BBQ at the Brick Works

Remnants of bonfire at the Brick Works

I was passing by the Don Valley Brick Works on Sunday when I came across this unpleasant sight on the brick patio in front of the quarry ponds. Apparently night time revellers decided to have an impromptu bonfire using one of the park benches as a fire log.

Just by coincidence the day before, I was talking to one of the employees of the Natural Environment and Community Programs section of Parks and Forestry who have offices at the Brick Works. Apparently a door to their building was inadvertently left open on Thursday or Friday night. Someone entered the building and vandalized all the storage compartments used by the community groups. Fortunately they did not get access to the NECP offices which stores their computers and files or the damage could have been much more serious.

The problem of nighttime activities at the Brick Works has been an ongoing issue for several years. People routinely break into the buildings for raves, parties, or just to take pictures. There is also a slew of graffitti covering both the inside and outside of the buildings. Add to that, broken windows, defaced interpretive signage, and now bonfires, it starts to addup to an expensive and embarrassing mess.

I believe that the presence of a security guard during the evenings at the Brick Works would severely curtail these activities. The cost can be justified by the reduction in expenses to repair vandalism as well as reduce unsightly graffitti.

One could also speculate that the buildings in their current unguarded state might be the target of a fire, intentional or otherwise. In the near future, Evergreen will take over responsibility for the buildings, but if in the interim, nothing is done, all we may be handing over to them is a smoking ruin.

While crossing our fingers and doing nothing may be a cheap solution, the cost of a couple of security guards may be a lot cheaper if it prevents anything untoward happening this summer. Let's do ourselves a big favour and buy a little insurance - not only for the security of the buildings and our city employees but also for some peace of mind.


The buildings are easily broken into when nobody is around to mind the store


Leftovers from a night time party