A message from Riverside BIA Executive Director, Jennifer Lay:
Let’s take a moment to reflect on 2022. It has been an incredible year of re-emergence into the new normal, once again bringing out that vibrancy, constant buzz and small-town-in-the big-city atmosphere that characterizes this business community.
We’ve been adjusting together to post-pandemic norms and we will continue to do so in 2023. We’ll also be starting to navigate the major transit construction of the incoming Ontario Line project on which our BIA has spent countless hours over this past year being a liaison and advocate for our members, and will continue to do so in the coming years.
The Riverside BIA Board of Management and staff team are here, to support our members and work with community collaborators, through information updates, one-to-one support, enhanced online presence, streetscape programs like weekly graffiti removal services and public art, community events and campaigns and other programming that supports foot traffic and local economic development, and more.
I want to thank the Riverside BIA’s hard-working volunteer Board of Directors. They are local business/property owners and operators right here in Riverside. This year was an election year and we will be welcoming in some new Board members as well as welcoming back some long-serving members, in 2023. A big thanks also to our hardworking staff team of 2022!
Thanks also goes to our a larger network of supports through the Toronto BIA Association (TABIA), the City of Toronto and all their dedicated services and supportive programs, Councillor Paula Fletcher’s office, our provincial MPP Peter Tabuns, and federal MP Julie Dabrusin, our incredible plethora of community partners and collaborators.
As this Year in Review will attest we have accomplished so much in 2022 by working together – from the 20+ mini-festivals we hosted in the new Riverside Common park, to our Queen East Eats and Window Wonderland programs – these are just a few examples!
We have seen a few of our member businesses close or move on, and have welcomed many new businesses and faces to Riverside. This is an ever-changing business community with 42 years of history of the BIA, and over 125 years of industrious Riverside business people who have done big things right here.
We can look back with pride on the many collaborative initiatives of the Riverside BIA from the past year to help celebrate the strong spirit here as we say farewell to 2022 and look to the new adventures of a new year.
Wishing everyone safe, happy and healthy holidays and here’s to working together in 2023!
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