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Park-Extension
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Park Extension (Parc-Extension in French) is a neighbourhood in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is located in the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and has a population of 29,000 (2001) and an area of 1,6 km². The name derives from the fact that it is situated at the north end of Parc Avenue. The area is known by locals as "Park Ex."
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| Average income | $12,306 |
| Percentage unemployed | 30% |
| Percentage of immigrants | 61% |
| Population Density | 18,229/sq. km. (Montreal average: 5,739) |
Most of the buildings were built between 1950 and 1970. Over 29,000 people are packed in only 1.6 square kilometres, more than triple the average population density in Montreal. Most of the population is made up of mostly Greek immigrants.
The area is bounded by Acadie, to the West; Canadian Pacific Railway, to the South and East; and the Metropolitan Autoroute 40, to the North. The surrounding neighborhoods are Villeray and Little Italy to the east, Mile End and Outremont to the south, the Town of Mont-Royal to the west and Ahuntsic-Cartierville to the north.
The current district councillor is Mary Deros. Mary Deros, Équipe Bourque/Vision Montréal candidate for City Council in Parc-Extension has been a very active resident of Park Extension since 1970. She was elected city councillor for Park Extension in 1998 and re-elected in November 2001.
Former city councillors
Konstantinos Georgoulis
Stavros Zagakos
Sofoklis Rasoulis
Demetrios Manolakos
The district is part of the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.
The district is part of the following federal riding:
It is part of the following provincial electoral district:
The area was a working class anglophone suburb until the 1950's. From the early 1950's there was rapid housing development in the northwestern reaches of Park Extension.
A significant Jewish population migrated there, mostly from the Plateau Mont-Royal area, and established a thriving community. Several hundred families built and maintained a synagogue, Congregation Beth Aaron. By the mid-70's, the Jewish community was diminishing. Congregation Beth Aaron merged with the Beth Israel Congregation in 1986 [1], and the building was sold.
Many Greek immigrants settled in the neighborhood in the 1960's, 70's and 80's, from the Plateau Mont-Royal area and directly from Greece, and at one time the area was 70% Greek. Almost all the businesses along Jean-Talon street between L'Acadie and Parc Avenue were Greek owned in 1977 (over 100) whereas today there are only a dozen left. There are still four Greek churches, many Greek building owners and mostly older Greek residents still in the area. Many Greeks have since moved to suburbs such as Chomedey, Laval and the West Island.
Now the neighborhood is a mixture of Indian, Pakistani, South Asian, Latin American and Caribbean immigrants.
In the late 80's, the area had problems with the shooting-pad/crackhouse blight that scarred the area. However, a concerted police effort in the early 90's has solved that problem.
- The Park Extension library in the William Hingston community centre
- The old Parc Avenue train station
- Saint-Roch street
- Cafe Next Door
A fence runs along the western border of Park Extension, on the opposite side of L'Acadie Boulevard. While the stated purpose of the fence is to prevent children from running into the busy thoroughfare, some have contended that it was built to keep residents of the working-class Park Extension neighbourhood out of TMR.] [1]
The north-south streets of Parc Extension have the same names as those in line with them in Outremont, south of the railway tracks, from Hutchison in the east to Birnham in the west. McEachran Street was renamed L'Acadie Boulevard when the street was widened in the late '50s. [2] The area covered by the residences in the Town of Mount Royal from L'Acadie in the east to Rockland in the west and between Lockhart in the south to Cremazie in the north was once an 18 hole golf course. The golf course was sub-divided during the 1950s and the fence was erected after all the houses covered the golf course land.
This fence originally had several gates built into it, which then became a subject of controversy when they were locked one year at Halloween, preventing children from Park Extension from trick-or-treating in TMR. The Mount Royal town council responded by removing the gates. However, as of 2007, the gates have all been restored, with signs stating that this is for the safety of children and pedestrians.
- On November 28, 2006 the Montreal city council voted in favour (40-22) of renaming Parc Avenue after Robert Bourassa, as announced on October 18 by Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay. [2]
- If Quebec's Toponymy Commission had approved the name change, all of Parc Avenue and its continuation, Bleury down to Viger would have been renamed Avenue Robert Bourassa. This would have caused the newly named street to cross René Lévesque Boulevard, named after a long time political rival to Bourassa.
- This decision by the City of Montreal without any consultation with the people of the city caused an uproar and a lot of controversy, especially as Parc is itself an historical street name, associated with the city's beloved Mount Royal park.[3]
- There was an online petition against this renaming. The petition is now closed
- The STM's Parc metro station (and AMT commuter rail station) would have remain "Parc" due to a moratorium on renaming metro stations. [3]
- After Robert Bourassa's family publicly expressed reservations about the controversy stirred up by the proposed change, mayor Tremblay announced on February 6, 2007 that he would not pursue the issue further and that the council would be presented with a motion to withdraw the resolution of November 28. The urban planning department will work to find an alternative commemoration for the late premier. [4]
- ^ Kristian Gravenor, "Segregation fence to live on." Montreal Mirror, November 8, 2001.
- ^ (French) "Station de métro Acadie." Retrieved November 7, 2007.
- ^ (French) Holà aux changements de nom des stations de métro. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.
- (French) Borough website