The Township of East York was incorporated on January 1, 1924. At that time East York was comprised mostly of market gardens, a handful of brick making yards and a race horse track that was located in the area bound by Oak Park, Lumsden, Chisholm and Danforth Avenues.

The majority of shopping in East York is located on the main north-south arterial roadways including Pape, Donlands, Greenwood, Coxwell, and Woodbine Avenues.

At the south end of East York, Danforth Avenue provides shoppers with a colourful array of fruit markets, bakeries, coffee shops, clothing and accessory stores and Toronto's best selection of Greek restaurants.

East York is brimming with both indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.

The East York Tennis Club on Roosevelt Road has five tennis courts, Dentonia Park Tennis Club off Dawes road has four courts and East York Collegiate has four courts. The Dentonia Park Golf Course located off Victoria Park Avenue is a challenging eighteen hole public course with a moderately difficult rating.

Stan Wadlow Park off Cosburn Avenue features five baseball diamonds and a batting cage. The excellent baseball facilities at this park helped produce the likes of Rich and Rob Butler, two native East Yorkers that went on to play major league baseball.

Stan Wadlow Park also contains, two outdoor swimming pools, a handball wall, and picnic areas. It also serves as an access point to Taylor Creek Park, part of a nine kilometre paved trail that is ideal for nature walks, jogging, and cycling. Adjacent to Stan Wadlow Park is the East York Memorial Arena which provides recreational and league hockey programs as well as public skating. Across the street from Stan Wadlow Park is the East York Curling Club. The Dieppe Park Sports Complex at Greenwood and Cosburn has an outdoor ice rink, sports fields and a baseball diamond.

The newly refurbished East York Community Centre at 1081 Pape Avenue has an indoor pool, a multi-purpose gymnasium, a weight room, and a small public library. The S. Walter Stewart Library at 170 Memorial Park Avenue features a large auditorium for storytelling and puppet shows. The Dawes Road Library at 416 Dawes Road also has children's programming.

The Secord Community Centre at 91 Barrington Avenue and the Terry Fox Community Centre at 2 Gledhill Avenue have gymnasiums as well as community meeting rooms.

(P) Chester School, 115 Gowan Ave., (416) 396-2325

(P) Cosburn Middle School, 520 Cosburn Ave., (416) 396-2335

(P) D.A. Morrison J.H., 271 Gledhill Ave., (416) 396-2400

(P) Diefenbaker, 175 Plains Rd., (416) 396-2350

(P) Parkside, 401 Cedarvale Ave., (416) 396-2425

(P) R.H. McGregor, 555 Mortimer Ave., (416) 396-2390

(P) Secord, 101 Barrington Ave., (416) 396-2490

(P) William Burgess School, 100 Torrens Ave., (416) 396-2490

(PH) East York Collegiate, 650 Cosburn Ave., (416) 396-2355

(PH) Alternative School Programme, 670 Cosburn Ave., (416) 396-2925

(CA) Canadian Martyrs, 520 Plains Rd., (416) 393-5251

(CA) Holy Cross, 299A Donlands Ave., (416) 393-5242

(CA) St. Aloysius, 80 Queensdale Ave., (416) 393-5287

Legend:
(P) Public School
(PH) Public High School
(CA) Catholic School
(PR) Private School
(PC) Private Catholic School
(PJ) Private Jewish School
(C) College
(U) University

East York residents are conveniently located within a ten to fifteen minute drive of Toronto's financial and entertainment districts.

Bus service on O'Connor Drive and Pape, Donlands, Coxwell, Mortimer, Cosburn and Lumsden Avenues, provide passengers with a quick connection to subway stations on the Bloor-Danforth line.