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.