A new development plan for a 16-storey condo building at College and Bathurst streets would replace what’s become a beloved haven for Toronto’s punk and alternative community. There have been multiple attempts in the past to demolish Sneaky Dee’s, the long-standing live music venue and restaurant— could this time be for good?
Local journalists Kinza Zafar and Mia Johnson set out to Toronto’s Community Council meeting this week where concerned residents made their opposition to the proposed development plan loud and clear. But councillors say the decision to save Sneaky’s may be out of the city’s hands.
Coun. Dianne Saxe represents the ward in which the dive bar resides. She told local residents that while the city could turn down the proposal in July, when the matter has been deferred to, the province could plow the plan through anyway.
“The rules have been stacked against us, so that almost all the time if the city turns something down, the Ontario Land Tribunal approves it anyway, and quite often they make it worse,” said Saxe. “It’s a really high stakes game. If we turn things down, we give up our leverage, we give up any ability to try to negotiate something better.”