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Exteriors of the old Sam the Record Man store on Yonge St. near Gould St.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail

It's unfortunate that the iconic Sam the Record Man sign may not be preserved, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said Tuesday as he left an Etobicoke Community Council meeting.

This afternoon, city councillors at Toronto and East York Community Council will debate the fate of the sign, considering a proposal by city staff that Ryerson University represent the Sam the Record Man heritage, in its redevelopment of the site, but not actually mount the sign. The university had initially agreed to include the sign in its rebuild.

"It's a unique sign for the city of Toronto. Everybody remembers Sam the Record Man," Mr. Ford said in a press scrum outside the Etobicoke Civic Centre.

"I'm sure I bought my first tape there but I can't remember which one it was," he said. "To get rid of it, it's unfortunate. I'd like to keep it but if we can't keep it, we can't keep it."

The mayor was at the meeting filling in for former deputy mayor Doug Holyday who left his position for a seat at Queen's Park after winning in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore by-election last month.

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