The second issue of Le Citoyen, the Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame de-Grâce official borough newsletter, arrived at my office last week and I eagerly read it from beginning to end. All in all, even though some NDG residents like Patricia Winston, made a valid point about the unnecessary use of colour in the newsletter’s printing, the information presented was timely and pertinent to West End residents.
Of course, as is the case with many borough newsletters and certainly the case here, the majority of the information is presented to us in such a way that it makes the current borough administration look great. It doesn’t offer as much information on local activities as it offers a platform for the administration to shout “Look at what we’re doing for you!”
I was on my last page of the newsletter when I noticed a picture that made me frown and laugh at the same time.
There he was, in a dark blue suit, determined look on his face, CDN-NDG mayor Michael Applebaum himself cycling on a Bixi bike on his way to, no doubt, some important executive council Montreal meeting.
Two things immediately stood out for me: Applebaum was not cycling with a helmet (While perfectly legal, it’s not the right example to be setting) and secondly, if this is a newsletter with a distinct CDN-NDG focus, why the Bixi bike? Bixi bikes are not even available in the borough and probably won’t be available for another year or so. (See our related story by freelancer Adam Bemma under Local News).
So, thanks for showing us a picture of a bike we can’t use in our borough, Mr. Mayor, but what’s the reason for you to be photographed riding one? To promote a service made available to other Montrealers in otherboroughs? Of course, if you think about it the answer is simple enough, I suppose…
On a related note, it remains to be seen whether or not Bixi bikes will ever come to CDN-NDG. Judging from a reader poll currently taking place on The Monitor website, most people seem to already have their own bike and don’t feel the need to use a Bixi. Of course, our reader polls are far from scientific, but they do offer an interesting glimpse into what West Enders may be thinking.
Some good news for local cyclists, though: tomorrow (Friday, May 29) Applebaum and the City of Montreal will be announcing the creation of some additional bike routes in CDN-NDG. It remains to be seen where. More to be unveiled tomorrow.
Not too long ago, The Monitor had featured an article by photo-journalist Martin C. Barry, on the current state of the Snowdon Theatre, located on Decarie. Owned by the City of Montreal, the building has definitely fallen into disarray the last few years and we wondered what was happening to this beautiful building and whether neglect would seal its fate. Last week, some of you may have noticed that French daily La Presse had a very interesting introspective on Montreal’s Art Deco buildings (The International Art Deco Congress is taking place in the city from May 24-30, which may have something to do with this sudden interest). In the Number 3 and 4 spots respectively were the Snowdon Theatre and the Empress Cultural Centre. Other buildings in the Top Ten were St. Joseph’s Oratory and the Cabaret Lion D’Or.
I find it rather sad that two magnificent examples of an architectural and design style that was a bold mix of new geometrical patterns and ancient Greek and Egyptian styles and which first saw the light between the 1920s and the 1950s, have been left to slowly deteriorate and fall apart. It’s time to see some action from the City of Montreal and have these buildings – an important part of this city’s history- fully restored. For Monitor readers who may be interested in the Art Deco International Congress taking place until May 30, you can log on to: www.artdecomontreal.com and find out more.
This is a beautiful world we live in, but some days I struggle to make sense of it. On the same day that news broke that the killers of seven-year-old Victoria Stafford had been arrested, I heard of the anonymous (at the time) 67-year-old woman who was beaten and killed by three teenagers looking to rob her at a bus stop. A random act of violence that cost this innocent woman her life. I thought of little Tori’s parents and of the old woman’s children (if she had any) and my heart broke for all of them.
It turns out that the 67-year-old woman was Lieu Ngu Kim, a recently retired textile factory worker of Vietnamese origin who was returning from… line dancing. In the May 26th issue of The Gazette, friends of the three accused teenagers told La Presse that if Lieu had just given up her purse, nothing would have happened to her. Talk about completely missing the point and failing to understand the simple concept of accountability. I could physically feel the bile rising in my throat as I read that preposterous statement and can only imagine the anger her two children must have been experiencing.
“Nothing” would have also happened to this woman if these three arrogant, misguided, devoid-of-a-conscience young men had NOT attacked her in an attempt to rob her of her belongings. In my humble opinion, 15- and 16-year-olds are not children. They are capable of understanding right and wrong and the consequences of beating someone so savagely that, later on, they die in a hospital bed, never to regain consciousness.
I don’t care to hear about leniency and how they’re just kids. What they did was horrid, callous and uncalled for and they should not be tried as teenagers, but should face the justice system as adults. Why is it that violent actions always have immediate consequences for the victims, yet we sit around and debate the necessity and/or severity of consequences for the perpetrators?
Comments/suggestions/story ideas? E-mail me at toula.foscolos@transcontinental.ca
