The manager of several commercial and industrial buildings in Scarborough reached out to Speakers Corner after fighting Metrolinx to repair damage he says was left behind by crews working on a rail line behind one of the properties he takes care of.
Jon Uline says five years ago his boss, the owner of Luiza Investments, agreed to allow Metrolinx access to one of his properties at 2358 Midland Avenue in Scarborough.
“We thought it was a goodwill gesture at the time to allow them access so they could add a rail line.” He told us. “We never got a dime. We never signed any agreement. It was all an informal thing.”
Uline says five years of work has left his parking lot in disrepair.
“It’s completely torn up because they had all kinds of heavy equipment, excavators, dump trucks.”
Uline says he has made repeated requests to Metrolinx staff asking them to repair damage he says crews left behind.
“Tear this up and repave it, because the whole underlayment is shot.”
He says an engineer and a Metrolinx staff member visited the site late last year to investigate.
“I showed them the pictures of the excavators and the equipment that was going over them. ‘Oh, geez, yeah, that’s terrible,’ a woman who visited told us. ‘ I’ll get back to you,’ she said. I never heard from her again, short of a text here and there.”
Frustrated, Uline reached out to Speakers Corner and we inquired with Metrolinx staff about his concerns.
While the spokesperson did not answer if they’ll fix damage, they said they are continuing to investigate.
“In the meantime, our contractor has been in touch with the property owner and will continue to work with them directly to address their concerns,” the spokesperson added.
For now, Uline is still waiting.
“We’re not looking for a perfect property here,” he said. “All we’re asking is they fix what they left behind. We allowed them to use it, not abuse it.” If you have an issue, story or question you’d like us to investigate contact us.