Week of November 22nd
Davisville's businesses at risk during lockdown, the community voices its concerns on safety, and construction issues for the LRT
The week so far…
…but seriously, the majority of Davisville’s businesses may be at risk of losing at least half of their revenue
On Monday, the Ontario government’s new lockdown measures went into effect in Toronto and neighbouring Peel. The measures close a wide range of businesses or force them to go curbside, as well as prohibiting indoor social gatherings and putting caps on outdoor ones too. Schools remain open for now, but universities too must switch to online delivery only. The full list of measures is outlined here.
Put simply: this sucks.
The second round of lockdown will be tough on everyone - particularly when the reality of an unorthodox, socially distant holiday season sets in. But there is particular concern at the moment for the small business community.
Small businesses were hammered by the first lockdown and even prior to the lockdown were indicating that they were nearing their end. To make matters worse, even in the best of years, many of them count on holiday spending to hit their targets for the year. What happens when customers are huddled at home rather than crowded in the restaurant’s dining room or retailer’s checkout line?
For Davisville, the long-term impacts to the main streets we love could be devastating:
Currently, there are more than 200 small businesses along our stretches of Mount Pleasant and Yonge (excluding things like doctor’s offices and dentists)
90% are independent businesses, making them particularly vulnerable during periods of lockdown (vs. large retailers with corporate support)
55% are in categories that saw revenue declines in the last lockdown of 50% or more - such as restaurants, personal care, clothing, and hobby stores
Only 13% are in categories that saw slight revenue increase or no decline at all - such as electronics, grocery and liquor stores, and services that remain open
This unique mix of businesses is part of what makes Davisville great - but it’s also what makes it so vulnerable at this moment.
With stubbornly rising case counts and an increasing number of outbreaks linked to places like restaurants, additional lockdown measures were almost certainly necessary - however painful they might prove to be. But some refinements are still an order, such as the exemption that allows big box retailers to remain open while small businesses cannot. Small business advocates are already calling for this to change - if you’re a small business owner, you can add your support here.
For the rest of us, there are still plenty of ways to support our local businesses (hint: this is NOT one of them):
Shop Local - our local BIAs have created listings of businesses still open or offering takeout, delivery, and gift cards. Next time you’re going to use Amazon or Uber Eats, check the listings for Yonge and Mount Pleasant here and here.
Holiday Gifts - if you’re overwhelmed by options, a few folks are putting together gift baskets of various small business’ top items from across Davisville. Check out The Best of Davisville - created the good people at the Davisville Post. Also keep an eye open for AppleTree Group’s Holiday Market (coming soon, apparently!)
If you spot another campaign or way Davisville can support it’s local businesses, be sure to drop me a line at will@davisvilledigest.ca.
Toronto St. Paul’s Community Safety Forum talks crime rates, repeat offenders, and “quality of life”
On Tuesday evening, the local City Councillor Josh Matlow hosted a “community forum” focused on safety in our community. The discussion was the culmination of several months of debate (and some protests) around the increase in crime seen in midtown, which I’ve covered several times. While the forum covered the entirety of the Toronto St-Paul’s ward - which stretches from Mt. Pleasant along Eglinton to Dufferin and south to Dupont - the Davisville area was still front and centre.
At times the discussion was only peripherally related to safety - I have “why are we talking about café culture?” in my notes. Still, city staff and local law enforcement from 53 division (our local police unit) offered plenty of useful insights on how they view and are managing the safety issues in midtown. Some of the highlights include:
Crime Rates - the core refrain was that crime has remained relatively flat year-to-date, with some spikes due to increasing “crimes of opportunity” during COVID-19 (i.e., robberies, auto theft, break-ins). This comment was made for the whole of the community though and may not be representative of a smaller portion like Davisville (where the data suggests that crime has gone up). Overall, their view was that our portion of midtown remains one of the safest in the City - which, again, the data confirms that this is true (I analyzed it here).
Repeat Offenders - 53 Division repeatedly noted that in many cases it was repeat offenders who were well known to them that were causing, but that provincial policy to release low level offenders during COVID was keeping them in the community. They cited a few examples where they were releasing people in the same area, the same day. No one debated the need for some version of the policy to slow the pandemic in jails, but there was strong advocacy for modifications. I would expect to hear more about this topic in the coming weeks.
Roehampton Shelter - there was an acknowledgement that the shelter may have caused some of the crime issues in the area, but that it could not account for all of the increase (which is accurate, given that crime had been going up well before the shelter arrived). City staff and police also pointed to a few measures they had taken with problematic residents of the shelter that addressed the issue (my analysis of police data again suggests that this is true). Interestingly though, they characterized the biggest impact as being “quality of life” concerns (e.g., needles in parks, mental health incidents on the street) rather than criminal ones. This too seems fair, but it wasn’t clear who was then on the hook for addressing it.
Overall, the session was mostly useful for information gathering - though it’s not immediately clear what comes next. Clearly, there’s a debate needed around the catch & release policy for repeat offenders - and it is probably best to talk to the councillor to initiate that. With so many questions about the shelter’s policies and operations, it’s also clear that much more communication from its “Community Liaison Committee” is needed. And finally there were numerous takeaways for individuals - like monitoring condo locker rooms, which have been a particular target these past few months - that are worth remembering and amplifying where possible.
LRT Construction crane collapses at Mount Pleasant
Another day, another construction issue with the Eglinton LRT. On Monday night, a construction crane along Eglinton toppled over when the ground below it gave way. The Toronto Star’s transit reporter Ben Spurr has a few more details on how it fits with the slightly unnerving pattern for Toronto’s biggest transit project.
Fortunately though, no one was seriously hurt in the incident…so social media was able to have a bit of fun with it.
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