremost - Yes, I knew there was an airport when I moved in and I am not posting here to complain - just want to clarify a few points. Lets not give Porter too much credit for a successful business model since they received an undisclosed sum as a settlement when the bridge was cancelled (Estimates I have read are $20-$30M). Second, I will admit, the sounds of the planes are not that bad where I live - other than when they do their maintenance run ups - those are very, very loud and residents have a right to complain about them. Furthermore, The "Quiet" in the Q400 refers to the ride inside...not approach noise


---

I live in the neighbourhood. I didn't know there was an airport even there until a week after I moved in. The way things are now is fine. There is nothing more awesome than walking to the airport, flying direct to Newark and taking US Helicopter from the terminal to midtown Manhattan, all for the same price as flying out of Pearson. This is the way travel should be.

---

My sister lives near Bathurst and King. I visit her frequently. She knows the Porter airplanes bring plenty of noise.

---

Cities and downtowns are defined by density; swaths of people living, working, and playing in a common area. [A private community on a public island], barricading off acres upon acres of prime downtown real estate, goes entirely against this philosophy, restricting a huge area to a meagre few. A large chunk of downtown, a stretch of one of the city's finest beaches, and a huge portion of the inner harbour are all off-limits. Imagine the benefit of [evicting the squatters and freeing up that land for everyone]? Homes, jobs, amenities... benefits for thousands and proper growth for the city [everything denied us by a bunch of NIMBYs]. The waterfront should be usable and enjoyable for the whole city, not just [those few people living on it].

---

I lived on Queen's Quay for several years, right near the airport. Contrary to what the spoiled denizens of the Islands would have you believe, the airport is not a problem. In the years I lived there, not once was I awakened or annoyed by charter planes. It's also terrific that people can now take convenient trips without having to haul all the way out to Pearson, where usurious parking fees and terrible traffic reign. By all means, expand the Island Airport. Ignore the notoriously whiny NIMBY Islanders.

Anyways, this goes on and on and on and from what we see, a majority are not against the Island Airport. Of course, commenting boards are usually the silent minority, but not worth ignoring.

The Globe and Mail had more than 100 comments on their story. Here are a few from people

David McKenna from Toronto, Canada writes: I live in a condo apartment on the lakeshore and can see the airport out my window. It is true the planes actually are very quiet. As an airline, the service is superb and much better than any other airline. I travel regularly and cannot notice much difference between United, Delta, Air Canada, etc. Porter is significantly different.

---

GK cheese from Toronto, Canada writes: Claims about current quietness seem a stretch. I live about 2 km's from the airport and can hear the turboprops rumbling every morning at 7 am. Mind you it's not as bad as the sound of the Gardiner Expwy.

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Bobby S from Canada writes: I am very happy for Porter and their CEO. They are a great company that run a pleasant, serviceable airline. I have used them many times and I live walking distance to the airport. I saw some of the protesters this morning, and I'm routinely greeted by them as I get off the flights, but I hope they don't derail, the good honest work by Porter. My only concern is that they don't become too big too quick. We all remember Jetsgo, and I certainly hope Porter sticks around for a long time.

---

Wayne Morrison from Toronto, Canada writes: One other point. The island residents, and anybody who lives in a condo on the south side of the Gardner, are the last people on the planet who are entitled to complain about anybody ruining the view, taking up park space, or being located in an inappropriate space.

The National Post wrote an editorial criticizing mayor David Miller`s opposition and also lack of attendance at the ceremony. Here are a few paragraphs from the editorial:

`More sensible Canadians can only shake their heads at such displays of small-mindedness. Porter — like larger, Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd., which also took the risk of challenging Air Canada’s monopoly power — is succeeding in a cut-throat industry in which bankruptcies are all too common. (Air Canada is struggling to avoid its second such filing in six years in the face of dwindling demand and crushing debt and pension obligations.) It has done so not only through innovation and efficient service, but thoughtful amenities such as complimentary cappuccinos, Wi-fi service and computers in the Toronto terminal. (Oh, and you don’t have to join some hoity-toity “gold club” to get them.)

It is disheartening that Mr. Miller stands against the interests of a new, up-and-coming airline that has proven popular with passengers and revolutionized air travel in the region. Like Westjet, Porter has managed its feat without recourse to government bailouts or special subsidies. It deserves commendation, but instead faces continued hostility from Toronto’s obdurate left-wing council, which favours spending billions on a transit line to the distant and crowded Pearson while spurning the benefits to be had from promoting the more convenient island alternative.

And some comments from readers

Opposition to the Island Airport has never been about rationality or common sense. It has, however, served a useful ongoing distraction from the city's real problems which the Miller horde has done little to address.

His behaviour regarding the Island Airport is shameful and embarrassing; like a spoiled child that doesn't get his way, his rigid ideological opposition reveals how out of touch he really is. The success of the airport is a fitting tribute for this sad episode.

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... Private enterprise is merely an opportunity for government bureaucrats to gorge themselves at the public trough for a few years.

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This is Toronto, jda- nothing gets done on the waterfront. The bickering and infighting between various orders of government and their attendant visions lead to a whole lot of inertia and little else.

All we end up seeing are a lot of press conferences featuring artist concepts of things that will never get built with plenty of windy talk from assorted grandees about a new 'vision' for the waterfront. Please. We don't need any more visionaries announcing fancy schemes that are completely divorced from reality. No more Robert Fungs.
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As a life long right of centre voter and against my own better judgement, I voted for Miller based entirely on the Island airport issue.

I do feel that his performance as a Mayor should be separated from the airport issue.

On his performance as a Mayor, he is a complete failure and should be removed from office. I won't get into the many reasons why here.

Despite his massive failure as a Mayor, the mere existence of the airport is an ongoing and embarrassing nightmare for the waterfront. The noise and pollution from the planes is horrific and in the long term erodes the potential for our city. (And don't try and convince me that the convenience of an inner city airport for a few thousand travellers is worth the cost - it's not even close...)

So, at least Miller was consistent with his views by not showing up yesterday and no one should be surprised, but add to Miller's many failures the fact that the airport still exists, and what we do agree on is that he should be booted from office as soon as possible.
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Tablogloid - the condominiums near the bottom of bathurst don't have anything to complain about either. I've stood outside at the mainland ferry terminal waiting to meet people arriving, and you don't notice any sound from the planes. MAYBE if you had unusually sensitive hearing and were straining to make them out you'd notice a faint buzz, but realistically, the noise is a tiny fraction of the constant hum from the Gardiner.
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Ya, those ~100 planes a day are a nightmare compared to the over 1-million cars that are drawn to the city daily by the over-concentration of business (jobs) downtown.

Phew, that`s a lot.

Watermark Irish Pub open

Okay, it's open. We walked by the restaurant on Queens Quay Terminal and they were relatively busy. It looks very vibrant inside.

New (and approved) TTC Streetcars of the future: Low, sleek and futuristic

You may have read recently that the Toronto Transit Commission had picked Bombardier for its new concept of streetcars. Last night, the city council approved the plan, pending funding, of the 204 street cars. The costs have been reported to be between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion.

So imagine, if you will, over the next 10 years, these bad boys rolling across Queens Quay. And remember that they'll also looking at renovating Union Station and also building out a subway line on Queens Quay to Jarvis.





The designs call for minimum of 64 seats and the specs are calling for more room. More information on the Bombardier website.

The Bombardier site describes the new street cars as "modern, beautiful, safe, quick, comfortable." Hm, how does that stack up to our current fleet of about 250 cars, delivered in the 1970s and 1980s. More info on the TTC fleet.

Porter Airlines expansion includes U.S. Customs = more U.S. destinations?

Just read at the National Post that Porter will put $45-million into the Toronto Island Airport. By November, there will be an expansion in place with 150,000 square feet but the big news is that there will be U.S. customs, so this probably means more U.S. destinations.

We were right, in this Bloomberg story, the company said it's considering Boston and Washington this fall.

Here's more from the press release

Phase one of the terminal opens November 2009, and includes passenger
facilities, aircraft gates and office space. The full facility, including 10
bridged aircraft gates, U.S. and Canadian customs, and two passenger lounges
will be complete by spring 2010.
"Porter's new terminal is a concrete sign of Toronto City Centre
Airport's revitalization and our long-term commitment to providing
customer-focused service and added competition for air travelers," said Don
Carty, chairman of Porter Airlines.

Councillor Adam Vaughan to be at Queens Quay for meeting tomorrow

As seen on Vaughan's site

Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association Town Hall
Date: April 27 2009
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Harbourfront Community Centre, 627 Queens Quay
Councillor Vaughan will be a guest speaker at this meeting being organized by the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association. Bring your questions about the neighbourhood and hear about TTC service, traffic issues, the Toronto Island Airport, the Toronto Museum Project, a new library branch, and more.

Expect some fireworks maybe as the Toronto Island Airport announcement is tomorrow as well. Well timed.

Wind storm hits Toronto, goodbye sunny day on Queens Quay

Okay, since we showed you nice pictures of HTO Park a few hours ago on this glorious (er, windy) Saturday afternoon, here are some pictures we took as that massive wind storm blew past Toronto downtown. We were a little worried for some sailboats we saw drifting out there but the trusty fire rescue boats were out there.

From Environment Canada

AT 4:50 PM EDT RADAR SHOWS A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING WESTERN END OF LAKE ONTARIO. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH TORONTO BY 5;30 PM. WIND GUSTS TO 100 KM/H LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED

Photo: Happy spring Queens Quay

Yes, we were going to spend a few hours this fine afternoon blogging for QQLife but hey, neighbourhood blogging can be a drag on beautiful days. So today's entry, images from HTO Park this afternoon. Yes, there are those of you who are already out there in your summer swimwear tanning.

Get outside, enjoy our neighbourhood, folks.

Watermark Irish Pub opening soon?

We passed by the site of the Watermark Irish Pub at Queens Quay Terminal tonight. Construction is well under way and, in fact, they were serving food we believe to its staff. Can a real opening be far off? Well, they did promise an April opening on their website.

We noticed a few flat screen TVs and they're making use of the side area on the east side of the building.

Porter Airlines: Toronto Island Airport expansion means more flights, destinations?

On Monday, we'll hear more about expansion plans at our very own local aiport at the Toronto Island Aiport. Porter Airlines (read our past posts on the airline) is holding a little ceremony on Monday, according to several media reports.

The Post says that federal ministers like Jim Flaherty and John Baird will be there. Porter currently offers flights to Ottawa, New York, Chicago, Montreal, Quebec City, Thunder Bay and Halifax.

On the list of possible short-haul flights are Washington, Boston and Philadelphia and media are saying that they look to increase their fleet to 18 from 8.

One interesting point mentioned in the Toronto Star is that a possible announcement would be a U.S. customs pre-clearance facility. Those who now fly into Newark have to go through customs in the States but if Porter is to fly to places like Washington's DCA (Regan National) then having preclearance makes more sense.


In any case, we'll be watching out for the announcement

Get your free compost on Queens Quay Saturday (reminder)

Tomorrow, bright and early, bring your buckets and kitchen gloves cause the city is giving away free compost at Little Norway Park (at Bathurst and Queens Quay. )

Okay, okay, you may ask, what the hell am I going to plant in condo land? Well, may we suggest that you, like this good writer, invest in some balcony planters. Nothing like growing some basil or chives that you can snip while you're cooking and add to your culinary creations. You can pick up planters up at the Canadian Tire at Eaton Centre, the Loblaws on Queens Quay or, well, other random places. The outside Saturday market at St. Lawrence Market sells herbs you can plant and the Loblaws has a good collection of flowers and other plants you can buy closer to Victoria Day weekend.

In the meantime, happy planting.

April 25, 8:30am
Little Norway Park
Queen’s Quay West and Bathurst Street
Bathurst Quay area

Queens Quay: Free Wi-fi in the neighbourhood

One day very soon, we're going to walk the length of Queens Quay in our mission to find free wi-fi internet access for those of you hungry for access when you're hanging outside. We'll update this post when we find more, but here's what we can gather so far.

Starbucks at York Street (208 Queens Quay East)  (info). There's wi-fi in all Starbucks but you need a Starbucks card. "With a registered Starbucks Card you have access to two hours of free Wi-Fi daliy at Starbucks, and if you're already a Bell Internet customer you have access to free Wi-Fi, with no time limits, at over 650 Starbucks locations across Canada."

William’s Coffee Pub - The North Building, 245 Queens Quay W. We tried with our wireless device and was able to get a signal.



Harbourfront Centre: York Quay Centre - 235 Queen’s Quay W. According to this post, there's free wifi here. We haven't tried it but will update this if we find it.

Westin Harbour Castle -- just east of Yonge and Queens Quay There is apparently access in the lobby but this post says it took a while to connect. Unsure whether you need room access to get it.

Radisson Hotel at 249 Queens Quay W east of Rees-- Again, there is wi-fi but untested at this point.

Jugo Juice at 466 Queens Quay W, west of Spadina-- They advertise wi-fi but we have yet to test it out.

Heard around the Hood: Queens Quay in the news

A few items in the news recently about Queens Quay

The Bulletin on the off-leash park at Little Norway. "Little Norway Park at Bathurst & Queens Quay was designated off-leash on April 15th with no community consultation other than with the dog owners' association. At the community information session held last week it was already a done deal."

The National Post on lessons for New York from Toronto It references Waterfront Toronto's study on the Gardiner.

At the Toronto Sun, new Queens Quay resident Mike Strobel is beginning to beat the dead horse with his Scarborough-Queens Quay comparisons. This time on exercising on the waterfront: "It's way different downtown, I'm discovering, as the crocuses and chihuahuas bloom along Queens Quay. Two months ago, I fled the east end and landed in a wee condo at the bottom of York St."

Cityplace in the dark: Power outage last weekend

Okay, we missed the boat on this one, but our neighbours to the north experienced a big power outage over the weekend. Recounts the Globe in a story this morning

The lights went out at several condos and an adjoining gymnasium near the Rogers Centre, some of them part of the massive Concord CityPlace development projects, shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday. The blackout, which lasted almost 24 hours in some buildings, forced some residents to spend the night in hotels or with family.

While some backup lights immediately switched on at the gym and other areas, there were none at all for several hours in at least one of the condo buildings.

We've always wondered about the economies of scale when it comes to CityPlace. It shares gyms, garages and buildings are joined together to form complexes but it seems that there's more infrastructure shared.

More from the Globe:

In total, nine buildings suffered blackouts of varying lengths, from a couple of hours to almost a full day.

Several of the CityPlace towers are closely connected, sharing a sprawling underground garage. "The problem is this: Why is it when something affects one building it affects all the buildings?" asked Gary Pieters, a resident in one of the affected towers. "That's a development flaw."

 Anyone have any stories to share?

Another Gardiner public input meeting

A note about another series of pubilc meetings on the Gardiner held by the city and Watefront Toronto. This is about what to do with the raised highway east of Jarvis.

The website where you can leave input is at www.gardinerconsultation.ca

"The team will present a summary of public input that has been received to date through Public Forum #1 and the consultation website."


Thursday, April 23, 2009
6:30 – 7:30 PM (Open House)
7:30 – 9:00 PM (Presentation)
Centennial College Residence & Conference Centre
940 Progress Avenue, Scarborough

Saturday April 25, 2009
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Open House)
12:00 – 1:30 PM (Presentation)
McKee Public School, Gymnasium
35 Church Avenue, North York

Monday April 27, 2009
6:30 – 7:30 PM (Open House)
7:30 – 9:00 PM (Presentation)
Dundas Junior Public School, Gymnasium
935 Dundas Street East, Toronto

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
6:30 – 7:30 PM (Open House)
7:30 – 9:00 PM (Presentation)
Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Auditorium
86 Montgomery Road, Etobicoke

Sherbourne Park, currently a parking lot, on the go

We wrote a few months ago about the closing of Town and Country restaurant. We've been meaning to expand on this, especially since we found some information from Toronto building permits. The city issued a demolition order for the site, 190 Queens Quay East, at Sherbourne.

In recent weeks, the site of the restaurant has been cordoned off and it looks like the building will come down soon. Here's the permit.

Location: 190 QUEENS QUAY E
TORONTO ON M5A 3Y4

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#: 09 115477 DEM 00 DM Accepted Date: Mar 10, 2009

Project: Other Demolition

Description: This proposal includes the demolition of the existing one(1) storey building to make way for a park that is to be created as part of the Toronto Waterfront initiative.

It'll make way for the Waterfront Toronto East Bayfront project's Sherbourne Park, pictured below, image and details from the Waterfront Toronto site.

Sherbourne Park will be a spectacular new park in the heart of the East Bayfront midway between the Jarvis and Parliament Street slips. It will be both a local and regional amenity. The park will extend from the water’s edge to Lake Shore Boulevard, bisected by Queens Quay. It is envisioned as an urban room and will provide a strong terminus at the foot of Sherbourne Street. On the east and west sides, the park will be bound by buildings with a weather protected arcade creating a link to the waterfront during all seasons. At its southern end the park will be integrated with the continuous water’s edge promenade and will be designed to reinforce and strengthen the water’s edge as a continuous and active year round destination. Park programming could include a large public gathering place and a water feature that could be frozen in the winter for skating.

Neighbourhood's gone to the dogs, er, pets..

 One of our local pet stores, Cosmopawlitan, sent us a little note about a photo contest they're running till the end of the month. More details below.

Anyhow, we asked what they knew about pets in the area and they pointed us out to a Toronto Star map that showed that there are 485 licensed dogs in the general area, or 19 dogs to every 1000 people. Who knew that?
 
Cosmopawlitan's photo hunt contest

There are many beautiful but unknown spots around here, so we have a small list of locations for pet owners to take photos of their pets:
1. PawsWay
2. One of: Little Norway Park or Music Gardens or HTO Park
3. Background of a boat on Lake Ontario
4. Harbourfront Community Centre
5. At our store

The grand prize is a free grooming session, and there are also secondary and participant prizes, so everyone wins! The contest deadline to submit photos is April 30th.

With the gorgeous weather we're getting this week, a lot of people are starting to venture outside again! There are tons of pet owners in the neighbourhood, so we're hoping to get the message out.

For complete details, please visit: http://cosmopawlitan.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/contest-cosmopawlitan-spring-snaps/

Don't call it a comeback: Porticello's back in business

We noticed that Porticello, which closed down earlier this year, was back in business. In fact, about a week after we saw that they closed, we noticed some construction and renovating. A few weeks ago, we saw patrons and recently we saw a big sign that said 'new menu' and lower prices.

Reader channing wrote this comment on one of our older posts (Thanks!).

i visited porticello a few nights ago. the decor looks slightly updated. they say they have a new menu, but the food was very similar to what i remembered from before. not to say that that's bad. my meal was flavorful, inexpensive and down to earth. it just wasn't all that different. there were a few patrons.

When's that train coming?

Judging by the number of us who crowd the 510 and 509 streetcars to Union every morning (and those who go home from Union), a lot of us use the subway to get to our jobs. The TTC announced yesterday that it would now be installing the Next Train Arrival system in a number of subway stations.

The stations are on both the Yonge-University and Bloor-Danforth lines, but line most are on the Yonge-University and mysteriously none east of Yonge on the Bloor Danforth:

* Finch
* Union
* King
* Queen
* Dundas
* Eglinton West
* St. George
* Bay
* Yonge
* Keele
* Bloor
* High Park
* St. Andrew

Watermark Irish Pub coming to Queens Quay as Boathouse Grill goes

The Boathouse Grill, which has for years anchored the southeast corner of the Queens Quay Terminal, has closed, according to this blog post.

In its place, the Watermark Irish Pub is coming, which is set for an April opening.

Here's a little description of the pub on their website.

The Watermark Irish Pub and Restaurant is bringing the luck and charm of the Irish to the Harbourfront District! Located in the Queen’s Quay Terminal, Watermark features a panoramic view of Toronto’s harbourfront, seating for 240 inside the pub and patio space for up to 220 overlooking the waterfront.

The pub is owned by the same company that brought you such Toronto establishments as the Foggy Drew on King West (west of Bathurst), the Mill St. Pub in the Distillery District and the Pour House on Dupont.

Expect the pub and its patio (if they have one) to be packed in the summer. Big question for locals is will we pack it during our long cold winters

Building planning meeting next Monday

Another notice from Adam Vaughan's office, this time about building restrictions and 'physical relationships' in the area north of Front Street, from Spadina to Simcoe. So while not part of Queens Quay, it's close enough to our hood.

Planning Study for King-Spadina East Precinct

Date: Monday, April 20, 2009
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Metro Hall, 55 John St, Room 308/309

City staff have been undertaking a study of the built form of the East Precinct of the King-Spadina Secondary Plan Area (bounded by Richmond St W, Simcoe St, Front St W and Spadina Ave). The study’s purpose is to determine appropriate building heights, massing and physical relationships in the area.

This meeting is being hosted by the City of Toronto Planning Division. For more information, contact Judy Josefowicz, Senior Planner, at 416-392-1306.

Photo of the week: Deck in progress

Okay, yes we're showing you another picture of the Simcoe Wavedeck on Queens Quay but we thought this view was kinda nice. Enjoy.

Condo owners of the ward, unite!

As if there are not enough residents associations, here's another one that's being founded. The Trinity-Spadina area is pretty massive and packs in quite a few condos and as you can see from the map below, makes up a pretty huge area. In 2006, the area had 115,355 residents. It's an odd area, made up of the old-school annex and downtowny neighbourhoods that politicians like Tony Ianno and Olivia Chow and Adam Vaughan have tapped into the Portuguese and Chinese communities. Of course, over the past decade, a condo demographic has flooded the area.

Question of course is what's the goal of an association that takes up such a wide area. Are there issues inherent to all condos regardless of whether you're on the waterfront (Queens Quay), at CityPlace (a community on to itself) and other developments on King and north. Can we argue that issues on the water, like TTC access and the redevelopment, differ from those condo owners who live on club land near Adelaide and Richmond). Interesting times, we're sure, and we'll be interested to see if this becomes more of a political body less one that can tackle the real and varied issues of urban living.

Trinity-Spadina Condo Association Meeting

Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Harbourfront Community Centre, 627 Queens Quay (at Bathurst), Medium Assembly Room

You are invited to attend the founding meeting of the Trinity-Spadina Condo Residents Association. For more information, you can contact 416-603-9664.

Spring cleaning at Harbourfront Centre

One of our readers asked about the tearing down of the Toronto Star stage. We took a picture of this scene this fine Friday. Yes, the park area has been torn down. What's coming up?

Little Norway Park unleashed?

Just got this notice about an application to make room at Little Norway Park, that park at the southwest corner of Queens Quay and Bathurst, for a off-leash area. We went by the park today and it was filled with people playing football, we think. Coronation Park is to the west, just past the Tip Top condos where the baseball diamonds are.

Proposed Off-Leash Area in Little Norway Park and Coronation Park

 

Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Harbourfront Community Centre, 627 Queens Quay, Medium Assembly Room

 

In accordance with the City of Toronto People, Dogs and Parks policy, an application to create an off-leash area in Little Norway Park and Coronation Park has been received by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation division. City staff have conducted their assessments for these parks and are hosting this public information update.

 

The purpose of this meeting is to review City policies related to Dogs Off-Leash, review the off-leash area that has been approved by Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and to finalize the ‘Conditions of Use’ agreement.

 

More information about the City policy is available at: http://www.toronto.ca/parks/dogs.htm

 

For further information, please contact Mark Emslie, Parks Supervisor, 416-392-1759, or Peter Leiss, Parks Supervisor, 416-392-7945.

Dine Safe: Queens Quay safe to eat in?

You've probably read about the restaurants and food establishments that have closed recently throughout the city. There's the block of restaurants in nearby Spadina Chinatown, Sushi on Bloor, and even a grocery store at Bloor and Christie.

We've been looking at the city's Dine Safe site, putting some of our restaurants through the system. And yes, while a few of the restaurants have been given conditional passes due to a variety of issues (like keeping food at the proper temperature or cleaning -- we'll provide a full list at a later date) only one establishment has been closed (briefly, but yes, closed) since Jan. 1, 2007.

Yep, it's Captain John's, at 1 Queens Quay West, that big ship.... (August, 2008).



See the inspection history here. NOTE that yes, it has been reopened and has been given a green light. You can't, however, dismiss the fact that it was closed.



Some of the infractions.

INADEQUATE FOOD TEMPERATURE CONTROL     Operator fail to maintain hazardous food(s) at 4C (40F) or colder.     C     Notice to Comply                

FAILURE TO PROTECT FOOD FROM CONTAMINATION

IMPROPER MAINTENANCE / SANITATION OF FOOD CONTACT SURFACES / UTENSILS /EQUIPMENT


IMPROPER MAINTENANCE / SANITATION OF NON-FOOD CONTACT SURFACES / EQUIPMENT

IMPROPER STORAGE / REMOVAL OF WASTE    

CONDITION(S) FOR CLOSURE     Operator fail to maintain premises free of sewage back-up

In the spirit of Eat Local, we were going to try this place, then we read some reviews on a few sites like this one. Suffice it to say, we think there are plenty of other  restaurants we can try on the strip. Any one try eating there?

Sobeys at Cityplace: Jobs and services

No, this isn't Sobeys week at QQL, but we did find out a bit more about the new store opening up later this year. (June, the permit says, but who knows, it could be sooner).


We saw on jobloft.com that there are 10 positions opening for the '4 Spadina Avenue' which has been used as the address for the Sobeys store at Fort York. These jobs were posted in the last week (see them here)


From what we can see, it'll be very much like the Urban Fresh store at Queens Quay and York Street:


A deli
Deli clerk - Serve customers including slicing, cutting, weighing, packaging and pricing merchandise (eg. May include taking orders for nibbler trays and preparing trays). Prepare food for resale (pizzas, quiche, and meat and chicken pies, etc) and record cooking logs.

A salad bar 
Salad bar - Create salad trays. Assist in serving customers including slicing, cutting, weighing, packaging and pricing merchandise (eg. May include taking orders for nibbler trays and preparing trays).
 
A bakery
Bakery clerk - Greet all customers in a friendly, courteous manner and respond to customer requests and phone orders (eg. cake orders)
 
Produce and grocery (duh)
Grocery clerk - To assist in maintaining the grocery department which includes replenishing and rotating dry goods and frozen merchandise, ordering and receiving product, training new employees and assisting customers with their requests and inquiries.
 

Sobeys at Cityplace and the need for grocery stores

So, we get LOTS of traffic to this blog for people searching for, say "Sobeys at Bremner" or "Sobeys at Fort York" or "Sobeys at Spadina". In fact, we're seriously thinking of dedicating a week or series of posts just on Sobeys since you're all so interested.

We walked by the construction site last week and it looks like it'll really take up to the June 19th completion date we saw on a building permit a few months back.

Here's a shot of the front area we took.



But in all seriousness, we think it's just another sign that we really need more grocery stores in this area. For Cityplace alone, they're only really served by a Rabba at Blue Jays Way, an M&M Meat Shop across the street on Front, a Fresh & Wild at King Street, but even that's a little more than walking distance for condo dwellers.

On Queens Quay, we've also got a Rabba at Rees and the Sobeys at York Street. People with more adventurous streak can go to the Loblaws on Jarvis but hey, we feel bad for the poor people who have to carry bags for two kilometres!

Yes, there are smaller markets at Bathurst, York and a Kitchen Table at Yonge but people want to stock up with real selection of groceries.

For our dollar, the Sobeys at Queens Quay is doing a great job serving the neighbourhood -- it's big enough and has the traffic to have a good turnaround in produce and meat, although the fish selection, we'll we're not sure. The deli counter and hot food area is really big -- do we really need pre-prepared food? And a nice touch -- a bakery!

That's a wavy deck: Simcoe Wavedeck

Across the street from the Rabba on Queens Quay, right beside the coffee shop and Paws pet store, is the next of the wave decks that are being built. It'll be finished this year, probably by the summer. Above are some pictures a few days ago.

Sure is more wavy than the Spadina Wavedeck.

Porter Airlines here to stay? Appears so

Ah, Porter Airlines. We do have a love-hate relationship with it. For one thing, isn't it grand that us Queens Quay residents can WALK to an airport and avoid the lineups at Pearson and a $50 plus cab ride (or $20 ride from the Airport Express pickup spot at the Westin). On the other hand, the noise, the frequency of planes flying over our neighbourhood.

The Globe and Mail has a story about Porter Airlines (you can read it here)

Air Canada, the old guard of Canadian airspace, spent the week teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, but Porter Airlines Inc., the 2½ -year-old upstart based out of the Toronto City Centre Airport, made headlines for a different reason. The tiny offshore airport played host to the federal government's announcement of $5-million in new spending for customs services at select airports, including Porter's on the Toronto Islands.
The funding, plus the government's decision to announce it at Porter's headquarters, was "a welcome endorsement of this airline," said Mr. Deluce. "The airport is maturing and coming of age and is now worthy of those more permanent facilities."

Translation: Porter is on the way up, not under.
And that means the long-running fight over whether the island closest to shore should host planes or a park is settled, at least for now.

The piece goes on to talk about the fight with Island activists. It looks like the airline, which is eyeing more markets like Washington, is expanding the number of flights.

"the company's recent decision to double the number of daily flights on the popular Montreal-Toronto route and bump the Toronto-Ottawa flight frequency by 50 per cent"

The circus is coming! Cirque de Soleil to close out Luminato on the waterfront

Very cool news. The very successful Luminato (you may remember the light show at Harbourfront Centre last year), is again making its mark on Queens Quay area. It's going to be quite the show. And it's free. Internationally known and Canadian-born circus, Cirque de Soleil, is holding a major event to close out the June festival. (See details)

For our closing weekend, Canada’s international entertainment company Cirque du Soleil® presents a special event created especially for Luminato. This event is an inquiry into the very essence of human civilization.

Beginning Friday night, two “communities” will form on the Toronto waterfront: one representing the natural world in which we have our instinctual roots and the urban community, the world we have constructed around ourselves. They’ll make their homes at opposite ends of the site, each in an environment antithetical to their respective world-view.

What will happen as the weekend unfolds and the two communities encounter and interact with each other? You’ll have to join in the festivities to find out – but expect to be amazed. Be sure to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Luminato and Cirque du Soleil as never before!

The National Post says it'll take place at the "Harbourfront Centre, the Toronto Music Garden, and HtO Park, Cirque du Soleil's waterfront visit is experiential with encounters happening"

We like the fact that HTO Park and the Music Garden will be part of this project, it takes it out of the central harbourfront and into the western part of the Queens Quay. Plus, Music Garden has interesting design that they could take advantage of.

Luminato runs from June 5 to June 14th, and this event is FREE and runs from the 12th to 14th.

Restaurant revived on Queens Quay?

So we were walking past Porticello last night and -- presto -- it had an open sign, had two tables and about eight people inside. Has it been revived after closing early last month? What's going on? Anyone know? We'll see if we can actually head there for a sit-down or takeout.

We've had a few good comments from readers of QQL about why restaurants are disappearing. We wrote earlier about Harbour Tandoori Grille closing.

Anonymous wrote:

Maybe the rents being charged by landlords for retail on Queen's Quay reflect that they are big-time developers of high rise apartment buildings who would rather have tenants with strong "corporate covenants" than independents who would contribute to the character and growth of the area. The rents at the foot of most of the buildings are unrealistic for any tenant other than formula-type franchises, be they food or cell-phones... Sadly, the closing of this Indian restaurant is just another example of poor planning when there were some good examples on this continent to look (eg Baltimore Inner Harbour) of those harbour front developments that have thought ahead and consequently now have diverse, evolving and sustainable retail destinations.

Very interesting observation. We have lots of 'chains' on the waterfront and does that really make sense or even encourage a unique neighbourhood. Maybe we need to support them while they (restaurants) need to adapt to a changing clientele.

'Channing' also wrote about the Indian takeout place.

i liked the indian place -- kinda messy, but the food was good. however, it's hard to tell if its demise was the result of stingy locals or what's going on in the wider economy. restaurants are suffering everywhere.

i was thinking of porticello the other day. i thought it'd do well after the hto park/spadina wavedeck opened, but obviously it didn't. however, now that i think about it, you could hardly notice it from the street. kinda sad.

It's true, and I think it goes back to outreach by restaurateurs. Maybe the build it and they will come won't work with everyone. We wonder why we never saw a flyer or any other way of building community. We note that in our condo, we see a few ads for Paws, the new pet store that's beside the Radisson. 

Photo of the week: At the foot of Yonge

Of course, it's Captain John's. That, er, restaurant at the foot on Yonge Street, on a winter's day.