Being in business on Queen Street East is no beach.
Since 1987, the Beach is the only one of many Toronto neighbourhoods where restaurants and bars are restricted to 165 square metres.
No matter how luring the boardwalk, life is no beach for Queen Street East residents, who lost their racetrack to a major housing project, with proposed cinemas, more restaurants and disquieting rumours about a legal gambling casino.
A 1985 City of Toronto study showed parking as the number one issue for beach residents. Residents, who hope for one parking spot for every square foot, are still waiting 14 years later.
The outside patio has become the fashion, even though the Beach is a community of families.
Cross swords with the local councillor and you might find yourself effectively beached.
City building inspection staff say it was a "Gallos' disgruntled employee" who originally brought Coun. Tom Jakobek's attention to 7th Wave Bar & Bistro owner Bill Gallos.
"Councillor complaints get top priority," a building inspector told Our Toronto Free Press.
For the past decade of his more than 30 years on the Beach, Gallos has been on a bureaucratic treadmill that keeps him running between Toronto City Hall and hearings at The Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario (formerly LLBO).
During that time, the 57-year-old Gallos, known affectionately in the ‘hood as "Bill the barber", has developed a heart condition.
"It seems like forever and it's wrecking my health and business, but absolutely no one is going to stop me from trying to make a living here," said Gallos.
It's a battle that's also costing the local taxpayer a bundle.
Gallos' latest clash with bureaucracy found him back at the Alcohol & Gaming Commission in early February, where most of the day was given over to the testimony of city building inspection staff. A taxpayer-paid city solicitor, rather than commission counsel maintained the lead role.
In his testimony to the Commission, City Zoning Planning Examiner Dave Matthewson said the Beach bylaw restricting gross floor area is "amended almost on a weekly basis."
Gallos and his supporters are demanding to know why testimony from city inspectors should come before the Commission in an application for a liquor licence.
City inspectors told the Commission February hearing they have been working seven months on an injunction against the 7th Wave.
Back in its July session, city council passed a Jakobek motion to oppose the 7th Wave's liquor licence, based on noise and zoning violations and the in the public interests of local constituents.
Coun. Michael Walker says it is not difficult getting council support on motions from the 57-member megacity council, since "Sometimes councillors take the word of a local councillor at face value."
On March 17 last year, Jakobek testified against Gallos at a Commission hearing, which was held in a local church at his request. The councillor portrayed Gallos as a bad business operator and threatened to put him out of business. According to the Commission, the tape recording device malfunctioned, and thus no transcript from the hearing was available for Gallos' lawyer Peter Poulakis
It was Commission legal counsel Phillip Morris who requested that the city send its building inspectors to the February hearing. The hearing was adjourned after one day, but continues on Feb. 19.
Gallos complains that it is unclear whether Jakobek testifies against him at Commission hearings as a private individual or as the elected area councillor.
The beleaguered Gallos also alleges that his bistro/bar is surrounded by Jakobek's personal friends "who have no problems getting building permits" to run businesses on the Queen Street East strip.
Harold "Zoltz" Weisfeld owns the building where Starbucks is located directly next door to the 7th Wave.
A little further up the street, next door to Jakobek's constituency office is 2002 Queen East. A corporate search conducted by Our Toronto shows an Anthony Martino listed as the administrator of a corporation with a building that houses a ground floor coffee shop and upstairs tenants.
A city inspector told Our Toronto records show that a building permit needed to convert a variety store to a coffee shop at 2002 Queen East took less than a month, a period of time he described as "fast for a permit to be issued" and "not common" as far as time to get a permit generally goes.
In 1996, Our Toronto carried a cover story reporting that Weisfeld, a wealthy businessman and friend of Jakobek's, drove his Cadillac to and from any one of his 26 "Ends" stores in the day and then back to his publicly subsidized home in a lakefront Cityhome project at night. A Tony Martino, was identified in the same article as the Cityhome area manager, East District, and a long-time friend of Jakobek's.
As far as is known, Weisfeld still resides in the lakefront Cityhome, and Martino is still Cityhome area manager.
Meanwhile, the same four residents continue to dog Gallos at Commission hearings. Although they claim to represent many other residents, the other residents have thus far been a no-show. Self-proclaimed resident leader Frank Lorritz says the residents cannot come to the Commission hearings because they have to work.
Bill Gallos is not the only local business operator with a gnawing suspicion he is on Jakobek's hit list.
It took Beach businessman Richard Stockford two years to get a permit to build The Riverbottom, an exercise that cost him a lot of time and money. Stockford now resides in Kingsville and the Riverbottom is now up for sale.
The list seems to be growing and Bruce Fair, owner of Lion on the Beach finds himself in the latest chapter of what appears to be the ongoing saga of the Beach.
... "It is with amazement that I heard that the liquor licence for 1958 Queen Street East had been renewed after my office and about 30 of my constituents wrote to the Commission (Alcohol & Gaming) and complained about the noise and the rowdiness of the patio located on private property," Jakobek wrote in a Dec. 3 letter to Commission Chair Clare Lewis. In fact, Fair was advised that there was no letter from Jakobek's office and only one complaint in the file which was registered by the commercial property owner next door. Fair found it "amazing" that after eight full summers of operation and after receipt of one complaint, a hearing will be held respecting his operation.
In that letter, Jakobek referred to Lion on the Beach as a "public nuisance that infringes on the quality of life in our neighbourhood", and formally requested a public hearing on imposing an 11:00 p.m. closure on the private patio.
By pursuing the matter through Commission legal counsel Richard Kulis, Fair was able to ascertain that 30 letters had not been received by the Commission.
On Jan. 12, Jakobek wrote to Fair:.... "Bruce, you have been a key player on Queen Street East, and I would like to help as much as I can. I am sure that if you speak to your neighbours and try to find a compromise, we could avoid this whole scene."
Nor were some residents happy with the way in which Jakobek contacted them about Lion on the Beach.
"I find your tone negative and offensive," Owen Williams said in a letter to Jakobek. "Frankly, I am tired of your attitude as our councillor."
Some city inspectors are feeling the strain of life in the Beach with Jakobek. One told Our Toronto there is no doubt "Jakobek keeps the Beach on a very short leash".
"I'm sure some people (on city staff) are intimidated by him," he said.
The inspector said not even city staff are happy with Jakobek's bylaw restricting Beach bars and restaurants to only 165 metres.
"There are no restrictions in other parts of the city, and we're the people on the front line who take a lot of flak for it."
But the inspector said Toronto's top building official Pam Coburn is focusing her energy on a customer service style of operation that has all city inspectors trying to resolve issues for customers, rather than getting caught up in political battles with their councillors.
When asked whether he believed Pam Coburn took her marching orders from Jakobek, the inspector replied: "No way."
Even Our Toronto, which has criticized her in past issues, believes that city building inspections under Pam Coburn, are run honestly and by the book.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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