MikeCohen.ca

A "small world" story: The Zygielbaum connection from California

Stanley Diamond, the charismatic founder of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal, contacted me with this very interesting story. I will share with you what he wrote.

My daughter Jessika Diamond is moving from Alameda, California to Toronto next week.
 
After 12 years in the Bay Area, Jessika is divesting of anything she does not want to ship, store, mail or bring in her car (she is driving cross-country in January).  Her goal is to throw nothing out – everything is going to charity, recycling, to friends, or out on Freecycle, a mailing list where people post what they are giving away, or what they need.
 
This week, she posted an offer of dozens of file & hanging folders.

A number of people expressed interest, including a young woman at a nearby non-profit.  Since Jessika is partial to non-profit groups (as an event manager, her specialty is large-scale galas & fundraising events for charities), she chose this young lady to receive them.
 
As she was replying, Jessika noticed the young woman's name is Zygielbaum, the same name on the sign in the park across the street from our house on Edgemore (Arthur Zygielbaum)  in Cote Saint-Luc where she grew up.  Her comment to Beth Zygielbaum was “and for a random moment… you have the same last name as the WWII resistance fighter for whom the park across the street from my parents’ place in Montreal is named!” 
 
Beth’s reply was “not random at all to me, he was my great grandfather!! His son, my grandpa was also heavily involved in the resistance in Poland as a leader of a militia living in the forest near Warsaw.  I visited the park with my family as a small child but haven’t been back since then.”

When her family – including the next generation, the 15-month-old great, great-grandson - came to pick up the folders, Jessika took a picture with them.

Go figure, Jessika, daughter of a Dutch Holocaust survivor, growing up spitting distance from this park named for Zygielbaum, meeting the great-granddaughter of that man, in a small city in California, where they both reside.

Pictured: Jessika Diamond (left) and Beth Zygielbaum.
 

Consultation results in new plans for Rembrandt Park; introduction of mini-tennis

On May 31,  I held a District 2 Information meeting, with planned changes to Rembrandt Park topping the agenda.  With Harold Cammy, the Manager of Sports and Facilities from our Parks and Recreation Department on hand, we provided an extensive overview of the proposal. Since work is only scheduled to commence in September, I wanted to make sure to get the comments of local residents. I had actually begun this process during my door to door campaign last fall. Prior to my meeting, Bialik High School students Gabriel Alon and Zack Campbell circulated in the area and surveyed individuals.

There were more than 60 people in attendance May 31. I also received a lot of telephone calls and emails prior to and after that meeting. What we shared with those on hand that night were plans rebuild and reposition  the existing two tennis courts, added four more, remove the basketball courts completely, construct a small parking lot on the Merrimac side and begin the process of changing the lighting.

It is important to note that since my election in 2005 there has been a lot of attention devoted to Rembrandt Park. First and foremost we returned its original name after the short lived borough rechristened it Côte Saint-Luc Park. The soccer pit was filled and brought up to street level, alleviating am opportunity for hoodlums to hide out late at night and repeatedly dump benches down the hill. We replaced some of the park equipment and introduced a beautiful water play area.

Why get rid of the basketball courts? For the past number of years seniors have complained that the courts attract young people from outside of the community late at night who are up to no good.  At the May 31 meeting and via other correspondence there were those who came forward suggesting that the courts stay, but perhaps be relocated near the street so that Public Security and the  police can get a better view of things. Many of the residents felt that six tennis courts were too many. As for the parking lot, this was not well received either.

Well this is precisely why I believe in public consultation.  We took the results of what we heard to the Tennis Committee, chaired by Allan J. Levine. Thanks to Mr. Cammy and Director of Parks and Recreation David Taveroff we were able to come up with some excellent alternatives, which I am very pleased to report have now been accepted by council.

-We will build five tennis courts instead of six. The two originals will “not” be rebuilt or repositioned. In fact one will become the city’s very first court for mini-tennis for young children. Mini tennis courts are portable and easy to set up. Playing tennis on a mini court is just like playing on a real court except that the dimensions are smaller and you use a special foam tennis ball designed for playing on a smaller court. Using a mini tennis court is a great way to teach young kids how to play tennis.  Having the smaller court makes it much easier for them to work on their ground strokes and learn the rules of tennis.  They also get to spend more time learning how to hit proper strokes as opposed to chasing down balls all over a full size court. But it’s not just for kids either.  Adults can use a mini tennis court as well to work on their own game and footwork.  Since the court is much smaller it focuses more on hitting well placed shots and require much less running. See the video below.

 

 

 -The basketball court as it stands now will be removed and replaced with a nice section of green space, hopefully with a few benches. However, as a compromise solution we will construct a new half basketball court. This will alleviate the threat of outsiders coming to play pickup games, but enable locals to shoot some hoops. This includes the father or  grandfather who wants to come out with one of their youngsters.
-The half basketball court will be near street level in the spot originally reserved for a parking lot, which we have removed from the plan. 

I am excited about this project and thank everyone for their feedback and cooperation.

 

Tournée Sports Experts offers free activities to tennis fans on August 9

Tennis fans in the City of Côte Saint-Luc can get tips and advice on techniques, free lessons, play games and take part in a skills content on Sunday August 9, from 9am to 11:30am at Rembrandt Park (Rembrandt Ave. at Kildare Rd.) at the Tournée Sports Experts.

Now in its 16th year, the tennis tour travels across Quebec from June to September offering free tennis services to people in more than 70 municipalities.

Children, teenagers and adults of all skill levels can benefit from the free services. There will also be many participation prizes. Participants will also have the chance to test new models of tennis rackets, such as Babolat, Head, Prince, Techno-Pro and Wilson.

Apart from the special one-day event, tennis players in Côte Saint-Luc have a lot of options for practicing their sport. There are public tennis court locations in Côte Saint-Luc open every day from May 9 to October 18. The Caldwell location (near Mackle Rd.) has three public tennis courts and is free of charge. Rembrandt Park (near Kildare Rd.) has two tennis courts and costs $5 per person (or $4 per person age 17 and younger) but is free for residents who have a Côte Saint-Luc Fun Card, which gives members unlimited access to many recreation facilities for one complete year from the date of purchase. Private (city operated) tennis courts are also available to members of the Côte Saint-Luc Tennis Club (8215 Guelph Rd.).

For more information, you can call 514-485-6806, or pick up a copy of the Parks and Recreation Program of Activities and Services booklet at municipal offices or download a PDF copy from CoteSaintLuc.org.

New waterplay area to be checked

The new waterplay area at Rembrandt Park opened amid much excitement last weekend, we determined very quickly that the surface was a little bit too slippery. I wish to thank District 2 resident Heather Leckner for alerting me personally about the problem. Public Works was notified immediately. Because we did not want to close the facility down on St.  Jean Baptiste Day, a lifeguard from Parkhaven Pool was assigned to oversee activities. Subsequently we called  back the contractor to do corrective measures.

 

Kids delighted as new waterplay area opens at Rembrandt Park

Due to the poor weather conditions we experienced in May and June, the beautiful new waterplay area in Rembrandt Park finally opened this weekend. Time was required for installation and painting. There is a large sprinkler in the shape of a flower that spins as it emits water and a number of other spots where water sprouts from.  Councillor Cohen greets Megan, Daniel and Juliana to the new waterplay area at Rembrandt Park.

Local residents, many of whom have young children or grandchildren, really wanted something like this at Rembrandt. The initial response was superb. I spent some time talking to parents and kids. It was a big thumbs up.

Five year old Daniel quickly figured out which buttons to push to get the water flowing. His mom,  Nathalie, sat on a picnic bench smiling. "He loves it," she said. Another mom soon arrived with her two little girls, aged four and five. The kids could not get sprayed on quick enough. I would like to thank the departments of Public Works and Parks and Recreation for making this a reality. I hope we have wonderful weather the rest of the summer so all can enjoy.

 Another view of the waterplay apparatus with Krishan and Daniel.

New water game area to open soon at Rembrandt Park

Those with small children to entertain- grandparents, moms and dads - will be pleased to learn that the new water games area at Rembrandt Park will be fully operational during the month of May.

The area  is  similar to what is already in place at Richard Schwartz and Pierre Elliott Trudeau parks. For instance, there is a large sprinkler in the shape of a flower that spins as it emits water. This is all part of the numerous improvements to Rembrandt Park I have been proud to oversee over the last four years as councillor for District 2.

  

Rembrandt Park Upgrades Approved

At a special city council meeting August 25 Rembrandt Park and District 2 were the good fortune of two upgrade measures. As announced previously, but only confirmed by the rest of council at this meeting, work will commence in the next few weeks on the installation of a water games area as well as a large slide/climbing structure. Construction is unlikely to be completed before the end of October, meaning that residents won't get to experience these wonderful new features until the spring. Well, good things are worth waitiing for. The water game area will be similar to those already in place at Richard Schwartz and Pierre Elliott Trudeau parks. For instance, there will be a large sprinkler in the shape of a flower that spins as it emits water. The total cost for this will be up to  $32,524.81. We are now going for tender for construction bids. As for the new play structure, it will replace some older equipment at a cost of $26,361.06.

I was pleased to see Henry Marcovitz and his wife at the special council meeting. Henry, of course, was a distinguished city councillor for many years. The Marcovitzs now reside on Rembrandt, so I feel fortunate to have someone of Henry's experience to consult with. At the meeting he suggested that we perhaps at some future date lower the size of the hilly areas which front Rembrandt as they could be a detterent to catching any troublemakers in the act. It is no secret that we have had some incidents at Rembrandt Park which have been of particular concern to seniors. This is why we are moving forward with plans in 2009 to get rid of the basketball courts and replace them with tennis courts. We have also had some lights knocked out and broken beyond repair at the park, no doubt by some delinquents. They will be replaced, but this is no small job labour or cost-wise.

Special Meeting Monday on Rembrandt Park Improvements

We will hold a special council meeting on Monday, August 25 (8 p.m.) at City Hall to deal with some exciting improvements to Rembrandt Park. On this night contracts will be awarded for the purchase of a water games facility for young children (something which already exists at Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Richard Schwartz Parks) and for some new playground equipment.  On Monday we will also  award contracts for road surfacing in different parts of the city. Please note that due to the fact our council chamber is being painted, the meeting will take place downstairs in the Harold Greenspon Auditorium. Please note that the water games facility pictured is the one that was installed several years ago at Richard Schwartz Park on Côte Saint-Luc Road.

New Baby Swings Installed at Rembrandt Park

A new set of baby swings have been installed at Rembrandt Park in Côte Saint-Luc. What makes this unique, he notes, is the fact they were paid for by an anonymous donor.

The swings, in fact, are dedicated in memory of the children who perished at the Mauthausen-Gusen Nazi concentration camp in Austria. This is a perfect example of how the city’s new sponsorship program, which he unveiled last fall, can work to the benefit of the community at large.

In this particular case the cost was about $2,000. After we announced our new sponsorship guidelines, a constituent asked me whether we could put new baby swings in the park. I told him it was not presently in the budget, but told him about the sponsorship option. His parents are Holocaust survivors as are a number of residents of Rembrandt Avenue. He generously provided the financing, but wishes to remain anonymous. I really do hope others follow his example in the future.