[URBAN NOTE] "More crumbling Toronto Community Housing units to close amid budget pressures: CEO"

[rfmcdonald]

David Hains' previously mentioned Torontoist post refers to Jennifer Pagliaro's article in the Toronto Star. It makes for distressing reading.

Standing on the pathway between townhome complexes in the Toronto Community Housing neighbourhood at Jane St. and Firgrove Cres., Sheila Penny, vice-president of facilities management, holds out a jagged chunk of speckled red brick the size of her palm to demonstrate.

The crumbling brick exteriors, the deterioration exacerbated by water damage, have already left 22 units uninhabitable. One unit has been closed some 15 years, building officials said. Back yards have been quarantined with construction fencing strewn with “danger” signs.

[. . .]

Last year, this community was slated for revival, one of three areas selected for co-ordinated and expedited repairs as part of what’s called the “ReSet” program — a fresh start meant to prioritize needs with help from residents and to save money through bulk purchasing. Mayor John Tory was on hand in September to make the announcement, standing on the Grassway’s basketball court. He called the closure of units due to lack of repairs “not an acceptable situation.”

But heading into budget season, TCH faces a $96 million gap in operating funding and is short $1.7 billion that was expected but has yet to materialize from higher levels of government to make much-needed repairs across the city.

With a council-approved budget direction led by Tory requiring all agencies and departments to find 2.6 per cent in savings, the housing corporation’s CEO Greg Spearn said inevitable cuts will mean cancelling quality-of-life improvements proposed by Tory’s own housing taskforce last year.