East York residents sound off after bloodshed inside illegal rooming house

In East York, sandwiched between Broadview Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway, you’ll find a small dead end street with a very big sense of community.

“It’s like hidden enclave that people really don’t know about,” said Clive Thommason, who has called Don Valley Drive home for decades.

“It’s kind of a special place full of tight knit neighbours.”

With the exception of one neighbouring house.

“And my house looks directly at it,” he said.

75 Don Valley Drive has been a source of problems for both residents and city staff.

“The yard is a constant mess littered with garbage.”

But it’s more than an eyesore, residents say.

“There’s always disturbances. Police coming, there’s ambulances coming.”

It’s one of two illegal rooming houses in the neighbourhood run by the same property owner.

“We’ve been lodging complaints with the city for several years, but there’s been no action,” Thommason tells The Leader Spirit.

According to city staff, there have been issues with the home dating back to 2019. In response to several complaints, a rare letter of apology was sent out to homeowners from the city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards department, which confirmed by-law officers had visited the home in the past.

“The officers involved in some of these investigations should have taken a more stringent or aggressive direction in their investigations and taken action by way of prosecution and/or city action,” wrote Peter Hardisty, District Manager of Municipal Licensing and Standards.

“I am extending my sincere apology for the poor performance in the numerous investigations over four years. This is well below the quality of service I expect from my staff and myself.”

Hardisty promised to step up enforcement and inspections of the home moving forward. The letter was sent out on May 5th, 2023 but residents say problems at the home have continued.

“Then there was this stabbing that occurred here,” said Thommason.

On February 1st, Toronto Police responded to the home after a man in his 50’s was stabbed inside the home and rushed to hospital.

“I’d like to say we were surprised but this is exactly what we thought would happen here,” said Thommason.

The Leader Spirit obtained photos of inside the home after the stabbing which show massive amounts of blood on floors and walls. Those photos were taken by a tenant of the property owner, who rents space in another one of their illegal rooming houses around the corner on Broadview Avenue. He says the property owner called him to go clean up the blood the night of the stabbing.

“She asked me to clean it up,” said Frank Ghazal, who says he is not a professional cleaner. “I was told the person who was stabbed might have some form of hepatitis.”

Ghazal claims he asked for $200 but the property owner bargained him down to $150.

“I needed the cash and she will often ask us to do tasks around the houses,” he said.

Ghazal, who‘s on government assistance, rents a room measuring just over 100 square feet and shares a kitchen and bathroom with two other people. He pays $980 a month.

He says the property is not well maintained but compared to other more traditional rental units in the area, it’s all he can afford.

“That’s what keeps us trapped here,” he said. “Because no other landlord, at least the more reputable ones who actually maintain their properties, will rent to us.”

Neighbours who’ve been lodging complaints about the rooming houses in the area don’t blame the tenants alone.

“We understand there is a housing crisis and rooming houses are a necessity,” Thommason said. “There are tenants in the house and it’s not their fault. It’s not illegal for them to be living there. It’s the owners of the house to blame in our opinion.”

According to city staff, they are taking action against the property owner.

“Since May 2023, a Notice of Violation has been issued for zoning, an Order to Comply has been issued for property standards and an Order to Comply was issued for pests,” a city spokesperson told The Leader Spirit. 

“The property owner has not complied with the zoning and property standards notices/orders yet, and on July 2023, the city laid a charge for zoning. This is now before the courts. “

The spokesperson said members of its Specialized Enforcement Resolution Team have been attending the property regularly to actively monitor property standards issues and “will be taking further enforcement action, as appropriate.”

The Leader Spirit tried multiple ways to reach the property owner by phone and text but we received no response.

According to current city by-laws, rooming houses, licensed or not, are not legally allowed to operate in East York. But that will change next month when revised by-laws will expand the map and allow rooming houses throughout the city, provided property owners get a license first.

“Under the new framework, operators will be required to obtain a licence and comply with consistent standards, which are being introduced to protect the safety of tenants and respond to neighbourhood concerns,” city staff told The Leader Spirit.

While neighbours in this East York community wait for court proceedings to determine the fate of the properties they say are plaguing their community, they remain on guard, hoping action is swift.

“What has to happen?” Thommason asked. “Does someone actually need to get murdered in this house for this to change?”

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