It was about eight years ago that I attended a groundbreaking ceremony for Beth Chabad  Côte Saint-Luc’s new facility in District 2, at the corner of Kildare Road and Marc Chagall Avenue. At the time the community centre was based at the Cavendish Mall and prior to that at the Côte Saint-Luc Shopping Centre.

Under the leadership of Rabbi Mendel Raskin and his wife Sarah, Beth Chabad CSL spent almost two decades looking for a permanent home. They had to be patient until this facility became a reality. When the Mall began demolition of half of its façade to make way for housing two years ago, Beth Chabad moved into trailers and rented some space at Bialik High School. Pictured at the right is Rabbi Raskin (left) and his brother Yitzhak, who runs Chabad in Burlington,  Vermont.

Last fall, their new home opened for business during the Rosh Hashanah period. While not yet fully completed,  officials had met all necessary building standards.

Here is my interview with Rabbi Raskin and Mayor Housefather:

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On May 23 I was thrilled to attend Beth Chabad CSL’s 26^th anniversary gala, which was highlighted by the debut of a gorgeous new social hall. Officially known as Beth Chabad Hechal Menachem, the building is home to the Maurice and  Nicole Benisti Youth Centre. At the gala, Max and Sigy Laredo (that is Max with me above) received the  Tree of Life Award; Jacob and Therese Attias, the Builders Award; and Michel and Perline Amar, the  Anshei Chesed Award.

The new social hall  can  accomodate  close to 600 people.  “This will fill a large void in the greater Montreal area where few halls can boast the capacity to hold events of this magnitude,” says Rabbi Raskin. “ It will be equipped with state-of-the-art audio equipment and screens to hold community wide Jewish educational conferences, community lectures, symposiums and seminars throughout the year.This will be a place to hold holiday celebrations, weddings, brit milot, bar/bat mitzvahs in addition to many other occasions which can all be held in one elaborate and sophisticated setting.”

Below, I share a word with Rabbi Raskin and Raphael Perez.

1.     Introduction  

Rafi Zeira (right),  a District 2 resident, was introduced. As people entered the room they heard Rafi’s Accordion, a new CD he has just released with his wife Fay and their collaborators Michel Tordjman and Larry Hughes. All four were on hand to showcase the Jewish medley, which took a year and a half to produce. I also introduced special guests Councillor Steven Erdelyi, responsible for public works and the environment; Beatrice Newman, manager of customer service and administration;  Charles Senekal; manager of engineering; Mohammed Ali, project manager in the engineering division and a CSL resident;  Harold Cammy, manager of sports and facilities for Parks and Recreation.  I explained that these meetings have been held once or twice annually since I was elected. Everyone was reminded that they can always call me at City Hall or send an email to [email protected]. 

 
Left to right: Mohammed Ali, Charles Senekal,  Beatrice Newman, Harold Cammy, myself and Steven Erdelyi.

 2.     New Town Houses  

Gerald Issenman (pictured below)  was introduced as the developer of new townhouses on Marc Chagall Avenue. He is reviving the 21 unit complex which Jerome Winikoff had previously attempted to build. The same architects have been retained from the original project. Landscaping has been upgraded. If all goes well he hopes to starts building sometime in July, with units ready for occupation in December. Mr. Issenman owns the Côte Saint-Luc Building Corporation. Among his properties are the Bonaventure Arena, apartments on MacDonald Avenue and many more.  Units will cost about $425,000 for an interior and $435,000 for an exterior.

 3.     Digital Signage

 I expressed my appreciation for the Kazoo Digital signage we have up at the corner of Cavendish and Kildare. CSL gets a certain amount of promotional space and Kazoo sells the rest. It is working out nicely and Kazoo might add one or two more digital signs elsewhere in the city.

 4.     Rembrandt Park/Tennis Courts

Last year Harold Cammy was at the District 2 meeting, at which time he unveiled plans for us to build three new tennis courts at Rembrandt Park. There was a lot of opposition to this move and we took the time to consult. First and foremost, people were worrying about a lack of parking spots in the immediate area. In the meantime, all park renovations in the city were put on hold as we focused our financial objectives on the new $18 million Aquatic and Community Centre (ACC), two thirds of which will be paid for by the provincial and federal governments. In the meantime the city began negotiating a new lease with the English Montreal School Board for the five courts on the premises of the former Wagar High School. An agreement was reached and for the summer of 2012 those courts will be completely revamped. Mr. Cammy explained this will be far more cost efficient than constructing new ones at Rembrandt. There have been discussions at the council table, inspired by new city manager Tanya Abramovitch, to create a “cultural park” with picnic tables and space for performing arts. Over the years a lot of money has already been poured into this park. Mr. Cammy called on residents to send their ideas for  what they would like to see the park used for to Councillor Cohen.

 Comments and Suggestions

  -There were suggestions that more benches be added. While this will be looked into, benches are costly. The option of sponsoring a bench on behalf of a loved one was raised. (The following day Beatrice Newman reported to me that some new benches had been delivered and installed.)

-Replace the sand near the swing areas with bark chips or recycled rubber. Councillor Erdelyi cautioned there may be health hazards with those options.

-Replace the old skateboard pit with a picnic table area.

-Fix the wet patchy spots in the area where the soccer pit once sat.

-Close up the cement garbage containers next to the benches

-Install a speed bump at Merrimac and Rembrandt where cars are making quick turns. (Manager Senekal said that if such a suggestion or complaint comes in writing it will be looked at by the Transportation Committee.)

-For the “No Dogs Allowed” sign adjust it to include the cost of a fine if you are caught as  people continually ignore this rule.

-Introduce outdoor exercise equipment at parks (Councillor Erdelyi indicated that will in fact be occurring soon at a number of spots.)

-Bring back the rosebushes to Rembrandt Park (The following day Beatrice Newman confirmed that the bushes disappeared because they were dying and diseased. An order has been placed to plant new ones.)

5.     Traffic Matters (Kildare and Cavendish)

 I indicated that  many of my calls are about this corner and there is no simple solution. I lauded Charles and Mohammed for how responsive they are in general to citizens, particularly in regard to Kildare and Cavendish. A lot of time and money has been devoted to this corner over the years. It is not an easy fix. Mr. Senekal explained that attention is now being devoted to the reconfiguration of Cavendish Boulevard and the new road (The Avenue) which will lead to the Mall housing development. Once that is in place phase two will involve some significant proposals vis-à-vis Cavendish and Kildare. Mr. Senekal and Mr. Ali have developed some impressive options to really improve the situation. People will have to be patient as this must be discussed at the council table first. There were many suggestions of how to fix the situation, including Shirley Rosen (below) who has been on top of this situation for a long time. A common complaint was that Police Station 9 should be giving out more tickets to cars which are repeatedly not waiting for a green arrow to turn left on Cavendish coming from Kildare. There was a request for me to address this concern to the local police commander. I then took the opportunity to announce that I wish to invite all residents of District 2 to submit their own ideas as to how to fix the problem.

There was a suggestion that we put cameras mounted at the corner of Kildare and Cavendish to help give out more tickets.

 On a related issue, one resident of Marc Chagall suggests that the traffic pots – meant to slow down speeders – be painted yellow so they are easier to see.

 6.     Public Works

 A main topic of discussion here was the height of snow dump on Marc Chagall Avenue. Dr. Paul Weinstein, who resides at Le Marquise next door, said that he is less concerned about the aesthetics than the amount of garbage there which he fears can spread disease. He also said that the state of the dump is leading to increased pigeon droppings on balconies. Across the street from Le Marquise, on part of the land where the new town houses will be built, he noted that proper grass cutting was not done and as a result white dandelions are growing. Beatrice Newman explained that someone from Public Works mistakenly thought that area was private property and this is why it was not attended to immediately. Dr. Weinstein also repeated a request he had about the planting of trees inside or directly outside of the fence of the dump. He reasons that eventually these trees might grow high enough to block the snow hill. We spoke to our horticulturalist, René Lapointe, who said that trees were in fact planted where he asked a number of years ago but they will never grow high enough to cover the hill. Furthermore, we did look into planting more but there simply is not any more sufficient fertile land to do so.

 Dr. Harry Shizgal and other asked whether we could try to bring in equipment to cut down the size of the hill. I have asked for this to be done, but as Councillor Erdelyi interjected the estimated cost to do so is somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000. For budgetary reasons, he explained, the city will likely wait until the snow melts. Dr. Weinstein asked that we investigate any alternative options which perhaps were not looked at in the past such as covering the hill with something to make it melt quicker.

 7.     Cavendish Mall

Many people have been asking when construction will begin on the new housing development at the Cavendish Mall.  Charles Senekal said that the first thing which needs to be done is the demolition of the pavement. Work will then begin for the infrastructure for the various streets. If all goes well, that phase could be completed  by early fall.

  8.     Beth Chabad

 I communicated with Rabbi Mendel Raskin of Beth Chabad last week. He can only say at this point that he hopes to see some progress on the first phase of the project soon, which would allow them to relocate from their temporary trailers and the space they rent at Bialik into their new home.

Mohammed and Charles chat with Aubrey Zelman, president of the Meadows Condominium Association and the owner of Gourmetchip.com. 

  There was non-stop rain on the evening of September 27, 2010, at times very heavy. But that did not stop Beth Chabad Côte Saint-Luc from holding its annual Beth Hashoeva celebration at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park. Entertainer Yehuda Piamenta and his band performed all night long on the big stage. When I arrived, following a city council meeting, a group of Chabad members grabbed my arm and had me join in a celebratory dance. In my capacity as city councillor and acting mayor, I was called upon to bring official greetings.

“Congratulations!” I shouted. “No amount of rain will stop Beth Chabad!”

Rabbi Mendel Raskin  (with me at the right) told me that despite the inclement weather there was still a nice crowd earlier in the evening.  As I arrived towards 10:30 p.m. many people were congregated under the covered Confederation Annex building near the stage where the folks from Chez Benny and Pizza Pita were serving up some delicious food. And as the rain continued to come down, hundreds watched a video on a large screen describing the history of the Chabad movement.

Beth Chabad’s new premises on Kildare Road and Marc Chagall are still under construction. Fortunately, Bialik High School has made an arrangement to give them space for the time being. Rabbi Raskin continues to fundraise and we look forward to his team getting what is needed to get the building completed. For more information go to www.chabadcsl.com.

What is Beth Hashoeva? When sacrifices were offered in the Holy Temple, there was also a special pouring of wine and oil at the altar. On Sukkot there was also a special ceremony entailing the pouring of water. The water was drawn the night beforehand from the Shiloach spring, and this was done with great joy and hapiness, with singing and dancing. This was called "Simchat Beit Hashoeva" -- the "joy of the drawing." Today's Simchat Beit Hashoeva is a commemoration of that one, and a fulfillment of the Mitzvah to rejoice on the holiday of Sukkot.

    Councillor Cohen joins Rabbi Raskin at the podium during the Blessing of the Sun.

On the eve of Passover this morning I participated in a most moving ceremony at the future site of the Beth Chabad Hechal Menachem Community Centre at the corner of Kildare Road and Marc Chagall as about 200 people gathered for Birkat Hachama , also known as the Blessing of the Sun.

Enertainer Gad Elbaz, Mayor Housefather and Councillor Cohen at the  gala Purim celebration at Beth Chabad.

I attended the gala Purim Celebration of Beth Chabad at the Cavendish Mall on March 9 at the Cavendish Mal, along with Mayor Anthony Housefather and Councillor Mitchell Brownstein. With hundreds of people in attendance and sensational Israeli singer Gad Elbaz performing on stage, the dynamic Rabbi Mendel Raskin provided the news we have all been waiting for. The Beth Chabad Menachem Community Youth Centre will open by early September in its brand new location in the heart of District 2 at the corner of Marc Chagall Avenue and Kildare Road. Beth Chabad has been based at the Mall since 2001. The Kildare Road site was rezoned to accommodate them many years ago. Construction began on the $5.8 million project two years ago. When fully completed, the new facility will include a youth lounge, computer and teen fitness rooms, a cafeteria, library, kollel/study room, social hall, Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues and a men’s mikvah. This will be a wonderful addition to the community and could help sales at the new town house development across the street. Rabbi Raskin and his wife Sarah do an outstanding job with their congregation. It was beautiful to see so many young families at the Purim celebration, which included a carnival for the children and fuilly catered meal by Toledano later on. Elbaz was sensational. At one point Rabbi Raskin turned to me and just smiled. "Can you imagine how good this is going to be when we move into our new building?" he asked rhetorically. I am working with Daniel Malca of Beth Chabad on a special event for residents of District 2, hopefully for June. Stay tuned to my blog for more details on construction progress.

Councillor Cohen is greeted by Rabbi Mendel Raskin at the Purim celebration.