A community effort Sunday added some beauty to an eyesore in Greenfield Park by planting flowers to one of the main streets, an issue causing tension at city hall and beyond.
A damaged fence and flower bed have been left unrepaired by the city of Longueuil since March, when a car crashed into this fence, taking most of the flower bed with it.
City councillor Wade Wilson said he asked the city of Longueuil to repair the eyesore 10 weeks ago, but no action was taken.
Many believe a language dispute between Longueuil Mayor Caroline St-Hilaire and Greenfield Park borough president Robert Myles is behind the conflict.
Myles often translates his French comments to English during council meetings, something St-Hilaire called irritating.
“They're trying to eliminate Greenfield Park off the map and they're slowly doing it piece by piece,” he said.
On Tuesday he invited people to plant the flowers themselves.
“Three hours after I put it on Facebook, well it was bulldozed down and totally removed,” he said. “Now if that's coincidence, I think not. I think they're treating us with a lack of respect and as second-class citizens.”
Planting these flowers will send a message to Longueuil city hall, said Greenfield Park resident Miranda Leveque.
“My children are perfectly bilingual, I'm bilingual and to just say that we just want French here is not realistic. You need to speak both languages,” she said.
No one from the city of Longueuil would comment on the matter Sunday, but many who took part in the community gardening project fear it won't last too long because of the contentious relationship between Greenfield Park and the mayor of Longueuil.
On Friday, the city of Longueuil said the fence will be removed and proposals for redevelopment are being considered, but Myles said he wasn’t aware of any impending plans.
