City gives thumbs-down to community pizza nights and fun
First there was the liquor license debacle at Ici Bistro to prevent Harbord Street from turning into Skid Row, then the moratorium on Ossington restaurants and bars. The city’s latest target in its War on Fun? The much-loved community outdoor pizza oven at Christie Pits Park.
Two years ago, a group of parents gave new life to an abandoned park shack that housed a 10-year-old oven. Since then, Christie Pits fills with people on Friday nights enjoying a slice made by a volunteer group called the Friends of Christie Pits, along with a city staff worker who mans the oven. But, as the Star reports, the city is cracking down on irregular rec programming. If the Friends want to keep pizza in the park going, they’ll have to pay for a $100 permit each week and cover the cost of the city staffer.
“We can’t afford it,” Monica Gupta, chair of the Friends of Christie Pits, told the Star. “We are all just volunteers.” Our guess for what’s next on the city’s agenda: pay for play playgrounds.
• City crackdown hits park pizza nights [Toronto Star] • Ossington residents split on licensing ban [Toronto Life] • Joe Pantalone maintains his tough—and lonely—stand against merlot [Toronto Life]
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