Letter to WPSQ re ongoing concerns at 77 Howard

August 20, 2024

The Honourable Sylvia Jones 

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health 

777 Bay Street, 5th Floor 

Toronto, ON M7A 2J3

RE: Expanding Availability of Mpox Vaccine

Dear Minister Jones:

It has come to my attention that amidst the growing concern and awareness campaigns around the mpox virus, Toronto Public Health currently has no vaccine appointments available. 

Toronto Public Health has urged eligible residents to book vaccine appointments as soon as possible after a sharp uptick in cases reported in Toronto in July. However, access to vaccine appointments has not kept pace with increasing local demand. These barriers to vaccine accessibility threaten to undermine our efforts to control the spread of this virus and protect public health.

Ensuring widespread access to mpox vaccines is critical in preventing outbreaks and safeguarding the health of our communities. The current limited availability of these vaccines not only hampers our ability to respond effectively but also instills fear and uncertainty among those at risk.

I urge you, Minister Jones, to take immediate action to address this issue by:

1. Increasing Vaccine Supply: It is critical that your office facilitate the procurement of additional mpox vaccines to meet the growing demand.
2. Improving Distribution: Work with Toronto Public Health and other local health authorities to streamline and enhance the distribution process, ensuring that vaccines are readily available, especially in high-risk communities.
3. Monitoring and Reporting: Establish a robust system for monitoring vaccine distribution and reporting any challenges or gaps in real-time, allowing for swift adjustments and improvements. Restore wastewater surveillance across Ontario. 

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I look forward to your prompt action and am hopeful that together we can work towards a healthier and safer community.

Sincerely yours,

Kristyn Wong-Tam

MPP Toronto Centre

Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre

120 Carlton Street. Suite 401

Toronto, Ontario

M5A 4K2

Kristyn Wong-Tam

MPP TORONTO CENTRE

August 9, 2024

By Email and Post Mail

Samuel Grosz, Owner

Chaim Sachs, General Manager

Owners and Managers of 77 Howard Street 

Wellesley Parliament Square (WPSQ)

c/o 260 Wellesley Street East, Unit 101

Toronto ON M4X 1G6

Dear Owners and Property Managers of WPSQ,

I am writing in response to your agent’s letter dated August 1, 2024, regarding the costs and harm faced by your tenants at 77 Howard Street. While I recognize your crisis communication representative’s detailed account of the events following the power interruption on July 16, I must express my continued concern for the well-being of the tenants and address several points that remain unresolved. I will also be reaching out to the office of Toronto Centre’s local City Councillor and the Mayor of Toronto to share my concerns. 

In your response to me, you asserted that the many of the stories tenants are sharing with my office are untrue. My office and I have independently verified everything that we communicated with you — we have seen tenants’ units ourselves. I will not waste time debating facts when you have not responded in full to your tenants. I am confident that when you prioritize responding to your tenants' requests that you will not make such claims. 

Should you disagree with my perspective, I encourage you to temporarily move into a damaged unit at 77 Howard Street to experience what tenants are enduring. 

First, I want to acknowledge the efforts made by your team to restore essential services in the days following the incident. However, ongoing communication with your tenants since my initial letter has made me aware of ongoing issues that you cannot continue to ignore. 

1. Ongoing Maintenance Concerns: Despite your assertion that the property has undergone recent maintenance, tenants continue to report long-standing issues. One resident has documented leak complaints that date back over ten years. This suggests a pattern of inadequate response to maintenance requests which predates the recent incident. If the catastrophic failures happened because of your negligence, you owe tenants reimbursement through your insurance. 
2. Safety Concerns: A tenant has reported that during a recent power outage (that the tenant was not given notice of in advance), there were no emergency lights in the building, forcing them to use a flashlight to exit. Your high-rise building is home to many tenants living with disabilities. Their experience raises serious safety concerns, particularly for those with accessibility needs and in the event of an emergency evacuation.
3. Persistent Power and Water Issues: Despite your statement that power was fully restored by July 31, we have received reports of subsequent outages that many tenants received no notice of. Another tenant still does not have access to consistent hot water in their unit. You must ensure tenants can anticipate power outages and water cut-offs. All of your tenants deserve consistent access to hot water. 
4. Impact on Vulnerable Residents: The prolonged disruption has had a particularly severe impact on vulnerable tenants. For example, one resident with diabetes reported significant difficulties managing their condition during the outage due to lack of access to refrigeration and proper food storage. This tenant was additionally stressed earlier this week when a power outage happened, which the tenant was not informed of in advance as the tenant had to ensure their diabetes medicine remained cooled within specific temperatures.
5. Financial Burden on Tenants: Many tenants have incurred substantial costs due to these incidents, including hotel stays, replacement of spoiled food, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Some report that their insurance will not cover these costs as the building was deemed "safe to stay" despite internal temperatures reaching 30°C with 70% humidity. Other tenants have not heard back about their requests for the incident report that their insurance companies require them to submit claims to their tenant insurance company. Please do not deflect from your financial obligations, saying that tenants should use their tenant insurance when you do not provide them with the documentation that they need to do this. Furthermore, only a third of the laundry machines in your building are currently working — forcing tenants to use more expensive laundromats that they must travel a longer distance to get to. These costs are continuing to add up. You must prioritize answering all of your tenants in a timely fashion. 

In light of these ongoing concerns, I urge you to reconsider the requests outlined in my previous letter:

1. Provide rent abatements to reflect the hardships endured by tenants.
2. Reimburse tenants for expenses incurred due to the power outage and flooding.
3. Implement a freeze on rental increases for 2025.
4. Honour all existing leases, including for those who had to relocate temporarily.
5. Prioritize repairs and renovations of damaged units.
6. Ensure immediate access to neighbouring buildings’ laundry facilities

Furthermore, I request that you provide a comprehensive plan addressing the following:

1. How you intend to improve the building's electrical infrastructure to prevent future incidents.
2. How you will address the backlog of maintenance requests — particularly requests related to water leakage and electrical issues.
3. How you will ensure the safety of all tenants, especially those with accessibility needs, during any future emergencies.

Your tenants are living with a severe disruption and many have spent thousands of dollars on replacing lost food and belongings, as well as alternative accommodations since your building’s catastrophic incident. I hope that your future communications focus less on attacking their legitimate grievances and that you instead prioritize making them financially whole. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your timely response to this letter by August 13, 2024 or sooner. Should you have additional questions, you can reach my office by email at [email protected] or by phone at (416) 972-7683.

Sincerely,

Kristyn Wong-Tam

Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre

Kristyn Wong-Tam

MPP TORONTO CENTRE

July 26, 2024

By Email and Post Mail

Samuel Grosz, Owner

Chaim Sachs, General Manager

Owners and Managers of 77 Howard Street 

Wellesley Parliament Square (WPSQ)

c/o 260 Wellesley Street East, Unit 101

Toronto ON M4X 1G6

Dear Owners and Property Managers of WPSQ,

Re:  77 Howard Street Power Outage and Financial Support for Tenants

As the Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre, I am writing on behalf of my constituents, more than 800 tenants, who reside in the high-rise building at 77 Howard Street in St. James Town. For more than a week, my constituents have been without full access to electricity, hot water, food, and other essentials. Some units also experienced catastrophic electrical and water damage from flooding due to inadequate maintenance and a burst pipe. I remind you that the tenants did nothing wrong and did not cause the power outage. 

I spent the past week speaking to residents, many of whom report receiving confusing information during such a volatile time. Every tenant who spoke with me reported that they had to throw away hundreds of dollars worth of food from their refrigerators and freezers. Others shared that without a functioning kitchen, they could not afford to purchase costly prepared meals or dine out as they are on fixed incomes. They had no access to a hot breakfast or lunch before accepting the pizza dinner provided by the property manager in the evening. After two nights of lukewarm pizza, tenants mentioned they couldn't eat it again.

As you know, vulnerable tenants were particularly at risk - families with infants and young children, the elderly, people living with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses were severely impacted by the power outage. One resident with diabetes was unable to refrigerate her medications until it was much too late as her health declined significantly.  Others complained that insurance companies would not reimburse them unless they paid an expensive deductible many could not afford. 

While I am pleased to hear that auxiliary power from external generators has enabled some semblance of everyday life for the tenants, many continue to worry about the building's long-term safety, maintenance, and operations. In consultation with the tenants, I urge you to do more to support them during this hardship. 

Therefore on behalf of my constituents, I am formally asking for the following: 

1. Rent abatements: I seek rent abatements to alleviate the physical and financial burden imposed on residents. The abatements must be calculated to reflect the physical suffering and emotional anguish caused by extended power outages. Many residents were highly frustrated and stressed when they could not walk up or down the stairs or when the elevators were inoperable or were limited in function. 

2. Reimbursement of all expenses caused by the flooding and power outage: I seek full reimbursement for all expenses incurred by residents, specifically but not limited to meal replacements, transportation, insurance deductible, credit card or loan debt plus interest and hotel or other accommodation-related costs during this time. I demand tenant compensation for the expenses related to losing their groceries and replacing all perished food items due to the lack of refrigeration and stove use. 

3. Freeze on Rental Increases for 2025: I seek a rent freeze on any increases for 2025, as this will support fixed-income and economically stressed tenants; and provide much-needed financial stability as they work to recover from this vital service disruption. 

4. Honour existing leases: I demand that all tenants' existing leases be honoured, including those who have to temporarily or permanently relocate to another accommodation or unit during the power outage and subsequent renovation period. 

5. Prioritize repairs and renovations of damaged units: Any renovations needed inside the damaged units caused by the flooding or electrical failure must be carried out in an expedited manner in consultation with the directly affected tenants.  

6. Access to Laundry Facilities: I ask that tenants be allowed to use the laundry rooms in neighbouring buildings that use the same Sparkle system; while they await regular services which must return to normal as soon as possible. If immediate laundry room restoration is not feasible, appropriate accommodations must be made to ensure tenants can access laundry and cleaning facilities. 

The measures I request are necessary to support them during this immense hardship. Your cooperation with my office and the tenants will significantly impact the well-being of all those living at 77 Howard Street. 

I recognize that WPSQ is working hard to fix the electrical system at 77 Howard, and emergency responses have improved since the catastrophic disaster at 650 Parliament and the electrical outage at 280 Wellesley. However, property managers' and owners' responsibilities remain unchanged — more can be done to support the tenants. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your timely response to this letter by August 12, 2024 or sooner.

Should you have additional questions, you can reach my office by email at [email protected] or by phone at (416) 972-7683.

Sincerely,

Kristyn Wong-Tam

Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre