NDG tenants upset after landlord cuts down treasured old tree without a permit

Some tenants living in an apartment complex in NDG say they are devastated that an old and healthy tree on the property was cut down at the behest of the building's owner, who lacked the necessary permit, according to the borough.

The tree, growing in front of a building located on Notre-Dame-de-Grace Avenue near Grand, provided much-desired shade for some apartments and balconies.

"I feel I definitely had a rather profound relationship with this tree," said one tenant, Maya Rolbin-Ghanie.

"It was in literally almost every single one of our windows…a refuge from living in the city and better air quality. Just kind of general entertainment as well, with all the birds and squirrels living in it. It was a majestic 100-year-old tree," she said in an interview.

Maryla Zylicz who has lived in the building with her husband for 25 years experienced a similar feeling of disbelief when she saw the tree was gone.

"My first reaction when I arrived home that day was utter shock followed by sadness that I can't even begin to express –I felt like crying," she said.

"But when I found out that no permit was given, that it was an illegal act I guess it all turned into anger and extreme frustration. That tree was so dear to us," Zylicz said.

EXTREME TRIMMING

The tree met its untimely end on Aug. 25, though at first, when Rolbin-Ghanie saw from her window that some workers were trimming a branch, she was happy about it.

"We thought that they were there to cut a broken branch from the ice storm back in April that still had not been trimmed," she said.

As she left for an appointment, she realized that too many branches were being sawed off.

"I started to drive away and I got a horrible feeling like a slow realization. Wait a minute, could they possibly be cutting down that tree?" she said.

It took a good part of the day, she said, but when she returned home, just a stump remained.

Rolbin-Ghanie's partner Maciek Janicki spoke to the building's superintendent that day who said by way of explanation that he'd advised the building's owner to cut it down because "this tree could potentially compromise the foundation at some later date with its roots," she said.

The stump of a tree that was cut down without a permit in Montreal's NDG neighbourhood on Aug. 25, 2023. (Supplied image)

PERMIT OR NO PERMIT?

The owner of the building, Moshe Englander, told CTV in an email that the tree needed to come down because it was a safety hazard.

"The tree was in a dangerous situation that could have caused injury or worse to the residents of the block," said Englander whose company Royal European Investments is registered as the property's owner.

Englander also said he thought the proper permits had been acquired.

"My understanding was that the company that cut the tree had all the required licences and permits to do the job," he wrote.

But the tenants determined that wasn't so. The day the tree was being chopped up, they contacted the Cotes-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace (CDN-NDG) borough and spoke to an inspector from the Department of Permits and Inspections.

"We waited two days to find out that no, in fact, he did not have a permit," Rolbin-Ghanie said. That was corroborated in an email sent to CTV by the borough on Friday.

"We can confirm that no permit is under study or was given for cutting down a tree at 6186 Notre-Dame-de-Grace Avenue," said Etienne Brunet, who is the CDN-NDG's head of communications.

He also said an inspector has visited the site to confirm the "felling" of the tree and to speak with residents.

"We are gathering court evidence and will send the information to the DPCP (prosecutor) so that a fine can be issued," Brunet said.

A Google Street View image shows a tree in front of a Montreal apartment building that was chopped down on Aug. 25, 2023. (Supplied image)

ON THE OFFENSIVE

The back-and-forth was complicated by Englander shifting the blame for the tree-cutting onto the tenants.

"The same people that have asked me many times to remove the tree because it's dangerous, are the ones calling now around all the media to make a fuss," he said.

But that's disputed by Rolbin-Ghanie who said "no, no, that's completely false. We never asked for the tree to be removed."

Zylicz agreed that's not what they asked for and sent CTV the email her husband wrote to the building owner back in late May, asking him specifically to have only the "tree limb" removed "before it comes down and hurts someone."

Englander also implied the tenants are just angry about a rent renewal increase, something the tenants also deny, saying they are following the legal housing tribunal process and will pay wherever they are legally bound to pay in the end.

The residents said they can't get their tree back but decided to speak out to save other trees and other Montreal residents from the same fate."Landlords need a permit to cut down a tree so you could question work that's being done and potentially stop something unnecessary like this in its tracks," said Rolbin-Ghanie

"I felt and still feel a huge sense of loss," said Zylicz.