Parents of teen killed in vacant Hamilton building demand tougher by-laws

606 Aberdeen Ave. in Hamilton has sat decrepit for many years.

It’s the building where 19-year-old Flynn Pavlovsky died on April 4, after falling through the roof. His parents are calling for increased accountability from the owner and the city.

“If this can bring any kind of change, what we really want is so that another parent is not going to get woken up by the police at their door saying ‘your son has died,’” says Peter Pavlovsky, Flynn’s father.

Grieving mother and father Katie Porter and Peter Pavlovsky are demanding the city review how it enforces its vacant building by-laws.

“We hope that you will feel morally compelled to make changes to protect your constituents and to put industrial vacant property owners on notice,” says Pavlovsky. “It was easy to enter this building, none of the staircases or anything that leads up to roof access were welded shut, closed, or anything like that.”

Wednesday morning a crew was boarding up one of the entrances to the building and a security guard was on site.

The building, initially built in 1924 as a foundry, was used for industrial storage and distribution for over thirty years until it was acquired by McMaster Industrial Park in 2019.

Now, It’s under the ownership of First Longwood Innovation Trustee Corporation, which is 100 per cent owned by McMaster University.

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“Why didn’t the city adequately secure the site with proper fencing, lighting, alarms and security and then put the cost of all of that on McMaster’s property tax bill?” says Pavlovsky.

Searching for answers, Peter and Katie filed a Freedom of Information request with Hamilton police, which showed that since 2020, there’s been 36 police responses to the address, as well as one prior death.

The police dispatch system even warns officers about the poor conditions of the building.

“This was implemented in 2024 after a police dog fell through the floor,” says Pavlovsky.

“We wonder about the accountability of the City of Hamilton … and we wonder about the accountability of the building owner, McMaster University,” says Porter.

In a news release today, McMaster University says it’s taken measures to restrict access to the property. It says an application to demolish the property was made June 12 and will proceed through “appropriate municipal approval process.”

Wednesday’s motion, which passed unanimously, will direct the city’s licensing and by-law services to review its current enforcement processes and report its findings by the first quarter of next year.

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