Joe Pantalone swoops in to limit west-end nightlife—again

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Toronto’s would-be mayor Joe Pantalone is coming down hard on one of the city’s most popular nightlife destinations. After similar moves against Ossington and Harbord, the councilman is now supporting a motion put forth by residents living near the busy stretch of Queen West between Dovercourt and Gladstone. The proposal, which seeks to clarify the term “restaurant” and to limit patio sizes, was approved by Toronto and East York Community Council but still has to pass city council. Pantalone claims that this section of Queen experienced “too much change, too fast” and that “a sense of equilibrium was lost.” Perhaps we have a different definition of “fast,” but The Drake, The Social and The Gladstone have been up and running for years (even the Starbucks at Dovercourt, famously graffitied “Drake you ho this is all your fault,” opened in 2005). We wonder what the construction of the Bohemian Embassy and West Side Lofts condo projects will do to that equilibrium.

• In search of more balance on West Queen West [National Post]