Pubdate: Sun, 11 May 2008
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Sue-Ann Levy

TEENS GONE WILD? CHOP DOWN TREES

'Green' City Pulls Out The Chainsaw To Deal With  Loitering In
Park

It seems those blooming tree-hugging hypocrites who  purport to be
running Toronto (into the ground) have  quietly reduced 19 healthy,
mature Austrian pines and  ash trees to ugly, sentry-like stumps in
Mossgrove  Park, located in the tony York Mills Rd. and Leslie St. 
area.

This latest City Hall chainsaw massacre occurred on  April 15, one
week before Earth Day. The deed was  sanctioned by the city's tree
police and ward  councillor Cliff Jenkins, who claims it was done to 
improve "community safety" at a park where teens have  been loitering,
dealing drugs and conducting other  "undesirable activities" for years.

"This is a community safety issue ... it's not a tree  issue," Jenkins
told me late last week, noting 30  replacement trees, as yet
unspecified, will be planted  in the park.

By contrast, on April 29 Coun. Mike Del Grande failed  to get the
two-thirds vote required from council to  reconsider the case of a
Grandville Ave. couple who've  been told they can't take down an
invasive Norway Maple  infiltrating their tiny home -- unless they
cough up  $10,526, which includes the value of the offending  tree.

In fact, before the vote, the pompous Tree Emperor Joe  Pantalone
shouted to his colleagues to register "No."  (Jenkins, to his credit,
supported the couple.)

While this kind of twisted logic has made it clear --  at least to me
- -- that Toronto's draconian private tree  bylaw is being applied
inconsistently and on a most  selective basis, I dare say the safety
excuse is the  best I've heard to date for clear-cutting an entire 
stand of healthy trees.

I can't wait for what's next. Perhaps some of those  trees in downtown
parks under which homeless folk tend  to catch a few winks should be
taken down, too, for  being a safety hazard.

Jenkins says a park safety audit conducted exactly a  year ago by
Const. Kelly Downie of 33 Division -- and  supported by about 25 local
residents at a community  meeting -- cited the number one reason for
the drug  dealing as the lack of "sight lines" from York Mills  Rd.
into Mossgrove Park.

Downie couldn't be reached for comment. Nevertheless  her audit
proposed removing the artificial hill  bordering the south end of the
park and the trees on it  -- to allow residents and other traffic
passing by on  York Mills Rd. to see directly into the park.

As Downie also noted in her audit, the direct view  would prevent
"undesirables" from loitering and make it  easier for the "community
to observe and contact the  police."

I asked Jenkins -- if there is such a drug problem --  why the police
simply don't get out of their cars and  patrol the park either on foot
or by bicycle, as Chief  Bill Blair promised they'd be doing on a more
regular  basis three years ago.

"They are doing increased patrols," he said, but  couldn't say how
often the police are in there on foot  or by bike.

The audit also indicates the lighting in the park is  poor, but the
recommendations only mention installing  one light standard on one
pathway.

Local resident, and candidate for council in the last  election, Tony
Dickins, who's been aware of the rowdy  teen problem for years but
knew nothing of any  community meetings, says the solution taken is
"bizarre  to say the least," especially from officials who keep 
espousing "greening the city" to fight climate change.

STEP UP PATROLS

"Interesting concept ... cut down on crime by cutting  down trees," he
said, noting that if police patrols  were stepped up, that would
likely deter the kids from  hanging out in the park.

Another area resident, Simone Gabbay, founder of Don  Mills Friends,
called the city's solution "very  simplistic."

She said she's not only "disappointed" the city  wouldn't take better
care to preserve trees that are  removing pollution, but their
solution is far from  "teen-friendly" -- in other words, it doesn't
address  the problem that the teens have nothing better to do  and
nowhere else to go.

"In an area where there's so much affluence, this is  most palatable
solution they could come up with?" she  asked.

Palatable or not, I asked Jenkins whether the tree  takedown has in
fact worked to reduce the drug dealing  in the park. He said the hill
isn't entirely removed  yet, but when it's done he said he's sure the 
environment will improve.

I pressed further as to whether drug dealing is  ongoing.

"I believe there still is," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin