“If we’re not careful … our city will end up like many in the U.S. — busy during the day and a ghost town at night and on weekends.”
Thank you to Toula Drimonis for addressing the issue of noise complaints. We can only hope that good sense will prevail. If we’re not careful with these kinds of issues, our city will end up like many in the U.S. — busy during the day and a ghost town at night and on weekends.
Drimonis touches on how the vibe of a neighbourhood attracts people to live there. When I speak with or visit friends who have moved to trendy areas, I sometimes come away a bit disappointed. One friend only goes to Starbucks for coffee, despite the presence of several fun, cheaper and superior cafés closer to her home. Twice I went to watch a game at a friend’s condo and was excited to try a neighbourhood pizza, only for him to order Domino’s both times.
What’s the point? If you don’t embrace the community, then don’t complain when all the fun, cool stuff moves away or closes entirely.
I miss my 10 years of Plateau/McGill Ghetto/N.D.G. living. Being in the suburbs now makes me long for Montreal’s urban walks. We still get into the city on a monthly basis. Once the REM expands, it will be weekly visits, I hope. I guarantee there will be no Starbucks after my Amélias pizza.
Joel Ramsay, Pierrefonds
Rose belongs in Hall of Fame
If Donald Trump, with his indictments, impeachments and other issues, is acceptable as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, Pete Rose should certainly be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sadly, as a posthumous entry.
Amiel Bender, Côte-St-Luc
Lack of planning and common sense
Too often we see how plans are made or laws are passed without adequate forethought. Examples follow:
Federal gun buyback program: The law was passed in 2020 and so far no guns have been bought back — yet $67 million has been spent. Was there even a plan for the actual implementation of the program?
It seems to me there is a serious lack of common sense and forethought on the part of city planners and legislators. Is it because of hasty decision-making, or lack of resources, or inept leadership and staff?
Trying to fix a problem after the fact can be highly disruptive, expensive and embarrassing. We need better.
Gary Ikeman, Westmount
Submitting a letter to the editor
We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one.
Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication.
Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation.
We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer’s argument.
Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or “open letters” addressed to third parties.
Letters are published with the author’s full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published.
We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
Please send the letter in the body of an email, not as an attachment.