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An Open Letter to Mark Grimes, Laurel Broten, Michael Ignatieff and Mayor Miller,

I am writing today with deep concern about my neighbourhood and what I have been watching in ebbs and flows over the past four years.

I live in the community of Longbranch in South Etobicoke - a visually beautiful spot with some of the best neighbours anyone could hope for. I am the proud mother of a two- and four-year-old as well as an entrepreneur, with my office in my home. When I look out of my sunroom window, I see my beautiful garden with a backdrop of prostitutes, crackheads and drug dealers doing business. What I watch daily from my office window is appalling. I decided to get involved in the spring and went into the storefront police station to offer my house as a possible stakeout location as I am clearly a hot spot for (drug) dealing and prostitution. I even have the sneakers flung over my wires to bring the point home.

The very day that I offered my house to the police I had two amazing undercover officers come to my house to check out all of the interesting angles and vantage points that my house has to offer. They were young, energetic and excited about the possibilities and told me they would be in touch in the next couple of days. I have yet to hear from them four months later.

When things get particularly bad I make sure to call the police and have done so many times over the past year. Only once, have the police come to my door and that was two hours later. By that time everyone was long gone and I'm sure at least three deals had been made. The officers that arrived were sympathetic and supportive but claimed they were just too busy with other problems to get here in a timely fashion.

Which brings me to today, as I was looking out once again from my desk at my Ward 6 great gardens of Toronto "first place" garden (thanks to my mom- nothing to do with me, but it is still beautiful and you get my point) and witnessed a young guy with his crack pipe actually doing crack on my corner.

I am a single mom living here with my kids and am not at all interested in putting myself or my kids in danger by speaking to them myself. There are many other of my neighbours and friends in this community who feel the same way I do.

So, these are my questions for you.

What is your action plan to alleviate this situation?

How do we change the standards for the Birchlea lowrises?

What is stopping us from making this neighbourhood all that it should and can be?

Danelle Smith