Tribute to Dan Iannuzzi all mapped out

Council approves naming street and park after founder of Corriere Canadese

The City of Toronto will name a street and, during the summer, a park at York University after Dan Iannuzzi. This was officially confirmed last week by Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, who handled the motion for the street naming, and Councillor Peter Li Preti, promoter of the park initiative.
"The suggestion to recognize Dan Iannuzzi's commitment to multiculturalism came from councillor Li Preti," said Pantalone. "Mayor David Miller and I enthusiastically agreed, and this led to identifying a suitable street. The chosen one is located in the vicinity of the place where Iannuzzi founded his multicultural TV station."
The station was originally called MTV, Channel 47 Cable Four, when Iannuzzi opened it in 1979. It broadcast round-the-clock programs in 24 languages -- a miniature Babel that people could tune into by pressing the fourth button on their remote.
The new station was a thorn in the side of the self-appointed, sole custodians of Canada's national culture. Nowadays Toronto has come to recognize the value of Dan's initiative and celebration of multiculturalism.
In unveiling this decision, approved by a unanimous vote of the Community Council, a visibly satisfied Pantalone stated:
"On February 16 the motion will go to the whole City Council, and I feel 100 percent confident that it will pass. I'm proud of working with Mayor Miller to turn this idea into reality.
"By honouring a person like Dan Iannuzzi, we're also honouring ourselves and the entire Italian community."
The deputy mayor explained that Iannuzzi Street will be part of a new neighbourhood at the site of an old beer brewery, running north to south in the vicinity of the Gardiner Expressway, Lakeshore Rd., and Fort York Blvd. It will be the first street west of Bathurst, steps from where Iannuzzi launched his station (now known as OMNI).
Road construction will begin in spring, in parallel with the residential complex. "There will be a ceremony in spring, and the work should be completed within two years," concluded Pantalone.
The park at York University will take longer, although Li Preti informed us that the motion he proposed to North York Council was approved unanimously. The park will be located north of Murray Ross Parkway and west of Sentinel Rd,. in the university area.
"The local council decided to launch a study and name the park after a member of the Italian community," said Li Preti. "The final decision will be taken by Toronto City Council. In the meantime, however, the Italian-Canadian community must make itself heard. I ask everybody to write letters, send e-mails, or phone in their favourable opinion. This process should last two-to-three months, and the final results will be submitted to City Hall. I hope that the Iannuzzi family will agree to be part of the process to decide how the park named after Dan will be organized, i.e., what sort of statue to site there."
Li Preti's motion explicitly referred to Dan Iannuzzi, founder of the world's first multilingual TV station and of one of the two most important Italian-language dailies outside of Italy, as a giant of multiculturalism in Canada. Li Preti also mentioned in his motion that Iannuzzi was inducted into the Order of Ontario in 1989 and into the Order of Canada in 1990 for his contribution to the development of multiethnic media in this country.
Approval of the creation of the park can be expressed by writing to or calling Jim Bradley, Director, Parks & Recreation, North District (tel. 416-395-6054); Toronto Mayor David Miller, City Hall, 100 Queen St. W., Toronto M5H 2N2 (tel. 416-397-7102); or Councillor Peter Li Preti, North York Office, 5100 Yonge St., North York M2N 5V7 (tel. 416-392-0201, 416-395-6444).

Publication Date: 2005-02-13
Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4913