Joanne will be doing henna body art at the park from 3-7:00 p.m. for market goers. You can get a sneak peak at some of her designs here, which she’ll be doing by donation.
Nadia will be hosting a Kindermusik session at 3:30 p.m.
Nurses from Toronto East General Hospital’s Emergency Department will be on hand with some summer safety information.
Socktopuses! This weeks craft is super easy to make for all ages. Have any lonely socks laying around, sad without their partner? Give them a new purpose in life as cuddly, playable socktopuses. 4:30 with Mrs. Darling this week at the Market’s Kids Kourner.
Do you know the difference between good sugars and bad sugars? Well, Jay from Danbrie Farms thinks our neighbourhood is full of people who know the difference and that’s why he likes coming to our market. Jay brings us only the best sugars found in real maple syrup produced on his family’s sugar bush in Milton. He sells a variety maple delights, including maple syrup, maple butter, maple raspberry jelly and maple jalapeño jelly (which is apparently a great addition to a stir fry). He also sells beefy goodies from his father Jim’s farm in Durham – beef patties, ground beef and summer sausage – all grass fed. How about a little beef stir fry for dinner tomorrow?
Farmers’ Market this week: Cookstown Greens, Little Libraries and Kid Fun.
If you’ve ever wondered about the farms and farmers that bring you their produce each week, you’re not alone. We’ll be featuring snippets about each farm on the blog on a regular basis. Here’s some interesting facts about one of our vendors.
Cookstown Greens — The unique and rare array of organic vegetables from Cookstown Greens travel just under 100km to get to our market. Although they bring a different selection of produce each week depending on what’s in season, recently they’ve had Welsh onions, Roosevelt potatoes, baby fingerling potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes (which are apparently not from Jerusalem, nor are they artichokes), basil seedlings, pea shoots, micro-Asians, coriander seedlings, rainbow chard, baby salad greens and broccoli brassica. Cookstown Greens’ produce is available at a number of markets and retail shops in the GTA, but they love coming to our market because, as farmer Gilbert says, you can tell the community knows there is a market going on. So why not try some of their greens this week and let us know what you think?
Don’t forget to stop by the DECA booth. This week you can hear about the Little Free Libraries project. Maybe you’ll be the next person to open a library in Toronto?
For the little ones:
Kindermusick with Nadia will start at 3:30 p.m.
Crafts with Ms. Darling will take place at 4:30 p.m. This week Mrs. Darling is hosting a velvet art colouring party. Kids can make beautiful vivid, fuzzy greeting cards or bookmarks. Supplies generously donated by Silly Goose.
the gang from Silly Goose will be back at 5:30 p.m. for some fun park activities.
TEGH Open House
And if you are looking for even more to do on Thursday evening, Toronto East General Hospital will be hosting a Community Open House from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Click here for more details.
Main Square Madness Party this Saturday
If that’s not enough community activity for you then you’ll want to check out the Main Square Madness Party on Saturday, July 14th hosted by Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon. The party includes bike tune up lessons from 32 Spokes & Bicycle Commons and the opportunity to help a gardening crew beautify the area, a local artist paint a mural and clean up litter with the councillor herself. Check out the flyer for more information.
I (Natasha) was very excited to join the staff of East General and the local elected officials to hear this long-awaited announcement from the Minister of Health this afternoon. DECA has been working with CEO, Rob Devitt, and his staff for several months about how this will affect our community and no doubt, those conversations have just begun. See the hospital’s news release, below.
MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT TO PROCEED
Toronto East General Hospital redevelopment plans approved by Province
Toronto – The Government of Ontario has just announced its support of
Toronto East General Hospital’s redevelopment project. The Minister of
Health and Long Term Care announced today that the project is
part of the Provincial Hospital Capital Plan and is scheduled to begin
construction in 2015/16. This announcement will bring to reality a new
state-of-the-art healthcare facility for the people of east Toronto.
The redeveloped hospital will be the largest building project in the
hospital’s history. It will replace some of the oldest and most
dysfunctional spaces; areas that were originally designed to provide
care in the 1920-40’s era. The project will see approximately 380,000
of square feet of space constructed including a new eight-storey
building on the corner of Sammon and Coxwell Avenues which will house
inpatient services and outpatient clinics. A new main entrance will be
created with a larger patient drop off area and two levels of
underground parking. The project will also be developed with
sustainability in mind incorporating increases in green roofs, green
spaces and more efficient utilities.
“This is a very exciting day for the staff, physicians and volunteers of
TEGH, their hard work and dedication towards this project has paid off.
To the patients we serve, this announcement means that you will receive
care in a state-of-the-art facility that’s more accessible, meets
today’s infection control standards, and provides better space for
patient programs” said Rob Devitt, President & CEO. “It will ensure
that TEGH continues for the next generation its proud tradition as an
award winning hospital for patient care and for the teaching of future
health professionals.”
The new building will have approximately 250 inpatient beds, including
medicine, surgery and mental health beds. The first two floors will be
dedicated to out-patients, including the dialysis and oncology clinics.
A two-level underground parking garage will also be excavated, creating
easier access to the building and improve traffic flow in the
neighbourhood.
1. Check DEALICIOUS today (Tuesday) and tomorrow for local deals! Today’s is Madame Gateaux at Danforth and Woodbine..
Here’s the deal…The fine art of cupcake baking and decorating is perfected through hands on practice and expert instruction. Learn how to create your cupcake masterpiece with today’s Dealicious Deal: For $40 You Get $80 Worth Of Cupcake Classes With A Red Seal Certified Pastry Chef At Madame Gateaux
Madame Gateaux offers a wide range of classes in the edible arts. Whether you are a hobbyist or someone who wants to upgrade their skill, there are classes that will suit you. Their private or group classes are taught by professional pastry chefs. Madame Gateaux also carries large selections of baking utensils, accessories and ingredients at affortable prices.
Noel Yim is a Red Seal Certified Pastry Chef who is totally in love with the pastry arts. As a pastry chef in Windsor Arms Hotel and Head Pastry Chef in the Humber College, she gained years of experiences in the baking industry. Being a product of George Brown College, and taught by well known chocolatier, Noel will teach you the why and how to. You’ll find that she enjoys putting some oriental essence to her creations.
Toronto East General
2. Wednesday night is the next community meeting regarding the Toronto East General renovation – March 2nd from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the East York Civic Centre at 850 Coxwell.
If you’ve been following the blog comments on this, you’ll know that Leo Gonzalez has been very vocal about keeping the building. Leo has posted another comment and it was pretty darn interesting so I thought you would like to read it too.
So I decided to take up Shelley Darling’s offer for a tour of the building today. I went in not knowing quite what to expect; I knew what a lot of the problems were with the original structures, and I’ve also attended enough public meetings where proponents of a certain plan are merely going through the motions of consulting the community, rather than taking any concerns seriously. With these thoughts in my mind, I was greeted by Shelley, Carmine Stumpo and Rob Devitt, the President and CEO of TEGH. As they greeted me, I assumed (rather logically) that there must be several other people attending this tour. But when I was led into a room adjacent to Mr Devitt’s office, I realized this was going to be an exclusive tour for me. Not only that, Mr Devitt proceeded to outline all of the steps and the path that led them to finally decide that a new structure would be required. A quick summary: they initially planned on renovating the original structures but realized there would
be several insurmountable obstacles (many of which are listed in the above post). What surprised me is that they took the additional steps of consulting with some developers about the possibility of re-using the original structures for other purposes (condos, seniors’ residence, that sort of thing). These developers also had serious reservations about the ability to re-purpose these structures, and ultimately the decision was made that the buildings couldn’t be part of any future plans for the site. Again, I won’t go into the many other details that Mr Devitt outlined. Suffice it to say that they did their due diligence before reaching this decision. And that’s a very significant point. I was under the mistaken impression that these old structures were being cast aside without any regard for their architectural or historical significance, but in fact the opposite is true. In addition, this isn’t going to be another ad-hoc addition to TEGH. There is a 50-year plan to
redevelop the entire site and turn it into a far more cohesive campus than what we have today. This should bring much more unity to the various buildings and address most of the problems that exist there today.
After speaking to me for about 15 minutes, Mr Devitt left me with Shelley and Carmine to tour some of the problems areas he had described. Both were very receptive to suggestions, and in fact Carmine indicated that the original rendering for the new structure on Sammon was outdated and that revisions had been made based on community input. Several existing features of the original buildings will be incorporated into the new structure, and they expect to have new renderings soon. However, the process still isn’t closed, nor is the design set in stone. For example, I mentioned that incorporating some of the old brick in the new building, whether inside the lobby, outside around the entrance or as part of the new garden fronting onto Coxwell, is something I would want to see if we’re going to lose the old buildings. They agreed and were very receptive. I also suggested that as the project proceeds, presentations could be set-up at EYCC for the community to have direct access to
view and comment on many of the options that will be available for the new building. They agreed and referenced a hospital in Peterborough that did exactly this, and their plan is to keep the community involved in a very direct way throughout the whole process.
So, has my opinion changed? Well, I will say that my position has softened considerably. I’m still upset that we are going to lose the original buildings, and I still wish they could have been preserved somehow. But overall, I have to admit it’s hard to argue with their plan.
As I mentioned, staff at Toronto East General Hospital (Mortimer and Coxwell) are working toward a major renovation of the hospital. There is a community meeting, hosted by the City’s planning department, on Wednesday, March 2nd from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the East York Civic Centre at 850 Coxwell.
Proposed design, view from Coxwell and Sammon
DECA’s executive committee was invited to tour the hospital with the CEO, the executive lead for the project and the lead architect. Both the executive lead and the lead architect live in DECA’s boundaries. And as the CEO said, he ‘lives’ at the hospital and occasionally visits his home.
The plan is to first build a new building on Sammon where the existing parking lot is. Once complete, they would move all the beds from the front wings on Coxwell over to the new Sammon wing. They’d then tear down the front wings on Coxwell and create a large green space. Parking would be underground and there would be a larger circular entrance. Two changes, I’m told, will ease the traffic on Coxwell and help the parking problems on surrounding streets.
To give you a sense of what we saw on the tour, I’ll start at the end. We walked out the door and one of our number turned to me and said, “I’m never taking my kids to that hospital.”
This is why.
Although there are many amazing doctors, nurses and other staff at TEGH, some of the space they work in is sub-standard.
There is a unit that is so old the beds don’t fit into the rooms, except on an angle. If the procedure requires more than one nurse, that person stands in the hall. The next patient lies in a bed about five feet away waiting. To clean the used equipment, nurses walk soiled equipment past the next patient waiting in the hall. If you weren’t sick before you went into the hospital, there’s a chance you will be before you leave. Modern hospitals have negative pressure rooms to prevent infections, the old parts of TEGH have little mash-style tents that fit over a single bed.
Single rooms are rare. There are even some ward rooms on the medical floors with six beds in one room…sharing one bathroom. More commonly there are double or quad rooms in the medical wings.
We went through a clinic that isn’t wide enough to fit a gurney or a wheelchair. The urology clinic looks like it’s straight out of the 1940s. It’s a shame those procedures are done with just a local anesthetic because it can’t be comforting to feel like you’re having surgery on the set of an old movie.
Floors on one wing don’t line up with the floors on the next so there are mini flights of stairs – say 8 or 9 – to get from floor to floor. And an accompanying elevator that takes you up that short distance.
The air vents were built before air conditioning so it’s been tacked on over time making the ceilings in some areas very low, not to mention not very environmentally sound. The sewage backs up in the basement on a regular basis. Not grey water sewage. Real hospital sewage. The plumbing and electrical can’t be renovated to keep up with the demands of modern medicine.
The hospital had a number of architects and engineers look at the option of using the old parts of the building for clinics or offices, but determined the space simply could not be used for patient care. To convert the space into commercial or medical offices would be wildly expensive given the need for asbestos removal, all new mechanical, heating, cooling etc.
I thought the architect summed it up best when he said “the bottom line is that people in East York aren’t getting the same care as people who live in other parts of the city.”
It reminded me of why we started DECA, because our neighbourhood wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.
The hospital has a neighbourhood advisory group and has been meeting with immediate neighbours about this plan for a few years. One of the biggest concerns of immediate neighbours is obviously what construction will bring – noise, parking and traffic. Neighbours on the surrounding streets complain staff and patients park on the side streets and take up valuable street parking. That was one of the key considerations of the new plan to build the underground parking.
Yes, they took us on the ‘bad and ugly tour.’ They didn’t walk us through the emergency department which was recently renovated and much more efficient and pleasant to be in (if you have to be in the ER). Same with the maternity wing, also recently renovated, and, I’m told, quite nice by my friends who’ve given birth there. Those won’t change.
DECA was asked early on for its opinions on the hospital. We made suggestions regarding greening and incorporating art, especially community art space. We also spoke very strongly on keeping and showcasing some of the heritage pieces such as the stained glass windows in the lobby (the staff had already suggested that one) and creating an audio-visual historical representation so benefactors would be remembered and important parts of the hospital’s history would be incorporated into the design of the new hospital (they agreed). We’ve also made suggestions about the possibilities of opening some of the spaces up for use by community members (they’re considering it). I understand at one of the public open houses that have been held, some residents suggested incorporating the curved glass that is currently in the main lobby. The architect said that could be done so it is now in the plan.
The March 2nd community meeting is the time for city staff and politicians to hear your views, both positive and negative. It’s not the kind of meeting where you have to stand in front and give a presentation. It’s just a community meeting where you can raise your hand and say your piece if you wish. If you want to just sit and listen, you can do that too. I will say that if you’re in favour of the renovation, you should show up and say so because if only people who are against it show up, it will suggest the community is not in favour of a new hospital.
The DECA board feels strongly that renovations should proceed. The residents of Danforth East deserve a modern hospital where they will have the privacy and standard of care all Canadians expect.
At DECA’s first meeting of 2011, we decided to form a parks committee. One of the things this committee is going to do is develop an inventory of parks and recreation (and cultural) items in our neighbourhood. We hope that this will be both a resource to the community and that it will give us a better sense of what facilities are available in our community in comparison with others.
This led into a discussion about the possibilities of a campfire at East Lynn and at Monarch Park. We know they do campfire events at Dufferin Grove and at Greenwood Park alongside the skating rinks so we have some folks who are exploring these opportunities around here. One thing we’re doing is talking with the Friends of Greenwood (FROG) about their campfire events. And lo and behold they sent us an invitation to their next party! And by us, I mean YOU.
Rink Side Campfire, Sunday February 20 – 11-12:30
Marshmallows, hot chocolate – bring your own mug.
Lost Ring
Jon Isaak has been a good friend to DECA – particularly the Farmers’ Market – as a skilled graphic artist and volunteer. He lost a ring on Sunday, Feb. 6th either in East Lynn Park or Merrill Bridge Road Park. It’s inscribed 2007/9/15. If you’ve found it let me know and I’ll connect you with Jon.
TEGH
There is an official public community meeting about the plan to renovate Toronto East General coming up. As I have discussed here before, the plan is to build on the current parking lot on Sammon Ave. and take down the building that fronts on to Coxwell. The DECA executive was invited to tour the hospital and see why exactly the hospital needs a serious overhaul. Personally, I truly couldn’t believe the state of some of the parts of that hospital. I’m going to post another blog about this in the next few days, but mark your calendars and please plan to attend the meeting on March 2nd – and not just if you don’t like the plan. If you’re in favour of a renovated hospital, the City and city councillors needs to hear that too. I don’t have the time and place, but when I do, I will let you know.
Mosaic Storytelling Festival
The Open Door East End Arts Collective and St. David’s Anglican Church celebrate the diversity and creativity of our rich East End neighbourhood – and our world – through six afternoons of storytelling with tellers and tales from all across the globe. Occurring every two weeks from Jan. 23 to Apr. 17 at 3 pm in St. David’s parish hall at 49 Donlands Ave, right across from Donlands subway station. Admission PWYC (pay what you can), suggested minimum $5 per person.
For more information call 416-469-2878.
Sunday, February 20 at 3:00 pm – Black History Month – Leeya Solomon and Sandra Whiting tell stories from Africa and the Caribbean
