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33-522: Yuk Yuk's primarily uses talent under exclusive contract to its in-house agency, Funny Business Talent Inc., but it also books popular American stand-up comics to tour their clubs from coast to coast. The first Yuk Yuk's shows were held on Wednesday nights in 1976 in the basement of The 519 Church Street Community Centre on Church Street, downtown Toronto. After two years Breslin and Axler opened their first full-time location at 1280 Bay Street on March 14, 1978. In 1984 Breslin opened his second location in

66-716: A Toronto city councillor in May 2022, to run as the NDP candidate in Toronto Centre for the June 2022 provincial election . Born in Hong Kong and raised in a Buddhist family, they immigrated to Toronto with their family in 1975. They grew up in the Regent Park neighbourhood of Toronto, with their family settling there first before a move to the suburbs. A real estate agent and business owner, they are

99-450: A broad range of community, recreation and social service programs to residents in the local community. Other AOCC community centres include Swansea Town Hall, Ralph Thornton Community Centre and Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre (formerly known as Harbourfront Neighbourhood Centre). The AOCC model is a hybrid between a city agency and an independent, not-for-profit, community-based organization. The core administration activities are funded by

132-552: A collaborative project of more than 15 community organizations working together to make the 2015 Pan American Games the most LGBT-inclusive multi-sport event in history. The PrideHouseTO leadership team includes organizations such as Toronto Metropolitan University , Egale Canada , the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association and the Toronto chapter of PFLAG . As trustee, the 519 provides administrative and project management support to

165-655: A comedy contest called the Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off which aired on the Comedy Network. The national comedy contest showcased 64 comedians with 1 winner receiving $ 25,000, Canada's largest comedy cash prize. The Laugh Off became an annual event running from 2006 to 2011 with 6 winners and a total of $ 150,000 in comedian winnings. By 2007 Breslin added clubs in Kitchener Ontario, Vancouver British Columbia, Halifax Nova Scotia and Vaughan Ontario. In 2009, Breslin opened

198-568: A controversial column in the Toronto Sun in which they falsely claimed that vaccinated people can transmit COVID-19 “just as easily as those who are unvaccinated,” they apologized for their mistake and said that they would not pursue another term as vice-chair of the Toronto Public Health when their current one expired the following month. On April 8, 2022, Wong-Tam and Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath announced that Wong-Tam would be

231-530: A delegated body of Toronto City Council . The board operates from a modified policy governance model which ensures delegation of day-to-day leadership of the organization to the executive director , Maura Lawless. The board is currently led by chair Margo Foster, who currently manages academic programs at Seneca College . The 519 is a member of the Association of Community Centres (AOCCs), which comprises 10 volunteer board-run multi-purpose facilities providing

264-521: A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). They are non-binary and use they/them pronouns. They served on Toronto City Council from 2010 to 2022. Wong-Tam was first elected in 2010 Toronto election in Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale, and was subsequently re-elected following the 2014 election and 2018 election in the newly created Ward 13 Toronto Centre . Wong-Tam resigned as

297-650: A wide range of staff-led initiatives that serve a diverse community of members, including: The 519 provides free meeting space and support for community member volunteers and community organizations to develop their own programs. In 2013, the 519 housed over 80 community led programs (in areas of community services, education, recreation, and self-help), and welcomed 250 regular user groups (in areas of community fundraising, recreation, professional associations and unions, social activists, social service organizations and tenants’ organizations). The 519 estimates in its 2012 annual report that approximately 35,000 individuals visited

330-538: Is an agency by the City of Toronto . A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto , Ontario , Canada. The 519 serves both its local neighbourhood and the broader lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender ( LGBTQ ) communities in the Toronto area. The 519 defines its local neighbourhood by a catchment area that spans from Bloor Street to

363-529: Is one of the City of Toronto's agencies and corporations, alongside organizations like Build Toronto , Exhibition Place and the Toronto Public Library . Led by a community board of directors, rather than the city's parks and recreations department, The 519 leverages community insight, knowledge and resources to determine usage of the building. In 2012, for every one dollar the City of Toronto provided to keep

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396-495: The Toronto Sun newspaper, they said that they lent their credit card to register the group's website because no one in the group owned a credit card. Wong-Tam "listed their home address in the registration but gave the contact number as her Coldwell Banker real estate office on Yonge St." Wong-Tam was the registered owner of the site until August 31, 2010. In the 2010 election, Wong-Tam ran in Ward 27 to replace Kyle Rae who had chosen to retire, defeating opponent Ken Chan in

429-581: The Community One Foundation and Government of Ontario . Details of the relationship between the City of Toronto and AOCCs are outlined in a relationship framework approved by Toronto City Council in 2006. The 519's governance model results in the development, evolution and creation of programs and services through community leadership and engagement. The centre offers staff-led programming funded through community investment as well as community-led initiatives that are volunteer-led. The 519 offers

462-486: The 519 submitted a report to Toronto City Council seeking authorization to develop a sport and recreation centre in the West Don Lands neighbourhood of Toronto. The new centre would provide space and services to the local neighbourhood while also providing a home for lesbian, gay, bi, trans (LGBT) sport leagues and recreational organizations in the city. It is believed that this would be the first LGBT athletic centre in

495-570: The Church and Wellesley Village's business improvement area . In 2011, they cooperated with Toronto's Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line to create an award, named in memory of Toronto artist Will Munro , to honour LGBT youth involved in community arts projects in Ontario. Prior to the 2010 Toronto municipal election , it emerged that Wong-Tam had provided support for the political advocacy group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA). In an interview with

528-440: The building open and operational for the public, the 519 brought over two dollars in community investment to provide programming The 519's board of management includes the local ward 13 councillor ( Kristen Wong-Tam ) and 11 citizens. Citizen members of the board are elected by members of the 519 who are residents of the catchment area. The board of management is subsequently appointed by the Toronto and East York Community Council,

561-554: The centre over 200,000 times. The 519 also actively supports a number of community-led partnerships such as the AIDS Candelight Vigil, the AIDS Memorial, and volunteer-led legal and tax clinics. In addition to ongoing programs and services, the 519 invests organizational resources in a number of strategic initiatives and partnerships that help to create healthier more welcoming communities for its members: In November 2013,

594-703: The city adopt a 47 ward system. However, the Ontario government under Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford amended the Municipal Elections Act , forcing the City of Toronto to cut the number of wards from 47 to 25. There was swift reaction regarding this move from various council members, including Wong-Tam, who called the move "extremely anti-democratic" and described it "as a takeover of Toronto." Wong-Tam said in an interview "This greater concentration of power does not give and deliver better government", and "He [Ford] will speak in populist platitudes about saving taxpayer dollars, but it's going to come at

627-569: The city and treated like a city agency (building maintenance and upkeep, utilities, etc.). Community programming is funded through fund-raising (corporate and individual donations, grants, etc.) and is led by the community-based Board of Management. The 519 is a member agency of the United Way of Greater Toronto and the Toronto Neighbourhood Centres and has received funding from various governments, corporations and foundations including

660-594: The cost of the erosion of the democratic process." In June 2020 they co-sponsored an unsuccessful city council motion to defund the Toronto police force by 10% (about $ 122 million), and use the money for community resources. Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, said such a cut would lead at least 500 police officers losing their jobs. In July 2021 they proposed a motion to make it illegal for residents to feed pigeons in both public and private spaces. In November 2021, after authoring

693-630: The former owner of a Timothy's franchise in Toronto's Church and Wellesley Village, and the owner of the KWT (formerly the XEXE) contemporary art gallery at Bathurst and Richmond Street West. Wong-Tam came out as a lesbian in high school, at the age of 16 and has been an activist for both LGBTQ and Asian Canadian community issues, serving on the Chinese Canadian National Council and helping to found Asian Canadians For Equal Marriage and

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726-504: The heated race by just 400 plus votes. They were endorsed by the Toronto and York Labour Council, neighbouring councillor Adam Vaughan , street nurse Cathy Crowe and author Michele Landsberg . In a post-election interview with the Toronto Sun , Wong-Tam said that they were "really looking forward to working with the Mayor" and that they supported Mayor Rob Ford 's campaign pledge to scrap

759-518: The late 1980s throughout the late 1990s Breslin was able to open two Yuk Yuk's comedy clubs out west in Edmonton and Calgary as well as three in Ontario, Sudbury (with comedian Chris Hawes), Ajax and London. By 1999 Yuk Yuk's had grown to having nine comedy clubs across Canada. In 2000, Yuk Yuk's had created the Search for Canada's Funniest New Comic with Adam West . In 2006 Breslin along with Silverman created

792-624: The nation's capital, Ottawa, Ontario . Ottawa comics and comedy fans flocked to the only comedy club in the city (originally at the Beacon Arms Hotel, now known as Capitol Hill Suites), with their first headliner, Mike MacDonald . In that same year Yuk Yuk's Hamilton was opened at the Connaught Hotel with Donny Coy headlining. By 1986 Breslin had successfully opened two more locations in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Mississauga, Ontario. From

825-558: The new wing. The addition of the Salah J. Bachir Wing and the renovation of the original building resulted in a 43 per cent increase in community space. The organization celebrated a grand reopening on May 19, 2010. Kristyn Wong-Tam Kristyn Wong-Tam MPP ( Chinese : 黃慧文 ; born c.  1971 ) is a Canadian politician who has represented Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2022 as

858-461: The north to Gerrard Street to the south, and from Bay Street in the west to Parliament Street in the east. According to the centre's website The 519 is the hub of community life in Toronto's diverse Church and Wellesley Village. For over 35 years, The 519 has been working with [its] neighbours and [its] lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer (LGBTQ) communities to build healthy, welcoming spaces to meet, participate and celebrate together. The 519

891-755: The party's candidate in Toronto Centre in the June 2 election. Wong-Tam resigned from their council seat effective May 4. They won the Toronto Centre seat by more than 2,000 votes. Wong-Tam was named the Official Opposition critic for the Attorney General and 2SLGBTQ+ Issues on July 13, 2022. They were made critic for small business on March 29, 2023. In 2023, Wong-Tam sought greater legal protection for drag performers in Ontario. They had come to face harassment and intimidation at their shows. They introduced

924-483: The personal vehicle tax and the land transfer tax. Wong-Tam also said that they did not renew their New Democratic Party membership, saying: "I think all (council) rookies are saying the same thing – they don't want to be pigeon-holed." Wong-Tam was re-elected in Ward 27 in 2014. In the lead up to the 2018 Toronto municipal election , City Council approved a redrawing of municipal ward boundaries, increasing its size from 44, after an independent consultant recommended

957-506: The proposal. With this approval, staff of the City of Toronto and the 519 are now authorized to negotiate on a site for the new centre and to build a formal business case for approval by council at a later date. The Village Study was a one-year urban and social planning exercise for the Church and Wellesley community that was funded by TD Bank Group and led by the 519 with the support of the Planning Partnership. Questions posed by

990-663: The second Yuk Yuk's comedy club in Ottawa. Smaller than the original Ottawa club, the Prescott room was designed more for the open mic audience and comedians. In 2010, Yuk Yuk's Oakville opened with headliner Glen Foster. The club closed in 2012. The current Yuk Yuk's are located in the following cities: Edmonton , Halifax , Burlington , London , Niagara Falls , Ottawa , Oshawa , Toronto , Saskatoon , Calgary , and Surrey . The 519 Church Street Community Centre The 519 , formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre ,

1023-602: The study included "What is the role of an ‘LGBTQ village’ in a modern, progressive city?" and "What must be done to support the Church-Wellesley Village to solidify its role as a major cultural community hub in the Toronto context now and into the future?" The final report of the Village Study is expected in early 2014 as the community prepares for World Pride . The 519 is the trustee of the PrideHouseTO initiative,

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1056-478: The volunteer-led initiative. PrideHouseTO is modeled after the Pride House movement which was founded in 2010 during the 2010 Winter Olympics . In 2001, as use of the building reached capacity, the 519 undertook a process to raise money for a three-story addition to be built onto the existing structure. The 519's capital campaign, chaired by Salah Bachir , successfully raised money from the local community to fund

1089-503: The world. The proposal's early supporters include city councillor Pam McConnell , former Olympian and Hart House warden Bruce Kidd , and the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association . The report was adopted unanimously by the Community Development and Recreation Committee and was adopted on December 18, 2013, by Toronto City Council in a vote of 28-2 with Councillor James Pasternak and Mayor Rob Ford voting against

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