Martin Luther King Park

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

Yet another complaint about a homeless encampment in Martin Luther King Park prompted a visit to the park by The Suburban, a visit which showed that the situation is much the same as it was two to three years ago.

Monday, July 7, Darlington district resident George Christianis brought his concerns, as he has done before, to the CDN-NDG borough council meeting. “There is once again a huge homeless encampment at the chalet at MLK Park,” Christianis said, addressing council. Christianis said he’d been making the same demand of the Projet Montréal administration since 2022 – to not allow homeless people in the park, something that borough mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa said they cannot do.

“This location at the park has become a dangerous environment,” Christianis said. “I’m afraid for the safety of the children who play there. Every time I bring the subject up to the mayor, she says that the homeless are human beings and they need a place to stay. I fully agree with her. But they should not be living at a park beside a children’s playground.”

The following Tuesday morning there were indeed three homeless people sitting outside the chalet amid their belongings – blankets and pillows, sleeping bags, stacked plastic chairs, mattresses, milk crates, clothing, shopping bags, and a shisha pipe.

There were two Montreal police officers at the scene who had ostensibly been called to the park by a city worker who was also onsite. The two constables, who asked that their names not be used, told The Suburban that homeless people have been squatting in Martin Luther King Park for years, at least since the pandemic.

Stephanie Valenzuela, the Ensemble Montréal councillor for Darlington, says that her constituents have routinely complained to her about the situation in Martin Luther King Park, not just about homeless encampments, but about garbage. A short distance away from the chalet is another structure behind which is strewn refuse – garbage bins, an old dresser, clothes, discarded food containers, and other trash piled behind one single metal barrier placed there, presumably, by the borough.

As Christianis pointed out, there is a splash pad, playground, and swimming pool adjacent to the chalet. The two SPVM constables said that having the homeless people in the park is a problem for the children who play there, echoing Christianis’ concerns.

Responding to Christianis, Kasoki Katahwa said she sympathizes, and agrees that the problem is a difficult one. “But, again, every year I need to share with you what we are doing – not only the borough, but the community organizations and the SPVM.”

“We have a certain type of cohabitation in the park,” Kasoki Katahwa added. “Because, again, I need to repeat that a park is a public space.” Authorities can’t simply go in and tell the homeless that they can’t be there, she said. The best they can do, she added, is to make sure they don’t leave their stuff lying around.

She mentioned the modular homes installed at the Hippodrome site, and the city’s year-round warming shelters as alternatives available to the homeless, but admitted that it’s not a perfect solution.

The officers said that there are places other than the park where homeless people can go. He indicated Multicaf, which is just across the street from the park on the Appleton side. In fact, while there last Tuesday morning the officers did indeed call Multicaf who sent over an external social worker. He had a quick word with the three people sitting outside the chalet, after which they began to pack up. Where they’d planned to go is not known.

On Wednesday a line of large flower pots had been placed where the encampment had been. n