New neighbourhood association crops up in East End

Another section of the East End is gaining organized representation, with the formation of the East Toronto Neighbourhood Association.

The group’s first meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 13, at Community Centre 55, and is open to any residents between Glenmount Park Road in the west and Malvern Avenue in the east, and between Kingston Road and the rail line. The area basically covers the neighbourhoods east and west of Main Street that aren’t already included in Beach Hill or Kingston Road Village.

Organizing member Jason Balgopal said the group grew out of the Norwood Residents’ Association, which will be shut down for this more encompassing organization.

“We realized that, you know what, there’s a lot of people on the other side of Main Street who don’t have any representation, and there’s a lot we can do on Main Street to improve it,” he said.

The three main goals of the founding members at this point are to improve the streetscape on Main Street and Gerrard Street East, to organize social events for neighbours, and to be ready to provide input on any major redevelopment proposals that might arise.

“It happened on Queen Street, it happened on Kingston Road, it’s going to come up to Gerrard Street sooner or later,” said Balgopal.

While there are those goals, as well as plans for a Family Day event, Balgopal said he hopes more ideas will arise from those who attend the meeting. He’s also hoping others will want to help out with various committees and event planning.

“We definitely want as many people involved in this as possible,” he said.

The meeting runs from 7 to 8 p.m. at Community Centre 55 on Tuesday, Jan. 13.