

Sandie Benitah, CP24.com





Business owners in downtown Toronto’s Chinatown community came together Tuesday to protest news that a youth centre is moving to their neighbourhood.

The Yonge Street Mission announced in November they are moving the Evergreen Centre for Street Youth to a newly-renovated 24,000 square-foot building on Spadina Avenue, just south of College Street. The deal is expected to close on Jan. 8 and the centre is expected to open at the end of 2017.

The centre will provide day services and programs to youth and other vulnerable people living on the street. But those working in Chinatown say the move will deter people from shopping in the district.

On Tuesday, the neighbourhood’s Business Improvement Area association organized a march and a petition which was handed in to Mayor John Tory’s office. About 50 people were seen chanting outside city hall carrying signs saying "Save our Chinatown" and "NO YSM in Chinatown."

Business owners have been voicing their concern about the move for weeks, posting "No YSM here" signs on their storefronts and saying the Mission should have done a better job consulting with people in the community.

“(The) Yonge Street Mission, they do good work, but the problem is you can’t do something good at the same time that you’re going to make an area into a no-go zone,” bar owner Tonny Louie told CTV Toronto on Dec. 28. He said he was worried that people would loiter in the neighbourhood at night after the centre closes at 6 p.m.

Sally Ritchie, spokesperson for the Mission, told CTV Toronto that the organization expected this kind of response and that they are in fact working with local stakeholders alleviate the community’s concerns.

“We want to work with everybody to address concerns of safety, etc., up front so that we can build a facility that will suit everybody’s needs,” she said.

The decision to move was made because organizers found the current location on Yonge Street too small. The new location will allow for an expanded list of programs and services for their clients.

Councillor Joe Cressy, who represents Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina where Chinatown is located, voiced his support for the move when it was announced in November. He called it “an honour” to have the Mission working in the community.

“Addressing poverty and inequality is a significant priority of our collective work in Ward 20 – The Yonge Street Mission plays a critical role in working towards this in our downtown communities,” he said in a news release.

The Mission helps about 12,000 people each year through their six locations around the city.