Fairbank Memorial Park is a park located in the neighbourhood of Fairbank in

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, Canada.

Description

The park's official address is 2213 Dufferin Street. It is bordered on the west by Dufferin Street, on the north by Keywest Avenue, and on the south by Gibson Street. It consists of of ground, which contains the Fairbank Memorial Community Recreation Centre. It is home to Fairbank Outdoor Pool, a swimming pool that is run by the City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation West Toronto York District Aquatics Department. The facility consists of a baby pool, a large pool, and an eating area. The pool fits a capacity of 250 patrons which including a maximum of 50 in the baby pool area. The park also has a playground, an open athletic field for sports like

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, and athletic courts for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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, and

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. The park is situated in a ravine with steep slopes.

Development scandal

In the late 1980s, Fairbank Park became embroiled in a major political scandal. Several politicians, including

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of E ...

deputy mayor Tony Mandarano, became involved in a secret deal with land developer

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. Mandarano received more than $100,000 in bribes, and York Council member

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received $341,000; in exchange, they agreed to speak in favour of Charles's development plans during council meetings, the most prominent of which involved tearing down Fairbank Park and selling the land to Charles so that he could construct

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s on the site. Councilwoman

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leaked material to the press illustrating irregularities in the process, leading to a police investigation of several local politicians. Six of the eight council members losing their seats in the 1991 election. Mandarano received a sentence of 15 months in prison in a plea bargain, while Fera accepted an 18-month sentence in a similar deal. The decision to sell part of the park before redesignating the land for residential development was illegal, as it did not follow the City of York's Official Plan. In addition, the public input on the proposed project was limited and the public's support of the new condominiums was debatable.

References

{{Parks and squares in Toronto Parks in Toronto