Margaret Atwood takes to Twitter to defend condo opposition,
Author ignites tweetstorm after voicing opposition to luxury Annex dwelling
Margaret Atwood declined to comment Monday when the Star emailed her asking about her opposition to a proposed eight-storey luxury condo building in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood.
But after the story was posted on the Star’s website, the literary icon went on the defensive on Twitter — in some cases sparring with critics who piled on and accused her of NIMBYism and ignoring Toronto’s affordable housing crisis.
Some of the exchanges got a little testy, such as when Shawn Micallef, an author/urbanist and Toronto Star columnist, tweeted that Atwood had “strengthened the anti-housing backbone in this city with this politically sledgehammer opposition to an 8 storey bldn.”
Atwood tweeted: “Now you’re just being silly. Or, I dunno – are you working for the developer or something?”
Micallef responded that he was “in nobody’s pocket” and on Tuesday followed through on his promise to send her his latest book about Toronto sample of some of Atwood’s other tweets from Monday evening: In response to a tweetstorm by Globe and Mail architecture critic Alex Bozikovic attempting to explain Toronto’s population growth and zoning, Atwood tweeted:
“To repeat: The neighbours don’t want the building to go right to the lot line + kill their trees. And Y to 8 storeys that respect setbacks.”
When some Twitter users suggested age was a factor in the neighbourhood objection to the development, she responded:
“As for the ‘old people’ slur, yeah, some of them do hate change. So do some young people. I’d say it’s individual.”
As part of a larger conversation, many people replied to Atwood’s tweets asking her to clarify her position, so she did.
“Nobody is blocking the building. Many are trying to modify it. Have you seen the proposal?”
“Maybe you should calculate the profit involved for the developer in destroying my neighbours’ trees.”
“‘House others’ make it sound as if those housed are homeless. For a couple of million per unit, that’s far from the truth.”
Many complained that Atwood and her neighbours had fallen prey to NIMBYism.
“Actually it’s not my back yard. It’s my neighbours’ + their trees – some roots have already been cut. That’s what I object to,” Atwood responded.
In response to a tweet that suggested the city must build up, not out to accommodate the next generation, Atwood tweeted:
“But what are you suggesting I do? Right now? Jump off a bridge to create space? But some rich person would reno my house. You know it.”
“You want me to sell my house to a developer who’d put an apartment building on it? You think I bear some personal guilt for housing cycles?” Followed shortly by: “Never mind. Once I’m dead, market forces will take over, and I will doubtless be tortured in Hell for living in the wrong place.”
Atwood later offered an alternate solution:
“Hmm, maybe it’s time for me to move out of #toronto. I didn’t like it much when I moved in. #CatsEye”