What's Happening?

Toronto's testy tussles
Holy Blossom's reno war, Eastern Ave.'s Wal-Mart fight, media music mayhem
By ROB GRANATSTEIN

Looking through my editor's notebooks this week, I couldn't help but notice a number of battles brewing in the city.

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A small holy war is shaping up at the Holy Blossom Temple on Bathurst St. It has all the elements necessary for a barn burner -- millions of dollars; a number of the city's high rollers, including Gerry Schwartz, Heather Reisman, Lawrence Bloomberg, and Paul Slavens; and a festering fight over religion and power.

And it's all coming down to a planned renovation and whether seats in the "Church on the Hill," as the reform temple is affectionately known, should be turned around and the historic sanctuary changed.

The Sanctuary Legacy Group -- numbering about 100 names on a letter sent out last week -- wants to keep the seats facing west, as they have since the sanctuary -- a heritage building -- opened in 1938. Jewish custom is to have the congregation face Jerusalem, due east.

The group says there's a shroud of secrecy around everything from who the donors bankrolling the project are and what impact they have, to how much it will cost, to results from a poll of the 7,000 members on the question of what to do in the renovation.

The synagogue's rabbi, John Moscowitz, said that's a "distortion of the truth," calling this little ado about nothing and emphasizing the donors have not asked or demanded any say in the plans.

"The real question is whether we'll face the future," he said. "When you change something that has been one way for 70 years, you get a lot of responses."

The temple's board voted unanimously to push forward with the plan, drawn up by architects Diamond andSchmitt, last week. Jack Diamond and Moscowitz believe turning the sanctuary around will improve the flow and bring the community together.

Jaimie Grossman, whose family is the last of the founding members still at the temple, said everyone agrees a renovation is needed, but the process has been unfair.

"The way they're framing this is you either turn the seats around and support Israel, or keep it the way it is and continue turning your back on Israel," said Grossman, son of former Ontario Tory leader Larry Grossman. "I'm troubled by the divisiveness."

At the end of the day hopefully everyone will remember the Earth is round, and you are always facing Jerusalem -- it just might be a longer trip to get there.

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One battle that is over involved the City of Toronto and its largest tax debtor. Last October, the owners of Cinespace walked in to City Hall with a cheque for almost $5 million to clear the taxes on 721 Eastern Ave., former home of Canada Metals. Cinespace, owned by the Mirkopoulos family, hopes to put a movie studio on the site.

All the battles on Eastern Ave. aren't over, yet. Next door, Rose Corp., owner of 629 Eastern Ave., home of Toronto Film Studios, recently added a new co-owner to its site, Smart Centres Inc., whose anchor tenant will be a Wal-Mart.

Big box stores in Coun. Paula Fletcher's ward? Let's just say the studio district residents aren't going to be happy and Fletch is flipping out.

Toronto Film Studios is also building Film Port on the port lands and the Mirkopoulos family is furious they may close Toronto Film Studios when the new building is ready, robbing the city of much-needed studio space.

Ken Ferguson of TFS said the aging studio will remain open until the end of 2008. Any longer depends on how development on Eastern Ave. is going. In other words, how long it takes to get the first downtown Wal-Mart and other big box stores built.

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The colossal battle of all battles unfolds Friday night. Newzapalooza, the media battle of the bands, is back for its fourth phenomenal year at the Opera House on Queen St. E. Two Toronto Sun bands will battle it out against the Star, Globe, Canadian Press, CBC and MTV.

Yes, this is the self-indulgent plug zone, but that's a lot of entertainment for $15, with all the money going to the Children's Aid Foundation-- and raffle prizes galore! It's the least I can do. We've raised almost $25,000 in the first three years. Tickets are available at the door or check newzapalooza.ca. May the fourth be with you.