Crowd of business owners escorted out of chambers

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Security guards had to escort some 30 unruly retailers out of the Etobicoke York Community Council meeting Tuesday after a request to reopen a parking removal motion was denied.

Ward 3 Councillor Doug Holyday (Etobicoke Centre) put forth a motion to reopen the parking debate, which was brought forward by Ward 7 Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (York West) at the Oct. 7 community council meeting. The motion targeted 75 parking spots in four plazas along Islington Avenue at Millwick Drive which Mammoliti claims encroaches city owned land. The motion, which called for the spots to be replaced by green space, was passed by the community council last month.

Holyday, who had sided with Mammoliti at last month's meeting, said he had based that decision on claims from the councillor that the area business owners were being difficult to connect with. However, Holyday wanted to reopen the issue after speaking with business owners who painted a different picture of events.

Business owners who attended the meeting started yelling when Holyday, who needed two-thirds support of community council to reopen the matter, was denied in his bid.

"Thank you for another ghost-town plaza," one owner directed at Mammoliti.

"So much for democracy. We'll lose our businesses," shouted another.

Three security guards ushered the crowd members out into the hallway where they confronted Mammoliti and city staff.

Mammoliti said his objective was to "clean up the community of garbage and crime and try to beautify the area at the same time."

"Many of you don't live in the community," he said. "You close your (store) doors at 7 p.m. and go back to your homes in Woodbridge. You don't have to deal with the drug problem."

Retailers demanded to know how taking away parking spots was going to solve the drug issue.

"You're turning a city issue into a plaza issue," one retailer told Mammoliti during the exchange. "Drugs are a problem all across Toronto."

Lina Matturro of Islington Travel Agencies Ltd. disputed that Mammoliti has tried to discuss the parking matter with business owners, saying she only discovered there was a problem when she received a letter from the city in June stating property owners were encroaching on city land. The letter stated business owners were given the option of leasing the land.

But three months later, owners received a second letter from the city stating the leasing option was off the table and vehicles found parking on the boulevard would be tagged and towed immediately.

"We're here, generating business, generating taxes and that's not good enough?" Matturro asked. "The fight's not over. He can't shut us down. These businesses can't survive without parking."

Matturro previously told The Mirror she acknowledges the area has its issues but not everyone is engaging in criminal activity.

"We all have families," she said. "We've cleaned up to make things better. As the years went by the people have changed but we're not scum low-lives. We had no idea we were encroaching. If we were, why were we allowed years ago to pave the area?"

Parking spots at Italian Gardens Plaza, Humber Summit Plaza, Islington Plaza and Royal Plaza are affected by Mammoliti's motion.

The motion calls for the city to recapture the boulevard parking by Dec. 31.