Every culture, all of us, together. Taste of Little Italy.

Vai Brasil! 🇧🇷

Today, I joined the community to celebrate the life of Monica Lewis. Monica was a pioneer of Little Jamaica- and for decades on Eglinton she brought people together through love and kindness. We honor her legacy, respect her work, love her family, and remember her always. Here’s Jay Douglas’ beautiful voice-

I’m ready! 🇨🇦

Big turnout for @JoshMatlow’s rally to draw attention to the ridiculous tax code issues that shut down the midtown pickleball court and that make interim uses prohibitively expensive in development sites.

This is truly tragic. My heartfelt condolences to the officer’s family, friends and colleagues- the entire police family. You have our gratitude and support.

You know that large concrete retaining wall on the west side of Bathurst, north of Davenport, when you’re coming up the hill? We’re going to paint a beautiful, colorful mural there, working with StreetArt Toronto. I was delighted to meet, and thank, the talented street artists who’ve submitted their proposals. I’ll have more updates to share when the artist is ultimately selected!

Walking through the Toronto Archives isn’t just a fascinating look into our city’s many stories (I love this stuff), it’s like being in a scene right out of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The popularity of street festivals shows that there’s enormous public support for pedestrianized streets in Toronto. That’s why I’m bringing forward a motion to the next city council meeting, seconded by Councillor Chris Moise, who launched the Church Street pedestrianization pilot, to create a Pedestrian Streets Program for Toronto. Pedestrian streets are proven to contribute to the success of local businesses and residents’ quality of life. I’m asking city staff to identify the right streets for festivals, seasonal and permanent initiatives, and report on resource requirements, and where it works considering safety and functionality, to create pedestrianized streets across Toronto. Many global cities including Paris and Copenhagen, and as close to home as Montreal, have successful pedestrian streets - and it’s time that Toronto become the world class city we aspire to be.

Toronto City Councillor @JoshMatlow tells @MooreintheAM about a new report from city staff warning that any expansion of Billy Bishop airport could result in major adverse impacts on housing, congestion, the environment and the waterfront as a whole. ihr.fm/4uWWfxL

On June 15th, apartment buildings in Toronto will begin to display colour-coded RentSafe signs, backed by the city being able to use remedial action or financial penalties if landlords don’t maintain safe and healthy homes for their tenants- holding corporate landlords to account, ensuring city hall is addressing the problems and providing vital information to prospective renters. I was proud to bring this initiative to city council, and am so grateful for the support we achieved to finally get it done!

Here are some captions from reports based on motions I’ve moved at city council to provide the federal government information about what’s at stake with Doug Ford’s push to bring jets to Toronto’s waterfront. I’m very pleased to say that the many conversations I’ve had with Toronto MPs have been very positive and productive. I believe the Carney government will be committed to a thoughtful and evidence-based review of any plan for our waterfront that must consider the livability of our neighbourhoods, housing targets, transportation needs, and our health and the natural environment. And, despite Ford’s bombastic behavior, I’m encouraged that the Prime Minister will ensure that the City of Toronto and its residents are treated like partners and recognizes that consequential decisions have real consequences. We are making progress.

Access to drinking water, especially when you’re outside in the heat, should be a right no matter where you are in Toronto. The public’s health and safety is simply more important than FIFA restricting fans to buy Coke products. I’ll be asking city hall to push back on this latest greedy and unreasonable FIFA demand.

I strongly disagree with the TTC’s decision to install barrier fences on subway platforms. I’m convinced it’s a waste of money, and won’t effectively prevent tragedies, trespassing onto the tracks or reduce subway delays. I support working toward installing real platform edge doors. cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/p…

My letter to Ontario’s Minister of Finance regarding the need to support the activation of vacant redevelopment sites: Given the challenges the housing market is facing, there are a growing number of approved development sites that are sitting idle for years at a time. Vacant sites diminish the vibrancy of our main streets, reduce neighbourhood safety, generate no economic activity and adversely impact neighbouring businesses. Community-oriented interim uses, including pop-up recreation activations, offer a practical solution. Where they have been implemented, they have demonstrated clear benefits for streets, safety, and local economies. However, a critical policy gap is penalizing these interim uses…

I’ve been advocating for, along with Councillor Mike Colle, the City to finally redesign the Eglinton and Allen intersection to make it safer and more functional. We want traffic to move on Eglinton, and have less traffic on our local streets. As part of the redesign study, that’s actively underway, we’re asking the community for their ideas and feedback. Thanks so much to everyone who participated this evening!

Premier Ford, elbows up. Stand by your words and tell JP Morgan, and their lobbyists, that Toronto's waterfront isn't for sale. While I'm at it, here's the truth: Without even sharing a business model or plan, your government is barreling ahead with legislation to bring jets to our lakefront, expropriate Toronto's park lands and sideline the voices of our residents. If you're not consulting with the public, or working with Toronto as a partner, who has your ear?