Pubdate: Sat, 16 Sep 2006
Source: Era-Banner, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 The Era-Banner
Contact:  http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/newscentre/erabanner/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2678
Author: Joan Ransberry, Staff Writer

LANDLORD, GROUP SWAP INSULTS

Nearly Impossible To Evict Prostitutes, Drug Addict Tenants, Timothy 
Street Landlord Says

The landlord of a rundown rental unit called Newmarket's downtown a 
"cesspool," during a confrontation in Aurora Wednesday.

Minutes after residents started waving placards in front of his 
executive home near the corner of Wellington and Leslie streets in 
Aurora, landlord Nicholas Podstatzky came out of his home and 
immediately got into a shouting match.

"You're living off the avails of drug trafficking," one protester screamed.

Mr. Podstatzky retaliated.

"The whole downtown Newmarket is nothing but a cesspool," he yelled back.

Mr. Podstatzky and the neighbours agree on one thing: there is a drug 
problem at a six-unit rental property on Timothy Street.

"Yes, the tenant is a drug addict and it's rumoured that he's a male 
prostitute," Mr. Podstatzky said.

"But, how the hell do I get him out?" Waving copies of eviction 
notices, Mr. Podstatzky said he's currently taking measures to remove 
two tenants.

"One's selling drugs and the other's just got arrested for breach of 
probation," Mr. Podstatzky said.

"But, I'm dealing with a Landlord and Tenant Act. This is the third 
time I've tried to evict ... This (eviction) notice states the tenant 
has to be out by Sept. 30 and the sheriff will come two weeks after."

As far as Aurora realtor Peter Geibel is concerned, residents have 
misdirected their anger and frustration.

"The landlords should picket the police," Mr. Geibel said. "The 
police should be doing more. Landlords have no grounds to evict. They 
are just as much a victim."

It's not easy to evict an "undesirable tenant," Lee Kalpin of Holland 
Landing wrote in a letter to the editor.

"Renters have a great deal of protection under the landlords and 
tenant laws in Ontario," Ms Kalpin said.

Throwing drug dealers out will not solve the problem, Ms Kalpin stressed.

"They may rent a house down the block or in another part of the 
town," she said.

Still, life on Newmarket's Timothy Street is difficult, residents claim.

"The druggies shoot up in full view; they have sex on the lawn; leave 
their needles in the parking lot at the (nearby) church and our 
children are subjected to terrible language," Jill Kellie said.

"We're trying to take back our street."

The condition of yet another Newmarket rental property prompted Lori 
Faran of Botsford Street to join the demonstration.

"The Botsford place is a dump," Ms Foran said.

"It has been empty for almost a year; raccoons live in it; there's 
about 20 bags of rotting garbage sitting out; the weeds are five-feet 
high; an old wrecked car sits on the property and, when it was 
occupied, there was a huge drug problem."

Crack houses operating out of Newmarket prompted the citizens' group 
to target landlords on their own turf, said organizer Joe Sponga, who 
is ward councillor in the area.

"The residents from the downtown area are doing an incredible job," 
Mr. Sponga said.

"They deserve the full support of the police. I want to bring the 
landlords to the table so we can work to solve the problem."

Instead of demonstrating at the crack houses, the group decided to 
got to the neighbourhoods where the landlords live, Mr. Sponga explained.

"Going to the landlords' personal homes makes more of an impression," he said.

Drug dealers have, indeed, set up crack houses in Newmarket, York 
Regional Police Sgt. Charlie McDonald stressed.

"Many people don't think crack houses have reached Newmarket," Sgt. 
McDonald said. "They're here. Crack houses are not confined to Toronto."

Aurora is not facing a similar problem, Mayor Tim Jones said.

"Slum landlords are not as prevalent in Aurora," the mayor said. "I'm 
not getting calls."

There may not be crack houses in Aurora, but that doesn't mean 
there's not a drug problem, Aurora Councillor Phyllis Morris said.

"There's drug deals and drug usage going on late at night in our 
parks, strip plazas and some school properties," Mrs. Morris said.

Mr. Sponga and the protest group are planning to target yet another 
landlord's house soon. "This one's in Newmarket," Mr. Sponga said.
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