Discontent echoes on social media about a bookstore, in Montreal’s Mile End, which risks closing after a rent increase demanded by real estate agency Schiller LaVey all the way to Istry where Louise Benny, author of the best-selling novel the series lives. Armand Jamachi is investigating the matter.
> (Re) Read Marc Cassevi’s column “Who’s Still Buying Books?”
The author demonstrated her passion for the area that is part of the Plateau-Mont-Royal region, where she once lived, by inviting the general public to encourage local trade.
“We must support and defend our libraries. […] They are a vital part of a vibrant community. Like all small independent companies, she wrote on her Facebook page on Friday.
On Sunday, the post garnered nearly 10,000 likes and thousands of shares.
The person preparing a book to be published this fall in collaboration with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also highlighted the initiative organized by the Mile End Ensemble to support the SW Welch Library.
Portrait of Marco Campanuzzi, archived press
Louise Penny
She added, “We welcome people to bring a book and read it in line while they wait their turn to buy a book from the store (if they can afford it), and to meet to support the history, culture and small business owners of Mile End.
The event to be held on March 13th was baptized: “Who still buys books today?”
A direct response to that given by the owner of the building who considers the business model for the used library located on St-Viateur Street to be outdated.
On Instagram, messages condemning what many see as arrogant behavior or lack of sympathy on the part of the owner, in the midst of a health crisis, have revived the debate about improving the city’s neighborhoods.
Loss of exclusivity
In the face of the apparent greed of business owners, some Mile End dwellers such as Ceylan Twerdy, who has been living there for 15 years, fear losing what makes him so unique.
He’s sorry to see some of his favorite works shut down one by one. The move of Cagibi, the café now installed in Little Italy, was a huge blow to those who fell in love with the city by frequenting this once-symbolic place in the area.
“The closure of these companies is a tragedy,” he says. And I think the real estate developers are partly to blame. Obviously, they are not entirely wrong. ”
However, he regrets the situation. According to him, most of the building owners in the area do not live in the area.
“They pay little attention to the socio-economic fabric of the town, what makes it unique and the institutions that have built its reputation. Real estate speculation expels the independent companies that are the magic of the area.
Everyone who is also a member of the Mile End Ensemble feels that most of these customers especially want to see big chains take root, like Lululemon and Starbucks.
“But if their plan is implemented, it will end up next to us as if it were any other neighborhood on this planet,” he says. And I don’t think that’s what the population wants or even needs. ”