The 234 Apartment

City Council has approved zoning changes clearing the way for as many as four three- storey apartment buildings and up to 51 multiple attached dwellings on a long, narrow lot at 3876 Queen Street East . The apartment buildings on the northern part of the lot near White Pines Collegiate and Vocational School would contain 60 dwelling units . The multiple attached dwellings would be on the southern portion of the property near Queen Street and Pinewood Public School . The new subdivision will have 51 metres frontage along Queen and extends back 514 metres . The northern part of the property has been flagged as having significant archeological potential and developer Paul Guindon (1890713 Ontario Inc.) will be required to conduct additional archeological assessment work before any soil disturbance or development is allowed. "The applicant is seeking some flexibility in determining the overall dwelling unit mix within this...

T wo weeks ago, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge handed down a decision designed to strike fear in the hearts of landlords. Justice James d’Auguste ordered that an independent receiver be appointed to manage two Midtown residential buildings where the landlords allegedly allowed illegal Airbnb rentals to occur. The case, which began when the city sued the landlords in February 2015, has become one of the battlegrounds in a larger war between city enforcement agencies and short- term rental sites like Airbnb. Airbnb, which was recently valued at $31 billion, refuses to release the exact addresses of hosts who break the law by renting their entire apartment for less than 30 days without being present. Without the addresses and names of Airbnb violators , the city mostly targets the owners of buildings that rack up the most illegal hotel complaints from 311 calls and the New York City Department of Buildings. “This entire model—and it was intentional [by the city]—is complaint-drive...