Page of 8 Spring 2006 HVRA Newsletter Spring 2006 Harbord Village Volume 4, Number 1 Residents’ Association Message from the Contents: Chair of the HVRA Board Message from the HVRA chair ........ 1 Dear members of our fabulous Fair, not just for the events Our Annual Spring Meeting is HVRA: themselves but because May 16 at the Kensington The Graff report ..... 2 through this getting together Here‟s another great newsletter Health Centre (25 Brunswick Robert Street rink: and cooperating -- the bonds of Avenue) just north of College: from your very active HVRA the neighbourhood are forged update ................ 3 board. Leaf through these and made stronger. 6:30–7 p.m. registration and pages to get the measure of Harbord Village schmoozing how well your board is taking When it comes to meetings, I Heritage Conserva- care of business -- from the want to encourage your active 7–8 p.m. local caucuses and tion District going success of the annual Fall Fair, participation. This is always said reporting back to constituents great guns .......... 4 through the follow-up on Col- in these matters, but the truth 8–9 p.m. The Vision Thing – Heritage Conservation lege Street for patios and street is that your board is only as what‟s next for Harbord Village? furniture, the anti-graffiti/pro- good as your participation. We Districts rule! ...... 4 (see box below) art mural on Croft Street, to our boardies may be smart and After the fire – It’s a tree program, which will be nice, but, without your input, Until next time, question of insur- under way again shortly. we‟re only guessing at what needs to be done. Rory ‘Gus’ Sinclair ance ................... 5 All the activities we have been College St. update . 6 undertaking are on your behalf. Six Sakura trees..... 6 This is a terrifically strong ANNUAL SPRING MEETING neighbourhood in which to live The Vision Thing: What’s next for Harbord Village? HVRA’s neighbour- – and one of the things that hood awards ....... 7 leads to that strength is a sense What will it be? Bloor Street revitalization? A refurbished Robert of community. Your board is Street Rink? A cohesive development plan for the neighbour- Want to help make very conscious of the value of hood? The greenest ’hood in the city? a difference? ...... 7 activities, such as the semi- annual cleanup and the Fall Bring your ideas -- join the discussion -- and let’s all take it to the HVRA Board .......... 8 next level! Helping us will be: Membership Amanda McConnell was part of a team of Annex residents 12 years information and ago who conducted a tree inventory in that neighbourhood. What renewal form ...... 8 they found disturbed them. More trees were being cut down than planted and few residents understood the importance of planting native trees and shrubs. They organized a large community meet- ing, which led to a concerted tree planting effort. Ten years later, they re-evaluated their efforts and published a report, the first of its kind in Toronto. Amanda will discuss the lessons learned from their pioneering efforts and how we might apply them here. …And that’s just the start! More to follow as the date gets closer. See you there (at 25 Brunswick, 6:30 p.m., May 16) Mary and Gus, Christmas 2005 HVRA Newsletter Spring 2006 Page 2 of 8 The Graff report Graffiti continues to be a prob- ful graffiti eradication day last has shown that while the of- lem in Harbord Village. June, and with the assistance fenders may return, after you of PC Scott Mills of 14 Divi- remove graffiti three times, What‟s wrong with graffiti? It sion and students from St. the vandals lose interest and “The presence of can foster disrespect for prop- Mary‟s School and St. tag elsewhere. erty laws that might result in graffiti breeds more Stephen‟s Community House, increasing crime, community There are also graffiti removal cleaned up lower Croft Street. graffiti, and other degradation, and urban blight. services – check the yellow Michael Heydon organized the The presence of graffiti pages under Graffiti or Build- properties also become painting of a fantastic mural breeds more graffiti, and ing Cleaning and Maintenance on Croft Street just north of targets unless the other properties also become College (if you haven‟t seen it, – Exterior. targets unless the graffiti is graffiti is removed take a look). To prevent graffiti, you can removed promptly and kept plant climbing vines or thorny off. Graffiti can lower property On an individual property promptly and kept off. plants along the wall or fence. values and reduce business owner‟s level, it‟s your respon- Graffiti resistant coatings are Graffiti can lower sibility to keep your site free opportunities. available – to find them, you of graffiti. The City of Toronto property values and The HVRA Graffiti Committee can search the web under has an anti-graffiti bylaw re- has been working to reduce reduce business quiring property owners to „Anti-graffiti coatings‟. graffiti in Harbord Village and remove graffiti within 72 If you‟re adventurous, we can opportunities.” contribute to the beautifica- hours or be subject to removal hook you up with one of a tion of our neighbourhood. by the City with the cost number of mural artists, many We‟ve met with officials from added to your property tax bill. of whom are willing to create the City to coordinate our local “Experience has an original work of art on your efforts with their citywide ini- So what can you do? The property for little more than shown that … after most effective cure for graffiti tiatives. the cost of the paint. Most is for property owners to re- you remove graffiti We organized a very success- move it promptly. Experience (Continued on page 3) three times, the vandals lose interest and tag elsewhere.” Many hands make for light work as the Graf- fiti Removal Gang gets to work painting over tags and beautifying Croft Street Photos: David Booz and Michael Heydon Page 3 of 8 Spring 2006 HVRA Newsletter Robert Street rink: Update Many of you have wondered brine with its old-style cooling $100,000 sitting in an es- about the Robert Street rink plant. It was patched up and crow account, which will be and the status of its resurrec- made to work about 10 years freed up to make this dream tion. past its expected lifespan. All come true. The estimated City rinks moved to glycol in cost is $800,000, so there‟s First the history. In a land swap in the 1950s between the 1980s and beyond. a way to go. “At the spring meeting, the City and the University of Why not simply replace the At the spring meeting, there there will be a motion Toronto, the Aura Lee play- rink with a new glycol system will be a motion proposed to ground (which used to be in and be done with it? There importune all the players to proposed to importune the park area just north of are too many interests in- get moving on this forthwith. all the players to get Avenue and Davenport) was volved in the Robert Street Torches and pitchforks will exchanged for the Robert rink (and the playing field be provided for the parade to moving on this forth- Street playing field. At that itself) to get them all on the City Hall, Simcoe Hall, and with. Torches and time, the University of To- same page: the University of UTS! ronto Schools was a part of Toronto, the U. of T. Faculty pitchforks will be pro- Rory ‘Gus’ Sinclair the University of Toronto Fac- of Physical Education, Univer- vided for the parade to ulty of Education (the rela- sity of Toronto Schools, the The Chair Guy tionship became more sepa- City of Toronto in the form of City Hall, Simcoe rate in time), and the use of Parks and Recreation, and Hall and UTS! ” the field was to be shared Council itself, The Harbord among the Faculty of Physi- Village Residents‟ Associa- cal Education, UTS, and the tion, and The Huron Sussex community. Residents‟ Association. The rink was installed in the Some Section 37 monies 1970s, and there was an were donated by David Green agreement that the city to HVRA (at our suggestion, More Graff work would maintain the rink while owing to the fact his new the university would share its building on Spadina will be in use with the community. The Harbord Village) to help re- cooling system was based on build the rink. HVRA now has The Graff report (Continued from page 2) enough, so if any Harbord Village residents can donate „graffiti artists‟ are reluctant to paint or supplies it would be tag murals, preferring blank appreciated. The Annex Resi- canvases for their work. dents Association has do- nated a power washer and we Come out and help clean up are hoping the Toronto District Croft Street School Board will send their On Saturday May 13 at 9:00 clean-up team with their sand am, HVRA will be supporting blaster. We definitely need 14 Division‟s PC Scott Mills your help! and Central Technical HVRA, along with Central School‟s VP Karin Fuessel to Technical School, is also plan- organize a graffiti removal ning another graffiti eradica- blitz on the remaining portion tion day this fall, focusing on of Croft Street from Van- Harbord Street. Stay tuned! Koughnet to Harbord Street. PC Mills has some paint, roll- David Booz for the ers and brushes, but not HVRA Graffiti Committee HVRA Newsletter Spring 2006 Page 4 of 8 Harbord Village Heritage Conservation District going great guns Residents of Phase 1 are re- cation to build a third-floor ex- minded to check with the Heri- tension.