For nearly 70 years, Honest Ed’s was a Toronto landmark. But the once vibrant building at Bathurst Street and Bloor Street West is now covered in graffiti.
“It was such a beautiful institution in the city and then all of a this stuff started popping up, and it’s such a shame because the whole thing starts to feel like its being gentrified,” said area resident Ellie Wiedensmith.
The family-run store was sold to the development company Westbank three years ago and the store closed its doors for good on Dec. 31.
Since then, the building has been abandoned while Westbank waits for the green light from the city to redevelop the land. Area residents said since the closure, the building has been vandalized and covered in graffiti.
“Unfortunately because it’s being set for demolition, no one really seems to care at this point,” said local business owner Doug Miller.
But according to the City of Toronto’s bylaws, the owner of the property is responsible to remove the graffiti – even if the building is going to be demolished.
After Global News alerted city staff of the spray paint, they sent a warning letter to Westbank saying they have 30 days to clean up the graffiti. After that deadline, the company could face a $300 fine.
“The graffiti, we’ve asked them to clean it up, and they’ve told us they’re working on it,” said Councillor Joe Cressy.
Cressy is on the board of the Mirvish Village BIA and said the graffiti is cause for concern, but added the owners are taking action.
“There are cameras now in place, there is 24-hour security now in place and there are motion-activated lights now in place that should help prevent future graffiti from coming,” said Cressy.
Westbank’s PR company told Global News the cameras and security guards were put in place on Wednesday.