An alley split in two by the arrival of a residential condominium building in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, in the midst of gentrification, is creating tensions in the neighborhood, while tenants say they are suffering from a decision taken without their consent , which testifies, according to them, of a “division” between two classes of citizens.
The creation of a green lane normally represents the opportunity to unite the citizens of a sector behind a greening project in order to improve the quality of life and social cohabitation while fighting against heat islands. However, the owners living in Usine 51, a former bingo transformed into a building of 75 apartments in recent years, instead decided, in 2017, to split this alley in two by placing concrete bells there, offered by the district, and which have since been replaced by wooden blocks. These owners would have complained about the noise and dust generated by the cars passing behind the building, in particular, in order to justify this measure to the borough.
The latter then granted, in August 2018, funding of more than $ 43,100 to a community organization to build a green lane located only behind this building, which had the effect of blocking one of the accesses by car to other residents of this alley, mostly tenants. The borough affirms to To have to that this green lane project has received the necessary support to take shape. The guide for the development of a green lane in the borough nonetheless stipulates that all riparian residents must be consulted. However, only the owners of the building were informed upstream of the completion of this project, say many tenants on the other side of the alley, who were unable to benefit from this initiative.
“I find that distressing and it really gives me the image that our street is divided between two classes of citizens: the better-off, who have a condo and their own green lane, and we, who are tenants, with a deserted lane” , sighs Gabrielle Létourneau, a resident of the area, who would have liked this project to benefit the entire alley. Comments shared by several tenants met by The duty in this alley last Thursday. After having unsuccessfully signed a petition in the fall of 2017 and sent a letter to the Hochelaga district councilor, Eric Alan Caldwell, in an attempt to open a dialogue with the borough on this problem, they decided to resume this fight, a few years later. Élise Ekker will therefore be one of the residents who will question elected officials on this subject during the borough council meeting on December 13 in order to request that a meeting be held between the residents of this lane in the presence of Mr. Caldwell.
“We too would like to make a green alley in collaboration”, launches Mme Ekker. However, at the moment, “there is no way to dialogue, to find a solution together”. Thus, instead of being a “unifying” project, the creation of this green lane “has become a division project”, adds his partner, Gaël Poirier, alongside him.
It really gives me the image that our street is divided between two classes of citizens: the better-off, who have a condo and their own green lane, and us, who are tenants, with a deserted lane.
Several tenants indicate that they would have been open to a compromise which would have made it possible not only to green the whole of this lane, but also to keep both accesses by car. Because, now, the only access available is often blocked by trucks or, in winter, by snow banks. “It even took a couple of times for me to take a cab to work. I was taken prisoner in my own backyard, ”says Carl Chartrand, a 65-year-old tenant who works for the Port of Montreal. The closure of one of the accesses to this lane has also doubled the traffic of cars at the only entrance now available, causing safety problems, especially for children. “It’s dangerous,” says Mr. Chartrand.
Joined by The duty, the president of the board of directors of the syndicate of co-ownership of Usine 51, Mireille Bénard, argued that the residents of the building suffered several inconveniences before the development of this green lane. “There was a lot of prostitution in the alley and car traffic because people cut into the alley,” she says, as the borough also pointed out in an email to To have to. Mme Bénard also affirms that he is open to the idea that this green lane is widened to include the whole of the lane, on condition, however, that the passage of cars is no longer authorized there.
“We don’t ask for better than to work with them, to plant […] We would be thrilled to do it, but if the price to pay is to put an end to our green lane, we don’t agree. It won’t solve the tension problem, ”she said over the phone. In the meantime, “everyone benefits” from the green lane behind Usine 51, which is accessible to all pedestrians, recalls Marc-André Michaud, who has owned an apartment in this building for five years. .
The borough, for its part, underlines in writing that it had paid a sum to the promoter of the Plant 51 project to replace the bituminous coating behind this building with a vegetated surface, but the contractor responsible for the project then goes bankrupt without having first respected “its commitment to green the lane” behind this building. The borough has therefore taken over this project. However, “as the initial project only included the development of the northern part of the lane, it was agreed to limit the developments to this same area”, adds a spokesperson.
However, the borough underlines that Councilor Éric Alan Caldwell says he is “open to meeting with citizens who wish to discuss the problems raised, especially those related to security, in order to think, together, about possible solutions”.