-- TORONTO -- The City of Toronto is reviewing the leasing terms of a building it rents to a community group for 7¢ a year following a complaint from Councillor Rob Ford that the facility is not being used for its intended purpose.Maybe this is a tempest in a teapot... I'm sure the majority of Torontonians aren't gonna mind that their property taxes are being used to promote rap music and hip-hop sensibility.
Mr. Ford said the Marcus Garvey Community Centre for Leadership and Enterprise, located in the Weston Road and Sheppard Avenue area, is apparently not being used as a skills training centre, and has been sub-leased on select weekends to promoters who are using the centre as a nightclub.
The building encompasses 22,000-square-feet and is located at 160 Rivalda Rd. Mr. Ford-- who said he was tipped off by a Rivalda Road businessman who has personally witnessed parties at the centre -- said the Marcus Garvey Centre pays no property taxes or water bills and that the city provides landscaping services.**********
According to the terms of the lease obtained by Mr. Ford, the city gave the Marcus Garvey Centre a 15-year lease for $1 beginning in 2002.
UPDATE: Miller has to eat this one
Looks like threats and blackmail aren't gonna work after all.
Mayor David Miller, who presented the motion to reopen the centres, came under fire for agreeing to close the centres down in the first place. His peers grilled him on why he allowed that to happen without council's approval.Hey Mr. Mayor, you need revenue... I know a lease you could renegotiate.
Miller said he's agreeing to reverse the decision because of the impact it has had on the public but warned that cuts would come and that they would probably hurt.
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