Thank You For Being a Holiday Angel

Grace St. John and her holiday helper ‘elves’ are very grateful for all tenants who attended the December 18 holiday gathering and fundraiser at 2 Park Vista.

Thanks to many very caring Park Vista tenants, $220 was raised and 59 gifts were donated to a local women’s shelter to help needy families this holiday. The shelter staff were overwhelmed by the generosity and gave big hugs to all.

A heartfelt thanks for everyone for all the donations, delicious goodies and coming out for a holiday chat with your neighbours. Although it was a bit of a last-minute event, it was well worth the effort.

Thanks to volunteers Carole, Elly, Dee, Toby, Paul St. John, and all volunteer bakers/foodies and toy donors for making this event a success. 

Loading up the 'sled' for a special delivery

Neighbours catch up on holiday chats

'Tis the season to take selfies

A tiny tenant and mom Erin check out the crowd.

Cold Apartment? Fight For Your Right to Heat

Tenants' Rights to Adequate Heat 

The Park Vista Tenants' Association is aware that some tenants have raised concerns about cold apartments. This post provides information about tenants' rights to adequate heat and what steps to take if your unit is cold. 

Toronto's Minimum Temperature Requirement

Under the Toronto Municipal Code, landlords are required to provide heat and maintain a minimum temperature of 21°C between September 15 and June 1. 

Ontario Rules Regarding Building Conditions 

Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) says that landlords must:

• keep their rental housing in a "good state of repair and fit for habitation"
• follow all applicable housing standards

This means that landlords must make sure that heating systems – things like furnaces, boilers, thermostats, ducts, and radiators – are working properly.

It also means that they must correct other problems that can cause an apartment to be too cold, such as:

• windows that don't close properly
• drafts from doorways and other openings
• poor insulation

Steps to Take if Your Apartment is Cold 

1. Get a thermometer
2. Record the temperature in various rooms of your apartment and keep a log
3. The temperature readings need to be taken in the middle of a room, about three feet off the ground
4. Once you have proof the temperature is below 21 degrees, submit a work order to CAPREIT and keep a copy. (It's a good idea to scan a copy of the work order or take a photo before you drop it off and follow up by emailing the scanned copy or photo of the work order to 8ParkVista@capreit.net Ask CAPREIT to confirm the work order was received.)
5. If CAPREIT doesn't act within a reasonable time, you can submit a complaint to the City of Toronto by calling 311 or emailing 311@toronto.ca

While the Park Vista Tenants' Association is interested in hearing from tenants who have heating problems (to try to identify any patterns in buildings and find out which tenants are using heaters), the association has no legal power to force the landlord to comply with property standards requirements.

As a first step, you must deal with the landlord directly. If that doesn't resolve the problem, you can contact the City of Toronto. Enforcement staff will ask what steps you have taken to bring the problem to the landlord's attention before escalating the issue. 

Tenants at a CAPREIT building at 75 Eastdale Ave. (near True Davidson Acres) held a protest earlier this year to complain about inadequate heat. You can read more about the situation at the following link:

http://www.beachmetro.com/2016/11/01/east-end-tenants-demand-improved-living-conditions/

We hope this information has been helpful. 

Wishing you a safe, happy and warm holiday season. 

Maryanna Lewyckyj, President

Park Vista Tenants' Association

parkvista.tenantsassociation@gmail.com 

Toy Drive Tops 2015 Tally

The Park Vista Tenants’ Association is very grateful for all the wonderful gifts that were donated by generous tenants at our Dec. 10 Toy Drive.

We had over 75 toys donated and more than 30 tenants came out to support the drive, chat and enjoy baked treats and refreshments. Tenants also got tips on having a greener Christmas from our recycling ambassador Maureen Ballentine.

The toys were taken to Donway Ford, a local drop-off location for the Salvation Army’s

Toy Mountain.  From there they will be distributed across the city to families in need.

Thanks to volunteers Maureen Ballentine, Elly Baptie, Gordon Cherry, Hunter, Colleen LeBlanc, Maryanna Lewyckyj, Patricia Steward, all volunteer bakers and toy donors and CAPREIT staff (Aurora and Cristian Voicu and Santa (a.k.a. Jesse) for making this event a success. 

Hunter, Elly, Maureen, Maryanna and Santa (a.k.a Jesse) with donations.

Maryanna and Patricia present the toys to Donway Ford for delivery to Toy Mountain.

Volunteers and one excited young tenant. 

Sleep-deprived Santa poses with a recent special delivery.

The toys begin to pile up. 

Tenants sampled a variety of tasty treats. 

Toy Drive - Saturday, December 10, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Park Vista Holiday Toy Drive

Saturday, December 10

6 Park Vista – Lobby

1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Enjoy a selection of baked treats

Make the holidays brighter for a needy child by donating a new, unwrapped gift.

All toys will be delivered to

Toy Mountain!

(If you can’t make it on Dec. 10, email

parkvista.tenantsassociation@gmail.com

   to arrange to have your gift picked up)   

Tenants' Association Meeting - Wed. Nov. 16, 7 p.m. - 8 Park Vista

Park Vista Tenants’ Association

Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, November 16

8 Park Vista – Lobby

7 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Guest Speaker ‒ Councillor Janet Davis

Will discuss potential new rules for Toronto landlords

This meeting is a good opportunity to:

Ø  Learn more about tenants’ rights and how to enforce them

Ø  Find out about the activities of the Park Vista Tenants’ Association  

Ø  Get to know your neighbours

Ø  Try your luck at the 50/50 draw

As seating is limited, you may wish to bring a chair

Park Vista Community Cleanup Event - Sat. Nov. 5, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Park Vista's Green Team has arranged a fall cleanup to help pick up loose trash before it gets buried under leaves and snow.

We hope you'll join your neighbours on November 5 as we try to tidy up the area around our street. 

Garbage bags, grabbers and disposable gloves will be provided. Wear comfortable shoes and long sleeves. 

Tenant Tips - Lease Renewals

The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association has the following tip for tenants:

Question: The landlord just sent me a lease renewal with a much higher rent. Do I have to renew?

Answer: Lease renewal is not required in Ontario and you never have to sign a renewal lease.

Many tenants sign lease renewals annually at the request of the landlord. While there is nothing wrong with this, it usually benefits the landlord in terms of taking away a tenant’s right to give 60 days’ notice to leave at any point. 

Generally, a landlord can only increase a tenant's rent by a guideline amount set annually by the Ontario government. For 2016, the guideline rate is 2% and the rate for 2017 is 1.5%. However, under certain circumstances the landlord can apply for an increase of up to 3% above the guideline amount for up to three years.

Tenants with individual landlords (as opposed to companies) gain a small benefit from signing a lease: preventing a landlord from evicting them for “landlord’s own use” or “purchaser’s own use” until the lease expires. Some rent discounts are also only applicable if you have a lease. But these benefits don’t apply to most tenants in Toronto.

For the vast majority of tenants, signing a lease locks you into your current housing for a year, which is beneficial to a landlord – many tenants prefer to go month-to-month. When a current lease expires, tenants automatically become month-to-month. They can leave at any point by giving 60 days’ written notice. Most important: Tenants can’t be evicted for not signing a lease renewal.

If you have questions about your rights as a tenant, you can call the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. or email hotline@torontotenants.org

Public consultations on new rules for landlords - Your voice matters

Restaurants are licensed. Spas are licensed. Even a street busker needs a licence to operate.

Yet landlords -- who are responsible for vital services such as heat, electricity and water as well as ensuring fire protection and complying with property standards rules -- are not required to have a licence to operate in Toronto.

As an article from the Toronto Star notes, the current rules aren't working well for tenants of 500 Dawes Rd., a nearby apartment building.

If you think tenants need better protection, you'll have a chance to have your voice heard at four public community meetings being held this month to get tenant input into improving living conditions in rental apartment buildings. (The closest community meeting is Sat. Aug. 20, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Broadlands Community Centre at 19 Castlegrove Blvd. near Lawrence Ave. E. and Victoria Park Ave.).

Proposed landlord requirements include:

• A plan to notify tenants of service disruptions and outstanding City orders
• A centrally located posting board for all notifications
• A maintenance plan which includes both interior and exterior maintenance. It would also include a pest management plan, snow removal/de-icing plans, and maintenance of mechanical systems (i.e. heating, elevators)
• A cleaning plan
• A state of good repair capital plan
• Annual inspections of common areas 

Learn more about the need for stronger protection for tenants through the short video at the link below:

http://www.landlordwatch.com/petition.htm

Get more information about the proposal for landlord licensing through the link below:

https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2016/06/08/council-approves-next-step-towards-landlord-licensing.html

Check out the list of the worst 100 apartment buildings for City of Toronto investigations at the link below (the top two are in East York):

http://www.landlordwatch.com/

Park Vista Street Lawn Sale - Sat. June 4 - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

A great opportunity to find a new home for your previously loved stuff and meet members of our community

 Set up a table or blanket in front of your building

Ø  Impress your neighbours with your baking skills

Ø  Visit the Park Vista Tenants’ Association table

Ø  Try your luck at the 50/50 draw

RAIN OR SHINE

Please note that residents are responsible for removing unsold items

and cleaning up their display area

Volunteers Spring into Action to Clean Up Park Vista

A determined group of more than 20 Park Vista volunteers offered up their time, energy and muscle power to collect litter and debris around our buildings and on the banks of Taylor Creek Park for the April 23 Community Cleanup.

Our neighbourhood is now more tidy, beautiful and welcoming because of their efforts. Councillor Janet Davis dropped by to thank volunteers and handed out City of Toronto pins as a token of appreciation. She also gave the group a shoutout on Twitter. 

A big thanks to the following waste warriors:

Carole & Paul Ward; Grace & Paul St. John; Edyta & Bogdan Bil; Toby; Roy Routledge; Susan Wilson; Susan Phillips; Maureen Ballentine & Kevin Carey; Elly Baptie; Jenny Link & Zeus; Audrey Mathews; Carol Brown; James McArthur; Maureen Read; Colleen LeBlanc; Larry Gillespie; Patricia Steward & Gordon Cherry; Maverick and Hayley.

Thanks also go to Pat Miller of CAPREIT for agreeing to provide supplies and refreshments, John Kerr for spending much of his Saturday coordinating the supplies, offering up coffee and getting equipment back in its place and Jessica Falcon for helping with the set up. 

In a separate cleanup, about 100 area community volunteers gathered in Taylor Creek Park to clean up areas of the park farther away from Park Vista. 

Below are some photos from the Park Vista event. 

Councillor Janet Davis gives a shout out on Twitter to the clean up crew.

Paul Ward, Paul St. John, Roy Routledge, Susan Wilson, Grace St. John and Carole Ward pose with bags of stray litter plucked from the area around 2 Park Vista.

Grace St. John goes out on a limb to get to litter.

Edyta poses with one of the many bags of trash.

Carole Ward stays stylish despite the messy task.

Park Vista Community Cleanup Event - Sat. April 23, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Spring is a time of change and renewal. To help celebrate the new season and mark Earth Day, groups across the city arrange community cleanups to spruce up their neighbourhoods by removing litter and debris.

We hope you'll join your neighbours on April 23 as we try to tidy up the area around our street. 

Garbage bags and disposable gloves will be provided. Wear comfortable shoes and long sleeves. 

Spring Hope Food Drive - Tues. April 12, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

To support the 2016 Annual Spring Hope Food Drive, volunteers will join CAPREIT staff on a door-to-door canvass of Park Vista tenants between 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, 2016.

Here's how you can help those in need:

• Make an online donation at www.springhopefooddrive.ca
• Bring food down to your superintendent or site office ahead of the food drive
• Donate when building staff and volunteers canvass door-to-door on April 12
• Leave your donations in a bag outside your door on the evening of April 12

The  most needed food items are:

• Canned vegetables
• pasta & pasta sauce
• canned fruit
• 100% fruit juice
• rice
• high fibre/low sugar cereal
• oatmeal
• flour
• granola bars
• canned meat 
• canned fish (tuna in water)
• dried or canned beans
• peanut butter
• baby food (vegetables and fruit)/ baby cereal/ baby formula

Tenants' Rights Info Session - Wed. March 2 at 7 p.m., lobby of 8 Park Vista

Guest Speaker:

Scott Byers, Staff Lawyer

Flemingdon Community Legal Services 

Learn more about the rules regarding

rental housing in Toronto

Please note that Scott Byers will be providing general information about what the law says,

not advice about what individuals should do

As seating is limited, you may wish to bring a chair

FREE EVENT - Toronto Maple Leafs practice in East York Jan. 11

You can see the Toronto Maple Leafs in action at a local rink.

Date: Monday, January 11, 2016

Time: Pre-practice entertainment starts at 10 a.m., practice starts at 11 a.m.

Location: Dieppe Park (455 Cosburn, just east of Greenwood) 

The full team roster* will be practising outside at Dieppe Park rink.

Come early to meet Maple Leafs alumni and check out the Fan Zone.

This is a free event open to the public. Please note there are no warming stations. Come dressed for an outdoor event. 

*Weather permitting

New laundry equipment at 2, 6, 7 & 8 Park Vista

The washing machines at 2, 6, 7 & 8 Park Vista are scheduled to be replaced January 11 with brand new machines.

You will be able to use your existing laundry cards on the new machines.

Please note that the laundry rooms will be closed on Monday, January 11 as the replacement machines are installed.

The dryers are scheduled to be replaced in mid-February.

The Park Vista Tenants' Association has been advocating strongly for replacement machines for some time. We thank CAPREIT and Coinamatic for listening to and acting on the concerns we raised. 

We hope the new machines will be more effective and reliable.

Drivers Beware! - Breaking New Crosswalk Rules Could be Costly

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, new safety rules require drivers and cyclists to wait until a pedestrian has completely crossed the road at a school crossing or pedestrian crossover before proceeding.

Only when pedestrians and school crossing guards are safely on the sidewalk, can drivers and cyclists proceed.

The new rules do not apply to pedestrian crosswalks at intersections with stop signs or traffic signals, unless a school crossing guard is present.

Drivers are subject to fines of $150 to $500 and 3 demerit points for crosswalk offences. The penalty for running a red light -- another practice that puts pedestrians at risk -- is $200 to $1,000.

Fines are doubled in Community Safety Zones, near schools and public areas. These areas are clearly marked with signs. 

Drivers and cyclists must wait until pedestrians have completed crossed the road.

For more information about recent changes to road safety rules, visit the links below:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/pedestrian-safety.shtml

http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2015/06/ontario-passes-legislation-to-improve-road-safety.html

http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2015/08/new-rules-of-the-road-effective-september-1-2015.html