Brookhaven-Amesbury, Toronto

Brookhaven-Amesbury, also known as Amesbury, is a community in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, formerly in North York before it was amalgamated into Toronto in 1998. It is part of federal and provincial electoral district York South—Weston, and Toronto electoral wards 11: York South—Weston (West) and 12: York South-Weston (East). In 2006, it had a population of 17,325. [http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns30.htm City of Toronto Demographics for Brookhaven-Amesbury] ]

It is bordered on the north by Lawrence Avenue West, on the west by Jane Street and the railway line adjacent to Weston Road (which includes land west of Jane), on the east by the railway line adjacent to Caledonia Road, and on the south by a hydro right of way which also marks the south border of North York.

There are five parks within the confines of the neighbourhood, including the Westview greenbelt. Many parks are saved from construction zones which is not surprising that there is an abundance of old large trees which further amplifies some of the pockets of this neighbourhood.

A middle income neighbourhood, it is very popular with immigrants from all over the world with over 1/3 of the home languages a foreign tongue. Home languages range from Italian to Bengali with the most prominent being Italian, Spanish, Vietnamese and Tamil, another indication of the diversity of Toronto's neighbourhoods.

The majority of the housing available is still high rises (over 60%), and many are low income buildings.

Demographics

Brookhaven-Amesbury’s major ethnic and cultural groups (by ancestry) in 2001:
* Italian - 15%
* Jamaican - 8%
* Canadian - 8%
* East Indian - 5%
* Vietnamese - 5%
* English - 5%
* Spanish - 4%
* Chinese - 4%
* Portuguese - 3%
* Scottish - 2%
* Other - 41%The percentage of population below the poverty line dropped from 39% (in 1996) to 33% (in 2001).

References