We’re back with another Meet The Neighbours blog! This segment is meant to introduce you to community members who work and live in the area. This month we’ve decided to feature one of the members of our Clean Streets Team to get some more information on a job that is often not known about but is SO important to our beautiful waterfront community.

The Waterfront BIA takes great pride in keeping the neighbourhood clean and inviting to all. This is all made possible due to our Clean Streets Team and their effort to make the area as presentable and desirable as possible. If you work or live nearby you might recognize his face as one of the people working hard to make our waterfront shine.

We asked him a couple questions to get to know him and his role more below!

1. What do you do in your day-to-day job as part of the Clean Streets Team to help the waterfront community?

“Wiping graffiti, removing posters and stickers, removing garbage from the streets and sidewalks. During the warmer seasons I also do  weeding,” he says, “a lot more to do during the summer and spring because there are a lot more people by the water so there’s more garbage, graffiti, etc. During the winter I’m shovelling snow, salting ice, and creating better and cleaner paths for pedestrians.”

2. What is your favourite part of working at the waterfront?

“The people, the nice area, there are a lot of parks. A great scenery to be working nearby. It really helps uplift my mood and wellbeing and seeing that I make a difference in the cleanliness and beauty of the streets of the waterfront really makes my job enjoyable. I’m always eager to come work at the waterfront especially early in the mornings when it’s less busy and quieter and more relaxing and you can hear the wind and the lake and the seagulls. It really helps put me in a good mood and start my day right. Working with BIA team has also been a great experience and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I’ve been working at the BIA since summer of 2019, and I’ve always looked forward to coming back here.”

3. What’s your favourite place to grab lunch on the waterfront?

“I really enjoy Shatter Abbas because it has food from my country and it’s nice to see that I’m being represented in the waterfront through my people’s food. I also enjoy Alexandro’s and Mama’s Pizza. I enjoy all the food places on the waterfront but what I mentioned above is my favourite.”

4. What type of songs to you like you listen to when you’re cleaning by the waterfront?

“2pac and other hip hop songs to get me going and some motivation to keep me going and cleaning. I also listen to some Persian songs. Trance music also helps me be more efficient and want to get things done.”

5. Where is your favourite place to take a break and enjoy the view at the waterfront?

“Anywhere that has the view of the Lake really. It helps me relax and unwind and just take a few quiet moments with the nature around the city before getting back to work again. I’ve also enjoyed going to the Toronto Islands with my coworkers and the BIA team and seeing the beautiful view of the city from the other side.”

Thank you Amir for all you do for the waterfront!