LaSalle\u2014Residents at the Seigneurie des Rapides (760 Gamelin) who are planning a corn roast on Saturday, September 3, have been frustrated by unnecessary road blocks they feel are coming from the Office municipal d\u2019habitation de Montreal (OMHM).<\/p>\n
Last week, Esther Giroux, OMHM director of social and community development, told event organizer Serge Gagn\u00e9 that he couldn\u2019t have access to any of three common fridges in the building until their representative, Patrick Benjamin, gets back from vacation on September 5, two days after the barbecue is scheduled. Another resident called Montreal\u2019s ombudsman to complain, but was told that the ombudsman\u2019s office doesn\u2019t act until 20 days after a complaint is lodged, long after their help would be needed in this case.<\/p>\n
Gagn\u00e9 had already obtained a $5 liquor permit for the activity as Giroux requested in a letter dated August 12, which was delivered to him August 19. \u201cNo other group has ever needed a permit for these kinds of events\u201d says Gagn\u00e9, who believes that his petition to re-establish a residents\u2019 association in the building is the reason for difficult relations with OMHM personnel. \u201cThey don\u2019t want us to succeed in making tenants happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Suburban called the OMHM communications office to ask why the tenants couldn\u2019t get access to the fridges for their barbecue, Louise Hebert assured us that the problem could be rectified. \u201cWe didn\u2019t understand that the two rooms M. Gagn\u00e9 wanted opened contained three fridges, napkins, decorations and other material that they would need for the corn roast,\u201d said spokesperson Louise Hebert. \u201cOnce we found out that that was why they needed the space, of course we made arrangements for the rooms to be opened.”<\/p>\n
She suggested that Gagn\u00e9 call Giroux Monday, which he did. \u201cWe will have access to the tenants\u2019 association equipment on Wednesday,\u201d said Gagn\u00e9. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why we can\u2019t use the stuff anyway, since it belongs to the tenant association, but we\u2019ll deal with that after the barbecue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fridge refusal wasn\u2019t their first frustration. When residents first began organizing the event, they said that Patrick Benjamin told them not to count on community contributions for their event because he had personally called local businesses to ask them not to support it. The Suburban called a few business owners to see if this was true. So far, only Jocelyne Long, from the IGA on Champlain (March\u00e9 d’alimentation Beck inc. ) has returned calls. \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t we support them,\u201d said Long. \u201cA gift certificate for $50 is already prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
(This article appeared\u00a0on p7 of\u00a0the city edition of the Suburban yesterday.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LaSalle\u2014Residents at the Seigneurie des Rapides (760 Gamelin) who are planning a corn roast on Saturday, September 3, have been frustrated by unnecessary road blocks they feel are coming from the Office municipal d\u2019habitation de Montreal (OMHM). Last week, Esther Giroux, OMHM director of social and community development, told event organizer Serge Gagn\u00e9 that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lasalleposts","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2buQs-iA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1219,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/low-income-seniors-get-locked-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":1152,"position":0},"title":"Low Income Seniors Get Locked Up","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"October 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After weeks of complaining about bug infestations and smells, seniors in public housing have been informed that they\u2019ll be getting new locks for their doors. Staff from the Office municipal d\u2019habitation de Montreal (OMHM) met with tenants at 720 and 760 Gamelin in early and mid-September to tell them about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1148,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/who-decides-for-seniors-living-in-low-income-housing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1152,"position":1},"title":"Who Decides for Seniors Living in Low-Income Housing?","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"August 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Fifty of the hundred seniors living at 760 Gamelin have signed a petition in favour of reinstating their tenants\u2019 association, but a spokesperson for the low-income housing authority that runs their building says their request will be refused. \u201cThey can work in collaboration with us, but they can\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/760chuteAug2011.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1160,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/trust-broken\/","url_meta":{"origin":1152,"position":2},"title":"Trust Broken between Tenants and Officials at Low Income Senior Residences","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"October 6, 0201","format":false,"excerpt":"Lasalle\u2014 Two long meetings did little to reassure tenants in the seniors buildings on Gamelin that life will get back to normal anytime soon, despite several announcements fulfilling some of their needs. Instead, mutual distrust will keep the kitchen doors locked, non-profit groups in charge of finances, and tenants feeling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1215,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/omhm-staff-powerless-too\/","url_meta":{"origin":1152,"position":3},"title":"OMHM Staff Powerless Too?","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"October 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Sixty-six seniors think that their building at 720 Gamelin is filthy, but one person disagrees, so nothing will be done. \u201cOn September 12, 2012, one of our employees verified and the premises were clean,\u201d says the written response to a tenant petition. The French letter is dated September 13 and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/720Sept2012.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1194,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/shooting-second-death-of-gamelin-street-resident-this-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":1152,"position":4},"title":"Shooting Second Death of Gamelin Street Resident This Year","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"July 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"LaSalle\u2014As police investigated the shooting of 60-year-old Walter Ricardo Gutierrez outside of 760 Gamelin last Monday, residents inside wondered how they\u2019re supposed to protect themselves. \u201cSince we\u2019ve belonged to Montreal six or seven years ago, we get all the scrap,\u201d said Lucy Brosseau, who lives in the 760 Gamelin building.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1163,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/wo-day-eviction\/","url_meta":{"origin":1152,"position":5},"title":"Two-Day Eviction for Low-Income Senior","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"December 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Lasalle\u2014On Monday, November 28, one of the tenants in the low-income seniors building at 760 Gamelin came home to find an envelope attached the door handle with an elastic band. 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