Community Development · 1987
Citizens for a Quiet Beach
It began as a quarrel on one street corner and ended as policy for all of Toronto.
In the mid-1980s, sidewalk cafés began appearing all along Queen Street in the Beach, "spreading like mushrooms," as I told a reporter at the time. Many sat on side streets, right up against people's homes, and the neighbours had had enough of the noise, the traffic and the late-night carousing.
I became the spokesman for a group we called Citizens for a Quiet Beach. We asked City Hall for a proper policy instead of approving cafés one at a time. When our own senior alderman sided with the restaurant owners, I found an ally elsewhere: Councillor Nadine Nowlan, a veteran of the fight to Stop the Spadina Expressway, who knew how a citizens' campaign could turn City Hall around.
Our opponent gathered signatures from the apartment buildings along Queen Street. We went door to door to the homeowners on every street running north and south from Queen, and we collected more signatures than he did. On November 2, 1987, Nadine carried new rules through City Council, and they applied across the entire city: no new boulevard café within twenty-five metres of a home, closing by eleven at night, and no music outside.
It taught me something I used again and again: organize your neighbours, find the right ally, and bring a clear proposal.
Hear Francesco tell it
Call and Via the Greeter will answer and introduce you to Francesco, the AI voiceprint built from Frank's own voice. Francesco speaks as Frank will for his family after he is gone, telling these stories in his own words.
You might ask:
- How did the Beach café fight start?
- How did you win more signatures?
- Who was Nadine Nowlan?
Or dial 506-616-0001 from any phone.