Speaking Candidly: An Interview with Mayor Michael Applebaum
By: Sherling Rose de la Paz
A man true to his word, Michael Applebaum is a self-described “hands on” Borough Mayor. Devoted to providing quality, first-class community services to residents of Cote-des-Neiges/NDG, Mayor Applebaum sits in and chairs over many different committees and governing bodies that directly affect living conditions within the borough. Although he is saddled with responsibilities and functions, his first priority has always been, and will continue to be, the best interests of his constituency.
Mayor Applebaum’s political career had its jump start in 1994, when the administration of then-Mayor of Montreal, Jean Dore, sought to shut down twenty-nine of Montreal’s public skating rinks. Rather than allow his local rink to be closed, Applebaum rallied community members to protest the plan. By volunteering and petitioning, their efforts to prevent the shut-down were successful and the rink was left alone. As a result of his active involvement in this project, he ran for City Councillor in the 1994 municipal elections, which he subsequently won. A second mandate as City Councillor began after winning the 1998 municipal elections.
Since then, Mayor Applebaum has earned various appointed titles before being elected as Borough Mayor of CDN/NDG in 2005. However, as an official dedicated to providing the best services to the citizens, Applebaum is also deeply involved in various other committees and executive bodies. As the newly appointed member of Mayor Tremblay’s Executive Committee, Mayor Applebaum is responsible for the Sports and Recreation dossiers. Over a span of eight years, the City of Montreal has spent more than sixty-five million dollars in building and renovating community centres, sports arenas, and parks. A whopping four parks are renovated per year, not including the renovation of several outdoor pools, wading pools, water play areas, and tennis courts. Kent Park is perhaps the most obvious example of these renovation efforts: by this coming summer, approximately fifteen million dollars would have been spent on revamping the synthetic sports fields, chalet, and water play area. He hopes to develop the park chalets into mini-community centres, where community members and families can congregate and hold activities.
Another important issue to Mayor Applebaum is helping to maintain the dignity and serviceability of Cote-des-Neiges’ various multicultural communities. He tries to provide multicultural communities with the resources and “first-class facilities” necessary to deliver their services. In our case, Applebaum’s administration collaborated to renovate the facade of the FAMAS community centre, although the FAMAS centre is not a building owned by the City of Montreal. Plans to redo and beautify the backyard will commence in the spring of this year. Also, it was at the behest of Mayor Applebaum that the Jose Rizal statue in McKenzie King Park was elevated and surrounded by new and more decorative flowers. Benches were also added in front of the statue, so that members of our community could congregate there more comfortably.
Multicultural communities are not the only ones receiving support from the Applebaum administration, however. As Chairman of the Housing Commission of the Borough of CDN/NDG, Mayor Applebaum is working with the City of Montreal to protect the rights of tenants and leasees. In known cases of delinquent landlords and substandard housing, task forces have been sent by the City to investigate and legally enforce changes according to set standards. Additionally, in order to counter the steady rise of rent in the Cote-des-Neiges area, Mayor Applebaum is currently working with community-based groups to push plans forward for social and affordable housing. There will be some major development of the Namur and Blue Bonnets areas of Cote-des-Neiges, and he is pushing for the construction of social housing within these areas.
As a frequent consumer and visitor of local restaurants and stores, Mayor Applebaum has also initiated a massive project to completely revamp Victoria Avenue and Cote-des-Neiges Road, both of which are major streets in the Cote-des-Neiges area. Starting this spring, the City and Borough will embark on an exciting construction project that will beautify Victoria Avenue and expand the local businesses already in place: the roads and sidewalks will be redone; part of the expenses necessary to revamp building facades will be subsidized by the City; restaurants will be given sidewalk space to build terraces in the summer; second-floor businesses will be given advertising space to attract more business. By the end of the construction, Victoria Avenue will be a modern, refreshed space with a rich, multicultural, local twist.
So, Mayor Applebaum has proven himself to be a capable and dedicated elected official who puts the needs of the Borough’s communities at the forefront of his agenda. Whether it’s the beautification of the Borough’s parks and streets, the expansion of local businesses, or the protection of residents who pay rent, Mayor Applebaum is aware of pertinent issues and has viable solutions to solve them.
