Item - 2021.EC22.11

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to accelerate the review to determine the suitability for The Peanut neighbourhood to be identified as a Neighbourhood Improvement Area and to report to the Economic and Community Development Committee as soon as possible.

As a result of COVID-19, the review to be undertaken by Social Development, Finance and Administration of our Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) has been delayed and the work is now not scheduled to be completed before 2022.

The Peanut is a densely populated community located in and around Don Mills, between Sheppard Avenue East and Finch Avenue East. For decades, it has been the first home to hundreds of thousands of newcomers and low-income Torontonians. According to the 2016 Census, The Peanut has similar socio-economic conditions to those of other North York NIAs such Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, and Black Creek.

Community organizations have been working for years to support residents in The Peanut, delivering health care, legal, and food security services with little dedicated support from the City. These organizations have done fantastic work but as the pandemic goes on and we look to recovery, these organizations simply do not have the capacity to continue to meet the needs of the community without support.

The Peanut was very nearly included in the review of Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, but did not meet the criteria due to the abundance of child care spaces created by former Councillor Elinor Caplan and myself as local representatives over the years. Additionally, this neighbourhood like many in Toronto, is struggling with the impacts of gentrification and displacement as more and more development comes to the Sheppard Avenue East subway corridor.

A prioritized review of this neighbourhood has the potential to ensure that critical support is given to a neighbourhood that has been hit hard by the pandemic and that will continue to struggle through recovery without sufficient support.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.