BUSC BUSC
BEESHA-BARAKEYSAN
Living large with high-priced whips in community housing
Kevin Connor
Published:August 17, 2019
Updated:August 17, 2019 5:12 PM EDT
If Toronto Community Housing would like to rid itself of its gun and gangs problem, it need look no further than their parking lots.
The subsidized housing facility is packed with luxury high-end vehicles — Mercedes and BMWs worth upwards of $70,000 — and they all have authorized TCH parking permits in a community where the average household income is $18,000.
It’s not news to residents that undesirables in the community have pimped-out rides with questionable means by which they were purchased.
“There needs to be more of a crack down,” said Joe, not his real name, whose mother is a member of a group of Somali women who recently reached out to the Toronto Police Service Board to offer help to quash the violence.
His mother lives in the Falstaff Ave. TCHC complex in the Jane St. and Hwy. 401 area where a 16-year-old boy was shot to death on Aug. 1.
Joe worries his mother could become a target or a “name brand” — where high-profile persons interfering with gangs could get hurt or killed.
“They shoot random people if they can’t get the person they are looking for,” Joe said, adding the culprits drive in style and everyone living there knows it.
“These guys have a strange attachment to these neighbourhoods, and aren’t going anywhere and they won’t stop what they are doing.”
There has long-been a contentious loophole in the city’s community housing system where residents can’t be evicted for breaking rules or criminal behaviour, but can simply move back in to another unit if it’s rented in the name of a family member.
TCHC guidelines state that eligibility for subsidized housing is based on income.
Ownership of a vehicle is not part of a household’s income.
To obtain a TCHC parking spot, a tenant must produce proof of vehicle ownership.
“The type, model or cost of the vehicle is not a consideration,” say TCHC, which stated in its 2018 annual report the median income of their residents’ is $18,398
“A vehicle with a book value of $80,000 could be parked on TCHC property with a TCHC parking permit as a result of the vehicle belonging to a market tenant, or to a non-tenant who has paid for non-tenant parking” TCH said in a statement.
The corporation didn’t provide numbers as to how many fall into those two categories.
Shamso Elmi with the Somali Mothers Movement questions where the income for these luxury cars is coming from.
She also questions who is paying full market value to live in a dangerous community.
“There needs to be transparency and this must be investigated. If you can afford an $80,000 car, why don’t you own a home and not live in TCHC. There needs to be one-on-one investigations,” Elmi said.
When asked if those living in community housing with cars more akin to the rich and famous should be investigated, the Toronto police responded with a statement.
“The Toronto Police Service works cooperatively with the Toronto Community Housing (TCH) Community Patrol Officers to investigate criminal behaviour and prevent crime,” the statement said.
“We do not share operational details of our work or speculate about how to best investigate criminality.”
TCHC says if there is a complaint that a household may be underreporting or hiding income, the unit staff officer investigates — which could lead to the loss of the tenants subsidy and legal action.
“Some people who live here have nice cars because the rent is so low,” said Karina, who spoke to the Sun after the Aug. 10 East York double-shooting on Wakunda Pl. where two men were shot — one fatally.
“Others have nice cars because they get them by other means … everyone knows who they are and what they do. All these neighbourhoods are self-policed by the gangs.”
No one says TCHC residents shouldn’t have reliable transportation, “…. but when the cars are so expensive, why aren’t they asking where the money is coming from,” Elmi asked.
Kevin Connor
Published:August 17, 2019
Updated:August 17, 2019 5:12 PM EDT
If Toronto Community Housing would like to rid itself of its gun and gangs problem, it need look no further than their parking lots.
The subsidized housing facility is packed with luxury high-end vehicles — Mercedes and BMWs worth upwards of $70,000 — and they all have authorized TCH parking permits in a community where the average household income is $18,000.
It’s not news to residents that undesirables in the community have pimped-out rides with questionable means by which they were purchased.
“There needs to be more of a crack down,” said Joe, not his real name, whose mother is a member of a group of Somali women who recently reached out to the Toronto Police Service Board to offer help to quash the violence.
His mother lives in the Falstaff Ave. TCHC complex in the Jane St. and Hwy. 401 area where a 16-year-old boy was shot to death on Aug. 1.
Joe worries his mother could become a target or a “name brand” — where high-profile persons interfering with gangs could get hurt or killed.
“They shoot random people if they can’t get the person they are looking for,” Joe said, adding the culprits drive in style and everyone living there knows it.
“These guys have a strange attachment to these neighbourhoods, and aren’t going anywhere and they won’t stop what they are doing.”
There has long-been a contentious loophole in the city’s community housing system where residents can’t be evicted for breaking rules or criminal behaviour, but can simply move back in to another unit if it’s rented in the name of a family member.
TCHC guidelines state that eligibility for subsidized housing is based on income.
Ownership of a vehicle is not part of a household’s income.
To obtain a TCHC parking spot, a tenant must produce proof of vehicle ownership.
“The type, model or cost of the vehicle is not a consideration,” say TCHC, which stated in its 2018 annual report the median income of their residents’ is $18,398
“A vehicle with a book value of $80,000 could be parked on TCHC property with a TCHC parking permit as a result of the vehicle belonging to a market tenant, or to a non-tenant who has paid for non-tenant parking” TCH said in a statement.
The corporation didn’t provide numbers as to how many fall into those two categories.
Shamso Elmi with the Somali Mothers Movement questions where the income for these luxury cars is coming from.
She also questions who is paying full market value to live in a dangerous community.
“There needs to be transparency and this must be investigated. If you can afford an $80,000 car, why don’t you own a home and not live in TCHC. There needs to be one-on-one investigations,” Elmi said.
When asked if those living in community housing with cars more akin to the rich and famous should be investigated, the Toronto police responded with a statement.
“The Toronto Police Service works cooperatively with the Toronto Community Housing (TCH) Community Patrol Officers to investigate criminal behaviour and prevent crime,” the statement said.
“We do not share operational details of our work or speculate about how to best investigate criminality.”
TCHC says if there is a complaint that a household may be underreporting or hiding income, the unit staff officer investigates — which could lead to the loss of the tenants subsidy and legal action.
“Some people who live here have nice cars because the rent is so low,” said Karina, who spoke to the Sun after the Aug. 10 East York double-shooting on Wakunda Pl. where two men were shot — one fatally.
“Others have nice cars because they get them by other means … everyone knows who they are and what they do. All these neighbourhoods are self-policed by the gangs.”
No one says TCHC residents shouldn’t have reliable transportation, “…. but when the cars are so expensive, why aren’t they asking where the money is coming from,” Elmi asked.
