By ALI RAZA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Beach Village Business Improvement Area (BIA) has a new executive director – Paul Bieksa.
That means he’ll work with the business community along Queen Street East in the Beach as well as with other BIAs in East Toronto to support local businesses.
“I’m very excited to land this role,” Bieksa said. “It’s an area I’ve become familiar with through my work in the councillor’s office and living here.”
Bieksa is a former constituency assistant in Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford’s office.
His work there connected him with the business community on several occasions and gave him a sense of the challenges small business owners are facing – especially as they reel from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re looking to support businesses and looking forward to the recovery period,” Bieksa said, noting the tumultuous year the BIA’s businesses have had with rolling lockdowns and public health restrictions.
“Most of these businesses have been weathering an awful storm,” he added.
He took on the role after former BIA director Anna Sebert left the position in mid-April.
“I’ve come in at a complicated time,” Bieksa said. “But it’s an opportunity, as restrictions are lifted we’ve got to think of out the box solutions to reinvigorate our business community.”
The Beach Village BIA consists of more than 300 stores, restaurants, and services along Queen Street East from Coxwell Avenue to Neville Park Boulevard.
Ali Raza is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Beach Metro News. His reporting is funded by the Government of Canada through its Local Journalism Initiative.
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