When my fellow Côte Saint-Luc city councillor Oren Sebag and I found out that Eli Beer, the much revered founder of United Hatzalah of Israel was speaking at the Shaare Zion Congregation  (www.shaarezion.org) we made it our business to be there. 

Using specially equipped motorcycle ambulances, United Hatzalah’s network of more than 4,000 volunteer medics help save thousands of lives each year across Israel by providing medical treatment in an average response time of three minutes or less.

I thank local supporter Marvin Binbom  and am Regional Development Officer for Canada Andrea Preciado for providing me the advance information which prompted us to attend this most interesting breakfast meeting.

Sandy Lipkus, Eli Beer, Oren Sebag, myself and Andrea Preciado.

First off, United Hatzalah of Israel should not be confused with  Hatzoloh Montreal,  another Jewish first response organization.

Working as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) from the age of 17, Beer saw just how rare it was that an ambulance team was able to navigate the congested streets of Israel to reach an accident victim in time to save his/her life. He also observed that local people, if trained appropriately, could fill the gap in care left between the first call to emergency services and the arrival of the support team—and save lives. His organization has approached this problem through the novel use of technology and an ever-expanding volunteer corps that pulls from all communities throughout Israel. His teams are now able to respond to any incident, regardless of location, in under three minutes.  Organizing  a volunteer unit of EMTs,  using specially equipped motorcycle ambulances to manoeuver efficiently in urgent-care situations, proved to be a stroke of genius.

One day Beer's team saved the life of his own father.

Councillor Sebag, who is a Registered Nurse by education and oversees the Public Safety portfolio in Côte Saint-Luc, was very intrigued by what he heard. Both of us plan to bring this information to the council table. After the talk he gave Beer an overview of how our Emergency Medical Services works and invited him to come see it for himself on a future visit.

“When I was young I said I wanted to be a doctor,” Beer said. “My dream was to save a life.”

Annually, United Hatzalah responds to more than 800 emergency calls each day, of which approximately 25 percent are critical lifesaving situations. They also do not charge for their services, unlike others.

Through his fleet of ambucycles, several thousand volunteers and training programs, Beer has accelerated response time to within minutes, while additionally bringing Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities together to solve this common yet crucial issue.

United Hatzalah trains volunteers and then equips them with, among other items, a GPS application for their mobile phone. When an emergency medical situation arises, volunteers within a specific radius are notified and expected to immediately attend the situation. They then provide first response action within three minutes to stabilize the victim until professional help arrives to transport them to a hospital or more secure location.

While his organization was originally based in the Jewish community, the universal need for these services quickly became apparent. The program was promptly scaled to include Arabs and Christians in the volunteer corps. Today, United Hatzalah members respond to any and all accidents, regardless of ethnic origin or religion.

Beer said he would like to grow his organization in two main directions:  an  Israeli operation of  3,000 volunteers and 500 ambucycles and to replicate the model in other countries—transferring the experience accumulated throughout the last two decades to new communities in need and adjusting the how-tos for new contexts.  Could our EMS use this technology?

Beer joked: “For Montreal, maybe you need an ambucycle snowboard!”

I met Sandy Lipkus. She and her husband Ted Adler heard about Beer’s organization and became supporters of  United Hatzalah. They have visited the command center in Israel and have sponsored two ambucycles and one car via their Foundation, as well as a team of 10 ambulance drivers.  She noted how impressed she was how donors are told regularly exactly how the vehicles they sponsored are used to save lives. “That is very concrete,” she agreed.

Neil Bernstein concluded the event by thanking everyone for coming.

To find out more go to https://israelrescue.org and watch this video of Eli Beer.

Community Police Station 9 will be moving from its present headquarters at the corner of Cavendish and Kildare to the strip shopping mall on Westminster Avenue in February. They will take over the spot previously occupied by The Famous Delly Boys Restaurant.

While I am saddened to see them leave District 2, we know that this was their decision to try and find a storefront location. We are therefore pleased that they are maintaining their presence in Côte Saint-Luc. The station also serves Hampstead and Montreal West.

With residents and Officers Marie-Christine Nobert and Vincent Di Angelis at Kildare Towers.

Over the 12 years I have been on city council I have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the respective commanders and the other personnel. Let me single out community officers Vincent Di Angelis and Marie-Christine Nobert, whose presence at all of our institutions has been consistent and well appreciated. Most recently I joined them at Kildare Towers on Honore de Balzac next to  Quartier Cavendish for the very successful Coffee with a Cop program.  They set up a kiosk in the lobby, served coffee and cake and provided residents with many security tips. It was very much appreciated and well received.

A noted community activist called me last week to share this story. A few weeks ago he went to the bank at the Côte St. Luc Shopping Centre with an elderly client . The nature of the visit was such that they were there for perhaps five minutes. After that he dropped off an envelope to an office in the Centre and had a sandwich. He carried a purse containing  credit and debit cards and others for car rentals, airlines, etc. There was also a leather portfolio with a few documents and his client’s bank book and debit card. He left by the entrance closest to the bank and got into his car to return to his  office downtown.  

At the first red light, after exiting the parking lot,  he was stopped and a fellow pointed to his right rear tire, indicating he had a flat. “I kept driving slowly for a number of blocks and decided I better stop and check for myself and not ruin my tire,” the activist said. “I did so further down the street. and sure enough my tire was very flat. I got in the car and called CAA and waited. After several minutes, I believe the same fellow, appeared and I rolled the window down enough to hear him and he indicated that if I had a pump in my  trunk he could fill the tire and get to a garage. I refused,  indicating I had called CAA. He persisted and like a fool I got out of the car, went to the trunk, which I had opened, and with him looked  for a pump which I really knew I didn’t have. I closed the trunk, got back in the car, he left and then waited for CAA.  I  then realized both my purse and portfolio were gone. I reported this to the police by calling 911 and then filed a police report later that day. Naturally I proceeded to deal with my cards.

“The main thing is that I was duped very convincingly by a professional. I understand that this is happening quite often at the CSL,  Van Horne and Galerie St. Laurent  shopping centre and I’m sure others. They seem to target seniors and use different ploys. One of my associates, who no longer drives, accompanied his wife to Van Horne Shopping Centre, was in the car while she was in the bank. A fellow stood in front of his car pointing to the front of the hood. My buddy got out of the car, saw there was nothing, got back in the car and his purse with all his cards  were gone.One of the tellers at the RBC CSL told me one of her customers had her purse taken twice."

Since the passing of Archie Kwiatt last year, the position of a crossing guard at the corner of Cavendish Boulevard and Kildare Road had been vacant. This was not for a lack of trying on the part of our Public Safety Department. There simply were not people applying for the job.

Norman Klein

Archie was very special. He did the job for 17 years and like the "King of Kensington," when he walked down the street "everyone knew his name." Archie took great care and making sure that the elderly and young students crossed this very busy intersection carefully.

Well I wish to extend a big welcome to Norman Klein who was confirmed in his duties at our most recent council meeting.  We actually had a number of applicants this time around and Norman was our choice. He is on the job bright and early each weekday. I recently went to visit with him, observing from afar first. He seems passionate about the job, personable like Archie with the residents while keeping his eye out for safety. Norman is a resident of Côte Saint-Luc, where he also works as a security officer for a local highrise condominium and umpires weeknights in local softball leagues.

I made it very clear at the council table that this was one position which could not remain vacant. We have a school a block away, JPPS-Bialik, and many senior citizen pedestrians. History will note that this was also the site of some tragic accidents in the past.

Norman Klein in action.

The City of Côte Saint-Luc has always maintained an excellent relationship with our local police commanders.

Since I began serving on council in 2005, we have had four commanders for Police Station 9- which covers Côte Saint-Luc, Hampstead and Montreal West: Réne Allard, Sylvain Bissonnette, Marc Cournoyer and now Jean O`Malley.

Commander O'Malley at our council table.

Commander O`Malley began his tour of duty here recently. And because Police Station 11 in NDG is presently without a commander, he is covering that area as well until the post is filled. We invited him to meet with council in caucus, a traditional move on our part.

Most recently Commander O`Malley was  the head of  Police Station 45 in Rivière-des-Prairies. Prior to that he was stationed downtown and at one time even worked for the Ontario Provincial Police. He is a resident of the South Shore and takes great pride in his past time as a tennis pro.

We are very fortunate to have the actual police station in our community - and in District 2 - at the corner of Cavendish and Kildare. A number of years ago the Montreal Police Department was looking at abolishing our local station and merging it with Station 11. Along with Hampstead and Montreal West, we lobbied successfully to ensure that did not happen.

Commander O`Malley inherits a hard working team which has a real presence on our streets. They work hard on traffic enforcement, combat criminal activity and try to keep us safe in many different ways. Their Coffee With a Cop Program at the local McDonald`s Restaurants, in which citizens are invited to sit down and chat with their neighbourhood police officers, has really helped promote good community relations. Commander O`Malley said that he plans to expand this program and have members of his team take the coffee with them and go into seniors residences. "We want to sit down and meet with people who cannot necessarily get out to come see us," he said.

Good luck Commander. We look forward to working with you.

Oh yes, the Rembrandt Park Tennis Courts are only a short walk away from the station, so perhaps you'd like to join us one day as a guest instructor?

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Coffee with a Cop comes to Quartier Cavendish on May 28

Police Station 9's Bike Patrol is on the road

Police officers from neighbourhood Police Station 9 (PDQ)  are inviting residents to come and discuss community issues at their monthly  Coffee with a Cop event at the McDonald's Restaurant in the Côte Saint-Luc Shopping Centre. It takes place on Thursday, July 30 (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.).

 Coffee with a Cop is an informal event which allows police officers and community members to meet in a neutral environment to facilitate conversation. The aim of this activity is to give everyone the opportunity to freely discuss various topics including public safety issues and other concerns that affect Côte Saint-Luc community members.

In addition, this is an opportunity to strengthen relations between police and citizens, who often meet in emergency situations that can cause strong emotional reactions. With Coffee with a Cop, residents get to know PDQ 9 police officers as friends.

We are very fortunate to have this great team, overseen by Commander Marc Cournoyer, in our community.

Let's all extend some thanks and appreciation to the officers from Neighbourhood Police Station 9, located in the heart of Côte Saint-Luc`s District 2 at the corner of  Cavendish and Kildare,

Their Coffee with a Cop Program has become a monthly occurrence, first at the McDonald`s Restaurant on Côte Saint-Luc Road and now at the Quartier Cavendish. It is next scheduled to occur at the Quartier (still referred to as  "the Mall" by many)on Thursday, May 28 (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) in the food court.

Coffee with a Cop is an informal event which allows police officers and citizens to meet in a neutral environment to facilitate the dialogue. The aim of this activity is to let anyone discuss freely and exchange on various public security topics and concerns that affect the Côte Saint-Luc community and others within the Station 9 territory, which also includes Hampstead and Montreal West.

In addition, this is an opportunity to strengthen police relations with its citizens, who normally meet in emergency circumstances that are very emotional.  Coffee with a Cop does indeed enable citizens get to know PDQ 9 police officers in a friendly atmosphere

It was most interesting to watch the recent French-language documentary called Le Berceau des Anges le documentaire) about the Montreal Black Market baby ring of the 1940's and '50's. Montreal West resident and former Montreal Police Department photographer Harold Rosenberg brought it to my attention.

"I was sold to my parents by the same people who operated the ring," Harold explains.

I was delighted to see former Police Station 9 Commander Sylvain Bissonnette interviewed and identified as a "historian."  This is something I did not know about Sylvain, a true gentleman who ran police operations out of the Kildare and Cavendish headquarters for seven years until August 2013.  He is now the commander at Station 8 in Lachine.

Here I am with Commander Bissonnette shortly before his departure.