Good Morning BIA Members,
We're in that time of year when it is getting dark earlier, it's getting colder and the holiday shopping season is on the horizon. So this is an email with some reminders and updates:
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
- With it being dark earlier please take extra care when leaving your business especially if you're going to your car in back laneways. If there isn't great lighting, consider having a small pocket light with you.
- Thanks to Councillor Fletcher's team we will be updating the lighting on Broadview. Our Danforth section is well lit but Broadview is in need of improvements. We should see updates coming to this section before the end of this year and into the new year.
Shoplifting/Thefts:
- This is always an issue but with colder temperatures and the holiday season coming we often see an uptick. If you have someone in your business that is stealing please do NOT chase after them and please encourage your staff to NOT chase after them. This is a huge risk - you have no idea how the person will react and if they have any kind of weapon on them. This is a risk not worth taking!
- I've included our Crime Prevention officer, PC Little, in the top address line of this email. He is available to assist you if you need help filing a police report; if you want him to visit your business and review security measures with you and your staff. He knows our area well and he is more than willing to assist you so please reach out to him.
Vandalism & Graffiti:
- This was a particularly bad weekend for vandalism in our area following the Jays game on Saturday night. We had a few of our large and very heavy planters pushed over. A huge thanks to our maintenance company for their quick response to my Sunday morning calls for help.
- Graffiti is an ongoing challenge. If your business has been tagged please take a photo and email it to me. We have a company on retainer who will come and remove the tags. I try to catch all of the tagging in the area but your help with flagging these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Encampments:
- We had a small encampment in the parkette on Broadview just north of the Broadview subway station. Thanks again to Councillor Fletcher and her team for helping me to quickly access a City team who was able to come in and deal with this situation. The City team and I will continue to keep an eye on this location however if you see a tent(s) return to the parkette please email me right away.
- There is also a larger encampment in the Broadview park just south of Danforth. This park isn't part of our BIA but this encampment does impact our Broadview Danforth area. I'm working with the City team to ultimately move the people in the encampment - this will take quite a while. In the interim I'm pushing the City to install a portable washroom in the area of the encampment. This should help with some of the issues our BIA members in the Broadview/Danforth section of our BIA are having to deal with.
Thanks,
Susan